Tag: love

Mother Yashoda goes calling Krishna when he does not return home

In Vrindavan, Krishna and Balarama would be busy playing with their cowherd friends. Once they were playing since morning after breakfast and it was time for lunch, but they had not yet returned home.

Both the brothers were so absorbed in playing that they did not notice that they have been playing for hours. First Rohini goes to call them. But they do not listen to her.

Rohini knows that Yashoda’s love for Krishna and Balarama is more, so she asks Yashoda to go and bring them back.

Mother Yashoda goes to call Krishna and Balarama who were so busy playing that they had forgotten to return home. But they do not listen to her too. They continue playing. Mother Yashoda says that your father, Nanda Maharaj, is waiting for you. He will not take lunch without both of you.

When they hear this, they decide to return. But the cowherd friends say to Krishna, “If you go then we will not allow you to play with us next time.” They start discussing among themselves that whenever Krishna starts losing, he runs away, so next time we will not take him in our team.

When Krishna hears this, he becomes afraid, and he again starts playing with them. But this time Mother Yashoda catches the hand of Krishna and Balarama and brings them back home.

By these pastimes which is full of love and affection, Krishna gives pleasure to his devotees. He also enjoys these pastimes. Krishna always likes to be surrounded with his close devotees. He plays with them, sing with them, dance with them and eat prasadam with them.

His devotees are oblivious to the fact that he is the Supreme Lord. And even if they know they do not give much importance to them.

Vrindavan is Krishna’s home

Just like even if a person is the Prime Minister of a country but at his home, he remains a son to his parents, brother to his siblings, husband to his wife and father to his child. At home he is not treated the way he is treated in his office.

No one at his house will stand up when he enters the house, no one will salute him and no will call him sir or Mr Prime Minister at home.

His mother may even chastise him for coming later or not having food on time. His brothers and sisters will pull his legs; his wife may sometime become upset with him and he will have to make efforts to please her. And his kids will sit on his lap or play with him. Although he may be the Prime Minster, but he will relish such intimate relationship.

Similarly, although Krishna is the Supreme Lord, but Vrindavan is his home and everyone staying there are his family members. So, his relationship with his devotees in Vrindavan is not official but personal.

This is why we see his pastimes in Vrindavan with his devotees are full of fun and intimacy. Such a wonderful bonding gives great joy to the Lord and all the devotees.

Also, the relationship which Krishna is having in Vrindavan will never end like the way it happens here in this material world. Krishna is eternal and his devotees in the spiritual world are also eternal.  We too have an opportunity to participate in Krishna pastimes in Vrindavan.  Let us work in that direction by becoming serious in our devotion to Krishna.

Three Reflections

• Krishna and Balarama are so absorbed in playing with his friends that they forget that its lunch time and they have to return home.
• Vrindavan is Krishna’s home and everyone living there are his family members.
• The relationship which Krishna is having in Vrindavan will never end like the way it happens here in this material world.

Ask Yourself

• Do I have desire to be part of Krishna’s pastime in Vrindavan?

Action Item

• Read the chapter “The Childhood Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa” from Srimad Bhagavatam 10.11.

Achieving love of Krishna in the association of devotees

Achieving love of Krishna isn’t difficult as most of us presume. For e.g. for a child to achieve the affection of father is very simple. The child just needs to reciprocate with the father’s love. Similarly, for us to get the love of Krishna, who is our supreme father, is not difficult.

He is eagerly waiting for us to show our love to him. We too want Krishna but unfortunately currently our attachment to Krishna is weak and to this world is terribly strong.

So, we need to make efforts to develop unbreakable and ever lasting bond with Krishna. This becomes easy when we begin associating with those who are deeply attached to Krishna.

This is one of the most important methods of inculcating love of God. An iron rod put in fire acquires fiery quality after a while. Similarly, if we remain in the association of sincere devotees then we eventually develop love for Krishna.

This is what the scriptures and acharya teach us.

Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, a Vaisnava acharya, has advised that one should always live in the association of those who are sincerely practicing devotional life and following the footsteps of previous acharyas – tadera carana sevi bhakta – sane vasa.

Srila Prabhupada says, “One must worship the lotus feet of the ācārya and live within the society of devotees. Then one’s endeavor to cross over nescience will surely be successful.” Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.31 purport

We see how hippies of the western world who had no knowledge about Krishna became sincere devotees of Krishna just by associating with Srila Prabhupada.

Krishna wants us back

While associating with devotees is vital for our spiritual advancement, it is also equally important that we do not associate with non-devotees. Those who are not interested in Krishna will try to pull us away from Krishna.  

We may be desirous to tread the right path, and our heart may long to get closer to God but in the company of non-devotee friends it becomes difficult to sustain the enthusiasm. If we spend too much time with them then we will succumb to our old bad habits.

Lord Chaitanya says, asat – sanga – tyaga, – ei vaisnava acarya: Characteristically, a Vaisanava is one who gives up the association of worldly people or non-devotees. Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhaya 22.87

So as a seeker or as a beginner in Krishna consciousness, we should always try to remain in association of devotees of the Lord.  With them to practice devotion to Krishna is always inspiring.

And if at present we are not having such association then we should sincerely pray to Lord to provide us with the association of his sincere devotees. Krishna will reciprocate with our desire and put us in the company of sincere souls. He eagerly wants us to come back to him.

If we just take one step towards Krishna, then he begins desperately running towards us to embrace us and to be with us.  

