Relishing Shikshashtakam – Appreciating how meditation on the holy name blossoms to meditation on Krishna

[Talk at ISKCON, Houston, USA]

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
I am grateful to be here at the lotus feet of Shri Radha Nidhi Madhyam. My thanks to all of you for coming here also. And I would like to speak something on the theme of Gaur Purnima, preparing our consciousness by meditating on the primary teachings of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which are embodied in His Shikshashtakam.
The Shikshashtakam are eight verses that are found in the last chapter, the 20th chapter of the Antya Leela of the Shri Chaitanya Charitamrta. And they reflect Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His deep ecstasy. And the Shikshashtakam verses themselves have been analysed by different Acharyas in different ways.
I will focus on the theme of how the Shikshashtakam shows the non-difference of the holy name and Krishna. And the Shikshashtakam begins with a meditation on the holy name. And it progresses towards the last verse is a meditation on Krishna.
And the intermediate verses are the progression. We often hear that the holy name is non-different from Krishna. But how does this happen? How does the meditation, how does chanting Krishna’s holy names lead to connection with Krishna, realisation of Krishna? That is something which is revealed through the meditational progression in the Shikshashtakam.
So the first verse is, do we have a PowerPoint? The first verse is among the most meaning-packed verses in the Shikshashtakam. And therein I’ll focus primarily on the theme of, you can go ahead please, next time. So I’ll focus, oh, no, just the heading.
Yeah. So the unclean mirror is a distorter. And the holy name is the cleaner.
Cheto-Darpana-Marjana. That is the first theme. There’s a lot of glories of the holy name talked about.
And this itself can be a whole seminar. I’ll focus on this one point. Darpana means mirror.
Often when we go out somewhere where we need to be presentable, we may look at ourselves in the mirror. Do I look good? And then we go. Now, if the mirror is itself unclean, then we will look unclean.
The spots on the mirror, the spots will appear on us. So now, we may clean ourselves, but as long as the mirror is unclean, we’ll still look unclean. The soul is originally always pure.
The soul is a part of God. We are eternally the parts of Krishna. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 15.7. But we are perceiving ourselves in the mirror of the mind.
When we see ourselves in the mind, the mind is filled with many desires. And based on our capacity to either fulfil or not fulfil those desires, we get a distorted self-conception. So based on how we see ourselves in the mirror of the mind, we say, Oh, I’m good looking.
Oh, I don’t look so good. I am wealthy. Oh, I’m poor.
I am tall. I’m short. I’m too fat.
I’m too thin. So all these have got actually nothing to do with us as souls. So this, just like the unclean mirror will distort a person’s self-image.
Like that, the unclean mind distorts our self-conception. And the fundamental distortion is a sense of dissatisfaction. We as souls, by our own nature, are sat-chit-ananda.
Joyfulness is innate to us. But when we see ourselves in the mind, we don’t feel joyful. We feel fretful.
We feel fearful. We feel incomplete. I don’t have this.
I don’t have that. This is not working right. Oh, that went wrong.
What if that goes wrong? In this way, we who are actually joyful become befooled by the mind, by the distorted reflection that comes in the mind. Sometimes people ask, we live in an age where everybody is calculating. Say, OK, you invest so much of your time in chanting the holy names.
What do you get by that? What is the result that you get by that? Do you earn some money? Do you get some credit somewhere? What happens exactly? So actually, our happiness depends not so much on what we have. Our happiness depends more on what we do with what we have. We may have a lot, but if we are looking at all the things that others have, then we will still be dissatisfied, no matter how much we have.
So if we are using what we have constructively, and the constructive use we will discuss a little later. But the point is that happiness does not lie out there. We need things in the world.
We need money to live. We need facilities to live. But what we live with is different from what we live for.
What we live with is a means. It is a tool. What we live for is a purpose.
Unfortunately, in the materialistic culture, this difference is skimmed over. So people don’t live with money. People live for money.
And then that keeps them perpetually dissatisfied. Till the moment of death, there is just endless anxiety. But when the mirror of the mind is cleansed, then we understand that whatever it takes for me to be happy is in here.
I, as a soul, a part of God, by my very nature, I am joyful. And if I just connect with God, who is the source of all joy, I will realise and relish that joyfulness. So what the Holy Name does is, it changes, it cleanses the mirror in which we are seeing ourselves.
As long as that mirror is not clean, as long as the mind is unclean, no matter how much we have, no matter how much we gain, we will stay dissatisfied. Why? Because no matter how much we have, the mind, which is impure, will see what we don’t have. And it will keep us dissatisfied.
So satisfaction will come not by outer acquisition. It will come by inner realisation, by purification of the mirror of the mind. So we chant the Holy Name.
It starts with Cheto Darpana Maharjanam. And this first verse ends with, and the last part is, Anandambudhi Vardhanam, Pratipadam Poorna Amruta Swadhanam. There is an ocean of happiness which is to be relished.
And there is Poorna Amruta. So Poorna Amruta, complete nectar. Krishna talks about Amruta in the Bhagavad Gita.
He talks about three different kinds of pleasures in 18.37, 38 and 39. So in 18.38, he talks about passionate pleasures, sensual joys. And he says, Vishayendriya Sanyoga Yathadagre Amruta Upamam Pariname Vishambhu Tatsukham Rajasamspritham He says, the sensual pleasures, they are like nectar in the beginning, but they are poison in the end.
We may find something delicious to eat, we just keep eating, eating, eating more. It’s nectar. But afterwards the stomach gets upset and then we suffer from obesity, we get health issues and it’s like poison at that time.
So there is nectar in the beginning, poison in the end. In contrast, happiness that is in the mood of goodness. Krishna says that is, Yathadagre Vishambhu Pariname Amruta Upamam Tatsukham Satrikam Broktham Atmabuddhi Prasadajam So in 18.37 he says, that enlightened pleasures, elevated pleasures, they are like poison in the beginning, but they will be nectar in the end.
Sometimes when we start exercising for the first time, there is so much weight to lift, so much work to do, we start feeling sweaty, we start tiring ourselves. But over a period of time, when we start becoming healthier, then this is good. It’s like poison in the beginning, but nectar in the end.
