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"Try to Practise Kirtan"

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham, second evening class
21 June 2017, translated from Bengali, part 1

 

কিবা মন্ত্র দিলা, গোসাঞি, কিবা তার বল ।
জপিতে জপিতে মন্ত্র করিল পাগল ॥

kiba mantra dila, gosani, kiba tara bala
japite japite mantra karila pagala

"My lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? What kind of power does it possess? Chanting this maha-mantra made me mad!"

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 7.81)

কবে নবদ্বীপে সুরধুণী-তটে
'গৌর-নিত্যানন্দ' বলি' নিষ্কপটে ।
নাচিয়া গাইয়া, বেড়াইব ছুটে,
বাতুলের প্রায় ছাড়িয়া বিচার ॥
কবে হবে বল, সে দিন আমার ।

kabe navadvipe, suradhuni-tate,
'gaura-nityananda' bali' niskapate
nachiya gaiya, bedaiba chhute,
vatulera praya chhadiya vichara
kabe habe bala se dina amara

"When will I wander along the banks of the Ganges in Nabadwip, sincerely calling out, 'Gaura-Nityananda!', while dancing, singing, and running about, without any thinking as though mad? Tell me, when will that day be mine?"

(Saranagati)

"When will I, chanting and chanting the Holy Name, become crazy? When will that day come to me?"—Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur is singing this for us.

When Mahaprabhu went to South India, He saw there one brahman sitting in one of the temples—he was reading Srimad Bhagavad-gita and crying. Many people laughed at him because his pronunciation was not good, he did not read correctly, etc. Mahaprabhu observed him for some time and then asked, "O brahman, you are reading Gita, but what meaning are you getting from it that you are crying?" The brahman replied, "I do not know the meaning, but my Gurudev has ordered me to always read Gita. For as long as I am reading Gita, I can see Krishna driving Arjuna's chariot, but when I stop reading Gita, I can no longer see it. I do not understand what mistakes I make, what wrong pronunciation I have, etc. but because when I read it I can see Arjuna and Krishna my heart does not want to stop reading it."

We too much practise in this way. That is why our society's name is Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Krishna-anusilana sangha ('anusilana' means practice). Practice makes perfect. We must try to practise kirtan. There are sixty-four types of devotional practices, among them nine are the main, and among those nine these five are the best,

সাধুসঙ্গ, নামকীর্ত্তন, ভাগবতশ্রবণ ।
মথুরাবাস, শ্রীমূর্ত্তির শ্রদ্ধায় সেবন ॥

sadhu-sanga, nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana
mathura-vasa, sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana

"One should associate with devotees, chant the Holy Name of the Lord, hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, reside at Mathura and worship the Deity with faith."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.124)

সাধুসঙ্গে কৃষ্ণনামে—এই মাত্র চাই ।

সংসার জিনিতে আর কোন বস্তু নাই ॥

sadhu-sange krsna-nama—ei matra chai
samsara jinite ara kona vastu nai

I desire only to chant the Name of Krishna in the association of the sadhus. There is no other way to conquer samsara.

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 6.13)

সংসার সংসার ক'রে মিছে গেল কাল ।
লাভ না হইল কিছু ঘটিল জঞ্জাল ॥
কিসের সংসার এই, ছায়াবাজী প্রায় ।
ইহাতে মমতা করি' বৃথা দিন যায় ॥
দিন যায় মিছা কাজে নিশা নিদ্রাবশে ।
নাহি ভাবি মরণ নিকটে আছে বসে ॥

'samsara' 'samsara' kari' michhe gela kala
labha na ha-ila kichhu, ghatila janjala
kisera samsara ei chhayabaji praya
ihate mamata kari vrtha dina yaya
dina yaya michha kaje, nisa nidra-vase
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe vase

"Time has passed as I have been busy in my material life, and I have got nothing—only became burdened. What sort of world is this? It is like a trick, a show. While I affectionately take it as my own, days pass by in vain. My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me."

(Kalyan-kalpataru)

We never think that our death is so near, we do not know when we will have to leave this body and go away. We have fallen into this material world, but when will Maya Devi be merciful to us and cut this net? When will this bound by Maya jiva soul become detached from the visaya and be able to serve the Lord? When will I be able to serve my Guru and the Vaishnavs?

We must always keep these thoughts within our hearts.

