Sikshastakam


I wrote these "Sikshastakam" purports while living in India as a renunciate in the early 1970s. They were originally published in "Back to Godhead". I re-edited and updated them. "Sikshastakam" is a collection of eight verses which summarize the teachings of Krishna Chaitanya, whom his followers consider to be the incarnation of the divine couple, Radha Krishna, in one body. He lived in India, 1486-1534. He taught us how to love God and follow the path of devotional service, through his example as well as the extensive teachings he provided his disciples. Click to email me.	Sikshastakam Translated by Jan Brzezinski (Jagadananda Das) Purports by Steve Bohlert (Subal Das) 1. All glories to Sri Krishna sankirtan! It cleans the mirror of the mind; It extinguishes the blazing conflagration of material life; It spreads the moon rays that make the white lotus of auspiciousness bloom; It is the life of spiritual knowledge; It increases the ocean of divine ecstasy and at every moment gives a full taste of ambrosia, bathing the entire soul. PURPORT: The conditioned soul is covered from time immemorial by the dirt of the accumulated reactions of one’s sinful activities. Due to the reactions of one’s past sins or bad karma, one becomes further engaged in sinful activities and becomes more and more forgetful of one’s constitutional position as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. Due to forgetfulness of one’s spiritual nature, one identifies oneself with the temporary material body and its paraphernalia. Thus, rather than serving Radha Krishna in loving devotion, one is forced to serve maya, the limited mundane potency of God-dess. The living being is never independent in any stage of existence, either conditioned or liberated, but when one is under the control of maya, one suffers, and when one is under the control of Radha Krishna, one enjoys life in the association of God-dess and God-dess’ devotees. Radha Krishna sankirtan, or the congregational chanting of the holy names of God-dess, is able to immediately cleanse the heart of all the dirt that accumulates there for millions of years. This is the result of just the dim reflection of the holy name. During the night, there is fear of thieves, ghosts, murderers, etc. In the morning, before the sun even rises on the horizon, it dispels all such fears by its first rays of light. In the same way, before the holy name makes its full appearance, it dispels the darkness of material ignorance and clears away heaps of sinful activities which have not yet manifested themselves. Thus, one is freed from karmic reaction and placed on the liberated platform of life. In this way, the door to devotional service is opened. The sankirtan movement inaugurated by Krishna Chaitanya about 500 years ago is a practical way of achieving success in spiritual life is by the congregational chanting of the holy name of God (sankirtan). The simplest and most effective means of reaching God-dess is utterance of the holy names--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Rupa Goswami prays to Chaitanya as follows: "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other incarnation, even Krishna himself, because he is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given--pure love of Krishna." All over the universe, Krishna is worshiped with awe and reverence, but such worship does not satisfy him. He is actually attracted by the spontaneous, loving service rendered to him by the residents of Vrindaban. Seeing that they had not bestowed such loving service upon the world for a long time, God-dess came in their devotional aspect of Krishna Chaitanya and bestowed pure love of Radha Krishna upon the world by means of the sankirtan movement. He personally inaugurated this Radha Krishna sankirtan and flooded the whole universe with love of God-dess. This movement is going on still, and it gives us realization of a transcendental life full of bliss and knowledge in eternity. It also allows us to enter into the loving exchanges of Radha Krishna in Vrindaban. 2. You have expanded your names into so many forms And in them, you have invested all your personal potencies; no rules have been made about when one can remember them. Such, O Lord, is the greatness of your mercy, and yet my misfortune is such that I have developed no attraction for them. PURPORT: There is no need to take to any process of spiritual realization other than recitation of the holy names. In the Vedanta-sutras, Fourth Chapter, 4th adhikarana, 22nd sutra, it is stated, "By sound vibration one becomes liberated." Simply by chanting the holy names constantly, one can go to God-dess and never have to return to this material world. It is also stated in Bhagavad-gita, Eleventh Chapter, 36th verse: "The world becomes joyful hearing your name, and thus do all become attached to you." Thus, Arjuna also accepts the potency of the holy name. In the Narada-pancaratra, it is stated that all the Vedic rituals, mantras and understanding are compressed into the eight words Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Similarly, in the Kali-santarana Upanishad, it is stated that these sixteen words, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, are especially meant for counteracting the degrading and contaminating influence of the materialistic age of Kali. In the Brihan-naradiya Purana, it is clearly stated that it is only chanting of the holy name of Hari (Krishna) that can save people from the problems of materialistic existence, and there is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative in this age of Kali. This automatically eliminates the usefulness of the processes karma, jnana and yoga. Therefore, this chanting process is the simple and sublime process of achieving the desired goal of life. God-dess has thousands and millions of names for this purpose. Any name of God-dess will do, but the ecstatic method, the easiest means for most people, is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If one feels that this is a sectarian name and prefers to chant any other name of God-dess, that is fine. The holy names of Radha Krishna are non-different from Radha Krishna. In the material world, we find a difference between the name and the object. If we are thirsty and simply chant "water, water, water, water," it will not satisfy us. But, if we want Krishna and chant "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna," he is personally present in his name, and we can feel the presence of God-dess even in the beginning stages of chanting the holy name. As one becomes more advanced in uttering the holy names, one can see Radha Krishna dancing on one’s tongue. