Day 10, The Bliss of Sankirtan

 Day 10 - Vrindavan Day 3, Raman Reti, Brahmand Ghat

This morning's Japa circle reminded us that the Maha Mantra not only gives us complete access to the Lord and his avatars but that the mantra itself and service to Sri Krishna is the only true path to happiness and satisfaction. Thus it is through attentive chanting that we make advancement.
 
In the morning class, His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu spoke on the pleasure of the Lord. Everything is achievable by pleasing Krishna who is seated in everyone's heart and sincerity allows the Lord to step in completely.

The Lord's appearance is not just for the human form of life, He appears in every species of life to give living entities an opportunity to get out of the material world. Lord Varahadev appeared twice, in a reddish color and in a whitish color, to deliver us. Likewise forms such as Matsya and Kurma appeared as fish and tortoise to do the same.

Krishna comes in Virya rasa to fight not only for his pleasure but to defend his devotees like Bhumidevi. He appears for his own pleasure and it is his joy to protect us, love us and deliver us.

In the material world, if you look at something with the wrong intention, it sticks with you for a while. Unfortunately for Diti, the wife of Kasyapa, this meant falling prey to the mode of passion and causing the advent of two great demons, Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakashipu. Her only solace was taking shelter in Vishnu, and understanding that the birth of great demons would be followed by the birth of a great devotee. Not every mistake is our foolishness. Some mistakes allow us to come to the perfection of His lotus feet.  

Harinaam sankirtan took us to the soft sands of Raman Reti where devotees passed out stickers and books to tourists feeding the deer. The afternoon was filled with rolling in the dust where Krishna and the cowherd boys would play and learning from local Brahmans of how to make Radha Krishna 's footprints. The joy was palpable and otherworldly.

A quick rush to the bus later saw us at Brahmand Ghat where Vaisesika Prabhu spoke on Gopal's pastime of eating dirt and lying to His mother about it. Here on the bank of the Yamuna, Mother Yasoda peered into Krishna's mouth after his friends ratted him out. Here she saw the universe within her son’s mouth.

In chanting the Mangalacharana prayers from Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, both here and in Jagannath Puri, devotees mixed the mood of the two dhamas to make ambrosia.

There is a mood to the location of each pastime. Be it playing in dirt or eating it, by following in the footsteps of great souls like Lord Chaitanya, we can partake in these pastimes of the Lord.

yatha yatha gaura padaravinde vindeta bhaktim krta-punya-rasih

tatha tathotsarpati hrday akasmad radha-padambhoja-sudhambu-rasih

"As one develops devotion to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu due to heaps of auspicious activities, then according to the degree of that attachment, his heart becomes suddenly inundated with the nectar emanating from the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani" (Prabodhānanda’s Caitanya-candrāmṛta, 88).

There is an original faith, shraddha. "Srad" meaning heart and "dha" meaning where you place something. When you place your heart with the Lord you will feel the effect of His internal energy. A person is made by his faith. Who better to follow than Lord Chaitanya?

After an ecstatic kirtan by the bank of the Yamuna with locals and visitors dancing together for the glories of the Lord, devotees accepted the gift of Yamuna’s waters atop their heads and rushed back to the buses.

In the evening class, Vaisesika Prabhu spoke on the Lord’s ineffability. Ineffable means too great to be described by words. Such is His greatness and His love for us.

It is our greatest pleasure to serve Him in bhakti. It is His greatest pleasure to experience our love.

Fueled by these blissful realizations, the yatra members joyfully sang the Dasavatara strotra together while Radhika Prema Mataji enhanced the experience through enacting the pastimes of the Lord in graceful Bharatanatyam.

The evening came to a close with a fundraiser to support the large scale book distribution efforts of the yatra where the devotees raised $18,000! The generosity of the devotees embodied a particular lesson delivered by His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu: “Life is meant for going out knocking doors being a kind friend, and having a heart to heart exchange with living entities.”