You can give up everything, but it is very difficult to give up yourself. We must give ourselves to the lotus feet of the Lord. You have heard the story of Bali Maharaj—when Vamandev took the entire creation with His two steps, He asked Bali Maharaj, "Bali, you must keep your word. Give Me the third step of land!" Bali Maharaj replied, "Prabhu, I do not have anything else. You have taken everything with Your two steps. I have nothing else to give." Vamandev asked again, "Nothing? Think carefully, think well." Then Vindhyavali (Bali Maharaj's wife) came and whispered to Bali Maharaj, "Prabhu keeps asking you, but you do not understand it—you have given everything, but have you given yourself? Have you offered yourself at the lotus feet of the Lord?"

ষড়ঙ্গ শরণাগতি হইবে যাঁহার ।
তাঁহার প্রার্থনা শুনে শ্রীনন্দকুমার ॥
দৈন্য, আত্মনিবেদন, গোপ্তৃত্বে বরণ ॥
'অবশ্য রক্ষিবে কৃষ্ণ'—বিশ্বাস পালন ॥
ভক্তি-অনুকূল মাত্র কার্য্যের স্বীকার ।
ভক্তি-প্রতিকূল ভাব—বর্জ্জনাঙ্গীকার ॥

sad-anga saranagati ha-ibe yahara
tahara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara
dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

"Sri Krishna hears the prayers of one who surrenders in this six-fold way: (1) humility, (2) self-submission, (3) embracing the Lord's guardianship, (4) maintaining the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me', (5) engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, (6) rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion.

(Saranagati)

দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

dainya, daya anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up prestige—become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Name.

(Sri Siksastakam Giti)

Who can engage in kirtan [chant the Holy Name, glorify the Lord, serve and practise properly]? Who has the right to do kirtan? Not everybody has such a right, or qualification. Many may have a good tune, a good rhythm, many may be proud of their tune, of their voice ("I sing very beautifully"), but who can do kirtan?

দৈন্য, দয়া, অন্যে মান, প্রতিষ্ঠা বর্জ্জন ।
চারিগুণে গুণী হই করহ কীর্ত্তন ॥

dainya, daya anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up prestige—become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Name.

(Sri Siksastakam Giti)

Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up pratistha—those who have these four qualities can engage in kirtan. Do you understand? It is not easy to become a Vaishnav.

কনক-কামিনী প্রতিষ্ঠা-বাঘিনী
ছাড়িয়াছে যারে সেই ত বৈষ্ণব

kanaka-kamini, pratistha-baghini,
chhadiyachhe yare sei ta vaisnava

"Those who have given up money, women, and fame, are the true Vaishnavs."

(Vaishnav Ke? 11)

I told yesterday also,

ধন জন আর কবিতা সুন্দরী
বলিব না চাহি দেহ-সুখকরী ।
জন্মে জন্মে দাও ওহে গৌরহরি
অহৈতুকী ভক্তি চরণে তোমার ॥

dhana jana ara, kavita-sundari,
baliba na chahi deha-sukha-kari
janme janme dao, ohe gaurahari!
ahaituki bhakti charane tomara

"When will I declare that I do not desire wealth, followers, erudition, beautiful women, or any other bodily pleasure? O Gaurahari! Birth after birth, please give me unconditional devotion to Your feet."

(Saranagati)

কনক-কামিনী প্রতিষ্ঠা-বাঘিনী
ছাড়িয়াছে যারে সেই ত বৈষ্ণব

kanaka-kamini, pratistha-baghini,
chhadiyachhe yare sei ta vaisnava

"Those who have given up money, women, and fame, are the true Vaishnavs."

(Vaishnav Ke? 11)

You can leave money, you can leave women, but pratistha is pig's stool—we run hither and thither after pratistha, but when one becomes a real Vaishnav, pratistha will run behind them.

We must think about all these things.

 

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Power of the Holy Name: Nothing Else
''If you have any love and affection for Me, then only say 'Krishna'.' Without Krishna Nam, there is nothing else in this age of Kali. All inauspiciousness will be removed through chanting.'

 

Jaya jaya gurudever
'You are the saviour of the fallen and a breeze of mercy. You are truthful, deep, and expert in all types of service.'
জয় জয় গুরুদেবের

If you do today what your mind wants to do, tomorrow it will be something else, next day again something else—that is why the mind must be controlled.

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