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krishna says to Narada, "I am not in the hearts of the yogis, nor am I in Vaikuntha, but, O Narada, I am present wherever my devotees are engaged in chanting my holy name." There are no hard and fast rules for chanting the holy names of Radha Krishna. Anyone can chant, anywhere, at any time. The chanting may be done loudly or softly, alone or in a group. Thus, one can chant in the temple, while walking down the street, while working in the office, while attending school--even in dream one can chant Hare Krishna. In this way, twenty-four hours a day, one should engage in chanting the holy names. This does not mean that one must give up other activities, but whatever one is doing one should do in full consciousness of Radha Krishna. Thus, the path of God-dess realization is made easy and open to all. If one sincerely takes to the chanting of the holy names with determination, one will become quickly purified and develop love of God-dess. 3. One who is lower than even the grass, who is as tolerant as the tree, who has no desire for personal honor but is ready to give honor to all others, can sing the glories of the Lord constantly. PURPORT: It is only when we realize how truly insignificant and helpless we are that we can call upon the mercy of the All-merciful with true sincerity. The living being is an atomic particle of the Absolute. We have the same qualities as the Absolute but in minute quantity. It is said that if the living beings were all-pervading like God-dess, there would be no question of their being overcome by maya. God-dess remains the supreme controller, but the living beings are eternally controlled. In the Upanishads, the measurement of the spirit soul is given as one ten thousandth part the tip of a hair. In this respect, we actually are lower than the straw in the street. When we understand this in reality and give up the false notion of over-lordship, then we can surrender ourselves to God-dess in true humility. One who tries to approach God-dess but is puffed up by false prestige due to good birth, beauty, wealth and education will surely fail to evoke the true mercy of the All-merciful. What is the value of our offerings? What is our own value? Radha Krishna can create anything at will to fulfill any desire they may possess. Yet Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that if someone offers him a leaf, a flower, fruit or even a glass of water, he accepts this offering if it is made with love. Radha Krishna want our love, not our offerings. The most valuable offering made without love will not be accepted, but the simplest offering made with real love and devotion will be accepted by them. Sanatan Goswami lived in Vrindaban and kept his deity, Madan-mohan, hanging in a tree. One day, Madan-mohan spoke to Sanatan Goswami and said, "All you offer me is these dry chapatis, and there isn't even any salt. How can I eat?" Sanatan said, "I am an old man and cannot move. Whatever I get I offer to you. So kindly accept." Madan-mohan had to accept those dry chapatis because they were offered by his devotee with love. We are dealing with Radha Krishna, so we should not become puffed up. Radha Krishna do not like their devotees to be proud. A true devotee sees everyone as part and parcel of Radha Krishna and offers all respects to them as parts of the Supreme. If we love Radha Krishna, automatically we love all their parts and parcels. We cannot approach Radha Krishna directly, but through their devotees they can be approached. Therefore, Krishna says in the Adi Purana, "One who claims to be my devotee is not my devotee. But one who claims to be the devotee of my devotee is actually my devotee." Therefore, devotees of God-dess are to be treated with all due respect, and one should not desire to be honored by others above the devotees of the Lord. The Bhagavatam says, "One who worships God but abstains on principle from worshiping the devotees of God is not a worshiper of God but an abject sinner.” Real devotees are busy finding their own defects so they can correct them. Therefore, they have no time to find the faults of others. Maha-bhagavatas, great devotees, see everyone as being more devoted than themselves. As it is said, "The greatest thinks oneself the lowest." Nor is a mere outward show of humility the real quality of humility that is needed for progress in devotional service. Devotees, therefore, always keep themselves in a humble state of mind by constantly remembering the lotus feet of Gurudeva (the spiritual master). This can save us from all danger. In addition, one must be more tolerant than a tree. The tree must tolerate extremes of heat and cold, rain and drought and the offenses of so many living creatures. When one takes to Radha Krishna consciousness, it is expected that they will receive abuse from many people and have to undergo many hardships in the execution of their devotional service. Prahlad Maharaj was just a five-year-old boy, and simply because of his becoming a devotee of Krishna, his father became his number one enemy and tried to kill him in many ways. Prahlad simply tolerated all attacks by remembering his God. Of course, Krishna always saved him and ultimately came as Lord Nrisingha-deva to kill the demon father Hiranyakasipu. Whenever devotees are in difficulty, they take shelter of Radha Krishna. God-dess takes special notice of a devotee who undergoes all difficulties in God-dess’ service. Srimati Kunti Devi and her five sons, the Pandavas, were placed in many difficulties by Duryodhan and his party. But, in feelingly offering her prayers to Krishna, she said, “I wish that all those calamities might happen again and again so that we could also see You again and again, for this means that we would no more see repeated birth and death." Thus, the devotee is always dependent upon the mercy of God-dess. When devotees are in difficulty, they think it is due to their past sinful actions and Radha Krishna kindly minimized their suffering, otherwise they would deserve to suffer much more. For such a devotee, there is never a lapse in their remembrance of Krishna. They are able to chant the holy name of God-dess constantly and remember the transcendental form, pastimes, entourage, etc. of God-dess. Thus they become happy in their life and are assured of going back to Godhead in the very near future, never again to return to this world of repeated birth and death. 4. I ask not for wealth, nor followers, Nor beautiful women, nor for poetry or wisdom. All I ask, O Lord of the Universe, is that I may have unmotivated devotion to you, God, birth after birth. PURPORT There are three kinds of happiness, namely (1) material happiness, (2) the happiness of liberation in impersonal Brahman, and (3) the happiness of devotional service. Pure devotees have no desire for material happiness or impersonal liberation because they are fully absorbed in the bliss of devotional service, which by far surpasses all other forms of happiness. Of course, pure spiritual bliss cannot be fully experienced as long as we are still in a material body, and as long as we are embodied, there are material needs to satisfy. Some gurus over emphasize the necessity of being a renunciate in order to achieve pure devotional service. However, Chaitanya had many married followers. We should enjoy material happiness in a detached manner without excessive striving to attain it. The conditioned soul hankers after wealth, sex and followers. Devotees realize the temporary nature of such happiness and therefore do not strongly desire it because they are fixed in the eternal bliss of devotion... the pleasure of which is unimaginable to the materialist. Because they experience a higher taste, they no longer foremost desire the mixed pleasures of the material world. The desire for merging in Brahman (the impersonal Absolute) is another form of material desire. When someone is frustrated in their attempts at sense gratification, they desire to become one with God. This is simply an extension of the material concept because