Musical Anatomy

[47:07]

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare

There are series of kirtanas some during early morning hours “udilo aruno puraba bhage” and “ Jiv Jago” and Vrindavan mangala arati they sing, Vibhavari sesa, meaning what “Vibhavari Sesa, Vibhavari Sesa, sesa means finished, Vibhavari – night is over and aloka pravesa and light is entering. Light is here, sun is rising and this is time for singing, “Jiv Jago”. What do we say, “jiv Jago”- Why you are plundering in maya? So Jiv Jago and translation also it says, wake up sleeping souls doea not say wake up sleeping bodies, that’s is what we think “Jiv Jago kirtana” means, you go around doing kirtana wake people up and then they come waking up, come running.

This happens on padayatra, padayatra kirtana party right from mangala arati, they are doing kirtana, till they are leaving that village. So that is “Jiv Jago” waking people, deeper meaning is “Jiv Jago” that is wakeup call for the soul. Soul wake up, soul wake up time. So lot of times or every time body is waking up but the soul is still sleeping. Body is up, the soul is still sleeping and where is it sleeping? “pisacira kole”, pisacira is an illusory energy of maya, kole is the lap, the lap of witch called maya. Soul is sleeping, so body is up, body is running, different wanderings going on but still, soul is fast asleep as “Gaurachanda Bole”, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is calling, “Jiv Jago, Jiv Jago”.

We mentioned three songs, they are sung in morning time, traditionally for every kal, there are songs. Asta-kaliya-lila, known as eight periods- Pratah kal, Purvana, Madhyan, Aprahan, Sandhya kal, pradosh kal, ratri kal and usha kal. So like that eight kals, eight periods, these are the technical names and for each kal there are different raga’s, particular raga’s and they create a right emotion, the right moods when these songs are sung in that particular raga.

So there is a whole science which is now becoming lupta, it is disappearing very fast and not so much people are practicing. Only some Gharana’s somewhere are still practising that to this day. Each song has also melody. Melody is one thing and raga is another. This is all science, art which is disappearing very fast. So this all comes under sangeet, bhajan, sangeet and as per definition of sangeet, there is a geet if it is only geet that it is not sangeet, then it is only geet. In order for it to become sangeet then vadaya also has to be there. So geet, vadaya and nrtya, then it is sangeet. So these are the three components of sangeet. Sangeet means geet (the song), musical instrument and also nrtya. So they are integral part, then it is sangeet.

mahaprabhoh kirtana nrtya gita
vaditra madyam manso rasena

Vaditra is also there, Mahaprabhoh kirtana nrtya gita vaditra (vadya), so geet and there are vadya’s musical instruments of various kinds. Basically we use mirdanga and kartal. Mirdanga is representing flute in Krsna’s past times. Flute is appearing as mirdanga in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s kirtana, sangeet. And for dance you need vadaya’s, otherwise you can’t dance. As soon as the vadaya’s is not made properly then it is difficult to dance. So vadaya and nrtya goes together and then there is whole song. Sometimes also there is only vadaya and nrtya but still technically it is not sangeet because geet is missing. In South India there is lot of vadaya and nrtya, but there has to be geet, sangeet.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself and every step is dance and every talk is song. The spiritual sky is filled with song and dance. So that whole spiritual sky descends on the earth, we are goning to experience as there is display, performance of sangeet, geet is there, instruments are being played and then there is a dance like the original dance, rasa dance and gopis dance. They just don’t do the swami’s step- raise your arm, they start there but then devotees do more than the swami’s step. the gopis are very expert dancers specially Radha Rani her abilities to play the instruments. Hey my Radha Rani, the Suka and Sharika they were debating, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard the dialogue and the Sharika was advocate of Srimati Radha Rani. Hey shut up, you know my Radha Rani , she is good at this and she plays music and she does this, she sing songs. And then Krsna is a Nataraj, the best amongst the dance, Nata mean actor and what is nata known for, the way he even walks, you watch the way actor walks. So many are maddened just by seeing their actor or their hero walking watch his steps.

So Krsna is Nataraj, so He is the original dancer and original dance is rasa dance, in that the dance there is music and song so on. So that’s the original sangeet in the spiritual sky. It is relishable that’s why we will invite people, please come back home. We will not like to miss the music there, real and original music is in the spiritual sky and the soul dance. There are no bodies in the spiritual sky there are no bodies, only spirits or spiritual bodies, bodies are spiritual bodies and they dance. We get to experience that down on the earth here, little bliss as we sing the song given to us by the acarya’s and we sing them and play instruments there is dance also that goes with it for the pleasure of Jagannath. Small Jagannath temple is known for Devdasi’s they dance after shayan arati. At the end of Lord’s big day before He goes to sleep, there are dances for the pleasure of Jagannath. 500 yrs ago Ramananda Rai use to take care of the department, the ladies who will be dancing for the Lord, in front of the Lord, in the darsana mandap, Ramananda rai used to dress them up and make up and different things. So Ramananda Rai although in a male body. We know he is “Vishakha”, so no surprise if Vishakha is dressing up some other gopis, some other ladies, making them ready to dance for pleasure of Jagannath and “Geet Govind” also famous song compiled by Jaidev Goswami, these are very favourite songs of Jagannath.

Jagannath is most pleased when Geet Govind is sung, unto this day I have heard many times, in the evening we go to darsana, go out then on the side there is a little mandap. Where the music is played and they sing different songs but Jaidev Goswami’s, Geet Govind they have to sing every single night this is very beautiful. So geet, sangeet this is the integral part of the spiritual sky. This is the life. Muslims are kind of just opposite to Hindu’s they wanted to do something different. So they banned sangeet. So they don’t sing, they don’t use the instruments there and being impersonalists and against the music and instrument play. That’s the unfortunate part. So Chaitanya Mahaparbhu He brought the spiritual sky down to the earth, Hari, Haribol. So this is a gift of Gauranga for us. He himself always sang and danced even there was no music before, sing and dance. Even of course when Mahaprabhu started his kirtanas , say that talking of Japa and kIrtana. So cause for all this is the Lord Gauranga, cause of all causes, He is

sarve karan karanm
and for the singing that is going on, devotional singing or Mahamantra singing and dancing with it, that goes on , behind this is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. That’s nice , that He danced and chanted and danced so much that chanting and dancing which caused the vibrations, and those vibrations are still there making us chant and dance because of his chanting and dancing. It is shocking that present batch of devotees are still that trembling is going on. So because He chanted and danced it is cause of our chanting and dancing.