Just imagine, how our life will become wonderful when we will get reunited with Krishna!

Three Reflections

• If we remain in the association of sincere devotees, then we eventually develop love for Krishna.
• A sincere devotee should give up the association of worldly people or non-devotees.
• If at present we are not having devotee association, then we should sincerely pray to Krishna to provide us with the association of his sincere devotees.

Ask Yourself

• Do I practice devotional life in the association of devotees?

Action Item

• If not, then try to find devotees living near you and practice devotion with them.

Pleasing Krishna is so simple

Lack of time, lack of resources and lack of skill generally prevent us from achieving something great in life. But to achieve the greatest of all things, i.e. the love of Krishna is the simplest thing in this world to do.

The only requirement is to have the desire to attain Krishna. And the only prerequisite is to give up the desire to enjoy independently from Krishna. Anyone who wants Krishna, attains Krishna. And those who attain Krishna are never deprived of anything in this world. Krishna makes sure that his devotees get the best.

When Dhruva took shelter of the Supreme Lord then Krishna made him the emperor of the whole world.  Krishna helped Pandavas to defeat the insurmountable army of Kauravas. As Lord Narasimhadeva, he saved Prahlada from the jaws of death. And we all know how Krishna gave his dear friend Sudama opulence greater than the king of the world although Sudama never asked for it.  

Worshipping Krishna, loving Krishna and pleasing Krishna is so simple. He does not demand anything from us; in fact, he can be pleased if we simply offer him a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water. Bhagavad – Gita 9.26

What did Dhruva and Prahlada offer to Krishna? Nothing. What did Sudama give to Krishna? Broken chipped rice. And what did they all get in return? Everything. 

We never hear of any incident of someone asking something from Krishna and Krishna refuses to give him. Yes, he will not give something which is harmful to his devotees but will surely give things which are beneficial for the devotees.

So, the scriptures vehemently ask us to give up our reluctance to not surrender to Krishna. Instead, the holy books ask us to put everything aside and immediately take to Krishna Consciousness.

Simple heart pleases Krishna

Let us give it a try at least once. The result will be awesome. This is confirmed in all revealed scriptures and Krishna’s devotees vouch for it.

It is said that the taste of the pudding lies in tasting it. So, without practicing devotion to Krishna how will we taste the nectar of Krishna consciousness?

Let’s do a simple exercise. Let us close our eyes, think about Krishna, chant the mahamantra, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and in a prayerful mood reveal our hearts desire to Krishna.

Krishna guarantees us in Bhagavad – Gita that those who willfully seek his blessings he never disheartens them.

When he sees that his devotee is sincerely seeking him then the Supreme Lord is immensely pleased. With our material opulence or achievement, we won’t be able to please him. Duryodhana tried but failed. But by simple devotion, we can please Krishna easily.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Vidura’s wife was throwing away banana and was offering banana peels to Krishna and the Supreme Lord was happily eating it.

If we too have such a simple heart and great desire to please Krishna, then Krishna will surely be pleased because pleasing him is so simple.

Three Reflections

• Those who attain Krishna are never deprived of anything in this world; Krishna makes sure that his devotees get the best.
• Worshipping Krishna is so simple, he can be pleased if we simply offer him a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water.
• Overwhelmed with emotion, Vidura’s wife was throwing away banana and was offering banana peels to Krishna and the Supreme Lord was happily eating it.

Ask Yourself

• Am I daily offering something to Krishna with love and devotion?

Action Item

• Daily offer something to Krishna either fruits, flowers, milk and anything which is without onion and garlic.

Facing criticism for becoming a devotee of Krishna

If someone is criticizing you for becoming a devotee of Krishna then do not worry, you are not alone.  Many sincere devotees have faced this problem or are facing this problem.

There will always be someone who will discourage us when we will want to become serious in our devotion to Krishna. But now we know that Krishna is our best well-wishing friend. He is the only one who can give great joy to our heart. And he is the only one who can relive us from all the sufferings and save us from all the dangers.

We have tried so many things in our life to satisfy our heart and to free our mind from fear and anxiety, but nothing worked. But when we began practicing devotion to Krishna especially chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, we started experiencing what we had always been longing for – never ending satisfaction and happiness.

Chanting is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s wonderful gift to us.

Benefits of Chanting

Chanting the names of Krishna:

• Purifies our heart of all the impurities.
• Burns our past sins which is the root cause of our sufferings.
• Helps us to connect to Krishna.

Lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego are the impurities which keeps us away from Krishna and constantly troubles us. The sins which we committed in past – either in this life or previous life – are the reasons that we go through different sufferings in this world.

And there is no material means which can purify our heart of these impurities or give us relief from sinful reactions.

But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is none other than Krishna says that chanting is so potent that it cleanses our heart of all impurities and relives us from all the sins. As chanting begins purifying our heart, we start relishing the names of Krishna which now appears as nectar.

“Glory to the Sri Krishna Sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.” Sri Siksastakam, Text 1

Once we develop taste for chanting, nothing of this world distracts us anymore. This is the reason that devotees like Haridas Thakura would chant 192 rounds daily because he experienced great joy in chanting.

Criticism does not bother a sincere devotee

And this is the reason that we too do not want to give up chanting because we know that a day will come when we too will begin relishing Krishna holy names.

When that happens, we will attain freedom from material bondage, forever we will never again have to suffer. And by the grace of Krishna, one day we will attain love of Krishna too.

