Kartik Yatra 2026 | Ayodhya Dham | Day 1 | HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Thousands of devotees from around the world have gathered in the sacred land of Ayodhya for the Kartik Yatra 2026. Throughout the pilgrimage, devotees will spend their mornings visiting holy tirthas across Ayodhya, followed by evening katha sessions with His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj starting at 5:00 PM, concluding with ecstatic kirtan and the collective singing of the Damodarashtakam. Below is Maharaja’s opening address from the first day of the yatra which was given on 12th Nov 2026, Thursday.

Welcome and Introduction by H.G. Shyamananda Prabhu

“We have gathered here in this sacred land of Ayodhya, under the shelter of Shri Hanuman, the best of Shri Ram bhaktas, in the midst of about 12,000 registered yatris.”

So it is quite a historic milestone almost every year. For those of you who are regular, you can remember people asking, “How are you going to manage with 5,000 devotees?” After two years, “How are you going to manage with 7,000 devotees, 8,000 devotees?” At Govardhan, we had 10,000-plus, and here it is 12,000.

So we are very, very happy to welcome all of you on behalf of the managers, who strove their best to make your stay, travel, and visits to various sacred tirthas as seamless, comfortable, and timely as possible. Forgive us for any lacunae which surely are going to arise.

And now, it is my utmost pleasure to request His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj to kindly come on stage and begin today’s katha. Let us very devotedly and enthusiastically welcome him by chanting very loudly three times.

The Power of Pilgrimage

On behalf of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and our Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, we are very honored and grateful to welcome each and every one of you to our Ayodhya yatra in this age of Kali-yuga—a time where the world is so permeated with the influences of false ego, quarrel, and hypocrisy. It truly is a miracle that sincere devotees from all different places, nationalities, religious backgrounds, castes, races, and social categories come together with enthusiasm, gratitude, and united hearts to pray to be instruments of God’s grace.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu especially descended in this age of Kali to give everyone this opportunity. Prabhupada was in New York City in 1965. In the beginning of 1966, before he had any followers, before anyone was taking any serious interest in what he was teaching, before he had any place to live on his own, he wrote in his diary that even if two or three people came and took interest, he was so happy, enlivened, and full of hope that the prediction of Lord Chaitanya would come true: that the holy names of Krishna would be spread throughout the whole world.

Lord Chaitanya came with this rare gift of prema-bhakti, pure devotional service. The various spiritual paths in the world are often distortions of the truth they are meant to represent. Even sincere, pious people turn to the higher truth or to God for a more pleasurable, more safe materialistic life—artha, kama, dharma—or liberation, salvation from suffering. Lord Chaitanya came to give the essence of all true religions, which culminates in the supreme dharma: transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord. Such loving service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to truly satisfy the soul. For people to gather in these times to inspire one another to pray for pure, unalloyed devotional service—not to ask God for favors, but to surrender to God’s will—is so rare.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura sang in his beautiful prayer to his own mind about how so many people are afraid. When the ahankara, the ego, deludes us into thinking that “I am the body” and those designations that carry the body, there is every reason to fear at every moment. In fact, there are so many things that could happen to us at any moment; we have to be really ignorant to not be fearful. We don’t recognize that suffering and death can come upon anyone in any position anywhere in this entire world. A little insect can just bite you. Insects are small, but within our body are tiny bacteria we can’t even see with our eyes that could cause us total misery and death, and we don’t even know if they are there or not—what to speak of everything else going on.

But one who takes shelter of Lord Hari, by the Lord’s grace only, can truly realize that we are not this body and we are not this mind; we are eternal servants of God. Our deepest and truest potential is to experience and share that highest, purest happiness of loving devotional service. Human life is an opportunity to not only understand this, but experience it. It is very rare. And within this human life, what is most rare is the association of devotees: advanced devotees who can lift us up by their blessings, knowledge, and example; like-minded devotees who are striving on the path; and even junior devotees who give us the opportunity to help them on the path. When someone is junior to us under our guidance, we are being blessed with an opportunity that may have taken millions and millions of births to get—an opportunity where Krishna is allowing us to help one of His children to know Him and to love Him.

There are so many wonderful people from so many places coming to this holy city of Ayodhya—begging, praying, chanting, and dancing—all for this single true purpose of life: to purify our own hearts and to inspire others to be purified so that we can love Krishna. We are truly following in the footsteps of so many great souls of our history.

There are beautiful articles written quite long ago describing Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada. He came here leading a pilgrimage to Ayodhya in 1924, and then he came again to lead a pilgrimage in 1928, and the articles describe the places he visited. Many are the same places that all of us will be visiting in these next few days. At that time, the Janmasthan, the birthplace of Lord Ram, was just a little shack with a table beside a big mosque. There had been centuries of battles and fighting here in Ayodhya, and it is written that when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada saw the condition of Lord Ram’s historic birthplace, he became very deeply saddened. He even spoke these words, sounding like Thakura Haridasa: “Actually, there is one God, and we are all the children of that same God. We may have different ways of approaching Him, yet there is so much fighting.” When he heard people were so discouraged by the dilapidated, neglected condition of Ram’s birthplace that they went to Varanasi, Prayag, and other holy places instead, he was also very saddened, asking, “Why aren’t we trying to do something wonderful for Ram in this sacred place?”

He bathed in the same place in the Sarayu River that all of us will be bathing in. In 1881, Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in his autobiography that he came to Ayodhya on pilgrimage during the rainy season to worship at the Sarayu River, the birthplace of Lord Ram, and the places of Ramachandra’s pastimes. We also read in our Vaishnava literatures some of the recorded events of our acharyas. Sri Advaita Acharya came to worship Ayodhya, and in Chaitanya Bhagavata there are several verses that beautifully describe Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s pilgrimage to Ayodhya. Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura writes about Nityananda Prabhu: “He then went to the city of Ayodhya, where he cried upon seeing the birthplace of Lord Rama.” Lord Nityananda Prabhu is the acharya of our Gaudiya sampradaya, in the sense that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s supreme mercy descended to the lowest fallen people through his compassion. Nityananda Prabhu cried upon seeing the birthplace of Lord Rama.

