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

This is the stage when the bhajan is performed with taste. In the first period it is Sraddha, firm faith. In the Second period association of bonafide sadhus who have got one-pointed devotion to Supreme Lord Sri Krsna and taking shelter of a bonafide guru and as per his direction to start bhajan with submission to his lotus feet. And if there will be actual bhajan then all ulterior desires will be removed. In this way our Bhakti Vinod Thakur has shown gradual progress to get the ultimate end Bhagavat prema.

Here, now in the fourth period we have to worship with taste, worship will be palatable, tasteful. Prior to this in the third period when there will be no other desires then there will be fixation of mind to the Object of Worship. Before that sometimes we do bhajan, sometimes we have got no liking to do bhajan because there are obstacles of different desires. All ulterior desires will be removed, then constantly you can perform bhajan. After that by Lord’s grace, transcendental absolute bliss can be realized only through His grace, it will descend. By your own process of ascension you cannot do anything. He is for Himself and by Himself. Without His grace you cannot have any progress. He will descend and you will have the taste of the bliss. Then you cannot give up bhajan.

nāma sādhakera ahaituki kṛṣṇa bhakti binā anya kāmanā nahi

The true worshipper of Harinam has got no other desire except causeless devotion to Sri Krishna. If there are ulterior desires within the heart then real Harinam is not possible. It is to be chanted for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord. If done for any other purpose, then it amounts to nama aparadha. In the world so called Harikirtan is there. Actual eternal benefit you cannot get if the target is something else. For that association of bonafide suddha bhakta, pure devotee is essential. Without that we cannot have the progress. There are professional chanters. I heard from one of our devotees in Chandigarh who is here now. And he told me, there is one female devotee staying in Chandigarh, very sweet tone she was holding discourse in Srimad Bhagavatam. And so many persons were there in the meeting and some of them, they also come to our math, Gaudiya math. They submit their prayer to that brahmachari, now he has taken Tridanda sannyas, you should go there, your dharma is Bhagavata dharma, to hear about the glories of Sri Krsna, His name, form, attributes, personal associates, and His transcendental pastimes. One devotee has come, she is a female devotee, very good, you should go there and hear. Then he said alright. I am under the math-in-charge here. If I can get time then I can go. He could not go. Next time, next day, you have not come? No, because I was busy. You must go otherwise you will lose the chance, next day only you can go. Then repeatedly those devotees were requesting you should go, you should go. Why are you saying so? It is because it is very difficult to get such a good singer, sweet tone. It requires ten thousand rupees to hear her. Oh, then I will make my obeisance, I won’t go. She is doing there kirtan to get ten thousand rupees, is it not? There is no necessity for me to go there to hear this. Whose life is dedicated fully for the service of Sri Krsna, there Sri Krsna can descend. Absolute is for Himself and by Himself. He is not for anything in this world. You take unconditional surrender to His lotus feet and do it sincerely for His satisfaction. Then you will get the actual benefit.

Fourth Verse of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sikshastaka :

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukḥ tvayi

Repeatedly we have to hear, to remember, perform kirtan, this is called practice. Now today you have heard it and after sometime you will forget it. Conditioned souls forget. There should be hammering, constantly hammering.

‘O Supreme Lord, I do not desire wealth, followers. If I do not desire wealth, how will life go on?

How can this body’s activities carry on? We do need wealth, also man-power. Alone what can I do. When there is dependence on other things Krsna will not come. You have to take absolute shelter, unconditional surrender. Very difficult! You say from the core of the heart. If you submit to any Emperor, Autocrat, outside externally and ask him to give you one thousand rupees, one thousand rupees, repeatedly, then if he gives, you will be the loser. I want to serve you. I do not want anything and if he accepts you then you will be the proprietor of everything. This is the case in this world. And Supreme Lord is the Proprietor of whole Infinite Brahmandas, Infinite Vaikuntas, everything and without wanting Him we are wanting something, very insignificant thing, of no value. And you are part and parcel of Him, eternally connected with Him, you have got relation with Him. As you have become averse to Him you have got this desire for all these non-eternal things. So God had to create this universe and so many species for you to enjoy. You do not want Him, you want all these things. And what will be the consequence? Birth, death and threefold afflictions, what benefit you will get? Whether you are a rich person or a very poor person, all are in great miseries and sufferings and afflictions because they have given up Absolute Bliss. Supreme Lord is All-Existence, All-Knowledge and All-Bliss. Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is original Bhagavan is teaching us, you should not blame Me blame the Lord. You do not want Me, you want something else. You say from the core of the heart I want You. If you are very wise and intelligent then you will do this. Suddha Bhaktas are very intelligent. They do not want all these things, only His service. I do not want money, I do not want man-power, I do not want any erudition, of this worldly name and fame, that I am a great scholar, I do not want this. I do not want even emancipation, salvation. My only prayer is I want causeless exclusive devotion to You and nothing else. Clearly say, then I shall come. I am equal to all. But you do not want Me, you want something else. You say inwardly one-self. According to the thinking I shall give the fruit, not according to your words what you say.

