Jagannatha Swami Ki jai

Jagannatha Baladeva Subhadra Maiya ki jai

Radha Rasa Bihari ki jai

Srila Prabhupada ki jai.

Wherever I go, I am seeing Lord Jagannatha. Also I was in Jagannatha Puri a few days ago which is the Dham of Lord Jagannatha.

This is the prayer in Jagannatha Puri and it is actually a prayer at the Lord’s lotus feet. ‘Oh Lord Jagannatha who lives and stays Jagannatha Puri, and also you are not alone, as you are present there with your older brother Balarama and in between them is their sister Subhadra.

Lord Balarama was the seventh son of Vasudeva and Devaki, Krishna was the eighth son and Subhadra was the ninth and she was their daughter. They are all present in Nilacala, Jagannatha Puri dham ki jai. I was just about to say that it is so difficult to leave this place. Okay can you sing this?

Jaya jaya jagannatha sacira nandan. ‘Oh Lord, your worship is performed all over the world. Jagannatha Swami ki Jai! You are lord Jagannatha who in Puri, carry the conch shell, disc, club, and lotus flower. Oh Lord Jagannatha, when you appeared in Mayapur Dham in the form of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and then took Sannyasa, you held a Sannyasa stick and a waterpot. Nadiya nagare danda-kamanaalu kar.

And the truth is that when you appeared as Lord Rama in Ayodhya lila, you killed Ravana! Jai Sri Rama, Rama Navami is coming soon. Then in Dwapara Yuga, as Lord Krishna, you revealed the splendidly opulent pastimes of Goloka in Gokula. In Kali Yuga you have come in the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Gauranga Gauranga.

What did you do when you appeared in the form of lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? Goloker vaibhava lila prakasa korila,’ and then? Hare Krishna nam gaura korila pracar.

You distributed these holy names. Hare Krishna nam gaura korila pracar. This bhajan, as you may say in your language, is a five hundred years old bhajan or geet, a song. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was on Earth, there was one associate of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whose name was Vasudeva Ghosh.

He is being mentioned in this bhajan. Vasudeva ghosa bole kori joda hat, Sri Vasudeva is folding his hands and is pleading in humility and he wants to say something. This whole bhajan is highlighting what he is about to say in conclusion, jei gaura sei Krishna sei Jagannath. So what has he said? Jei Gaura, he who is Lord Gauranga or Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he is the same Lord Krishna and he is also the very same Jagannath.

In Treta Yuga Lord Rama appeared, jai Sri Rama! In Dwapara Yuga Lord Krishna appeared, Jai Sri Krishna! And in Kali Yuga appeared Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai! So they are all one, all three- Gauranga, Krishna and Jagannatha Swami. Jagannatha himself has appeared in these three forms. So there is Lord Jagannatha, Sri Rama and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but the Lord’s most recent incarnation who has actually just appeared a short while back, is who?

Who was the latest incarnation? Do you understand when I ask you who the latest incarnation was? It is Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai! He appeared only five hundred and forty years ago in this world.

Did you know this? In each age the supreme Lord appears and just recently in the beginning of this Kali Yuga, Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared and he also did the same Dharma samsthapanarthaya. He established the principles of religion, and these religious principles are the same for everyone. Since all of time, the principles of religion has always been one and the same.

That religion principle is not called the Hindu religion, but rather Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana, this literally means the religious principles to follow forever, Sanatana. Sanatana means eternal and therefore it doesn’t have a beginning and nor does it have an end, that means there will never be an end to this eternal process of religious principles.

Other religious processes have been started at some time or another and so therefore it means what? They have to have an end soon. However these eternal religious principles are for all living entities, although one may believe that they are from some other- this religion or that one. You can call this the Bhagavad Dharma, and to establish the religious principles, the Lord appears in the material world, just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has.

There are different rules and regulations in accordance to the religious principles and so in Kali Yuga the process of religion is Harinam. Harinam Sankirtan ki jai! In the scripture it is said

It is also said that the Lord’s name is greater than the Lord himself. How is the Lord’s name? It is the same as the Lord himself, and it is the principle of religion in the age of Kali, darkness.

In the beginning of Kali Yuga Narada Muni is the preacher of the principles of religion because he sings ‘Narayana Narayana’ whilst travelling through the whole universe. He is a great preacher of religious principles. He often goes to visit Lord Brahma in Brahmaloka which is also called Satyaloka, and it is even higher than the heavenly planets. Once Narada Muni asked Lord Brahma about Kali Yuga, the dark age of quarrel and hypocrisy that has come upon us.