So Mahaprabhu, one time He just came back from Gaya he had received his holy name initiation. As soon as he started chanting and dancing, He returned to Jagnnath to Mayapur ( Navadvip) chanting and dancing, to Gaya He had gone as Nimai Pandit he gone as a pandit but when he returned he was chanter and dancer of the holy name. He transformed “Chant for Change”, Chant for change, He really changed, He is so much changed that he has to ask his Guru Maharaj, He said,

kiba mantra dila gosani
kiba tara bala
japite japite mantra
korila pagala
[CC Adi lila 7.81]

Oh, what kind of mantra have you given so much power is there in this mantra, that you know I am just gone mad from the time I have taken to this chanting. So certainly this is result of sincere chanting, it is result of offence less chanting. Quickly he received all the benediction, all those fruits and pure chanting and dancing, in ecstasy rolling on the ground and shedding tears, trembling body, stunned like a “stambah”, all the symptoms. Then initially he was chanting and dancing with very selected few devotees in “Srivasa Angan”, or courtyard or home, closing doors and windows they will do the chanting and that went on for some time and Advaita carya was not very happy with this. So he said, Prabhu Mahaprabhu this is not the reason why asked you to descend that you will chant and dance only with selected few devotees. What about the whole world is in need of your help, they need you, please come out. Get out of there, So Advaitacarya he had become the cause of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s advent. So then Lord was in His special class but not for the masses, then Advaitacarya intervened, he had offered prayers, then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu opened all the doors. All the devotees come out and more joined and then, they started.

udilo aruno purava bhage
dvija mani gora amani Jage
bhakta samuha laiya sathe
gela nagara vraje

So this is how, kirtna/sankirtana , sangeet sankirtana started chanting and that time they all were chanting, singing and playing instruments and dancing and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing also.

tathai tathai bajala khola
ghanna ghana tahe jhajhera rola
preme dhaladhala sonara anga
carane nupura baje

So, all the instruments, the manjira, jhanj, and khol and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu “preme dhola dhola sonar anga” His golden body dancing and “carane nupura baje” tinkling of the bells. So I was thinking that those instruments players must be playing instruments very expertly. So in order for this nupur, sound of nupur, also they are able to hear. They are making sure that the sound of nupur is no drowned. It is called drowning the sound that sound is not being drowned while the louder sounding instruments, must be playing very expertly. They will have little pause, so that nupur also could be heard. Sound of nupur could come across. So this is Bhakti Vinod Thakur making this observation. Mahaprabhu is dancing and all instruments are being played and including these bells around his ankle are also that can be heard and then sound cause hmmm

mukund madhava yadava hari
boleno bolo re vadana bhori

So this is how vadana bhori comes and this is repeated in many places this “vadana bhori.” Indradyumna Maharaja says, singing should be whole hearted, full throated, full throat then it comes “vadana bhori”and it is full voice is coming in full force when, full heart is open and then throat is open and then mouth has to be full and then opened and if it is not opened then whispering is going on.

So this song compiled by Bhakti Vinod Thakur here, this is the pastime of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The description, dairy, observation, notes what He used to do during those kirtana and nagar kirtans.

gaya gora madhura svare
gaye gora madhura svare
hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
gaya gora madhura svare
gaye gora madhura svare
grhe thaka, vane thaka
sada hari’ ba’le daka
sukhe duhkhe bhule na’ka
vadane hari, nama kare re
gaya gora madhura svare
gaye gora madhura svare
mayajale baddha ha’ye
acha miche kaja la’ye
ekhanao cetana py’ye
radha
madhava nama bala re
gaya gora madhura svare
jivana haila ‘sesa
na baajile hrsikesa,
bhaktivinoda-(ei) upades’a,
eka-bara nama-
rase mata re
gaya gora madhura svare
gaye gora madhura svare
gaya gora madhura svare
gaye gora madhura svare

What is this called, nagar kirtana, gaye gora madhura svare then hare krsna, hare krsna, grhe thake, vana thake, so some advice preaching is done, with the song like this. sukhe dukhe bhula na’ka, vadana hari namm kara re and “jivana haila sesa, na bhajila hrsikesa”. So this dvital, we play mainly in trital. As it is one, two, three; one, two, three; so there are many many tals, our Vrindavan team, Aindra Prabhu and company, they kind of getting so much different tals. It creates more variety more appeal. “Svara” and “tal”, svara is like the beads and tal is like a string, a svara is like a flowers and tal is like a thread. So what keeps the flower together or beads together is that string, without that string, it is just bunch of scattered flowers. Some shape is given to those with the use of that string and then there is a garland. So just the svaras with no proper tal, could not sound good. It is more pleasing when this system is followed, svara and tal, tal badha, tal and sura. Singer is singing that is svara and there is kartal or the mirdanga provides tal, should go hand in hand and make a very pleasing offering for the pleasure of the Lord. Singer is playing with his voice or singer acts with his voice, the regular actor acts with his body or face and the singer acts with his throat. There are different kind of acts

One has to be careful, translating mantras or songs. This is also very sweet song, different flavour. goplala govinda ram sri madhusudana”, so we sing mostly first two lines. Prabhupada recommends like that during kirtans and more “sri caitanya nityananda sri advaita sita, hari guru vaisnava bhagavat gita.” It is not Bhagavat Gita, Bhagavat is one scripture and Gita is the other one. But everyone says Bhagavat Gita (laughter) so both scriptures.

gita bhagavat karate sharavan, akhanda chintan vithoba che

Tukamane, kaun mane tukamane. So one should study both scriptures. So, sri rupa sanatana bhatta raghunath, sri jiva gopala bhatta dasa ragunath. I was just there, I was going to Bangladesh for the first time, when I have been travelling around the world, but I never been to Bangladesh. So two weeks ago, I have been to Bangladesh, that is so special, I didn’t spoke about. So we went to Rupa, Sanatana’s birth place, Jiva Goswami, of course, he was also from the same family and who was the fourth one? Anupam. Not much of their remnants, there is not much to see, there is Rupa Sanatana Smriti Mandir ISKCON has build not far from that place, I also went to Narottam Dasa Thakur’s birth place. One day I went to Rupa Sanatana and the next day was Lokanath Goswami’s birth place, I must go, I am Lokanath Swami (laughter). So we drove many hours and we went to the village of Lokanath Goswami and there was nothing just the place where his house one time, there is another building construction, but that is new. Radha Vinod temple they have built some distance from this spot in the same village.

The third day we went to Haridasa Thakur, where he was tested by, what you call Laksha-Hira, the prostitute. So that place is Binapur. Binapur very nice place. Then fourth day, every day we were going on pilgrimage. Fourth day we went to Kechari Gaon, Narottam Dasa thakur’s birth place. Now that palace is not there, just some new building and properties in the same land. We stayed; we spent one night there and with Hari Sauri Prabhu and some other devotees we went to Padmavati river, to take a holy dip. That’s where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had left Krsna prema for Narottam Dasa Thakur. So he left that in Padmavati river, so we tried to explore are there few more drops of Krsna prema still around in the waters hoping that, so we also took a dip. So those are few of the places of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s past time places of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu associated, they all have appeared in different part of Bengal and they later on migrated to Navadvipa, Mayapur as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears.

