martes, 30 de agosto de 2011

EACH ACTIVITY HAS ITS OWN MANTRA---Badger, California: 1997

EACH ACTIVITY HAS ITS OWN MANTRA---Badger, California: 1997

Oṁ viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

I have heard from some devotees that when they offer bhoga to Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu they chant:

"Namah om viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhūtale …"

Or

"Vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca."

This is not the exact mantra for offering bhoga. When a devotee is brand new, knowing nothing, he can do this, and Parama-Pūjāpāda Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja gave this to devotees in that category.  A person can do this in the preliminary stage, and by mind he can say:

"I am offering this beautiful and delicious food to you. Please accept it." 

This is how you should practice and meditate in the beginning, but after that you should come to the proper line of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, to the writings of Śrī Gopāl-guru Gosvāmī and Śrī Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī, and down to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, my Gurudeva Śrīla Bhaktiprajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and to Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī  Mahārāja. 

Each activity of worship has its own mantra.  I think that not all of you have received second initiation, so I should not declare all the details in public. Instead, I am giving only an outline.  We will have to chant a mantra when we give anything to Ṭhākurji (the deity). Do not think:"

I am offering;"

Otherwise your offering will be rejected. 

Do you understand why?

We do not possess even śaraṇāgati (the six types of surrender).  Śaraṇāgati includes the conviction that:

"Kṛṣṇa will support me; He will nourish me; He will certainly save me; He will give me anything I want."

If we have that faith in Kṛṣṇa, then why do we go to rich persons to beg?

When any suffering comes, why do we say:

"O, save me God, save me God"?
Has Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed in this way?

Did he beg Kṛṣṇa

"O, save me!"

When Hiraṇyakaśipu tried to kill him? 

Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was beaten in twenty-two market places and his flesh and muscles were torn off; but he didn't say:

"Kṛṣṇa, save me!" 

He never said this. He knew that Kṛṣṇa would save him. He had no doubt at all, and he was saved. This is śaraṇāgati.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has said that Lord Kṛṣṇa will not accept any offering from those who are not śaraṇāgata and those who are not chanting one lakh (64 rounds) of harināma daily. He will not accept anything from them.

To whom can you offer? 

Your pure Gurudeva is śaraṇāgata to Kṛṣṇa, and he has so much affection for Him. He is a sakhī in Kṛṣṇa’s līlā, and He is very near and dear to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in his male form. If we offer the bhoga to Śrī Gurudeva to offer to Kṛṣṇa, it will certainly be offered to Kṛṣṇa and accepted by Him – there is no doubt about this.  If you personally give it to Kṛṣṇa, it is doubtful that He will take it.

Do you understand?

We are not bona fide Vaiṣṇavas yet, so we must call Gurudeva and utter:

"Gurudeva, please come:

idaṁ āsanaṁ aiṁ gurave namaḥ ".

“idaṁ ācamanīyaṁ:

This is the water for washing your mouth."

You should think that your Gurudeva is sitting there with you. You will place your offering in his hands, not for him to take himself, but to offer to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Then Gurudeva will call:

"O Śrīmatī Rādhikā, please come and give this to Your Svāmī, Your iṣṭadeva, Your beloved, Kṛṣṇa – because He will not take from anyone else's hand. If you give it to Him, He will surely eat it."

Then, as Rādhikā is sitting and fanning Kṛṣṇa, telling Him, for example:

"This lāḍḍu is so beautiful. Take this first."

And then He takes another lāḍḍu – a manohara-lāḍḍu. Then Śrīmatī Rādhikā tells Him:"

You have not yet taken this very beautiful and delicious chutney. Kṛṣṇa will then taste it and say:

"Oh, very beautiful!"

Then She will give Him a spoonful of a different preparation, and He will say:

"Everything is so delicious."

She will then continue to say about the various preparations:

"You should taste this; You should eat this."

In this way He will take.

There is a special mantra for this.

"Vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś"

Will not do at this time. That obeisances mantra should be uttered when there is a Vaiṣṇava – or many Vaiṣṇavas – present, to show them honour. Moreover, that mantra will not enter Goloka. It is only for the stage of sādhana (the practice stage). There, in Goloka, all the associates of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are present – all are sakhīs and sakhās. We cannot utter the obeisances mantra there. It is not uttered at the time of offering or taking mahā prasādam. It is uttered when Vaiṣṇavas are gathered and we are hearing something from them. At that time we will pray:

"Vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca"

To them all.

When prasāda is offered to Kṛṣṇa, the mantra:

"Namo mahā vadānyāya"

Will also not do. You can say this after you have completed the performance or observance of āratī, or at the time of prayer, or at the beginning of your chanting. While remembering and chanting Harināma you should utter this and think:

"I am so worthless."

So there are special things we have been told to do.  There is a special mantra for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Do not offer bhoga to Gurudeva; it is not the correct process to tell him:

"Please eat this, and after that offer the same prasāda to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa."

Regarding āratī, if Śrī Guru's altar is somewhat separate from that of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we can offer his āratī first – and keep the paraphernalia at his altar. After that you should take a new stick of incense, for example, and offer it to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then, when Their āratī will be done, Their prasāda (the incense or any other item) should be given to Gurudeva and then to all others present.

Regarding offering bhoga, it is first given to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and after that Their Prasāda is offered to all the Sakhīs.

"Guru-rūpī-sakhī" (Gurudeva in the form of a sakhī) is giving it to all. Gurudeva will not take and then give the remainder to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is not proper. Arcana will be first performed to Gurudeva, but offerings are made first to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

If there are three altars, you can give three plates of bhoga. After offering to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, the prasāda should be given to Gurudeva to give to Lalitā, Viśakhā and all other Vrajavāsīs. We should always remember all these instructions. Then our process will be in line, and then the deities will accept.

