<center>From DhAmAli
The Mercy of SrI Gaura and NityAnanda
By SrI Locana DAsa ThAkura
With purports by AC Bhaktivednata Swami Prabhupada</center>
parama koruNa, pahU dui jana,
nitAi gauracandra
saba avatAra-sAra ziromaNi,
kevala Ananda-kanda
<b>
The two Lords, NitAi-Gauracandra, are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful.
</b>Parama koruNa, pahU dui jana, nitAi gauracandra. This is a song by Locana dAsa ThAkura, a great devotee and AcArya of the GauDIya-sampradAya. He is declaring that pahU dui jana. PahU means lords. Dui jana means two. Who are the two lords? NitAi Gauracandra. One is Lord NitAi, NityAnanda; another is Lord SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu. So he says that "These two Lords are very merciful.'' Parama koruNa, pahU dui jana. Parama koruNa means very merciful. Nitai Gauracandra. Saba avatAra, sAra ziromaNi. AvatAra means incarnation, and saba means all. "They are the essence of all incarnations.'' Saba avatAra, sAra ziromaNi, kevala Ananda-kanda: "And the specific significance of these incarnations is that to engage in their ways of self-realization is simply joyful,'' Ananda-kanda. They introduced chanting and dancing. No other incarnation has ever done that. There are many incarnations, like Lord RAma. Even KRSNa, He taught Bhagavad-gItA. That requires knowledge, understanding. But here Lord Caitanya, NityAnanda, introduced some process which is simply joyful: simply chant and dance. Kevala Ananda-kanda. Saba avatAra, sAra ziromaNi, kevala Ananda-kanda.
Therefore he requests everyone, bhajo bhajo bhAi, caitanya nitAi: "My dear brothers, I request you. Just you worship Lord Caitanya and NityAnanda.'' SudRDha bizwAsa kori': "With firm faith and conviction.'' Don't think that this chanting and dancing will not lead you to the desired goal. It will because there is the assurance of Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu that you will get all perfection by this process. Therefore Locana dAsa ThAkura says that "You must have firm faith and conviction.'' It will act. Bhajo bhajo bhAi, caitanya nitAi, sudRDha. SudRDha means firm. BizwAsa kori', with faith and conviction. But what is the process? The process is viSaya chADiyA, se rase majiyA. If you want to be KRSNa conscious with that process, then you have to give up your engagement of sense gratification. That is the only restriction. If you can do that. Then it will be very nice. If you give up sense gratification and come to this stage, then it is for sure that you will reach the desired goal. ViSaya chADiya, se rase majiyA, mukhe bolo hari hari: "And you have to simply chant Hare KRSNa, ‘Hari Hari,' that's all, without any motives for sense gratification.''
Dekho dekho bhAi, tri-bhuvane nAi. He says, "My dear brothers, you just try and examine that within these three worlds there is nobody like Lord Caitanya or NityAnanda Prabhu.'' Because, pazu pAkhI jhure, pASANa vidare: "Their mercy and qualities are so great that even birds and beasts are crying, what to speak of human beings?'' When Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu passed through the forest of JhArigrAma, the tigers, the elephants, the snake, the deer, all joined Him in chanting Hare KRSNa. It is so nice. Anyone can join. If animals can join, what to speak of human beings? Of course, it is not possible for ordinary men to enthuse animals to chant, but Caitanya MahAprabhu actually did it. So even if we cannot enthuse animals, we can enthuse at least human beings to this path of Hare KRSNa mantra chanting. Pazu pAkhI jhure, pASANa vidare. And it is so nice that even the most stonehearted men will melt. PASANa vidare. PASANa means stone, and vidare. PASANa, even stone, will melt. It is so nice. But he regrets that, viSaya majiyA: "Being entrapped by sense gratification...'' ViSaya majiyA, rohili bhuliyA. He's addressing himself, "My dear mind, you are entrapped in the process of sense gratification and you have no attraction for chanting Hare KRSNa.''
ViSaya bhuliyA, rohili majiyA, se pade nahilo Aza: "You have no attraction for the lotus feet of Caitanya-NityAnanda. So what can I say? Apana karama, bhuJjAya zamana: "I can only simply think of my misfortune that when YamarAja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me in this way, that he is not allowing me to be attracted to this movement.'' This is the statement of kahoye locana-dAsa: "This is the statement of Locana dAsa ThAkura.'' (end)
<center>bhajo bhajo bhAi, caitanya nitAi,
sudRDha bizwAsa kori'
viSaya chAriyA, se rase majiyA
mukhe bolo hari hari
My dear brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya and NityAnanda with firm conviction and faith. If one wants to be KRSNa conscious by this process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. One simply has to chant, "Hare KRSNa! Hari Hari!" without any motive.