So whereas in the passionate pleasure, there is nectar in the beginning, poison in the end. In the goodness pleasure, there is poison in the beginning, nectar in the end. But Krishna says, in the holy name, the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying that, Poornamruta, it is complete nectar.
So as we become purified, we start relishing this complete nectar. So we have not yet come to this stage, but by the chanting of the holy name, as the mind becomes clean, we can all relish this constant happiness. So let’s recite the second verse.
What we could do is, after we have finished meditating on one verse, you can recite the same verse once. So you can recite the first again, and then you can go to the second. Can you show that? Shri Krishna Sankirtanai Naam Ramakaryam Nijasarvasakthi Tattvaapitaam Janataam Smarane Nataam Yeta Vrishti Tattvaap Vartur Vimali Vajanataam Naam Ramakaryam Nijasarvasakthi So, the second verse talks about, again I will focus on one theme in this.
All these verses have a lot of themes. So, Naam Ramakaryam Nijasarvasakthi That Krishna has many names, and all these names have his potency. All his potency is invested in his names.
That means, the holy name is non-different from Krishna. Now in the Vedic context, there are many different ideas about sound and meaning. For example, now if we consider, there are formulas and there are sentences.
Now in sentences, if somebody tells a joke, now when the joke is spoken, when that joke registers in the mind, when the meaning is understood, then we laugh. So, actually the words, in this case, are the conveyor of meaning. And when the meaning is understood, then there is an illumination, there is an explosion.
There is one theory of speech that is called as Spotavada. Spotavada means that the words, they lead to an explosion of meaning in consciousness. And that’s how the power of the sentences is.
There is another theory of sound which is called as Varnavada. Varnavada means that the potency is in the words itself. Varna is words.
It is not that it has something independent. Like say, if you consider a mathematical equation, E is equal to MC square. Now, even if somebody doesn’t understand the meaning of the equation, if they just put the right figures in the right places, they will be able to get the results.
So, now, when we talk about the holy name’s potency, that it will purify us, it will grant us satisfaction, Vijay Goswami Sunderwas analyses, where is the potency? Is it that, actually, that just the letters themselves are powerful? Or is it that the letters, they comprise some meaning? When we understand the meaning, then the power is there. So, he says, both are true and there is more also. That means that at one level, even if we don’t understand the meaning of the holy name, we just chant the holy name.
We will become purified. We will experience joy. We see this when people on the street, sometimes we do Harinam Sanketan, people come and they don’t understand what is going on.
Still they start chanting, dancing. They experience some bliss. So, varna.
Sanatana Goswami also says, in the discussion between Haridas Thakur and him that, nao jaane jaanidha kiyadhi amritai krishneti varanadvai. I don’t know how much nectar is there in these two letters. Krishna, two syllables.
So, this is the idea that in the sound of the holy name itself, the potency is there. There is no need for appreciating the meaning. But another understanding also is that, the holy name’s potency is better accessed when we appreciate the meaning, when we meditate on the meaning.
As Aishwarya Prabhupada would tell us that, we chant in the mood of a child calling out its parent. And Bhaktivinoda Thakur has given various analysis, especially in his Bhajan Rahasya, about how different parts of the holy name can be meditated with different moods. So, the medicine will always act.
If you consider the holy name to be like a medicine, the medicine will always act. At the same time, if we are in the right mood, then it is like we are better taking the medicine. Because the medicine, this medicine is not just taken with the mouth or the ears.
It is taken with the mind. Pibamana Sri Krishna Divya Ushadam. Kula Shekhar Maharaj says that the holy name is to be taken in drunk with the mind.
And so, when we understand the meaning, when we understand the import, we have the right mood, then we absorb ourselves more. So, therefore, both aspects are true. The potency of the holy name simply lies in the letters.
And it also is more than that. In the meaning also, the right mood also helps us to tap the potency of the holy name better. And there is one more factor to it.
Beyond whether it is just the letters or the meaning of the letters, the one more factor is that actually Krishna manifests as the holy name. So, it is the mercy of Krishna. Bhaktivinoda Thakur says that at the time of initiation, the spiritual master invests the holy name in the mantra.
That means the mantra is already there, but the spiritual master invests the special potency. Krishna manifests over there. So, the real magic of the holy name is that Krishna manifests as the holy name.
And when Krishna manifests as the holy name, then we relish the holy name in an unprecedented way. And how does Krishna manifest? As we surrender unto him, he reciprocates. So, to the extent we chant devotionally, to that extent Krishna manifests.
So, how is the holy name non-different from Krishna? Bhaktivinoda Thakur explains that actually, the holy name may be appreciated in different ways by different people. Some people may think of this as ordinary sound. That is mundane vision.
Some people may see this as a tool to reach God. Yes, by chanting the holy names, I remember God. This is a good way to remember God.
They see it as a tool to God. But a pure devotee realises that this is not just a tool to God. This is God himself.
And how does this happen? Example was given of a person who had never seen gold. And he desired to see gold. As the king goes to Jandrashmur, he came to know.
And he said, the king will give gold in charity. So, then he went to this king. And he went to the king’s palace and says, I have never seen gold.
Can you please let me see some gold? So, the king said, go up these stairs. Go turn right. There is a treasury room.
The guard will allow you to come inside. And then there is a closet. They open it, you will see gold over there.
He climbed up, climbed up, climbed up, went up. And then he went to the closet and he saw. Now there are gold biscuits and gold jewels and gold ornaments.
He is elated to see that. Now I have seen gold. And then as he was coming back, he saw the staircase was gold plated.
He saw that there is carpet on which there is gold plating. He saw there is gold in so many other places. In fact, the whole staircase was almost covered with gold.
Because he had no conception of what gold is. So, till that time, he did not understand. He was in contact with gold.
He was seeing gold, but he did not realise it was gold. So, same way for us at present, because we don’t have a direct experience of Krishna. So, the holy name is not different from Krishna.
But we don’t realise the holy name to be Krishna right now. So, still with faith, we keep chanting the holy name. And we will gradually realise that the holy name is not just a tool to Krishna.
The holy name is Krishna who takes us to Krishna. So, it is Krishna himself who has manifested. And he will take us to Krishna gradually.
And for relishing the sweetness of the holy name, it is vital for us to know philosophically the greatness of the holy name. Without that, what will happen is we will chant nonchalantly. How do we experience at our level through the eyes of knowledge? When a newborn baby is born, the baby may be held by the mother lovingly, may be suckling from the mother’s breast.
