23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 10]

Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (2)
"Many worship Gauranga bypassing the guru, but Nityananda Prabhu said that it was thievery. It is impossible to get mercy without Nityananda Prabhu. We have not got there yet. We still do what our minds want. Gurudev gave me initiation, so this body is now his – I must do whatever gurudev wants me to do."

• SRI PURI DHAM MAHATMYA-MUKTA-MALA •

(1) Sri Jagannathdev
‘We will go to take darshan of Lord Jagannath’s Ratha-yatra (chariot procession), but the main question is whether we have the eyes to have Lord Jagannath’s darshan. Many people wonder, “How did the Deity of Lord Jagannath appear?” There is a very old and beautiful story related to that.’

SRI EKADASI GUIDANCE

Sri Ekadasi Guidance
Guidelines on how to observe and honour this holy day: Ekadasi takes an indispensible part in the life of a sincere practitioner. At Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Ekadasi and paran are observed with affection and without fail according to the dates given in the Calendar.

Renunciation of Cowards and Misers
[By Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj]
'What we need is yukta-vairagya: we shall take from the store of Krishna to keep ourselves fit and to do service. It is Krishna's account, and if we do not do that, we will be separatists, mayavadis, renunciationists. We must render maximum service to Krishna, so we must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make ourselves fit for the service; otherwise, we shall be punishable.'

"Sri Ekadasi" (Sri Sri Prema Vivarta)
"One day, Gaurahari left the Gundicha Temple and sat in the Jagannath Vallabha garden. It was pure Ekadasi, and the Lord spent the whole day and night chanting the Name of Krishna..."

• SONG: Suddha-bhakata | শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু
"I carefully observe the holy days related to Madhava, they are the mother of devotion."

• SONG: Sri hari-vasare | শ্রীহরি-বাসরে হরি
"On the holy day of Sri Hari, Sriman Mahaprabhu, the life and soul of the universe, began dancing..."

ADDITIONAL READING:

• "Observing Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi Vrata: Make Your Guru Happy"
• "No Other Shelter"
• "Mahadvadasi"
• "Ekadasi and liberation"
• "Ekadasi Tithi: One of the Practices"
• "Yogini Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi: Historical Background"
• "Ekadasi: Main Focus Is Service"
• Ekadasi Struggle?
• "Make the Teachings of Sri Guru Non-Different from Your Heart"
• Ekadasi: Devotional Practice
• Ekadasi Struggle?
• Ekadasi Rules

"You do not need to know the meaning of each ekadasi tithi because if you know it, you will want to get this result, that result, etc."

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Homage to Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur
‘He is the giver of Sri Guru; he is the giver of scriptures; he is the giver of Gaura’s holy abode; he is the giver of the Name; he is the giver of pure devotion. He is the greatest donor. I forever offer my obeisance to this Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur.’

SPECIAl POETRY: Srimad Bhaktivinod Viraha Dasakam
‘Alas, alas! O Bhaktivinod Thakur, O Supreme Guru! For the past twenty-two years, this earth has been grasped by the misery of deep sadness in unfathomable separation from you. Sri Gaura’s potency personified, you graciously appeared on this planet, being attracted by jiva souls’ sukriti (devotional merit) amassed during many lifetimes.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 9]

Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (1)
"A lowly and fallen soul such as myself is not capable of glorifying Sri Nityananda Prabhu, but if gurudev and Nityananda Prabhu give their mercy and say something through my mouth, then only can it be possible."

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(20) THE FINEST CONCEPTION
'We need transcendental ecstasy. We do not want sadness, sorrow, or inauspiciousness. We always need the opposite. We need something eternal, glorious, and beautiful. There is only one way to get that: through hankering. Hankering gives us the real property in our spiritual lives. If I have hankering for Krishna-prema then I must search, “Where is Krishna-prema?” It is very rare, but if I find anyone who has Krishna-prema in their heart, I must try to get his association. Through that person I can understand what Krishna-prema is, how much I need it, how much I will be satisfied by it, and so on.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Jaya guru sri-bhakti-siddhanta
‘Glory to Nabadwip Dham and all devotees of the Lord. Please bestow upon me the treasure of loving devotion to Lord Krishna. Bowing in obeisances at the holy feet of Sri Guru, this servant Jajavar Das is chanting the Lord’s Holy Names.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Five, chanted on Wednesdays)
'He reveals (first, to Sri Sanatan and then to Prakasananda) sixty-two interpretations of the famous verse ‘Atmaramas cha… ittham-bhuta-guno harih’ (‘Even self-realised, self-satisfied souls are moved to worship the Lord’) from Srimad Bhagavatam; interpreting the various lexical meanings of the eleven words of this verse, juxtaposed in different ways, He reveals a treasure-mine of multitudinous meanings of this verse in consonance with the precepts of pure devotional conclusions – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 8]

Krishna Conscious Life
"We are alive in this world at the expense of killing so many souls. The only way out of this exploitive life is to turn your whole life into a Krishna-conscious life. You must make your lives Krishna-centred. It means that you can cook, you can work, you can do everything, but do it for the Lord."