gṛha dravya śiṣya paśu dhānya ādi dhana

In detail (it is said here). I want good palatial building, I want this, I want that, I want to have disciples to serve me, if all these things I want for my own benefit then everything is ‘vishaya’ (material objects of sense-gratification) and everything is the cause of bondage. You can see all these things. Suddha Bhaktas see Supreme Lord is the master of all these things and Enjoyer and see I have no hold even over my body, my body belongs to Sri Krsna. This body is the outcome of the apara potency, material energy of Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. This body made of earth water, fire, air and sky. I have no hold over my own body. Actually it belongs to the Lord. Subtle body is also outcome of apara potency. And the real self also belongs to Supreme Lord, para prakrti, Superior energy. He is the possessor of all energy. You have got no hold over your own body, subtle body and your own self. And if you want to enjoy you are doing something wrong, very wrong. He is the only Enjoyer, the Only Master and Enjoyer and no body else. In this transcendental realm we are hearing about this every day, about the transcendental pastimes of the eight periods. There all are for Krsna,and the only Master and the Enjoyer is Krsna and all are to be enjoyed. No body is the master. That is the transcendental realm. That we speak but again we quarrel I am the proprietor of this building, I am the proprietor of this land. This sort of ignorance is there.

Ambarish Maharaj, outside he was autocrat of the whole world. But he had the knowledge that everything belongs to Krsna. Remaining in the household life he has got no attachment to anything of this world. Can you imagine? Durvasa could not understand, he is a great ascetic. And Narayana said, you see, how can I give up, abandon this Emperor. You are thinking he is a vishayi, great emperor and enjoyer of the world. No, he has given up everything for Me, all property, everything. He has got no attachment. You have committed offense to him. Forgiveness is the quality of the heart. My heart has been conquered by Ambarish Maharaj. My heart is not with Me. It is with him, you have to go there. He will rescue you from Sudarshan Cakra. You cannot deceive Supreme Lord. You have to remember this.

ei saba pāibāra āśā nāhi kari
śuddha-bhakti deha more kṛṣṇa kṛpā kar
premera svabhāva yāṅhā premera sambandha
sei māne kṛṣṇe mora nāhi bhakti-gandha

Where there is actual prema humbleness is there, pure humbleness. I have got not even a scent of devotion for Supreme Lord.

Indication of Midday Pastimes of Radha-Krsna

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 the ecstatic feelings that manifest by the union of Sri Radha Krishna are the highest and cannot be found at any other time. All the ecstatic feelings of highest order including Astasattvik-vikar – eight principal ecstatic feelings, thirty-three kinds of other subordinate ecstatic feelings – sancari, all kinds of highest sweet inciting transcendental ecstatic feelings are manifested in Radha-kunda. It is written here, but who will experience it we do not know. In the morning every day we are remembering this. Without realized state we cannot understand this pastime.

Sikshastakam 6th Verse ‘nayanam galad-asru-dharaya vadanam gadgada-ruddhaya gira pulakair nicitam vapuh kada tava nama-grahane bhavisyati’. Whether you has attained the realised state or not is examined by this verse, that these ecstatic feeling will be there externally. There tears will roll down from the eyes, like river. Not even a drop of tear is coming from my eyes. And voice would be choked. You will not be able to utter the full name. There will be other external symptoms like horripilation, etc. Nothing is manifesting, nothing is felt, then you have not got the realised form. So how you can understand? But for showing others if you show some sort of ecstatic feelings, it is deceitful, that is not good.

Once it so happened. Now it is in Bangla Desh, earlier it was East Bengal and within India, there in kirtans in the villages. In kirtans if ecstatic feelings are manifested there people come, if there are no feelings manifested, then not many people will attend. So a villager brought from a far off place a kirtaniya who could express great feelings by giving him some money. That time money had much value and in one paise one could buy 2 Kgs of brinjal. He was given 4 anas (25 paise) and also sufficient instructions how he should perform. So he came and kirtan started and after sometime he started showing ecstatic symptoms and finally fell on the ground. The floor of Satsang Bhavan of that village was ordinary ground, full of mud. Many people had arrived hearing the news of the kirtan event. All arrangements were made for the Kirtaniya to be attended if he would fall unconscious. He fell down and all people were witnessing it. But how long will he lie down there? There were many red ants on the ground where he fell and they started biting him and he suddenly rose up. What happened, what happened? Every one was anxious. Then he retorted, for 4 anas (25 paise) should I give my life? Then all ran away from there. Showing 4 anas’ feelings is simply deceit, it will not work. Only in the association of Suddha bhaktas such ecstatic feeling may arise. In fact such ecstatic feelings are very rare even in Suddha bhaktas, it can be found only in gopis. Even to devotees like Narada etc. it is very very rare. So we all hear and Bhakti Vinod Thakur who is the associate of the Lord is giving us some indication, hint in this regard so that some greed (lalasa), such real hankering for the Lord may arise in us. So if we follow the rules and regulations and establish ourselves in Sikshastaka, then we may develop these qualities. Our Param Gurudev gave great emphasis on Sikshastaka of Mahaprabhu and this Sikshastaka is recited/studied and contemplated upon during Kartik vrat.