Eternal Bonds of Devotion

After crying at the birthplace of Lord Ram, Lord Nityananda went to the kingdom of Maharaja Guha, who was that outcaste person living in the jungle who was a great loving friend and devotee of Ramachandra. We will hear in the coming days how when Lord Ram was exiled, He went to the kingdom of Guha. Ram was offered the entire kingdom, but He told Guha, “I have been exiled to the forest. I will only sleep on the ground on leaves, and I will only eat fruits and leaves.” Maharaja Guha had Lakshmana make a bed of leaves for Ram and Sita, and all night long they were just there. They left in the morning, but all night long Lakshmana was explaining all that was happening in the exile of Ram to Guha, and they became such good friends.

Now that same Balarama—who became Lakshmana, who became Nityananda Prabhu—was visiting the kingdom of Maharaja Guha. As he was remembering and experiencing those pastimes, Nityananda Prabhu fell unconscious in ecstasy for three days. That was Nityananda Prabhu’s remembrance of this great devotee of Ram. And how long before Nityananda Prabhu was Lakshmana? From Treta-yuga to Kali-yuga—it wasn’t just days, centuries, or millennia; it was yugas. Yet the exchanges that devotees have in selfless devotional service are eternal. They are beyond time, old age, disease, and death. The loving interactions we have in Krishna’s service are eternal. We can forget, but if we are really aware, we remember what Srila Prabhupada said when he was leaving and devotees didn’t know if they would ever see him again: “You are chanting Hare Krishna and I am chanting Hare Krishna, and therefore we are always together.” This is not just a pleasing poetic expression; this is an eternal spiritual truth. The soul is eternal. The love of God within the soul, as it is awakening, is forever nitya, and the exchanges of pure devotion among devotees are forever there within our souls.

Nityananda Prabhu entered the kingdom of the great Maharaja Guha and fell unconscious. Remembering the activities of Guha, Nityananda lost his consciousness in ecstasy for three days, and seeing the forests where Lord Ramachandra had performed His pastimes, Lord Nityananda Prabhu rolled on the ground in separation. He then took bath in the Sarayu River. In Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lila of Chaitanya Charitamrita, there are so many events during Lord Chaitanya’s South Indian tour of him worshiping Lord Ram, Lakshmana, and Hanuman in their temples, and some of the most pleasing, loving, and intimate relations he made were with those devotees who had pure love for Lord Ramachandra.

The pastimes of Lord Rama provide us the most sacred eternal lessons in life—in dharma, in all our various responsibilities, roles, and relationships. Lord Ram was always the perfect example for all to follow. Often times we honor and worship the teachings and pastimes of Ram knowing that they teach us how good ultimately prevails over evil, and how light prevails over dark. The Ramayana teaches us in a form that is dramatic, heroic, action-packed, and emotional.

But the heart of the Ramayana, the pastimes and life of Ram, is in leading us toward pure bhakti: unmotivated, uninterrupted, loving devotional service. The deepest, most consistent truth in Lord Ram’s pastimes is that they reveal the infinite, intimate love of the Supreme Lord for His devotees, and reciprocally reveal the intimate, selfless love of the devotee for the Supreme Lord. This is the highest, most essential truth in all of existence—Ram’s love for us and the opportunity and potential for us to reciprocate with our love for Ram.

In the Ramayana, special prominence is given to love in separation. There is a great prominence in revealing to us pure love even in the face of insurmountable trials, tribulations, hardships, disappointments, and betrayals. In the Ramayana, where these things happen, it is graphically described how much it hurts. We don’t see people just saying, “Oh, it doesn’t matter, it’s all maya.” Rather, how we respond and how we react to those obstacles that come on our path is very much what defines the story of Lord Ram.

Love in Separation

Divine truth is very consistent among the primary avatars of the Lord. Srila Prabhupada taught us that repetition is a way of emphasizing what is the most important thing to understand. It is this incredible repetition that we see in various incarnations of the Lord, which means it is so important for us to learn in that context.

Kausalya and Dasharatha Maharaja were childless for decades, for centuries in Treta-yuga when life was very long. Sumitra, Kaikeyi, and Kausalya, the primary queens, didn’t just want children because they had that natural inclination to love a child of their own, but because it was their dharmic responsibility to raise someone who would take care of all the citizens of their kingdom after they were gone. The Ramayana describes how much suffering was there in Dasharatha’s heart because he was childless. Then he had a child—the supreme, most beautiful, most merciful, most perfect child. And at a time that was the culmination of Dasharatha’s life, when he was about to coronate Ram as the crown prince and next coming king—the ceremony he had been longing and waiting for over centuries—Lord Ram was exiled along with Sita and Lakshmana.

Similarly, Devaki and Vasudeva weren’t living in a heavenly environment; they were living in the prison of Kamsa, and seven children were taken away from them. Continuously they were childless, and then on the midnight of Janmashtami, Krishna was born. That same night, Krishna left them, and they didn’t see Him again for almost 11 years, nor did they know if they ever would. And Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja had the supremely, infinitely sweet pastime of witnessing Krishna’s beautiful pastimes in Vrindavan—His bala, His pauganda-lila, His kaishora-lila—and then when Krishna was not even 11 years old, He left Vrindavan, leaving Nanda, Yashoda, and all the Vrajavasis drowning in an ocean of separation.

In Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s beautiful pastimes, Sachi Mata and Jagannatha Mishra were childless. They had eight consecutive daughters, and each of those daughters died right after birth. What is the pain of a parent who is going through this? Finally Vishwarupa was born, but when he was very young, he left and took sannyasa. Then they had the supreme, most all-attractive of all sons, Nimai, Lord Chaitanya—but he also took sannyasa and left home.