Such a blissful future is knocking at our door, so why we will give up devotion to Krishna, why we will stop chanting the names of Krishna. And why we will be bothered about someone who is criticizing us for becoming a devotee of Krishna.

We should take a vow to not again get distracted by the false promises of this temporary world. And we should do our best to always remain connected to Krishna by never giving up chanting the names of Krishna i.e. the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Three Reflections

• We should not be bothered about someone who is criticizing us for becoming a devotee of Krishna.
• Chanting is so potent that it cleanses our heart of all impurities and relives us from all the sins.
• Once we develop taste for chanting the names of Krishna, we will attain freedom from material bondage and forever we will never again have to suffer.

Ask Yourself

• Is someone criticising you when you are chanting the names of Krishna?

Action Item

• Develop friendship with a devotee who encourages you to chant the names of Krishna.

Krishna is conquered by the love of his devotees|Srimad Bhagavatam 11.3.27-28

• Srimad Bhagavad Class Verse: SB 11.3.27-28
• Venue: Iskcon Newtown,Kolkata
• Speaker: HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu
• Date: 21st May 2025

In today’s Srimad Bhagavatam class, HG Vrindavan Chari Prabhu was saying that “Lord gets conquered by the love of his devotees.”  Prabhuji was speaking on SB 11.3.27-28.

                        ŚB 11.3.27-28                             

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ dhyānaṁ
harer adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ
janma-karma-guṇānāṁ ca
tad-arthe ’khila-ceṣṭitam

iṣṭaṁ dattaṁ tapo japtaṁ
vṛttaṁ yac cātmanaḥ priyam
dārān sutān gṛhān prāṇān
yat parasmai nivedanam

Translation

“One should hear, glorify and meditate upon the wonderful transcendental activities of the Lord. One should specifically become absorbed in the appearance, activities, qualities and holy names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus inspired, one should perform all of one’s daily activities as an offering to the Lord. One should perform sacrifice, charity and penance exclusively for the Lord’s satisfaction. Similarly, one should chant only those mantras which glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And all one’s religious activities should be performed as an offering to the Lord. Whatever one finds pleasing or enjoyable he should immediately offer to the Supreme Lord, and even his wife, children, home and very life air he should offer at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Below article is based on the class given by HG His Grace Vrindavan Chari Prabhu.

Process of Bhagavad Dharma

We should daily chant minimum 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra. This is the most important thing to do. One of the other important vows which we take in our spiritual life is to observe ekadasi vrata and we should always follow it.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that if one does not take to the process of Bhagavad Dharma then one cannot understand the Supreme Lord. To try to understand the Lord with our imperfect senses is impossible.

One should take to this process of Bhagavad Dharma whether one is a sanyasi, brahmachari, vanaprastha or grihasta.

We should throw away all speculative knowledge and try to practice devotion to the Lord in any situations and circumstances. There is a song compiled by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakura where he says,

grihe thako, vane thako, sada ‘hari’ bole’ dako,
sukhe duhkhe bhulo na’ko, vadane hari-nam koro re

“Whether you are a householder or a sannyasi, constantly chant “Hari! Hari!” Do not forget this chanting, whether you are in a happy condition or a distressful one. Just fill your lips with the hari-nama.”

Whatever be your position, you should constantly chant the name of Hari.

The process of hearing the glories of Lord is immensely powerful. Anybody can develop love of God by this process. And everybody is qualified to hear the glories of Lord. It does not depend upon one’s social position. In Iskcon no one asks which caste we belong to.

This is why we see in our temple Srimad Bhagavad Class is given by everyone – sanyasi also gives, brahmachari also gives, vanaprastha also gives and grihasta also gives.

Offer your activities to the Lord

We should perform our daily activities as an offering to the Lord. This is the process given to us. Every morning, we do mangala arati, hear Srimad Bhagavatam and chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra. And this every devotee should do whether one is staying in temple or at home.

nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā – hearing daily Srimad Bhagavatam is very important and should be followed by all.

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

“By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.” Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.18

This is the process of Bhagavad Dharma.

Conquer the Lord by your love

One should become absorbed in chanting the names of the Lord and in hearing the glories of the Lord. We should do service as per our position and all services should be an offering to the Lord.

The devotees are able to conquer the Lord by their love. Non-devotees cannot conquer the Lord because they do not have love for the Lord.

Sanatana Goswami explains how devotees conquer the Lord. Devotees of the Lord, through their words, body and mind conquer the Lord and thus they become perfect in Krishna Consciousness. Such devotees can touch the lotus feet of Krishna with their hands, call him with their words and attain direct guidance in their mind simply by thinking about him.

It is said that it becomes possible to remember the Lord through the mind, speak his glories and render service to him with our body when we become servant of the servant of the devotees of the Lord i.e. when we become “dasanudas”. So, we should always aspire to become a surrendered servant of the Lord.

When one is able to offer all respects to all then one can remember the Lord and serve the Lord constantly.

Lord wants to be conquered by the love of his devotees. And non devotees can never conquer the Lord because they are not engaged in the loving service of the Lord.  

Surrender out of love to Krishna

My friend cringed when he heard that the final instruction of the Bhagavad-gita is to surrender to Krishna wholeheartedly. “Am I a criminal that I should surrender to Him? Better worship a God who is more humble and down-to-earth!”

The word surrender does not usually conjure good images in our mind. As the dictionary confirms, surrender is associated with defeat and despair, and loss of pride and prestige. When an army surrenders to the enemy, it brings disgrace to the nation.

