Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja’s
Explanation of the song Sri Madhurastakam by Sri Vallabhacarya
Holland, July 9, 2000
Krishna's beauty is sweet, His mother, Yasoda, is sweet, and His father is sweet. Especially His flute is very sweet when He plays on it and smiles with His very sweet and crooked side-long glance. Even the stick which He uses for cow-grazing is very sweet. His Yamuna is very sweet-crooked, but very sweet, and the dancing of peacocks is also sweet. When Krishna speaks, it is so sweet. Do you know who is the sweetest sweet? The gopis are very sweet. Lalita and Visakha and the other eight principle gopis are so sweet. Among them, Srimati Radhika is the sweetest of the sweet. Krishna's going anywhere for cowherding is very sweet, and His calling of the cows - Kalindi, Davali, Syamali - are so very sweet. Everything about Him is sweet. Even His stick, which is three-folded, that is, bent in three places, is sweet. His glancing is sweet, and it penetrates the hearts of all the gopis.
Why are you not coming? If you want to be sweet - forever - then at once come with us. Don't waste your time. At once. What are you doing? You can relish the sweetness of Krishna. There may be so many reasons for not coming to Vrindavana: you have your job to maintain your life and sense gratification.
You are still not chanting the very sweet, pure Name with rasika Vaisnavas. Vaisnavas are sweet. Their speaking is sweet and their association is sweet - because they are always explaining sweet, sweet and sweet hari-katha. You cannot realize all these things from your platform, so come with the rasika Vaisnavas. Where? To Vrindavana. And be sweet, so that Krishna can relish your sweetness. Try to be qualified for this, and in this way your life will be successful. In Vrindavana there are no problems - in the real Vrindavana. If you go to Vrindavana, where are you going? You are going to be covered by the net of maya. We should try to pray, "O Yogamaya, please take away the net".
We want to relish the sweetness of Krishna. You can only do that there, in the real Vrindavana, where there are no problems. There is no old age, no death, and no pain there. Try to be qualified, and try to be actually in Vrindavana - as Krishna grazes His cows. When He returns from cowherding, all the gopis assemble to see and taste His sweetness. Also, they themselves are so sweet that Krishna wants to taste their sweetness. Be sweet, taste sweet honey, and be honey. Be like this. You should try to chant in such a way that you will become like this.
This song was written by Vaisnava poet Vallabhacarya.
These are not speculations. They are reality. But you will have to come to this stage in order to realize them. Always follow Srila Rupa Gosvami:
tan-nama-rupa-caritadi-sukirtananu-
smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya
tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jaganugami
kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saram
(Nectar of Instruction, v.8)
"The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one's full time - twenty-four hours a day - in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord's divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one's tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vrindavana-dhama] and serve Krishna under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord's beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service."
Don't waste a single moment; and then you will realize. Otherwise what will you think? "Oh, this is bogus." Thus, after some time you will give up your chanting and remembering. You should not waste your time. Go on with full strength, strong faith and your whole energy. Now old age is coming, embracing so many of you. Old age could not touch Narada. He jumped out of her embrace. To where? To the transcendental world, from where he could not fall. Death is coming; you have to die very soon. Don't waste time. Follow Srila Rupa Gosvami, and follow your Gurudeva.
I am inviting you to come to Vrindavana for Kartika, which is coming in a few months. Vraja Mandala parikrama, the circumabulation of Vraja Mandala, will begin on October 12; and it will be very sweet. I am also inviting you all to Navadvipa parikrama for Gaura Purnima. You should come there, and we will arrange everything there for you.
