Free Mercy, Exclusive Rights

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Ekachakra Dham, 23 February 2021, part 6
Translated from Bengali

[His Divine Grace continues chanting 'Gurudev, bada krpa kara']

অমানী মানদ হইলে কীর্ত্তনে
অধিকার দিবে তুমি ।
তোমার চরণে নিষ্কপটে আমি
কাঁদিয়া লুটিব ভূমি ॥

amani manada haile kirtane
adhikara dibe tumi
tomara charane niskapate ami
kandiya lutiba bhumi

"When I become free from the desire for honour and be able to give honour to others, you will give me the right to chant Your kirtan. I will earnestly roll on the ground and cry at Your holy feet."

When will you give me the right to chant kirtan? When I become free from desire for any honour and when I give honour to others. I told you yesterday—who has the right to chant kirtan?

তৃণাধিক হীন দীন অকিঞ্চন ছার ।
আপনে মানবি সদা ছাড়ি অহঙ্কার ॥

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

"Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean."

বৃক্ষসম ক্ষমাগুণ করবি সাধন ।
প্রতিহিংসা ত্যজি অন্যে করবি পালন ॥

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

"Practise tolerance like a tree. Stop ill-treating others, instead nurture them."

জীবন-নির্ব্বাহে আনে উদ্বেগ না দিবে ।
পর-উপকারে নিজ-সুখ পাসরিবে ॥

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

"Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others."

Those who have these qualities have the right to chant kirtan. These verses are written in the Siksastaka songs as a purport to Mahaprabhu's sloka,

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।
অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.239)

Read the Siksastaka kirtans, you will like what is written there.

So, it is said here, "Tomara charane niskapate ami kandiya lutiba bhumi. I will earnestly roll on the ground and cry at Your holy feet"—"Prabhu, O Vaishnav Thakur! I will always stay at your holy feet." We do not do or say this to impress others, it is necessary to say this from your heart. "I am your footdust." What does it mean to become footdust? It means to take the dust from the holy feet of Vaishnavs on our heads. This is so beautfiul.

Doyal Vaishnav Thakur! Doyal Vaishnav Thakur!
Doyal Vaishnav Thakur! Doyal Vaishnav Thakur!

[His Divine Grace then chants "Akrodha paramananda Nityananda Raya," "Yadi Gaura na haite."]

Have you heard what Sri Vasu Ghosh is saying in this kirtan?

যদি গৌর না হ'ত তবে কি হইত
কেমনে ধরিতাম দে ।
রাধার মহিমা প্রেমরস-সীমা
জগতে জানাত কে ? ॥

yadi gaura na ha'ta tabe ki ha-ita
kemane dharitam de
radhara mahima, prema-rasa-sima
jagate janata ke?

"If Gaura had not come, then what would have happened? How would we have maintained our lives? Who would have revealed to the world Radha's glory and the extremes of Her ecstatic divine love?"

(Srila Vasudev Ghosh Thakur)

This glory of Srimati Radharani is not found anywhere in Srimad Bhagavatam. Do you know why? Vyasadev and Sukadev thought, "The glory of Sri Radha is so high that somebody like me has no capacity to speak about it with this mouth." That is why there is not even a single mention of Srimati Radharani in Srimad Bhagavatam. This is such a high topic, but our devotees go to Vrindavan, put tilaks, hang a cloth on their necks and go about saying, "Jay Radhe!"

Mahaprabhu said, "Mukhe bole ra-ra-ra, dui nayane bahe dhara (মুখে বলে রা-রা-রা- দুই নয়নে বহে ধারা)"—those who behold Srimati Radharani cannot even pronounce Her Name, they keep saying "Ra-Ra-Ra." Mahaprabhu could not even pronounce Her Name! He only cried and said, "Ra-Ra-Ra..." He is Radha-Krishna's combined form, but even He could not utter Her Name. Krishna took Srimati Radharani's heart and halo, and what remained of Her was taken by Gadadhar Pandit (that is why he is called Sri Radha's incarnation).

Later, when Krishna left for Mathura, or Dvaraka, the gopis one day came to meet with Krishna at Kuruksetra (many of you have visited Kuruksetra and know where it is). During solar eclipses, people come in throngs to bathe in a pond there. So, the gopis also came there from Vrindavan on the pretext of bathing—actually, they came to see Krishna. Yet when they saw Krishna, their mind was not satisfied. They said, "Our Krishna and this Krishna is not the same! Where is that Krishna who wore a peacock feather, played the flute, etc.?" Krishna had come there as a king, surrounded by His soldiers and seated on a royal throne. So, when the gopis met with Krishna, they started pulling Him back to Vrindavan, saying, "Come with us! We are taking You with us!" When we come for the Ratha-yatra and chant kirtan as the chariots move, what do we say? "Hari bolo, Hari bolo, Vrindavane niye cholo! Come with us to Vrindavan!" There is Nilachal and Sundarachal—Nilachal is Puri, and Sundarachal is Gundicha temple. This is how the gopis took Krishna from Kuruksetra to Vrindavan.

Gauranga Mahaprabhu came to show Sri Radha's mood of union in separation. There is always more pleasure and happiness in separation than in union. Always remember this.

মধুর বৃন্দা বিপিন-মাধুরী
প্রবেশ চাতুরী সার ।
বরজ-যুবতী ভাবের ভকতি
শকতি হইত কার ? ॥

madhura vrnda- vipina madhuri
pravesa chaturi sara
varaja-yuvati bhavera bhakati
sakati ha-ita kara?

Who would have the great expertise needed to enter into the sweetness of sweet Vrindavan? Who would have any qualification for the Vraja-gopis' ecstatic devotion?

These are very beautiful words.

গাও পুনঃ পুনঃ গৌরাঙ্গের গুণ
সরল করিয়া মন ।
এ ভব-সাগরে এমন দয়াল
না দেখিয়ে একজন ॥

gao punah punah gaurangera guna
sarala kariya mana
e bhava-sagare emana dayala
na dekhiye eka-jana

Sing Gauranga's glories again and again, keeping your heart simple. In the ocean of this material world, no one has ever seen anyone so merciful.

There is no one as merciful as He!

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য-দয়া করহ বিচার ।
বিচার করিলে চিত্তে পাবে চমৎকার ॥

sri-krsna-chaitanya-daya karaha vichara
vichara karile chitte pabe chamatkara

"If you consider the mercy of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, you will be wonder-struck to realise it."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.15)

Nobody in this world has ever given as much mercy as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did. To rescue such low and fallen souls as ourselves, He came to this world performing human pastimes. He went door to door calling out to everyone,

জীব জাগ, জীব জাগ, গোরাচাঁদ বলে ।
কত নিদ্রা যাও মায়া-পিশাচীর কোলে ॥

jiva jago, jiva jago, gorachanda bale
kata nidra yao maya-pisachira kole

Sri Gorachand calls, “O souls, awake! O souls, awake! How long will you sleep on the lap of the witch Maya?

"Do not sleep, O jiva soul! Wake up!"

পিশাচী পাইলে যেন মতিচ্ছন্ন হয় ।

মায়াগ্রস্ত জীবের হয় সে ভাব উদয় ॥

pisachi paile yena mati-chchhanna haya
maya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya

"When someone is possessed by a ghost, they become bewildered. This condition overtakes souls bound by Maya."

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, 6.3)

When a ghost possesses someone, they talk gibberish, "My house, my room, my son, my family," but we do not understand that we only keep floundering in this ocean of material existence...

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