Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Radhastami Celebration at Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata

Radhastami, appearance day of Srimati Radharani, was celebrated at Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata on 23^rd September 2023. On this auspicious occasion, Abhishek of Srimati Radharani was also performed. This was the first time that Abhishek of Srimati Radharani was performed on Radhastami day at Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata.

Sri Sri Radha Raman, Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga and Srila Prabhupada were beautifully dressed and decorated on this auspicious occasion.  

Large number of devotees had assembled in the temple hall since morning to celebrate the divine appearance of Srimati Radharani.  

Radhastami class by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu

Devotees were fortunate to get the association of HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu who gave a special Radhastami class. He spoke on Radhikastakam which is part of Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami’s book Govinda Lilamrta. The song name is Kunkumakta Kancanabja.

During the class, devotees sang a stanza of Radhikastakam and then HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu elaborately described its meaning. For about two hours, devotees were completely absorbed in hearing the different transcendental qualities of Srimati Radharani who is an eternal consort of Lord Krishna.

Radhastami abhishek

Meanwhile devotees were also making preparation for the grand abhishek of Sri Sri Radha Raman.  Abhishek i.e. the bathing ceremony of the divine couple was performed in the temple hall.

Following items were used during the abhishek:

• Til paste
• Pancagavya – milk, curd, ghee, gomoy (cow dung), gomutra (cow urine)
• Pancamrita – milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar candy water
• Kusa udaka
• Rose water
• Kesar water
• Fruit juices like mango juice, watermelon juice and pomegranate juice
• Sugarcane juice
• Dhuli snana (It comprises of rice powder, banana powder, urad dal powder and Kumkum (vermilion))
• Warm water
• Sarvausadhi
• Mahausadhi
• Ratnodaka
• Coconut water
• Phalodhak,
• Puspodhak
• Sahastradhara bath
• Colourful Flowers

Temple hall was filled with devotees and there were many devotees who were standing outside because of want of space to see the abhishek. Melodious kirtan accompanied the abhishek and everyone joyful participated in singing the holy names of Radha and Krishna.

Bhoga and Arati of Radha and Krishna

After abhishek, Sri Sri Radha Raman was beautifully dressed and placed on the altar. Once the Lord came on the altar, bhoga was offered to them. Devotees since morning were preparing various delicious items which were offered to the divine couple.  After offering food, arati was performed.

On the Radhastami day, devotees fast till noon. Many devotees were fasting and they broke the fast by taking carnamrita. Delicious prasadam were there for all and everyone reverentially honoured it and felt satisfied.  

Evening Radhastami class by HH Subhag Swami Maharaj

Celebration continued throughout the day. In the evening devotees were blessed to get the association of HH Subhag Swami Maharaj. Maharaj is well recognized for his wonderful Krishna Conscious classes. He speaks so convincingly quoting different scriptures that it captivates the audience.

Devotees after hearing his classes feels motivated to practice devotion to Krishna with more sincerity. And those who have still not begun practicing Krishna Consciousness feels inspired to start practicing it.

In the class, Maharaj explained that Radharani’s body is spiritual and not material like us. Her body is sat-cit-ananda i.e. eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. He asked if anyone had seen a picture of Radharani where she is old or a picture of Krishna in which he is seen as an old person? The answer is no because their body is spiritual and not material like us.

Maharaj further explained that in this world, men are attracted to women and women are attracted to men. This is the cause of bondage and suffering. And this attraction for opposite sex does not end with age. Even old people are attracted to opposite sex. He explained it with this example.

Attraction for opposite sex does not go by age

Once Akbar said to Birbal that as a person grows old, he gives up his attraction for opposite sex. Birbal disagreed. He asked the king to accompany him to an old man’s house who was on the verge of death. But he said to the king to take his young daughter also with him. So, the king went with Birbal and his daughter to the old man’s house. Akbar, Birbal and other’s who were present in the room stood at one side of the bed and the daughter of the king stood on the other side of the bed. To his surprise, the king found that the old man was again and again looking towards the young girl.

So, Maharaj said that we have to give up this attraction which binds us in this material world. One who is able to give up this mundane attraction becomes qualified to return back to the spiritual world.

Wonderful day to remember Srimati Radharani

It was a wonderful day for all. Throughout the day devotees remained completely absorbed in meditating on the wonderful qualities of Radharani and her wonderful pastimes with Lord Krishna. Radharani is Krishna’s eternal consort. She is the topmost devotee of Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “Even though many devotees always think of Kṛṣṇa, none can surpass the gopīs, among whom Rādhārāṇī is the leader in thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī’s Kṛṣṇa consciousness surpasses that of all other devotees. Lord Caitanya accepted the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to understand Kṛṣṇa; therefore He was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa in the same way as Rādhārāṇī.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 3.81

Prayer to Radharani on Radhastami

On the auspicious day of Radhastami, devotees prayed at the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani so that they always remain attached to her lotus feet and the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Srimati Radharani is our eternal mother, she is full of compassion. It is our desire for sense gratification that is binding us to this material world and material body.

As long as our consciousness is material and as long as we do sense gratification, we will remain miserable. But many times, in spite of knowing that sense gratification makes us miserable, we are not able to give it up because of past bad habits. Our condition is akin to drug addicts who continue to take drugs in spite of knowing that it causes immense suffering.

So, we should pray to Srimati Radharani to purify our heart, our mind and our consciousness that we give up all the desires for sense gratification. And we should simultaneously pray to her to fill our heart and mind with the desire to always serve her and Krishna eternally.

Vyasa Puja offering to Srila Prabhupada on his 127th Appearance Day

Dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your transcendental lotus feet.

This year the entire world is celebrating your 127^th Vyasa Puja, dear Srila Prabhupada. And rightly so because you have made an extraordiary impact on every devotees life. In their 127th Vyasa Puja offering to you Srila Prabhupada Your disciples, sannyasis, senior devotees have spoken in detail about your transcendental qualities and how you have transformed the lives of so many people.

As a pure devotee of Krishna, you are full of transcendental qualities, and we can learn so many lessons from your life. 

Clarity about the goal

One of your greatest qualities, dear Srila Prabhupada, was that you had complete clarity about your life’s goal.  Your life’s mission was to fulfil the instructions of your spiritual master. His instruction to you was to flood the world with Krishna Consciousness and make every citizen of this world a devotee of Krishna.

And without worrying about success or failure, you dedicated your entire life in spreading Krishna Consciousness.

You worked hard enthusiastically and had complete faith in the orders of your guru. With patience and determination, you kept on pursuing your mission. And again and again you prayed to the Lord that he bestows his mercy on the suffering souls.

Also, you knew that only by the causeless mercy of Krishna, you will succeed in your mission of spreading the glories of Krishna all over the world.

“Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure. I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts, they will certainly feel engladdened and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life. I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as You like.” Mārkine Bhāgavata-dharma

The most important reason why you made this the mission of your life is because you had great compassion in your heart. Your heart could not tolerate seeing the plight of the suffering souls.

As Prahlada you wanted to deliver all the people of this world who are caught up in this repeated cycle of birth and death.  

In this world everyone suffers – some know about this, and some do not know about this.

Why we suffer here?

We suffer only because our consciousness is material, and we are convinced that by trying to enjoy this material world by our senses, we will experience happiness and will succeed in solving all our problems. 

Just like a drug addict believes that taking another dose of drug will give him a kick or relieve him from the pain which he is undergoing, similarly, we think that another dose of sense enjoyment will give us a kick and relief from different sufferings.

As long as we have this mindset, we will never experience happiness in our life.

But unfortunately, almost everyone is mad after sense enjoyment. It does not matter whether one believes in God or does not believe in God, everyone is looking for carnal pleasure.

An atheist tries to enjoy this world by keeping God aside. Whereas a theist tries to enjoy this world by seeking God’s help. So, we see people thronging temples to pray to the Lord to fulfill their wishes. They are ready to go anywhere where they think their material desires can be fulfilled.

They stand in front of different demigods requesting them to give in to their demands. Not just that if such people come to know about some baba who gives benedictions which works then they go there too.

But in spite of all this endeavor, we see that we continue to suffer. Sometimes we get temporary relief from suffering but soon some new suffering pops up. And our mind always remains in constant anxiety.

And honestly speaking no one knows how to get complete relief from all the sufferings.

But you gave us a process following which we can lead a life free from all sufferings.