A criminal or a terrorist is forced to surrender because he is a nuisance to the society. In this world we find that the winner becomes arrogant and want to humiliate the loser by forcing him to surrender, while the loser is seeking an opportunity to take revenge and settle scores.

But the surrender that Krishna demands in the Gita is far different from the forced surrender of a loser in life. Selective reading of the Bhagavad-Gita may make us think that Krishna is an egoistic God. Certain verses may sound like the speech of a politician, who while campaigning for election promises the voters to eradicate all sufferings of the people if voted to power.

But Krishna is not a political leader that He wants to increase His number of followers. His call for surrender is not driven by egoistic claims of supremacy; it is actually impelled by His supreme compassion for all living entities.

Panacea for all sufferings

Krishna’ s Godhood does not need our backing as proof. All the Vedic literatures unequivocally declare that Krishna is the supreme. Here are some examples: isvarahparamah Krishna – “Krishna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead” (Brahma-samhita 5.1); Krishna tubhagavansvayam – “Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead” (Bhagavatam 1.3.38).

“Devaki’s son [Krishna] is the Supreme Lord” [Narayana Upanisad (4)]. Even Krishna Himself declares explicitly about His supreme position: mattahparataramnanyatkincidastidhananjaya – “0 conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me” (Bhagavad-Gita 7.7).

 Surrender to Krishna is a beautiful experience and the most wonderful concept in all of creation. It means to genuinely offer our love to Him. Those who are unwilling to surrender to Krishna with love have to surrender to Him at the time of death. Old age, disease and death are the weapons by which powerful time strangulates us.

All great emperors of the world – Alexander, Napolean, Hitler, Aurangzeb – have been swept away into oblivion by the force of time. To the degree we consider ourselves the controller and proprietor of things of this world, to that degree we suffer when we face Krishna in the form of death. That surrender is too painful and immensely horrible.

 On the other hand, if we understand our eternal position as the servant of Krishna and humbly accept it, all our miseries will cease to exist. Krishna immediately takes the devotee under His tutelage.

If we take one step towards Krishna, He takes hundreds of steps towards us. Krishna wants us to be happy and is always ready to shower His love upon us. He promises: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Bhagavad-Gita (18.66)

Krishna the humblest waiting for us

I wish my friend understood how God, although the greatest person, is simultaneously the most humble. Imagine an employee who works for a multi-millionaire becomes inimical towards his boss and starts disobeying and demeaning him. Will the boss tolerate him?

Strangely Krishna does so; He allows the rebellious souls to rebel against Him, and creates the material world for them, so they can satisfy their gratuitous desires. Krishna tolerates all and patiently waits for the moment these souls will realize their folly and turn towards Him.

Krishna’ s pastimes with His devotees clearly reveal His humility. One time His childhood friend Sudama came to visit Him in Dvaraka, being very poor, Sudama was not dressed properly. His clothes were torn and dirty, and he was emaciated. When Lord Krishna came to know that his friend Sudama has arrived, He immediately rushed out of His palace to receive His friend. He embraced Sudama and made him sit on His own bedstead. He washed Sudama’s feet and personally offered him fruits and drinks.

 Although Krishna belonged to the royal Yadava family, He never forgot His poor brahmana friend. He treated Sudama as His equal.

Krishna is famous as the charioteer of Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, He didn’t mind taking such a humble position for His devotee although He was God Himself.

Thus, we see that the supreme proprietor, creator and master of the entire cosmic manifestation is eager to serve His devotees and take a secondary role. We rarely find such examples in the history of the world.

In spite of our brazenness Krishna is ready to accept us again and fervently hopes that one day we will return back to the spiritual world, our original home.

The Wonder of Surrender to Krishna

My friend abhors the word surrender because he thinks he is not a criminal. But as lawbreakers of the spiritual world, we too have acted criminally. Fortunately, Lord Krishna is merciful toward us and eagerly wants us to return back to Him.

Surrendering to Krishna, our original father, does not bring us any dishonor. Our surrender to Krishna is like a patient submitting himself to a doctor for treatment or a child taking shelter of his mother.

A patient agrees to abide by the prescription of the doctor for his own benefit; a child experiences love and care on the lap of his mother. Krishna’ s clarion call to surrender is for our salvation.

Not everyone surrenders; Krishna understands this: “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Bhagavad-gita 7.19)

If we are not with Krishna, we are undoubtedly with maya, Krishna’ s material illusory energy. So either to Krishna or to His material energy, we must surrender. In fact, every day, knowingly or unknowingly, we surrender to the dictum of our mind and senses, to our insatiable desires, to the demands of our bodies, to our lower self, to so many people in our daily life.

My poor friend is a heavy smoker, smoking half a dozen cigarettes daily. He hardly realizes that he has surrendered his life to a life-threatening addiction.

Arjuna’s example

Arjuna was in acute anxiety before the Mahabharata war began, but after hearing Krishna’ s message he completely surrendered to Krishna and thus paved the way for his glorious victory.

Arjuna said: “My dear Krishna, 0 infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions. (Bhagavad-Gita 18.73).

Like Arjuna, there are many examples in history who achieved incredible fame and glory just by following Krishna’ s instructions and the instructions of His devotees. By surrendering to Krishna success is certain in our life; there will be no room for anxieties and miseries.

Surrendering to Krishna opens the door for a blissful and eternal life. “For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.58)”

Lord Krishna is the eternal superstar who never disappoints his fans

Krishna is the only superstar who never disappoints his fans because he is always ready to reciprocate with the feelings of his fans.

