We are observing Kartik Vrata which is also known as Damodar Vrata. Presiding deity of this vow is Sri Radha Damodar. So we have to propitiate Sri Radha Damodar. How we can do this? We are conditioned souls, myself at least. By my words They may not be propitiated. For that reason Satyavrata Muni used to propitiate Sri Radha Damodar with his hymn, that hymn we repeat here with the hope that Sri Radha Damodar will be propitiated, be satisfied. For that reason it is essential. If we do not do this the observance of our vow will be incomplete.

Second period of Devotional Practice (2nd Yama Sadhana) We have to practice it here or wherever we may be, all the eight periods.

Morning Worship: sādhu saṅge anartha nivṛtti

First period of devotional practice is awakening of Sri Sri RadhaKrishna. First we have to start with Sraddha, with firm faith, by serving Sri Krishna we serve all. Because They are the root. If we water the root of the tree the whole tree will be nourished. It has been established in Srimad Bhagavatam. If you give food in the stomach the whole body will be nourished. Like that if you worship Sri Hari who is Achyuta Sri Hari, that is no body detached from Him, all will be satisfied. Without this faith you cannot start bhajan.

And in the second period, our most revered Bhakti Vinod Thakur has mentioned in his own compilation of books that we have to think this devotional practice i.e. Sadhu sanga. First sadhu sanga, association of bonafide sadhus. Who is sadhu, one who wears saffron cloth? No. He may be in saffron or may not be. He must have one-pointed devotion to Supreme Lord. This is the original qualification of a sadhu. We have to associate with such sadhu. He may be in ascetic life or in household life. And the best sadhu is Guru. We have to take shelter at the lotus feet of Guru, bonafide Guru, where we will find, and as per his direction we have to start bhajan. Mainly there are nine forms of bhajan, sixty-four kinds of bhajan, and of all the forms of bhajan the highest bhajan is Harinam. At least in this black age Kali yuga let us do Harinam without ten fold offenses. Then all ulterior desires will be removed. If there is any other desire except service of Krishna then you cannot have attachment to Krishna. Krishna prema is the objective we have to attain. For that reason other desires should be removed. How? By doing bhajan and the best bhajan is Nama Sankirtan, chanting of the Holy Name.

nāma grahaner kālākāla-vicāra nāhi
nāma sarvaśakti samanvitā

So many human beings in this Kali yuga are diseased, so many drawbacks are there. They cannot do other forms of devotion. For that reason they have been advised to do Harinam. You can do it anywhere, any time, any circumstance and all powers have been given to Nama, Name. You will get everything by doing Harinam.

In the second verse of Sikshastaka Caitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
etādṛśi tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ

O Supreme Lord! Certainly Your Holy Name can bestow all kinds of eternal welfare to the conditioned souls. So, You have mercifully manifested in this world with Your Principal transcendental Names like Krishna, Govinda, Gopinath, etc. You have bestowed all powers to these Names.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is teaching us, in this way you have to submit your prayer to Supreme Lord. Your Holy Name can bestow all kinds of eternal welfare. You have appeared in this world in different Original Names, not names in relation to this world Vishwanath, Paramatma, Brahma, that are not original name. Original name has got no connection, direct or indirect connection with the world. Krishna, Govinda, Gopinath, all these names, we have to practice, we have to do this and in every Holy Name all powers have been given and there is no restriction imposed. In any time, in any place in any circumstance in any ethical background one can chant Names. So Lord is so merciful to the living beings, human beings, in this Kali yuga. Seeing their drawbacks He has given this way of worshiping Him. But our misfortune is so much, there are conditioned soul, unfortunate souls like me has got no liking to do Harinam. It is made so easy but no liking, this is our misfortune. Because of ten fold offenses this sort of misfortune has come. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is expressing His extreme regret for this that in spite of this we have got no liking to do Harinam. You can do it anywhere, while lying down, taking food, even in lavatory, not with mala, but you can do it everywhere. There is no restriction.

