1st April 2019

COMMUNICATE WITH THE LORD WHILE CHANTING!

I am in Pandharpur. Today is Papamocani Ekadasi. So keep chanting and hearing. One devotee was inquiring – should we concentrate on Harinama or do something else. Also how to concentrate on the holy name? We have to chant

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMa HARE HARE

The holy name is addressing the Lord. When we say Krishnawe are addressing the holy name. YesterdayI was going through the list of Devotional service which Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami has mentioned in the Caitanya Caritamrita. One item which caught my attention was – one should reveal his mind unto the Deity, unto the Lord. Like we say

dadāti pratigṛhṇāti
guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva
ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam

Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.( NOI verse 4)

Tell the Lord of your happiness and grief. Rupa Goswami has mentioned it and Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami is repeating it. He was talking of revealing one’s mind unto the Deity, but the Deity is non-different from the holy name. The Form is the name. Revealing your mind unto the Deity is non-different from revealing your mind to the holy name. When we say Hare, Krishna, each name is an address. Oh Radhe! Oh Krsna! Sixteen times we are addressing the Lord. Oh Radhe! Oh Krsna! When we address like that, Radha and Krishna make their appearance.

naham vasami vaikunthe yoginam hridaye na cha
mad-bhakta yatra gayanti tatra tishthami narada

Neither do I reside in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the Yogis, but I dwell where my devotees sing my name, O Narada !(Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda 92.21)

Wherever My devotees chant My glories or wherever I am addressed, I reveal Myself, I make My appearance there. That is the Lord’s promise. The Lord has made His Appearance. He is right there with you. The Lord then says , Oh!Why you are calling me? What do you want? What’s on your mind?Please reveal your mind unto me.” He may say, “ May I help you?” Then you could reveal your mind. The scene is set. You are present. The Lord is there. That’s the time for Yoga, reciprocation, communication between you and the Lord in the form of the holy name.

So how to reveal our heart and mind unto the Lord? There are hints given by our acaryas. Given commentaries on the holy name. Bhavabandhanat mochay. When the address begins by saying the first HareShe asks what do you want? You are revealing your heart and mind unto Radharani. Please free me from this entanglement of material bondage. Then next we say Krishna. Gopal Guru Goswami, – swamadhuryen mattchittaam aakrashay. Oh Lord! You are sweet. You are attractive, please attract my mind unto You. Sixteen times we are addressing like this. For each of the sixteen names there is a commentary. When we chant the mahamantra once, we address Radha and Krishna sixteen times. Seva yogyam kuru. Please make me eligible to serve you,Oh Lord! Srila Prabhupada always repeated this part of the commentary. “I am Yours.Please engage me in Your service.”

Seva adhikar diyo kar nija dasi like that we pray to Tulasi maharani. We also pray to the spiritual master to give you service. Or we may be praying to the temple president – ‘please engage me in your service.’They represent Tulasi Maharani represent Krsna. Spiritual Master is representing Krsna and our GBCs , Presidents, managerial parampara. Prabhupada also said , specially about the GBCsthat they have acarya like position. Then we could request them to give some service.

lalita vishakha adi jat sakhi vrinda ajnayai karibo seva caranaravinda

Even when other gopis and manjaris wish to serve Krsna, they don’t go directly to Radha and Krsna. They have to go through Lalita and Vishakha, the whole hierarchy. The leader of the gopis, yuvateshwaris are there .Gopi groups are called yuvateshwaris. So you have to go through them. Prayer has to be like that, “Please engage me in Your service Lord!” This is how we are revealing our mind and heartand we are begging, “Please engage me in Your service. This is one of the ways. Prabhupada has written in his commentary at one place ‘seva yogyam kuru’ He Radhe He Krsna please make me eligible for Your service. Like that for each of the sixteen names there are commentaries of Jiva Goswami and other acaryas.

How to reveal your mind by chanting ‘Hare Krishna’. How and what to sayto Radha and Krsna who are present before you in the Form of the holy name? So these are the prayers. Chanting , hearing and remembering, then samadhi – full absorption , this is ‘abhyas’. (study)

Today also we are also conducting an initiation ceremony. We are doing the first part of the initiation. What we just did was an initiation lecture. We will be giving the name and the beads. We have Bhaktin Sadhana, wife of Nandlal from Italy, who will be taking initiation today. He is one of the first disciples,25 years ago. In 1971 Prabhupada once conducted a marriage ceremony in Cross Maidan. Vegavan my godbrother from Sweden and his wife was from Australia. Prabhupada was conducting an initiation in India. It was initiation cum marriage ceremony. Prabhupada said, this is the United nations of the spiritual world.

(Gurumaharaj gave initiation to one Mataji from Mauritius and had short a conversation with her) In Pandharpur on the day of Ekadasi, on the banks of Chandrabhaga River in Radha Pandharinath temple, during Brahma muhurta surrounded by Vaisnavas, senior leaders from our zone and 470 participants from all over the planet. They are also witnessing the initiation on the conference.

Your family members are they watching? 40 – 50 devotees from Mauritius are watching. Your name is ‘Saradiya Rasa Devi dasi’. While chanting your japa you can meditate on your name. Later on yajna will be done. Some devotees are getting second initiation today.

So we conclude here.

Hare Krishna!