Why we always remain disturbed?

Your message has totally revolutionized the thought process of the people. Before reading your books or hearing your lectures, we did not even know that we were suffering. And even if we knew we are suffering, we did not know the solution for our suffering.

You made us understand that things of this material world do not have the potential to give us lasting happiness.  Why? Because we are not material beings, but we are spiritual beings. We are spirit souls sitting within our material body or we can say that we are spirit souls bound within this material body.

True, this material body needs care. Just like the driver of a car takes care of the car but he is aware that he is not the car. Similarly, we the drivers of this material body should nicely take care of this body understanding that we are not this body.

As spiritual beings our needs, wants and desires are best taken care spiritually and not materially. But if we continue seeking pleasure from this world then we will always remain dissatisfied. All this wrong understanding which we have developed should be give up.

How anything material makes us miserable?

We are spirit souls and if we want to be happy then we should understand that this world is not going to give us any pleasure. Things are not going to give us pleasure. Material relationships are not going to give us any pleasure. Because they come and go.

People whom we love may leave us and go.  And we just helplessly watch. Sometimes death may take them away from us and sometimes they do not want to be with us anymore.

Parents spend most important period of their life in taking care of their children. But when the children grow, they leave the parents.

A husband may love his wife, but the wife may decide to leave the husband to be with someone else. Or vice versa.

People find solace in money. But they always remain in anxiety of losing the money. People who are rich or famous are always fearful of losing their fame. A person in a high position is always fearful of people around him because at any moment they may rebel and take away his position.

So, no matter how best we try, as long as we think that this world is going to give us pleasure we will remain in pain.

So, what is the solution?  The solution is to understand who we are and accordingly we should act. We need to redirect our life’s goal from material to spiritual. As souls, our needs are spiritual and not material.

How to be happy in this world too?

You taught us that as souls, we belong to Krishna.  When we water the roots of a tree then everything associated with the tree – leaves, flowers, fruits, twigs, stem – get nourished. Similarly, when we serve Krishna, the root of the entire creation, then we as the parts and parcels of Krishna also feel completely satisfied.

With all our senses and mind, we should continuously render service to Krishna. Our life should be so planned that everything we do should be centered around Krishna.

We should live for Krishna, work for Krishna and be ready to die for Krishna. Sorry, we actually never die. But we just change our bodies. And in this world based on our karma we are given different bodies.

Its not that we have to continue to be in this material world. We can even go back to the spiritual world and live with Krishna forever.  And if we completely dedicate our life to Krishna then even in this world we do not suffer. We can be happy here by constantly serving Krishna.

On your 127^th Vyasa Puja, I beg Srila Prabhupada for your mercy so that I can give up all material attachments and develop attachment to your lotus feet and your divine instructions.

Your eternal servant

Purushottam Nitai Das

What to pray to Lord Krishna on this auspicious day of Janmashtami?

On this special day of Janmashtami, people pray to Krishna so that their life becomes auspicious. Many of us pray to Krishna asking him to fulfil our material desires. We think that once Krishna sanctions our material wishes then we will be able to live happily.  

And what are our desires? We want a beautiful house to live, sufficient money in the bank account so that we feel financial security, loving and helping spouse, obedient children, happy family members. And also, good health so that we can enjoy all this.

Everyone’s material needs are taken care.

But for all these material desires, is it so important to go to Krishna? If we look around us, we will find that those who are not worshipping Krishna also has all these. Not just that even atheist or those who dislike Krishna has lots of material facilities. When we read scriptures, we find that all the demons were rich, powerful and had good family.

Ravana’s Lanka was made of gold and his wife Mandodari was extremely beautiful and chaste. Not just that Ravana had many other beautiful wives. Similarly, Kamsa was very powerful, had complete control on his kingdom and his wives were beautiful and chaste.

In present times also there are people who speak bad about the Lord but still they are not being deprived of any material necessities. What to speak of humans, even animals have the facility to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst.

Scriptures say that in this world we do not plan for suffering but still suffering comes. Similarly, even if we do not plan for good fortune, still good fortune will come if its there in our karma.

So, now the question is if Krishna is providing everything required for living in this world, then why should we ask it from Krishna?  

What pure devotees pray to Krishna?

If we read the lives of great devotees, we find that they did not ask anything from the Lord so that they can live happily in this world.

After hearing Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna completely understood that Krishna is the Supreme Lord. But we never find Arjuna praying to Krishna to make him victorious in the war and help him in getting the kingdom. Uddhava never prayed to Krishna for anything material. When the demon, Hiranyakasipu, was torturing Prahlada then Prahlada did not pray to the Lord to kill the demon and protect him.

What did they ask from Krishna?

Arjuna said to the Lord that I will act as per your wishes – kariṣye vacanaṁ tava, Bhagavad Gita 18.73.

Uddhava desired to become a blade of grass in Vrindavan so that he can smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of the gopis.

And Prahlada boldly said to Lord Narasimhadeva, “I do not want anything from you, my Lord. Also I do not care whether I am in hell or heaven because wherever I am, I will always remember you and chant your names.”

So, we see that all these devotees while worshipping Krishna, while praying to Krishna, while chanting the names of Krishna never wanted anything of this world from Krishna for their personal enjoyment. But they always wanted to serve Krishna and be always with Krishna. Suffice to say that they wanted only Krishna in their life.

3 questions we should ask ourselves

• Are we convinced that nothing in this world can give us happiness?
• Have we realized that the more material desires we have the more miserable we become?
• And does our heart always desire to have Krishna in our heart?

For most of us the answer to the above three questions will be in negative. For me its in negative.

And this is the reason that still you and me are suffering in this world.

If we develop the desires like the pure devotees, then we will never be miserable in this world. But if we carry material desires in our heart then we will never feel satisfaction and joy in our heart.

Can anyone or anything make us happy here?

In this world everything is flickering – power, position, wealth, health and relationships. We always look for loving reciprocation from others. But we find that sometimes people reciprocate with our feelings and sometimes do not.

Sometimes people like us, sometimes dislike us. Sometimes people love us, sometimes hate us. Sometimes people appreciate us, sometimes ignore us. This is how all the relationships are there in this world. Why to think others are being unfair to us. Others may also think that we have been unfair to them. And it could be possible too. Because we are minute, and we may not be able to please everyone. 

So, in this world neither anyone can make us happy, nor we can make others happy.

But it is only Krishna who can always reciprocate with our desires and satisfy our hearts always. Krishna is always there with us. He never leaves us. In rasa lila pastime of Krishna, we see that Krishna was simultaneously present with all the gopis and each of the gopis experienced great bliss.

Similarly, each of the cowherd friends (gopas) always felt that Krishna is always with them and they enjoyed every moment of their life.

What to pray to Krishna this Janmashtami?

This Janmashtami, let us offer following prayers to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

1. Let us pray to Krishna this Janmashtami that we give up all our material attachment and do our best to develop attachment with Krishna.
2. Let us pray to Krishna to purify our consciousness so that we are always conscious of Krishna.
3. Let us pray to Krishna to give us intelligence so that we stop looking for bliss in material accomplishments or material relationships but should seek bliss in doing something for Krishna and developing relationship with Krishna.
4. Let us pray to Krishna to give us determination so that we stop serving our mind and senses but start serving Krisna wholeheartedly.
5. Let us pray to Krishna to give us spiritual strength so that we utilize all our talent and skill in serving Krishna.
6. Let us pray to Krishna on this wonderful day of Janmashtami to bless us so that we use every moment of our life in serving Krishna.

Nothing in this world belong to us. Even our body does not belong to us, so we should always be prepared to give up everything material.

But we should never be prepared to give up anything related to Krishna.

Our relationship with Krisna is eternal. Our devotion to Krishna is eternal. We do not belong to this world, but we belong to Krishna.

On this wonderful day of Janmashtami, let us repeat this beautiful prayer composed by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura.

marobi rakhobi-jo iccha tohara/nitya-dasa prati tuwa adhikara – Slay me or protect me as You wish, for You are the master of Your eternal servant.

Top ISRO scientists’ faith in God reaffirms that science & spirituality can always coexist

Top scientists from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) demonstrated great faith in God. Before Chandrayaan 3 mission they visited temple with the model of Chandrayan 3 to seek blessings from the Lord and prayed to the Lord for the success of the mission. In fact, the entire country was praying along with the ISRO scientists.