We know what this age is like, Kaler dosa-nidhe rajann, this Kali Yuga is the ocean or a treasury of faults and contamination. It is a storehouse of bad qualities and it is full of faults. Yes, or no? If you pick up the newspaper, it is always reporting of this problem and that problem. There is always war and we are also at war with an internal enemy which is lust. Our other enemies also include anger and greed.

There are also three more enemies and these six enemies all together represent our internal enemies. Kama (desire), Lobha (greed), Krodha (anger), Moha (delusion), Mada (pride), and Matsarya (jealousy). They all have their separate identities just like anger and then there is greed, of which there is no end. So these are our true enemies. Just like Pakistan is india’s enemy and so is China. America is the enemy of Iran, just like Isreal is the enemy of Palestine.

Just like this these six are also our enemies.

‘Oh Lord,’ Arjuna said. ‘Please tell me why, even though we don’t want to, we are forced to act in a way in which we don’t want to. Why are we forced to act in a sinful way? We really don’t want to this and we say to ourselves’ don’t do it, don’t do it!’ Krishna then replied ‘kama esa krodha esa rajo guna samudbhavah, It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath.’

That’s why Arjuna asked, anicchann api varsneya balad iva niyojitah, oh Lord, please tell me, why does one act unwillingly, as if engaged by force? Why do we act in a sinful way and what is it that impels us to act in a sinful way, although he may not want to do so? It’s like a great force which makes us act even against our own will in a sinful way.

We then perform sinful acts, but what is that great force which makes us act like this and how does it have such power to make us do this? Krishna replied that it is lust only that makes one act in sinful ways. When lust cannot be fulfilled, it turns into anger and then one cannot even think properly and then acts in a sinful way.

After all this, certainly the living entity feels remorse or shame at what he has done. There are three modes of material nature, goodness, passion, and ignorance. The mode of passion brings anger and lust as well as greed and these are the enemies of humankind. They are keeping the living entities, especially in human life, very busy by making them lusty, angry and greedy.

Kaler dosa nidhe rajann, these bad times will be present in the age of Kali, which is what we are seeing. So what can we do about this and how can we become free from these enemies? Sukadeva Goswami has said, kaler dosa nidhe rajann

asti hy eko mahan gunah, although Kali yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age.

What is that? Kirtanad eva krsnasya

mukta sangah param vrajet, Kirtan of Lord Krishna!

What does this Kirtan do? We become free from these bad habits, free from unwanted association. We become free from bad qualities like lying and cheating and attachment to these bad habits. The chanting of the holy names can free us and in this way we will go back to Godhead. We can go back to Godhead! Krishna Kanaiya Lal ki!

So as Narada Muni reached Brahmaloka, he started to speak to Lord Brahma. He asked Lord Brahma what should be done in Kali Yuga now that it has appeared. ‘Should I preach the holy names and glories if the a Lord? In what way should i preach the glories of the supreme Lord? Please explain this all to me, oh Lord with four faces.’

Lord Brahma said,

This whole thing beginning from Om till the last line ending with vedesu drsyate, all this was spoken by Brahma. And what is it he said? This Mahamantra which is made up of sixteen names, sodaasakam namnam, kali kalmasa nasanam, can free one from the evil effects that we have upon us in the age of Kali, by our chanting these sixteen names of the Mahamantra.

Immediately after hearing this Narada Muni started his preaching of the holy names and he also came again five hundred years ago and he was Srivas Thakur at that time.

The Lord himself has appeared in the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Krishna has appeared in this form. Balaram hoile Nitai, Lord Balaram has become Lord Nityananda and Sadashiv (Lord Siva) and Maha Vishnu has appeared in the form of Advaita Acharya. Srimati Radharani has appeared in the form of Gadadhar Pandit. In this way Narada Muni has appeared in the form of Srivas Thakur.

In this form of Srivas Thakur who is a preacher of the Holy names, has opened his home up at Srivas Angan, and he has invited Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu. He told them, ‘Please start Harinam Sankirtan from this place!’ From the home of Srivas Thakur:

Translation

 I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu whose arms extend down to their knees, who have golden yellow complexions, and who inaugurated the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord

They who were Rama and Lakshman in Treta Yuga, have appeared as Krishna and Balarama at the end of Dwapara Yuga, and they are the same who appear as Gauranga Nityananda, Gauranga Nityananda! They are Krishna Balarama from Dwapara Yuga and Rama and Lakshman from Treta Yuga. So they are the two leaders of the Sankirtan movement that they are going to now create.

