Day 2: First Yaam
Harikatha, Sreela Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj
3:22am to 5:46am. Chanting of the Holy Name Śrī Kṛṣṇa, completely, loudly in the company of devotees and without tenfold offences, which can bestow seven attainments—viz. cleansing of the mind-mirror, extinguishing of the forest fire of birth, death and threefold afflictions, bestowing eternal soothing benefit like moonlight, life of spiritual learning i.e. awakening of the real self, increasing of the ocean of bliss, bestowing at every step sweet taste of complete transcendental ambrosia, holy immersion of body-mind-real self—be supremely glorified.
-
Ata eva namābhāse sarva pāpa vināṣa āra samsara kṣaya
(Sri Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu, Dakshin Part, 1/52)Therefore, by the glow of the holy name one can destroy all sins and the entanglement with the non-eternal relations.
taṁ nirvyājam bhaja guṇa-nidhe pāvanaṁ pāvanānāṁ
śraddhā-rajyan-matir atitarām uttamaḥ-śloka-maulim
prodyann antaḥ-karaṇa-kuhare hanta yan-nāma-bhānor
ābhāso ‘pi kṣapayati mahā-pātaka-dhvānta-rāśimThe person who is richly endowed with all good qualities is addressed as guna-nidhe. He has got all the qualities who has got the aptitude to do Harinama, Krishna-nama, the crown of all the avataras. Krishna-nama is the object of worship of all emancipated souls, all the devotees, He is the original Bhagavan, Krishn. But the condition is to do Harinama with firm faith and without deceitfulness, and immediately without delay, ‘turnam yatet’. We may lose this precious human birth any moment and there is no guarantee that we will get this birth again in the next life. So we should not lose even a single moment. Why? Because like the glow of the Sun removes our darkness, the glow of the Holy Name entering into the cave of the heart will destroy all great sins and nescience.
Our Gurudeva and our most revered Param Gurudeva were very glad if anybody performed Harinama loudly. There may be namābhāsa, glow of the Name manifested, nobody can say. His all problems will be solved in a moment, for that reason. They would be very glad if anybody performs Harinama loudly.
parama pāvana kṛṣṇa tānhānra charaṇa,
niskapata śraddhā saha karaha bhajan,
jānra nāma suryābhās antare praveśi,
dhvaṁsa kare mahāpāp andhakārarāśiWe should go through Shikshastaka very carefully. As I have heard from our Guruvarga when Kartik-vrata was introduced first, at that time remembering Shikshastaka was introduced and not the pastimes (RadhaKrishna-lila). Afterwards as Bhaktivinode Thakur has written Bhajana Rahasya, our Guruvarga allowed to remember RadhaKrishna-lila also. When we get established in Shikshastaka, then the pastimes will be manifested. It is very important.
ei śikṣāṣṭake kahe kṛṣṇalīlā-kram,
ihāte bhajan krame līlāra udgam,
prathame prathama śloka bhaja kichu din,
dvitīya ślokete tabe hauta pravīṇ
chāri śloke kramaśaḥ bhajana pakkva kara,
pañcam ślokete nija siddha deha vara,
ei śloke siddhadehe rādhāpadāśraya,
ārambha kariyā krame unnati udaya,It requires eligibility. Unless you get that qualification or the fitness; become competent to remember Krishna, to know that we are related to Krishna in our real self, the transcendental pastimes will get manifested gradually. When you practice the 5th Shloka then you will get the realized state. Our Guruvarga are all worshiping Krishna by taking shelter of Radharani or Her extended form. So that is the way of our bhajan.
chaya śloka bhajite anartha dure gela,
tabe jāna siddhadehe adhikāra hailaAll the symptoms will be manifested; all the ecstatic feelings will be manifested. By artificially doing to show to others it is not good, automatically it will come. Then you will understand that you have got the realized state.
adhikāra nā labhiyā siddhadeha bhāve,
viparjya buddhi janme śaktira abhāve
sāvdhāne krama dhara yadi siddhi cāo,
sādhura carita dekhi śuddha buddhi pāo,
siddhadeha peye krame bhajana karile,
aṣṭakāla sevāsukha anāyāse mile,
We cannot taste the transcendental bliss of the pastimes of RadhaKrishna till the time we have misconception of the self. It will take time. Unless we get the realized state, the transcendental spiritual form, we cannot have this realization.
śikṣāṣṭaka cinta kara smaraṇa kīrtan,
krame aṣṭakāla-sevā habe uddīpana,
sakala anartha jābe pābe premadhana,
caturvarge phalguprāya habe adarśanaOnce we get the realization of the self and his relation with the Lord, our all ulterior desires will be removed.
ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ
bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ
śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ
vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam
ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ
prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ
sarvātma-snapanaṁ
paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanamAll attainments you can get by performing Sri Krishna Sankirtan. Here, principal seven attainments are mentioned; cleansing of the mirror of the heart, extinguishing the forest fire of birth, death and threefold afflictions, bestowing eternal soothing benefit like moonlight, life of spiritual learning i.e. awakening of the real self, increasing of the ocean of bliss, bestowing at every step sweet taste of complete transcendental ambrosia, and holy immersion of body-mind-real self. All glories to Sri Krishna Sankirtan!!
saṅkīrtana haite pāpa-saṁsāra-nāśana
citta-śuddhi, sarva-bhakti-sādhana-udgama
kṛṣṇa-premodgama, premāmṛta-āsvādana
kṛṣṇa-prāpti, sevāmṛta-samudre majjana
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 20.13-14)Everything you will get by doing sankirtan, without tenfold offence if you do it.
