Madhyahna kalia bhajan - Mid-day worship - Bhajan with taste (Ruchi bhajan)

Earlier, gradual procedure has been shown from Sraddha we come up to the stage of nishta in the third period when all the ulterior desires are gone and there is fixation of mind to the Supreme Lord. In the fourth period we come up to ruchi, bhajan with taste when we shall have liking to do bhajan.

nāma sādhakera ahaituki kṛṣṇa bhakti binā anya kāmanā nahi

A nama-sadhaka has got liking to perform Nama kirtan which is the topmost form of devotion and has no desire other than causeless devotion to Supreme Lord.

If there are other desires i.e.if the target is something else, the Lord’s Holy Name will not descend. Name and Named same. He is for Himself and by Himself. If it is done absolutely for Him, then He will descend. If you chant with other motives, then the target will be different and it cannot be considered chanting of Lord’s Name.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is giving His teachings how we can get ultimate end Krsna Prema, what is the procedure.

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukḥ tvayi
(4rd Verse of Sri Shikshastaka)

O Supreme Lord! I have no desire for wealth, manpower or erudition, material education, or liberation (mukti). My only prayer is to get causeless one-pointed, firm, unadulterated and uninterrupted devotion to You birth after birth. There should not be any obstacle, any kind of desire while doing Harinam which will cause all barrier.

Lord is All-knowing (Sarvajna) residing in the hearts of all. He is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient. He is All-knowing, we cannot deceive Him. Lord does not see what words, language we speak, He will give fruits seeing the intentions and thoughts behind those words. Externally one may speak big scholarly or flowery words but inside the heart there may be other desires. So, according to our desires He gives the fruits and not according to the words, the language we speak. So we have to speak from the heart, but in a way it is impossible for a conditioned soul. Now, I may say I do not want wealth, but a rich man may approach me and say, I will give you ten crores of rupees and you lead a comfortable life, then I may assume my worship has borne fruit and I may give up bhajan to live a comfortable material life. It is easy to speak. This wealth in Kaliyuga represents Kali, adharma, if one accumulates wealth to enjoy sense gratification, to lead a comfortable life, then it will take him to hell. So, one who is intelligent never runs behind wealth. After taking shelter of the Lord what is the need for wealth? Lord Himself is our real wealth, by getting Whom we get all, by knowing Whom we know all. When we have this realization, and we have taken His shelter at Whose lotus feet infinite brahmandas (Universes) are like specks of dust, where is the need for us to ask Him for anything more? So said, we speak from the mouth about the Supreme Lord, but inside the heart we have no faith. If you have faith you will attain everything, and if there is no faith, you attain nothing, you will be deceived. So it is said to speak from the heart.

The son of an Emperor is begging on the streets to eat, he has forgotten his father. He is wandering here and there and a man sees him and identifies that he is the son of the Emperor. Why are you begging on the streets, your father is an Emperor. Saying thus, he takes him to the Emperor. Then does the boy lack anything? Who is the Emperor of all? He is Supreme Lord and if you are lead to His Lotus Feet then what demands remain? We are all the sons of the Emperor of the infinite Universes. So, where is the need for us to beg, like this.

gṛha dravya śiṣya paśu dhānya ādi dhana

Each desire has been specifically elaborated in detail. Except for the Lord if we desire anything else like house, property or non-eternal things of the world, desire for making disciples with worldly motive and for sense-enjoyment, desire for domestic animals, desire for paddy crops etc. If these things are in relation to Lord then it is Ok, but if these desires are exclusive of the Lord then these are sense objects for enjoyment. Wife, children, servants, maid-servants and other relatives are all material relations, objects of sense enjoyment and are cause for bondage. All are Lord’s, they are in Him, are for Him and emanating from Him. Even my body is not mine, it is all Lord’s. By such thoughts we will not have association of material sense objects. One will himself serve the Lord and engage his wife, children, and all in Lord’s service.

kāvya alaṅkāra ādi sundarī kavitā
pārthiva-viṣaya madhye e saba vāratā

Earning material knowledge for gaining prestige, to get material wealth and benefits, are all objects of sense enjoyment.

ei saba pāibāra āśā nāhi kari

A materialistic man lives for all this. After speaking these things, one devotee came. He is sincere and says, ‘Maharaj I am giving one examination. If I get very high percentage of marks I get a chance to go abroad for higher education. Please bless me.’ May you get it. And he gets it he says by your blessings I got good percentage. Very good. But if he does not get then thinks, now on I will not go to math and stops going to math. Is this bhakti? In this world bhakti is like this.

śuddha-bhakti deha more kṛṣṇa kṛpā kari
premera svabhāva yāṅhā premera sambandha

Even if there is a scent of or just a touch of divine transcendental love he cannot have any kind of vanity. Whenever there is vanity you will be deprived of the grace of Supreme Lord. And actually he has got no connection with prema, even the scent of the prema. If he had even a scent of prema humbleness will come.

