Śrī Bhakta-vacanāmṛtam Soul-tonic: Words from the bhaktas

Prapanna-Jivanāmṛtam

तृतियोऽध्यायः

CHAPTER III

श्री भक्त वचनामृतम्

Śrī Bhakta-vacanāmṛtam

Soul-tonic:

 Words from the bhaktas
Acceptance of what is favorable

अनुकुल्यस्य सङ्कल्पः

Ānukūlyasya Saṅkalpaḥ

Accepting what is favourable to dedication...

कृष्णकार्ष्णग-साद-भक्ति-प्रपन्नत्वानुकुलके

कृत्यत्व-निश्चयश्चानुकुल्यसङ्कल्प उच्यते

kṛṣṇa-kārṣṇaga-sad-bhakti-, prapannatvānukūlyate

kṛtyatva-niścayaś-canu-, kūlya-saṅkalpa ucyate [1]

The spirit of "accepting whatever is favourable to kṛṣṇa-bhakti," is as follows: One should do whatever is helpful for the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His devotees and whatever advances complete surrender. (1)

श्रीकृष्णसङ्किर्त्तनमेव तत्पदाश्रितानां परमानुकुलाम्-

चेतोदरपणमार्ज्जनं भवमहादावाग्निनिर्व्वमणं

श्रेयःकैरवचन्द्रिकाविताराणं विध्यावधुजिवनम्

आनन्दाम्बुधिवर्द्धनं प्रतिपदं पुणार्मृतास्वादनं

सर्व्वात्मस्नपनं परं विजयते श्रीकृष्णसङ्किर्त्तनम् ।।२।।

श्री श्री भगवतश्चैतन्यचन्द्रस्

Śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkirttanam eva ta-tpadāśritānāṁ paramānukulām-

Ceto-darapaṇa-mārjjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvvamaṇaṁ

śreyaḥ-kairava-candri-kāvitārāṇaṁ vidhyā-vadhu-jivanam

ānandām-budhi-varddhanaṁ pratipadaṁ puṇārmṛtās-vādanaṁ

sarvvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkirttanam ||2||

śrī śrī bhagavataś caitanya-candras

Of all things favorable to kṛṣṇa-bhakti the chanting of the holy name, (Śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkirttanam) is the best.

“The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa

cleanses the mirror of the heart

and extinguishes the fire of misery

in the forest of birth and death.

“As the evening lotus blooms

in the moon’s cooling rays,

the heart begins to blossom

in the nectar of the Name.”

“And at last the soul awakens

to its real inner treasure

—a life of love with Kṛṣṇa.

“Again and again tasting nectar,

the soul dives and surfaces in

the ever-increasing ocean

of ecstatic joy.

“All phases of the self

of which we may conceive

are fully satisfied and purified,

and at last conquered by

the all-auspicious influence

of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa.

All glories to the vibration of the holy name

 in śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkirttanam ”

(2)

Śrī Caitanyacandra

In his book,  The Golden Volcano of Divine Love,”  Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj explains: 

“Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is the pioneer of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan. He said, “I have come to inaugurate the chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa, and that Name will reach every nook and corner of the universe (pṛthivīte āchhe yata nagarādi-grāma, sarvatra prachāra haibe Mora Nāma).”

What is the meaning of saṅkīrtan?

“Samyak means ‘full’, and kīrtan means ‘chanting’. Together, these two words form the word saṅkīrtan, which generally means ‘congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa.’ But samyak means full not only in quantity but also in quality. Full quantity means extensive in number: congregational. Full quality means complete praise. Complete praise can only mean the glorification of Kṛṣṇa, and not any other gods.

So saṅkīrtan means complete kīrtan, a song in praise of the complete whole, the Absolute Truth; anything else is only a partial representation and therefore defective to a certain extent. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa should be praised. His glories should be chanted, for He is everything. He is the master, the dispenser of both good and bad, the Absolute Controller of everything. Everything is due to Him. The fulfilment of all life is reached in Him alone. ”

Just as a “horse may have reins to check his movements, but if let loose will run freely, praise which is unchecked by any mundane purpose will run straight towards the Supreme Cause, Kṛṣṇa.

The word śrī means Lakṣmī Devī: Kṛṣṇa’s potency. This means that in saṅkīrtan, Kṛṣṇa is worshipped along with His potency, for Kṛṣṇa’s potency is included within Him.

Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu says that Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan should thrive throughout the world; it should be victorious without any hindrance (paraṁ vijayate Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam). It should be a spontaneous, unchecked, and natural flow. It should be exclusive, independent, and without reservation. And this praise of Kṛṣṇa should be congregationally chanted—that vibration is beneficial for the whole world. Only by surrender and pure devotion can we take to Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan.”

