domingo, 28 de agosto de 2011

Prayer at the Lotus Feet of the Vaiṣṇavas

Prayer at the Lotus Feet of the Vaiṣṇavas

His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya aṣṭottara-śata  Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Gosvāmī Mahārāja

Taking this opportunity to offer my obeisances to all Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava, I will sing a song written by Devakīnandana Dāsa:

vṛndāvana-bāsī jata vaiṣṇavera gaṇa
prathame vandanā kari sabāra caraṇa

nīlācala-bāsī jata mahāprabhura gaṇa
bhūmite paḍiyā vandoṅ sabāra caraṇa

navadvīpa-bāsī jata mahāprabhura bhakta
sabāra caraṇa vandoṅ hañā anurakta

mahāprabhura bhakta jata gauḍadeśe sthiti
sabāra caraṇa vandoṅ kariyā praṇati

ye deśe ye deśe baise gaurāṅgera gaṇa
ūrdhvabāhu kari’ vandoṅ sabāra caraṇa

hañāchena habena prabhura yata dāsa
sabāra caraṇa vandoṅ dante kari’ ghāsa

brahmāṇḍa tārite śakti dhare jane jane
e veda-purāṇe guṇa gāya jebāśune

mahāprabhura gaṇa-saba patita-pāvana
tāi lobhe mui pāpī la-inu śaraṇa

vandanā karite mui kata śakti dhari
tamo buddhi doṣe mui dambha mātra kari

tathāpi mūkera bhāgya manera ullāsa
doṣa kṣami’ mo adhame kara nija dāsa

sarva vāñchā siddhi haya yama-bandha chuṭe
jagate durlabha hañā prema-dhana luṭe

manera vāsanā pūrṇa acirāte haya
devakīnandana dāsa ei lobhe kaya

First I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of the dear devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu residing in Vṛndāvana. Falling flat on the ground at their lotus feet, I offer my obeisances to the associates of Mahāprabhu residing in Śrī Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī Dhāma. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of one and all of the dear devotees of Mahāprabhu residing in Navadvīpa.

I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of all of the dear devotees of Mahāprabhu residing in Gaudadesh. Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu’s dear devotees may be residing in any corner of the world. Wherever they reside I offer my obeisances unto their lotus feet. I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of all of those persons who will become Mahāprabhu’s dear devotees in the future. Catching straw in my teeth I offer obeisances at their lotus feet.

In all of the Vedas and Purāṇas it is said that the dear devotees of Śrīman Mahāprabhu are deliverers of the patitas, the most degraded. Because I am so degraded, so fallen, the lowest of the low, I have developed greed to take shelter at the lotus feet of the dear devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I beg for their mercy. Otherwise I cannot be delivered.

If I think:

“Yes, I can glorify the Vaiṣṇavas.”

It is only out of ignorance. I have this pride in me. I am dumb. I have no speaking power to glorify the Vaiṣṇavas. Still I am taking great pleasure in my mind. Please excuse my offenses at your lotus feet, O Vaiṣṇavas! Please accept me as one of your servants!

Only by the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas can one become free from the clutches of Yamarāja and obtain prema-bhakti, which is very rare in this material world. There is no other way. The desires that you have in your mind will be fulfilled very soon when you get the mercy of guru or of such Vaiṣṇavas. Therefore Devakīnandana Dāsa wrote this song glorifying the Vaiṣṇavas.

One question arises:

“Who are our real friends?”

Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā:

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
(Bhagavad Gīta 5.29)

“I am the well-wishing friend of all living entities.”

Kṛṣṇa is very merciful. However, Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Caitanya Mahāprabhu is even more merciful.

Namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 19.53)

Lord Caitanya is the most munificent incarnation because He gives kṛṣṇa-prema, which Kṛṣṇa Himself never gives.

So Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is even more merciful than Kṛṣṇa. But the Gaura-bhaktas, the Vaiṣṇavas, are even more merciful than Gaurāṅga. So they are our real friends.

Humbler Than a Blade of Grass

Sometimes some pride may come and one may think:

“I am a Vaiṣṇava.”

Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura, mahājana, has sung:

‘āmi ta’ vaiṣṇava’   e buddhi ha-ile
amānī nā ha’ba āmi
pratiṣṭāśā āsi’          hṛdaya dūṣibe,
ha-iba niraya-gāmī
(Kalyāṇa-kalpataru Ucchvāsa Prārthanā lālasā-mayī)

If I think that I am a Vaiṣṇava then I shall look forward to receiving respect from others. If the desires for fame and reputation pollute my heart then I shall certainly descend into hell.

