Guru mora murkh dekhi

There is a place called Omsk in Russia. Devotees are chanting from there with us. In Russia they have to get up at 2.30 am. Also Mauritius and South Africa devotees have to get up early. It’s 3.5 hours difference with South Africa. Devotees are undergoing this physical inconveniences just to chant. So to chant must be something important. Why on the earth in some place called Omsk would devotees be getting up at 2.30 am chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna ? It’s amazing. Caitanya Caritamrita says, ‘You will be amazed to see the mercy of Gauranga’. So these are also soul connections. Souls are getting united with the Lord. I was also thinking of the pastimes of Pancatattva. The very latest thing that you have done, remains fresh in your mind. The night before and early in the morning whatever you do , it is like – fresh, fresher and freshest. Last night we were reciting the pastimes of Pancatattva, so naturally that remains fresh in your mind. In the computer also it shows recently opened files. The computer functions like that. The brain also functions similarly, or we should say the computer also functions like the brain. The brain always functions like a brain, but now the computer has started functioning like a brain. Whatever is very recent stays in your brain.

Pancatattva were relishing the chanting so much that they became intoxicated. We have articles like – How I came to Krishna conscious. Similarly Caitanya Mahaprabhu was discussing with Prakasananda Saraswati. – ‘guru more murkh dekhi ‘ – My spiritual master considered me fool and to have no eligibility to do the vedanta adhyayan, so He was told, ‘ You should just chant. You are just fit for chanting.’ That is why I have taken up this chanting. Last night I was thinking that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was known as Nimai Pandit. He was very, very learned. He even defeated Keshav Kashmiri. In the 64th verse He pointed out the good part of and then the flaws. He has intelligently designed this world for all of us so He is most intelligent and learned. So if His Guru says , murkh dekhi I was thinking this applies to us and not that Mahaprabhu was murkh. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was so clever. He is trying to bring our foolishness and what fools we are to our notice. For those ignorant fools, fallen souls the only hope is chanting. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “My Guru Maharaja shared one mantra:

harer naam harer naam harer naam eva kevalam
kalau nastyeva nastyeva nastyeva gatiranyatha. ( CC. Adi 7.26)

So that is how I took up chanting.” It started in Gaya. We mentioned yesterday, that as soon as He started chanting , instantly ( like instant coffee, which doesn’t take much time to cook ) He became Krishna conscious, Vrindavan conscious and He wanted to run to Vrindavan. But He was dissuaded and brought back to Mayapur instead. By seeing Nimai the way He was acting, dealing , behaving , rolling on the ground, crying and becoming stunned like a stambha – pillar. A pillar never moves. One of the symptoms of ecstasy is that He became like a pillar. Nothing moves because you are simply fixed on Krsna. Your soul , mind and body is fixed. There is nothing to move. The body doesn’t move because the mover , the mind and the soul are preoccupied. They are busy with Krsna and there is no attention to the body. They are attentive. As we say no external consciousness. Everything is internalized so much so that the body becomes stunned like a stambh. So the Navadwipvasi’s , Mayapurvasi’s were watching Mahaprabhu in that state , The bodily form. His activities were like a mad man. He had become pagal (mad). So that’s ‘How I came to Krishna consiousness.’ We would like to experience a glimpse of what Pancatattva members are going through, what they are experiencing. It would be prema when that day would be mine.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu also says in Siksastakam prayers –

nayanam galadashru dharaya vadanam gad gad hridaya gira ,
pulakainrichitam vapuhu kada tava naam grahanai bhavishyati

(when) tav nam grahanai (as I chant your holy names) bhavishayati ( when would this happen)

nayanam galadashru dharaya – when would that happen? pulakivachitam vapu kada tava naam grahanai. Sahajiyas exhibit these symptoms. They are very expert in shedding tears, crying and rolling on the ground. In Bengal it’s very common. Soon after the kirtana begins all the kirtaniyas all over Bengal start exhibiting symptoms of ecstasy. They put on a very good show. I have seen during padayatra people smoking bidi , then somehow they notice some sadhu somewhere. They run to the sadhu and on the way they throw the bidi and then they touch his feet. By the time they look up there are shedding tears. In thirty seconds the tears are ready. Those are sahajiyas, one of the cult. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura pointed out that we should be aware, stay away and not be impressed by these sahajiyas. They exhibit so much bhava. HH Jayapataka Maharaja explains it as chilli bhava. When they come for 24 hour kirtana or astaprahar kirtan, where party after party sings, some of them carry little red chillies. While chanting and dancing they throw little chilli and then they shed tears. Chilli bhava – bhava caused by real chilli, not the natural bhava aroused in the soul by devotion. In order to manifest genuine symptoms we have to have genuine practice.

Chant every day as per your instructions. When we are instructed or when we receive our mantra at the time of initiation and we also take a vow of following four regulative principles. We are also reminded of the ten offences against the holy name at the time of initiation. I remember when I was initiated either Prabhupada would recite and explain the ten offences or sometimes get the head priest, Pradyumna Prabhu to repeat it.

Chant every single day and then how you chant by avoiding all the offences needs special efforts, especially Vaisnava aparadh.

abhyasena tu kaunteya
vairagyena ca gṛhyate ( BG. 6.35)

We should remember these two things. abhyasena and vairagyena. The mind is said to be cancala. Make the mind steady and calm. Then Krsna advises in the chapter of Bhagavad-Gita. You do abhyas – practice and then vairagya. Practice should be in the spirit of detachment.

virag – ‘rag’ means attachment and prefix – vi means just the opposite. So develop detachment. That becomes vairagya. From virag comes Vairagya.

So chant every day practising this Vairagya.

Today is a big action packed day. We have something to do every hour, every moment. Some Krsna conscious thing to do, getting association of the devotees. Mayapur festival – 2019 is being inaugurated this morning. SGGS is also starting this morning. It is ‘ Sannyasi Guru GBC Sangha’. There will be a get together of all ISKCON sanyasis , Gurus and GBCs. This is going on for a few years. It is happening again this morning. Then there are meetings all day and there is also Kirtana mela adhivas. The prefix is ‘adi’ and not ‘aadi’. It’s like adhibhautik, etc.

Haribol!