And when Chandrayaan 3 successfully soft landed on moon then it made all of us proud. It is in fact a great achievement. India is only the 4^th country in the world to achieve this feat.  There is no doubt that in past decades there have been significant developments in science and technology. Not just moon, man has been able to send spacecraft to Mars and recently India launched a spacecraft to study the sun. 

The Intelligent Designer

Since the dawn of creation, the universe with its complexity, enormity and variegatedness has intrigued mankind. Many great scientists dedicated their lives to understand the universe. And while doing so, many of them also began appreciating the intelligence and craftsmanship of the creator who designed this perfect world.  

Just like when we see a beautiful painting, we immediately inquire about the person who painted it. Or when we read a heart touching poem, we appreciate the poet who wrote it in such a beautiful way.  Similarly, this beautiful world where you and I live is created by the Supreme Lord.

The beauty which we see, the variegatedness which we relish and the enormity which bewilders us is only because the Supreme Lord has impregnated this world with his potency.

Krishna says to Arjuna, “O son of Kuntī, I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable oṁ in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man. I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.”  Bhagavad Gita 7.8-9

Prominent scientist about the role of God

Just like the Lord has given us the eyes to admire the beauty of this world, similarly he also gives ability to mankind to understand this world.  And many scientists humbly accept this.

Sir Isaac Newton wrote in Principia, “This most beautiful system of sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” This clearly shows that Newton had great faith in God.

ISRO scientists too showed faith in God. Even after the success of the mission they went to temple to thank the Lord. Many questioned them that how being a scientist they can have faith in God.

ISRO chief S Somanath talks about his belief in God

When asked why as a scientist you are visiting temples & showing your faith in God, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath said to news agency ANI, “I am an explorer. I explore the Moon. I explore the inner space. So it’s a part of the journey of my life to explore both science and spirituality. So I visit many temples and I read many scriptures. So try to find the meaning of our existence and our journey in this cosmos. So it’s a part of the culture that we are all built to explore, find out the inner self as well as outer self. So for the outer, I do science, for the inner I come to temples.“

Science and spirituality are not against each other. Some people try to propagate a false narrative that if you are a student of science then you cannot accept God. But when we read the life of great scientists, we find that they did not just accept the existence of God but they also accepted that it is only because of the grace of God that they have been able to achieve something incredible.  They believed in God and also had faith in God.

I like one of the statements of Louis Paster, French chemist and microbiologist. He says, “Too little science leads away from God, while too much science leads back to Him.“

So, we should also think like a scientist and try to see how the Lord created this world. And along with that we should also try to explore our inner world.  As ISRO chief, S Somanath, said that he is trying to find meaning of existence, similarly, we should try to understand who we are, why we are in this world, and how this world functions.

The Two Worlds

In Bhagavad Gita 10.8, Krishna says, “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.”

And he also talks elaborately about another world, which is different from this world in many aspects. Bhagavad Gita 8.20, Bhagavad Gita 15.6.

“Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.”  Bhagavad Gita 8.20

“That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.” Bhagavad Gita 15.6

This world although is incredible but is plagued with a perennial problem – it is temporary and not very pleasing. Why? Because here everyone has to suffer.

Some of us may think that those who are rich or famous or powerful are happy here. But the truth is that everyone suffers. Yes, the level of suffering may be different. A beggar may suffer because of hunger whilst a rich man may always be in anxiety of losing his hard-earned wealth. He may have money to eat palatable food but may not have the time or health to eat such food. And most importantly, whether one is rich or poor, young or old, no one wants to die but everyone is forced to die.

But the other world i.e. the spiritual world which Krishna talks about is not temporary and also does not give pain to those who live there. And most importantly no one dies there and always remain happy there.

We have a choice to choose the world

So, there are two different worlds for us to live. Spiritual world and material world. And we always have a choice to choose our world. But Krishna and his pure devotees desperately want us to be in the kingdom of Krishna. Just like a father wants his children to be at home.

Similarly, Krishna, our eternal father, wants us to be at home.  Even his pure devotees come with the same message. Srila Prabhupada was in fact beseeching the people of this world to take up spiritual life seriously and return back to the kingdom of God. 

Prabhupada was a Vedic scholar and had great admiration for scholars, thinkers and scientists. Because he knew that whatever great anyone is able to achieve is only because of the grace of the Supreme Lord.

However, he was always of the opinion that the purpose of human life is to purify one’s existence and return back to the spiritual world. Because no matter how talented or gifted we are everything will come to an end one day. And again, we will have to take birth in this world and start everything from zero. Also, we do not know if we will get a human body or non-human body in next life.  

Srila Prabhupada about living on moon

Srila Prabhupada says wherever you go, in this universe life is temporary.  “If we go to live on the moon-assuming it is possible-even with an oxygen mask, how long could we stay? Furthermore, even if we had the opportunity to stay there, what would we gain? We might gain a little longer life perhaps, but we could not live there forever. That is impossible.” Srila Prabhupada, Varieties of Planetary Systems, Easy Journey to Other Planets.

Like the notable scientists, we should have faith in God, faith in holy scriptures and faith in the words of great spiritual teachers. And we should not limit ourselves to exploring the outer world, but we should also explore our inner world and try to understand the meaning and purpose of our life. And then we should decide where we want to be – here or there.

Why Lord Balarama, the Adi Guru, kills Dvivida Gorilla, the notorious ape?

Srimad Bhagavatam, tells the story of an ape named Dvivida Gorilla, who was slayed by Lord Balarama. Dvivida Gorilla was not an ordinary ape. He was an associate of Lord Rama. But unfortunately, he became proud of his immense power and started disrespecting Lakshman.

Dvivida Gorilla disrespects Lakshman, so he falls down  

And since he dishonored Lord Lakshman, so, as a punishment he fell down from his high spiritual position and began associating with demons like Narakasura. And because of such bad association he started behaving in a very abominable way.

When Lord Krishna killed Narakasura who had abducted 16,100 princesses then Dvivida started thinking that Krishna is my enemy because he killed my best friend.

We can see that how his consciousness had got corrupted.  In Treta Yuga he was assisting Lord Rama in his war against Ravana. But now when same Lord Rama as Lord Krishna is performing his pastime in Dvapara Yuga, he is not even able to recognize that he is the same Supreme Lord.

In contrast, we see that when Lord Krishna, while looking for Syamantaka Jewel goes inside a cave where Jambavan was living then soon Jambavan recognizes that Krishna is Lord Rama, the Supreme Lord. So, we can understand that how wrong association corrupts us.

Lord Balarama kills Dvivida Gorilla

Srimad Bhagavatam narrates that how after the death of Narakarsura, Dvivida became extremely angry, and he started creating havoc at many places. He would attack cities and villages, torture people, pollute women, destroy flora and fauna.

Once he saw that in a garden Lord Balaram was enjoying with gopis. Seeing the young girls in the garden, he began misbehaving with them. In fact, he started acting in a vulgar way. This infuriated Balarama.

“Angered, Lord Balarāma, the best of fighters, hurled a rock at him, but the cunning ape dodged the rock and grabbed the Lord’s pot of liquor. Further infuriating Lord Balarāma by laughing and by ridiculing Him, wicked Dvivida then broke the pot and offended the Lord even more by pulling at the girls’ clothing. Thus the powerful ape, puffed up with false pride, continued to insult Śrī Balarāma.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.67.14-15

Lord Balarama also started contemplating that this ape, Dvivida Gorilla, has been creating so many disturbances, so he needs to be punished. And finally, Lord Balarama ended the terror of Dvivida Gorilla by killing him with his bare hands.

“The furious Lord of the Yādavas then threw aside His club and plow and with His bare hands hammered a blow upon Dvivida’s collarbone. The ape collapsed, vomiting blood.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.67.25

Glories of Lord Balarama

We see that Dvivida Gorilla had a glorious past. He was in the company of Lord Rama, Hanuman, Vibhisana, Sugriva but still his end was so bad. It happened only because he dishonored & disrespected Lakshman.

Lord Balarama and Lord Lakshman are the same. Balarama is the first expansion of Krishna and later on all the expansions comes from Lord Balarama. He always assists Krishna in his pastime. Similarly, Lakshman assists Lord Rama in his pastime. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and Balarama, is the Servitor Godhead.

Balarama serves Krishna in following ways.