The moment the thought:

“I am a Vaiṣṇava,”

Enters your mind is a most dangerous moment. When that thought comes you cannot become amāni, you cannot offer respect to one and all. You will demand respect and thereby run after name, fame and prestige. Then your heart will be polluted. If you keep this thought in your heart you will go to hell.

Therefore Mahāprabhu has taught us:

tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31)

Be humbler than a blade of grass in the street. Be as tolerant as a tree. Don’t demand respect, rather offer respect to one and all. Then you can do hari-bhajana.

Otherwise, if you don’t possess these qualities, you cannot do Hari-bhajana.
This cannot be practiced artificially. It is a natural thing. If you do it artificially it will be hypocrisy. Kṛṣṇa is in your heart. He knows what you are whispering in your heart, what thoughts are there in your mind. You cannot cheat Him.

How many days can you act artificially?

Mahāprabhu teaches this and Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī, one of the dearest devotees of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, says:

“Make a garland of this verse, put it around your neck, and do hari-bhajana.”

Otherwise you are not doing hari-bhajana. Your bhajana will be kevala kaitava, only cheating. This material world is such a dreadful, dangerous, nasty place. Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Gosvāmī Prabhupāda has said:

“This is not at all a fit place for any gentleman to live.”

In such a dangerous situation, who will save us?

The dear devotees of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Ācāryas, are our saviours.

Strong Boat

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states:

nimajjyonmajjatāṁ ghore
bhavābdhau paramāyaṇam
santo brahma-vidaḥ śāntā
naur dṛḍhevāpsu majjatām
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.26.32)

The devotees of the Lord, peacefully fixed in absolute knowledge, are the ultimate shelter for those who are repeatedly rising and falling within the fearful ocean of material life. Such devotees are just like a strong boat that comes to rescue persons who are at the point of drowning.

This material world is known as bhava-sāgara, the dreadful ocean of material existence. We have been drowning here for millions of lives and are in need of a strong boat. That strong boat is the Brahma-Vidaḥ-sādhus, the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. Their pūjā is Vyāsa-pūjā. You have been so kind to me on this day. I cherish the desire in my heart to get mercy from you so that life after life I may have such an opportunity to offer pūjā to such Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. On this day I request you one and all to be merciful on me, please help me, please help me. Unless you help me I will be put into a most dangerous situation. Those who help me will be benefited; they will get the blessings and mercy of the previous Ācāryas, Vaiṣṇavas, Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa. On this day I request you one and all to shower such mercy on me. I don’t deserve all of the things that you have said about me on this day. The glorifications you have offered all belong to these previous Ācāryas. I have no qualification. I am not at all a worthy person to receive such respect. As a servant of the servant of the servant of these gurus I accept it and offer it all to them.

bhavatā mahatā samarpitaṁ na
hi darttuṁ prabhavāmi vaibhavam
ucitaṁ guruve ‘haṁ adya taṁ
suvarākaḥ praṇayāt samarpaye

You are all great personalities. What you are giving I am not qualified to accept. So today I am offering it to my Guru.

Pure Bhakti

One should understand that this material world is:

duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
(Bhagavad-gīta 8.15)

A temporary, illusory world, full of unlimited miseries.

Pade pade vipadāṁ

At every step there is danger. But those who are fortunate enough to have accepted the lotus feet of a Mahad-Guru, a dear devotee of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, are protected. Such Gurus teach how to serve Kṛṣṇa.

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)

When first-class devotional service develops one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kṛṣṇa favourably, as Kṛṣṇa desires.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī teaches what is uttama-bhakti, real bhakti, the best type of bhakti, pure bhakti. The phrase ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanam is most important and significant. In English you say:

“to serve Kṛṣṇa favourably”

But that is not sufficient to understand this verse.

What does it mean to serve Kṛṣṇa favourably?

To serve Kṛṣṇa in such a way that Kṛṣṇa will be pleased. His pleasure is the only requirement in our life. We are:

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 20.18)

As His eternal servants our duty is to render loving service to Kṛṣṇa.

Serving Kṛṣṇa with pure love means without expecting anything in return. If you want something from Kṛṣṇa in return for your service, that is not service. In the words of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja;

na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.10.4)

One who does business with Kṛṣṇa is a merchant, he is not a servant.

This material world is such a dreadful, dangerous place. It puts us in such a situation that by rendering service unto Kṛṣṇa we expect something in return. Consciously or unconsciously most everyone expects something in exchange. But those who have come to Mahāprabhu’s path, this bhakti-patha, path of devotion, they say:

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya 20.29)

O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife or fruitive activities described in flowery language. All I want, life after life, is unmotivated devotional service unto You.