aneka-lokera vāñchā — aneka-prakāra
kṛpāte karila aneka-nāmera pracāra
khāite śuīte yathā tathā nāma laya,
deśa-kāla-niyama nāhi sarvasiddhi haya,
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 20.17-18)

You can get all attainments.

sarvaśakti nāme dila kariyā vibhāga,
āmāra durdaiva nāme nāhi anurāga
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 20.19)

You can utter loudly Nagar Sankirtan. You do it, it will be beneficial for you and beneficial for other living beings. They will hear, other beasts and birds they cannot utter, but by hearing they will get eternal benefit.

ekānta bhaktera mātra kīrtan-smaraṇa, anya parve ruchi nāhi haya pravartana,

Bhakti Vinod Thakur, according to the evidence in Hari-Bhakti-Vilasa which is in Sanskrit, he has written it in Bengali, we have to go through the whole book but we have no time. For that reason, the above portions of the book we want to remember as far as practicable because we have got so much rituals to perform.

Who is Bhakta? A real Bhakta is one who has got one-pointed exclusive devotion to Supreme Lord. Ekanta means one who has exclusive devotion, they have got desire to do only kirtan bhakti and smaran bhakti and they have got no other liking to do any other (forms of devotion). By this you can understand whether we belong to the group of exclusive devotion performed by the pure devotees or not. We can judge. Those who have got one-pointed devotion they have got only desire to perform kirtan. By kirtan all forms of devotion are performed automatically, by kirtan, by hearing and by remembering and in remembrance all other devotional forms come. You cannot forcibly engage them in any other form of devotion.

bhāvera sahita haya śrīkṛṣṇa-sevana,
svārasikī-bhāva krame haya uddīpana

There should be delightful relation and that should be permanent. Sometimes master-servant relation, and again you give up and have friendship relation, parent-son, children relation i.e. affectionate relation, husband-wife relation, consort-hood of love, going and coming, no. You should be permanent. That relation should be permanent, then it is called bhava. With that permanent relation when you serve Krishna then you will serve automatically out of love relation, and you are not to be forced to do something. Permanently you will do, from the heart, out of love. Parents are not to be taught to look after their children, automatically because of their relation they do.

ekānta bhakatera kriyā mudrā rāgodita,
tathāpi sei saba nāhi vidhi viparīta

Those who have got exclusive devotion to Supreme Lord do everything, all forms of devotion out of inner impetus, inner love, automatically they do. So there is no force here. They are doing something out of love which you will not find in neophytes. Neophytes know these are prohibitions, these are the commandments, positive assertions and negative assertions. But they cannot understand some bhaktas who can do something which is beyond their comprehension and propitiating Supreme Lord because they have got love. What is necessary for satisfaction of Supreme Lord they can do even transgressing these rules and regulations. We cannot do.

sarva tyāga karile o chārā sukaṭhina,
pratiṣṭhāśātyāge yatna payibe praviṇa

We can give up all our attachments but it is very difficult to give up desire for name and fame. Money and other sex desire, we can give up; but this desire for name and fame is the last snare of maya. Very powerful. If you cannot give up this, then you cannot have actual pure devotion. It has been condemned by our most revered Param Pujyapad Bhakti Siddhanth Saraswati Goswami Thakur. This sort of desire for name and fame if anybody has got then there is every possibility of committing offense to superior vaishnavas. Then it will be a serious offense.

prabhate gabhīra rātre madhyāhne sandhyāye,
anartha chāriyā lao nāmera āśraya

All through out the day, be it morning, midnight, or mid-day, always you have to do Harinam without other desires. Except love for Krishna, service for Sri Krishna, all other desires are called anartha. It is not the actual requirement. Actual requirement is to please Krishna and nothing else.

ei rūpe kīrtana smaraṇa jei kare,
kṛṣṇa-kṛpā haya śigrha, anāyāse tare

There is a procedure to do it, all the devotional forms, kirtan, smaran main here. Then Krishna will be gracious to us. You can get His grace and merciful compassion. He will come or His own merciful incarnation Gurudev will come to give strength to perform bhajan. If we are sincere, then we can get our objective very easily, ‘anayase.’