</center>Parama koruNa, pahU dui jana, nitAi gauracandra. This is a song sung by Locana dAsa ThAkura, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, almost contemporary. He wrote one book, Caitanya-maGgala, depicting the activities of Lord Caitanya. Caitanya-maGgala is a very famous book. He has composed many songs. Practically all VaiSNavas are transcendentally poetic. That is one of the 26 qualifications of a VaiSNava. So he says that "These two Lords," nitAi gauracandra, "Lord NityAnanda and Lord GaurAGga, or Lord Caitanya, They are very merciful incarnations.'' Saba avatAra-sAra ziromaNi. "They are the essence of all incarnations.'' The incarnation is described in the Bhagavad-gItA that whenever there are discrepancies in the prosecution of religiosities and there is a prominence of impious activities, at that time the Lord incarnates, or descends on this material world, for the protecting of the pious and annihilating the impious. That is the mission of incarnation. With every incarnation you'll find two things. Lord KRSNa, He's so beautiful, so kind, but He is also very dangerous to the demons. The demons were seeing Him as a thunderbolt and the gopIs were seeing Him as the most beautiful cupid. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gItA, ye yathA mAM prapadyante. The God is realized in proportion to one's freedom from the demoniac propensities.
In this age, the last incarnation, Kalki, will simply kill. He will come long after. But here Lord Caitanya, His mission is not killing, simply favoring. That is the specific characteristic of Lord Caitanya. Because in this age, of course, there is very much prominence of irreligiosity. But if Lord Caitanya wanted to kill them, then there would be no question of their salvation. Anyone of course, who is killed by the incarnation also gets salvation. But not to the spiritual planets, they merge into the Brahman effulgence as the impersonalists desire. In other words, the impersonalist's goal of salvation is as good as the goal of salvation for the enemies of God. That is not a very difficult job. So Lord Caitanya is very merciful because He is embracing everyone by bestowing love of KRSNa. RUpa GosvAmI has described Lord Caitanya as the most munificent of all the incarnations because He is giving KRSNa to everyone, without any qualifications. So Locana dAsa ThAkura says that parama koruNa, pahU dui jana, nitAi gauracandra, that They are the essence of all incarnations. Kevala Ananda-kanda. And Their preaching process is very pleasing. Caitanya MahAprabhu recommends "You chant Hare KRSNa, dance nicely, and when you feel tired, just take rest and eat KRSNa prasAdam." So His formula is very pleasing. Kevala Ananda-kanda. While He was present in JagannAtha PurI, every day in the evening, the chanting and dancing continued. And after the dancing was finished, He used to distribute prasAdam of JagannAtha sumptuously. So many thousands of people used to assemble every night. So this movement is simply transcendentally pleasing. Kevala Ananda-kanda.
Then he recommends, bhajo bhajo bhAi, caitanya nitAi. "My dear brother, just try to worship these two Lords, Caitanya and NityAnanda," sudRDha vizvAsa kori', "with faith and conviction." One should have faith in the words of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya says that "Go on chanting. Simply by chanting, one will get all perfection of life." So this is a fact. Unless we take to chanting, we cannot realize it, but those who are chanting, they are realizing that they're getting all the desired perfection of life very quickly. So we should chant this mantra with faith and conviction. But he says, the only qualification required in this connection is, viSaya chADiyA, se rase majiyA, mukhe bolo hari hari. We have to chant with faith and conviction and at the same time we should take care to guard against sense enjoyment. ViSaya chADiyA, viSaya means sense enjoyment. And chADiyA means give up. One should give up sense enjoyment. Of course, in this materialistic life we have got our senses and we are practiced to use them. We cannot stop that. But there is no question of stopping, but they should be regulated. Just like we want to eat. ViSaya means eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. So these things are not forbidden altogether. But they're regulated just to make it favorable for executing my KRSNa consciousness. Just like eating, we should not eat just to satisfy the taste. We should eat only just to keep ourself fit for executing KRSNa consciousness. Eating is not stopped, but it is regulated favorably. Similarly, mating. Mating is also not stopped. But the regulative principle is that you should marry and you should have sex life only for begetting KRSNa conscious children. Otherwise don't do it. So everything is regulated. There is also no question of stopping defense. Arjuna was fighting, defending, under the order of KRSNa. So everything is there. Nothing is stopped. It is simply adjusted for executing our KRSNa consciousness favorably. ViSaya chADiyA. We should not accept these viSaya, these four principles of bodily demands, namely eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, for sense gratification. No. The politicians, they're fighting for sense gratification. They do not look after the welfare of the people. They fight for their political aggrandizement. That kind of fighting is forbidden. But when fight is necessity for defending people, that fighting should be taken. So we have to give up this principle of sense gratification, or sense gratificatory process.
