05 and 06 November 1996 Mathura
Audio 1
Audio 2
varaḿ deva mokṣaḿ na mokṣāvadhiḿ vā
na canyaḿ vṛṇe ‘haḿ vareṣād apīha
idaḿ te vapur nātha gopāla-bālaḿ
sadā me manasy āvirāstāḿ kim anyaiḥ
(Damodarastakam 4)
[O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for liberation, nor eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon. My only prayer is that Your childhood pastimes may constantly appear in my mind. O Lord, I do not even want to know Your feature of Paramatma. I simply wish that Your childhood pastimes may ever be enacted in my heart.]
Krsna and all the Vrajavasis were immersed in an ocean of joy. All the birds, animals, and trees were also immersed in this ocean of Krsna’s sweet pastimes. Some of these pastimes have been described in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Our Gosvamis have also explained these pastimes in their books. Krsna became very pleased with the prayer of Satyavrata Rsi and said, “Ask for any benediction. I am very happy with you.”
“I don’t desire any boon within these three worlds. I don’t want liberation. I don’t desire even Vaikuntha, Ayodhya, Dvaraka, or Mathura. I know that You are capable of giving any boon. But I only desire that Your Balagopala form ever be manifest in my heart. It seems that the Ganga and Yamuna are flowing from Your eyes when You are weeping. You are scared of Mother Yasoda because of the stick in her hand. I only desire to have darsana of this form,” replied Satyavrata Muni.
We are now going to many sweet places like Catravana, Umrao-gaon, Kisori-vana, Kisori-kunda, Khelanvana, Rama-ghata, Biharvana, Tapovana, Aksaya-vata, Cira-ghata, Cauma, Vatsavana, Parkama, Parasauli, Bhayagaon, Nandaghata, and so many other places. After touching the dust of these places that are blessed with the sacred pastimes of Krsna, we will return in the evening. We will bathe in Cira-ghata and worship Katyayani-devi. We will discuss why the gopis worshiped Katyayani-devi. Now I request all of you to be seated in your buses.
How is Krsna pleased? If we sing Krsna’s glories, He will be pleased. But there are many stages of glorifying Him. If anyone prays, “You held the earth in your Matsya Avatara; You killed Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu as Varaha and Nrsimha. You killed twenty-one generations of ksatriyas as Parasurama. You killed Ravana as Ramacandra,” then this is also a form of Krsna’s glorification.” But Krsna will become more happy when You address Him as Satyabhama-kanta or Rukmini-kanta. You can also pray and say, “You have saved the Pandavas; You also protected the vow of Bhisma Pitamaha. You have showed Your opulence to Arjuna.” Krsna will be so satisfied by these prayers.
But if you say, “You were crying upon being beaten by Mother Yasoda. You had to carry Sridhama and Madhumangala on Your shoulders when You were defeated by them. I saw You massaging the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika in one of the caves of Govardhana. Srimati Radhika was rejecting You and You offered Your flute and head at the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika. You promised to never offend Her. You told Her, ‘I will not go to anyone else—I am Yours and only Yours.’”, then Krsna will be so pleased with your prayers. He will say, “What do you want?” He will give Himself at once without any hesitation. His glories are of many types.
itidrik sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
sva-ghosham nimajjantam akhyapayantam
tadiyeshita-jneshu bhaktair jitatvam
punah prematas tam satavritti vande
[By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbued with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.]
Satyavrata Muni began to glorify Krsna by describing His Gokula pastimes, which were like an ocean of rasa. Krsna immersed all the Vrajavasis in this ocean of rasa. Krsna then asked Satyavrata Muni for any benediction he liked. He asked him, “Do you want worldly happiness? Have you any requirement? Do you want to marry a beautiful princess? Do you want dharma, artha, or kama?”
“I don’t want anything Prabhu.”
“You should take liberation as it very hard to have it.”
Sankaracarya may chant ‘aham brahmasmi’ for lakhs and lakhs of years. Still, liberation is rare.
Satyavrata Muni said, “I offer my obeisances to liberation, Prabhu. You may award liberation to those who seek it. But I don’t seek it.”
Liberation is of five kinds. Salokya means to reside in Narayana-loka; samipya means to reside near Narayana; sarupya means to be four-handed like Narayana. Sarsti means to have opulence like Narayana. Sayujya means to become one with Narayana’s effulgence. These are the five kinds of liberation. A lower class of Vaisnava may want four kinds of liberation. But he will never want sayujya-mukti in any case because sayujya-mukti turns one into a stone or a piece of dry wood. Our Guru Maharaja used to say that liberation means to be like a piece of stool—there is no difference at all. Even in Vaikuntha, there are two kinds of happiness. One kind of happiness is enjoyed oneself while another kind of happiness is experienced in Sri Narayana’s seva. Dhruva also experienced sukha-seva-uttara. He didn’t experience prema-seva-uttara because he didn’t render continuous service. Dhruvaloka is within this material universe. The four kinds of liberation are beyond even Brahmaloka and Sivaloka. To desire any one of the four opulences constitutes sukha-seva-uttara-seva. Jaya and Vijaya have opulence like Narayana; they are near to Him and they have forms similar to Him. But they are also serving Him for His happiness and not one’s own. They only want to serve their Prabhu in all ways. They don’t desire any happiness from their service.
varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va
na canyam vrne ‘ham varesad apiha
idam te vapur natha gopala-balam
sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih
[O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon (which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti). O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?]