But the newborn baby doesn’t even understand that there is a person. She is my mother and she loves me. And she is offering her breast milk to me.
The baby just feels something nice in his mouth. And it gives something nice and is chewing it. But as the baby starts growing, the baby starts understanding, actually, all this nice comforting feeling, this sweet substance, all this is coming from a person.
And that person loves me. That person is my mother. See, in a cold night, the baby is sleeping.
And then because of the cold, the baby starts shivering. So, at that time, the mother comes in. The mother puts a cosy blanket around the baby.
At that time, initially, the baby may just be sleeping, feeling trembling and then starts feeling comfortable. The baby’s eyes are closed. So, she doesn’t see what is happening.
But as she starts growing, when she starts understanding her mother’s love, then although her eyes are not open, when she starts feeling comfortable, she starts feeling warm, she understands. Oh, my mother is putting blanket on me. Although her eyes are not open and although she has not herself seen a mother till now, at that time, but she knows.
Oh, this blanket is put by my mother. Similarly, at our stage, our eyes are spiritually closed. Yatana Mahaprasad, Jeeva Jago, Jeeva Jago, asking us to wake up, but still we are asleep right now.
So, we are asleep. Because we are spiritually asleep, we can’t see Krishna right now. But when we chant the holy names, when we strive to remember Krishna, at that time, we can experience the cosiness, the comfort, the relief that comes from absorption in Krishna.
We may feel with great anxiety, but somehow we come in the kirtan of Krishna, we take darshan of Krishna, we pray to Krishna, we hear some Krishna Patanjali, suddenly in a mystical way, our tension, our anxiety, our irritation, they start dissipating. And we start feeling peaceful. We start feeling joyful.
We start feeling serene. And how is this happening? It is actually Krishna, He is pulling the comforting blanket on us. So, when we feel this comfort, this relief, this joy, in the remembrance of Krishna, that is invoked by the chanting of His holy names, we can understand.
Although I am not seeing Krishna right now, this experience is an experience of Krishna. And in this way, at our level, we don’t see Krishna, but we at least understand that this is Krishna in experience. The holy name is Krishna who takes us to Krishna.
So at our level, we are not seeing Krishna, but we can, the relief that we experience, the peace that we experience, the joy that we experience in chanting Krishna’s names, in remembering Krishna, that is at our level the experience of Krishna. Just as for the baby with closed eyes, the comfort of the blanket, the relief from the cold is the experience of the mother’s love. This is the third text.
Yeah, I think we are running out of time. Let’s go to the third one. So here, again, it says that we humbler than the blade of grass, by being tolerant as a tree, we can chant constantly.
That is the verse. So I’ll focus on what is humility? What is tolerance? What is the, when Krishna says, somebody may chant the holy names, say, what is so great about chanting? Or what is it that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying here, by being humble and tolerant, we will be able to chant constantly. Now, what do we mean by chant constantly? Chanting or Kirtan is not just the state of the lips.
Kirtan is the state of the heart. When our heart is devoted to glorifying Krishna, then we are in the state of Kirtan. When our heart is caught in thinking about this, thinking about that, then externally we will be chanting.
But sometimes we may chant, sitting very erect, tentatively. But then we are looking at who else, how they are chanting. This person is sleeping.
This person is spaced out. This person is not pronouncing properly. So, our lips are doing Kirtan, but our heart is doing a different kind of Kirtan.
It is doing a, it is actually, just doing fault timing. That is not Kirtan. When we have humility and tolerance, then our heart will be absorbed in glorifying Krishna.
And that will naturally manifest at the level of the lips, in various ways. So, how do humility and tolerance help us to make our heart constantly absorb in glorifying Krishna? Firstly, sometimes we think, what is humility? Humility, it is not self-pity. Oh, I am so good, I am so bad.
Once a disciple came to Shri Prabhupada. He said, Prabhupada, I am the most fallen person. Prabhupada said, you are the most nothing.
You are simply insignificant. So, the idea is that, humility, the point of humility is not simply how bad I am, how fallen I am, how negative I am. Nowadays, many people feel that this kind of, this kind of thinking is low self-esteem.
It may feel purely complex. And it is unhealthy. It is possible, if you have very low self-esteem, that can be unhealthy.
The point of bhakti is not simply low self-esteem or high self-esteem. The point of bhakti is to change the object of our esteem. That means, who is the person who we are meditating on? Humility means that we stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about someone better than ourselves.
So, the more I am thinking about myself, it is, if I am thinking how good I am, that is arrogance. If I am thinking how bad I am, that is not humility. That is actually frustrated false ego.
I want to be great, but somehow, you know, I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I can’t do that, so I am so bad. So, as long as the focus is I, it is not humility. It is ego.
It can be either inflated ego or it can be deflated ego. But it is ego only. When there is bhakti, when there is humility, then we understand, however I am, I am meant to serve Krishna, I am meant to love Krishna.
So, humility acts as a launching pad by which our consciousness gets out of ourselves and focusses on Krishna. So, humility helps us to understand that however I am, whoever I am, you know, I can still serve Krishna. And therefore, let me simply focus on serving Krishna.
So, humility is not self-love. And then tolerance is not passivity. Sometimes people think tolerance means anybody does anything to me, people come and treat me like a, treat me like garbage, they trample on me and I am supposed to tolerate it.
How can I do that? No. Tolerance is not passivity. You know, Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, tam pitikshesu bhag, tolerate.
But in the same Bhagavad Gita also tells Arjuna, find the word. So, Krishna is not telling Arjuna, tolerate all the atrocities of the Kauravas, tolerate the dishonour of the Raghunath. Just tolerate.
That is not the point. The point of tolerance is to keep small things small so that you can focus on big things. The tendency of the mind is any problem that comes in our life, makes it very big.
Oh, why did he do like that? Why did that happen? Why did this happen? And when you make small things big, then big things, you can’t focus on them. So, tolerance means we understand the big thing in my life is that I am meant to love and serve Krishna. And everything else as compared to that is small.
So, we are meant to tolerate whatever distracts us from our service to Krishna and focus on Krishna. If you are not tolerant, then any small thing which goes wrong, then you will get distracted by that. Why is this happening? Why is that happening? The tolerance means, okay, these things will keep happening, let me focus.