In this world, film stars, sports stars, rock stars, politicians, rich and mighty have innumerable fan following. Their fans surround their senses with the images of their beloved stars, decorate their houses with their pictures and keep each and every update of their favourite celebrity.

The unfulfilled desire

They continuously dream to meet their icons at least once in their life. These desperate fans want to touch them, desire to shake hands with them and long to hug them. They even dream to have breakfast/lunch/dinner with them. But sadly, rarely their dreams come true. The reality is that the celebrities rarely care for their fans.

There are many incidents when the fans have been thrashed by the security guards of the stars. Even celebrities sometimes slap their followers. People spend their time, energy and money eulogising their idols; they fiercely defend them when someone speaks some unpalatable words against their favourite luminaries.

But in spite of all their sacrifices, they end up being humiliated and slapped. One of the famous stars who have lakhs of following was seen spitting on his fans when they had assembled in front of his house to just have a glimpse of him.

Krishna always reciprocates with our feelings

Now contrast this with the love which God, Krishna, the creator of this world, bestows upon each living entity.  He descends from his spiritual abode to this material world for you and me. As God, he not just creates and maintains us and this world, but he is always present with us as Paramatma in our heart.  As Paramatma, he constantly reciprocates with our desires. And he eagerly waits when we will have desire to have him. Krishna, never disappoints his devotees.  

When Lord Vishnu ran to save his devotee

Once Lord Vishnu was having his meal and Lakshmi was by his side. Immediately Lord Vishnu got up and started running. Lakshmi was surprised. Then after few minutes Vishnu returned back bit unhappy. Lakshmi asked what had happened. Why did he run frantically and why did he return so soon? Vishnu replied that one person was being attacked by a ferocious tiger and he called my name so I ran to help him. But soon the person forgot me and made his own arrangement.  He does not need me anymore. So, I came back. This is the love of the Lord for his devotees. He is ever ready to be with us when we need him.

Krishna’s love for his devotee, Sudama

When Sudama, an extremely poor brahmana, went to see Krishna then Krishna got up from his gold studded throne and ran to receive him.  Upon seeing Sudama, the lord embraced him. In fact, he was personally fanning Sudama and feeding him delicious food.

Have we seen any example of any famous personality of this world, who is reciprocating with his fan in such an intimate way?

Why not be a fan of Krishna, the eternal superstar?

Stars of this world are mortal beings, they are infinitesimal. Their name and fame stay with them for a limited period of time. But the Supreme Lord is the eternal superstar, and he has tremendous love for us.

Lord Krishna always reciprocates with the feelings of his devotees, he never disappoints them. So why not we become his fan instead of becoming the fans of the lesser mortals who hardly have any respect for our emotions?

In fact, if we take just a single step towards the Supreme Lord then he takes hundreds of steps towards us. He even gives us the knowledge to reach him, “To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Bhagavad Gita 10.10

Why Lord Jagannath ate the laddu which was too hard to eat?

Once a devotee offered laddu to Lord Jagannath in the bhoga which was too hard to be eaten but the Supreme Lord ate that offering. There is a beautiful story behind this wonderful pastime. This pastime shows how Lord Jagannath lovingly deals with his devotees.

Devotee decides to cook a special laddu for Jagannath

Once a devotee desired to prepare laddu for Lord Jagannath using jaggery. This was the first time he was preparing such item. He thought everyday Lord is eating the same bhoga items, so, something different should be offered to the Lord. So, he prepared the laddu. And the laddu was offered to the Supreme Lord along with other bhoga items.

On that day during offering time, the king of Jagannath Puri came to take darshan of the Lord. So, after the darshan, the pujaris wanted to offer some prasad to the king. Now the king was busy that day so he thought let me take some light item with me. He saw the laddu and decided to take it with him.

Meanwhile the devotee who had prepared the laddu was looking for it. He thought that this is the first time I have prepared it and offered to the Lord, so, I want to taste it and see how it has come out. It will help me to improve the preparation. But the king had already taken that food item with him.

After taking darshan of the Lord, the king got busy with his other engagements. After completing his work, he sat down to take his meal. While eating his food, he remembered the laddu which he had taken from the temple. So, he requested that laddu be served to him. The laddu was served to the king.

King’s tooth creaks when he tries to eat laddu

But to the surprise of the king, the laddu was extremely hard. Not just that on the same morning the king had severe pain in one of his teeth.  And the king by mistake had bitten the laddu with the same tooth. And because of it, his tooth came out. The king was in pain. He became extremely angry.

He immediately ordered that the person who has prepared this laddu should be put behind bars. King was furious because he thought that how can such a hard laddu be served to the Lord. As per the king’s order, the devotee cook who had prepared the laddu was put behind bars. The devotee was surprised that what was his crime. Later he came to know the reason behind his incarnation.

Jagannath appears in King’s dream

On the same night when the devotee cook was put behind bars the king saw a dream. In the dream, Lord Jagannath appeared, and he was chastising the king. The Lord said that how dare he put his devotee behind bars.

The Lord ordered the king to release the cook immediately. Not just that, Lord Jagannath also said that the king should seek forgiveness from the cook. The cook should be taken on a palanquin to his home and the king should sing the glories of the cook in front of others. The king did not have any problem in following the order of Lord Jagannath.