śraddhā kari’ sādhu sange kṛṣṇa-nāma laye,
anartha sakala jāye niṣṭhā upajaye

With firm faith in the association of bonafide sadhus you have to do Krishna Nama, not with professional speakers and chanters, they are doing all artificial. A pure bonafide sadhu is difficult to get. When you want quality you cannot get quantity. If you want to increase quantity you have to sacrifice quality. Both at the same time you cannot get. Then all ulterior desires you have to remove and then you should have fixation of mind on the Object of Worship. After that you will be eligible to remember or to perform kirtan or to behold the eight periods of pastimes of Radha Krishna. For that reason every time so much emphasis has been given to sravan, kirtan, smaran.

prātaḥakāle nityalīlā karibe cintana,
cintite cintite bhāvera haibe sadhana

In the morning, simultaneously after doing Harinam, you have to remember, you have to think about the eternal pastimes in the morning. By thinking, by thinking, then you will get your love, your attachment to the Object of worship.

Morning pastimes of Radha-Krishna:

rādhāṁ snāta-vibhūṣitāṁ vrajapayāhūtāṁ sakhībhiḥ prage
tad-gehe vihitānna-pāka-racanāṁ kṛṣṇāvaśeṣanām
kṛṣṇaṁ buddham avāpta-ḍhenu-sadanaṁ nirvyūḍha-go-dohanaṁ
susnātaṁ kṛta-bhojanaṁ saha-caraistaṁ cātha tāṁ cāśrye
(Sri Govinda-lilamrta)

Yashoda Devi herself can cook. She has got affection for her son Krishna. But she sends information to Radharani that Radharani should come and cook. Why? Because she has heard that Radharani has got a boon from Durvasa rsi. If anybody tastes the cooked food of Radharani then his span of life will be increased. So Yashoda devi thinks Oh, if I can bring Radharani and She cooks food, then if that is given to my son, then my son by eating that, He will have a greater span of life. Then you will be astonished, what is this, Yashoda devi has got no knowledge of Krishna, Krishna is Supreme Lord, the Complete Reality, and she wants to increase His life? (Thinking so), if you go and teach Yashoda devi, then you will not get Vraja prema. You will be deprived of Vraja prema. Yashoda Devi, Nanda Maharaj, they are not seeing Krishna as Supreme Lord, He is our little child, they have got so much affection. She invites Radharani to come to her house and to cook. And Radharani wants that and with other confidentes Radharani comes to the house of Nanda Maharaj in Nandagram and is busy now cooking food with great love. Whatever a devotee prepares Krishna likes it very much because of love. After Krishna’s taking that food, the remnants prasad is tasted by Radharani and other gopis. This is Radharani’s pastimes in the morning, in short. We have to remember this and we have to take shelter of such Radharani.

And what is the pastimes of Krishna? Krishna, several times is going to bed to sleep and several times He wakes up to please all His personal associates. Krishna has gone to the bed and is sleeping there. Yashoda Devi, his mother is generally very much satisfied. But what has happened in the night they did not know. When Krishna is lying down they are very much satisfied. The Sakhas, the friends they come and are unable to wake up Krishna. They are able to wake up Krishna, but Krishna is making the pastimes of drowsiness, like that. Why? Krishna wakes up and goes to bed again. And sakhas wonder what can be done? Because Yashoda Devi wants to serve Krishna for that reason, He sleeps. Sakhas come and Yashoda Devi wake up, You rise up, You rise up. You have to go to cowshed and milk the cows. At that time Madhumangal, and other sakhas they say so many things. That time Paurnamasi comes and she explains everything. Then Krishna giving service to all, gets up, wakes up. And He goes to the cowshed to milk the cows. The cows are not ordinary cows, they are personal associates, rsi munis. They want the holy soft touch of Krishna, sweet touch. After milking the cows they return. And Krishna wants to take bath. But His other confidants, friends, they are crying Oh Kannaiah, Kannaiah, and for Krishna it is very difficult, and so He says alright, alright, you come and goes with them all to take bath. Then they sit down together and Yashoda Devi feeds them. We have take shelter of such Krishna and such Radha.