This is not a very important thing. Sometimes people will misunderstand me, sometimes people will criticise me, sometimes things will go wrong in my professional life, sometimes things will not be so good with my health. I will have to deal with them in the appropriate way.
But I don’t have to get bogged down with it. These things will come, these things will go. So, tolerance helps us to keep small things small.
It’s not passivity. Tolerance is actually purposeful activity. You understand, this is the big thing, this is what I am going to focus on.
And small things, I will not let them come in between. In this way, when you tolerate like a tree, that means, we focus on our relationship with Krishna. We focus on trying to glorify Krishna.
I don’t let other things come in the way. And if we do this, then we will be, our heart will be absorbed in the state of glorifying Krishna. सिदन्यः धड़ाहर्नी Perfect.
So, here, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying, I do not want any of the worldly things which people are chasing for. What I want, I simply want to be devoted to you. So sometimes we think that spiritual life means we have to give up all our attachments and we have to become detached.
Yes, that is one part of spiritual life. But the essence of bhakti is not attachment or detachment. It is commitment.
Attachment means, oh this gives me pleasure, so I want it, I want it, I want it. Detachment means, this doesn’t give me pleasure, so I’ll give it up. But again the focus is I. So in some ways detachment is better than attachment.
But not always. The important thing is that what are we focussing on after we become detached. So the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying here, I am not interested in worldly things.
Why? Because my dear Lord, I want to focus on you. Sometimes in our bhakti, we become very, normally in materialistic life, we are obsessed with the things which we want. I want to enjoy this, I want to enjoy that, I want to enjoy that.
And these material attachments, they obsess us. And sometimes in our devotional life, we get too obsessed with giving up things. I won’t do this, I won’t do this, I won’t do this, I won’t do this.
But when we get too obsessed in what we will not do, then what happens? We are actually not focussing on Krishna, we are focussing on that thing which we want to avoid. And whenever we think, I will not do this, I’ll give this up, I’ll avoid this. When that is our focus, that actually creates a sense of deprivation.
Oh, I can’t enjoy this, I can’t enjoy this. And when we feel deprived, eventually we succumb to that. And then what happens when we succumb to that? We become disheartened.
And in this way we become, instead of being devotees of Krishna, we become frustrated devotees of renunciation. We think the parameter of my bhakti is how much detached I am. If I am not detached, I become disheartened.
Yes, we need to give up certain things. But the way to give up some things is by taking up something better. Our focus has to be on taking up something better.
It’s like if I have this glass, now if I say I want to remove all the air from the glass. So now I may get some vacuum, air removing machine and I may create vacuum in it. But as soon as I move a little bit, tiny space comes in, again I become filled with air.
But if I just decide to fill this glass with water, the air won’t go away. So the way to remove air from the glass is not just simply by focussing on removing air. The way is by filling it with water.
So like that, there are some things which we want to give up. The way to purify the mind of selfish desires is not to drive out the desires. The way is to crowd out the desires.
When we drive out the desire, we think just get out, get out, get out. But then what happens? You keep thinking get out, get out, get out, get out. That’s bad, that’s bad, that’s bad.
That’s not that bad. That’s good, come on, enjoy it. And that way the mind tricks us.
Just thinking of the same thing again and again. So the way is to crowd out. Crowd out means we fill our life with positive activities connected with Krishna.
We take up commitment for Krishna’s sake. The more we become committed to Krishna’s service, the more we will be able to give up worldly things. Because our life will become filled with something much more fulfilling.
When Srila Prabhupada was asked, how do we know that we are Krishna conscious? What is Krishna conscious? In one lecture he says that when we come in front of the deities and if we feel that the deities are asking us, what are you doing for me? What are you doing for me? Then you are Krishna conscious. Now Prabhupada said, chant Hare Krishna, that is Krishna conscious. Chant Hare Krishna constantly, that is Krishna conscious.
Those who remember Krishna in Vrindavan, that is Krishna conscious. All that is true. But a practical level for us is, Krishna is my lord, I am his servant, I am meant to serve him.
What am I doing for him? If you feel like that, you are Krishna conscious. So the whole process of bhakti is a process of taking up commitment. Not attachment, not detachment, but commitment.
Now one of my services is also editing. So many Sri Nisargadatta Prabhupada disciples kindly engage me in that service by sending me their books to edit and review. So His Holiness Giriraj Maharaj wrote a book about life’s final exam.
So when he had written this book, I am from India, very conservative, brahmachari, focus on detachment. So then when I read Maharaj’s book, very beautiful about how so many souls were helped by Krishna bhakti in their last days. So there he wrote about how he helped his mother in her last days.
And then initially when his parents had came, parents told him that, when he became a devotee, at that time the parents came and gave a blank cheque to Prabhupada. And although his parents were so wealthy and they were ready to give so much, Giriraj Maharaj was completely detached. He was not shaken by that.
But later on, he felt that, I should try to serve my parents also, help them come to Krishna consciousness. So he started connecting with his mother. And then when he would meet his mother, they would discuss something Krishna conscious.
They would watch some Krishna conscious movies. But he realised that they couldn’t connect by that. They would watch the movie and it would be over.
Because she was from a different world, she couldn’t appreciate this so much. Then Maharaj said that we, I started sitting with her and we started watching some clean, wholesome movies with some moral cues. And then we started discussing based on that.
And we could discuss on that. So then when I read this section, as an editor sometimes we give comments to the authors. So I asked Maharaj, Maharaj said, I understand you are doing this with a pure motive.
But others may take this as a licence for watching movies. So Maharaj wrote back to me. He said that actually that’s possible.
Those who want to do it will anyway do it. But the important thing is that when we are expressing love, love needs to be expressed in the language that the other person understands. So when he may try to express love by helping his mother to come to Krishna conscious, but if she doesn’t understand what Krishna consciousness is, then he has to do what it takes.
So actually that was a revelation for me. I’d never thought of it like that. Then the idea of love is we help our loved ones to come to Krishna consciousness.
Yes, that is love. But to help them to come to Krishna consciousness, we have to show them that we also care for them. We also care for them.