So mention of sri rupa sanatana bhatta raghunath, sri jiva gopala bhatta dasa ragunath, Vande rupa sanatanau raghu yugau sri jiva gopalkau, all six of them, so this, vande rupa sanatanau raghu yogau, two raghu’s gopalkau, sri jiva gopal bhatt, sri jiva gopal gopalkau, so au. It means two, in pair. So krsnau means two krsna’s ramau, so as the reason au, au is used here meaning two in pairs, refer the two Goswami’s.

ei chay gosai kori carana vandan
jaha hoite bighna nas abhista puran

jaha hoite bighna nas abhista puran, abhista, Sri Chaitanya mano bhistam, that bhistam, puran means complete. ei chay gosai jar mui tar das, mui has to be pronounced properly mui – I am tar das, your servant. In Guru puja also there is mui.

bando mui savadhana mate

bando mui, means I worship, savadhana mate, with all precautions I worship,

tadera carana sebi bhakta sane bas
janame janame hoy ei abhilas
ei chay gosai jabe braje koila bas
Radha Krsna nitya lila korila prakas

Gaudiya Vaishnav songs and bhava, there is nothing like that in the world, in Brahmanda on this planet, all Gaudiaya Vaishnav’s Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has presented to us and then acarya’s are presenting the top class, highest thing,

radha-krsna-nitya-lila korila prakas
anande bolo hari, bhaja vrndavan
sri-guru-vaisnava-pade majaiya man
sri-guru-vaisnava-pad-padma kori as
nama-sankirtana kohe narottama-das

So many songs, this is one of his favourite one. Then je anilo prema dhana, that is also contribution of Narottam Dasa Thakur, reason why he has to compiled this song was, he was the last one, he goes to Vrindavan, hoping to meet so many of these great personalities, that he had heard about. So travelling and travelling, as he arrives, first he arrived in Mathura, as he arrived there, he received the news, oh this one is not there, that one is no more, long time gone. This one, that one. So Narottam Dasa Thakur was heartbroken and he was thinking there is no use of me surviving. All these vaishnav’s were my life and soul and they have all gone. Why should I survive, Why should I be? So that is his mood here.

se saba sangria sange je koila bilas
se sanga na paiya kande narottama das

So, as he was aspiring to have sanga of these, different devotees were not getting that association, I am simply kande, means crying, I should simply weep now. pasane kutibo matha anale pasibo, I break my head against that rocks enter the fire, guranga gunera nidhi kotha gele pabo, I cannot find Gauranga anymore, nowhere to be found so I would enter the fire. So these are his inner deep, within are his emotions, feelings and he had expressed those in this particular song. He is deprived of the associations of vaishnav’s so like that it goes on.

dhule dhule gaura chand, the complier of this song in not known, not one of our acarya’s. So bhajahu re man, radhika satva, by Rupa Goswami also, jaya jaya madhava dayite, gokula taruni mandala mahite, then Madhurasthakam also.

If you want to know the Lord, become acaryavan

ISKCON Vrindavan
We welcome all the assembled devotees and thank you for being with us this morning to hear Srimad Bhagavatam canto nine chapter eleven text number one. I already gave a little indication and I’m sure you heard the announcement this morning. Today is Srila Jiva Goswami’s disappearance day festival. So we will do a Bhagavatam verse and also we must remember Srila Jiva Goswami. Today is a very special day. Please repeat:

Sri Suka Uvaca
bhagavan atmanatmanam
rama uttama-kalpakaih
sarva-devamayam devam
ije athacaryavan makhaih

Translation and purport by SrilaPrabhupada ki Jai.
Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thereafter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ramacandra, accepted an acarya and performed sacrifices [yajnas] with opulent paraphernalia. Thus He Himself worshiped Himself, for He is the Supreme Lord of all demigods.

Purport: Sarvarhanam acyutejya. If Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshiped, then everyone is worshiped. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam

yathatarormula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya [SB 4.31.13]

“As pouring water on the root of a tree nourishes the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfies the demigods, who are part of that Supreme Personality.”

Performing yajna involves worshiping the Supreme Lord. Here the Supreme Lord worshiped the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is said, bhagavan atmanatmanam ije: the Lord worshiped Himself by Himself. This does not, of course, justify the Mayavada philosophy, by which one thinks himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jiva, the living entity, is always different from the Supreme Lord. The living entities (vibhinnamsa) never become one with the Lord, although Mayavadis sometimes imitate the Lord’s worship of Himself.

Lord Krsna meditated upon Himself every morning as a grihasta, and similarly Lord Ramacandra performed yajnas to satisfy Himself, but this does not mean that an ordinary living being should imitate the Lord by accepting the process of ahangraha-upasana. Such unauthorized worship is not recommended herein.

Sri Suka Uvaca
bhagavan atmanatmanam
rama uttama-kalpakaih
sarva-devamayam devam
ije athacaryavan makhaih

Lord Ramacandra rules the world is the chapter title here. In the middle of the Bhagavatam came the Ramayan which Srila Sukadeva Goswami has summarised in just two chapters. We have covered first of those two chapters wherein the Lord being in the exile, of being in the forest that’s been covered including all the way going to Sri Lanka. From Ayodhya to Lanka whole thing on foot doing Padayatra all over the length of India. And He has killed Ravana, Jai Sri Rama! hogayakam [laughter]. Just by remembering the utterance of Sri Rama hogayakam, everything is accomplished. And Rama has returned to Ayodhya and where in He is going to reside for almost eleven thousand years.

dasa sahastra dasashatani ca, Ramayana says. Ten thousand and one more thousand. Like that eleven thousand years and so those pastimes – Ram being in Ayodhya, Ram as Raja Ram the king of Ayodhya.And that way the king of the whole world. This world has not seen a king, a king like Shri Ram. na bhuto na bhavishyati – such ideal King. He is a Raja,he is a king. A Raja has a praja, the citizens are praja. Raja and Praja – so he is taking care of praja, citizens as his own family members.They are His own. Hari Hari – so that Sri Ram here we are reading. He is busy performing Yajnas, makhai?. He performs sacrifices and no wonder – this is the Treta Yuga. How is the Lord worshipped in Treta Yuga? By performance of Yajnas.

tretayam yajato makhaih krtedhyayatovisnum

In Satya Yuga He is worshipped by dhyana, the meditation-tretayamyajatomakhaih

dvapare paricaryayam- Dvapara, offering worship. Kalau tad dhari-kirtanah. And Hari kirtana is dharma for the age of Kali. And this is how the world is programmed by the Lord. Every time Satya Yuga, get into meditation.Every time Treta Yuga- Svaha, Svaha,Svaha.Yajnas must take place – and then deity worship and as soon as Kali arrive,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare.

Rama ije, the verse says Rama ije. Rama worshipped – who did He worship? Atmanam – Rama worshipped Rama. How did He worship? By Rama. Atmana ramena ramam ije. Rama worshipped by Rama. To do so is the performance of yajna. He is using the best of all the paraphernalia available. Yajna is a big thing huh? Expensive also – lots of preparations.

So uttama-kalpakaih, He has organised the best ingredients, paraphernalia, etc and how is he worshipping – Rama, worshipping the Lord? And He is setting an example this way. You have to worship the Lord! aradhananam sarvesam. visnor aradhanam param. You have to worship the Lord, now you are human beings, you should worship Radha Krishna. Janiya suniya visha khainu, knowingly you are drinking poison. Better drink the nectar, so he is setting an example like that. So by performing yajna he is worshipping the Lord.

