Kirtana Meditation

Kirtana meditation
Venue: Birmingham, UK
Dated: 29 th April 2016
Occasion: 24 hour kirtana mela

Why to chant from the heart? Reason is that is where we reside; our residence or base is in the heart. That is why Madhava prabhu and Maharaja was reminding us, chant from the heart, chant from the heart. Hari Hari!
Chandramauli maharaja was talking of hearing every name. There are sixteen names, iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam  ( Kalisantarana Upanishad) sodasakam namnam, there are sixteen names and hear each of those names.

As someone chants and you hear or you chant and also you hear. I was told that we have to speak about the, the topic or theme is kirtana meditation. Kirtana what? Kirtana meditations! So then I was thinking and I remembered Gopal Guru Goswami, he has given explanation of Hare Krsna mantra or commentary, Hare Krsna maha-mantra bhasya if you want to call it. Mahabhashya, maharaja is saying, because maha-mantra so mahabhashya. This Gopal Guru Goswami was Shri Vakreshwara Pandit’s disciple. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very fond of this Gopal Guru Goswami. And affectionately and jokingly, Mahaprabhu would also say, call him guru, call him guru. He was so learned; call him guru, so he became Gopal Guru Goswami.

So that Goswami, Gopal Guru Goswami has presented commentary and I thought of just running through it quickly, talks about each name. When we say each name, Hare, say Hare, then say Krsna, Hare Krsna, like that Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!

As we say each of these names, sixteen names, what we do or what the chanter does? He is addressing those names. It is called sambodhan. Well how do you address the name?

abhinnatvat nama namino

nama and nami, Lord’s name and Lord they are non different. So when we say, Hare Krsna then Hare makes appearance and Krsna makes appearance and immediately from the heart you address that Lord.

So this Gopal Guru Goswami, he is giving a guideline. What you should be addressing, when you are saying Hare, what are you suppose to be saying? So he says that we should say to that Hare, O! Hare, hare – he hare,

mac-cittam hrtva bhava-bandhanan mocaya

What did he say? He said in Sanskrit. So he said, O! Hare, please steal my mind, steal my consciousness and make me

bhava bandhanan mocaya, make me free

from bhava bandhan, the bonds of this material existence. Please make me free, please make me free by stealing capturing, attracting my mind to You. Then after Hare comes Krsna then he says what we should say to that Krsna, he Krsna, krsna – he krsna, mac-cittam akarsaya

O! Krsna-You are known for, You are all attractive.
“karshati iti krishna”

Krsna is that person who karsati, who attracts. So my dear Krsna, mat cittam akarsaya, please attract me to You, my mind, my whole existence, my consciousness to you. Then comes the turn of Hare again. O! Hare, Radha again.

hare – he hare, sva-madhuryena mac-cittah hara

O! Radhe You are known for Your madhurya, Your sweetness. So please attract me by Your sweetness, O! Radhe.
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna, now next Krsna, so when you say that Krsna, you are saying, you are addressing that Krsna, taking advantage of His presence and immediately you are address Him saying, krsna – he krsna, sva-bhakta-dvara bhajana-jnana-danena mac-cittam sodhaya This whole thing, the first four names as we address or address Lord in the form of these four names, this refers to all ceto darpana marjanam, cetana related.

Please by Your own devotee, sva bhakta dvara, by Your devotee. Shiksha guru, diksha guru, acarya, sadhu sanga, give me sadhu sanga, give me association of devotee so that bhajan jnana danen, bhajan jnana dana. How to perform this
bhajan? jnana knowledge of this bhajan, bhajan kriya, there are so many details.