We celebrated some dear devotees who have birthdays in February. They received a special birthday benediction from Vaisesika Prabhu to always chant Hare Krishna and have a successful life in the sankirtan movement.

Day 9, Leaving the Material World

Day 9 – Vrindavan Day 2, Ter Kadamba, Vrinda Kund, Initiations

Devotees gathered early in the morning for Tulasi Puja and Japa Circle led by His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu.

Chanting Hare Krishna is the simple, sublime and practical activity which is all encompassing and goes to the root of our existence. It is the primary means by which we can overcome the anxieties of life which come with identifying with the body and mind as the self.

Those who chant Hare Krishna and push the Sankirtan movement are always victorious.

Vaisesika Prabhu spoke on Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.35, stating that through intelligence, the Lord guides us, just as a father directs a child. One can perceive their spiritual nature simply by observing one's existence as separate from their material senses, and realizing that the power of the senses are given to us by a higher power.

Our spiritual quality is proven in our dissatisfaction with the limited state of materially conditioned existence.

To close the morning program, His Grace asked the devotees to write a prayer to Srila Rupa Goswami.

Taking a bus ride through the rural farmlands of Vrindavan, the group first stopped at Ter Kadamba. With great joy, a local Baba took the group through the pastimes of this sacred space in a ecstatic mix of English and Hindi, even going so far as to place a pot on his head and play the part of a gopi.

His Grace Madhava Damodara Prabhu further explained that at 7 years old Krishna would climb this tree in the morning and call out to the Gopas, "Hey Sridama! Sudama! Madhumangala! Kinkini!" In the midday He would call to the Gopis, "Please get us something nice to eat!" And in the evenings, He would call out to the cows to return home.

Krishna's love for the Kadamba is such that the pastime of stealing the Gopis' clothes and Kaliya lila includes the Kadamba tree.

Five thousand years later, Srila Rupa Goswami, under whose direction the whole of Krishna conscious society moves, would sit under this tree and do his bhajan. It was under this tree that Sri Upadesamrta was revealed.

Even more intimate and incredible, is that when Srila Rupa Goswami had no means of cooking an offering for his Guru and brother's birthday, Srimati Radharani Herself responded to his tears by coming in the form of a little girl and cooking him sweet rice to offer to Srila Sanatana Goswami.

As soon as Sanatana Goswami tasted the kheer, all Astaka Satvika Bhavas appeared in him. "Who made this kheer?" He asked. "A small laali came from Nandagaon, she made this," Srila Rupa Goswami replied. 

Sanatana Goswami knew all the Vrajavasis. There was no such girl. This kheer was made by Srimati Radharani, who came to Her devotee out of love while he sat, broken-hearted, beneath the Kadamba tree.

Our time at Ter Kadamba came to a climax with the lecture of His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu.

Writing is an abstraction of inner desire. Prithu Maharaj says that when a pure devotee speaks, the sound vibration touches lotus feet of Krishna which have saffron particles. We should avoid listening to the sound vibration that comes from someone who is not a Vaisnava and stay within the line of pure devotees.

avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ

"One should not hear anything about Kṛṣṇa from a non-Vaiṣṇava. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects; similarly, talks about Kṛṣṇa given by a non-Vaiṣṇava are also poisonous." (Padma Purāṇa).

For example, Tapan Mishra read too many books and became confused. Fortunately, his confusion lead him to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya to whom he asked, "What should I do?"

The Lord replied, "You should chant Hare Krishna!" 

As the tongue is the gateway sense, control of the tongue allows us to control the other senses. If someone's tongue is controlled, you can know all other senses are controlled, and vice versa. The tongue, belly, and genitals – if you control them you can become a spiritual master of the whole world.

Swayam Bhagavan Keshav Swami tells the story of two men planting trees. One dug the whole, the other filled it back up. In this way they continued for hours. Finally someone asked them, "why are you working in such a way?" The men replied, "usually there are three of us, but the man who plants the seed didn't show up today." We mustn't miss the point and labor unnecessarily.