in the material world everyone tries to become God in one form or another. This form of liberation is also temporary. Due to its being an unconstitutional position of the spirit soul, devoid of all forms of variegatedness, there is every chance of falling down again into material existence. Because the seed of desire remains within the heart of the soul, the living being must again return to the material world due to lack of realization of spiritual variegatedness, which is only knowable by devotional service. Therefore, the devotee considers such liberation to be most insignificant and will not accept it even if it is offered by God-dess. In fact, such liberation is considered to be worse than hell by the devotee because there is no opportunity to remember Radha Krishna and serve them in such a state of existence. There are four other types of liberation which are compatible with devotional service, namely (1) to have the same bodily form as God-dess, (2) to live on the same planet as them, (3) to have the same opulence as God-dess and (4) to live near them. Pure devotees do not even aspire for these four kinds of liberation. They simply desire to be able to serve Radha Krishna birth after birth. They are already liberated although seemingly in the material world. In his prayers to Lord Krishna, Lord Brahma says: "A person who is already engaged in your service sees no meaning in so-called liberation and bondage, just as a person who knows that a rope is not a snake is not afraid of it. A devotee knows this material world belongs to God and engages everything in God’s transcendental loving service. Thus there is no bondage.” The devotee's only desire is to be able to serve Radha Krishna without any personal motivation. One is even prepared to go to hell for the service of God-dess. That is real devotion. 5. O Krishna, son of Nanda, I am your eternal servant, but I have fallen into this dreadful ocean of material existence. Please be merciful and think of me as a speck of dust at your lotus feet. PURPORT: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Radha Krishna, but in order to teach us the way of devotional service, he speaks like a conditioned soul. Krishna came at the end of Dvapara-yuga and spoke Bhagavad Gita for the enlightenment of all living beings. However, many people misunderstood his teachings, and therefore, he came again in Kali-yuga as Chaitanya to show us by his own personal example how to live Bhagavad Gita. Krishna came in blackish color and manifested himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Krishna Chaitanya came in golden color in the garb of a devotee and never allowed himself to be called God, although he actually was God-dess. Because Krishna appeared in his original human-like form and declared himself to be the Supreme, many people mistook him to be a man and thought they were God also. Chaitanya wanted to teach us that humans should never think of themselves as God or allow oneself to be addressed as such. If the teacher shows the student how to practice writing the alphabet by their example, we should not think that the teacher is doing it to learn themself. Although Chaitanya posed as a devotee of God-dess, he is understood by advanced transcendentalists to be God-dess. If in trying to get free of material bondage, one falsely declares oneself God, that is the last snare of maya. Therefore, Chaitanya humbly prays for the mercy of Radha Krishna. Krishna likes to be addressed in connection with his devotee; therefore he is called the son of Maharaj Nanda, Yasoda-nandana, Radha-ramana, etc. The living entities are eternally servants of God-dess, but when they are placed in the material world they forget their constitutional position. When by the good association of a pure devotee of God-dess, the conditioned souls become aware of their real position and pray for the mercy of God-dess to allow them to engage in God-dess’ service. The Hare Krishna mantra--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is an ideal prayer in this regard. It can be translated as follows: "O energy of God, Srimati Radharani! O Supreme Lord Krishna! I am very tired of serving the inferior material nature. Please allow me to be engaged in your loving service once again." Everyone must serve. Either we serve Radha Krishna or we serve maya. If we serve maya, she simply kicks us in return, but if we serve Radha Krishna, we gain the highest happiness. 6. When will my eyes be filled with tears my throat blocked with a faltering voice and all the hairs on my body stand erect as I chant your holy name? PURPORT: When Chaitanya questioned his spiritual master on the effect of chanting the holy names, the spiritual master said: "It is the transcendental nature of the holy names of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare to transport a person into spiritual madness. Anyone who sincerely chants the holy name is actually elevated very soon onto the platform of love of God, and therefore, they become mad after Krishna. This madness of love of God is the first perfectional stage of the human being." This is the stage of ecstasy known as bhava, and it is manifested outwardly by certain bodily symptoms such as crying, choking up of the voice, bodily perturbations, laughing, dancing, falling on the ground, etc. The disciple receives the transcendental sound vibration from the spiritual master through aural reception. If the disciple follows in the footsteps of the spiritual master and chants the holy name with great faith and sincerity under the order and protection of the spiritual master and avoids the ten kinds of offenses in chanting the holy names, they will come to the perfectional stage without a doubt. One should be very eager to make progress to this stage, but it is not to be imitated artificially. It will come of its own accord as one progresses in love of God-dess. Chaitanya was always absorbed in the highest ecstasy of love of God-dess, but he warns against those who make a cheap show of ecstasy in order to fool the innocent public. A real devotee is never fooled by such cheap show bottle displays. One who is in the stage of bhava is free from all material contaminations, and therefore their character is spotless. In fact, the real devotee does not like to display symptoms of ecstasy before the general public because they do not understand such manifestations. 