And we have to show it in a way that they understand. So the focus is, if our focus is too much on detachment, then what happens is we become hard hearted. We become insensitive and then we alienate people.
If we focus not so much on detachment, but on commitment, that I have a relationship with Krishna and I have a relationship with others in relationship with Krishna and whatever it takes to help me grow in that relationship, I will do that. Then our bhakti will be much more positive and much more fulfilling. Here, Nityanand Mahaprabhu is saying, I am so fallen my dear lord, please lift me up.
So the theme you can focus on here is we are under the influence of Krishna. unqualified but we are never disqualified. Unqualified means that we don’t have the necessary qualification to practise bhakti.
We are very fallen. But at the same time, just because we are fallen, Krishna doesn’t reject us. Krishna doesn’t disqualify us.
Krishna doesn’t say you are not allowed to practise bhakti. However we are, wherever we are, Krishna is ready to welcome us. Krishna wants us to come to Him.
And the process of bhakti is founded on this conviction of Krishna’s unfailing, unflinching love for us. For so many lifetimes we have turned away from Krishna, but He never turned away from us. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna talks about different kinds of people who approach Him, there is a chapter, Udara sarva eva ite jnanitva atma eva imatam.
Krishna says that in 7.17, all the different kinds of people who come to be there, udara. Udara means charitable, large-hearted, magnanimous. Now, many of these people, if you look at the context of the Bhagavad Gita, people are coming for materialistic purposes.
Krishna, give me money. Krishna, solve this problem of mine. Krishna, please do this for me.
So why is Krishna calling them large-hearted? So Ramanujari explains in the Gita commentary that Krishna is so eager for our love that whatever be the reason, if we offer Him a little bhakti, He feels, oh, you are so charitable. You are giving your bhakti to me. That’s why I say, even people who are coming with materialistic motivation, but if they somehow become devotees, Krishna says udara, charitable.
So what we understand is that we all commit mistakes, but Krishna never rejects us because of our mistakes. In the Vishnu Sahasranam, it is said that, in the thousand names of Vishnu, Nimishon, Nimisha, Swagri, Vachaspati, Rudharathi. So Nimisha and Animisha.
It is said that the Lord blinks His eyes and the Lord never blinks His eyes. So how are these contradictory names given over there? So Baldev Vidyabhushan, in his commentary to the Vishnu Sahasranam says that what does Nimisha mean? He says if a devotee while serving Him, serving the Lord, if the devotee makes some mistake, Krishna blinks His eyes and overlooks the mistake. So Krishna blinks His eyes and overlooks the mistake.
On the other hand, if a devotee is serving Krishna, Krishna unblinkingly notes that service. He notes that service, remembers that service and rewards at the appropriate time. So no matter how fallen we are, Krishna’s love for us doesn’t depend on who we are.
Krishna’s love for us depends on who He is. He is the all loving supreme and He loves us irrespective of who we are. Of course, our experience of His love will depend on how pure we are.
Just like the sun gives light to everyone. But if my eyes are closed, I cannot see the sun’s light. Like that, as long as we are caught in loving the things of this world, we cannot appreciate Krishna’s love for us.
But still, Krishna never stops loving us. In fact, there is nothing we can ever do that can make Krishna stop loving us. That is Krishna’s unfailing love for us.
Therefore, rather than focussing on all the things that we have done wrong or all the things we are unable to do, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying, My dear Lord, you uplift me. So like that, Krishna, please uplift me. Focus on Krishna’s unfailing love for us.
That will give us hope no matter how hopeless our situation seems to be. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is reciting the Bhagavad Gita. So actually here it says that, My dear Lord, when will my eyes be filled with tears? When will I have the symptoms of love that manifest in a devotee’s life? So Krishna Bhakti is transcendental.
And transcendental means what? There are many different meanings. It is beyond the sentimental. It is beyond the judgemental.
Sometimes some devotees become very sentimental. Sometimes one devotee came to Prabhupada and said, Swamiji, you came in my dream and you told me to take marijuana, not to take drugs. And Prabhupada said, that was not me, it was maya in my dress.
So the point is that sometimes people say, Oh, Krishna came in my dream and said this. Krishna came in my dream and said that. Yes, now can Krishna come in our dreams? And who are we to stop Krishna from coming in our dreams? If he wants, he can come in anyone’s dream.
But if Krishna comes in our dreams, it is his mercy. It’s very special mercy if he comes in our dreams. But Baldevi Devotion explains in the Vedanta Sutra commentary Govinda Vashya that our spiritual advancement depends, spiritual advancement is possible only in the jagruhi stage, in the awake stage.
Because in the dream state, things are simply happening and we are watching. We are not consciously choosing in the dream state. So if Krishna comes in our dream, that is wonderful, that is his mercy.
But how much we advance depends on what we do after waking up. It is not that because Krishna came in my dream, so I am an advanced devotee. And therefore, after waking up, I can do whatever I want because I am an advanced devotee.
So sentimentality means that we just let ourselves be driven by emotions. Oh, this feels so good, so I will do it. This doesn’t feel good, I will not do it.
So if we become sentimental, then we cannot rise to the transcendental. So yes, there are sentiments in bhakti and Krishna can come in our dream. But the important thing is, what do we do when we wake up? If we are practising bhakti wholeheartedly, then even if Krishna doesn’t come in our dream, we will make spiritual advancement.
If we don’t practise bhakti wholeheartedly, even if Krishna comes in our dream, that will not lead to any lasting benefit for us. So being sentimental means that we just let be driven by sentiments. But bhakti means that we aspire for this advanced characteristic of devotion.
Along with that, we focus on the practical commitment to bhakti. Seriously doing the activities of bhakti by which we will grow towards Krishna. So we have the mind and the intelligence.
The mind obstructs us by becoming sentimental. And the intelligence obstructs us by becoming judgemental. Judgemental means that this devotee is like this, that devotee is like that, that devotee is like this.
We start, if we are doing one thing very well. Now we start judging everyone based on how well they are doing that thing. If I am fasting nirjala nikadashi and then I go in the kitchen and see who all are eating what.
So attached, fallen, no control over the senses. So I am thinking like that, that my body is fasting but my ego is feasting. My ego is feasting.
And when we become judgemental, then what is happening? We are becoming judgemental. That means rather than our heart focussing on Krishna and how great Krishna is, our heart is focused on the world and how fallen the world is. How much higher in the world I am.