• When Krishna wants to create this material world, Balarama expands as Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Vishnu (Maha Vishnu), Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu to create the material world.
• He creates the spiritual world by the mercy of Krishna.  “That original Saṅkarṣaṇa [Lord Balarāma] is the cause of both the material and the spiritual creation. He is the predominating Deity of egotism, and by the will of Kṛṣṇa and the power of the spiritual energy, He creates the spiritual world, which consists of the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana and the Vaikuṇṭha planets.”  Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 20.256

• He expands as Krishna’s garments, ornaments, flutes etc to serve Krishna.

• He becomes the bed of Krishna by expanding as Anant Sesa.

• The paraphernalia used in the service of Krishna like mridange, kartal, bells etc are expansion of Lord Balarama.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “According to expert opinion, Balarāma, as the chief of the original quadruple forms, is also the original Saṅkarṣaṇa. Balarāma, the first expansion of Kṛṣṇa, expands Himself in five forms: (1) Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa, (2) Kāraṇābdhiśāyī, (3) Garbhodakaśāyī, (4) Kṣīrodakaśāyī, and (5) Śeṣa. These five plenary portions are responsible for both the spiritual and material cosmic manifestations. In these five forms Lord Balarāma assists Lord Kṛṣṇa in His activities…Śrī Balarāma is the servitor Godhead who serves Lord Kṛṣṇa in all affairs of existence and knowledge.”  Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 5.10

He is always in the mood of serving Krishna. He is the original spiritual master who teaches all the living entities how to serve the Supreme Lord. When the Supreme Lord Krishna appears as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then Lord Balarama appears as Nityananda Prabhu.

Without the mercy of Balarama, we cannot go to the kingdom of Krishna

One of the reasons why Chaitanya Mahaprabhu comes in this world is to take us back to the spiritual world. And to assist him in this glorious mission Lord Nityananda Prabhu also comes. We cannot get entry into the kingdom of God without the sanction of Nityananda Prabhu.

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says,

“brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja”

Translation by Srila Prabhupada

“According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 19.151

So, we can understand that without the mercy of guru, it is not possible to attain the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Balarama is the Adi guru, the original guru, and all the gurus are representative of Balarama.  

Nityananda Prabhu is begging us to return back to the spiritual world

Seeing us suffering, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asks Nityananda Prabhu to go and bring the suffering souls back to him.

And Nityananda Prabhu along with Haridas Thakura immediately takes up the mission of liberating the unfortunate living entities from this ephemeral world. They both knock at the door of each house and as soon as the door opens they fall down on the ground begging them to chant the names of Krishna, so that they can elevate their consciousness and perfect their lives.

We see that more than us he wants us to come back to the spiritual abode.

Without the mercy of Lakshman or Balarama or Nityananda Prabhu it is not possible to live in the spiritual world. We see Dvivida Gorilla was with Lord Rama but he could not continue to be with the Supreme Lord because he disrespected Lakshman. 

And later Balarama who is non different from Lakshman had to crush his pride and arrogance by his mighty club.  Lord Balarama had no choice but to slay Dvivida Gorilla and get the earth rid of the notorious ape.

Lesson we learn from this pastime of Lord Balarama

This is an important lesson for all those who want to practice devotion to Krishna. If we fail to show respect to our spiritual master who is always praying to Krishna for our spiritual elevation then we will also suffer the destiny of Dvivida Gorilla. Just as Lord Balarama had to reluctantly kill Dvivida Gorilla, similarly we may also have a terrible future. Our spiritual master teach us how to take shelter of Balaram and attain love of Krishna.

To advance in our spiritual life, we should always be subservient to our spiritual master and take his guidance and practice devotion to Krishna. The bona fide spiritual master knows how to purify our heart and how to engage us 24 hours a day in the service of Krishna. 

In Bhagavad Gita Krishna also teaches us the importance of serving the spiritual master and taking instruction from him.

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” Bhagavad Gita 4.34

परम पूज्य लोकनाथ स्वामी महाराज का इस्कॉन न्यूटाउन कोलकाता में आगमन

परम पूज्य लोकनाथ स्वामी महाराज ने 5 जून 2023 को इस्कॉन न्यूटाउन कोलकाता का दौरा किया। इस्कॉन न्यूटाउन, कोलकाता के भक्तों ने महाराज का सानिध्य पाकर धन्य महसूस किया। दोपहर करीब 12 बजे महाराज का आगमन हुआ। भक्तों ने हर्षोल्लास के साथ हरे कृष्ण कीर्तन गाकर महाराज का मंदिर में स्वागत किया।

पहुंचने के बाद महाराज ने सबसे पहले श्रील प्रभुपाद को प्रणाम किया और फिर श्री श्री निताई गौरांग की आरती की। वह श्री श्री निताई गौरांग के सुंदर विग्रह को देखकर बहुत प्रसन्न हुए और उन सभी भक्तों को देखकर भी प्रसन्न हुए जो उनके स्वागत के लिए इकट्ठे हुए थे।

उनका सुबह से ही व्यस्त कार्यक्रम था लेकिन फिर भी उन्होंने कोलकाता के इस्कॉन न्यूटाउन मंदिर आने के लिए समय निकाला। हालाँकि मंदिर से उन्हें तुरंत हवाई जहाज पकड़ने के लिए हवाई अड्डे जाना था लेकिन फिर भी उन्होंने भक्तों से कुछ शब्द कहने का फैसला किया। अपने संबोधन में महाराज ने सभी भक्तों को पूरे मन से श्री श्री निताई गौरांग की सेवा करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित किया।

महाराज ने जो कहा वह नीचे दिया गया है:

श्रद्धालुओं को संबोधित करते परमपूज्य लोकनाथ स्वामी महाराज

इस्कॉन ब्यूरो की बैठक में मैंने सुना कि इस्कॉन ने कोलकाता के न्यूटाउन में जमीन ली है। आज मुझे इस प्रोजेक्ट को देखने का अवसर मिला। मैंने नहीं सोचा था कि वह प्रोजेक्ट इतना आगे बढ़ गया है. यह मेरी उम्मीदों से परे है कि इतने सारे भक्त यहां ठहरे हुए हैं। परियोजना का विस्तार हो रहा है.

मायापुर में चैतन्य महाप्रभु के जन्मस्थान पर हम “टेम्पल ऑफ वैदिक प्लैनेटेरियम” (टीओवीपी) बना रहे हैं। कोलकाता श्रील प्रभुपाद का जन्मस्थान है, इसलिए यहां भी कुछ बड़ा होना है। हम कहते रहते हैं कि श्रील प्रभुपाद की सोच हमेशा बड़ी थी। तो ये उस बड़ी सोच का फल है बड़े प्रोजेक्ट के रूप में। 1970 में वो इस तरह के प्रोजेक्ट के बारे में सोच रहे थे.

तो, श्रील प्रभुपाद ने गर्गमुनि को एक पत्र में लिखा कि मैंने आपको गर्गमुनि नाम दिया है, लेकिन चूंकि आप भगवान की सेवा के लिए बड़ा धन इकट्ठा करने में सक्षम हैं, इसलिए आपका नाम गर्ग- मनी होना चाहिए। प्रभुपाद ने उनसे कोलकाता परियोजना के लिए धन की व्यवस्था करने को कहा। जब श्रील प्रभुपाद भारत आए, तो उन्होंने कोलकाता सहित विभिन्न शहरों में हरे कृष्ण उत्सव करना शुरू किया।

ये बीज रूप श्रील प्रभुपाद ने दिये हैं। और मुझे आशा है कि यह हमारे जीवनकाल में ही साकार हो जायेगा। परियोजना को आकार लेना होगा. जिम्मेदारी आप सभी पर है। तैयार रहें। आप यहां पूरी जिंदगी लगे रह सकते हैं। बीज से ही फल आता है और हम उसका स्वाद लेते हैं।

प्रभुपाद ने कृष्णभावनामृत का बीज दिया

प्रभुपाद ने बीज दिया. बीजरोपण हो चुका है. हमें इसे एक विशाल वृक्ष के रूप में देखना होगा जिसमें समय लगेगा। अपने जीवनकाल का सदुपयोग करें. इस परियोजना में अपना जीवनकाल निवेश करें। आसानी से हम कह सकते हैं कि यह श्रील प्रभुपाद का ड्रीम प्रोजेक्ट है। क्या आप तैयार हैं? अगर आप तैयार हैं तो काम हो जायेगा। आप सभी को देखकर खुशी हुई. हमेशा खुश रहे।