But the king had a question. He asked the lord, “My dear Lord, I tried eating the laddu but it was too hard. My tooth came out. So, how you are appreciating his offering and how you were able to eat his laddu?”

Lord Jagannath explains how he ate the laddu

The Lord smiled and said, “As soon as I saw the laddu I could understand that it is too difficult for me to eat it. So, I started thinking that which incarnation of mine can eat this laddu. Then I thought only my incarnation as Lord Narasimhadeva with his strong teeth can eat such a hard laddu. So, I ate the laddu as Lord Narasimhadeva. Since my devotee had prepared this laddu with such love, so how I could refuse it.”

The king within his heart understood that how Lord accepts the offering which is prepared with love.

But Lord Jagannath did not stop here. He further said to the king, “My desire is that from today onwards this particular laddu is prepared daily and served. And I as Narasimhadeva will eat it.”

The king happily agreed.

He came out of the dream and immediately ordered that the devotee cook be released. the king also sought forgiveness from the cook and he sent him back home on a palanquin. He glorified the cook in front of others. And also as per the order of Lord Jagannath, the king requested the devotee cook to prepare the laddu daily.

The cook was so happy to hear that in spite of the shortcomings, Lord Jagannath mercifully accepted his offering.

He agreed to prepare the laddu daily. And from that day onwards the laddu was served to the Lord daily. This special laddu came to be known as Narasimha laddu.

Lord only wants our love and nothing else

These pastimes of the Lord shows that the Lord is not hungry for the food items which we offer to him. But he actually sees with what intention we are offering things to him. How much love is there in it. Jagannath is the Lord of the universe; he does not need the food we offer to satisfy his hunger, but he needs our love. That is what he is hungry for.  

Krishna makes it very clear in Bhagavad Gita 9.26 when he says, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”

We are also hungry for the love of Lord but unfortunately, we do not realize this. And so, we suffer in this world. We try to satisfy ourselves through material means. But things of this world can never give us any satisfaction and any happiness.  We will become happy and satisfied only when we offer our love to the Supreme Lord Jagannath.

The devotee prepared laddu with love and Lord Jagannath ate it as Lord Narasimhadeva. Similarly, if we offer anything to Lord with love then the Lord will surely accept it.  And then our life will become perfect. We will be happy and satisfied.

Note: This pastime is based on the class given by HG Baladev Prabhu, a senior monk of Iskcon Chowpatty. He spoke this pastime during the first day of Kartik Yatra 2023 at Bhakti Vaibhav Puri Maharaj Matha at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham.

12 names of Lord Chaitanya which gives complete perfection

In Sri Krsna-Chaitanya-Dvadasa-Nama-Stotram,  Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya writes about 12 important names of Lord Chaitanya. He further says that these glorious names of Chaitanya if chanted daily brings auspiciousness in life.

Twelve principal names of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are:

(1) caitanyah krsna-caitanyo gaurango dvija-nayakah
yatinam dandinam caiva nyasinam ca siromanih

(2) raktambara-dharah sriman navadvipa-sudhakarah
prema-bhakti-pradas caiva sri-saci-nandanas tatha.

Sri Krsna-Chaitanya-Dvadasa-Nama-Stotram by Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya:

Meaning of each of the 12 names of Lord Chaitanya are as follows:

• Chaitanya — The living force
• Krsna-Chaitanya — The all-attractive Supreme living force
• Gauranga — He of fair bodily complexion
• Dvija-Nayaka — The hero amongst the twice-born brahmanas
• Yatinam Siromani — The crest jewel of sannyasis (who wander freely)
• Dandinam Siromani – The crest jewel of sannyasis (who carry staffs)
• Nyasinam Siromani — The crest jewel of sannyasis (who renounce everything).
• Raktambara-Dhara — He who wears red cloth
• Sriman — The supreme opulent one
• Navadvipa-Sudhakara — The source of nectar in Navadvipa
• Prema-Bhakti-Prada — The bestower of ecstatic loving devotion
• Sri-Sachi-Nandana — The delightful son of mother Sachi.
  
  One who recites these twelve holy names of the Lord three times a day (in the morning, at noon time and at dusk) will attain complete perfection in their life and will surely attain pure devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Chaitanya which is the ultimate shelter of all living entities.

Re-established religious principles in true spirit

After Lord Krishna completed his pastime in this mortal world and left for his eternal world, religious principles started declining. In fact, before the advent of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, there was almost no religion because no one was following the scriptures as it is. In fact, people had forgotten the purpose of scriptures. There was no scriptural discussion and hardly anyone chanted the names of Krishna. 

If anyone chanted the names of Krishna, the general belief was that such people are either fool or because of poverty are hungry so are helplessly crying the name of God. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu re-established religious principles. His profound teachings dispelled all the misconception which people had regarding religion and the unscrupulous religious leaders who were misguiding people in the name of religion got exposed and defeated.

Living corpse to lively devotee

Chaitanya means living force. His advent brought life because people were able to forgo painful material life and joyfully started living happy Krishna Conscious life.

Material life is no life because God is not the centre of life, so it is full of suffering. If we fail to understand that we are parts and parcels of God then we are as dead and dull as stone. Just like stone has no life, similarly we are nothing but living corpse.  

But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught us that for our own benefit, we should rise above material consciousness and situate ourselves into Krishna Consciousness. If we do so, then we can live happily forever in the association of Krishna who is source of all happiness.