Sita is Ram’s most intimate loving pleasure potency, His eternal consort, the supreme reservoir of all love for Him and His love for her. And yet Sita was captured and separated from Ram. Srimati Radharani, the supreme personification, embodiment, and source of all love, was separated from Krishna. And Vishnupriya, the eternal consort of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was separated from Lord Chaitanya for the rest of her life after he took sannyasa. How did Vishnupriya respond? Did she say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter, all these attachments are illusion”? She cried for the rest of her life. She worshiped the deity of Lord Chaitanya practically day and night for her whole life. After Krishna left Vrindavan, it is described that the gopis and the gopas cried for the rest of their lives. The only thing that kept them alive in Vrindavan was making garlands, making bhoga, and making all arrangements to welcome Krishna, thinking that He would come today. Even though over a century passed, every day they were still in the hope that He would come today—not just hoping, but planning and serving in love and separation.

Hanuman is so dear to Sri Ramachandra. We know that beautiful story where Sri Ramachandra was weeping and crying in gratitude to Hanuman, saying, “I have no way to repay you for your love for Me. The only thing I have is Myself. I give you Myself.” With that, Lord Ramachandra embraced him. Now, what is the context of this story? Usually we think of Hanuman carrying mountains and jumping over oceans. But the context in which Sri Ramachandra expressed that Hanuman was His dearmost was because Hanuman felt the grief of Sita’s heart in separation, and he felt the grief of Lord Ram’s heart in separation from Sita.

That was his motive. Sita had been kidnapped by Ravana and was being kept as a prisoner in that garden with an Ashoka tree. She was being harassed and tortured day and night, just remembering Ram in separation. Meanwhile, Lord Ram was weeping and crying in separation from Sita, searching for her. He traversed from Panchavati, which is quite close to Mumbai, all the way down to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. When He was in Kishkindha, He lived in that cave of Malyavan, chanting Sita’s name and longing for Sita in separation. Hanuman knew that, and he saw what a helpless condition Sita appeared to be in. To serve Sita in that state of separation, to deliver the hope that Ram was coming, and to feel that viraha-bhava in his own heart that Ram and Sita were feeling for each other—that is what motivated him to jump across the ocean.

When he met Sita, he chanted Lord Ram’s names and pastimes, recited His infinite glories, and brought Sita such happiness. As a messenger, he delivered Ram’s words of love and separation to Sita, and gave her Ram’s own personal ring that He had entrusted to Hanuman. To convince Ravana and his Rakshasa dynasty to allow Sita to return to Ram, and in the fury of seeing the pain of Sita’s heart, he burned down the entire city. Then he jumped across the ocean again, returned to Kishkindha with all of his friends and relatives, and at Malyavan he again came to visit Ram. Sita gave a secret message for him that at the time only Ram, Sita, and Hanuman knew—which we will tell you in the coming days. Sita took the jewel that was on her head, pressed it to her heart, put all her love, devotion, and feelings into that jewel, and gave it to Hanuman to give to Ram.

For those who go deep into the pastimes of Ram, it is this event that stands out. Yes, Hanuman was very strong. Yes, he could jump far. Yes, he was a ferocious fighter. Yes, he was always remembering Ram. Yes, he was constantly chanting the holy names of the Lord. These are all supremely glorious qualities. But the intimacy of this exchange that he participated in—of Ram and Sita in their love and separation, their viraha—is very much at the heart of his relationship with Ram.

Selfless Service in the Ramayana

Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that same principle. He has written that the place he wants to give his life is Kurukshetra, because in Kurukshetra, that is where Radharani is in the greatest need. This love in separation is so deep. The Gopi-gita, considered such a deep revelation of the highest madhurya, was sung by the gopis together when Krishna left them during the Rasa-lila. A moment was like a yuga for them. Even a slight moment without Krishna made the gopis feel the entire universe had become a dreary void. When we are unhappy, we usually like to just distract our attention with something, and Kali-yuga gives us so many ever-new methods to distract our attention. But for the gopis, a moment in separation from Krishna felt so long. Their love was increasing, becoming more deeply ecstatic in those feelings of separation, and they were diving deeper and deeper into remembrance of Krishna, taking shelter of Krishna, and chanting the holy names.

When Krishna was not even 11 years old, He left Vrindavan after completely capturing and conquering the hearts of His devotees. What was Srimati Radharani’s condition? The Six Goswamis and the Srimad Bhagavatam describe how, after so many years, she finally had the opportunity to meet Krishna in Kurukshetra. Krishna had invited the Vrajavasis because there was a solar eclipse with all sorts of yajnas and ceremonies, and He invited various kings and queens from all provinces, especially the Vrajavasis. What were her expectations? When she finally came, He didn’t have a flute in His hand; He had a club in His hand. He wasn’t wearing a peacock feather; He was wearing the majestic crown of a great warrior. He didn’t have a garland of wild flowers; He had all sorts of royal ornaments. He wasn’t surrounded by cows; there were elephants, chariots, and horses all around Him. He wasn’t playing with cowherd boys; there were warriors, kings, and queens all around. She felt completely lost. Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes that she was in her most desperate condition ever, and he writes, “That is where I want to be, where she needs me the most. I want to be there to serve her, to share what she is feeling, and to offer any service I can.” Where there is the greatest need and the most necessity, that is where we find the greatest opportunities to serve.

It is in that spirit of Bhaktivinoda Thakura—”I want to be there where Srimati Radharani needs me the most”—that we can understand Hanumanji. He was there to be with Sita where she needed him the absolute most: to serve, to hear, and to chant. By the mercy of Lord Ramachandra, he was given the opportunity to actually experience the love and separation of Sita.