What are the different stages through which we will pass while chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa? The first stage is that it cleanses the mirror of the mind. If the mirror of the mental system is covered with dust, we cannot see things clearly, and scriptural advice cannot be properly reflected there. What are the different kinds of dust covering the mirror of the mind? Our infinite, fleeting, and organised desires are considered dust, and our hearts and minds are covered with layers and layers of this dust. Therefore we cannot see things properly; they cannot properly reflect in our mind because it is covered with the infinite ordinary desires of this mundane world (bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī—sakali ‘aśānta’).

So the first effect of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan is the cleansing of the mind. The Vedic social system (varnāśrama-dharma) has been formed for this purpose. If we discharge our social duties perfectly, without any attraction for the consequences, we achieve purification of our consciousness—but the first installment of Nām-saṅkīrtan gives us the end result of varnāśram-dharma: purification of the heart and mind. Then we can understand Vedic advice properly.

The next effect of chanting the Holy Name is that it extinguishes the fire of material existence in the forest of repeated birth and death. We are forced to come into creation and again die. The mundane wave catches the soul which mingles with that vibration in different stages. That is stopped by the second effect of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan, and we become liberated.

With the first stride, the intelligence is purified. With the second stride, the Holy Name effects liberation “from the great conflagration of threefold miseries. The threefold miseries are ādhyātmik: miseries within the body and mind, such as disease and mental anxiety; ādhibhautik: miseries from our neighbours: man, beasts, insects, and so many other living beings; and ādhidaivik: natural catastrophes like famine, flood, and earthquake. We have to suffer from these three kinds of miseries which burn in our heart like fire. But everything is extinguished forever by the second stride of Nām-saṅkīrtan which gives us relief.

The next stage is śreyaḥ-kairava-chandrikā-vitaraṇam: the Holy Name bestows upon us the supreme goal of life. After doing away with these two negative engagements, our positive engagement begins and ultimately takes us to reality, to the real truth, which is eternal, auspicious, “and beautiful. It takes us to that auspiciousness which is above this world of difficulty, and in a general way we achieve the supreme goal, the highest auspiciousness, the greatest good from chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. If we analyse this scrutinisingly, we find that in this stage, the Holy Name takes us to an intimate personal relationship with Kṛṣṇa which includes neutrality, servitude, friendship, and filial affection (śānta, dāsya, sakhya, and vātsalya rasa). Śreyaḥ covers the grace of Nityānanda Prabhu, for it is by His grace that we may be allowed to worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvan (Nitāiyer karuṇā habe Vraje Rādhā Kṛṣṇa pābe).

The next stage is vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam. The Holy Name prepares us for the wholesale surrender to Kṛṣṇa that is found in conjugal love (madhura-rasa), where the devotees surrender themselves infinitely at the disposal of Kṛṣṇa.”

“The next stage is ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. When we come to the proper level while chanting the Name of Kṛṣṇa, we find the transcendental ocean that is above all sorts of experience. The Name comes to assert Himself over us according to the degree of our surrender, and when our surrender is complete, we feel a new type of ecstatic joy; we experience an infinite ocean of joy which is not static, but always dynamic. There we find new life and a new type of blissfulness. It never becomes stale or static, but at every moment gives us a taste of the infinite ocean of ecstasy.

The last effect is that our entire existence is purified. This kind of enjoyment does not pollute—it purifies. Enjoyment means exploitation. Mundane enjoyment creates a reaction“tion and pollution attacks the enjoyer, but here, because Kṛṣṇa is the aggressor, the result is purification. All enjoyment that comes from the centre, from the autocratic desire of Kṛṣṇa, purifies us completely.

In this verse, the words sarvātma-snapanam mean that all different phases of the self which may be conceived are fully satisfied and purified at once by chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. And there is another meaning of sarvātma-snapanam. If we praise Kṛṣṇa congregationally, we will be purified according to our capacity. Both the singer and the audience as well as anyone who comes in connection with the transcendental sound will be purified. Snapanam means ‘purifying’. That vibration purifies everyone and everything that comes in touch with it.

So Mahāprabhu says, “Go on with saṅkīrtan, the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa.” Of “course, saṅkīrtan must be genuine, so association with saints is necessary. It is not an empirical attempt. We are attempting to have a connection with the higher, unconditioned realm which can descend to help us here. We must have that connection with higher reality, for that is all-important. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is not mere physical sound; it is not lip-deep only, but it has a greater and higher aspect (Nāmākṣara bāhirāya baṭe tabu Nāma kabhu naya). It is all spiritual. We are in the marginal plane of existence, so some higher connection is necessary in order that the wave will descend from that higher realm and come to us and spread its influence outside as well.

