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

Desiring wealth, man-power or scholarship, all these are deceitful.

ajñāna-tamera nāma kahiye ‘kaitava’
dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa-vāñchā ādi saba
tāra madhye mokṣa-vāñchā kaitava-pradhāna
yāhā haite kṛṣṇa-bhakti haya antardhāna

If Krsna bhakti is done with ulterior motives then it is simply deceitful. It is topmost ignorance to identify oneself with the gross body and to always endeavor for providing for the necessities of gross and subtle body. So how can it be called causeless devotion? All this is deceit. Where there is the root cause of deceit i.e. mis-identification of the self there will arise desire for temporary non-eternal material enjoyment (asat trsna). Yes, we will do devotional practice (bhajan) when we see material benefit for the gross body, for the benefit of material body or for other’s material bodies. Worldly people give more importance to such pious activities by which gross bodies are benefited. But human birth is not meant for the benefit of the gross material body, not for gross and subtle sense gratification.

We have got this human birth to do hari bhajan. Lord has given us discriminating power, wisdom by which I can give up temporary, non-eternal things and accept eternal and good, that is Supreme Lord. He has bestowed discriminating power to understand in this human birth. So this birth is very precious birth. When we get this human birth and we are spoiling our time for all these mundane benefits eating, sleeping, defending and mating(ahar, nidra, bhaya, maithun). Those beasts and birds they are doing. And what is the use of getting this human birth? It has got no utility. Human birth is meant for worship of Supreme Lord. After He created human beings He was very much satisfied because human beings can worship Supreme Lord. But without worshiping Lord conditioned souls are always engaged in sense gratification or in the name of worshiping get engrossed in enhancing material accumulations, they deceive themselves and deceive others too. So all these are deceit and more deceit is destruction of the self, you commit suicide, to merge in the impersonal formless Brahman. If God cannot engage me in His service I shall commit suicide. This is the greatest deceitfulness, hypocrisy.

Pray to Supreme Lord with a simple heart, and giving up deceitfulness. Lord is in everyone’s heart. We read in Gajendra moksha prayers. There is no need of emphasis on words, if there is real eagerness in the heart for Lord, one can attain Lord. Lord is ‘bhava-grahi, not basha-grahi’, He sees your heart’s feelings and not the words you speak. It is impossible for anyone to deceive Him.

Supreme Lord is controlling all, in the sense He controls the fruits of actions. No human being can get that fruit by our own effort. And when this is true, why we shall blame others? We are getting the fruits of our own actions, others may only be instrumental. You go through the Scriptures. If you do not accept the teachings of the Scriptures, what is the use of going through the Scriptures. ‘karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacna’. You have the right to do bad or good deeds, but the fruits are controlled by the Supreme Lord. No human being has got any control over these things. It is useless to blame others. You correct yourself. You cannot find a man who has only faults or has only good qualities. Conditioned soul who has more of bad qualities is called a bad person and who has more of good qualities is called a good person. In a good person also there are faults and in a bad person also there are some good qualities. There is no person who has no good qualities at all. You have to see the qualities in others and defects in us, then we can have rectification. When we have desire for spiritual elevation, for devotional realization, then we have to see our own defects and see others qualities. They have qualities also, only defects there cannot be. So we see that the sadhus are Parama-hamsa. Hamsa (swan) takes out milk from the mixture of milk and water, that sort of capacity is there in a swan. Like that suddha bhakta, sadhu, they are parama-hamsa. They only take the good qualities of others and give up bad qualities. That is their way of thinking. Highest darshan is mahabhagavat’s darshan. That is actual darshan. Raghunath Bhatta Gosvami is always seeing that all are serving positively or negatively, only I am not serving. This is the highest vision, actual. You go through the life (story) of Raghunath Bhatta Gosvami. We see just the reverse. I am full of defects but see I am the correct person and all have defect. The conditioned soul cannot get eternal benefit if that sort of mentality is there.

Pray to the Lord, Supreme Lord is All-gracious. You submit prayer from the core of the heart without deceitfulness, then you will get it. Simple-heartedness is necessary. Crooked persons cannot get the eternal benefit. They are deceiving themselves and deceiving others.

