Our Mantra, Our Japa

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
19 July 2013

Question: Which sloka would you like your disciples to always meditate on, think about?

What is a sloka? A sloka means some Sanskrit words. The main idea is to remember your Guru, remember the Lord. There is a sloka spoken by Krishna in Srimad Bhagavad-gita,

সর্ব্বধর্ম্মান্ পরিত্যজ্য মামেকং শরণং ব্রজ ।
অহং ত্বাং সর্ব্বপাপেভ্যো মোক্ষয়িষ্যামি মা শুচঃ ॥

sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, moksayisyami ma suchah

"Give up all kinds of religion and surrender to Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, do not despair."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

There are many slokas that you can think about, there is not one single sloka. There are many good slokas in Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures.

Those who are initiated can always remember their gayatri mantram, that is good for them. You can remember the gayatri mantram not only three times a day—you can always recite and remember it, it is good for you. You must always keep connection. Otherwise, you can always chant the Holy Name, always remember Krishna. Whatever you do, you must only keep connection with your Guru. This is called abhidheya, practice. Practice is necessary. What does practice mean? How will you practise? When you are cooking, it is also practice; when you are cutting vegetables, that is also practice; when you are making a garland, that is also practice; when you are sweeping the floor or the yard, that is also practice.

The main thing is that through service you must be able to always remember your Guru, remember the Lord. That is your main mantram—always think about your Guru, think about your Gurudev's service.

There is not only one particular sloka, but you can always chant the gayatri mantram, always remember the Brahma gayatri, the Guru gayatri, you can also always chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Every day when you wake up, you must start chanting.

There are many very good slokas in Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures. Mahaprabhu liked this sloka from Bhagavatam,

তব কথামৃতং তপ্তজীবনং
কবিভিরীড়িতং কল্মষাপহম্ ।
শ্রবণমঙ্গলং শ্রীমদাততং
ভুবি গৃণন্তি তে ভূরিদা জনাঃ ॥

tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad-atatam
bhuvi grnanti te bhurida janah

"My Dear, bestowing the greatest fortune that is attained after so many births, exalted souls come to this world and live here by singing and spreading Your nectarean glories that are life and soul for those suffering in this material world being devoid of Your divine love; that are the gist of all poets' songs; that are the destroyer of all sins; that benefit anyone who hears them; and that possess universal attraction."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 14.13)

Uddhav Maharaj also spoke one very nice sloka where he explained to the devotees what our head is for, what our legs are for, what we must use our hands for, why our head on our shoulders is so heavy and how to make it light (by paying obeisance to Lord Krishna), etc. There is also a sloka written by Rupa Goswami where he describes Krishna's murti,

madhuram madhuram vapur asya vibhor
madhuram madhuram vadanam madhuram
madhu-gandhi mrdu-smitam etad aho
madhuram madhuram madhuram madhuram

"O, Lord Krishna! The beauty of Your transcendental form is very sweet, but Your beautiful face is even sweeter, yet the sweet smile on Your face, which is like the sweet aroma of honey, is sweeter still." [136]

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 21.136)

This is a very nice sloka. Krishna's beauty, Krishna's face, Krishna's chest, everything is madhuram, more madhuram, and more madhuram (more honey, more honey, and more honey). There is also Rupa Goswami's sloka about Nama mahatmya (glorification of the Holy Name),

tunde tandavaniratim vitanute tundavali-labdhaye
karna-kroda kadambinighatayate karnarbudebhyah sprham
cetah prangana-sanginivijayate sarvendriyanamkrtim
no jane janita kiyadbhir amrtaih krsneti varna-dvayi

When the holy name of Krishna descends and captures the tongue and lips, it controls them so strongly that it engages them in chanting the holy name as if the lips and tongue have gone mad. In this way, the power of the name descends in them, and one feels that only one tongue and one mouth are not enough; thousands of mouths are necessary to taste the name. Then the holy name of Krishna enters the ear with such a great force and current that the ears are captured, and one thinks that only two ears are insufficient; he wants millions of ears to attend to the sweet current entering the ears. Two ears are nothing to him; he wants millions of ears. The nectar of the holy name is coming like a flood through his ears, pushing its way within the heart.

It is so sweet that as it goes to capture the heart, the center of all senses, everything is paralyzed. Wherever that sweet aggressor touches, the whole thing is captured with such intensity that everything else is ignored. Rupa Goswami writes, "I don't know, I can't say, I fail to express how much nectar there is in the holy name of Krishna. These two syllables contain so much sweetness, and such a high quality of sweetness. And this sweetness is so aggressive that it captures everything."

(Vidagdha-Madhava, the translation is quoted from 'The Search for Sri Krishna')

There are so many slokas but it is difficult for simple-hearted devotees to recite so many slokas. If you always only chant the main mantra—the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—it is good for you.

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