Let Your devotee give me charity, dana of that jnana. Let that knowledge be given to me as a charity. So that mat cittam sodhaya, so that my consciousness IS purified.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna then next Krsna. krsna – he krsna, rucir bhavatu me

Let that ruchi, name ruchi, let me develop ruchi that taste in Your name, taste in You. This is also like from shraddha to prema and up there is ruchi. So when would that day be mine, when I will have ruchi.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna, then there is another Krsna. krsna – he krsna, nama-rupa-guna-liladisu man-nistham kuru Let me be fixed in recitation of Your nama or glories of nama rupa guna lila; let me be steady in the aspects of Your personality, Your name, You are non different from Your name, You are non different from Your qualities, You are non different from Your pastimes. So let me be fixed, steady. Prabhupada used to ask sometimes, Are you convinced? So let me be convinced.

Next is that last Hare Hare. hare – he hare, nija-seva-yogyam mam kuru

O! Hare please make me eligible to serve You. Srila Prabhupada used to always emphasize on this, O! Krsna, O! Radhe, please engage me. I am Yours, I am Your servant, please engage me, seva yogyam kuru.

Last Hare of the first set of half of the mantra is adisaya. hare – he hare, sva-sevam adisaya
Please reveal that service unto me. First You make me eligible and reveal what is that service. Of course this could go beyond our service, beyond this existence, part of our svarupa, as parts and parcels, going back home. So what would be that service, please reveal that service unto me. Order me personally in the service you wish me to perform.

And then Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, I should go faster. That Hare, hare – he hare, sva-presthena saha svabhista-lilam sravaya O! Radha please let me hear or You share Your most cherished pastimes, Your pastime with Krsna; could I hear that pastime? Sravaya, could you make me hear that pastime? And then that similar prayer or address is also upto that Rama, Hare Rama.

rama – he rama, presthaya saha svabhista-lilam mam sravaya O! Krsna You also, Your most cherished pastime with Radharani, could I hear? Make me hear, let there be opportunity for me to hear those pastimes.

Hare Rama and then Hare Rama, so after sravaya comes darshaya.
hare – he hare, sva-presthena saha svabhista-lilam darsaya

Please show me, could Your pastimes be revealed unto me? Let’s say together, O! Krsna O! Radhe, first sravaya and the darshaya, could I have darsana. So darsana is two way track. Unless darsana is given to you, you can not take. There is giver and there is the taker. We are there to take darsana but unless it is given you can’t take it. So there is humble appeal and address to that divine couple, Hare Rama please reveal those pastimes and Your darsana you reveal unto me.

rama – he rama, presthaya saha svabhista-lilam mam darsaya |

Rama! O Rama! Give me the opportunity to see your intimate pastimes.
And then last Rama Rama Hare Hare. Again nama rupa guna lila.
rama – he rama, nama-rupa-guna-lila-smaranadisu mam yojaya

Please when would I become fixed up in nama,, rupa guna, lila of Yours? And the next is,
rama – he rama, tatra mam nija-seva-yogyam kuru

Please make me fit to fit into those pastimes. Make me fit, make me eligible to be
part of those pastimes. And final Hare Hare, that was Rama Rama, and then Hare
Hare ends with saying, all this is Gopal Guru Goswami says.

When we says that final Hare Hare we address.
hare – he hare, mam svangikrtya ramasva
hare – he hare, maya saha ramasva

O! Hare, that is Radharani, sva-angi krtya, please accept me as Your servant and maya sama ramasva, please deal with me, please reciprocate with me. You are Radharaman, You are this raman, and You do raman with so many others, but let there be me and You, You and me. Maya saha ramasva, so this meditation or address ends with maya saha ramasva, please consider me as Your own and make me part of Your existence or Your pastimes and deal with me. So this is food for thought as we say these names,

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!

We could think like this, the address of the names from the heart.
And Nitai Gaur premanande Hari Hari Bol! I wish organizers to run successful
kirtana mela festival, here in Birmingham ki Jai!
Jagannath Baladeva Subhadra ki Jai!

Kirtana mela mahotsav ki Jai!
Nitai Gaur premanande Hari Hari Bol!
Was that loud enough? Not loud! Sacinandan maharaja is not happy. Let’s be
louder! Nitai Gaur premanande Hari Hari bol! Getting better? Better but not best!
Nitai Gaur Premanande Hari Hari bol!
Thank you!