And in Dvaraka and Mathura, who is considered the dearmost associate of Krishna? Uddhava. Krishna told Uddhava, “You are more dear to Me than even Lakshmi, even Balarama, and anybody else. You are more dear to Me than My own life.” What was the context in which He said these things? When Srimati Radharani, Nanda, Yashoda, the cowherd boys, and the gopis were all in great pain and grief of separation from Krishna after He left for Mathura and didn’t come back, He sent Uddhava with a message. He trusted Uddhava. When Uddhava met the gopis and saw Srimati Radharani’s love—and saw the love of all the gopis, the cows, the peacocks, the cowherd boys, and all the residents of Vrindavan—Uddhava, who was the closest friend, cousin-brother, and one of the most royal, powerful people of Mathura, prayed. He prayed that he could become a blade of grass in Vrindavan so that the gopis and gopas might step on him. Only if he could serve the dust of the feet of these great Vrajavasis was there hope that he could actually experience the love they had for Krishna. Not only did Uddhava experience, by Krishna’s grace, the depths of the Vrajavasis’ love in separation—which is beyond any level of spiritual advancement anywhere in all spiritual and material worlds—but when he returned and explained it to Krishna, he was confidentially given insight into Krishna’s reciprocal, equal level of love and separation from the gopis. This was the great benediction of the service given to Hanuman, Uddhava, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who revealed himself to Murari Gupta as Ram and to Ramananda Raya as Radha and Krishna.

In the Gambhira, the culmination of Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes—after he ecstatically manifested the Sankirtan movement and spread it throughout Navadvipa and India—in Sri Jagannatha Puri, he revealed the deepest state of spiritual revelation and ecstatic love when he was actually feeling the love and separation of Radha for Krishna. And who was there to assist him in those situations? His dearmost devotees: Svarupa Damodara Goswami, Ramananda Raya, and their assistant, our prayojana-guru Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami. He was right there serving Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he was in those moods of grief of separation and love.

At the very heart of Lord Ramachandra’s lila is the selfless love of the devotees. When Ramachandra was being exiled, Sita could have stayed within the palaces of Kausalya, or she was offered the opportunity to return to Mithila and live with her father, Maharaja Janaka. She would have been with the most loving people, people who would do anything and everything for her. She had never seen an inconvenience in her life; she was a princess. Rama was going to live in the forest, and to follow Him meant wearing tree bark, sleeping on the hard ground, exposed to all the different weather conditions, snakes, scorpions, lions, tigers, elephants, boars, mosquitoes, and everything all around. But Sita’s selfless love made her express to Ram, “Any inconvenience in the forest in serving You will be more pleasing to my heart than any luxuries of Ayodhya. To be with You, hell will be heaven; to be without You, heaven is worse than hell.” And she didn’t want to just be with Ram—she wanted to serve Ram to give pleasure to Ram. That was the selfless service of Sita.

And look at Bharata. When Ram was exiled, Bharata was to be the king. He would have all the royal conveniences, the fame, the power, and everything that almost everyone in this world is fighting for, crying for, striving for, and dying for. It was all being given to him. Bharata went to Chitrakuta; he prayed, he cried, and he begged Ram, “You go back, and I will stay in the forest. You return with Sita and Lakshmana; Shatrughna and myself will stay here.” He tried with all his heart, and he meant it with such selfless love. When Ramachandra was absolutely firm—”I will remain here, you must rule”—Bharata ruled, but how? He put the sandals that Ramachandra’s feet had touched on the throne. And as part of your yatra, you will be going to Nandigrama, a forest outside of the kingdom and city. Bharata saw the way Ram was living, and for the next 14 years he wore matted hair, nothing but tree bark, and never ate anything except roots, fruits, and cow urine. He lived as a total ascetic for all 14 years, and he vowed, “On the day at the end of the 14 years, my Lord, if You don’t return, I will end my life.” That is Bharata’s selfless devotion, and Lord Ram glorified His love for Bharata.

Look at Jatayu. Jatayu was old; he didn’t have a chance of fighting against Ravana, yet he was willingly, enthusiastically ready to give his life because he felt Sita being carried away by Ravana. He felt her separation, and he understood in his heart of hearts Lord Ram’s feelings of separation. He was willing to die even though he was practically sure he could not succeed—better to die to please the Lord than to live.

And look at Vibhishana. He was Ravana’s younger brother, living in a magnificent palace in Sri Lanka. He gave up his family, his palace, and his devotion and connection to his entire dynasty just to selflessly serve the Supreme Lord, Sri Ram. When Vibhishana came to Ram, Sugriva and the others met him and wanted to beat him and imprison him. Vibhishana said, “Please give my message to Ram that I want to meet Him. I want to take shelter of Him.” When they told Ram, He asked, “What do you think?” They said, “We should put him in prison and punish him. He’s a Rakshasa. He’s Ravana’s younger brother, a prince of Sri Lanka. The Rakshasa family influence is in his blood; we can’t trust him.” Ram asked Hanuman, “What do you think?” Hanuman said, “I saw him. He’s sincere. We should accept him as our own brother.” And Ram declared the statement that is forever glorified in the hearts of His devotees: “If a person comes to Me saying ‘I am Yours’ even once, then I shall give him protection forever after. This is My solemn vow made here before you all. Even if Ravana himself came to Me, I would not refuse to give him shelter. Bring Vibhishana here.”

Glories of Pure Devotion

The Ramayana is teaching us this principle: What is of true value? What is Ram really teaching the world? Yes, He did teach the dharma of being a king, a husband, a son, a brother, and a friend to the highest, deepest level. But at the heart of it all, Rama is teaching us the glories of pure devotional service, bhakti.

Guha was a tribal outcaste who had no status in society, yet Ram made him His dear friend and gave him the highest blessings of love of God. Jatayu wasn’t a brahmana, and he wasn’t a peacock—he was a vulture. Because of Jatayu, we love vultures now, but if you take Jatayu’s remembrance out of our hearts, nobody likes vultures; even other birds consider them outcastes. Yet Ram embraced him and accepted him as His dearmost. Hanuman and Sugriva were monkeys, not humans. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Gajendra was an elephant. Vibhishana was a Rakshasa to whom Ram gave complete shelter. Kabandha was the ugliest, grossest, most dangerous demon, yet when he took shelter of Ram, Ram gave him elevation to Vaikuntha. Kakabhushundi is glorified forever as one of the greatest teachers of Ram-bhakti, and he is a crow—even Garuda, Krishna’s bird carrier, went to Kakabhushundi to get lessons on how to deepen his love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Similarly, Krishna gave the highest blessings of love of God to that simple fruit seller who came to Gokula—illiterate, poor, tribal, and old. Ramachandra gave the highest perfection to Shabari, who also came from an outcaste background; she was old, poor, and simple, yet she took shelter of the Lord, and the Lord gave her complete shelter and elevation to the spiritual world. Krishna gave that shelter to cows and birds. In Sri Vrindavan Dham and the Srimad Bhagavatam, we read how Krishna glorifies from His heart of hearts the service of the trees, bushes, and plants.