So when we become judgemental, we can’t be transcendental. So in bhakti, our focus is that Krishna, when will I rise to this transcendental state? And if our eyes are on Krishna, we will move towards Krishna by the practise of bhakti. If our eyes are not on Krishna, then what happens? We may be caught by the mind, which will make us sentimental.
Or we may be caught by the intelligence, which will make us judgemental. Krishna says, When you offer your mind and intelligence to me, then you will attain me. Next verse.
So here Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying that, My dear Lord, in separation from you, one moment seems like a yuga, like a millennia for me. The whole world has become void. Now loving separation.
This is a special flavour of bhakti, which is taught by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, especially in the Gaudiya Vaishya Sampradaya. So what is this loving separation? It is the sweetness. What is the sweetness? It is fullness in emptiness.
What does that mean? Because Krishna is not there with us, we feel empty. But when Krishna is not there, our consciousness becomes absorbed in remembering Krishna. Here actually Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is manifesting the mood of Radharani.
Especially Radharani, after Krishna has departed from Vrindavan. After Krishna has departed from Vrindavan, at that time Radharani is longing for Krishna. Without Krishna, what is my life? Sunyatam jagat sarvam.
Whole life is simply unavoidable. But in this separation from Krishna, when there is a feeling that Krishna is not there, the consciousness becomes completely absorbed in Krishna. And in that absorption in Krishna, there is the experience of Krishna.
So although there is emptiness, because Krishna is not there, there is fullness because one is fully absorbed in the thoughts of Krishna. And that’s why it is actually ecstasy in agony. It’s agony because Krishna is not there.
But because remembrance of Krishna is so deep, there is ecstasy. So it’s a very extraordinary state of ecstasy in agony. And here love in separation, how do we understand it? And simple example is that separation does to love what wind does to fire.
If there is a forest fire, then if a wind comes over there, if there are firefighters, the worst nightmare is if a wind comes in a forest fire. That will spread in all directions. So like that for the advanced devotees, their love for Krishna is like a forest fire.
And there is separation that leads to further spreading of the fire. And the intense absorption in Krishna becomes even more by that. But we shouldn’t think, oh, I’ll go away from devotees, I’ll go away from Krishna.
And if there is separation, my love will increase. No, our love is not like a forest fire. Our love is like a candle’s flame.
You know, in a candle when a wind comes, what happens? The candle gets extinguished. So if we go away from devotee association, then what will happen? We will forget Krishna. So for us, you know, we need association, need association.
But we can appreciate these advanced things of devotion when the heart is so absorbed in Krishna that even when one is separated from Krishna, still one always remembers Krishna. Now I was saying about how there is a progression in the Shikshashtakam from the meditation on the holy name to meditation on Krishna. So this transition especially happens from the fifth text onwards.
The first verse was, okay, the holy name is Vijayate Shri Krishna ki, the glory of the holy name. The second verse also is meditation on how Krishna is manifesting as the holy name. The third, fourth verses are focussing on, third verse is what is the state of consciousness we should have so that we can absorb ourselves in Krishna, constant glorification of Krishna.
Fourth verse is expressing that same aspiration by turning away from the world. Fifth verse is Krishna, elevate me. Sixth text was, when will the symptoms of ecstasy manifest? When I chant the holy names.
Now seventh and eighth verses, the focus is on Krishna directly. So the first, second verses, the focus was on the holy name. The third to fifth verses, it was on the consciousness to connect with Krishna through the holy name.
And the seventh, eighth verses, the focus is completely on Krishna. So I said the holy name is Krishna that shows the way to Krishna. So initially the focus on the holy name and then by the right consciousness, the meditation is shifting completely to Krishna for absorption in Krishna.
Let’s go to the last text. Here Radharani is praying that Krishna, whether you are with me or whether you leave me or whether you make me broken hearted by being with someone else, still you are my lord. You are my lord.
I don’t know any lord other than you. In the material world, we all are self-centred. And when we talk about selflessness, we feel, oh, if I give up something which I have, then I lose it.
When I lose it, then I’ll have something less. So here Radharani is saying, if Krishna leaves me, then I, no, I don’t have Krishna. And worse if Krishna goes with someone else, then I lose Krishna.
But she is thinking, no, I’m not concerned about myself. I’m concerned about Krishna. If Krishna is happier with someone else, then I’m happy for Krishna’s sake.
Now, of course, Krishna is conquered by such an attitude. And being conquered by that attitude, Krishna manifests even more deeply in the heart of Shri Radharani. When Krishna plays the flute and calls the gopis, at that time, all the gopis come running into the forest.
pati-sutan-vaya-bhratra-bandhava ati-vilang-yate antya-cchuta-gataha So all the family members, they’re all obstructed. Somehow the gopis leave them all. They come charging to Krishna.
kati-vidas-tava-udgita-mohitaha They hear his flute. Now, Krishna’s flute sound is very sweet and soothing. But when Krishna plays the flute to call the gopis, that gopi’s sound, for the gopis, that sound is udgita.
It is an extremely loud sound. It is like a trumpet that they just can’t resist. They don’t hear the call of their family members.
They don’t hear the calls of their elders. They just rush out to see Krishna. And when they go out deep into the forest to meet Krishna, what happens? Krishna has some sweet interactions with them.
And then they start performing rastri. They start dancing and singing. And then it is said that the gopis become proud.
And then Krishna leaves them to be with Radharani. And then Radharani becomes proud and Krishna leaves her also. Actually, this is one level understanding.
In the Ana-Vrindavan Champo, written by Kavi Karanapur, he describes a deeper understanding. He says that actually the gopis are pure devotees and Radharani is the supreme pure devotee. Pride can never touch them.
What happens is that when the gopis are all dancing, Krishna is expanded in many forms. Krishna is dancing with each gopi. Now all the gopis know that although we love Krishna so much, but our love is nothing compared to Radharani’s love for Krishna.
And we want that Radharani’s special love we proclaim. We are happy that Krishna loves us. But the world should know and Krishna should know Radharani’s special love for Krishna.
So therefore the gopis act as if they are proud. So that Krishna leaves all of them except Radharani. And by Krishna leaving all of them except Radharani, Radharani’s love is celebrated.