Satyavrata Muni prays, “I don’t desire liberation or even Vaikuntha. Neither do I desire Dvaraka or Mathura.”
The fruit of proper sravana-kirtana is even more exalted than attaining Vaikuntha. The four Kumaras became angry when they were stopped by Jaya and Vijaya and they cursed them to be born as demons on earth. They told them, “There is no use for demons like yourselves to reside in Vaikuntha. Narayana has no fear; no one can kill Him. No one can do any wrong to Him. So, why are you stopping us from having His darsana? Both of you are like demons. Demons are not needed here—so you should be born as demons on earth.”
The four Kumaras lamented greatly when Narayana withdrew His Yogamaya. Jaya and Vijaya also began to weep. Along with the Kumaras, they cried out, “We have done wrong.” Narayana then pacified them and told them that everything happened according to His will because there is no anger in Vaikuntha. Narayana inspired the Kumaras to become angry by the inspiration of His Yogamaya. Narayana also assured Jaya-Vijaya that everything happened according to His desire. How could Jaya-Vijaya become envious when there is not even a scent of envy in Vaikuntha? Everything happened for another reason. The four Kumaras fell at the feet of Narayana and begged for forgiveness.
The devotees pray, “O Lord! We are ready to go to hell to atone for our offenses. But we only pray at Your lotus feet that we can remember and chant Your names at all times.”
A person who is chanting and remembering will see Vaikuntha everywhere. There is no need for him to even stay in Vaikuntha because we see Narada Rsi singing his prabhu’s glories everywhere.
narada muni, bajay vina
‘radhika-ramana’-name
nama amani, udita haya,
bhakata-gita-same
[When the great soul Narada Muni plays his stringed vina, the holy name of Radhika-ramana descends and immediately appears amidst the kirtana of the Lord’s devotees.]
Rather than staying in Vaikuntha, the devotees desire to stay in Vrndavana, Nandagaon, Varsana, and other places. Although these places are part of the Vraja-bhumi that has manifested on earth, the devotees only desire to do sravana-kirtana in these places. Citraketu Maharaja was cursed by Sati-devi to be born as a demon. He then became Vrtrasura. Although he was a demon, his prayers are being remembered to this day. Even Indra couldn’t pray like him.
ajata-paksha iva mataram khagah
stanyam yatha vatsatarah kshudh-artah
priyam priyeva vyushitam vishanna
mano 'ravindaksha didrikshate tvam
(SB 6.11.26)
[O lotus-eyed Lord, as baby birds that have not yet developed their wings always look for their mother to return and feed them, as small calves tied with ropes await anxiously the time of milking, when they will be allowed to drink the milk of their mothers, or as a morose wife whose husband is away from home always longs for him to return and satisfy her in all respects, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You.]
The devotees want to go everywhere and sing Bhagavan’s nama-kirtana. They don’t wish to be confined even in Vaikuntha. Sravanam, kirtanam, and smaranam have some categories. The first kind of category lacks the moods of these sloka:
tan-nama-rupa-caritadi-sukirtananu-
smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jananugami
kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saram
[“While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal residents of Vraja (Sri Guru and the six Gosvamis) who possess inherent spontaneous love for Sri Krsna, one should utilize all his time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind in meticulous chanting and remembrance of Krsna’s names, form, qualities and pastimes. This is the essence of all instructions.” (Sri Upadesamrta, verse 8)]
This sravana-kirtana is done with no relation. It is full of all kinds of anarthas and nama-aparadhas. This form of chanting will not lead to the cleansing of the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam). But the second category of sravana-kirtana in characterized by the association of the sadhu.
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
(SB 1.2.18)
[By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.]
All anarthas will go away by this chanting and prema may also come. So, all kinds of sravana-kirtana are not the same. There are so many stages.
tan-nama-rupa-caritadi-sukirtananu-
smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jananugami
kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saram
[“While living in Vraja as a follower of the eternal residents of Vraja (Sri Guru and the six Gosvamis) who possess inherent spontaneous love for Sri Krsna, one should utilize all his time by sequentially engaging the tongue and the mind in meticulous chanting and remembrance of Krsna’s names, form, qualities and pastimes. This is the essence of all instructions.” (Sri Upadesamrta, verse 8)]
Although one is a sadhaka, he should be in Vrndavana under the guidance of a bonafide Guru or Vaisnava. Such a Guru and Vaisnava should be rasik and bhavuka—he should be in the line of Srila Rupa and Raghunatha Das Gosvami. He should be in the family of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Anarthas will go away by chanting with sambandha-jnana. Very little will remain. Such chanting will first lead us to prakata-vraja and then we will be led to aprakrta Goloka Vrndavana. If we chant harinama without having any relationship, we will continue to be full of anarthas. False ego, anger, lust, and other anarthas will always trouble us. Residence in Vaikuntha or any part of this creation is the same for a bhakta. But there are so many facilities that we can have in prakata-vraja. Such facilities are not found even in Vaikuntha. Gopa-kumara was attracted by four messengers of Visnu when he was in Sivaloka. These messengers were singing, “Sriman Narayana! Sriman Narayana!” And they were also uttering the Purusa-sukta prayers.
