(9/16) Taste for Hari-Katha

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Temple inauguration programme, Hooghly
26 January 2020, noon, part 9
Translated from Bengali

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso 'nkitani yat
srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah

"On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.5.11)

The Lord descends to this material plane as the Holy Name, Narratives and Sound. What is written in Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavad-gita and other scriptures are all sounds, and the Lord comes in the form of sound. "There is no judgement of time and place when it comes to chanting the Holy Name, but the truth is that I have no loving attachment to You!" The taste for the Lord comes through the darshan, touch and conversations of devotees and sadhus. Those who cannot develop this taste are very unfortunate. Great Vaishnavs, great devotees ardently pray for the association of the devotees who have love for the Lord. When Sri Gaurasundar (Mahaprabhu) went to Nilachal (Sri Puri Dham), He arranged for a secluded cottage for Srila Haridas Thakur to get his association. He was attracted to the holy lotus feet of Sri Raya Ramananda, Srila Rupa and Sanatan Prabhu because He loved to hear about the Lord from them. Mahaprabhu listened to Hari-katha from the holy mouth of Sri Raya Ramananda. There is no greater happiness in the entire world than this.

Mahaprabhu listened to Hari-katha from the holy mouth of Sri Raya Ramananda, and Raya Ramananda Prabhu said, "Sri Chaitanya is speaking with my mouth. I am not saying anything—I am only saying what You, Prabhu, are making me say."

Hari-katha is a source of great happiness. In the pastimes of Sri Gaurasundar, the Lord Himself circumambulates entire India, declaring, "Param vijayate Sri Krsna sankirtana—may the sankirtan of Lord Krishna be ever victorious!" A loving saintly devotee (premik sadhu) is the worshippable Deity of Hari-katha. If the narratives about the Lord and spiritual guidance coming from such a devotee's holy mouth touch a jiva soul deeply, the soul turns to this path and runs to serve Krishna, becoming enamoured by the Lord. However, if somebody has not been able to attain this kind of taste for the narratives about the Lord discussed in the association of pure devotees, they cannot continuously practise devotion.

It takes a very great fortune to be able to live the life in the shelter of Hari-katha. Those who have internally taken shelter in Krishna-katha are truly qualified for devotion—at this stage, the soul does not have any low desires anymore because all material desires become removed.

So, the main thing is that we must listen and speak Hari-katha, then material desires will not come again. Always remember this.

— : • : —

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Size: 58 Mb
Length: 120 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Opening Temple—Opening Your Eyes
2) Live As a Member of Krishna's Family
3) Meaning of Surrender (1)
4) Meaning of Surrender (2)
5) How to Pray to Vaishnav Thakur
6) Orphaned and Blind
7) Satisfying Lord and Your Soul
8) Trade Secret of Krishna Consciousness
9) Taste for Hari-Katha
10) Eternal Nourishment
11) Align Your Life
12) Two Keys to Success
13) Ekadasi Vrata (1)
14) Ekadasi Vrata (2)
15) Practise Day and Night
16) If You Want, You Can