But do not disturb anyone and make problems.  So that no problems will come, let devotees in the Iskcon temples continue in the process established in the beginning by Parama-Pūjāpāda Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. He later gave the mantras when he established formal deity worship, as I am giving, and he wanted all his second initiated disciples to learn them, but most of the devotees do not know about this.* [see endnotes] Therefore, those who want to advance further should follow the principles I have been outlining here – in their rooms and houses, with other like-minded devotees. Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja wants this now. He has ordered me to tell you this.

[Nirguṇa dāsa:] We should call to our Gurudeva, so he will offer to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa?
Do I understand correctly?

[Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:] Yes. First we should call him, but not to give, saying:

"Please take."

We should call Gurudeva with the words:

"Idam āsanam ācamanīyam aiṁ guruve namaḥ."
[This offers honourable welcome, a seat and mouthwash.]

If you understand that your Guru has come, then give him the offering, thinking:

"Please offer this. I am not qualified to do so."

He will call Śrīmatī Rādhikā, but the mantra should be uttered by us. Then pray to Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa:

"Idam ācamanīyam"

And so on.

Then, after uttering the mantras for offering the naivedyaṁ (bhoga, or unoffered foodstuffs), again utter the mantra for offering acaman (mouthwash).

Then:

“idaṁ tāmbūlaṁ”

This means Gurudeva is giving betel nuts to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. That is, Gurudeva is placing it in the hands of Lalitā or Viśakhā, she is giving to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and Rādhikā is giving it to Kṛṣṇa.

Then:

"Etat puṣpāñjalii"

The offering of flowers is called puṣpāñjalii. And then, after everything else is done, give them garlands. After that, if it is the mid-day offering, you should do āratī.  All this should become systematic.

Who will tell you this?

The Śikṣā-Guru may tell you. A Śikṣā-Guru, who is in the line of the Dīkṣā-Guru and in whom you have faith, is also needed. If one is not very advanced, and his Dīkṣā-Guru is not available or he has departed from the world, then a Vaiṣṇava who is so much more qualified and advanced than us can be accepted. He can make us qualified. 

[*Editors' Endnotes –
In 1974, Śrīla Prabhupāda translated Śrī Caitanya caritāmṛta. There, in Madhya-līlā chapter 24, beginning around text 225, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is instructing Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī to write the book Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, which would have all the rules and regulations of deity worship, along with appropriate mantras.

An example of how Prabhupāda wanted the proper mantras to be uttered for each activity is given in one of his purports of the above-mentioned dialogue:

"'As far as placing the deity in the bed is concerned, if the deity is large and heavy, it is not possible to move Him daily. It is better that a small deity, which is also worshiped, be taken to the bed. This mantra should be chanted:

“āgaccha śayana-sthānaṁ priyābhiḥ saha keśava.

O Keśava, kindly come to Your bed along with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.'
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 11.40)"

In January 1976, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote several letters in his attempt to get the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa translated and made available for all initiated brāhmaṇas. One such letter is as follows:

"Now, beginning from this year's Māyāpura festival, the devotees will begin preparing for Bhakti-Śāstrī examination. Therefore we require a guidebook for deity worship, arcana-paddhati, based on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa. All brāhmaṇas will be responsible to learn this book. I would like to have the manuscript ready as soon as possible, preferably by Gaura Purṇimā. So please work diligently for this. Pradyumna began this, but I do not know what he has done with his work." (Letter to Nitāi dāsa)]



  • Ramchandra Das le gusta esto.
  • Rama Kānta Dāsa We are not bona fide Vaiṣṇavas yet, so we must call Gurudeva and utter:

    "Gurudeva, please come:

    idaṁ āsanaṁ aiṁ gurave namaḥ ".

    “idaṁ ācamanīyaṁ:

    This is the water for washing your mouth."

    You should think that your Gurudeva is sitting there with you. You will place your offering in his hands, not for him to take himself, but to offer to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Then Gurudeva will call:

    "O Śrīmatī Rādhikā, please come and give this to Your Svāmī, Your iṣṭadeva, Your beloved, Kṛṣṇa – because He will not take from anyone else's hand. If you give it to Him, He will surely eat it."

    Then, as Rādhikā is sitting and fanning Kṛṣṇa, telling Him, for example:

    "This lāḍḍu is so beautiful. Take this first."

    And then He takes another lāḍḍu – a manohara-lāḍḍu. Then Śrīmatī Rādhikā tells Him:"

    You have not yet taken this very beautiful and delicious chutney. Kṛṣṇa will then taste it and say:

    "Oh, very beautiful!"

    Then She will give Him a spoonful of a different preparation, and He will say:

    "Everything is so delicious."

    She will then continue to say about the various preparations:

    "You should taste this; You should eat this."

    In this way He will take.

    There is a special mantra for this.

    "Vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś"

    Will not do at this time. That obeisances mantra should be uttered when there is a Vaiṣṇava – or many Vaiṣṇavas – present, to show them honour. Moreover, that mantra will not enter Goloka. It is only for the stage of sādhana (the practice stage). There, in Goloka, all the associates of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are present – all are sakhīs and sakhās. We cannot utter the obeisances mantra there. It is not uttered at the time of offering or taking mahā prasādam. It is uttered when Vaiṣṇavas are gathered and we are hearing something from them. At that time we will pray:

    "Vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca"

    To them all.

    When prasāda is offered to Kṛṣṇa, the mantra:

    "Namo mahā vadānyāya"

    Will also not do. You can say this after you have completed the performance or observance of āratī, or at the time of prayer, or at the beginning of your chanting. While remembering and chanting Harināma you should utter this and think:

    "I am so worthless."

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