24th January 2020

Japa-talk is an expression of my love for you!

Keep on chanting. You all are welcome.

All over the world devotees are chanting. There is no one foreign over here. We all belong to the Lord. Today’s Indian citizen goes to Dubai and becomes a foreigner. French citizens also come to India and become Indian. We all are foreigners in one sense as we belong to the spiritual world that is Vaikuntha, Goloka, Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Mayapur, Jagannatha Puri or Pandharpur Dhama. These all are our true worlds and we have to return to our spiritual world and we have to attract Lord’s attention by calling out the holy names.

Someone calls or sends message that we have met with an accident or in the hospital or we are in trouble. Please help. So, we all are in trouble in this temporary world of miseries. There is no guarantee over here. Anything could happen at any moment. That’s why we call the Lord. Draupadi also called out to the Lord when she was in trouble and the Lord appeared over there.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Remember the Lord and call out to Him and whenever you call Him, remember Him. Chant remembering His form. kar katevari thevonia… ( Sundara te dhyana – abhang of Tukaram Maharaja) how He has kept His hands on His waist. This way you can call and remember Pandurang Viththala.

bamsi vibhushit kara navneer dabhaat ( Anonymous)

How does He play the flute? How are His hands? He is holding a flute in His hands and His hands have been decorated due to holding the flute. There are 3 different kinds of flute. Bamsi, Murali and Venu.

vanand aravinda dala kataksham

So remember that.

baal charitanicha

Yasoda herself churns curd for her baby Krsna to feed Him butter so that her child will give up stealing butter from other places as she thought the servants could not make it tastier. While churning curd, she is remembering the butter stealing pastimes of the Lord at various gopis’ houses. In this way, she is doing her work remembering the Lord. We need to remember the Lord while chanting His name. We can remember the Lord in many ways such as His name, form, qualities, pastimes, abode, followers… There are so many topics. There is no restriction that you should just remember only this.

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-shaktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrishi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrisham ihajani nanuragaha

Translation:
O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus you have hundreds and millions of names, like Krsna and Govinda. There are no hard and fast rules for chanting these names. (Sri Siksastakam verse 2)

There is no restriction for time as well as when to remember and when not to remember the Lord. There is no restriction to just remember a few pastimes such as rasa lila, but we can remember the battlefield of Kurukshetra also. We can remember the instructions of the Lord.

The Lord said:
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

Translation:
“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”(BG. 9.26)

Remember and follow the instructions of the Lord. I am seeing that few mothers are cooking in the kitchen for their children who are about to go to school. Remember that you are cooking bhoga for the Lord and the Lord is the enjoyer. Cook vegetables only.

Lord didn’t accept Duryodhana’s feast as there was no love and devotion within it. Then He came to Vidura’s place. He was an exalted soul. He was living in a simple way – simple living and high thinking. He got confused when the Lord came to eat vegetables in His house. Vegetables means leaves (patram) and bananas means fruits (phalam). These all are natural and received from trees. Tulasi leaves are also leaves (patram). Vidurani fed Him banana peels not bananas, but the Lord accepted that as it was fed with Love. The Lord gave His own menu (patram puspam phalam toyam) while He was having a discussion with Arjuna. Like we ask our guests what they would like to have for breakfast or dinner. When we go to a restaurant, what we eat is important, but along with that which emotions they are feeding is more important. It is important to offer food with love and devotion.

Duryodhana was not offering with love. He was not a yogi, but a bhogi. What Vidurani was offering, even though it was simple like vegetables or banana peels, the Lord appreciated that as the best meal He ever had in His life.

Sabari also fed fruits to Lord Rama as she lived in a kutiya (hut). She was a disciple of Sage Matanga. She wanted to die, but she was asked by Sage Matanga to live as Lord Rama will come to her and she can have His darsana. One day Lord Rama came. Laksman was also there. Laksman was not going to eat anything. He fasted for 14 years. Lord Rama also just ate uncooked food like a vanavasi. He didn’t eat cooked food. Sabari had already collected Jujube fruit for Lord Rama as He could come anytime. Then she offered her fruit to Lord Rama. The Lord was very pleased with her offering. He thanked her. The Lord just wants love. He is pleased with our love and devotion and if the Lord is pleased then we are automatically liberated. In this way, Sabari fed Lord Rama and had darsana. Then Sabari was liberated. She collected some wood and entered into the fire and returned to Ayodhya or Saket dhama.

Lord said
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī mām namaskuru
mām evaisyasi satyam te
pratijāne priyo ‘si me

Translation:
“Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me.” (BG. 18.65)

This is Kali Yuga. You worship the Lord by performing Hari kirtana.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is aradhana. And we should do deities worship as well.

sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana
shringaira-tan-mandira-marjanadau
yuktasya bhaktamsh cha niyunjato pi
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

Translation:
The spiritual master is always engaged in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. He also engages His disciples in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful clothes and ornaments, clean Their temple, and perform other similar worship of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master. (Gurvastakam verse 3)

Syama Preshtha Mataji is worshiping Deities. But while worshiping deities, there should be kirtana. Like Gaura arati or we play a recording of kirtana at mangal arati.

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā (CC. Adi-lila 7.76)

There should kirtan with every service or worship. As we play kirtana, our worship becomes free from faults.

Lord said that we should think of Him, become His devotee, worship Him and offer obeisances unto Him. One who doesn’t offer obeisances, how can he be devotee? The Lord is so incredible that as soon as we offer obeisances, He does His magic.

Krishna jinka nama hai, Gokul jinka dhama hai
Aise Sri Bhagwan ko, mere Barambaar pranam hai

We should offer Him our obeisances again and again. And what will happen if you do this? The Lord said, “You will surely return to My abode.” Why am I telling you all this? Because you are very dear to Me. He is not just speaking to Arjuna, but all of us also. Parents love their all children. Krsna loves us.

‘Oh all my dear souls!’ Navayogendra Swami Maharaja addresses devotees in this way. All souls are very dear to the Lord and if we are dear to the Lord then we automatically become dear to our spiritual master and all devotees.

prema ki ganga bahaate chalo
jot se jot milate chalo ( Bhajan by Bharat Vyas)

Love the Lord in this way and spread this Ganga of love and light, the lamp of love with the one you have. Help others to revive their love for Krsna, distribute prasada, Harinama and Srila Prabhupada’s books to them. Don’t just say I love you, but show it. Don’t just do lip service.

I also express my love by speaking this Japa talk and addressing you all. Please accept my love.

Gaura prema nande hari haribol!