7. A blink of the eyes has become equal to an age, my eyes have become like monsoon clouds, and the entire universe has become void to me in the absence of Govinda. PURPORT: There is an exoteric and an esoteric reason for the advent of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The exoteric reason for his advent is the propagation of the holy sankirtan movement which is the yuga-dharma or prescribed spiritual engagement for this age of Kali. The esoteric reason is quite different. Chaitanya propagated the Sri Krishna Sankirtan for the benefit of all living entities, but he came for a purpose of his own also. Jiva Gosvami writes in his work Gopala-campu, "The pleasures of enjoyment of the rasa (mellow devotional relationship) could not be had in their entirety in the pastimes of Krishna in Vraja. Krishna accepts the emotion and effulgence of his predominated moiety, Sri Radhika, and makes an eternal pastime for the enjoyment of Krishna-rasa. Sri Krishna-candra, coveting to taste and realize the following pleasures--viz., (1) the nature of the greatness of the love of Sri Radha, (2) the nature of the wonderful sweetness of his love which Sri Radha tastes, (3) the nature of the exquisite joy that accrues to Sri Radha by her realization of the sweetness of his love--took birth, like the moon in the ocean, in the womb of Sri Saci Devi." When Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya were discussing transcendental subjects on the bank of the Godavari, Ramananda Raya said, "Sir, I may request that you don't try to hide yourself. I understand that you have accepted the complexion and mode of thinking of Srimati Radharani. You are trying to understand yourself from the viewpoint of Radharani, and you have advented yourself to take this point of view. Your incarnation is chiefly for understanding your own self, but side by side you are distributing love of Krishna to the world." Chaitanya then manifested his real form of Radha and Krishna before Ramananda. Ramananda Raya fainted in ecstasy. Chaitanya revived him, and he was surprised to see Chaitanya again in his mendicant dress. Chaitanya said to Ramananda, "You have understood the purpose of my incarnation and therefore you are privileged to see this particular feature of my personality. My dear Ramananda, I am not a different person with a fair complexion. I am the selfsame Krishna, son of Maharaja Nanda, and due to contact with the body of Srimati Radharani, I have now assumed this form. Srimati Radharani does not touch anyone else but Krishna, and therefore, Srimati Radharani has influenced me with her complexion, mind and words, and I am just trying to understand the transcendental flavor of Krishna's relationship with her." The fact is that both Radha Krishna and Chaitanya are the Original Personality of Godhead. In his form of Krishna, he is the Supreme Enjoyer, and in his form of Chaitanya, he is the Supreme Enjoyed. Persons who are fortunate enough to understand Chaitanya as well as the pastimes in Vrindaban of Radha Krishna can be able, by the mercy of Rupa Goswami, to know about the real identity of Krishna Chaitanya. In this verse, Chaitanya is absorbed in the feeling of Radha. When Krishna was absent from the company of the cowherd girls, or gopis, they keenly felt his separation and considered the world vacant in his absence. The gopis were completely dedicated to the service of Krishna. They had no other purpose in life, and of all the gopis, Radha is the foremost, being possessed of the highest love of God, which is known as mahabhava. To acquire this strong feeling of separation is the teaching of Chaitanya and the disciplic succession of Goswamis. When the gopis were not in physical contact with Krishna, they constantly remembered him along with his transcendental pastimes, qualities, name, etc. In this way, they could always be with Krishna because his transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc., are all non-different from him. Such devotees cannot live for a moment without remembering Radha Krishna. This is the highest perfectional level of love of God-dess, and by performing devotional service to Radha Krishna with feelings of separation one can attain the level of the gopis. 8. Krishna is a debauchee, who may tightly embrace me, who am devoted to his lotus feet, or who may torment my heart by never appearing before me. Whatever he decides to do with me, he is the lord of my life, and I will have no other. PURPORT: Chaitanya teaches us the highest love of Radha Krishna. The best mode of worship is that which is practiced by the gopis. The gopis are mad after Radha Krishna and them only. When Krishna played on his flute and called the gopis to him, they left everything--husbands, sons, fathers and mothers--and ran to Krishna, not caring for any impediments. Even after giving up everything for Krishna, Krishna left them, and they simply became mad after him. Once, Krishna was hiding from the gopis. As they searched for him everywhere, they came upon the spot where he was hiding, and Krishna assumed his four-armed form of Narayana in order to escape their detection. The gopis saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana standing there, offered their obeisances, and asked if he had seen Krishna anywhere. Then they went on searching for Krishna, not caring for the majestic opulence of Narayana. The pure devotee of Krishna knows that other forms such as Narayana, Rama, Nrisingha and Varaha are also God, but they are only attracted to the form of Radha Krishna, which is the original of all forms. In his Sri Brahma-samhita, Lord Brahma prays: "I worship Govinda, the Primeval Lord, who manifested himself personally as Krishna and the different avatars (incarnations) in the world in the forms of Rama, Nrisingha, Vamana, etc., as his subjective portions." His subjective portions as the avatars, viz., Rama, etc., appear from Vaikuntha (the majestic extension of the spiritual world), and his own form Krishna manifests in this world with Vraja (his abode) from Goloka (the original spiritual planet). Krishna is not an avatar, but he is the avatari, or source of all avatars. Brahma further explains this as follows: "The light of one candle, being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the Primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits himself equally in the same mobile manner in his various manifestations." Although all the subjective portions of Krishna as described above possess the same transcendental nature as Krishna and are the Godhead, Krishna possesses certain superexcellent qualities that are not found in his plenary portions. Chaitanya establishes exclusive devotion to Krishna, who is the fountainhead of all transcendental rasas, or mellow relationships, and is the lover of the gopis in Vraja. The gopis love Krishna no matter how he treats them. The gopis dedicated their lives to Krishna, but Krishna left them and went to Mathura, never to return again to Vrindavan. The gopis became brokenhearted and spent the rest of their lives feeling intense separation from Krishna and remembering him constantly. Their love for him did not diminish in the least, but it became even more intense. If a person has no money but after some time accumulates some wealth and then loses it, they will think of the lost property twenty-four hours a day. Similarly, in order to increase the love of his devotees, Krishna sometimes appears to be lost to them, and instead of forgetting him, they feel their loving sentiments for him increase. That is the way of real love. In spite of everything, the love goes on increasing. There is not the slightest tinge of selfish desire in the love affairs of Radha Krishna and the gopis. The gopis want only to serve Radha Krishna and satisfy their senses, and Radha Krishna want only to satisfy their devotees and reciprocate their love. When we are prepared to sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Radha Krishna, we will not be losers but will gain a million fold. Radha Krishna ever remain a debtor to one who sacrifices everything for them. While Chaitanya resided at Jagannatha Puri, he was constantly absorbed in these feelings of the gopis in separation from Krishna. He teaches this worship of Radha Krishna in separation as the highest perfection of Radha Krishna consciousness.
Copyright 2003-08 Steve Bohlert