The Pancha-tattva came to this world to break open the storehouse of love of God, to taste the contents, and to distribute that love of Krishna through Krishna-nama and Krishna-bhakti to everyone and anyone—without considering their caste, nationality, sex, religious background, or whether they are pious or sinful. If they simply accept this path and take shelter, they are given the fruits of love of God. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made Haridasa Thakura—a mleccha and yavana by birth who was condemned as an outcaste wherever he went—the Namacharya, glorifying him and praising him as the crown jewel of the entire universe. In Jharikhanda, Lord Chaitanya gave love of God to the deer, snakes, tigers, and all the wild animals.

How willing the Lord is to extend Himself to show mercy to the fallen souls! If we look at the entirety of the Ramayana, a majority of the whole book takes place within the context of Lord Ramachandra’s exile from Ayodhya. It was during the exile that He met Guha, Hanuman, Vibhishana, Agastya Muni, Bharadvaja Muni, and Valmiki Muni. It was during the exile that most of the greatest lessons of the Ramayana were taught. Similarly, when Krishna departed from Vrindavan—casting all the Vrajavasis into separation and feeling that separation in His own heart—He left to do what Ram did: to reestablish true dharma, annihilate the miscreants, and protect the devotees. It was after Krishna left Vrindavan to deal with Kamsa, Jarasandha, and Shalva, during His time away from Vrindavan, that He spoke the Bhagavad-gita for the whole world forever. And Lord Chaitanya took sannyasa to reach the world, annihilating ignorance through the chanting of the holy names in Kali-yuga, teaching pure bhakti and exemplifying it to the highest perfection.

It is this love of the Lord not only for His devotees, but for all living beings. Each of these devotees we have been discussing in Lord Ramachandra’s lila only asked one thing from Lord Ramachandra: “Give us pure devotion.” Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s beautiful prayer is practically repeated by all these figures of the Ramayana in various different languages and words: “I do not want wealth, riches, or comforts. I do not want fame, followers, or popularity. I do not want sensual pleasures of any variety. I do not want to be seen as a great scholar, a great poet, or very learned. I don’t want mystic powers where I could show miracles to others. I do not even want liberation from suffering. My only desire, my Lord, is to let me serve You in whatever situation You put me in. If it is Your desire, birth after birth after birth, I want to serve You and please You.” This is the mood that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught his followers, and practically all of these loving associates of the Ramayana echoed that exact prayer. No liberation, no cessation of sufferings, no wealth, riches, or material happiness—just “let me serve You.” Why is that the highest state of ecstatic spiritual realization? Because it comes from the true love of the soul.

The Inspiration of Scriptures

Those who have given us the Ramayana, the Srimad Bhagavatam, and all these great scriptures—this is the treasure they are offering. Long ago in the Treta-yuga, one day Narada Muni visited the ashram of Valmiki. Valmiki Muni was one of the great saints of the time and had many disciples. He was in his ashram giving a lecture, teaching his students about bhakti. When his guru, Narada Muni, arrived, Valmiki immediately stood up along with all of his students and honored him. He washed his feet, gave him a sitting place, and sat at his feet. After discussing each other’s welfare with profound sincerity, Valmiki Muni put an inquiry to Narada Muni. He asked, “Can you tell me, is there a person who is crowned with all perfections?” He went on to describe a person who is truly heroic, truly fearless, truly compassionate—many such attributes that would make a person the perfect example to follow. Valmiki wasn’t just asking this question for himself; he was asking for all of us.

It is wonderful that the same Narada Muni later went to Badarikashrama to visit the hermitage of Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva was sitting on the bank of the Sarasvati River. He had already compiled what no other writer has ever done: he wrote the four Vedas, 18 Upanishads, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-gita, Itihasas, Samhitas, and Puranas, yet he was feeling an emptiness in his heart. Narada Muni came to his ashram, and Vyasadeva expressed his feelings to him. Narada explained, “It is because you have not written a literature that makes no compromise to discuss any other subject but pure, unalloyed, ecstatic, loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord.” On the basis of Narada’s instruction to Vyasadeva, Vyasadeva wrote the Srimad Bhagavatam. Narada Muni instructed him to extol, more than all other Vedic literatures, the glory of Krishna’s pastimes in this world.

Vyasadeva then asked Narada Muni, “How did you gain the position that you are in today?” Narada told his story, and Vyasadeva recorded it in the Srimad Bhagavatam. In his previous life, Narada was living in the jungle as a simple servant, and his mother was a maidservant. One year during Chaturmasya, the rainy season, great sages came to that area in the forest, and his mother served them while he assisted her as just a little boy. Because he was serving them so sincerely, these sages blessed the little boy and gave him some of their maha-prasada. The desire to hear and the taste for hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord become possible when we serve great souls, please them, and receive their heartfelt blessings. Narada was giving all credit away, describing himself as nothing—just a little boy trying to assist his mother—who was blessed by these great souls.

Sometimes we think that when we are blessed by great souls, life becomes just the way we want it. We don’t find that in any scriptures. In little Narada’s case, when he was only about five years old, after the sages left, his mother went to milk a cow, was bitten by a serpent, and died. There was nobody else there. He was alone in the middle of a jungle; only his mother was taking care of him, and now she was dead. He had no relatives, no family, no community, and there were no orphanages around. He was just alone, and he started wandering through the forest. Because of the blessings of those great sages, even though his mother had been his everything—his community, his only friend—in that helpless condition, everything he had heard from the sages gave him a taste to actually understand what they were speaking. He wandered through the forest and ultimately felt such deep pangs of separation from Krishna and meditation on Krishna that the Lord revealed Himself to him and then disappeared, saying, “For the rest of your life you will be remembering Me in separation, and in your next life you will be the great Narada Muni.”