‘My prayer to You Oh Lord, is to get uninterrupted and causeless one-pointed devotion to You birth after birth. I do not want anything else except You Yourself.’ You submit such prayer ‘May I have causeless devotion to You. Wherever I may be born, I do not want to be rescued from my births because of the fruits of my actions. Whatever may be the birth I have to get, I have no objection. But this is my prayer that in every birth I want causeless devotion to Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. ‘

gṛha dravya śiṣya paśu dhānya ādi dhana
strī putra dāsa dāsī kuṭumbādi jana
kāvya alaṅkāra ādi sundarī kavitā
pārthiva-viṣaya madhye e saba vāratā
ei saba pāibāra āśā nāhi kari
śuddha-bhakti deha more kṛṣṇa kṛpā kari

We have to utter this from the core of our heart. Outside by mouth we utter so many things, but inside we have different feelings. We utter ‘I do not want wealth, man-power, I want You only’ and if Krsna appears before us and says ‘Come on’, then we say ‘Oh, now my daughter is not married as yet, my financial position is not good, I am facing problems in my business. So, now I cannot go.’ Then why did you call Me? I called You to remove these worldly problems I am facing now. What we really want? If Lord appears now he is not ready to go. I myself am a proof for this. Before joining Gaudiya Math, for me Lord was very easily available. I used to think that by meditating on the Lord the Lord would appear anytime. I was not following many rules and regulations and would fear if Lord appears anytime I may have to give up my father, brothers, sisters and go with Him. And suddenly stop my meditation and wander. And again when sit for meditation would feel just like before, just now Lord will appear. But Gaudiya Math’s Lord is very far away. Earlier Lord was very easily accessible. So it is said, Suddha bhakti, praying from within the heart is very difficult. You will fail in the examination. One who has suddha bhakti he will have no pride, he is always humble.

Indication of Midday Pastimes of Radha-Krsna

A hint has been given here about the mid-day 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 Radha Krishna at Radha Kunda are the highest and cannot be found at any other time. The material world is the just the reverse. Here various transformations of lust (Kama) are manifest. This material world is a prison house for the culprits. ‘tasmad idam jagad asesam asat-svarupam svapnabham asta-dhisanam puru-duhkha-duhkham tvayy eva nitya-sukha-bodha-tanav anante mayata udyad api yat sad ivavabhati (SB 10.14.22). Not just distress, extreme distress is there in this material world. Whatever we see is dream-like. We are dreaming dreams, all these are dreams, which has no actual existence. If we engage our intelligence to know the world and its happenings, all our intelligence will be finished. Not just distress, there is extreme distress, waves of distress in this material world. It is full of waves of lust (kama) and waves of distress. Where there is lust, there cannot be anything other than distress. Everything here is non-eternal and limited and if we think I will lord over them and enjoy, then it is our lack of knowledge. By their association one will have extreme distress but thinks I am happy. It is not happiness.