Without the association of the sadhus, sambandha-jnana will not arise. One kind of fruit is seen in such a stage. Ajamila didn’t have any sadhu-sanga while his anarthas were still present. It maybe that he had good impressions from his previous lives. He named his son ‘Narayana’. He was still associating with a prostitute. Yet, he would always call out to his son. As a result, he attained liberation by nama-abhasa. He was so fearful of the Yamadhutas that he repeatedly called out, ‘Narayana,’ while implying to his son. This nama-abhasa and the name uttered by Vrtrasura was one. Although Vrtrasura was a demon, his mood was not covered by maya. He had no ego or anger. He was Citraketu Maharaja in his previous life; he was a bonafide Vaisnava. He kept praying for the benediction of Bhagavan even in his demoniac body. Even Indra, Brhaspati, and Bhisma Pitamaha have not uttered such prayers. So, he is a highest class of Vaisnava.
Srila Rupa and Raghunatha Das Gosvami also chanted; yet, the names uttered by them were not the same as Vrtrasura. It was the highest form of name. Vrtrasura could not have uttered those names with the same mood (as Rupa and Raghunatha Gosvami) in lakhs and lakhs of births. Even Narada Rsi wants to have the moods that Rupa and Raghunatha have. So, sravana-kirtana is not of the same category. By singing the names of Radha-Krsna even Narada Rsi never hankered to go to Vaikuntha. Such sravana-kirtana will lead us beyond Vaikuntha. We should try to realize these moods of Srila Sanatana Gosvami that he has given in his explanations. We should listen and question the Vaisnavas about any doubts we have. By repeatedly listening, anartha-nivrtti will take place and by the association of the Vaisnavas, sambandha-jnana will be had. The association of the Vrajavasis will also be had. The sravana-kirtana performed within vaidhi-bhakti will yield a fruit that is different from the fruit produced by sravana-kirtana performed within raganuga-bhakti. By doing sravana-kirtana with rasika Vaisnavas or those Vaisnavas under the guidance of Srila Rupa Gosvami, even the attainment of Vaikuntha will be considered insignificant.
Hanuman is always in Saket and remembering Sri Ramacandra. Saket is situated above Vaikuntha-dhama. But Uddhava and the Pandavas are singing about Krsna’s glories and their glorification is better than Hanuman’s. Krsna has invested all His powers in His names. He has invested His secondary powers in His secondary names. Names such as Narayana and Rama are His principal names. Names such as Radha-ramana, Radha-Govinda, Radha-Gopinatha, Radha-Madana-mohana, Radha-Rasabihari, and other such names are the highest of Krsna’s names. All His powers are completely invested in these names. Therefore, there are differences between His names. Why should one go to Vaikuntha when he is chanting, “Radha-ramana! Radha-ramana!”
While performing his stava-stuti, Satyavrata Muni desire to have darsana of Mother Yasoda caressing Krsna and taking Him on her lap. He wanted to have darsana of this Balagopala form in his heart. He only desired this benediction. Krsna’s eyes are full of tears and it seems that the Ganga and Yamuna are flowing from His eyes when Mother Yasoda is binding Him. This is called vatsalya-rasa. All the friends of Mother Yasoda were of vatsalya-rasa. Satyavrata Muni is in a tatastha (neutral) mood here. He is not fixed in any sthayi-bhava—but he doesn’t have any anarthas like false ego, anger, or nama-aparadha. His heart is pure. He had svaccha-rati. If he would see the boys quarrelling with Krsna, then he would think, “Sakhya-rasa is good. I want to be a sakha.”
At the same moment he may see Mother Yasoda chastising Krsna and he would then think, “Oh I want to be like a mother.”
When he would see the gopis, he would want to be one of the gopis. So this is called svaccha-rati. At the last, he has prayed, “Namo Radhikai-tvadiya priyai.”
Therefore, he doesn’t want any other benediction. He doesn’t desire Ayodhya, or Vaikuntha. He has also galloped past sakhya-rasa. He now wants to be blessed with a sprinkle of Mother Yasoda’s vatsalya-prema. He doesn’t care for any other benediction. And at last, he prayed:
namas te 'stu damne sphurad dipti-dhamne
tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne
namo radhikayai tvadiya priyayai
namo nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam
["O Damodara! I offer obeisances to the exalted rope binding Your waist. I also offer obeisances to Your belly, which is the source of the Brahman effulgence and the mainstay of the entire universe. Time and time again I offer obeisances to Srimati Radhika, Your dear-most beloved, and I also offer my obeisances hundreds of times unto Your wondrous, uncommon pastimes." (Verse 8)]
Satyavrata Muni has prayed to Srimati Radhika because Krsna will Himself be bound and controlled by praying to His eternal beloved.
Gaura Premanande!
*Submitted by Govardhana dasa.