Life is hard. The scriptures recognize that life is hard and don’t try to gloss over it. They teach us how in the good times, in the happy times, and in the hard, difficult times, we take shelter of Krishna and Lord Sri Ram. Radha-Krishna and Sita-Ram have descended in the sound vibrations of their holy names to make their presence accessible to everyone who sincerely takes shelter of chanting.

So Narada Muni described to Vyasadeva the glory of the association of devotees and the blessings of Vaishnavas. He wasn’t saying that life materially gets better when we receive them; he was saying we find shelter beyond the pleasures and miseries of this world when we get the blessings of great saints. When Srila Prabhupada was asked, “You gave us so much—you gave us the Vrindavan-lila, Radha and Krishna, the opportunity for prema-bhakti, and to serve Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission. What can we do to repay you?” Prabhupada sincerely smiled and replied, “Follow what I am teaching you and share it with others.” This was the principle of Narada Muni. He remembered the blessings he received when he was in a helpless, ignorant state, accepted them to the core of his heart, and in his next life as Narada Muni, his whole life was simply sharing pure bhakti with everyone who would ever hear.

Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu; Narada Muni preached to him, and Prahlada became a mahabhagavata, a paramahamsa, and a mahajana. Dhruva was just a little boy who was totally frustrated, looking for revenge and material power, and yet Narada Muni gave him a mantra, gave him mercy, and gave him the path of bhakti, and Dhruva became one of the greatest liberated saints of all time. Narada Muni instructed the Prachetas. He instructed the hunter Mrigari, who found his greatest happiness in half-killing and torturing innocent animals. Narada Muni preached to him and gave him the holy names of the Lord, and Mrigari became one of the greatest, most celebrated saints in the Puranas. Thousands of years later, we are still inspired by the example of Mrigari, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself told the story to Sanatana Goswami for the simple purpose of instructing the world on the supreme importance and glories of associating with devotees. What we receive, we share. That is an attitude of gratitude. If we are really grateful for causeless mercy to come to us, then to reciprocate and show our gratitude, we assist those great personalities by giving that causeless mercy to others.

In Chaitanya Charitamrita, Narada Muni comes as Srivasa Thakura in Navadvipa. When Nimai Pandita was still performing his pastime as a very restless student and teacher—at that time he was a teacher of grammar, Sanskrit, and logic, and he would harass devotees, who would run away from him because he would entangle them in mundane arguments—Srivasa was like his father’s age. One day on the bank of the Ganges, Nimai came across Srivasa Thakura, and Srivasa said to him, “Why are you wasting your time with all these material things? You should become a devotee of Krishna and chant the holy names of Krishna. Why are you wasting your life?” Nimai did something very rare. With great respect, he said to Srivasa, “Because I have received your blessing, soon I will become a devotee of the Lord.” Lord Chaitanya never said that to anyone else in that sense—he acknowledged that because Narada Muni in the form of Srivasa was blessing him, he would become a devotee of the Lord. And then what did Lord Chaitanya do? He shared that blessing with everyone.

In Lord Chaitanya’s case, his beloved father Jagannatha Mishra died, and in the pangs of separation, to serve his father, he went to Gaya to perform the shraddha ceremony at the Vishnupada temple to uplift his father’s spirit. It was there in Gaya that he met Ishvara Puri, his guru, was initiated, and was given the holy name. When he returned to Navadvipa, he was a pure devotee of the Lord, feeling ecstatic love and separation from the Lord. Soon after, Srivasa Thakura was collecting flowers for his deities with other devotees when he was seen by Sriman Pandita, who said, “You look so happy today.” Srivasa replied, “I am happy, and there is good reason: Nimai has become a great devotee. I have never seen a devotee like this before. Now let our family expand.” This is Narada Muni—he just wants to share bhakti because he feels so indebted to what he has been given.

The Story of Valmiki

So back to our story. We read—not in the original Ramayana, but through other narrations—that previously Valmiki was a very violent robber and thief. He was living in the forest, and anybody who would come by the roadsides, he would rob them and, if he had to, beat them. Some say he was a hunter; he was a deeply sinful person. It is said his name was Ratnakara.

Narada Muni would always go to places where the greatest need was—to Kamsa’s palace, or to be with Hiranyakashipu’s son. He walked down that forest lane, and Ratnakara stopped him like he stopped everyone, saying, “If you want to live, you have to give me everything you have.” Narada was so compassionate and cared so much for this person. Ratnakara hated everybody, yet Narada loved him out of compassion. Ratnakara had never met anyone like this and was feeling very disoriented. Narada said, “Do you know how much you are going to have to suffer for all the sins and karmas of everybody you have stolen from, harmed, and caused violence and pain to?” Like everyone, Ratnakara wanted to justify his misbehavior—there’s always a reason. He said, “What am I supposed to do? This is all I know how to do. I have a family, a wife, and children. I have to take care of them, and I have no other occupation. What do you expect of me?” Narada said, “Why don’t you go back to your family and ask them if they are willing to share the karma of all the violence and sins that you have created?” Ratnakara said, “Of course they will, I’m doing it all for them!” Narada said, “Go ask them.” He went back to his home and asked them, and they said, “No! You’re doing it, we’re not doing it. We’ll take what you’re giving us, but we’re not going to take the karma for it.”