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः, वैष्णवों की सोच ऊंची होती है और हमें हमेशा यह सोचना चाहिए कि सभी को खुश, स्वस्थ और समृद्ध कैसे बनाया जाए। श्रील प्रभुपाद को सुनते समय मैंने एक बार सुना था कि हम भगवान को “हरि” कहते हैं जिसका अर्थ है दुख हरने वाला। आगे श्रील प्रभुपाद ने “हरि” भक्त की ओर से कहा कि भक्त सभी के कष्ट दूर कर देते हैं।

श्री श्री निताई गौरांग सभी के कष्ट दूर करने आये हैं

श्री श्री निताई गौरांग पधारे हैं। वे अपनी कृपा से सभी लोगों के कष्ट दूर कर देंगे। दुनिया दुखी है. लोगों के जीवन में शुभता लाने के लिए यह प्रोजेक्ट आएगा। आपसे जो अपेक्षा की जाती है, आपको वही करना चाहिए. चैतन्य महाप्रभु ने कहा कि प्रत्येक घर में जाओ और कहो, बोलो कृष्ण भजो कृष्ण। यह प्रभु की दया से होगा. मुझे पता चला कि कोलकाता में न्यूटाउन है और न्यूटाउन में इस्कॉन है। तो, मैं आ गया और अगर भगवान ने चाहा तो मैं भविष्य में आप सभी के साथ और अधिक समय बिताऊंगा।

महाराज का सानिध्य पाकर भक्त धन्य हो गये

श्रद्धालुओं को संबोधित करने के बाद महाराज ने गौशाला में जाकर गौमाता के दर्शन भी किये। उन्होंने गायों को हरी सब्जियां और फल खिलाए और उन्हें दुलार भी किया. उन्होंने मंदिर का संक्षिप्त भ्रमण भी किया।

मंदिर से हवाई अड्डे के लिए निकलते समय महाराज ने प्रत्येक भक्त के सिर पर अपना दिव्य हाथ रखकर उन्हें आशीर्वाद दिया।

इस्कॉन न्यूटाउन, कोलकाता के भक्त परम पूज्य लोकनाथ स्वामी महाराज का सानिध्य पाकर प्रसन्न थे और उनकी इच्छा थी कि महाराज बार-बार मंदिर आएं और सभी को अपना अमूल्य सानिध्य दें।

परम पूज्य लोकनाथ स्वामी महाराज के बारे में

परम पूज्य लोकनाथ स्वामी महाराज श्रील प्रभुपाद के शिष्य हैं। श्रील प्रभुपाद से उनकी पहली मुलाकात 1971 में क्रॉस मैदान, मुंबई में हुई थी। उन्होंने 1972 में श्रील प्रभुपाद से दीक्षा ली और दिसंबर 1975 में श्रील प्रभुपाद से संन्यास भी ले लिया, जब वह 26 साल के थे।

वह अपने मधुर कीर्तन के लिए पूरी दुनिया में जाने जाते हैं। वह विशेषकर महाराष्ट्र के गांवों में कृष्णभावनामृत का प्रसार करने के लिए भी प्रसिद्ध हैं। श्रील प्रभुपाद के नक्शेकदम पर चलते हुए, उन्होंने कई किताबें लिखी हैं जो लोगों को कृष्णभावनामृत के उदात्त संदेश को समझने में मदद करती हैं।

HH Loknath Swami Maharaj visits Iskcon Newtown Kolkata

HH Loknath Swami Maharaj visited Iskcon Newtown Kolkata on 5^th June 2023. Devotees of Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata felt blessed to get the association of Maharaj. Maharaj arrived at around 12 noon. Devotees welcomed Maharaj to the temple by joyfully singing Hare Krishna kirtan.

After arriving Maharaj first paid obeisances to Srila Prabhupada and then did arati of Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga.  He was very happy seeing the beautiful deity of Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga and was also pleased to see all the devotees who had assembled to welcome him.

He had a busy schedule since morning but still he took out time to come to Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata temple. Although from the temple he had to immediately go to airport to catch a flight but still he decided to speak few words to the devotees. In his address, Maharaj encouraged all the devotes to serve Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga wholeheartedly. 

Below is what Maharaj said:

HH Loknath Swami Maharaj addresses devotees

In Iskcon Bureau meeting I heard that ISKCON has taken land in Newtown, Kolkata. Today I got the opportunity to see the project. I did not think that project have grown so much. It is beyond my expectations that so many devotees are staying here. Project is expanding.

At Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s birthplace in Mayapur we are building Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP). Kolkata is Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace, so here also something big has to come. We keep on saying that Srila Prabhupada’s thinking was always big. So, this is the fruit of that big thinking in form of big project. In 1970, he was thinking of this type of project.

So, Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Gargmuni that I have given you name Gargmuni but since you are able to collect big money for the service of the Lord so your name should be Garg-money. Prabhupada asked him to arrange money for Kolkata project.  When Srila Prabhupada came to India, he started doing Hare Krishna festival in different cities including Kolkata.

Srila Prabhupada has given these seed forms. And I hope that it will be realized in our lifetime. The project has to take shape. The responsibility is upon you all. Get ready. Be prepared. Your full lifetime can be engaged here. From seed only fruit comes, and we taste it.

Prabhupada gave the seed of Krishna Consciousness

Prabhupada gave seed, seed plantation has happened. We have to see in the form of a big tree which will take time. Utilize your lifetime. Invest your lifetime. Easily we can say it’s Srila Prabhupada’s dream project. Are you ready? If you are ready then work will be done. Happy to see you all. Be happy. 

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Vaisnavas have higher thinking and we should always think how to make everyone happy, healthy and prosperous. While hearing Srila Prabhupada I once heard that we call Lord “Hari” which means one who takes away the suffering. Further Srila Prabhupada said on behalf of “Hari” devotee takes away suffering of all. 

Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga has come to take away suffering of all

Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga has come. By Their mercy take away the suffering of all the people. World is miserable. To bring auspiciousness in the life of people this project will come up. What is expected from you, you do. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said go to each house and say, bolo Krishna bhajo Krishna. It will happen by Lord’s mercy.  I came to know there is Newtown in Kolkata and in Newtown there is Iskcon. So, I came and if Lord wishes I will spend more time with you all in future.

Devotees felt blessed to get the association of Maharaj

After addressing the devotees, Maharaj also visited Goshala to see mother cows. He fed green vegetables and fruits to the cows and also caressed them. He also took a short tour of the temple.

While leaving the temple for the airport Maharaj blessed each devotee by putting his transcendental hand on each devotee’s head.

Devotees at Iskcon Newtown, Kolkata were happy to get the association of HH Loknath Swami Maharaj and they wished that Maharaj frequently visits the temple and give his priceless association to all.

About HH Loknath Swami Maharaj

HH Loknath Swami Maharaj is a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. He first met Srila Prabhupada in 1971 at Cross Maidan, Mumbai. He took initiation from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 and also took sannyasa from Srila Prabhupada in December 1975 when he was 26 years old.  

HH Loknath Swami Maharaj is known all over the world for his melodious kirtan. He is also famous for spreading Krishna Consciousness in villages especially in Maharashtra. Following the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada, he has written many books which helps people to understand the sublime message of Krishna Consciousness.  

Desires for sense gratification drive us crazy

Our heart is always filled with the desires for sense gratification and mind keeps on constantly planning how to actualize the desire.

We assume that our senses are subservient to us and it is our duty to provide them what it wants. So, we are always putting in our best efforts to satisfy our gross senses – eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin – and three subtle senses – mind, intelligence and false ego. 

Eyes want to see beautiful forms, ears want to hear different melody, nose wants to smell something nice, tongue is crazy for palatable food and skin long for sensual touch.

Similarly, our subtle senses are mad for gratification. 

And we think that as masters we should give best joy to our senses, and we hope that by doing so we will experience happiness. 

But the reality is that we are not the masters of our senses, but in fact we are under its control. And so, if we refuse to obey our senses then our senses make us go crazy.

Analyse your life and you will find that 24 hours in a day you are busy acting as per the dictate of your senses.