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(19) THE NEXT EDITION OF RADHA-KRISHNA’S PASTIMES
'Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, but He has now become the divine form of Radha and Krishna combined to taste Radharani’s Krishna-prema. Radharani and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are actually nondifferent. Mahaprabhu appeared to taste the divine ecstasy of Krishna-prema in the way that Radharani tastes it and to see the way how She gives Krishna super joy and ecstasy through Her love, affection, charm, beauty, and so on. That is the hidden purpose of Krishna’s appearance as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Acharya Vandana (jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa)
‘Glory, glory to Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, this great swan-like perfect personality, an abode of the highest mercy, who is the sole refuge for helpless, lowly and miserable souls!’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Four, chanted on Tuesdays)
'Overcome with strong bouts of divine love surging through Him and becoming unconscious of the world around Him, He dances madly and chants kirtan; the tears streaming incessantly from His eyes flood His body, the colour of molten gold and tall as the mount Sumeru, His clothes, the colour of the newly risen sun, and the earth in all fourteen directions around Him; He glows as He chants, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’, shouts jumbled up words and relishes various postures and behaviours (roaring with laughter, etc.) under the influence of divine love – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 7]

Path of Devotion
"If I had not come to your houses, you would not have come here today. You would not have got a chance to listen to these holy talks. You would not have been able to get Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy. That is why I roam this land, going house to house. This is all I say to everyone: practise Krishna consciousness."

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(18) INCONCEIVABLE GLORY
'From our mundane position we cannot gauge or feel the nature of Vrindavan. If we try to feel that abode from here, what we feel will be mundane. It is not necessary for us to discuss the matters of the transcendental world so much. That abode is not revealed through lectures or reading actually. It is revealed through dedication, devotion, determination, and divine grace. When one is fully enriched with those qualities, one will get everything automatically.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Acharya Vandana (jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa)
‘Glory, glory to Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, this great swan-like perfect personality, an abode of the highest mercy, who is the sole refuge for helpless, lowly and miserable souls!’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Three, chanted on Mondays)
'He ardently preached that service performed in various divine relationships (from dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- to madhura-rasa) and the (paramount) service beauty of Sri Radha’s servitors in the highest paramour madhura-rasa, as well as any transcendental hankering of the self-realised souls in Sri Vraja Dham, can indisputably be realised in Sri Vrajendra-nandan only – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 6]

Free Mercy, Exclusive Rights
"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. But who has the right to chant kirtan?"

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(16) SERVING UNDER PROPER GUIDANCE
'We cannot see Krishna’s divine form or hear His Divine Name. If we try to go to Krishna directly, overstepping the sadhu, we will never see Krishna’s real form. We will only go down into the garbage of illusion again and again. It is necessary to understand what the Holy Name of Krishna is, and what it is not, if we actually want to chant the Holy Name. From our mundane position we do not understand Krishna, but He can reveal Himself in our hearts if we try to connect with Him with love, affection, chastity, and sincerity through the proper channel of His devotee.'

(17) RECOGNISING DEVOTION
'If we chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra with the qualities of humility, tolerance, and giving honour to others, we will certainly get a proper result. Mahaprabhu promised this to us, and even Krishna will not be able to check our result because our result will come to us through His devotee’s devotee. Humility, tolerance, and the offering of respect are the essential qualities of a devotee. Everyone must maintain those qualities in their devotional lives. If anyone is successful in practising Mahaprabhu’s procedure, then they will be very, very close to liberation, and after liberation they will see and feel how everything is transcendental and all right, by the will of the Lord.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Sri Dayita-Dasa Pranati Panchakam
‘Embodying pure joy and pleasing, delighting Bimala Devi, he manifested his birth pastime at Purusottama Ksetra in the holy land of Odisha; he displays his pastimes of rescuing the fallen and distributing mercy.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Two, chanted on Sundays)
'Very tall, beautiful and infused with divine love, His holy form increases gods’ joy; the lustre of His body, which puts millions of golden lotuses to shame, is worshipped by the Moon; and His intrinsic form is a holy abode of divine pastimes manifest as eternal ever-increasing transcendental ecstatic transformations that spring up as He revels dancing in Sri Krishna-sankirtan – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 5]

Meaning of Discipleship
"Now, if you tell one word to disciples, they get angry. They live as they please. We think that we sing a song and this is it, we have practised Krishna consciousness. No. Krishna consciousness means following what your gurudev says and serving your guru and Vaishnavs. It means to please them."