By Narada Muni’s grace, he was transformed. He went back to Narada Muni, thinking back on everything he had done to so many people, and said, “I’m really going to suffer. What can I do?” He took shelter of Narada Muni. Narada told him to chant the holy name of Rama, but he couldn’t say the name of Ram. Depending on time, place, and circumstance, sometimes preachers have to adapt, so Narada said, “Chant the name Mara.” What is the meaning of mara? Death. Can you imagine a great mahajana and paramahamsa like Narada Muni telling you to chant the name of death? Sometimes, like our Bhaktivedanta Hospital doctors here know, when a person is in an emergency situation in the middle of the highway, you don’t use conventional methods to save their life. Because of Narada’s association, compassion, love, and wisdom, Ratnakara took it seriously, sat down, and chanted mara—and the continuous chanting of mara, mara, mara becomes Rama, Rama, Rama.

He was so immersed—24 hours a day absorbed in remembering his guru’s mercy and chanting the names of Rama for a long time. He didn’t eat, he didn’t sleep, he just chanted. He was so absorbed that ants created an anthill (valmika) around him until he was nowhere to be seen. When Narada Muni returned to see how his disciple was doing, he called him out from the anthill. Valmiki came out of the anthill, offered his dandavat pranams, and worshiped his guru. Because it was as if he were reborn—he was a cruel, merciless robber, and now he came out of the anthill as a perfect saint—they gave him the name Valmiki.

Now Valmiki has disciples and is teaching them. Narada comes to visit, and Valmiki is inquiring for the benefit of everyone: “Please tell me, is there a person whose good qualities everyone could emulate because he is just the perfect person, the crown of all divine qualities? Is there such a person?” And Narada, just as he explained the highest truths to Vyasadeva, explained the highest truths to Valmiki: “That person is of the name Rama.”

Narada spoke a summary outline of the whole life of Lord Ram in 79 verses, and Valmiki heard it—going through the birth of Ram, going to the forest with Vishvamitra, the marriage of Sita, the return to Ayodhya, the exile into the forest, the abduction of Sita, the meeting of the Vanaras with Jambavan, Hanuman, and Sugriva, the great battle of Sri Lanka, and the return to Ayodhya. He learned all these things from Narada Muni in 79 verses, and he was so inspired that he went back to his ashram meditating and contemplating on this wonderful lila he had just heard from his guru.

At noon, he turned to one of his students, Bharadvaja, and said, “Let us take our bath.” So they went to a river named Tamasa, which is not far from the Ganga. He was remembering these beautiful pastimes that Narada Muni had spoken before departing, and observing and appreciating the beauty of the banks of that wonderful river near his ashram. He said to his student, “Please give me my tree-bark garment so I can take my noonday bath.”

Walking along the river, he saw something that deeply affected his heart: two krauncha birds, a male and a female. The nature of these krauncha birds is that when they form a relationship of lover and beloved, it is for life; once they give their heart to their companion, they can never give their heart to anyone else. They were so happy to be together, playing and embracing. Valmiki was watching and thinking, “Just see the power of the affection they have for each other.” Suddenly, out from the bushes came a hunter and shot an arrow that pierced the breast of the male bird. He fell to the ground out of the arms of his lover, suffering terribly, blood gushing and soaking his body. His partner, the female krauncha bird, was utterly brokenhearted, wailing and crying as the male bird died right in front of her eyes.

She was crying so piteously that it affected Valmiki’s heart so deeply. In a mood of grief and compassion, he spontaneously—without thinking—pronounced a curse beginning ma nishada: “O hunter, may you never attain peace for endless years, because you killed one of a pair of krauncha birds while they were absorbed in love for each other.” Now, he was a saint who had spiritual power, and he had just cursed this person to find no peace for endless years. After he said it, he felt really guilty, thinking, “Why did I make that curse? What he did wasn’t so bad—I was a robber and like a hunter myself not long ago, and now I’m cursing a person to endless anxiety with no rest or peace! How is it that I became so overwhelmed with passion that I pronounced such a terrible curse?”

Then he thought about the way he had pronounced the curse—it was a beautiful verse. From a curse came a verse: four lines, each line having exactly eight syllables, totaling 32 syllables, with a meter so pleasing it could be sung and accompanied by a vina. “What a wonderful, amazing verse came out of me, although it was a curse!” Bharadvaja, his student, heard that verse and memorized it, and Valmiki said, “Remember this; it was composed in a mood of deep, uncontrollable grief and compassion for another.”

He returned to his ashram, unable to stop thinking about those poor birds, the guilt of the curse he had put on someone, and at the same time, how pleasing the meter of that curse was. It was at that moment that the guru of his guru, Lord Brahma, appeared in his ashram. Valmiki told everything to Brahma. Brahma was very happy and said, “You didn’t compose that verse—I did. At that moment when you were in such grief and compassion for another living being, I spoke those words through you. I had Goddess Sarasvati manifest that verse, because it is the first time Sanskrit was put into such a poetic form.” Brahma continued, “You have heard the story of Lord Rama from your guru, Narada Muni. Now I want you to compose the Ramayana. Meditate on what Narada Muni has spoken to you, and while you are meditating, all the beautiful pastimes of Lord Ramachandra will be revealed to you from within your heart. All the things that you see, you should describe in the same poetic meter as this verse that I have manifested through you.” It is well known throughout India, this saying: from shoka (grief of compassion) came shloka (the poetic verse).

Lord Brahma departed, and Valmiki meditated, contemplating on the mercy of his guru and the wonderful pastimes of Lord Ramachandra, who was actually on the planet at the time. Those wonderful pastimes from the past, present, and future were revealed to him, and he composed 24,000 verses in that beautiful meter. Coming out of his meditation after composing all of them within his heart, he wondered, “Who is it that could remember all these verses?” Just then, two of his very young students, Lava and Kusha, came before him, bowed to their guru, and took the dust from his lotus feet. Valmiki was sure: “It is them.” He spoke the 24,000 verses of the Ramayana he had composed, and after hearing it, Lava and Kusha perfectly memorized it. Valmiki instructed them to share this message. They spoke the Ramayana to a group of brahmanas near the ashram, and the brahmanas were so happy they couldn’t believe it—they were just little boys! They celebrated their good fortune, gave them gifts, and encouraged them to travel and chant the glories of Lord Ram. With Valmiki Muni’s blessings and those of their godbrothers and godsisters, they went out and started chanting the glories of the Ramayana.