Translated by Jan Brzezinski (Jagadananda Das)
Purports by Steve Bohlert (Subal Das)

1. All glories to Sri Krishna sankirtan!
It cleans the mirror of the mind;
It extinguishes the blazing conflagration of material life;
It spreads the moon rays that make
the white lotus of auspiciousness bloom;
It is the life of spiritual knowledge;
It increases the ocean of divine ecstasy
and at every moment gives a full taste of ambrosia,
bathing the entire soul.

PURPORT:

The conditioned soul is covered from time immemorial by the dirt of the accumulated reactions of one’s sinful activities. Due to the reactions of one’s past sins or bad karma, one becomes further engaged in sinful activities and becomes more and more forgetful of one’s constitutional position as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna.

Due to forgetfulness of one’s spiritual nature, one identifies oneself with the temporary material body and its paraphernalia. Thus, rather than serving Radha Krishna in loving devotion, one is forced to serve maya, the limited mundane potency of God-dess. The living being is never independent in any stage of existence, either conditioned or liberated, but when one is under the control of maya, one suffers, and when one is under the control of Radha Krishna, one enjoys life in the association of God-dess and God-dess’ devotees.

Radha Krishna sankirtan, or the congregational chanting of the holy names of God-dess, is able to immediately cleanse the heart of all the dirt that accumulates there for millions of years. This is the result of just the dim reflection of the holy name. During the night, there is fear of thieves, ghosts, murderers, etc. In the morning, before the sun even rises on the horizon, it dispels all such fears by its first rays of light.

In the same way, before the holy name makes its full appearance, it dispels the darkness of material ignorance and clears away heaps of sinful activities which have not yet manifested themselves. Thus, one is freed from karmic reaction and placed on the liberated platform of life. In this way, the door to devotional service is opened.

The sankirtan movement inaugurated by Krishna Chaitanya about 500 years ago is a practical way of achieving success in spiritual life is by the congregational chanting of the holy name of God (sankirtan). The simplest and most effective means of reaching God-dess is utterance of the holy names--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Rupa Goswami prays to Chaitanya as follows: "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other incarnation, even Krishna himself, because he is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given--pure love of Krishna."

All over the universe, Krishna is worshiped with awe and reverence, but such worship does not satisfy him. He is actually attracted by the spontaneous, loving service rendered to him by the residents of Vrindaban. Seeing that they had not bestowed such loving service upon the world for a long time, God-dess came in their devotional aspect of Krishna Chaitanya and bestowed pure love of Radha Krishna upon the world by means of the sankirtan movement.

He personally inaugurated this Radha Krishna sankirtan and flooded the whole universe with love of God-dess. This movement is going on still, and it gives us realization of a transcendental life full of bliss and knowledge in eternity. It also allows us to enter into the loving exchanges of Radha Krishna in Vrindaban.

2. You have expanded your names into so many forms
And in them, you have invested all your personal potencies;
no rules have been made about when one can remember them.
Such, O Lord, is the greatness of your mercy,
and yet my misfortune is such
that I have developed no attraction for them.

PURPORT:

There is no need to take to any process of spiritual realization other than recitation of the holy names. In the Vedanta-sutras, Fourth Chapter, 4th adhikarana, 22nd sutra, it is stated, "By sound vibration one becomes liberated." Simply by chanting the holy names constantly, one can go to God-dess and never have to return to this material world. It is also stated in Bhagavad-gita, Eleventh Chapter, 36th verse: "The world becomes joyful hearing your name, and thus do all become attached to you." Thus, Arjuna also accepts the potency of the holy name.

In the Narada-pancaratra, it is stated that all the Vedic rituals, mantras and understanding are compressed into the eight words Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Similarly, in the Kali-santarana Upanishad, it is stated that these sixteen words, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, are especially meant for counteracting the degrading and contaminating influence of the materialistic age of Kali.

In the Brihan-naradiya Purana, it is clearly stated that it is only chanting of the holy name of Hari (Krishna) that can save people from the problems of materialistic existence, and there is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative in this age of Kali. This automatically eliminates the usefulness of the processes karma, jnana and yoga. Therefore, this chanting process is the simple and sublime process of achieving the desired goal of life.

God-dess has thousands and millions of names for this purpose. Any name of God-dess will do, but the ecstatic method, the easiest means for most people, is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If one feels that this is a sectarian name and prefers to chant any other name of God-dess, that is fine.

The holy names of Radha Krishna are non-different from Radha Krishna. In the material world, we find a difference between the name and the object. If we are thirsty and simply chant "water, water, water, water," it will not satisfy us. But, if we want Krishna and chant "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna," he is personally present in his name, and we can feel the presence of God-dess even in the beginning stages of chanting the holy name. As one becomes more advanced in uttering the holy names, one can see Radha Krishna dancing on one’s tongue. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krishna says to Narada, "I am not in the hearts of the yogis, nor am I in Vaikuntha, but, O Narada, I am present wherever my devotees are engaged in chanting my holy name."

There are no hard and fast rules for chanting the holy names of Radha Krishna. Anyone can chant, anywhere, at any time. The chanting may be done loudly or softly, alone or in a group. Thus, one can chant in the temple, while walking down the street, while working in the office, while attending school--even in dream one can chant Hare Krishna.

In this way, twenty-four hours a day, one should engage in chanting the holy names. This does not mean that one must give up other activities, but whatever one is doing one should do in full consciousness of Radha Krishna. Thus, the path of God-dess realization is made easy and open to all. If one sincerely takes to the chanting of the holy names with determination, one will become quickly purified and develop love of God-dess.

3. One who is lower than even the grass,
who is as tolerant as the tree,
who has no desire for personal honor
but is ready to give honor to all others,
can sing the glories of the Lord constantly.