Many people repeat this verse, but it is mere saying only.

“O Lord I don’t want anything from You. I don’t want material wealth or material followers. I don’t want a beautiful woman to enjoy. Even I don’t want liberation. Just life after life I only want to serve You and give You pleasure.”

They say this, but they are only speaking from the lips.

How many are there who really practice this from the core of their hearts? How many don’t expect anything from Kṛṣṇa and only want to render loving service, nothing else?

Vaiṣṇava-mahājana-ācārya sings:

mārobi rākhobi — yo icchā tohārā
nitya-dāsa prati tuyā adhikāra
(Śaraṇāgati Ātma Nivedana 3 Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura)
Slay me or protect me as You wish, for You are the master of Your eternal servant.

O Lord, I am Your eternal servant! I take complete shelter at Your lotus feet. You may do whatever You like.

Mārobi rākhobi

If You want to kill me, kill me, or if You want to protect me, protect me. Whatever You want, You do. You have full right over me.

Nitya-dāsa prati tuyā adhikārā

I am Your eternal servant. I am Yours. I don’t belong to myself. This is bhāva. This is not mere lip-saying. This should come out from the core of the heart. Kṛṣṇa knows your heart.

Favourable Service

Therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī teaches:

Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

Serve Kṛṣṇa in such a way, with such love, that He will be pleased. The mahājanas, ācāryas, have taught us how Kṛṣṇa should be served. As the ideal teacher, Mahāprabhu said:

ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanaṁ
ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā
(Caitanya-manjusa, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura)

Kṛṣṇa, the son of the king of Vrajabhūmi, is the supreme worshipable Deity, and His place Vṛndāvana is the supremely worshipable place. The most pleasing form of worship of the Lord is that which is performed by the gopīs of Vṛndāvana.

This phrase is significant:

Vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā

Mahāprabhu is indicating vraje sā-tanaya Kṛṣṇa, the son of the king of Vraja; Nanda-nandana Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja; Yaśodā-nandana Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā; Mādhurya-maya Kṛṣṇa, who is full of all sweetness; kiśora Kṛṣṇa, ten- or twelve-year-old Kṛṣṇa; Gokuleśvara Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Gokula. He is not Mathureśvara Kṛṣṇa or Dvārakeśvara Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Mathurā or Dwarka; He is Gokuleśvara Kṛṣṇa, Nanda-nandana Kṛṣṇa, Yaśodā-stanan-dhaye, who has sucked the breast of mother Yaśodā. That Kṛṣṇa.

Mahāprabhu teaches that it is this Kṛṣṇa who should be served and worshipped.

Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanaya Kṛṣṇa

And His dear abode Vṛndāvana should be worshipped like Him.

Tad-dhāma vṛndāvanaṁ

Ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā

The gopīs, the damsels of Vrajabhūmi, are rendering the topmost loving service to Kṛṣṇa with pure love. Kṛṣṇa says:

“The gopīs are:

Mad-gata-prāṇā

Their lives are completely devoted to Me.

Gopī-jana-mama

The gopīs are so dear to Me, they have developed such love for Me. I have become so indebted to them that:

Na pāraye

I cannot pay back that debt.”

They expect nothing from Kṛṣṇa. They only want to give Him pleasure. They are prepared to go to hell and suffer there forever if required for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Such is their pure love. This is the deep purport to what Rūpa Gosvāmī has described as:

Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ

We should understand its meaning. It is not sufficient to translate:

Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ

As, “to serve Kṛṣṇa favourably”.

Seven Things

The Ācāryas say that to render pleasing service to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, there are seven things here in this world that one should develop attachment for:

The Guru; Goṣṭha, Vraja dhāma; dhāma-bāsī, the residents of Vrajabhūmi; Vaiṣṇavas; brāhmaṇas; Nāma-kīrtana; and mantras caraṇa, receiving a mantra in disciplic succession. The bona fide guru practically demonstrates this by his own life. He is a servant, Sevaka-Bhagavān. He is a very intimate, very dear associate of Kṛṣṇa.

But there is one danger. If a devotee thinks:

“Oh, I am rendering pleasing service to Kṛṣṇa.”

Then the result will be completely opposite:

Viparīta-phala

You may not consciously want to think this way, but unconsciously it comes. This material sphere is such a dangerous situation. One who thinks or tries to show off that he is a Vaiṣṇava, that he is a devotee engaged in service, he will develop pride, dambha. The Bhagavad-gītā describes pride as a demoniac quality:

dambho darpo ’bhimānaś ca
(Bhagavad gīta 16.4)

Pride is not the quality of a devotee but is the quality of this dreadful, nasty, material world. Therefore Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja has said that this material world is not a fit place for any gentleman to live.