So yajna is also Lord. Ram is performing yajna.Yajna is fire and all – yajna is sacrifice. That is also the Lord, called Yajna Purusha.

yajnarthat karmano nyatra loko ‘yam karma-bandhanah

All the karmas should be done for yajna. Yajnarthat – for the purpose of yajna all the activities should be performed, all the activities should be dedicated. tat kurusva mad-arpanam– they should all be offered to yajna. So another name for the Lord also is Yajna. He is Govindam adi purusham. Adi Purusha and He is also Yajna Purusha.

Purusha is personality – personality of Godhead. Yajna purusha, Adipurusha, Purushottam. So Sri Rama is performing yajna. So yajna is also Rama Himself and that yajna also being performed by Sri Rama. So that way Rama is worshipping Rama. Rama is worshipping Rama Himself. Bhagavan atmanatmanam.Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord Shri Rama, atmanatmanam ije. He Himself worshipped himself. One element is missing, I mean I haven’t mentioned. It’s there, how did he worship? In order to worship, Sri Rama became acarayavan.

ije athacaryavan makhaih

In order to perform fire sacrifice, in order to worship yajna by Sri Rama, he has become acarayavan. Acaryavan purusho veda. This is a very big principle. One of the Upanisads, I don’t remember which Upanisad. Acaryavan purusho veda. If you want to know the Lord and if you want to serve or worship the Lord – Acaryavan.

First of all you have to have Acaryavan. You have to have Acarya. Then you become Acaryavan. As soon as you have Jnana, as soon as you have knowledge what do you become? Jnanavan. As soon as you have wealth you become Dhanavan. Like that so many words like that. So as soon as you become Acaryavan, because you have Acarya then Acaryavan purusho veda. All knowing.Vedais ca sarvair ahameva vedyo. I am to be known by studying all the vedas but they are to be taught by Acarya. So Sri Rama also set that example by worshipping Himself, He is worshipping Himself but He hasn’t kept that Acarya out of the picture. Acarya has to be there otherwise worship cannot be complete, cannot proceed, cannot be completed. It cannot happen successfully. So acaryavan makhaih. For performing yajnas he has accepted Acarya. So everyone must have acarya. Tasmadgurumprapadyeta Guru or Acarya.

So we all have become- I think you are all acaryavan, me included. We are all acaryavan beginning with the six Goswami of Vrindavan. They are our acaryas. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Ki Jai! He gave us acaryas. He came with a big battalion of acaryas. All his associated were sangopangastra-parshadam. All those angas and all His parikas and all His parshads and all His associates, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used them to do what? Dharma samsthapanarthaya. In order to establish dharma, the Lord appears to establish dharma. And in order to establish dharma, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared with so many, many devotees. Unlimited number of acaryas, devotees and they have acted as acaryas. So amongst all those the six Goswamis are those are big names. Sad Goswamis.

nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau sad dharma-samsthapakau

So what have these acaryas done? Nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau. First of all they compiled also, lots of books. A lot of scriptures in pursuance of the vedic version, so many sastras. And they were very expert, nipunau- nipun. And they would sit and have isthagosthi’s. Sit in the courtyard, the side courtyard of the Radha Damodar temple and they would have sastrartha.They would discuss sastra, what is the purpose? Dharma samsthapanarthaya, establishing dharma.

dharma sthapana hetu sadhuravyavahara

There is another statement. I wanted to talk about JivaGoswami. So I started it, getting there, heading in that direction. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu once said, He said that in Mathura – dharma-sthapana-hetu sadhuravyavahara. All the activities and dealings of the sadhus are for dharma-samsthapana. To establish the principles of religion, they act. Whatever they do, all the vyavahara, their dealings. All their talks and walks. They walk the talk to do what? Dharma samsthapan hetu. So the Sad Goswamis, so that is what they did. So we have our Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They assisted Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in establishing dharma in the age of Kali. Which is Krishna consciousness.

So amongst six of them they’re known as Sad Goswamis. vanderupa-sanatanauraghu-yugausri-jiva-gopalakau. In a batch of two, in a pair of – a pair means two, right? They have mentioned like that.Vande – Vande means I offer my obeisances unto who? Vande. Aham vande rupa sanatan. That’s one team, vande rupa sanatana. I offer my obeisances.Vanderupa-sanatanauraghu-yugau. Raghu, Raghu Yuga. Raghu – that is Raghu and yuga that is two. I offer my obeisances unto two Raghus. Who are the two Raghus? Raghunath Das Goswami and? Raghunath Bhatta Goswami.

And jiva goapalakau, JivaGoswami and Gopala Bhatta Goswami.We offer our obeisances – this is how Shrinivas Acarya kindly, he compiled this GoswamiAstaka. He is glorifying the six Goswamis of Vrindavan in those prayers. So of the six, JivaGoswami was the youngest of all. So today was year 1598 today at Radha Damodar temple while he was a care taker and worshipper of RadhaDamodara. He departed on this day, Hari Hari. Later on our Srila Prabhupad, everyone is Prabhupada also. Rupa Goswami Prabhupada, Jiva Goswami Prabhupada and Bhaktivedant Swami Prabhupada. So we say our Prabhupada. This Bhaktivedanta Swami SrilaPrabhupada, he also stayed at RadhaDamodara temple, at Jiva Goswami’s temple.

So that’s SrilaPrabhupada’s Jiva Goswami connection. So he’s closely connected with Jiva Goswami and he is planning the future of the foundation of ISKCON. Anyway, who am I, I’m just nobody. First time ever I came to Vrindavan and the first temple I visited was also Radha Damodar. No wonder because Prabhupada – ’72 Prabhupada he had just arrived in Vrindavan to do the first ever Kartik festival. So then we had come and so then I had darsana of the first deity I saw in Vrindavan was Radha Damodar. Then I saw my acarya Prabhupada also.

He was there in the temple so I have some bonds of affection and I have fond memories of Jiva Goswami temple and we offered, we circumambulate the temple, Radha Damodar temple and then the Samadhi of Jiva Goswami and the Rupa Goswami also. JivaGoswami, he wasa little different from other five Goswamis in the sense that he had little or no interaction with Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Others had spent years, especially Raghunath Das Goswami he had spent a lot of time with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri. And others also had opportunity to be with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu but Jiva Goswami, when Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also along with Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur visited Ramakeli, and his purpose was to meet Rupa and Sanatan this is after Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taken sannyas and after his South India tour then he had gone to the tour of East India, Bengal.

And then he goes Ramakeli to meet Rupa and Sanatana, just to meet them no other business he had. And everyone was wondering ‘why Ramakeli, why Ramakeli? Why is he going to Ramakeli?’ So when Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu met Rupa and Sanatan, JivaGoswmai was just born. This was year fifteen hundred thirteen, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Ramakeli and there is some mention that Jiva Goswami was born that same year.