Krishna who is not black

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna who is not black. He has golden complexion. Also he is in the mood of the topmost gopi of Vrindavan. Many times experienced devotees do not put peacock feather on him because if we put peacock feather then it means that we are interfering with the mood of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Most of the time Mahaprabhu is in the mood of Srimati Radharani, and we know that Radharani does not put peacock feather.  He is always absorbed in the thoughts of Krishna. He is not stable; he is always agitated for Krishna prema.

Why he came here?

There are many reasons why Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came. One of the reasons is that he came to pay debt to the gopis. When Krishna left Vrindavan then gopis continuously cried for Krishna in separation. So, as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he always cried like the gopis feeling separation from Krishna.

In Bhagavad Gita 4.11, Krishna says, ye yatha mam prapadayante, “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly.”  So, Krishna is eager to give something to the devotees, but pure devotees of Krishna do not ask anything from him.  They only want to give something to Krishna. They always want to serve him.

Sanatana Goswami says that when Krishna asks devotees to ask something from him then devotees say three times “no”. He explains that three times no means – in past no, in present no and in future no. So, to pay debt to such dear devotees who have no personal desire or motive, Krishna comes as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to give them prema.  

He is always keen to distribute prema, pure love of Godhead. But he gives prema to only those who are simple and not duplicitous and have no ulterior motives.

Advaita Acharya told to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that do not give prema to those who are proud of wealth, power and beauty. Give prema to those who are simple and chant the names of Krishna.

He will award prema if our heart is free of prema for sense enjoyment

So, if we want to get prema of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then we should be simple hearted and have love for the holy names.

We see Haridas Thakura had no material opulence, but he got Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prema. He did not get any higher material education neither he possessed any wealth or wielded any power.

But he was simple, humble and had no ulterior motives, was not duplicitous in his behaviour and was always eager to chant the name so Krishna, so Chaitanya Mahaprabhu awarded him love for Krishna and he came to be known as Namacharya.  

If with humility and simplicity, we accept the shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then all opulence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will manifest. .

We should not have any material desires. Even if the desires are there then we should ignore it and not try to think about it especially when we are chanting the names of Krishna.  It is because whatever is in the mind when we chant will manifest.  So, if we have material desires then those desires will get fulfilled but it will pull us way from Krishna.

We should always be humble. And many times, without humiliation, we don’t become humble. For eg Keshav Kashmiri was  very proud of his scholarship but when he was defeated by  Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he became humble and fell at his lotus feet. When we offer our obeisances, it shows our humility and it burns our pride.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world to destroy our pride and our false attachment to this material world. So, let us all be under the shelter of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and continuously chant his holy names.

Note: This article is based on a Srimad Bhagavatam class given by His Holiness Bhakti Dhira Damodar Swami Maharaj at Iskcon Newtown Kolkata, India.

When Lord Krishna steals sweet rice for Madhavendra Puri

Krishna is famous for stealing butter in Vrindavan but there is a beautiful pastime in which he steals sweet rice for his devotee Madhavendra Puri.

Krishna always reciprocates with the desire of his devotee but his pure devotees have no personal desire. Their desire is always to serve the desire of the Lord.

Lord’s desire or our own desire

Now let us ask what desire we carry in our heart?  What we do when we go in front of Krishna? Do we ask him his desire, or do we tell him our desire? Most of us have a long list of desires and we expect the Lord to fulfil our desires. If he fulfils it, we think that it was his duty to do so and if our desires are not fulfilled then we become upset with the Lord.  Most of us follow this ritual.

Now let us ask ourselves that how many times have we ever asked Krishna about his desires, his likes and dislikes? Or do we even care about his desire?  For us God is just our caretaker.  We want him to take care of each and every aspect of our life.

But pure devotees of Lord have no personal desire. Their only desire is to fulfil all the desires of the Lord in all situations and in all circumstances. Krishna also shares his feelings only with those who have unflinching and unmotivated love for him. Madhavendra Puri is one such great devotee with whom Krishna shared his personal desires.

Krishna reveals his desires to Madhavendra Puri

First, he asked Madhavendra Puri to install his deity on top of Govardhan hill. Madhavendra Puri with the help of the villagers installed the deity of Gopal on top of Govardhan hill and worshipped the Lord in a very grand way.

And later Lord Gopal asked him to bring sandalwood pulp from Jagannath Puri and apply on him to give him soothing experience. Madhavendra Puri immediately left to full the order of the Lord. Let us see how Krishna reciprocates with the love of Madhavendra Puri and how Madhavendra Puri was always eager to serve the Lord without any personal motive or desire.

Madhavendra Puri’s desire to taste amṛta-keli & his lamentation

On the way to Jagannath Puri, Madhavendra Puri came to Remuna. In Remuna there is a beautiful deity of Krishna called Gopinath. Madhavendra Puri was so happy to see the deity. He inquired from the temple priest that how the Lord is served here.

The brahmana said that the Supreme Lord is worshipped very nicely here and one of the great attractions is that the Lord is offered one special sweet rice daily which is called amrit keli.

“The brāhmaṇa priest said, “In the evening the Deity is offered sweet rice in twelve earthen pots. Because the taste is as good as nectar [amṛta], it is named amṛta-keli. This sweet rice is celebrated throughout the world as gopīnātha-kṣīra. It is not offered anywhere else in the world.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.117-118

While the discussion was going on sweet rice was placed in front of Gopinath. Seeing the delicious preparation, a thought came to Madhavendra Puri’s mind – If I could taste it then I can prepare it for my Gopal in Govardhan. But soon he felt terrible. How can I even think about tasting sweet rice which is being offered to Gopinath?