A person lives in vain, if he lives only to satisfy his senses

We think that by gratifying our senses we can be happy in this world. But this is never going to happen. And this is confirmed by none other than Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

He says to Arjuna that those who live only to gratify their senses lead a sinful and unhappy life.  “My dear Arjuna, one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.” Bhagavad Gita 3.16

To lead a peaceful and blissful life, it is imperative that we take charge of our senses.  But it is important to understand that our senses cannot be inert and our heart cannot be without desires.

Currently our heart is impregnated with worldly desires and our senses are busy in fulfilling those desires. And because of this our heart is infested with vices and so, we suffer externally and most importantly internally.

So, to attain freedom from these unwanted sufferings, we need to have proper desires and the senses need good engagement.

Pain producing material desires

Just as a jasmine flower cannot give up its fragrance, similarly we the living entities cannot give up desires. So, we need to carefully analyse the desires which gives pleasure, and which produces pain. Engaging the senses to satisfy material desires rarely give any pleasure. 

And the dollops of happiness, we experience in this world by material means is always accompanied with the anxiety of losing it at any moment.

So, the wise men of the yore always advised against being bogged by pain producing material desires. Instead, they advised us to blossom our heart with spiritual desires which produces pleasures which are uncontaminated and unlimited and not ephemeral.

Krishna appeared to teach us the futility of material desires

Krishna personally appeared as Lord Chaitanya to teach us the necessity of giving up material desires and to pursue spiritual desires with determination.  He educated us by his own example. Lord Chaitanya was earlier known as Nimai and was recognized as a great scholar.

He had a very dedicated and beautiful wife and an extremely loving mother, but he gave up these worldly pleasures voluntarily. Instead, he donned a sanyasi robe at a young age to teach the world how to perfect once human life by sincerely engaging in Krishna Consciousness.   

His two foremost disciples, Rupa Goswami and Santana Goswami, too gave up wealth, power and position and engaged 24hrs in a day in Krishna Consciousness.

Similarly, Srila Prabhupada dedicated his life in fulfilling the desire of his spiritual master.  His spiritual master wanted him to broadcast the teachings of Lord Chaitanya all over the world. And Srila Prabhupada accomplished it with flying colours. His journey wasn’t smooth, but he bravely fought all the obstacles with grit and with faith in Krishna’s protection.

As of now we think that how can we be happy if we give up our material desires because we do not have experience of being happy by being spiritual. But at least we have the experience that worldly desires never satiate our heart.

Blossoming the heart with higher spiritual desires

And we see that pure devotees always remain blissful by just carrying the desire to always serve the desire of Krishna in their heart.

Replacing lower material desires become ultra simple if we replace it with bliss producing higher spiritual desires. Even Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that lower taste can be given up only by higher taste and once taste for spiritual life fructifies in our heart, we will lose all our attraction for worldly desires.  

In this world one of the greatest desires is the desire to enjoy with the opposite sex. But even this can be given up easily if our heart gets attached to the lotus feet of Krishna.

There is a story of Dhanurdasa who was very attracted to the eyes of a lady. He would continuously look into her eyes thinking that this is the most beautiful creation in this world.  

Once Sri Ramanujacharya felt pity on him and showed him the eyes of Lord Ranganatha.

Dhanurdasa was wonderstruck. He got so mesmerized seeing the lotus like eyes of the beautiful Lord that he lost all attraction for the mundane eyes of the mortal lady.

Yamunacharya says candidly, “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.”

Tolerating material desires

So, for our own good, we should focus on cultivating spiritual desires. But while doing so, we will be troubled by material desires. Unless we become completely purified, such lower desires will keep on knocking at our heart again and again. But we should not succumb to it.

Krishna advises in Bhagavad Gita 2.70 that just like ocean remains undisturbed by the incessant flow of rivers similarly we should not get agitated by the worldly desires which arise in our heart. We should neglect it and not act upon it. If we do so we will be peaceful.

Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.22 says that if we make plans with determination then we will be able to ultimately give up lusty desires for sense gratification. And simultaneously, we should make plan to flood our heart with Krishna Conscious desires. In fact, just the desire to serve Krishna will fill our heart with joy.

Krishna says, “A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego – he alone can attain real peace.” Bhagavad Gita 2.71

Purifying the senses by giving it blissful engagement

Now it is not just important to have the right desires, but we should also engage our senses in fulfilling those desires. If we study the life of pure devotees, we will see that their desire to serve the Lord did not remain dormant in their heart. But they worked tirelessly to serve the desire of the Lord.

For e.g. Hanuman was always busy in serving the wishes of Lord Rama to the best of his ability. And we know that Hanuman has humongous ability.  So, he did so many wonderful things for Lord Rama.

Rupa Goswami & Sanatana Goswami’s exemplary devotional service

Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami were so busy in their devotional service that they hardly slept or ate.

They would be thoroughly occupied in writing transcendental books to glorify Krishna and the great fortune of the devotees who take shelter of Krishna. They revealed those glorious places in Vrindavan where Krishna performed his memorable pastimes. 

The two brothers also constructed gorgeous temples and installed beautiful deities for the people to come and relish the nectar of devotional life.  And the two brothers who were personally instructed by Lord Chaitanya spent every moment of the day in inspiring people to practice devotion to Krishna.  

Srila Prabhupada – the global spiritual warrior

Following the footsteps of Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami, Srila Prabhupada too dedicated his life in widely distributing the transcendental message of Krishna and Chaitanya all over the world. He too built magnificent temples in different cities of the world, introduced the famous Rath Yatra festival outside India and wrote scores of transcendental literatures.

Like these liberated souls, we the conditioned souls should also not be idle but engage each of our senses in worshipping and serving the Lord. If we do so, we will be able to give up all desires for sense gratification and will always be engaged in the service of the Lord.

When toxic desires leave our heart, we feel great joy

And while doing so our heart will get cleansed of impurities like lust, anger and greed which is described as gateway to hell by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita.  Just like when toxins get removed from our body, we feel light and healthy.

Similarly, as the toxic desires will get flushed out from the heart and the senses will stop craving for those, we will start feeling light, healthy, peaceful and happy.  Once we free our heart of the desires for sense gratification, we will continuously experience great joy.

In that purified state, our eyes will enjoy seeing beautiful form of the Lord, ear in hearing the glories of the Lord, mouth in chanting the names of Lord, hands and legs in actively working for the Lord.

Experiencing the nectar of pure love of Krishna

Rupa Goswami shares his joy which he experiences while engaging his senses in chanting the names of Krishna in these beautiful words.

“I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Kṛṣ-ṇa’ have produced. When the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 1.99

If we engage our senses in Krishna Consciousness, we will slowly begin realizing that if senses are pursuing material desires, we become miserable, but if senses are busy in the service of Krishna, then we feel contented and happy.

And a day will come when by the grace of Krishna, we will be able to give up all desires for sense gratification and attain freedom from all miseries.  Heart will no longer carry the burden of material desires and even if any worldly desire knocks at our heart, we will just ignore it.

By engaging the senses in always serving the lotus feet of the Lord, which is compared to wish fulfilling tree, we will taste the nectar of love of Krishna and will remain eternally happy.

भगवान चैतन्य महाप्रभु के 12 अद्भुत नाम जो शुभ फल प्रदान करते हैं

श्री कृष्ण-चैतन्य-द्वादस-नाम-स्तोत्रम में, सार्वभौम भट्टाचार्य भगवान चैतन्य महाप्रभु के 12 महत्वपूर्ण नाम लिखते हैं। वे आगे कहते हैं कि चैतन्य के इन गौरवशाली नामों का प्रतिदिन जप करने से जीवन में शुभता आती है।

भगवान चैतन्य महाप्रभु के बारह प्रमुख नाम

(1) चैतन्यः कृष्ण-चैतन्यो गौरंगो द्विज-नायकः

यतिनम दंडिनम चैव न्यासीनम च सिरोमणिः

(2) रक्तांबर-धारः श्रीमन नवद्वीप-सुधाकरः

प्रेम-भक्ति-प्रदस चैव श्री-सचि-नंदनस तथा।

सार्वभौम भट्टाचार्य द्वारा श्री कृष्ण-चैतन्य-द्वादस-नाम-स्तोत्रम

भगवान चैतन्य के 12 नामों में से प्रत्येक का अर्थ इस प्रकार है

• चैतन्य – जीवित शक्ति
• कृष्ण-चैतन्य – सर्व-आकर्षक परम जीवित शक्ति
• गौरांग – वह गोरा शारीरिक रंग का
• द्विज-नायक – द्विज ब्राह्मणों में नायक
• यतिनाम सिरोमणि – सन्यासियों का शिखा रत्न (जो स्वतंत्र रूप से घूमते हैं)
• दंडिनम सिरोमणि – सन्यासियों का शिखा रत्न (जो डंडा ले जाते हैं)
• न्यासीनम शिरोमणि – सन्यासियों का शिखा रत्न (जो सब कुछ त्याग देते हैं)।
• रक्तांबर-धारा – वह जो लाल वस्त्र धारण करता है
• श्रीमन् – परम वैभवशाली
• नवद्वीप-सुधाकर – नवद्वीप में अमृत का स्रोत
• प्रेम-भक्ति-प्रद – परमानंद प्रेमपूर्ण भक्ति का दाता
• श्री-सची-नंदना – माँ शची के रमणीय पुत्र।