It is also even mentioned that Jiva Goswami was not even a boy, he was a baby, so he was already born and that he had seen Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So there is also a little controversy about this. Jiva Goswami’s birth year was 1513 or he was couple of years old so maybe it was 1511 or 1512. Anyway he had a darsana kind of, of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So Rupa, Sanatan and Anupam they were three brothers and JivaGoswami is the son of Anupam. Rupa and Anupam, they were headed for Sri Vrindavan dham ki Jai”! That is where they wanted to meet Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu but that did not happen. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was too fast. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had already visited Vrindavan and he was going back took JagannathPuri and now while he was at Prayag, that is where Rupa and Anupam met Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

namomaha-vadanyayakrishna-prema-pradayate
krishnayakrishna-chaitanya-namnegaura-tvishenamah

This prayer for the first time ever, it was composed and offered to Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by Rupa and Anupam. They were both offering this prayer. Dante trinadhari, they were holding straw between their teeth with all their humility they were offering full dandavats and they would get up and say : Namomaha-vadanyaya and they would fall flat and then get up and Namomaha-vadanyaya, like that so the father of Jiva Goswami also was a great devotee of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But then Anupam, he died. He left his body during that tour on the bank of Ganga. When the news reached Ramakeli, the news reached Jiva Goswami he was just a boy but he was very much affected by this news.

And all the spirit of vairagya and detachment and he wanted nothing to do with his world. He developed that spirit of detachment and he did not want to be the part of the family and the world anymore and he wanted to join Hare Krishna movement. Something, something happens in your life and you’re like ‘I’m gonna join, I’m gonna join.’ So JivaGoswami made up his mind. And he had affection for especially SrimadBhagavatam from his early childhood and he had already started worshipping Krishna Balarama. He was worshipper of Krishna Balaram in his home town at home. And then he wanted to leave home. So he kind of tricked, they say he tricked his mother ‘No I want to go to my maternal uncle’s place and he boarded a boat and he ended up in Navadvipa –dham ki jai! Upon arrival there, he comes to the house of Shrivas Pandit in Mayapur and upon entering the house of Shrivas, he had audience of Nityananda Prabhu. He immediately surrendered ‘You are Balaram, please accept me, I surrender to you!’ And Balarama – Balarama hoila Nitai, Balarama had now become Nitai. He accepted Jiva Goswami and he became the guide, the friend, the philosopher of Jiva Goswami. Nityananda Prabhu bought Jiva Goswami to Yagapitha to meet Sacimata. ‘Here Is Sacimata.’ So Jiva Goswami had darsana of Sacimata.

And now this time, this time Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is in JagannathPuri. He has taken sannyasa and all that has already happened and Vishnupriya cooked for Jiva Goswami and NityanandaPrabhu and they had sumptuous prashad cooked that day cooked by Sacimata, Vishnupriya. Then Nityananda Prabhu gave a tour of Navadwipa Mandal to JivaGoswami. This is same Antardvipa, Madhya dvipa like that –koladvipa, Rudradvipa all these nine dvipas, this is Antardvip. So Nityananda Prabhu became a guide of Jiva Goswami and Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur has this Navadvip dham mahatmya, the parikrama khand and he talks of this tour that Nityananda Prabhu gave to Jiva Goswami.

We get to hear, or we are guided the way Nityananda Prabhu was guiding Jiva Goswami during that tour. Then next instruction, so Jiva Goswami had more association of Nityananda Prabhu than Chaitnaya Mahaprabhu. ‘You go to Benares and study sanskrit and sastras, especially sastras. So Jiva Goswami left for Benares, he became a student of Madhusudan Vidyavachaspati. He is said to be a disciple of SarvabhaumaBhatthacarya.
So he became his student and very quickly he learnt entire vyakaran the grammar part and nyaya the logic, siksa and pronunciation. Then the next destination was Vrindavan Dham ki Jai! He comes to Vrindavan.He was twenty years old when he now officially and formally joined the Krishna Consciousness movement of Rupa and Sanatan his uncles and started.

So he approached Santana Goswami ‘Please accept me as you disciple.’ And Sanatan Goswami refused out of humility he said ‘no, no, no you better go to Rupa.’ Then he goes to Rupa Goswami and there were some trials and testing. It wasn’t easy to become disciple of Rupa Goswmai. And Rupa Goswami was pleased and accepted JIva Goswami as His disciple. Hari hari. The other Goswami’s, they left one by one to join the dancing party of Radha and Krishna. They all gradually became Nitya lila pravistha. Rupa Goswami, Rupa Manjari joined Radha Shyamsundar and Santana Goswami, Rati Manjari joined. And Jiva Goswami who is Vilas Manjari, he is kind of left behind.

So there was a time JivaGoswami is the guardian of the whole GaudiyaSampradaya is protected, guarded, and reserved. He is kind of in charge- JivaGoswami. While others, they had kind of departed or they were getting older. So Jiva Goswmai was in command of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism on the planet, in the world, in Vrindavan – everywhere. JivaGoswami is known for.This world has not seen a scholar, learned person like Jiva Goswami. The number of books he wrote, some twenty five books and he compiled four hundred thousand verses- slokas. The only person who comes closer who had accomplished compilation of such a big number of verses is none other than Srila Vyasadeva.

So amongst the learned scholars, contemporary learned scholars, those who really know they know that RupaGoswami was distinguished scholar.The quality, the content and volume of what he compiled -Sad-sandharbhas. This is kind of based on his contributions and Krama Sandharbha the commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam. All the twelve cantos he comments upon. Gopala Champu, Purva Champu and Uttara Champu – Lord’s pastimes in Vrindavan.The Lord’s pastimes in Mathura and Dwarka.Harinamamrita-vyakaranam and on and on and on as we enter deeper. Hari Hari. So he has become, he is our Acarya. Acaryavan purushoveda – if you want to know the Lord, become acaryavan and you will know.

So Srila Jiva Goswami has become our acarya by the causeless mercy and arrangement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and in that parampara of course Srila Prabhupada has introduced us to all these including Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswami Goswami. He was getting very popular and his name and fame had spread.

ebe jasa ghushuk tribhuvana – then there was emperor of three worlds those times he was a Muslim emperor; he was ruling India – Akhbar. When he heard the glories of Jiva Goswami he wanted to have audience and darsana of Jiva Goswami. ‘May I do something for you?’ The emperor wanted to serve, assist Jiva Goswami. So why not? So he spent a lot of wealth in building temples including Radha Damodaratemple and some other temples, building temples, renovation of temples.

The Grantha Mandala, the Granth Mandal. The whole library of all the Gaudiya Vaishnava literature, all Goswami’scompilation sastras they were to be preserved and protected. So this emperor Akhbar, he gave a big contribution so that these granthas are protected, preserved. So he was acarya and everyone was turning to him to take lessons in Krishna consciousness.

Even other acaryas or other spiritual masters were directing their disciples ‘you go. You go and you become a student of Jiva Goswami.’ That Narrotama, he became a disciple of LokanathGoswami. ‘Okay I will initiate you or give you Diksa but Siksha, go to JivaGoswamiamd become his student.’Shrinivas Acarya, he was a disciple of Gopal Bhatta Goswami. ‘Okay you go, become a student of JivaGoswami.’ Hridaya Chaitanya in Bengal, his disciple was Dukhi Krishna. When he came to Vrindavan, he was given a new name by Jiva Goswami. Okay I understand.