PURPORT:

It is only when we realize how truly insignificant and helpless we are that we can call upon the mercy of the All-merciful with true sincerity. The living being is an atomic particle of the Absolute. We have the same qualities as the Absolute but in minute quantity. It is said that if the living beings were all-pervading like God-dess, there would be no question of their being overcome by maya. God-dess remains the supreme controller, but the living beings are eternally controlled.

In the Upanishads, the measurement of the spirit soul is given as one ten thousandth part the tip of a hair. In this respect, we actually are lower than the straw in the street. When we understand this in reality and give up the false notion of over-lordship, then we can surrender ourselves to God-dess in true humility.

One who tries to approach God-dess but is puffed up by false prestige due to good birth, beauty, wealth and education will surely fail to evoke the true mercy of the All-merciful. What is the value of our offerings? What is our own value? Radha Krishna can create anything at will to fulfill any desire they may possess. Yet Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that if someone offers him a leaf, a flower, fruit or even a glass of water, he accepts this offering if it is made with love. Radha Krishna want our love, not our offerings. The most valuable offering made without love will not be accepted, but the simplest offering made with real love and devotion will be accepted by them.

Sanatan Goswami lived in Vrindaban and kept his deity, Madan-mohan, hanging in a tree. One day, Madan-mohan spoke to Sanatan Goswami and said, "All you offer me is these dry chapatis, and there isn't even any salt. How can I eat?" Sanatan said, "I am an old man and cannot move. Whatever I get I offer to you. So kindly accept." Madan-mohan had to accept those dry chapatis because they were offered by his devotee with love. We are dealing with Radha Krishna, so we should not become puffed up. Radha Krishna do not like their devotees to be proud.

A true devotee sees everyone as part and parcel of Radha Krishna and offers all respects to them as parts of the Supreme. If we love Radha Krishna, automatically we love all their parts and parcels.

We cannot approach Radha Krishna directly, but through their devotees they can be approached. Therefore, Krishna says in the Adi Purana, "One who claims to be my devotee is not my devotee. But one who claims to be the devotee of my devotee is actually my devotee." Therefore, devotees of God-dess are to be treated with all due respect, and one should not desire to be honored by others above the devotees of the Lord.

The Bhagavatam says, "One who worships God but abstains on principle from worshiping the devotees of God is not a worshiper of God but an abject sinner.” Real devotees are busy finding their own defects so they can correct them. Therefore, they have no time to find the faults of others. Maha-bhagavatas, great devotees, see everyone as being more devoted than themselves. As it is said, "The greatest thinks oneself the lowest."

Nor is a mere outward show of humility the real quality of humility that is needed for progress in devotional service. Devotees, therefore, always keep themselves in a humble state of mind by constantly remembering the lotus feet of Gurudeva (the spiritual master). This can save us from all danger.

In addition, one must be more tolerant than a tree. The tree must tolerate extremes of heat and cold, rain and drought and the offenses of so many living creatures. When one takes to Radha Krishna consciousness, it is expected that they will receive abuse from many people and have to undergo many hardships in the execution of their devotional service.

Prahlad Maharaj was just a five-year-old boy, and simply because of his becoming a devotee of Krishna, his father became his number one enemy and tried to kill him in many ways. Prahlad simply tolerated all attacks by remembering his God. Of course, Krishna always saved him and ultimately came as Lord Nrisingha-deva to kill the demon father Hiranyakasipu.

Whenever devotees are in difficulty, they take shelter of Radha Krishna. God-dess takes special notice of a devotee who undergoes all difficulties in God-dess’ service. Srimati Kunti Devi and her five sons, the Pandavas, were placed in many difficulties by Duryodhan and his party. But, in feelingly offering her prayers to Krishna, she said, “I wish that all those calamities might happen again and again so that we could also see You again and again, for this means that we would no more see repeated birth and death." Thus, the devotee is always dependent upon the mercy of God-dess.

When devotees are in difficulty, they think it is due to their past sinful actions and Radha Krishna kindly minimized their suffering, otherwise they would deserve to suffer much more. For such a devotee, there is never a lapse in their remembrance of Krishna. They are able to chant the holy name of God-dess constantly and remember the transcendental form, pastimes, entourage, etc. of God-dess. Thus they become happy in their life and are assured of going back to Godhead in the very near future, never again to return to this world of repeated birth and death.

4. I ask not for wealth, nor followers,
Nor beautiful women, nor for poetry or wisdom.
All I ask, O Lord of the Universe,
is that I may have unmotivated devotion
to you, God, birth after birth.

PURPORT

There are three kinds of happiness, namely (1) material happiness, (2) the happiness of liberation in impersonal Brahman, and (3) the happiness of devotional service. Pure devotees have no desire for material happiness or impersonal liberation because they are fully absorbed in the bliss of devotional service, which by far surpasses all other forms of happiness.

Of course, pure spiritual bliss cannot be fully experienced as long as we are still in a material body, and as long as we are embodied, there are material needs to satisfy. Some gurus over emphasize the necessity of being a renunciate in order to achieve pure devotional service. However, Chaitanya had many married followers. We should enjoy material happiness in a detached manner without excessive striving to attain it.

The conditioned soul hankers after wealth, sex and followers. Devotees realize the temporary nature of such happiness and therefore do not strongly desire it because they are fixed in the eternal bliss of devotion... the pleasure of which is unimaginable to the materialist. Because they experience a higher taste, they no longer foremost desire the mixed pleasures of the material world.

The desire for merging in Brahman (the impersonal Absolute) is another form of material desire. When someone is frustrated in their attempts at sense gratification, they desire to become one with God. This is simply an extension of the material concept because in the material world everyone tries to become God in one form or another. This form of liberation is also temporary. Due to its being an unconstitutional position of the spirit soul, devoid of all forms of variegatedness, there is every chance of falling down again into material existence. Because the seed of desire remains within the heart of the soul, the living being must again return to the material world due to lack of realization of spiritual variegatedness, which is only knowable by devotional service.