I heard from our Gurudeva. We have a math in Medinipur, Shyamananda Gaudiya Math. It is still not yet dawn and not yet time for mangalarati. Guru Maharaj is walking up and down the corridor on the first floor. The math is situated alongside a lane and heard some commotion of children shouting ‘Hari Hari Hari Hari!!’. What is the reason for commotion, Guru Maharaj is seeing from upstairs. One man who was wearing dhoti, called Shantipuri dhoti in Bengal, very nice, fell into a roadside gutter filled with filthy water with his head down and children are trying to lift him up. He is a well-built man and so children are trying together to lift him up. Guru Maharaj is seeing. Then two people came who knew the man. He was a wealthy man. When they helped and lifted him up, he says ‘Go away. Don’t touch me. I am very fine!!’ He had fallen in the gutter and because of dirty water there he may become infected with disease. But he declares, I am very fine!! I am alright!! Guru Maharaj inquired, what does he say. They explained what he has done. Then the two men held him on both sides and took him away. Have you heard about Jagai Madai? Like them, he is going here, perhaps fully drunk. And when lifted says, I am very fine. I am a very good man. Till his intoxication is there he will say I am very fine, I am a good man, and when intoxication is gone, will he say that. Drinking liquor of material sense-enjoyment we say it is very good! (Life is very good!). Swamiji, it is good that you have arrived. But we have no time to listen to you. If we hear you our mind will feel bored. We are all fine here. If you have any need for money we can give some. They give ten rupees and go. We have no time to listen to you. Poison of sense enjoyment makes one feel so good, but in reality it is a disease, it is not good. When in the state of intoxication it feels good and when intoxication is over one will realize that this material world is full of suffering, there are waves of suffering. This is not the place to get happiness. Above this is Viraja, where there is no creation and it is the place of ignorance, and so it is also a place of suffering, but there are no waves of suffering there. Here there are waves of suffering. And we think we are happy here. But Scriptures say severe suffering. In Viraja, it is place of suffering with ignorance (ajnanamaya dukha), but no waves of suffering there, no variegated-ness. There is no creation and so, lust arising from rajo guna is absent. Above that is Brahma-dhama. It is the land of ananda, bliss and the bliss there is called brahmananda. But there are no waves of bliss here in the formless, impersonal Brahman. There is bliss, it is not a place of suffering, but there are no waves of bliss. Beyond this is Vaikunta. ‘jyotir akhilam Shyamasundaram’. The jnanis strive to reach the place, to attain Brahmananda and merge there in Brahma jyoti. That light is the bodily aura of Shyamasundar Narayana, who is inside. The scent of Tulasi offered at the Lotus feet of Narayana reach the nostrils of Chaturshan who are drowned in Brahmananda. They get so much attracted by it and they give up brahmananda and begin worship of Narayana. They did not even see Narayana, but just the scent of tulasi offered at His lotus feet and they got so much attracted to Narayana. Brahmananda is compared to the water that a calf’s hoof print can hold and in comparison to it Narayana’s Vaikunta is ocean of love and bliss. And Narayana gets attracted to the form of Krsna. And in between there are other places. And finally Goloka Vrndavan there are waves of bliss and transformations of divine transcendental love (prema ka vikar), not of lust. In this material world there is variety, but it is of lust and sense-enjoyment and is the cause of extreme suffering for the living entities. So those who forget Lord and become averse to Him, they are hurled down into this prison house. We are all culprits in this prison house of material existence. But one good thing is that we are born in India (Bharat-varsha). In this whole world among the seven continents Asia (Jambhudvipa) is the best and in Asia, India is the best, most superior because of Lord’s appearance here. Even though it is also a prison-house, here Lord descended and played pastimes. Goverdhan, Radha kunda, Navadvip dhama, Dvaraka dhama, because of Lord appearance and pastimes took place here, so those who have taken birth in India are very fortunate. But we have to accept this fortune. Other countries are engrossed in sense-enjoyment and making them our ideal if we also engage in sense-gratification then India’s fame will be destroyed. They, the people of the world, are burning in fire and searching where we will find peace and are coming to India. If we imitate them where can they get shelter?

Here (at Radha kunda), there is supreme ecstatic feelings of love, it is not of the ordinary kind of ecstatic feelings. Ashtasattvik –eight principal and thirty three kinds of other subordinate ecstatic feelings –sanchari—and various kinds of sweet ecstatic feelings like crookedness of prema, external expression of rudeness, but inside actually just the reverse (Vamya), supreme eagerness to get contact with the object of love (Utkantha), external restlessness due to love within (satrsna, chanchal), hearing jokes of gopis(parihas) during transcendental amorous pastimes(kandarpa-yajna), swinging festival(dola-keli) which is eternally occuring, pleasant strolling in the forest(vana-vihar), water sports in ponds and rivers (jala-keli), innumerable pastimes, all for Krsna’s happiness, place of Supreme Bliss. They are worshiping and singing the glories of Radha Krsna and we are hearing The Holy Names of Radhakrsna. We have to pray to our Guru and Guruvarga and remember Them.