Your name is Shyamananda. So this Shyamananda disciple of Hridaya Chaitanya, Gauridas’s disciple is Hridaya Chaitanya and his disciple is Dukhi Krishna who became known as Shyamanand. aThis Shyamanand became the student of JivaGoswami, like that.. After the first batch of the six Goswami’s, they were like a guardian of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and then they started departing, getting older.Then at one time JivaGoswami was in command. And then after Jiva Goswami, then the batch of these three called acarya tres – three acaryas. Shyamanand, Narottama and Srinivas Acarya.They became acaryas of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. They were all students of JivaGoswami and in order to preach and propagate the cult- Prabhupada said ‘the cult of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’ JivaGoswami had instructed them ‘take all these scriptures, the Gaudiya Vaishnava literature and load that into the carts and bring them to Bengal.’

So they would have travelled from Vrindavan to Bengal with all scriptures. And this was the order and part of his vision and mission, JivaGoswami’s vision and mission for propagation of Krishna consciousness.To propagate the knowledge. So that Jiva Goswami, I should not. That means a lot more. That means what I said here, Goswami. Which Goswami? What I meant to say. Well it’s not just that – there’s much more. That Jiva Goswami {pause} He departed on this day.

Je aniloprema-dhana koruna pracur heno prabhu kotha gela acarya-thakur

Je aniloprema-dhana, one who bought Premadhana to this world and handed out, became charitable- giving charity of that dhan, wealth.Making us dhanya, or richer and enriched. Our lives have become enriched by the wealth of these six Goswamis {which} Srila Jiva Goswami has left behind. So that Jiva Goswami henoprabhukotha gela. Where has he gone? All the questions are raised that where has he gone? It is not that we do not know where he has gone. Question should be ’Why did he go, why did he leave? Why did he leave? We know where he went – he is Vilas Manjari so where does Vilas Manjari go?

Doesn’t go to Moscow after..Or doesn’t go to another body and round and round and up and down – Samsara. Not there. These great souls go so we know where he went. Question is ‘why did he?’He could have stayed on till today. Why did he leave? Suddenly, why did he suddenly go? So that’s our shok, lamentation. So this day as it is said and understood, is a disappearance days of our acaryas is cause for lamentation and cause for jubilation also. Jubilation because they are going back to Krishna, they are with Krishna. Lamentation is because we missed the bus, we wished we was there while he were also on the planet. His vapuh has gone, yes that’s amazing also. He is a Manjari yet he has a body of a male form. All these Goswamis are female, they’re all Gopis and Manjaris in the body of a man. Inside them is all Gopi bhava – Manjari bhava.

So they left the vani behind, their words behind, their instructions behind description of Krishna behind, or how to understand Bhagavatam better. All that knowledge they have left behind. The books are the basis – books are the basis! So Jiva Goswami’s books are also the basis. Our Prabhupada has included all acarya’s vani – Gauravani, in his books, in his purports. So we could study his books, Srila Prabhupada’s books and.’If you want to know me, what did Prabhupada say? ‘If you want to know me, read my books.’

The same thing regarding Jiva Goswam. If you want to know Jiva Goswami, do what? Read his books. You want to know? You want to know? ‘And so far my books would get distributed, I will never die. The books are being distributed’ Prabhupada said ‘the books are being distributed, I’ll be alive. I’m living, I’m there. But I’m there in the form of my books.’ So that what Prabhupada said also applies to Jiva Goswami’s books, so let us read Jiva Goswami’s books, distribute his books. Let’s read Prabhupada’s books and ‘distribute,distribute,distribute my books.’

So in this way, by reading Prabhupada’s books, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books also Jiva Goswami’s and spread the glories of Jiva Goswami around and we also get association of Jiva Goswami that way.

Hari Hari, let’s pray to Jiva Goswami.

Krishna se tomara, Krishna diteparo, tomarasakati ache
ami to’ kangala, ‘Krishna’ ‘Krishna’ boli’, dhai tavapache pache

This could be one prayer also. krishna se tomara, Krishna diteparo.‘You have Krishna, you have Jiva Goswami Prabhupada. You have Krishna and you are competent of giving that Krishna to me. And look at me, ami to kangala – I am just bankrupt. I am just bereft of Krishna and Krishna consciousness and hence I’m running after you, O Jiva Goswami wherever you are.

dhai tava pache pache, hoping that you would give us Krishna prem. We are running after you, we are remembering you. We are offering our prayers at your lotus feet.’

Srila Jiva Goswami Tirobhava tithi Mahotsavaki Jai!
Radha Damodarki Jai!
Srila Prabhupadaki Jai!
Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam ki Jai!
Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental book distribution ki Jai!
Bhagavad Gita Jayanti marathon ki Jai!
Gaura premanande hari haribol.

The behavior of a perfect person

Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya! Hare Krishna! Thank you for joining us. This morning recitation of Srimad Bhagavatamfrom canto 7, chapter 13, text number 19, ‘The behavior of a perfect person’ is the chapter’s title. Please repeat,

kavihkalponipuna-drk
citra-priya-kathahsamah
lokasyakurvatah karma
sese tad-viksitapiva [SB 7.13.19]

kavih — very learned; kalpah — expert; nipuna-drk — intelligent; citra-priya-kathah — able to speak palatable words that are pleasing to the heart; samah — equipoised; lokasya — of the people in general; kurvatah — engaged in; karma — fruitive work; sese — you lie down; tat-viksita — seeing them all; api — although; va— either.

Translation and Purport by Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!

Translation: Your Honor appears learned, expert and intelligent in every way. You can speak very well, saying things that are pleasing to the heart. You see that people in general are engaged in fruitive activities, yet you are lying here inactive.
Purport:- Prahlada Maharaja studied the bodily features of the saintly person, and through the saint’s physiognomy could understand that he was intelligent and expert, although he was lying down and not doing anything. Prahlada was naturally inquisitive about why he was lying there inactive.

kavihkalponipuna-drk
citra-priya-kathahsamah
lokasyakurvatah karma
sese tad-viksitapiva

Hari Hari! Some activity there in the sky! Perfect person is being talked about here. There are many speakers, Narada Muni is speaking to Yudhistira Maharaja, Sukadeva Gosvami is speaking to king Pariksit and Suta Gosvami is speaking to the assembled sages and then Srila Prabhupada is speaking to us and I am speaking to you and later on you could speak to others. This is a shaili, this is a style of Bhagavatam. Radha Rasabihariki Jai! So dialogue within a dialogue within a dialogue!