Her love is glorified. And initially when Radharani sees that Krishna is only with me, and Krishna is taking her away, and all the gopis are there, no Krishna with them. Initially she feels happy, oh Krishna loves me so much.
Krishna is only with me. But then immediately she starts thinking, but what about Lalita, what about Vishnaka? And when Krishna is not with them, their heart will be shattered. And how can I enjoy Krishna’s company alone? When they are suffering in separation from Krishna.
And at that time Radharani acts as if she is proud. She tells Krishna, Krishna we have walked for a long time now. I am tired.
And Krishna, he acts as if in an angry tone, says okay. Because it is a forest, I can’t get a palanquin for you. So you climb on my back and I will carry you.
And Krishna speaks in an angry tone. Radharani looks at him. And as she is looking at him, he disappears.
And he disappears. Radharani is devastated. Oh Krishna, you left me.
And she just fails. Falls in a swoon. You know the human body is made in such a way, that when there is too much pain, and we can’t tolerate that pain, unconsciousness ceases from that pain.
So Radharani falls unconscious, because the pain of separation from Krishna is unbearable. And then what happens? All the gopis are searching for Krishna. And when they are searching for Krishna and they see, Krishna’s footprints with some other gopis’ footprints, they start thinking, who is this special gopi? Initially they feel a little angry.
Now who is this gopi who has stolen Krishna away from us? But when they come there, and they see Krishna’s footprints alone going away, they look around and they see Radharani fainted over there. Immediately, whatever negative feeling they had to go away, they immediately bring Radharani back to consciousness. That’s what happened to Krishna.
Radharani’s tear-filled eyes, absorbs her sad story. And all the gopis become united. And then they start searching for Krishna deep in the forest.
And they go so deep into the forest, that it’s so dark that they can’t even see their hand in front of us. It’s like we can’t find Krishna by searching for Krishna. We’ll find Krishna only by calling for Krishna.
So then they go back to the banks of the Yamuna. And the banks of Yamuna are the place where they perform intimate pastimes with Krishna. That is the place where their remembrance of Krishna is very intense.
And there they all chant the Gopi Gita. Now it’s significant that actually, this prayer is operated by Sri Gopya Uchuhu. It is Uvacha is singular, Uchuhu is plural.
So all the gopis are chanting the prayers. Jiva Goswami explains that each gopi is chanting one one of these verses. But they are representing the mood of the hearts of all of them.
And all of them are calling out to Krishna. And then they call out to Krishna, call out to Krishna. And Sri Prabhupada, in the Krishna book, what does he do? He describes the Gopi Gita.
He gives a paraphrase of the Gopi Gita in English. And then he says, in this way, the gopis chanted, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare. Now somebody may say, Bhagavatam doesn’t say the gopis chanted Hare Krishna.
Where does it say? So the point is, when scriptures are translated, the point is not to get it right. The point is to get it across. Now somebody may come to a temple and give a class in perfect Sanskrit.
If nobody understands the Sanskrit, what is the use of the class? Krishna is glorified but people are not benefited by that. The point is not just to get it right. The point is to get it across.
So the gopis’ feeling of love for Krishna, they are very exalted sentiments. And we can, by gradual purification, appreciate them. But the important principle underlying them is, that the gopis are calling for Krishna.
They are begging Krishna to come. And when we chant the holy names of Krishna, we are also calling for Krishna. So Srila Prabhupada is making that exalted Gopi Gita accessible for us through the chanting of the holy names.
That’s why he says, the gopis chanted Hare Krishna. And in this way, if we, under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada, practise the process of bhakti, and these exalted sentiments of pure love, they will all be revealed through gradual purification. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu descended to give us the supreme gift of love of God.
And Srila Prabhupada, as his most empowered representative, has spread that nectar of Krishna bhakti all over the world. And especially on occasions like God Purnima, which is coming in three days from now, it is an occasion for us to contemplate and appreciate the blessings that we have. The Shikshashtakam is a verse that we sing regularly, but by meditating on how it reveals this mysterious non-difference between Krishna’s holy name and Krishna, that can help us to dive deeper into the gift of the holy name.
And there, in the gift of the holy name, we realise and relish the gift of Krishna. So when we selflessly love Krishna, it is not that we lose anything. Because what happens? When we give something to Krishna, actually we give Krishna a place in our heart.
The point of bhakti is that we have to bring Krishna in our heart. But right now, there are many other things in our heart. So what we do? Whatever is in our heart, we give it to Krishna.
So when we give something from our heart to Krishna, what happens by that? Because that thing is dear to us, when we give that to Krishna, then we give Krishna a place in our heart. And when Krishna comes in our heart, then He enriches us internally with His presence, with His sweetness. So by giving something for Krishna, actually we gain Krishna.
And that’s how selfless love for Krishna doesn’t mean less for the self. It is actually infinitely more. Because the infinite manifests in our heart.
And what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says in the beginning, Anandam budhi vardhanam. An ocean of happiness that keeps expanding. That manifests in our heart.
When Krishna Himself manifests, His supremely sweet and sublime presence is there. So I’ll summarise, talk about the Shikshashtakam as a series of meditations which progress from meditation on the holy name to meditation on Krishna and thus reveal the non-difference of the holy name and Krishna. They reveal the progression of how the holy name reveals Krishna.
In the first verse, I focused on how the mind is a mirror which presently shows you the distorted self-conception because of which you always feel dissatisfied. So satisfaction will come not by outer acquisition but by inner purification and realisation. When the mirror becomes clean, you’ll see I am part of God.
God loves me and in that instant you’ll become satisfied. And then we discuss about Purnamruta. At present, bhakti may not feel joyful because there is poison in the beginning and nectar in the end.
But as we become purified, there will be constant nectar. In the second text, I discussed about how Krishna and His holy name, how are they the same? It is the potency is in the letters, the potency is in the mood and the meaning of those letters and the potency is also in the Lord who manifests through those letters. So when a person who has never seen gold sees gold and then realises the staircase that took him to the treasury was also gold.
Like that, when we realise Krishna, then we realise that actually the holy name is also Krishna. Till then, we can, with the philosophical understanding, appreciate the experience of Krishna that we get through the holy name. This is a mother, judge, baby with closed eyes, may not see the mother but feels the mother’s love through the comforting warmth of the blanket.
