"Come with Us"

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh (evening Nama-hatta)
4 January 2020, part 1

By the mercy of Gurudev, we have all assembled here today. First, I am paying obeisance to my beloved Gurudev, my Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, as well as to all the assembled sannyasi-vrinda, all the brahmachari-vrinda, all the matri-mandala. I am paying my obeisance to you all.

A cloudy day is not a bad day for us—a bad day for us is the day when we cannot chant the Holy Name, when we cannot serve the Lord and Vaishnavs. Therefore, we are very fortunate that we have got some time today to hear some Hari-katha, Krishna-katha, Bhagavat-katha. That is a great fortune for us today. Actually, I am not saying anything—my Gurudev and Krishna say everything, and I am only an instrument; what comes to my tongue comes by the mercy of Guru-varga, by the mercy of Gurudev.

I will tell you today something about the chanting of the Holy Name, about the glorification of the Holy Name.

The Harinam (the Holy Name) is extremely powerful in this age of Kali—chanting the Holy Name is the only way we can get to our real home: back to God, back to home. Jive daya, Name ruchi, Vaishnava-seva—only through getting taste for chanting the Holy Name and only through Vaishnav-seva can we get back to our real home.

Bhagavan Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur says that those who are simple-hearted, who have kamala-sraddha, who have little devotion, who have only recently joined Krishna consciousness, should do Gaura-mandala parikrama (Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama). Those who are on another level, those whose devotion has increased, should do Puri Dham, or Purushottam Ksetra, parikrama. Those who have even more devotion, those who remember the pastimes of the Lord, who can serve their Guru and Vaishnavs properly, and who want to increase their service, they can go for the Vraja-mandal parikrama. Our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math makes the parikrama of Nabadwip Dham every year, and many hundreds and thousands of people join this parikrama. This parikrama will take place this year too, and I am inviting you all to come for this parikrama.

Sri Nabadwip Dham is nine islands—Sri Dham Mayapur is Antardwip, then there is also Simantadwip, Rudradwip, Koladwip, Godrumdwip, Madhyadwip, Ritudwip, Jahnudwip, and Modadrumdwip. There are these nine islands, and nine kinds of devotion exist in each of these nine islands (Antardwip—atma-nivedanam, Simantadwip—sravanam, Rudradwip—sakhyam, Godrumdwip—kirtanam, Madhyadwip—smaranam, Koladwip—pada-sevanam, Ritudwip—archanam, Jahnudwip—vandanam, Modadrumdwip—dasyam).

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)

Those who can do this parikrama in good association of devotees and chanting the Holy Name are very fortunate souls. Everyone goes everywhere on this dham parikrama, but Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj says that when you go on a parikrama, you must hear from great Vaishnavs about the glorification of the Dham, about the pastimes of Sriman Mahaprabhu, of Guru-varga in each place, etc.—otherwise if you go on a parikrama and only walk, that is called 'eye exercise'.

তীর্থযাত্রা পরিশ্রম কেবল মনের ভ্রম,
সর্ব্বসিদ্ধি গোবিন্দচরণ

tirtha-yatra parisrama kevala manera bhrama
sarva-siddhi govinda-charana

"The trouble of visiting holy places is simply a mental delusion—all possible perfection is the feet of Govinda."

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur, "Anya-abhilasa chhadi...")

তীর্থফল সাধুসঙ্গ, সাধুসঙ্গে অন্তরঙ্গ,
শ্রীকৃষ্ণভজন মনোহর ।
যথা সাধু, তথা তীর্থ, থির করি' নিজ-চিত্ত,
সাধুসঙ্গ কর নিরন্তর ॥

tirtha-phala sadhu-sanga, sadhu-sange antaranga,
sri-krsna-bhajana manohara
yatha sadhu, tatha tirtha, sthira kari' nija-chitta,
sadhu-sanga kara nirantara

"The result of visiting a place of pilgrimage is sadhu-sanga (pure devotees' association) and being drawn to the exclusive service of Sri Krishna. A place of pilgrimage is where a sadhu (pure devotee) is. Always keep the association of pure devotees and firmly fix your mind by such association."

(Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Kalyan-kalpataru)

যে দিন গৃহে ভজন দেখি ।
গৃহেতে গোলোক ভায় ॥

ye dina grhe bhajana dekhi
grhete goloka bhaya

"On the days when I see devotional service taking place in my home, I feel that Goloka has manifested there."

('Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu' by Srila Bhakti Vinod

Wherever the worship of the Lord and chanting of the Holy Name take place, that is Goloka Vrindavan...

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

• Download (1.6 Mb)