Suta Gosvami is quoting Sukadeva Gosvami, he quotes Narada Muni and then he is also quoting Prahlada Maharaja through his addressing or talking to this Sri brahmana uvaca. Tomorrow or day after tomorrow Brahmin will begin speaking and he will be speaking about the perfect person. Already some of the qualities of that perfect person are mentioned in here by Prahlad Maharaja. So ‘you are kavi, you are very learned,’ yeah Srila Prabhupada is mentioning in the purport that Prahlad Maharaja is right there with this brahmana, who is also mentioned as avadhut, and soon we should be mentioning that this avadhut, this brahmana is none other than Dattatreya. Is it here? It is right here.

So Prahlad Maharaja is talking to that Dattatreya. Prahlada Maharaja is addressing that Dattatreya, he said, ‘you are kavi’. So as he has studied the body language and some vibrations that coming from this personality, he did the study and mentioned few findings. What are the findings? You are kavi- you are very learned, kalpah- very expert, nipuna-drk- very intelligent, citra-priya-kathah- your talk is citra-vicitra, wonderful, amazing, at the same time priya, also very dear, very pleasing to the heart. Pleasing to the heart is what, pleasing to the heart that pumps the blood? Could heart be pleased? No! In the heart is residence of the soul. Soul resides in the heart, so pleasing to the heart meaning pleasing to the soul. From bottom of my heart, we say, from bottom of my heart, or from the core of my heart. So within the heart, that core of the heart is where we stay. So this talk is pleasing to the soul. And samah, equipoised, and look what is wrong with you, something like that, lokasya kurvatah karma, people all around you are, all running around and getting ready, lokasya kurvatah karma, they are busy, they are active, running around, but look at you, sese- you are just lying down there, tad-viksitapiva- you are seeing right in front of you, you are seeing everyone busy-busy, the whole rat race is on, but you seems to be disinterred and you seems to be busy with something else, sese tad-viksitapi.

So this is the enquiry. This is the observation and comment by Prahlada Maharaja. This is seventh canto. Lord has already made His appearance and Prahlada has been blessed and now Prahlada is a king and is a ruler and is moving about. He has come across this avadhut, this Brahmin and is about to have a dialogue. Well he is enquiring and that Brahmin would respond. And this Brahmin, this avadhut is going to be talking about the perfect person. He himself is a perfect. So then it is easy to talk, right. He will just talk about himself. He is a perfect. So talks from his experience, from his realizations, because he walks the talk.

bole jaisa chale tyachi vandavi paule (Marathi).
And this perfect person is Lord Himself. This perfect person is Dattatreya, avadhut. Just to remind you that Lord Krsna is source of all incarnations, you know that. And there is a whole list of incarnations. 22 of them are mentioned, not 24. It should have been 24, but only 22 mentioned in the third chapter of 1st canto. So as he begins, Suta Gosvami is giving the list of incarnations, then he comes,

sastham atrer apatyatvam
vrtah prapto anasuyaya
anviksikim alarkaya
prahladadibhya ucivan [SB1.3.11]

He talks about the sastham, the sixth incarnation was son of Atri Muni and Anasuya and as Lord appeared at some point during His pastimes, He enlightened, ucivan, Lord spoke, Sri Bhagavanuvaca, like that Sri Dattatreya uvaca, ucivan. Prahladadibhyah, many so He spoke to many personalities, few are mentioned here, Alarka is mentioned here, Alarka and Prahlad is mentioned. We know He spoke to Yadu also.

I was born next to Dattatreya temple in my village. Just next door, my house where I was born next door is a house where Lord was residing, Dattatreya mandir. So very first Lord I worshiped, I went to darsana is Dattatreya. He is quite popular worldwide, but in Maharashtra He is very popular. Dattatreya, Digambar! Digambar means He doesn’t wear any clothes. The directions are His clothing, dikambar, dik is directions and that is His cloth. He is avadhut. He is so renounced, no bodily concept, what so ever, Digambar.

So Prahlada Maharaja met and is speaking to this Brahmin, this avadhuta, Dattatreya somewhere in Karanatak where Kaveri flows, earlier it is mentioned in the same chapter. Two places are mentioned, Kaveri river is mentioned and Sahya mountain is mentioned. Sahyadri, you know Sahyadri. When you go to Pune, you climb up, there is Khandalaghat, that mountain is Sahya, Sahyadri. It goes all the way down to Manglore. Anyways! And Maharashtra is divided into Desa and Konkan and what is dividing is this mountain. So that mountain in this same chapter. So in that region in the valley of that mountain on the bank of Kaveri, and the vicinity of Kaveri, somewhere this dialogue has taken place.

So this Dattatreya was born of Anasuya and Atri Muni, they performed severe austerities, so much so that the Lord was pleased and Lord made the appearance. And not just one Lord, three Lords appeared, Brahma, Visnu, Mahesh and as Atri muni looked right there, ‘hey how come? I was praying for one Lord but three of You are here.’ They said, ‘No we are three in one. We are not different.’ This is Gunavatar. Three together is a complete package. Brahma, Visnu Mahesh!’ So these three Lords gave benediction to this couple and all those three appeared as sons of Atri muni and Anasuya. Brahma appeared as Soma, that is Candra (moon), Somavar (Monday), candra, Siva appeared as Durvasa muni and Visnu appeared as Dattatreya, three children. So this is that Dattatreya Bhagavan ki Jai! So yad yad acarati sresthas, Lord Himself is setting example of a perfect person, so that the whole world could follow that example.

Another dialogue, another enquiry, when Lord was about to, Lord Sri Krsna was about to leave the planet, syama tyaktva svapadam gatah, before leaving this planet, returning to His abode and when Uddhava found that out, then he wanted to go with the Lord, but then Lord Sri Krsna did some preaching to Uddhava, gave some instructions. So that time Uddhava wanted to know, ‘Tell me about the perfect devotee, what are his symptoms, what are his qualities?’ These were the enquiries of Uddhava, enquiring directly from Sri Krsna and this is the Uddhava Geeta. One is Bhagavad Gita and another Gita is, named after Uddhava, not named after Krsna, one Gita is named after Krsna, Bhagavad, Bhagavan’s song, the other one is named after Uddhava. Two Gitas! So while Sri Krsna was speaking to Uddhava, as Arjuna was enquiring, here Uddhava is enquiring. So that time the Lord gave the list of qualities, He gave list of 27 qualities. I was looking at those qualities.

The first quality mentioned here kavi, is a last quality that Sri Krsna mentioned in 11th canto. Kavi- learned, devotees are learned. So while this, not only Lord mentioned the qualities of a perfect devotee, but then He also sites an example of avadhut, this Brahmin. And Lord Sri Krsna made the reference to the dialogue between Yadu and this avadhut Brahmin.

Once upon a time, Lord Sri Krsna says, long long time ago, how the story goes, when Yadu met, Yadu came across this avadhut and which avadhut? This Dattatreya avadhut, Dattatreya Brahmin, Dattatreya avadhut! So there this Brahmin is talking, here he is talking to Prahlada Maharaja, there same Brahmin, same personality is talking to Yadu. And Lord Sri Krsna mentions, I am Yaduvamsi, My ancestor, when Yadu was ruling, when Yadu was on the planet, Lord Sri Krsna said, he met idle character, a Brahmin, avadhut and then they spoke, avadhut Brahmin and Yadu spoke. So when they spoke, that speech or dialogue, there is a mention of, yeah this Brahmin mentions that, ‘I take lessons from 24 Gurus. I have 24 Gurus,’ he says. ‘Oh you are kavi, you are learned. How did you become learned? ‘Oh I have 24 Gurus.’ And then he talks, same Brahmin, same Dattatreya, ‘I take lessons from Prithvi also. I take lessons from..’ There is a whole list.