Like that, we may not see Krishna but by the relief, the peace, the joy that we experience in remembering Krishna, in chanting His holy name, we can sense, understand this to be the presence of Krishna. When I talked about, for the third text, that humility, the point is not that either we are positively self-absorbed thinking I am so great or negatively self-absorbed thinking I am so bad, so fallen. The point is, humility takes us out of self-consciousness and helps our consciousness focus on Krishna.
And similarly, tolerance is not just accepting anything and everything that happens but it is to keep small, tolerance means to keep small things small so that we can focus on the big things. And the biggest thing is our relationship with Krishna, our service to Krishna. And by humility and tolerance, our heart will become absorbed in the glories of Krishna, in the glorification of Krishna, kirtanya sadhari.
In the fourth text, I discussed about how we have to give up the things of this world for attaining Krishna, but our focus is not attachment, enjoying this world, or attachment, giving up the world. Our focus is on commitment, not what we give up, but what we take up for Krishna’s service. So instead of trying to empty a glass, which is very difficult, we fill the glass with air, water, the air will go.
Either the process of removing impure desires from our heart is not driving them out, it is crowding them out. We take up committed service for Krishna and other undesirable things will go away from there. And I discussed about how detachment can sometimes make us cold-hearted and alienate us from people.
But commitment will help us to do the needful, to connect with people. I talked about how Giriraj Maharaj connected with his mother. And then in the fifth text, we discussed about how we are unqualified, but we are never disqualified.
Krishna loves us unconditionally. His love for us doesn’t depend on who we are, it depends on who He is, as our all-loving Lord. Of course, our experience of His love depends on how we are.
So we need to purify ourselves. Otherwise, with our eyes closed, we cannot see the sunlight. We don’t want to purify ourselves, but we can always be hopeful, no matter how many times we slip and fall, by remembering that Krishna still loves us and Krishna is still ready to lift us up.
Then we discussed about exalted devotional sentiments, the sixth text, that we want those advanced sentiments, but we should not be sentimental, thinking just because I had some special experience, I saw Krishna in a dream, I felt tears when I had darshan, therefore, I have become a great devotee. Now these are good, this is Krishna’s mercy if such things happen. But what is more important is how we are committing ourselves to the process of bhakti.
What happens in a dream is not as important as what happens when we wake up, how we serve Krishna. And when the mind comes in the way of our bhakti, we become sentimental. When the intelligence comes in the way, we become judgemental, thinking, oh, this person is like that, this person is like that.
But we have to become transcendental, we have to offer the mind and intelligence both to Krishna. So that seventh text I discussed about how by this time the focus is now completely coming on Krishna. And then our love and separation is what? There is emptiness because Krishna is not there.
But when Krishna is not there, remembrance of Krishna is so great that there is fullness in that. And that fullness and emptiness, that is very sweet, supremely sweet. So love, separation does to love, what wind does to fire.
When the flame is great and the love is great, the love increases, the fire increases. But when the flame is small, like in our case, then it may get extinguished. So we have to cherish association right now.
So we can appreciate the exalted state of Radharani’s love, which was also manifested by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the state of separation from Krishna. And lastly, I discussed about how selfless love is not less for the self. It is infinitely more.
I talked about the Raas Leela and how when Krishna, when Krishna was with the Gopis, all the Gopis, they did what it took to glorify Radharani. And Radharani did what it took to pacify the Gopis. And ultimately all of them came together and they called out to Krishna.
By the fervent calling out, Krishna manifested. And we can call out similarly by chanting the holy names. And the purpose of chanting is to bring Krishna into our heart.
But because other things are there in our heart, so we offer those things to Krishna. We offer whatever is dear to us, our wealth, our property, our talents, whatever it is we have. When we offer something from our heart to Krishna, we give Krishna a place over there.
And from that one place, Krishna will spread his enriching presence all over our heart. And therein we find life’s supreme enrichment. Thank you very much.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Ki! Jai! Chaitanya Sikshashtakam Ki! Jai! Srila Prabhupada Ki! Jai! Gaura Bhakta Vindaki! Jai! Gaura Premanandai! We don’t have much time. Does anyone have one question? You like to ask? Thank you very much. So as I mentioned, I have written a few books.
And they are available here. So in case any of you want these books, this is Gita for Daily Enrichment. There are 365 short meditations on the Gita.
One, one page. This is especially good for a quick reflection of the Gita or introducing people who feel the Gita is too big and difficult to read. They read one, one article, and then they see that it’s understandable, it’s approachable, and they get inspired to read the Gita.
So one article for each day of the year. 365 articles are there in this book. The Gita has seven verses that talk about the mind.
And in this book called Minded, there are 64 articles based on the seven verses on the mind. So various ways of managing the mind. That is what this book talks about.
Then, this is a book, My Little Bhakti Companion. This is especially question answers for practising devotees. I find chanting boring.
What should I do? Or how can we resist our impulsive behaviour? Or somebody has hurt us. Is forgiving them practical? How can we forgive them? So this kind of question answers are discussed in this book, My Little Bhakti Companion. This is frequently unanswered questions.
This is more questions for new people. What is the proof that God exists? Is there evidence for reincarnation? Or some more complex questions also. If God can do everything, can he make a square circle? So this kind of questions.
There are 52 questions discussed in this book. Frequently unanswered questions. This is timeless wisdom on current issues.
This is especially spiritual commentary on current affairs. So for example, when there was this terrible gang rape in Delhi. So what does spiritual wisdom say about that? Or a scientist claimed to have discovered a God particle.
Then what does it mean? What does it actually mean? So the current affairs are discussed in this book from a spiritual perspective. This is, I used to write articles in newspapers in India like Times of India. There are 52 articles which are published in various newspapers.
I mean short articles especially for introductory audiences. There was this Bollywood movie PK, which was a critique of religion in general. So the question that it raised I have answered in this book.
GK for PK. So GK actually refers to three things. It is general knowledge, God knowledge and Gita knowledge.
So basically that I have answered. And then this is energy, your sutra for positive thinking. So how spirituality can help us to do positive thinking? That’s what is talked about in this book.
Now unfortunately, we don’t have any copies of this book. So with these books, but we had ordered them, but the orders have not yet come. So the books will be available.