Wherever it goes, the saṅkīrtan of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa will produce these sevenfold results. This is the purport of Mahāprabhu’s first verse. The first effect is that the Holy Name cleanses the soul which “s attacked by the dirt of desires from the mundane world. By the second effect it gives mukti, liberation, perfect independence from material forces. The third effect brings real fortune: the opening of the soul’s treasure. The innate resources of the soul are gradually awakened by the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. Here, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu includes the other forms of relationship with the Personal Absolute. In describing the next step, He takes the mood of conjugal devotion, where one is absolutely disposed for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment, unconditionally surrendering everything for His maximum pleasure.

The next effect is the tasting of His ecstatic association. In Vṛndāvan, the realm of Kṛṣṇa, one who can chant the Name of Kṛṣṇa properly will express himself with a peculiar sort of ego:

तुण्डे ताण्डविनी रतिं वितनुते तुण्डावली-लब्धये

कर्ण-क्रोड-कडम्बिनी घटयते कर्णार्बुदेभ्यः स्पृहाम्

छेतः-प्राङ्गण-सङ्गिनी विजयते सर्वेन्द्रियाणां कृतिं

नो जाने जनिता कियद्भिर् अमृतैः कृष्णेति वर्ण-द्वयी

tuṇḍe tāṇḍavinī ratiṁ vitanute tuṇḍāvalī-labdhaye

karṇa-kroḍa-kaḍambinī ghaṭayate karṇārbudebhyaḥ spṛhām

chetaḥ-prāṅgaṇa-saṅginī vijayate sarvendriyāṇāṁ kṛtiṁ

no jāne janitā kiyadbhir amṛtaiḥ kṛṣṇeti varṇa-dvayī

“When the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa appears on the lips of a devotee, it begins madly dancing. Then the Name takes over and handles him as if the person to whom the lips belong loses all control over his lips, and the devotee says, ‘With one mouth, how much can I gather the ecstasy of the Holy Name? I need millions of mouths to taste its unlimited sweetness. I’ll never feel any satisfaction by chanting with only one mouth.’”

When the sound ‘Kṛṣṇa’ enters the ear, he feels that transcendental sound awakens in his heart. “What are two ears?” he thinks. “This is the greatest injustice of the creator—I need millions of ears! Then, if I could hear the sweet Name of Kṛṣṇa, my heart might be a little satisfied. I want millions and millions of ears to hear the sweet Name of Kṛṣṇa.” This is the temperament of a devotee when his attention is drawn towards the Holy Name. Then he faints; he loses himself, merging in an ocean of ecstasy and joy. And in great disappointment he says, “I failed to understand the quality and quantity of the substance of Kṛṣṇa’s Name. I am perplexed. What sort of honey sweetness does this Name contain?” In this way, the chanter of the Name wonders.

This has been taught to us by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who said, “Properly chant the Holy Name, the sound representation of absolute sweetness.” That sweetness is also to be found in the flute-song of the Lord. The sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute has the great mystic power of capturing and pleasing everyone and everything. Upon hearing the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute, the Yamunā’s current is paralysed. The sweet sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute attracts the trees, the birds, and the beasts. Everything is astounded by contacting the sweet vibration from Kṛṣṇa’s flute.

Sound vibration can work miracles; sound has the highest capturing potency. Sound can make or mar. It can do anything; it has such intrinsic capacity. It comes from the subtlemost plane, beyond the ether. That universal sound is absolute sweetness and goodness. How much power is there—how it can capture us! Like a blade of grass, we may be played by the current of that sweet ”

“sound in such a way that we cannot even trace out our own personality. We may lose ourselves there, but we do not die; the soul is eternal. Diving, up and down, we are played by the current of the sweet sound. We are less qualified than a straw, a blade of grass, and the Kṛṣṇa sound is so big and so sweet that it can play us in any way it likes. We cannot begin to conceive how much power is in the Name, the sound which is identical with absolute goodness and sweetness.

Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu says, “Don’t neglect the sound which is one and the same with Kṛṣṇa.” Absolute sweetness and goodness—everything is there within the Holy Name. And the Holy Name is representing itself to us in a very cheap way: nothing is required to purchase it—no money, no physical energy. All these things are unnecessary. What is required? Sincerity.”