At that time, not too far from Valmiki’s ashram was Ayodhya. This was after Ram had already delivered Ravana, gone through His 14 years of exile, returned to Ayodhya, become king, and also sent Sita away—and her two children, Lava and Kusha, were born at Valmiki Muni’s ashram, though Ram had never seen them and didn’t recognize them. Valmiki Muni understood that Ramachandra was performing an Ashvamedha-yajna, a very celebrated and difficult yajna, and so many great saints, rishis, and yogis were coming to bless and be blessed by the occasion. Lava and Kusha were spontaneously chanting the Ramayana wherever they went, and soon they were in the streets of Ayodhya.

Lord Ramachandra was the king, and He would wander through the kingdom because He wanted to make sure everyone was happy, protected, and performing their duties properly. It was Ram-rajya. Lord Ramachandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, ruling as the king of the great Ikshvaku dynasty in the capital of Ayodhya. Ravana was gone, and the kingdom of Lanka was ruled by Vibhishana, a pure devotee of Ram. Ram had everything, yet He was still so humble, compassionate, and fearless; He made sure every single citizen, whatever their situation, was living a life of pure devotion in the happiness of feeling Ram’s love and shelter. There was simply no reason for anyone to be dissatisfied when completely recognizing and receiving Lord Ram’s love. It was the perfect kingdom. Ram-rajya is only possible because Ram saw every living being the way a father sees his own child—with that same love, care, and compassion, not only for humanity, but for all other species. He was everyone’s well-wisher.

One day in the streets, He saw Lava and Kusha, these two young boys, singing the Ramayana. He invited them to the palace and gathered all His family members—Bharata, Lakshmana, Shatrughna, the ministers, and the queens—and Ramachandra had Lava and Kusha recite the Ramayana to all of them. Ram was sitting on His throne while Lava and Kusha spoke so enthusiastically and sweetly. They were twins, singing the Ramayana together, saying the exact same word of the same line together in the same meter, with such beautiful, sweet, devoted voices that it was like nectar. Ram was so eager to hear that He got off His throne and sat with everyone else in the audience. It is described that everyone there hearing Lava and Kusha describe the glories of the Ramayana as they heard it from Valmiki was completely captivated—even God Himself forgot about everything except the beautiful song of Lava and Kusha, in total absorption in hearing.

This is how the Ramayana has become available to us: through Lava and Kusha’s recitation. They were the ones who could hear from Valmiki not only all the words, but all the feelings and all the bhava. Lord Chaitanya took sannyasa and broke so many hearts so he could give pure bhakti to the world. Similarly, Ram accepted exile. Actually, if Ramachandra had said, “My dear father, I’ll stay,” Dasharatha would have said, “Yes, yes, yes, perfect! I wanted you to stay!” Every single person in the entire kingdom would have celebrated Ram saying He would stay, except Kaikeyi and Manthara. Ram chose to leave not only to protect His father’s word of honor—which is dharma—but also to spread pure love and pure bhakti through the beautiful pastimes of the Ramayana. Even in that incredible story where Ram sent Sita away to Valmiki’s ashram, in doing that He manifested the glories of Sita and His own glories throughout the ages. What Lava and Kusha spread when wandering is what we are still discussing today, yugas later. Sometimes people ask why He would send Sita away: it was for you, for me, and for everyone in the world, out of mercy and compassion. He was brokenhearted doing it, and Sita was brokenhearted doing it, but they both understood it was for a higher purpose of compassion for all.

Closing Announcements

Now, we are very unqualified and undeserving to be here with you. When Shukadeva Goswami wrote the Srimad Bhagavatam, he spoke about the most primary, prominent incarnations of the Lord and the greatest love between the Lord and His devotees. From the very first verse, he begins with pure, unalloyed devotion, and before he comes to the culmination of Narada Muni’s instructions to reveal Krishna’s pastimes, in the Ninth Canto he describes Lord Ramachandra’s pastimes. The supremely glorious pastimes of Lord Ram are eternally enshrined within the hearts of devotees.

Tomorrow is Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. The temple that he worked the hardest for, performed the most sacrifices for, took the most risks for, and spent the most amount of energy on in the whole society was the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in Juhu, Mumbai. There, Srila Prabhupada installed—besides Gaura-Nitai and Radha-Rasabihari—Sita, Ram, Lakshmana, and Hanuman. It was one of his greatest offerings as far as temples and communities, and he put Sita, Ram, Lakshmana, and Hanuman on the altar for all to worship.

Day after tomorrow, we will begin our narration—since tomorrow is Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. I have a list here of all of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples who have come to bless us during this yatra:

• His Holiness Chandramauli Swami Maharaj
• His Holiness Bhakti Purushottama Swami Maharaj
• His Grace Jananivas Prabhu
• His Grace Sadashiva Prabhu
• His Grace Samira Prabhu
• Her Grace Malati Devi Dasi (who is on behalf of Srila Prabhupada our ever well-wisher)
• Her Grace Jayashri Devi Dasi
• Her Grace Mandakini Devi Dasi
• His Grace Tribhangananda Prabhu
• Our dear friend Sridhari
• His Grace Yadubara Prabhu
• From Jagannatha Puri, His Grace Ramakumar Prabhu

So, day after tomorrow, with your permission, we will speak from the Ramayana, focusing on the exchanges of pure, selfless love and devotion between the Lord and His devotees. Tomorrow is a very, very holy day: it is the 49th anniversary of the disappearance of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved Guru Maharaj and founder-acharya of our whole worldwide society. By the infinite compassion of his heart and his life of selfless dedication to the service of the Supreme Lord, the doors have opened for all of us to attain the highest perfection. So let us prepare ourselves and our hearts to reciprocate with our gratitude throughout the day tomorrow. Thank you very much.

We will now have kirtan, and after kirtan, together we will chant the Damodarashtakam.