They are going to install the Sankirtan Yagna, the sacrifice of Sankirtan. Both Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhus together, have begun the Sankirtan movement from the home of Srivas Thakur. Narada Muni himself has appeared as Srivas Thakur! After this, udilo aruna puraba bhage, dwija mani gora amani jage. (When the rising sun appeared in the East, the jewel of the twice-born, Lord Gaurasundara, awakened).

Then there was the inauguration and then

Lord Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu would take innumerable devotees of Navadwipa and would perform Nagara Sankirtan, singing Sankirtan throughout all the villages. There would be thousands of people in the party, and this is just recently, five hundred years ago. You can say it is history and in the Kirtan, the Mridanga drum would be played, which is not playing at this moment.

The Khol, Mridanga would make which sounds? Tathai Tathai, tathai tathai bajalo khol, ghana ghana tahe jhajera rol. (The mrdangas (khol) resounded “tathai, tathai,” and the jhanjha [large metal karatalas that look like small cymbals] in that kirtana played in time).

Bolena bolo re vadana bhori, All the devotees chanted the names (of the Lord). Along with the Sankirtan there would be preachers in the party, who would tell everyone, ‘all of you please chant!’ Some people have just woken up from their slumber of sleep and they are getting ready. ‘Hey chant, speak!’ ‘What should I speak?’ Chant Mukunda, Madhava and Hari.

And how should one chant? With strength, shout the Lord’s name with love and with your mouth full of the Lord’s name. Your mouth should be filled with the love of the names of the Lord. With all your life and with love, chant the names. Namasraya kori’ jatane tumi, thakaha apana kaje. ‘All of you, please take shelter of the holy name!’

They all shouted with so much strength that we can still hear that chanting from those days in Mayapur. The whole universe was filled with that chanting, and till this day this sound is echoing everywhere. The transcendental sounds which are spoken or chanted or sung, they are never finished or gone. These transcendental sounds are also in the sky and they purify the atmosphere by which we are influenced, the eternal transcendental sounds.

nama bina kichu nahiko aro, caudda bhuvana majhe, (There is nothing but the name to be had in the fourteen worlds). The preachers say that there is nothing else apart from these holy names of the Lord. This is Bengali language, nama bina kichu nahi. There is absolutely nothing apart from the holy name in the whole world. There is nothing, nothing at all. In these Kirtans, the supreme Lord himself, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, preme dhala dhala sonara anga, carane nupura baje (Lord Gauranga’s shimmering golden features

danced, and His footbells jingled).

The Lord would dance after putting ankle bells upon his lotus feet. Preme dhala dhala sonara anga, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was golden, sonara in colour. Krishna was Shyamasundar, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was also Sundar, beautiful, but which Sundar? He was gaurasundar. There is Shyamasundar and Gaurasundar.

Ajanu lambita bhujau kanakavadatau, he has long arms and sankirtanaika pitarau kamalayataksau, his eyes are like lotus petals. Dvija varau yuga dharma palau vande jagat priya karau karunavatarau. There are both the incarnation of mercy personified, and both Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu together performed Kirtan and danced everywhere. In this way they inaugurated the Harinam Sankirtan all over.

As they went on preaching, in the midst of that preaching, they met with two greatly sinful persons, in fact so sinful were these two, that they are named as the two most greatest sinful people, as sinner number one and sinner number two. Their names were Jagai and Madhai. Lord Nityananda went forward to request them to chant the Lord’s name, and he was begging to them, ‘pray chant the holy name, just chant!’

But they were not ones to listen as they do sinful and were both holding bottles of liquor, and they threw that bottle of liquor on the head of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda’s head was bleeding and as soon as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu found out that these sinful persons had offended the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ran towards the place in anger that this sinful action had taken place.

As he ran towards that spot, he called for his Sudarshan Chakra, and immediately Sudarshan appeared on the scene. Lord Nityananda held Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and appealed to him, ‘if you keep calling Sudarshan Chakra, nobody will survive in this age of quarrel. We are not supposed to kill them or harm them in any way, but instead we must kill the demoniac habits and thoughts within them.

The anger, lust and greed inside of them, and the illusion, attachment and pride are the demoniac influences upon them. The demoniac desires must be killed along with these other terrible vices. So how’s will these be destroyed?

‘If they can take up the chanting of the holy names then they can be saved. Otherwise your lives are about to be taken.’ They both took shelter of the Lord and they made a vow, ‘from today we will stop all sinful activities!’ Are you all ready to do the same? Otherwise you have to die. You must stop all this. Otherwise you are in lust, and when there is an invitation from the Hare Krishna temple, you are too busy working hard for lust.

We are lusty, angry and greedy, and these bad qualities are keeping us so busy that we have no time to go to the temple. Hari Hari. A man was driving his car at such speed ..