जो भगवान के इन बारह पवित्र नामों को दिन में तीन बार (सुबह, दोपहर और शाम को) पढेगा, वह अपने जीवन में पूर्णता प्राप्त करेगा और निश्चित रूप से भगवान चैतन्य के चरण कमलों की शुद्ध भक्ति प्राप्त करेगा जो परम है और सभी जीवों का आश्रय है।

धार्मिक सिद्धांतों को फिर से स्थापित किया

भगवान कृष्ण द्वारा इस नश्वर दुनिया में अपनी लीला पूरी करने और अपने शाश्वत संसार के लिए प्रस्थान करने के बाद, धार्मिक सिद्धांतों का पतन होने लगा। वास्तव में, चैतन्य महाप्रभु के आगमन से पहले, लगभग कोई धर्म नहीं था क्योंकि कोई भी शास्त्रों का पालन नहीं कर रहा था। वस्तुतः लोग शास्त्रों के प्रयोजन को ही भूल चुके थे। शास्त्रों की कोई चर्चा नहीं होती थी और मुश्किल से ही कोई कृष्ण के नामों का जाप करता था।

यदि कोई कृष्ण के नाम का जप करता था तो आम धारणा थी कि ऐसे लोग या तो मूर्ख हैं या गरीबी के कारण भूखे हैं इसलिए लाचारी से भगवान का नाम ले रहे हैं। चैतन्य महाप्रभु ने धार्मिक सिद्धांतों की पुनः स्थापना की।

उनकी गहन शिक्षाओं ने धर्म के संबंध में लोगों की सभी भ्रांतियों को दूर कर दिया। और धर्म के नाम पर लोगों को गुमराह करने वाले धर्मगुरुओं का पर्दाफाश हुआ और उनकी हार हुई।

जिंदा लाश से जिंदादिल भक्त

चैतन्य का अर्थ है जीवित शक्ति। उनकी शिक्षाओं के कारण लोगों ने भौतिक जीवन की निरर्थकता को समझा और कष्टदायक भौतिक जीवन को त्याग दिया और खुशी खुशी कृष्णभावनाभावित जीवन जीने लगे।

भौतिक जीवन कोई जीवन नहीं है क्योंकि ईश्वर जीवन का केंद्र नहीं है, इसलिए यह दुख से भरा है। यदि हम यह समझने में विफल रहते हैं कि हम ईश्वर के अंश हैं तो हम पत्थर की तरह मृत  हैं। जैसे पत्थर में जान नहीं होती, वैसे ही हम जिंदा लाश के सिवा कुछ नहीं हैं।

लेकिन चैतन्य महाप्रभु ने हमें सिखाया कि अपने फायदे के लिए हमें भौतिक चेतना से ऊपर उठकर खुद को कृष्णभावनामृत में स्थापित करना चाहिए। यदि हम ऐसा करते हैं, तो हम सभी सुखों के स्रोत कृष्ण की संगति में हमेशा के लिए खुशी से रह सकते हैं।

कृष्ण जो सांवले नहीं है

चैतन्य महाप्रभु कृष्ण हैं जो सांवले नहीं हैं। उनका सुनहरा रंग है। साथ ही वे वृंदावन की सर्वोच्च गोपी के भाव में हैं। कई बार अनुभवी भक्त उन पर मोर पंख नहीं लगाते क्योंकि अगर हम मोर पंख लगाते हैं तो इसका मतलब है कि हम चैतन्य महाप्रभु की भाव में बाधा डाल रहे हैं।

ज्यादातर समय महाप्रभु श्रीमति राधारानी के भाव में रहते हैं, और हम जानते हैं कि राधारानी मोर पंख नहीं लगाती है। महाप्रभु हमेशा कृष्ण के विचारों में लीन रहते हैं। वे स्थिर नहीं हैं; वे हमेशा कृष्ण प्रेम के लिए आंदोलित रहते हैं।

महाप्रभु यहां क्यों आए?

चैतन्य महाप्रभु के आने के कई कारण हैं। एक कारण गोपियों का कर्ज चुकाना है। जब कृष्ण ने वृंदावन छोड़ा तब गोपियाँ कृष्ण के वियोग में लगातार रोती रहीं। इसलिए, चैतन्य महाप्रभु के रूप में वे हमेशा रोते थे जैसे गोपियां कृष्ण से अलगाव महसूस कर रही हों।

चैतन्य महाप्रभु के रूप में वे हमेशा गोपियों की तरह रोते थे। वे कृष्ण से वियोग को वैसे ही अनुभव करते थे जैसे गोपियों को कृष्ण से वियोग का अनुभव होता था।

भगवद गीता 4.11 में, कृष्ण कहते हैं, ये यथा माम प्रपद्यन्ते, “जैसा कि सभी मेरे प्रति समर्पण करते हैं, मैं उन्हें उसी के अनुसार पुरस्कृत करता हूं।” अतः कृष्ण भक्तों को कुछ देने के लिए उत्सुक रहते हैं, लेकिन कृष्ण के शुद्ध भक्त उनसे कुछ नहीं माँगते। वे केवल कृष्ण को कुछ देना चाहते हैं। वे हमेशा उनकी सेवा करना चाहते हैं।

सनातन गोस्वामी कहते हैं कि जब कृष्ण भक्तों से कुछ माँगने के लिए कहते हैं तो भक्त तीन बार “नहीं” कहते हैं। वह तीन बार ना कहने का कारण बताते हैं – अतीत में नहीं, वर्तमान में नहीं और भविष्य में नहीं। इसलिए, ऐसे प्रिय भक्तों का कर्ज चुकाने के लिए जिनकी कोई व्यक्तिगत इच्छा या मकसद नहीं है, कृष्ण उन्हें प्रेम देने के लिए चैतन्य महाप्रभु के रूप में आते हैं।

महाप्रभु हमेशा भगवान के शुद्ध प्रेम को बांटने के लिए उत्सुक रहते हैं। लेकिन महाप्रभु केवल उन्हीं को प्रेम देते हैं जो सरल हैं, जिनका कोई दोहरा चरित्र नहीं हैं और जिनका कोई छिपा हुआ उद्देश्य नहीं है।

अद्वैत आचार्य ने चैतन्य महाप्रभु से अनुरोध किया कि वे उन लोगों को प्रेम न दें जो धन, शक्ति और सुंदरता पर गर्व करते हैं। उन्होंने कहा, “जो हमेशा कृष्ण के नाम का जप करते हैं और सरल हृदय वाले हैं, उन्हें प्रेम दें।“

यदि हमारा हृदय इन्द्रिय भोग से मुक्त है तो महाप्रभु हमें कृष्ण प्रेम प्रदान करेंगे

इसलिए, यदि हम भगवान चैतन्य महाप्रभु का प्रेम पाना चाहते हैं तो हमें सरल हृदय होना चाहिए और कृष्ण के पवित्र नामों से प्रेम करना चाहिए।

हम देखते हैं कि हरिदास ठाकुर के पास कोई भौतिक ऐश्वर्य नहीं था, उनके पास कोई उच्च शिक्षा नहीं थी और कोई राजनीतिक शक्ति नहीं थी, फिर भी उन्हें महाप्रभु की कृपा प्राप्त हुई।

हरिदास ठाकुर सरल हृदय के थे, विनम्र थे और उनका कोई छिपा हुआ उद्देश्य नहीं था। उनका कोई दोहरा चरित्र नहीं था और वे हमेशा कृष्ण के नाम जप में लीन रहते थे। हरिदास ठाकुर के इन गुणों ने श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु को आकर्षित किया और उन्होंने उन्हें कृष्ण प्रेम प्रदान किया। साथ ही उन्हें नामाचार्य की उपाधि भी दी।