“One who simply takes this divine sound sincerely will be so enriched that no one will be able to conceive of so much goodness and development. And anyone may have it very cheaply, but one must chant sincerely with his whole heart. Of course, wholehearted sincerity presupposes going to a proper agent, a saint, and getting the Holy Name from him.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan is praised by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, the inaugurator of the saṅkīrtan movement who came as Rādhā-Govinda combined. His advice is most valuable and necessary to tell us that with a sincere spirit we must come to join this Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan, the most purifying transcendental sound, which effects liberation, gives all fulfilment, and grants us such a positive attainment that we lose ourselves in the ocean of joy and inconceivable sweetness.”

“This is Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s grace, and He proclaims, “Let Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan be expanded into this mortal world, that it may benefit everyone infinitely, for this is the highest and greatest benefit for the whole world. It is all-comprehensive. It releases us from all sorts of troubles, establishing us in the highest position of attainment.”

And in this present degraded Age of Kali, only Nām-saṅkīrtan can help us. Of course, Nām-saṅkīrtan is “beneficial in all ages, but it is especially recommended in Kali-yuga, because in this age all other attempts will be opposed by many forces. Nām-saṅkīrtan cannot be opposed by the troubles and waves of this material world, so one must adopt it. If we exclusively give ourselves to this, we will gain the highest fulfilment of life. There is no necessity of any other campaign, for they are all defective and partial. But the most universal, captivating, and beneficial thing is Nām-“saṅkīrtan, which takes us to the highest goal. That alone can satisfy everyone.

All souls that are now disconnected from Kṛṣṇa may be helped in this way. No other movement is necessary. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu tells us, “Exclusively devote yourself to this. It is all-embracing and all-fulfilling. And you can achieve it with the least trouble and least energy. Let it flourish in this Kali-yuga—let it flourish for the welfare of the whole universe, to re-establish all souls in their normal position.”

In the last verse of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam the conclusion of the book is given as follows:

नाम-सङ्कीर्तनं यस्य सर्व-पाप-प्रणाशनम्

प्रणामो दुःख-शमनस् तं नमामि हरिं परम्

nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam

praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṁ namāmi hariṁ param

“enjoyment and liberation are also included as anomalies, sinful activities. Why is liberation considered sinful? Because it is an abnormal condition; our natural function is to serve Kṛṣṇa, but we do not do that in salvation. Mere salvation does not include service to Kṛṣṇa, so that is an abnormal position and therefore it is also a sin. To ignore our natural duty and stand aloof cannot but be sinful.”

The concluding verse of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says, “Kṛṣṇa’s Holy Name can relieve us from all undesirable sinfulness, all filthy characteristics, and all miseries. Let us all bow down to Him.” Uttering this verse, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam stops; that great treatise becomes silent. The last word in the Bhāgavatam is Nām-saṅkīrtan. The Bhāgavatam has given such great “importance to chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa, and Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu developed it from there. The last publication of the compiler of Vedic literatures, Śrīla Vyāsadev, took theism to that stage, and gave it to the public announcing, “Chant the Name of Kṛṣṇa! Do this; nothing more is necessary. Take this!” This is the very conclusion of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the greatest spiritual gift of Vyāsadev: “Chant the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa and begin your life in this dark age with the most broad and wide theistic conception.”

We may consider ourselves fortunate that we have come to the verge of this most generous and useful thought, that we have come close enough to touch it, to accept it, and float ourselves in its waves according to our capacity. After passing through so many conceptions and “the charm of different prospects, we have left them all behind and have come to the shore of the ocean of Nām-saṅkīrtan. Now we may throw our bodies in this ocean and begin to swim in the waves of Nām-saṅkīrtan, the nectar of the nectarean, by the grace of our Guru and the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas.

It is their property, and we are their slaves. We have such audacity to throw our body into this ocean of Nām-saṅkīrtan and swim in that nectarean ocean! Swimming in Rādhā Kuṇḍa, the highest conception of spiritual attainment, can also be found in the highest form of Nām-saṅkīrtan. This verse represents the positive side of the unlimited ocean of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtan. The next verse explains the negative possibilities.”

“Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur has given his Sanskrit commentary on the Śikṣāṣṭakam, as well as his Bengali translation, and his is a most original presentation. Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur Prabhupād has also given his commentary on the Śikṣāṣṭakam. They should be carefully studied in order to understand these points more completely. In these talks, however, I am simply coming out with whatever I feel in my heart. Whatever comes to my mind on these verses, I am expressing, and that is the outcome of what I have collected from Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur, ”

“Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur, Rūpa Goswāmī, Sanātan Goswāmī, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, and all the predecessor Āchāryas. By their grace that is gathered in my storehouse, and I am trying to give the gist of these things.”

Excerpt From: Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. “The Golden Volcano of Divine Love.” Edited by Bhakti Sudhir Goswāmī and Bhakti Vidhan Mahāyogi and published by Guardian of Devotion Press.