Indication of Midday Pastimes of Radha-Krishna

A hint has been given here about the mid-day pastimes of Radha-Krishna.

madhyāhne ‘nyonya saṁgodita vividha-vikārādi-bhūṣāpramugdhau
vāmyotkaṇṭhātilolau smaramakha lalitā dyāli-narmāptaśātau
dolāraṇyāmbu-vaṁśī-hṛti-rati-madhupānārka-pūjādi-līlau
rādhā-kṛṣṇau satṛṣṇau parijana-ghaṭayā sevyamānau smarāmi
(Sri Govinda-lilamrta)

At mid-day Sri Radha and Krishna in each other’s company manifest all transcendental ecstatic feelings including Astasattvik-vikar – eight principal ecstatic feelings, thirty three kinds of other subordinate ecstatic feelings – in a very beautiful way.

The mid-day pastimes at Radha Kunda is the highest and holiest. How to realize it? Only by hearing we cannot understand what is this pastime. We will think it is something of this worldly novel, drama, etc. There should be a desire to do Harinam, to get a bonafide guru who has got the mantra from the preceptorial channel right and after getting mantra, to practice it.

To go to Bhagavan first comes ‘shabda’ sound. In this world sound is the most subtlest of all which is the quality of sky. And the first manifestation of spiritual world’s knowledge is sound, and that is not material sound but is transcendental spiritual sound. This transcendental sound has to be obtained from transcendental personality. After taking Harinam mantra, according to his instructions one has to practice. Everything is within the Name. That sound which is said subtle in this material world is considered gross in the transcendental world, that shabda brahma which we obtain from pure devotee Sad-guru, i.e. Harinam. And within that Harinam Lord’s form, attributes, pastimes, everything is there.

Srila Jiva Gosvamipad has written ‘prathamam namnah sravanam antahkarana-suddhy-artham apeksyam’ First one has to start with the hearing of the Holy Name from a bona fide devotee. By your own efforts, by material mind and intelligence do not try to think or speculate about the Lord, His Name, form, attributes, etc. It will not be of any benefit. Within the mantra attained from Sad-guru there is form, qualities, etc. The transcendental form is finer than the ‘Shabda Brahma.’ It is not a form that can be perceived with these material eyes. Bilva Mangal (Thakur) destroys his material eyes which eyes take us to a different direction. He saw Lord with transcendental (aprakrta) eyes. Of what value are these material eyes which are destroyed when even slightly been pierced by a simple broom stick? Of what value are these eyes? Lord is not an object we can see with these material eyes. So when we chant the Names of the Lord properly without any offense, purification of the heart happens and the form will be revealed. So continuously chant the Holy Names. Artificially we should not think about the form of Supreme Lord. It is not material form that with material mind you can grasp it.

‘suddhe cantah-karne rupa-sravanena tad-udaya-yogyata bhavati.’ When the heart is purified then one will attain eligibility to hear the glories of the form of the Lord. The form will be manifested as we chant the Names of the Lord, it is finer than the Name. ‘samyag-udite ca rupe gunanam spuranam sampadyate’. Then finer than the form, the transcendental attributes will be revealed in the pure heart. ‘sampanne ca gunanam sphurane parikara-vaisistyena tad-vaisistyam sampadyate’. Personal associates of the Lord are not like material worldly people, they are transcendental and subtler, and they manifest in the pure heart. ‘tatas tesu nama-rupa-guna-parikaresu smayak spuritesu lilanam spuranam sustu bhavati.’ Then ultimately the finest lila (pastime) of Krishna will be revealed. Now that we have not obtained Nama Mantra from Sad-guru and we are not purified yet, but think, speculate about the pastimes of the Lord as like of man-woman relation of this material world. By this we will go to hell, we will not understand any thing. But still for the beginners in bhajan, to give some impetus, some greed that such a transcendental realm exists, some things have been written briefly. (Krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih kriyatam yadi kuto api labhyate) ‘tatra laulyam api mulyam ekalam janma koti sukrtair na labhyate’ CC 2.8.70 ‘Pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thounsands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price-that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.’ ) But we cannot understand any thing much.

All the ecstatic feelings of highest order including eight principal ecstatic feelings (astasattvik-vikar) and thirty-three kinds of other subordinate ecstatic feelings (sanchari) manifest in Radha Kunda. That which we have never experienced, how can we understand them? ‘Utkantha’ -- supreme eagerness to get contact with the object of love, ‘Vamya’ – crookedness of prema, external expression of rudeness, harshness is there but inside actually just the reverse, etc. Such feelings we find in this material world also, but there is gulf of difference like that of earth and sky between material world’s and transcendental world’s manifestations. There are innumerable pastimes like joking words of Sri Lalita and other sakhis, sports like swinging festival (jhula), wanderings in the forest (vana-vihar), playing in the water (jala-keli), stealing the flute (vamsi-harana), amorous meeting (rati-krida), drinking honey (madhu-pana), worshiping the Sun-god (surya-puja), etc. Only gopis have the eligibility to participate in such pastimes and they worship and serve Radha-Krsna to their satisfaction. Other devotees who are serving in the mood of shanta, dasya, sakhya and vatsalya have no eligibility to enter into those pastimes at all. Only those serving in madhur-rasa have access to those pastimes of Radha-Krsna.