(2/7) Immerse Yourself in Kirtan

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, noon festival class
Sri Nityananda-Trayodasi, 7 February 2020, part 2
Translated from Bengali

Among the sixty-four limbs of devotion (bhaktyanga), there are five main practices:

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

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

"Associate with sadhus, chant the Holy Name of the Lord, listen to Srimad Bhagavatam, reside in Mathura and worship Deities with faith."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.22.124)

The most important for us is Nama-sankirtan in sadhu-sanga: chanting the Holy Name in holy association. You have seen that Guru Maharaj (Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) composed the arati of Nitai Gaura for the Nitai Chaitanya Deities in Puri Dham. Here, in Ekachakra, we also sing this Nitai Chaitanya arati for Gaura Nityananda. Guru Maharaj composed this arati song very beautifully; you must learn it by heart. Param Guru Maharaj (Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj) composed the arati of Gaurahari: "Jaya Sachinananda sura-muni-vandana / bhava-bhaya-khandana jaya he. All glory to Sri Sachinandan, who is worshipped by the demigods and sages! All glory to He who destroys all fear of material existence!" You must sing kirtans. Even if you practise meditation or yoga, you will not feel as much joy as you can get by singing kirtans. And both Nitayananda Prabhu and Mahaprabhu are the most pleased through kirtan-rasa (ecstatic mood of chanting and glorification).

When Nityananda Prabhu met Madhavendra Puri, there was so much transcendental emotion (bhava), so much joy (ananda). Nityananda Prabhu travelled to many places, and later, He got the darshan of Ksir-chora Gopinath, Saksi-Gopal and other holy places together with Mahaprabhu. It is by the mercy of this Nityananda Prabhu that we can get the mercy of Gaurahari and that we can get the right for the highest service to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. He is the one who gives this kind of right. Except for Sri Guru, there is nobody who can give us this right—only Gurudev can give us the right to serve the Lord (seva-adhikara). But if you forget Gurudev, if you forget Nityananda Prabhu, then everything becomes forgotten.

Never forget Gaurahari, never forget Nityananda. We were chanting today, "Jaya Nitayananda! Jaya Gaurachandra!" Chant it as you go home and continuing chanting it while you are staying at your homes. When chanting the Holy Name of Krishna, you can be committing offences, but there is no offence if you chant the Holy Names of Nitai and Gaura—there is no consideration of offence in chanting Their Names. Always chant, "Doyal Nitai", "Nitai Gaura Hari bol, Nitai Gaura Hari bol." Always call out, "Nitai Gaura Hari bol!"

Taking shelter at the holy feet of a bona fide guru, you can turn your material life into a Krishna-centred family. We are alive in this world at the expense of killing thousands of jiva souls, and the only solution for us is to make our lives Krishna-centred. For example, you plant a coconut palm tree in your yard, thinking, "I have planted it, so my children, husband (wife) or grandchildren will eat this coconut." You can plant a tree, but you cannot give life to a tree—the only owner who can give life is the Supreme Lord. You can plant a coconut palm, but if you offer that coconut to the Lord and take prasad, then the tree will get some benefit.

You should plant flowers and Tulasi at your home—make garlands for the Lord with flowers, offer flowers at the lotus feet of the Lord, offer Tulasi at the feet of the Lord [note: Tulasi leaves are offered at the lotus feet of the Lord and onto the chest of Gurudev, not his feet]. You must also do Tulasi parikrama at home; do not forget it, it is part of devotion. If you practise, you can come to the Lord. And most of the time, you must chant the Holy Name with your mouth. Even those who have not got initiation can chant the Holy Name: "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." The Holy Name is so sweet!

— : • : —

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

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 23.5 Mb
Length: 49 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Life in Sadhu-Sanga
2) Immerse Yourself in Kirtan
3) Path to Promotion
4) Service Is Not Formality
5) Eternal Service Consciousness
6) Giving and Taking Prasad
7) Control Your Urges