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(14) THE TRANSCENDENTAL VIBRATION FORM OF THE LORD
'When we chant the Lord’s Holy Name it is not necessary to think or focus on anything. We only need to chant in a prayerful mood of surrender, considering, “I am Yours, and You are mine.” Through this mood our relationship with the Lord will be finalised. At first it will not become final, but by chanting, chanting, and chanting, slowly the source of our chanting, the Lord, will fully acquire our mind. The Lord’s Holy Name will enter our heart and give us full nourishment: supreme benefit, auspiciousness, and so on. We have no other way but to chant the Lord’s Holy Name in humble surrender.'

(15) SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU’S MOOD OF DEVOTION
'Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not write many verses or give many instructions. He simply gave the gist of all instructions in His Siksastakam. There is no way to proceed in our spiritual life or in our chanting of the Lord’s Holy Names without following the directives of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu given in His Siksastakam. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam is our life and soul. We will try until death to proceed according to its instructions and we must be benefitted to the utmost by that.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Homage to Srila Prabhupad
‘O Universal Guru, Bhagavan Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur! Please mercifully consider me, birth after birth, a speck of dust at your holy lotus feet.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part One, chanted on Saturdays)
'Demigods, perfected souls, liberated souls, yogis and Lord’s devotees always sing His praise; He relieves the world from the blazing forest fire of three-fold miseries (caused by the desire for enjoyment, liberation and perfections) brought about by inauspicious actions (performed in aversion to the Supreme Lord); an ocean of generosity, He bestows His own Name from the nectarean storehouse of Lord Sri Krishna’s Names – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 4]

Worshipful Devotion
"I will consider myself your slave, and I will leave all ego of a guru. When Vaishnavs take prasadam, I will take the remnants of their prasadam. Such was Kalidas’s character. How beautiful this is. Such are Nityananda Prabhu’s associates."

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(13) THE TRANSCENDENTAL SERVICE WORLD
'Sometimes great hope comes to us in our lives, and sometimes hopeless situations come to us, but we do not become frustrated in any way, and we do not leave Krishna consciousness. We only try to engage ourselves in Krishna’s service. We cannot leave our internal enemies forever. From time to time our internal enemies will disturb us. Sometimes we will be submerged in them. I can understand now that such immersion is for our purification, and that we will not remain immersed in them forever. This is our position, and all we can do is try to not allow ourselves to always be a servant of our mundane desires, while we pray to the Lord for His mercy and try to engage in His service.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Sri Guru Prasastih (sri-gaura-mandala-majhe hapaniya grama)
‘I very joyfully offer obeisances and prayers to all those who have any connection with my Lord. May you all kindly bestow your blessings upon me so that I may receive the mercy of my Lord without any obstacles.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

23 FEBRUARY 2021 [EKACHAKRA | EVENING | PART 3]

Pure Identity
"We must have jnana-sunya bhakti: ‘I do not know anything, I do not understand anything. O Lord, I am a lowly, fallen soul.’ We must watch out and make sure we do not have the ego that ‘I have become a big Vaishnav!’ What did Mahaprabhu say describing His own identity?"

• REVEALED TRUTH •

(11) SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
'Krishna’s advice is revolutionary but also simple. It is actually a direct description of the jiva soul’s position as His eternal servant. Krishna’s teaching is actually an expression of the universal spirituality natural to all souls: anything not done in Krishna consciousness is sinful, and everything done for Krishna is pious. This is the key to harmonising everything and understanding Krishna’s revolutionary teaching at the conclusion of Srimad Bhagavad-gita and throughout Srimad Bhagavatam—Krishna’s subjective revolution of consciousness.'

(12) SURRENDER
'Krishna is always with us. He lives in our heart in the form of Paramatma. From within our hearts He observes everything we do and all the reactions we create for ourselves. Whenever we consciously surrender to Him and act according to our nature as His eternal servants, He removes all of our karmic reactions, fills our hearts with happiness, joy, and beauty, and gives us entrance into the ecstatic world of Goloka Vrindavan Dham.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SPECIAl POETRY: Stava Kusumanjalih (hari-bhakti-rasamrta)
‘You always liberally grant the nectarean ecstasy of devotion to the Supreme Lord. The beauty of your radiant form, which is worshipped by all sincere seekers, defeats the beauty of hundreds of moons. I am offering hundreds and hundreds of obeisances to You, the greatest of worshippable Lords.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'