(1/1) Radhastami: Careful Worship

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Radhastami Festival,
Speaking to devotees in Australia
26 August 2020, afternoon

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
All the Australian devotees ki jay
Sri Sri Radha-astami ki jay
Radharani's holy appearance day maha-mahotsav ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I am very happy to see you all. It is a very auspicious day today, Sri Radhastami day. Radharani is the dearmost servitor of Lord Sri Krishna, and the guru is also a dearmost servitor of Lord Sri Krishna. That is why Gurudev is non-different from Srimati Radharani.

First, I will give the initiation and then say something to all of the devotees about Radharani. I am giving my full humble obeisance to you all, to all my friends. I am very happy to see you all.

Jay Srimati Radharani ki jay.
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.

It is a very auspicious day today, and you are a very fortunate soul because you are coming to join Krishna's family – Sri Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math family – on this day. You joining this family means that you must first take shelter in the guidance of a bona fide guru and then come to surrender at the lotus feet of Sri Gurudev, Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govindasundar and Sriman Mahaprabhu.

Nama-sankirtan (chanting the Holy Name) is the highest practice, or procedure. If you worship the Lord through the chanting of His Holy Name, that is the most efficient, the best way. It is called sankirtan-yajna (the sacrifice of congregational chanting). You have expressed your desire to accept this path, that is why you are going to accept this Holy Name today.

This Holy Name comes from Goloka Vrindavan. It came from Krishna to Brahma, from Brahma to Narad, from Narad to Vyasadev, from Vyasadev to Madhva Acharya, and in this way it came to Madhavendra Puri, and then, from Madhavendra Puri to Iswar Puri, and from Ishwar Puri to Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu is the Lord Himself, but He also took initiation from His guru, Ishwar Puri to show us that it is necessary to accept a guru. If you want to learn cooking, you must go to the best cook. If you want to study and become a well-educated person, you must go to school, then college and then university. So, when you accept the Holy Name and join this family today, it does not mean that you have got everything; this is only admission to this school. After gaining admission, you must practise. Practise means sadhu-sanga (keep good association), Nama-sankirtan (chant the Holy Name), Bhagavat-sravan (read scriptures) and Mathura-vasa. 'Mathura-vasa' means you must stay in a place where Krishna's play, Krishna's Name, Krishna's beauty, Krishna's pastimes are going on – that place is Vrindavan. 'Mathura-vasa' does not mean that you must live in Mathura. The highest place is where Krishna's Name is always chanted. Even there, in Sri Govinda Dham (Australian branch of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math), devotees worship the Lord and chant the Holy Name every day, so Govinda Dham is the higehst place in Australia where you can stay. I am very happy to see all the devotees, all my friends today. I know that you have got their good association, you have got the association of all the devotees at Govinda Dham and Autralia, and I am very happy about it.

This Holy Names comes through guru-parampara. Our guru-varga is Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, our Param Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and my beloved Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. My Gurudev told me in his lifetime, 'If anybody wants to take initiation, they can come to you, and you can accept them as a disciple.' So, I think that you have been getting good association in your heart, and your heart has become clean – your land is fertile, and it is only necessary to put the bhakti-lata-bij, the seed of the creeper of devotional. Then, this is a good time for you.

Please give the beads to her hands now. Take the beads with two hands – make cupped hands, like begging. Yes. Touch the central bead called sumeru and repeat:

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য প্রভু নিত্যানন্দ ।
শ্রীঅদ্বৈত গদাধর শ্রীবাসাদি গৌরভক্তবৃন্দ ॥

sri-krsna-chaitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura-bhakta-vrnda

First chant this Pancha-tattva's Name and ask Them for mercy because we cannot chant this Holy Name without devotees. Devotees are of main importance. We need Krishna and kasna, Krishna and Krishna's devotees:

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য প্রভু নিত্যানন্দ ।
শ্রীঅদ্বৈত গদাধর শ্রীবাসাদি গৌরভক্তবৃন্দ ॥

sri-krsna-chaitanya prabhu nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura-bhakta-vrnda

When you chant the Holy Name, first chant devotees' names (the Lord and Lord's devotees, Gaura-bhakta-vrinda), then start chanting from the big beads. I am going to chant it now, and you should only listen to me. Start from the first big bead:

হরে কৃষ্ণ হরে কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ হরে হরে ।
হরে রাম হরে রাম রাম রাম হরে হরে ॥

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Then, chant on the next bead:

হরে কৃষ্ণ হরে কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ হরে হরে ।
হরে রাম হরে রাম রাম রাম হরে হরে ॥

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Chanting in this way from the big beads to the small bedas, turn the beads and chant from the small beads to the big beads, without crossing the sumeru bead. Chant in this way sixteen rounds or more. If you are busy with service any day, you can chant at least four rounds. Four rounds must be chanted every day. Chant in this way, and Krishna will reveal Himself in your heart; you will be successful in your spiritual life. There is also the ten offences book. You must read this whole book, especially the part where the ten offences are. Read what the ten offences are and avoid them. If you can chant the Holy Name without offence, Krishna will reveal Himself in your heart, and you will get the result quickly; you will be successful in your spirtual life.

All right. Now I want to say something about Sri Radhastami.

মূকং করোতি বাচালং পঙ্গুং লঙ্ঘয়তে গিরিম্ ।
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে শ্রীগুরুং দীনতারণম্ ॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam

'The dumb can speak, the lame can climb a hill—all it takes is mercy from Gurudev."