To catch the real essence we need Lila. This is why Prabhupada wrote the Krishna book. Unless we can hear about the internal feature of the Lord and know that he is a loving person, we won't be captured.

Once, 20,000 kings were captured by Jarasandha. Bhima and Arjuna, pretending to be brahmanas, went with Krishna to liberate them. Krishna freed them, cleaned them and gave them royal dress. The kings admitted their arrogance, having believed themselves to be untouchable by their position, but by Krishna's mercy their hearts were changed. In this way, Krishna captured their hearts.

There is a price to pay. If someone is willing to pay this price they must to do the impossible – control the senses. When the heart has changed, one no longer has the tendency to use the tongue to drag other people down. Whatever they speak is meant to help others.

tapyante loka-tāpena sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ
paramārādhanaṁ tad dhi puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ

"It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone's heart." (SB 8.7.44)

In the Churning of the Milk Ocean, when the Halāhala poison came out, the Devas took shelter of Lord Shiva. With permission from his wife, he drank it and the line along his throat from the poison became his ornament.

Srila Rupa Goswami and his Godbrothers took the time to hear from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and write it down. And Srila Prabhupada bought it all together. He simply asked, "Kindly help me."

What would Rupa Goswami think of the young Taiwanese man at the airport buying a copy of the Upadesamrta? His book written in the umbrage of Ter Kadamba, coming from the heart of a pure devotee, in the bag of a man from Taiwan?

On the way out, devotees stopped and read their prayers to Srila Rupa Goswami, before exiting the shade of Ter Kadamba for the next destination.

 

Stepping into view of Vrinda Kunda, devotees poured into the small but strikingly intricate and ornate temple of Vrindadevi, desperate to take darshan before the curtains pulled shut. Her features, so stunning and delicate, seemed to sing in the quiet of the kund.

Here, Radha and Krishna meet. Vrindadevi, through a system of parrots, communicates throughout Vraja to assure everyone is in their proper service. We worship Vrindadevi in the form of Tulsi, and many devotees sat before the closed curtains to experience the magic of chanting before her, praying "please include us in the mood of Vrindavan."

Across the way, many devotees began setting up for invitations. On this auspicious appearance day of Lord Varaha, together with the locals who have been caring for this sacred site for countless generations, we welcomed new initiates into the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya.

Initiation is a process not an event. When one becomes initiated, they are giving up the material world through the understanding that the material world is not their home. It is a pledge to control your senses to move toward Krsna.

At this time, one begins identifying as a Vasinava. Internally you've accepted and externally you show this is my role in this lifetime to be a servant of Krishna. Thus you accept a new name, Dasa or Dasi.

We go here, there, and everywhere and claim souls for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to join the Sankirtan movement. We step out of our old role. "Maya can't find me, now I'm with Krishna."

Srila Prabhupada is looking over us and has given us a path to follow. We can cross the ocean of the material world by following the orders of the great souls. Through this process the ocean becomes so small it resembles the water contained in the hoof-print of a calf. 

The modes of material nature may have beaten the pulp out of you, but Krishna is in charge now. Yogis are careful not to get entangled in the material world, they are as sensitive as an eyeball which can feel in excruciating detail a single particle of dust.

One can become a great soul by staying alive someway or another – mentally, physically, spiritually – and not criticizing Vaisnavas. Especially not on the internet.

And do not feel entitled because you are chanting Hare Krishna. When Sacimata criticized Advaita Acarya in her mind, Mahaprabhu said "I cannot give her love of God." So keep yourself in a humble position. Become competent in your service to the highest level, but stay humble.

With the blessings of His Grace Vishnu Gada Prabhu, 6 initiates from around the world gathered before the sacrificial fire. With great joy, in the presence of Vrndadevi and her exalted servants, we watched the initiations of Surabi Kund Dasi, Vijaya Govinda Dasa, Akshobia Tirtha Dasa, Prema Mayi Radha Devi Dasi, Radha Nayaka Dasa, and Bhagavat Prana Dasa.

Congratulations dear Godsiblings!