Devotees prepare food only for the pleasure of the Lord

Devotees with great love and care prepare food for the pleasure of the lord. Many people prepare food which they like and offer to the lord so that later they can eat it.  Some who are addicted to tea and coffee even offer tea and coffee to the lord.

And there are those who cook food using onion and garlic and give it to the lord. Because they like onion and garlic so they put the plate in front of the Lord and later they enjoy such food. The motive is not to satisfy the Lord but to satisfy themselves.

What Krishna likes and he does not like he has already mentioned in the scriptures. And his pure devotees have also clarified it multiple times. If we prepare food which is not sanctioned in the scriptures, then the Lord will not accept it.

So, devotees prepare only those food items which are authorized by the scriptures. And when devotees prepare food for the Lord, they put their heart into it and then request Krishna to accept it. Devotees put the plate having delicious food items in front of the Lord and chant proper mantras and request the Lord to eat it.

When the Lord eats his food then during that time the devotee meditate on how Lord enjoys his food cooked by mother Yashoda with his cowherd friends and they also chant his holy names.

Krishna steals sweet rice for Madhavendra Puri

So, when the thought of tasting amrit keli (sweet rice) came into the mind of Madhavendra Puri, he felt that he has committed an offense.  He did not say anything but remained in the temple till the arati of Lord was performed.

After the arati he left the temple and began chanting the names of Krishna in the marketplace of Remuna.

Meanwhile in the same night the temple priest had a unique dream. In his dream Gopinath appeared and told him that he has stolen a pot of sweet rice for his devotee Madhavendra Puri and he should take it and give it to him. Pujari was perplexed.

He got up and went inside the deity room. There he saw a pot of sweet rice under the garment of the Lord. The merciful Lord had stolen the sweet rice and had hid it under his garments.

Pujari was so amazed seeing the grace of the Lord. He immediately picked the pot of amrit keli and ran outside the temple. He did not know who Madhavendra Puri is. So, he began calling his name and announcing that Gopinath has stolen sweet rice for him, so, he should come immediately and enjoy the mercy of the Lord.

“Holding the pot of sweet rice, the priest called, “Will he whose name is Mādhavendra Purī please come and take this pot! Gopīnātha has stolen this pot of sweet rice for you!.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.133

The priest continued, “Would the sannyāsī whose name is Mādhavendra Purī please come and take this pot of sweet rice and enjoy the prasādam with great happiness! You are the most fortunate person within these three worlds!” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.134

Madhavendra Puri in ecstasy seeing the mercy of the Lord

Hearing his name being called, Madhavendra Puri came out and identified himself. And when he came to know that Gopinath had stolen sweet rice for him, he was filled with ecstasy. When a pure devotee of Krishna works tirelessly to serve the Lord then Lord also reciprocates with that love. 

Madhavendra Puri relished amrit keli. He then washed the pot and broke it into pieces and tied those pieces to his cloth. And later everyday he would eat a bit of the earthen pot and would experience great ecstasy.  

From that day onwards Gopinath came to be known as Kshirachora Gopinatha – Gopinath who stole kshira (sweet rice) for his devotee.

But that night Madhavendra Puri was little worried too. He thought that soon everyone will come to know that the Lord has stolen sweet rice for me. So, people will throng to see me, and this will impact my devotion to the Lord.

His glory reaches Puri

To avoid public attention, he immediately left the place for Jagannath Puri. But before he could reach Puri dham his glories reached there. Everyone glorified him in Jagannath Puri.

But Madhavendra Puri was focused on his goal. He had come to collect sandalwood for his Gopal deity. He knew that Gopal is waiting for him in Govardhan. The residents of Jagannath Puri were happy to help him. They arranged sandalwood for him and also arranged two assistants to carry sandalwood.

Gopal asks to apply sandalwood paste to Gopinath

While returning back to Govardhan, he came again to Remuna to take darshan of Gopinath. The temple priests and other devotees were so happy to see him. In Remuna, Gopal appeared in the dream of Madhavendra Puri in the night and said that you can apply the sandalwood paste to Gopinath because I am non different from Gopinath.

When the devotees in Remuna heard the desire of Lord Gopal they were so happy. It was celebration time in Remuna.  Daily chandan paste was prepared and was applied to Lord Gopinath.  In this way Madhavendra Puri was able to fulfil the desire of Krishna.

If we always serve Krishna’s desire, we will always be in bliss

Pure devotees like Madhavendra Puri appear in this world to teach us, the conditioned souls, that real satisfaction and happiness is in always serving the Lord and not our own senses.  

Madhavendra Puri just had a little desire to taste sweet rice and Krishna immediately steals sweet rice for him. Important is not how Krishna steals sweet rice. But why Krishna steals sweet rice for Madhavendra Puri?

It is because Madhavendra Puri had great love for Krishna and was always eager to serve Krishna. And to reciprocate with the love of Madhavendra Puri, Krishna steals sweet rice for him.

This is personally confirmed by Krishna. “I have accepted your service due to your ecstatic love for Me.” Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.40

Krishna tells the characteristics of his pure devotees in Gita, “Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” Bhagavad Gita 9.14

So, instead of focussing on our desires, if we try to always serve Krishna’s desires then we will always be in bliss.  Now let us ask ourselves – are we endeavouring to satisfy Krishna’s desires or are still obsessed with our personal desires?