Therefore, the devotee considers such liberation to be most insignificant and will not accept it even if it is offered by God-dess. In fact, such liberation is considered to be worse than hell by the devotee because there is no opportunity to remember Radha Krishna and serve them in such a state of existence.

There are four other types of liberation which are compatible with devotional service, namely (1) to have the same bodily form as God-dess, (2) to live on the same planet as them, (3) to have the same opulence as God-dess and (4) to live near them. Pure devotees do not even aspire for these four kinds of liberation.

They simply desire to be able to serve Radha Krishna birth after birth. They are already liberated although seemingly in the material world. In his prayers to Lord Krishna, Lord Brahma says: "A person who is already engaged in your service sees no meaning in so-called liberation and bondage, just as a person who knows that a rope is not a snake is not afraid of it. A devotee knows this material world belongs to God and engages everything in God’s transcendental loving service. Thus there is no bondage.”

The devotee's only desire is to be able to serve Radha Krishna without any personal motivation. One is even prepared to go to hell for the service of God-dess. That is real devotion.

5. O Krishna, son of Nanda, I am your eternal servant,
but I have fallen into this dreadful ocean of material existence.
Please be merciful and think of me
as a speck of dust at your lotus feet.

PURPORT:

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Radha Krishna, but in order to teach us the way of devotional service, he speaks like a conditioned soul. Krishna came at the end of Dvapara-yuga and spoke Bhagavad Gita for the enlightenment of all living beings. However, many people misunderstood his teachings, and therefore, he came again in Kali-yuga as Chaitanya to show us by his own personal example how to live Bhagavad Gita.

Krishna came in blackish color and manifested himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Krishna Chaitanya came in golden color in the garb of a devotee and never allowed himself to be called God, although he actually was God-dess. Because Krishna appeared in his original human-like form and declared himself to be the Supreme, many people mistook him to be a man and thought they were God also. Chaitanya wanted to teach us that humans should never think of themselves as God or allow oneself to be addressed as such.

If the teacher shows the student how to practice writing the alphabet by their example, we should not think that the teacher is doing it to learn themself. Although Chaitanya posed as a devotee of God-dess, he is understood by advanced transcendentalists to be God-dess. If in trying to get free of material bondage, one falsely declares oneself God, that is the last snare of maya. Therefore, Chaitanya humbly prays for the mercy of Radha Krishna.

Krishna likes to be addressed in connection with his devotee; therefore he is called the son of Maharaj Nanda, Yasoda-nandana, Radha-ramana, etc. The living entities are eternally servants of God-dess, but when they are placed in the material world they forget their constitutional position. When by the good association of a pure devotee of God-dess, the conditioned souls become aware of their real position and pray for the mercy of God-dess to allow them to engage in God-dess’ service. The Hare Krishna mantra--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is an ideal prayer in this regard.

It can be translated as follows: "O energy of God, Srimati Radharani! O Supreme Lord Krishna! I am very tired of serving the inferior material nature. Please allow me to be engaged in your loving service once again." Everyone must serve. Either we serve Radha Krishna or we serve maya. If we serve maya, she simply kicks us in return, but if we serve Radha Krishna, we gain the highest happiness.

6. When will my eyes be filled with tears
my throat blocked with a faltering voice
and all the hairs on my body stand erect
as I chant your holy name?

PURPORT:

When Chaitanya questioned his spiritual master on the effect of chanting the holy names, the spiritual master said: "It is the transcendental nature of the holy names of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare to transport a person into spiritual madness. Anyone who sincerely chants the holy name is actually elevated very soon onto the platform of love of God, and therefore, they become mad after Krishna. This madness of love of God is the first perfectional stage of the human being."

This is the stage of ecstasy known as bhava, and it is manifested outwardly by certain bodily symptoms such as crying, choking up of the voice, bodily perturbations, laughing, dancing, falling on the ground, etc. The disciple receives the transcendental sound vibration from the spiritual master through aural reception. If the disciple follows in the footsteps of the spiritual master and chants the holy name with great faith and sincerity under the order and protection of the spiritual master and avoids the ten kinds of offenses in chanting the holy names, they will come to the perfectional stage without a doubt. One should be very eager to make progress to this stage, but it is not to be imitated artificially. It will come of its own accord as one progresses in love of God-dess.

Chaitanya was always absorbed in the highest ecstasy of love of God-dess, but he warns against those who make a cheap show of ecstasy in order to fool the innocent public. A real devotee is never fooled by such cheap show bottle displays. One who is in the stage of bhava is free from all material contaminations, and therefore their character is spotless. In fact, the real devotee does not like to display symptoms of ecstasy before the general public because they do not understand such manifestations.

7. A blink of the eyes has become equal to an age,
my eyes have become like monsoon clouds,
and the entire universe has become void
to me in the absence of Govinda.

PURPORT:

There is an exoteric and an esoteric reason for the advent of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The exoteric reason for his advent is the propagation of the holy sankirtan movement which is the yuga-dharma or prescribed spiritual engagement for this age of Kali. The esoteric reason is quite different. Chaitanya propagated the Sri Krishna Sankirtan for the benefit of all living entities, but he came for a purpose of his own also.

Jiva Gosvami writes in his work Gopala-campu, "The pleasures of enjoyment of the rasa (mellow devotional relationship) could not be had in their entirety in the pastimes of Krishna in Vraja. Krishna accepts the emotion and effulgence of his predominated moiety, Sri Radhika, and makes an eternal pastime for the enjoyment of Krishna-rasa. Sri Krishna-candra, coveting to taste and realize the following pleasures--viz., (1) the nature of the greatness of the love of Sri Radha, (2) the nature of the wonderful sweetness of his love which Sri Radha tastes, (3) the nature of the exquisite joy that accrues to Sri Radha by her realization of the sweetness of his love--took birth, like the moon in the ocean, in the womb of Sri Saci Devi."

When Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya were discussing transcendental subjects on the bank of the Godavari, Ramananda Raya said, "Sir, I may request that you don't try to hide yourself. I understand that you have accepted the complexion and mode of thinking of Srimati Radharani. You are trying to understand yourself from the viewpoint of Radharani, and you have advented yourself to take this point of view. Your incarnation is chiefly for understanding your own self, but side by side you are distributing love of Krishna to the world."

Chaitanya then manifested his real form of Radha and Krishna before Ramananda. Ramananda Raya fainted in ecstasy. Chaitanya revived him, and he was surprised to see Chaitanya again in his mendicant dress. Chaitanya said to Ramananda, "You have understood the purpose of my incarnation and therefore you are privileged to see this particular feature of my personality. My dear Ramananda, I am not a different person with a fair complexion. I am the selfsame Krishna, son of Maharaja Nanda, and due to contact with the body of Srimati Radharani, I have now assumed this form. Srimati Radharani does not touch anyone else but Krishna, and therefore, Srimati Radharani has influenced me with her complexion, mind and words, and I am just trying to understand the transcendental flavor of Krishna's relationship with her."

The fact is that both Radha Krishna and Chaitanya are the Original Personality of Godhead. In his form of Krishna, he is the Supreme Enjoyer, and in his form of Chaitanya, he is the Supreme Enjoyed. Persons who are fortunate enough to understand Chaitanya as well as the pastimes in Vrindaban of Radha Krishna can be able, by the mercy of Rupa Goswami, to know about the real identity of Krishna Chaitanya.

In this verse, Chaitanya is absorbed in the feeling of Radha. When Krishna was absent from the company of the cowherd girls, or gopis, they keenly felt his separation and considered the world vacant in his absence. The gopis were completely dedicated to the service of Krishna. They had no other purpose in life, and of all the gopis, Radha is the foremost, being possessed of the highest love of God, which is known as mahabhava.

To acquire this strong feeling of separation is the teaching of Chaitanya and the disciplic succession of Goswamis. When the gopis were not in physical contact with Krishna, they constantly remembered him along with his transcendental pastimes, qualities, name, etc. In this way, they could always be with Krishna because his transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc., are all non-different from him. Such devotees cannot live for a moment without remembering Radha Krishna. This is the highest perfectional level of love of God-dess, and by performing devotional service to Radha Krishna with feelings of separation one can attain the level of the gopis.

8. Krishna is a debauchee, who may tightly embrace me,
who am devoted to his lotus feet,
or who may torment my heart by never appearing before me.
Whatever he decides to do with me,
he is the lord of my life, and I will have no other.

PURPORT:

Chaitanya teaches us the highest love of Radha Krishna. The best mode of worship is that which is practiced by the gopis. The gopis are mad after Radha Krishna and them only. When Krishna played on his flute and called the gopis to him, they left everything--husbands, sons, fathers and mothers--and ran to Krishna, not caring for any impediments. Even after giving up everything for Krishna, Krishna left them, and they simply became mad after him.

Once, Krishna was hiding from the gopis. As they searched for him everywhere, they came upon the spot where he was hiding, and Krishna assumed his four-armed form of Narayana in order to escape their detection. The gopis saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana standing there, offered their obeisances, and asked if he had seen Krishna anywhere. Then they went on searching for Krishna, not caring for the majestic opulence of Narayana. The pure devotee of Krishna knows that other forms such as Narayana, Rama, Nrisingha and Varaha are also God, but they are only attracted to the form of Radha Krishna, which is the original of all forms.

In his Sri Brahma-samhita, Lord Brahma prays: "I worship Govinda, the Primeval Lord, who manifested himself personally as Krishna and the different avatars (incarnations) in the world in the forms of Rama, Nrisingha, Vamana, etc., as his subjective portions." His subjective portions as the avatars, viz., Rama, etc., appear from Vaikuntha (the majestic extension of the spiritual world), and his own form Krishna manifests in this world with Vraja (his abode) from Goloka (the original spiritual planet). Krishna is not an avatar, but he is the avatari, or source of all avatars.

Brahma further explains this as follows: "The light of one candle, being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the Primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits himself equally in the same mobile manner in his various manifestations."

Although all the subjective portions of Krishna as described above possess the same transcendental nature as Krishna and are the Godhead, Krishna possesses certain superexcellent qualities that are not found in his plenary portions. Chaitanya establishes exclusive devotion to Krishna, who is the fountainhead of all transcendental rasas, or mellow relationships, and is the lover of the gopis in Vraja.

The gopis love Krishna no matter how he treats them. The gopis dedicated their lives to Krishna, but Krishna left them and went to Mathura, never to return again to Vrindavan. The gopis became brokenhearted and spent the rest of their lives feeling intense separation from Krishna and remembering him constantly. Their love for him did not diminish in the least, but it became even more intense.

If a person has no money but after some time accumulates some wealth and then loses it, they will think of the lost property twenty-four hours a day. Similarly, in order to increase the love of his devotees, Krishna sometimes appears to be lost to them, and instead of forgetting him, they feel their loving sentiments for him increase.

That is the way of real love. In spite of everything, the love goes on increasing. There is not the slightest tinge of selfish desire in the love affairs of Radha Krishna and the gopis. The gopis want only to serve Radha Krishna and satisfy their senses, and Radha Krishna want only to satisfy their devotees and reciprocate their love. When we are prepared to sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Radha Krishna, we will not be losers but will gain a million fold. Radha Krishna ever remain a debtor to one who sacrifices everything for them.

While Chaitanya resided at Jagannatha Puri, he was constantly absorbed in these feelings of the gopis in separation from Krishna. He teaches this worship of Radha Krishna in separation as the highest perfection of Radha Krishna consciousness.