Request to One and All

I am in a very dangerous situation. So on this day I request you to please help me, please help me, please help me.

Baḍa vipanna āmī, tomāra sāhājya darakāra

I am in great trouble and I need your help. If you help me you will be benefited. You will get the blessings and mercy of Kṛṣṇa. So I request you one and all to please shower your mercy on me, year after year, life after life. On this Vyāsa-pūjā day this is my request to you one and all.

There are two things, jaḍa-vidya and para-vidya — material education and spiritual education. We are after spiritual education, the ultimate goal of which is bhakti. In order to get that bhakti we have approached the lotus feet of the previous Ācāryas headed by Vyāsa to offer worship to them. This is Vyāsa-pūjā. My heart is like a desert. It is as hard as a block of stone. So I pray to these merciful previous Ācāryas that they may shower their mercy like incessant rain, kṛpa-bāri, on this desert-like heart.

Without such mercy how can we get bhakti?

Our desert-like heart requires rain. It needs to be moistened by the torrential rains of mercy from the previous Ācāryas headed by Vyāsa. So on this day we beg their mercy. That is the only requirement for this day. Śrīman Mahāprabhu says:

jāṅhāra darśane mukhe āise kṛṣṇa-nāma
tāṅhāre jāniha tumi ‘Vaiṣṇava-pradhāna

A first-class Vaiṣṇava is he whose very presence makes others chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

The topmost Vaiṣṇava is one who simply when seen; the name of Kṛṣṇa automatically comes to one’s lips. On this day, in your association, all of these things have come to me, so I am able to speak all of these things. Therefore, applying Mahāprabhu’s formula, I say that you are topmost Vaiṣṇavas. Therefore I beg mercy from you. I am in such a dangerous situation. Please constantly shower your mercy on me. You are so merciful that you have given me the opportunity today to offer worship to the previous Ācāryas headed by Vyāsadeva, Vyāsa-pūjā. This is my service unto you. I am your servant. Please keep me in such service to you constantly. Don’t make me devoid of this service. This is my request to you one and all on this Vyāsa-pūjā day.

Simplicity

Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja said:

“Simplicity is Vaiṣṇavism.”

One who is simple by nature is a natural Vaiṣṇava. It is better to be in one of the lakhs and lakhs of species of life other than human, such as birds, beasts, aquatics, worms, insects and animals, than upon getting this human body to allow crookedness and duplicity, kāpaṭya, to enter your heart. This is a most dangerous thing. If you allow this duplicity, crookedness, or pretentiousness to enter into your heart, you cannot serve Kṛṣṇa. You will be a hypocrite. So on this day I beg your mercy and blessings, to let me not become a hypocrite. I beg this mercy of you Vaiṣṇavas. I am in a very, very dangerous situation. Please help me, please help me.

We have sung this song by Devakīnandana Dāsa:

Vaiṣṇavera-kṛpā tāṅra siddhi

The mercy of a true Vaiṣṇava will give you all sorts of perfection. We have been given this rarely achieved human life:

durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.1)

The only thing required is the mercy of these Vaiṣṇavas, dear devotees of Kṛṣṇa and Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. Otherwise we cannot make our lives successful.

Sādhu-saṅga

Therefore, in all śāstras it has repeatedly been said:

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 22.54)

The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.

Association with sadhus is the only requirement. This was the prayer offered unto Lord Hari by the Pracetā brothers:

tulayāma lavenāpi
na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya
martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31)

We are the residents of this martya-bhūmi, this earth planet where there is birth and death. The only blessing and boon required here is Bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya.

The association of Bhagavat-saṅgi, the dear devotees of the Lord, is the only thing required in our life. That will give us the supreme perfection. So on this day I request you all to please shower your blessings unto me that I will get association of sadhus always, throughout this life, and life after life. This is my only prayer unto you.

Thank you very much.



  • Purandar Acharya le gusta esto.
  • Rama Kānta Dāsa One question arises: 

    “Who are our real friends?” 


    Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā: 

    suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
    (Bhagavad Gīta 5.29)

    “I am the well-wishing friend of all living entities.”

    Kṛṣṇa is very merciful. However, Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Caitanya Mahāprabhu is even more merciful. 

    Namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te 
    (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 19.53)

    Lord Caitanya is the most munificent incarnation because He gives kṛṣṇa-prema, which Kṛṣṇa Himself never gives.

    So Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is even more merciful than Kṛṣṇa. But the Gaura-bhaktas, the Vaiṣṇavas, are even more merciful than Gaurāṅga. So they are our real friends.

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