Thinking of Krishna-lila (pastimes of Krishna)
niśante kirtane kuñja bhaṅga kare dhyāna
krame krame citta lagne rasera vidhānThinking is the quality of the mind. Mind is the cause of bondage and also the cause of emancipation. At the close of the night you have to meditate, your mind should be engrossed in remembering the awakening pastimes of RadhaKrishna through Kirtan in the company of bona-fide Sadhus. Then gradually that transcendental ecstatic feeling will be revealed. There is a gradual procedure. This is to be done as per the instructions of our Guruvargas— through Kirtan in the company of bona-fide Sadhus. But if your mind is somewhere else and you are only reading, then you will not get the actual benefit.
rātryante trastavṛnderita bahu-vira-vaibodhitau kirasārī
padyair-hṛdhyair api sukha-śayanād-utthitau tau sakhibhiḥ
dṛṣṭau hṛṣṭau tadātvoditarati-lalitau kakkhaṭīgīḥ saśaṅkau
rādhā-kṛṣṇau satṛṣṇāv api nija-nija dhāmnyāpta talpau smarāmi
(Govindalilamrita)Vrinda Devi apprehending day-break sends Suk-Sarika (male and female parrots) and other birds to start chirping to awaken RadhaKrishna. All the seva have to be done at fixed time. Everyone serves under the supervision of Vrinda Devi. Suk-Sarika sing the glories of RadhaKrishna. There is a competition between Suk and Sarika to sing the transcendental glories of Radha and Krishna more than each other. This is all transcendental. These pastimes are of transcendental plane—not of this material world. They all have transcendental forms. Gopis also sing the glories in sweet mood and hearing those songs Radharani opens Her eyes. But Krishna is still not opening His eyes. Krishna has His attention on all His servitors, even the smallest of the small who have the desire to serve Him. He does not like to disrespect anyone. It is also seen in the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra. There is one little squirrel who wants to serve the Lord while Hanuman and other servants are engaged in the construction of the bridge. Thinking that let me also serve, she started wetting her body with dust and sprinkling that on the bridge. Seeing the squirrel doing so Hanuman becomes a little proud and gets angry on her.
Addressing her he says, “Are you joking with us, you may get crushed under our feet, go away, run away.” She is a little animal, she has no strength so she becomes quiet.
Ramacandra then addressing Hanuman and other servants says, “See the sand sprinkled by her is floating while your stones are sinking.”
Lord breaks the pride of His servants. He pays attention to even on the smallest of the small creatures. So causing unhappiness or pain to even a conditioned soul is an offence. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has written this in Bhajana Rahasya. We should be very careful not only about refraining from offending a Vaishnava but also about refraining from incurring any harm to a conditioned soul. It is also not correct. So our conduct towards others should be humble, that is why Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has instructed us to become humbler than a blade of grass—‘triṇādapi sunicena’.
Sakhis are observing from a far but when Krishna does not show any signs of waking up, they give permission to the female monkey. She made a loud and harsh sound. Lord does not wake up by loud and harsh sound, He gives pleasure to His devotees by giving them service opportunity. His sleep is just a pastime. Krishna then opens up His eyes. Radha and Krishna look at each other with wistful eyes. They are afraid thinking that They will be detected by others. The doors of their houses are closed, but they are not like the material world’s things, they are also cetan (animate). By the influence of Yogamaya, Radha and Krishna could enter into Their houses even when the doors are closed. In the material world we cannot enter through a closed door, we have to knock the door and ask to open it up. Radha and Krishna both enter their respective homes and sleep on Their beds. There is difference between material world and the transcendental world.
(Srila Gurudev then repeat the pastimes in English)
At the close of the night Vrinda Devi for awakening RadhaKrishna sent all the birds. They are not ordinary birds. They are personal associates of RadhaKrishna, They are singing the glories of RadhaKrishna with very sweet sound. There is one male parrot and one female parrot. There is competition. If we are there and if we listen to that singing then we cannot come back to this world. But we only read, we have got no actual feeling. The Gopis are also singing, doing kirtan. By hearing the kirtan of the Gopis and all these birds Radharani automatically opens up Her eyes. But Krishna, intentionally, is not opening up His eyes. Radharani cannot push Krishna saying, “You wake up, its the time.” This is not the procedure of serving the object of worship. So Radharani is disturbed and seeing that Gopis also get disturbed. What can be done? As Radharani has opened up Her eyes, their duties are now lessened. All the Gopis feel relief. They think as Radharani has woken up, now it is the duty of Radharani to wake up Krishna. Krishna is not waking up intentionally. Krishna’s attention is on every sevaka. He wants that all sevakas should get opportunity to serve. It is Krishna’s grace. You can get the grace of Krishna if you want it, and when they are not eager to allow the female monkey to make a screaming sound but ultimately they are forced to do it. Radharani has already awakened and now Krishna also opens His eyes. After that They are seeing each other with wistful eyes and fear. They run towards their respective houses. The houses are all closed, all the doors are closed from within. But as it is spiritual realm, Krishna enters into that closed house. Krishna goes to His bed and sleeps. Radharani also does the same thing in Javat. Nobody could know what happened in the night.
Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya
Math © 2025
info@bbtirtha.org