(Bhavartha Dipika)

I am giving my full obeisance at the lotus feet of my beloved Gurudev Om Vishnupad Jagad-guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and I am giving my full humble obeisance to all my guru-varga, especially today. It is a very nice, a very happy day, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, who is the dearmost servitor of Lord Sri Krishna. Actually, Gurudev is non-different from Srimati Radharani. Both Gurudev and Srimati Radharani are associates of Lord Sri Krishna. So, I am giving my full obeisance to them very carefully (vando muni savadhana mate; বন্দোঁ মুঞি সাবধান মতে). We must always worship Radharani's lotus feet very carefully. Sri Uddhav Maharaj says in Srimad Bhagavatam that we must be very careful about Vraja-gopis' footdust. Uddhav Maharaj said, 'I cannot worship Vraja-gopis' lotus feet. I can only worship their footdust.' These are the words of Uddhav Maharaj, who is closest friend of Lord Sri Krishna. Worshipping Vaikuntha Narayan, worshipping Mathura Krishna, worshipping Dvaraka Krishna is not same as worshipping Vrindavan Krishna. What is the real mood of Srimati Radharani? And why is it not described in Srimad Bhagavatam? Why is Her Name not mentioned anywhere in Srimad Bhagavatam? This question can come.

[His Divine Grace reads from Guidance 3.]

Sri Radha is the only worshippable Deity of Gaudiya Vaishnavs—we say 'the only' because if it had not been for the Gaudiya line, no one would have been able to get the qualification to serve Sri Radha, nor would anyone have had any appreciation for it. The Lord of the Gaudiyas (Gaudiyanath) has revealed to the world the deepest secret of this service and worship:

prema namadbhutarthah sravana-patha-gatah kasya namnam mahimnah
ko vetta kasya vrndavana-vipina-maha madhurisu pravesah
ko va janati radham parama-rasa-chamatkara-madhurya-simlam
ekas chaitanya-chandrah parama-karunaya sarvam avischakara

(Sri Chaitanya-chandramrta, 10.130)

"Would anyone have heard that 'prema' (divine love of God) is the highest destination? Would anyone have known the glory of the Holy Name? Would anyone have had access to the kadamba forests of Vrindavan, filled with unfathomable sweetness? Would anyone have known Sri Varsabhanavi (Sri Radha, the highest worshippable Deity), who is the resplendent embodiment of superb excellence of sweet ecstatic love (madhurya-mahabhav)? Sri Chaitanya-chandra has revealed all this manifesting His supreme magnanimous pastimes."

Srila Prabhupad laid a special stress on this and expressed it in very appropriate Gaudiya terms and conclusions. Unless we serve the transcendental Govardhan, we will not be able to realise the supremacy of Sri Radha Kunda that lies beside Govardhan and is inundated with the nectar of divine love. 'Go' means senses or knowledge. If you serve the external, physical Govardhan, i.e. cultivate knowledge merely to increase or indulge your selfish material senses, then you are actually dunking yourself into the waters of Niraya Kunda (Hell Pond) that is created by the mahamaya, the external shadow-potency of Sri Radha; only when you foster transcendental senses and cultivate transcendental knowledge can you consider it service to Govardhan for the pleasure of Krishna's senses. When the demon Aristasur attacks Govardhan with his horns, trying to expand his own enjoyment (when mundane rationalism attacks theism and is about to destroy the truth of five spiritual relationships with the Lord: namely, neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood and consorthood), then Krishna kills this demon and establishes the truth. When the bull-demon Aristasur was slain, an elderly gopi named Madanika handed Sri Radhika Sundari over to Krishna as a reward for that.

Aristasur assumes the form of a bull. 'Go' (a cow) is considered among religious-minded people to be a symbol of dharma, religion, and it is also known as the carrier of Lord Rudra, who is in charge of universal annihilation. So, when the bull-demon of rationalism comes to charge the banner of religion, Krishna destroys this promoter of rationalism.

Gopis spoke about Radharani, the main heroine of Srimad Bhagavatam, in this way:

anayaradhito nyunam bhagavan harir-isvarah
yan no vihaya govindah prito yam anayad rahah

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.30.24)

"My friend! Krishna has abandoned us and took Her to a secluded place. She must have worshipped the Supreme Lord very much." The hidden meaning of these words is that because She is the crest jewel among all the beloved of Krishna, Her name is Radhika.

To the south of Nandisvara Hill there is a beautiful mountain called Varasanu. A king of cowherds Vrisabhanu with his virtuous spouse Krtika lived there, on the plateau of this Varasanu Hill, worshipping the Lord. On the eighth day of the bright moon in the month of Bhadra, in the naksatra called Visakha, at midday, a precious jewel-daughter appeared in the house of Raja Vrisabhanu, illuminating the house, the town and all the ten directions. Overwhelmed with joy, Goparaj Vrisabhanu, Ratnabhanu and Subhanu, the three brothers who stayed in Vrisabhanupur, began to dance. Greatly fortunate Krtika was beside herself with joy when she saw her budding moon-like daughter. A wave of joy engulfed Surapur and Vrajapur. This transcendental jewel of a daughter became renowned as Vrisabhanu-nandini Sri Radhika.

Jay Sri Radharani ki jay.

More is written here, but I know that you do not have time because it is the time for the evening arati for you and you must join it.

Devotee: The devotee is asking if you could say again what her name was.

Jagamohini. It is Radharani's Name. Jagamohini means She who can convert, who can attract, or capture, the whole world.

All right, I was very happy to see you all. Dandavat.

— : • : —

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