The earth is tolerant, I take this quality from this person, this quality from that person, honeybee and honey and there is whole list, 24 of them. Prostitute is also in that list. One who makes the arrows sharp, ‘Oh just procession passed by here, did you take note of this?’ The person who was making his arrows sharp, he was so much absorbed in his sharpening the arrow activity, he said,’ what procession?’ They took 2 km long procession, procession was big, big bands and DJ set or whatever was there, he did not even noticed. He was so much focused, absorbed in what he was doing. So this avadhut said, ‘I made him a Guru. He is one of my Gurus.’ Fully focused on, on hearing, right? If your mind goes off, everything is stopped.

So as question was being raised by Prahlada Maharaja, you better hear directly from the Brahmin answering his questions or enquiry. That how come the whole world is busy, active, running around, making money, and even bhukti and mukti and siddhi, these parties were also busy, but Krsna bhakta niskam ataeva shanta. Answer is right there also. Bhukti kami, mukti kami, siddhi kami, everyone have kamana (desires), full of kama, kamamaihai (they say, I am in the kama, work). Come, festival is there, Damodara vrata, come here. People say what? Kurvit, they are busy, lokasya kurvatah karma, they are busy. They say, ‘see you later.’ I asked one person, ‘what is your name?’ He said, ‘my name is Karmarakar.’ Understood? He said, my name is Kar (do work), then Mar (die) and then take birth again and then again Kar and again mar, then kar and mar. Kar-mar-kar, what a nice name! But I thought not just he have been named Karmarkar but the whole world, the befitting, appropriate name for everyone, what would that name be? Karmarkar! Whole world is Mr. Karmarkar. This Brahmin will give the message; we cannot stop the Kar part. We have to be active, but different way, different activities.

kuberatmajau baddha murtevyadva ttvaya mocito bhakti bhajo kritoca, this verse was getting my attention this morning. Tatha prema bhaktimsvakam me prayasca, namokse grihome sti damodareha, so that’s the prayer. Enough of this Kar-mar-kar, because as soon as you do something, Kar, that makes you think also, and then you think and do or these days they even propose, you do first and think later on, this is ‘just do it’. Just do it, do not even think, just do it. If you feel good, ‘kuch kuch hota hai’, go by feeling, don’t think. Be a mental case, just be mental. Above the mind is intelligence, do not even think; do not use this intelligence faculty. Just go by feeling, thinking, feeling. Yeah then result of this is dhyayato visayan pumsam sangahtes upajayate, immediately as soon as a wrong thought, think of Maya, and only two things you could think about.

There are only two parties in this world, one is Krsna party and other one is Maya party. As soon as you think about Maya, zapatiya dhare (Bengali), zapatiya, zapatatela (Marathi- got haunted).So this world is very entangling, you are baddha murtai vyadvat, baddha, you can bound up, hriday granthi, rope between one person and another, there is knot. You don’t see the rope but asha pasha shataih baddhai, bondage, asha pasha shataih baddhai, Krsna says, kama krodh parayanah, people of this world are expert, parayana, in what? Kama krodha parayanah, expert in kama and krodha and then asha pasha shataih baddhai, this gentleman, this brahman, he does not want to get bound up. He wants to stay out of it, this bondage. He is very cautious, very careful, thoughtful.

So what happens with this kuberatmaj? Kuberatmaj, the sons of Kubera! Any dearth of wealth there? The wealthiest person is Kubera. Ambani is nothing. But then you see what the outcome is? They became dhanandha, dhana-andha, that dhana (wealth) made them andha, blind. So much blind that Narayana! Narayana! Giver of Narayana, Nara-da, giver of Narayana was going, he has been in the heaven up there. There was some mixing mingling, whole naked show of the topless bottomless shameless ladies, when they noticed that Narada is passing by, they quickly ran to grab their clothes and they covered their bodies. But these kuberatmajau, they were two of them, they continued their nanga-nacha, nanga-dhadanga (naked dance). Shameless! And no etiquette, no shistacar! So Narada muni cursed, I curse you, you like to stay without clothes, that is your preference. So you could have a body in next life, that you don’t have to go to a tailor. Become trees! No clothes! This is your preference, you like to be naked, no problem. You could have body that wears no clothes. Become trees! And then they kind of came to their senses and they were begging, please not, please have mercy upon these wretched souls. Then Narada Muni said, too late! Curse had been already activated. But okay, I could do one thing for you. Certainly you will have to be trees, but trees not in Bombay, but you could be the trees in Vrindavan, trees in Gokul, trees in courtyard of Nanda Maharaja. And Krsna will personally make you free.

Satyavrat Muni is the compiler of this astak, Damodarastak. So he is praying, everyone is praying like that and he is praying, or he is teaching how to pray. So his prayer is ‘my dear Lord Damodara, tatha prema bhaktimsvakam me prayasca, please give me also please give me bhakti. Tatha, yahta- tatha, what is yatha? kuberatmajau baddha murtai vyadvat tvayamocito, so those Kuberatmajau, there are two of them, Manigriva and Nalakubera. So those kuberatmajau baddha, they were bound up, but You made them free and You gave them bhakti also. Not only they were made mukta but they were made bhakta. Mukti is nothing. I don’t care for mukti, he said earlier. No Mukti! Give me bhakti, the way those two sons of Kuber were given bhakti. We should also, we are hearing right now, we pray all the time, praying right now, praying during this month of Damodara, this is the prayer. So this month reminds us of that pastime of the Lord, the pastime that took place on Diwali. The stealing used to go on in the neighborhood, Krsna the Makhan-chor, but He did stealing right in the home. And then He was caught red handed, red handed or white handed? White handed! White because of butter all over. White handed, white face, everything white! So that was Diwali. So that day, these two sons, they came out of the tree bodies and they had darsana of the Lord and they had lots of benedictions. They also prayed to the Lord.

So tatha prema bhaktim svakam me prayasca, oh Lord to me also. These should be our thoughts, praying like this. Yeah? This thought should come to our heart, in our mind. HariHari! And then we could talk also those thoughts and prayers.

namo deva damodar ananta visno prasid prabho dukha jalabdhi magnam, jala,

I am absorbed. Anyway! Nice prayers! Study these prayers, understand these prayers, Damodarastak. Learning by heart, not learning by throat; they are in the throat but they are not in the heart. Prayers are coming from the throat, but heart is not involved. Not saying the prayer from within the core of the heart. Who is in the core of the heart? Soul! So making this prayer as soul’s prayer, soul is praying, our soul, my soul, your soul is praying. Hridayangam, not kanthastha, not in the throat, in the heart!

Gaur Premanande Hari Haribol!