यदि विनम्रता और सरलता से हम चैतन्य महाप्रभु की शरण ग्रहण करते हैं तो हमें भी चैतन्य महाप्रभु की कृपा प्राप्त होगी।

हमें कोई भौतिक इच्छाएं नहीं रखनी चाहिए। यदि इच्छाएं हों तब भी हमें इसे अनदेखा करना चाहिए और इसके बारे में सोचने की कोशिश नहीं करनी चाहिए, खासकर जब हम कृष्ण के नाम का जप कर रहे हों।

ऐसा इसलिए है क्योंकि जब हम जप करते हैं तो मन में जो कुछ भी होता है वह प्रकट हो जाता है। तो, अगर हमारी भौतिक इच्छाएँ हैं तो वे इच्छाएँ पूरी हो जाएँगी लेकिन यह हमें कृष्ण से दूर ले जाएँगी ।

हमेशा चैतन्य महाप्रभु की शरण में रहें

हमें हमेशा विनम्र रहना चाहिए। और कई बार बिना अपमान के हम विनम्र नहीं बनते। उदाहरण के लिए केशव कश्मीरी को अपनी विद्वता पर बहुत गर्व था लेकिन जब वह चैतन्य महाप्रभु से हार गए तो वे विनम्र हो गए और महाप्रभु के चरण कमलों पर गिर पड़े। जब हम प्रणाम करते हैं तो यह हमारी विनम्रता को दर्शाता है और यह हमारे अहंकार को जला देता है।

चैतन्य महाप्रभु इस दुनिया में हमारे अभिमान और इस भौतिक दुनिया से हमारे कष्टदायक लगाव को नष्ट करने के लिए प्रकट हुए।

तो, आइए हम सब भगवान चैतन्य महाप्रभु की शरण में रहें और उनके पवित्र नामों का निरंतर जप करें।

नोट: यह लेख परम पूज्य भक्ति धीर दामोदर स्वामी महाराज द्वारा दिए गए श्रीमद भागवतम व्याख्यान पर आधारित है, जो उन्होंने इस्कॉन न्यूटाउन कोलकाता, भारत में दिया था।

Why did Prahlada pray for freedom from all material desires?

Prahlada could have asked anything but why did he pray to Lord Narasimhadeva to free his heart of all material desires. Lord Narasimhadeva had appeared for his pleasure, so, Prahlada could have easily asked for all material pleasures. But Prahlada who was just five years old was intelligent enough to understand that all material pleasures ultimately give great pain.

Many think that all powerful Lord Narasimhadeva whose nails are like sharp edged swords, appeared in this world to kill the demon, Hiranyakasipu. This can be one of the reasons. But the most important reason why Lord Narasimhadeva appeared was to bestow unlimited mercy upon Prahlada and to make Prahlada’s life glorious.   

This pastime of the Lord gives us great hope. We hope that a day will come when, like little Prahlada, we will at least get little mercy of Lord Narasimhadeva. But unlike Prahlada, our desires are not spiritual. We hope the Lord will merciful fulfil our material desires.

Are we visiting temple for right reason?

On the appearance day of Lord Narasimhadeva i.e. Narasimha Chaturdashi, we fervently pray to the Lord for his favor. So, we see that on that day, people in large numbers flock to Lord Narasimhadeva temple and wait with bated breath for the door of the temple to open. Is it because we want to see the Lord? It can be one of the reasons but may not be the main reason.

Why?

Because Lord Narasimhadeva is there in the temple 365 days of the year. But people think themselves too busy to go to the temple. So, now the original question, why do people go to temple on some important festivals like Narasimha Chaturdashi.

People flock to temple on auspicious days because scriptures say that on the day of festivals, Lord is extra merciful. Just like on a rainy day, sky bathes mother earth with unlimited quantity of water, similarly on the day of festivals like Narasimha Chaturdashi, Lord profusely distributes his mercy. 

So, lesser mortals like you and me think that Lord Narasimhadeva will be kind to us on the day he appeared. He will bless us, and his blessings will make sure that all the impediments which are coming in our way to actualize our cherished material goals will be destroyed. Once the obstacles are gone, material goals can be easily achieved.

And once we attain material success, we will attain happiness too. And then we will dance in delight like a child who after lots of crying gets a lollipop in his hand.

What if Lord refuses to fulfil our material desires?

Now, what if Lord does not fulfil our desires? He says, “You come to me, have my darshan but I will not give you anything in return.” In that situation, will we go to temple? Many of us will not then feel motivated to visit the Lord in the temple even on festival days.

Because, whatever we do in this world, we also want to find out, “What is there in it for me?”  As long as Lord is fulfilling our desires, we think God is Great. And if he refuses to be our yes man then immediately, we sideline him from our life.

So, if we analyse our life carefully then we will find that we do not generally go to temple because we have love for the Lord. We go there because we have love for ourselves. Almost all the time we think about ourselves, and we want the Lord to fulfil all our worldly desires.

We are self-obsessed. Always, we want something from the Lord. We rarely come to temple to give something to the Lord without expecting anything in return. Many businessmen give money to be used in the service of the Lord. This is good.

But in the back of their mind, they think that if we give Rs 1000 to the Lord then in return he will give us 10 times or maybe 100 times more.

Lord may give us. It is not difficult for him to make us rich. But this is not love. This is business. Just like when we invest in a mutual fund, we calculate how much return we will get. Similarly, when we invest money in the service of the Lord, we think how much return we will get.

Burden of material desires

We always think about our pleasure, but have we ever thought what pleases the Lord?

If we reflect on the life of pure devotees, we will see that they never asked for anything from the Lord. They always thought about the Lord’s satisfaction, not their personal satisfaction.

Let us see what exalted devotee Prahlada, who always meditated on the beautiful form of the Lord and his holy names, asked when Lord Narasimhadeva appeared in front of him.

Although Lord Narasimhadeva had killed the tyrant, Hiranyaskasipu, who had terrorized the universe he was still angry. But when the Lord saw little Prahlada who always thought well of others, he was so pleased. Looking into the innocent eyes of Prahlada, the Supreme Lord immediately said, “You ask for anything and I am ready to give.”

Now, suppose that if Lord showing compassion upon us appears in front of us and says the same thing, “I will fulfil all your desires, you just ask it.” We will immediately note down all our wishes neatly on a piece of paper and will start reading to the Lord.

Writing is important so that we may not forget anything to ask. And since our desires are unlimited, I am not sure how many reams of papers we will need to jot down our desires.

But Prahlada was not like us. He did not carry the burden of material desires in his heart. His tender heart was pure. Standing in front of Lord Narasimhadeva, Prahlada’s heart was filled with delight.

When material life ends, spiritual life begins

Folding his hands reverentially, Prahlada first bowed down unto the lotus feet of Lord Narasimhadeva and then he humbly said, “My dear most merciful Lord, my only desire is to not have any material desire. Please free my heart from all material desires.” 

“O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 7.10.7

All the assembled great personalities like Mother Lakshmi, Lord Shiva and Parvati, Brahmaji and his spiritual master, Narada Muni, were so happy to hear this prayer of Prahlada.

Material desires are the root cause of our suffering. Almost always, our mind keeps on contemplating on material desires. And also keeps on planning how to fulfil those.

Once we free ourselves from the shackles of these unholy thoughts, our material life will end, and spiritual life will begin i.e. miseries will end and happiness will begin.  

Prahlada had asked the Lord to fulfil his desire which will free him from all present and future miseries. It will free him from the repeated cycle of birth and death. And most importantly, it will open the door of the spiritual world for him.

Desire to serve the Lord frees us from painful material desires

Hearing this desire of Prahlada, Lord Narasimhadeva who had decorated himself with the blood-soaked intestine of Hiranyakasipu became happy. The ferocious Lord had a big smile on his face.

The Supreme Lord said, “..the glories of your activities will be sung in the upper planetary systems, and being fully freed from all bondage, you will return home, back to Godhead.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.10.13

Hope a day will come when, like Prahlada, we will always think of the pleasure of the Lord. We will again and again pray to the Lord to free our heart and mind of all material desires and fill it with the desire to always serve the Lord without any ulterior motive.

When our heart blossoms with the desire to serve the Lord, painful material desires disappear.