Dekho dekho bhAi tri-bhuvane nAi. Then he says, "Just see, there is nobody else more merciful.'' Pazu pAkhI jhure, pASANa vidare. By His mercy even the birds and beasts are maintained. Actually, when Caitanya MahAprabhu passed through the forest known as JhArikhaNDa in central India, He was only accompanied by his personal attendant, and while passing through the forest, He touched one tiger. The tiger was sleeping, and answered roaring. Caitanya MahAprabhu's attendant thought, "Now we are finished.'' But Caitanya MahAprabhu asked the tiger, "Why you are sleeping? Just stand up. Chant Hare KRSNa.'' And the tiger began to dance. So this actually happened. When Caitanya MahAprabhu preached this Hare KRSNa movement, the tigers, the deer, everyone joined. We are not so powerful of course. But it is possible, at least we have seen, that the dogs are dancing in saGkIrtana. It is possible, but we may not attempt such a great risk. But Caitanya MahAprabhu could induce the tigers to dance, we can at least induce every human being to dance. This is such a nice movement.
So pazu pAkhI jhure, pASANa vidare. PASANa means stone. So even the stone-hearted man also melts by chanting Hare KRSNa. That we have seen and experienced. PASANa vidare, zuni' jAra guNa-gAthA. Simply by hearing the transcendental pastimes and characteristics of Lord Caitanya, even the stone-hearted men also melt. There were many instances, JagAi MAdhAi. Many fallen souls, they became elevated to the highest spiritual platform. Then Locana dAsa ThAkura says that viSaya majiyA, rohili poriyA. "Unfortunately I am so much entrapped in the demands of these bodily senses, that I have forgotten the lotus feet of Caitanya MahAprabhu.'' ViSaya majiyA, rohili poriyA, se pade nahilo Aza. "I could not fulfill the desire to be attached to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.'' Why is it so? So he's lamenting that Apana karama, bhuJjAye zamana, that "I am suffering the sequence of my past misdeeds, because of that I could not be attracted by the KRSNa consciousness movement. It is a punishment on me by YamarAja, the superintendent of death.'' Actually, this KRSNa consciousness movement, saGkIrtana movement, is so nice and attractive, that every unsophisticated person shall be attracted. But if one is not attracted, it is to be understood that he is being punished by the laws of the superintendent of death. Anyway, if we stick to this principle of chanting, then even YamarAja, the superintendent of death, will also fail to punish us. That is the verdict of Brahma-saMhitA. Brahma-saMhitA says, one who takes to this devotional life, his reactions of past deeds are adjusted immediately. So every one of us should take part in this KRSNa consciousness movement by chanting Hare KRSNa Hare KRSNa KRSNa KRSNa Hare Hare, Hare RAma Hare RAma RAma RAma Hare Hare. (end)
<center>dekho ore bhAi, tri-bhuvane nAi
emona doyAla dAtA
pazu pAkhI jhure, pASANa vidare
zuni' jAra guNa-gAthA
My dear brother, just try and examine this. Within the three worlds there is no one like Lord Caitanya or Lord NityAnanda. Their merciful qualities are so great that upon hearing them even birds and beasts cry and stones melt.
</center>PahU dui jana. PahU means prabhu. The shortcut is pahU. Prabhu, lord, or master. So these two prabhus, Caitanya MahAprabhu and NityAnanda Prabhu, Caitanya MahAprabhu is addressed as MahAprabhu, MahA-puruSa. And the others, they are addressed as prabhu. So these two prabhus, NityAnanda Prabhu and Caitanya MahAprabhu, are very merciful, parama koruNa. Parama koruNa means extremely merciful. Extremely merciful because KRSNa is also merciful, but because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original feature. Caitanya MahAprabhu is also KRSNa, but He is acting as devotee. He is not acting as KRSNa. He is acting as devotee of KRSNa.
namo mahA-vadAnyAya
kRSNa-prema-pradAya te
kRSNAya kRSNa-caitanya-
nAmne gaura-tviSe namaH
He is KRSNa, but at present He has assumed the name of KRSNa-caitanya. SArvabhauma BhaTTAcArya also appreciated Caitanya MahAprabhu. He wrote one hundred verses about Caitanya MahAprabhu, but Caitanya MahAprabhu, just to teach us, destroyed the zlokas, "Oh, it is praising Me too much." So some of the zlokas were saved. Two of them are mentioned in the Caitanya-caritAmRta. So one of the zloka verse, is
vairAgya-vidyA-nija-bhakti-yoga-
zikSArtham ekaH puruSaH purANaH
zrI-kRSNa-caitanya-zarIra-dhArI
kRpAmbudhir yas tam ahaM prapadye
SArvabhauma BhaTTAcArya is offering his obeisances to Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu, speaking like this, that "You are the same original person, KRSNa. But You have now assumed the form of KRSNa Caitanya just to teach vairAgya-vidyA-nija-bhakti-yogam. You have come to teach the mass of people the art of becoming detached from this material world.'' VairAgya-vidyA. VairAgya. RAgya means attachment and virAga means detachment. So we fallen conditioned souls are very much attached to these material bodies, and consequently this material world. This is the disease. This is called bhava-roga, or material disease, to become attached to this body. "I am Indian,'' "I am American,'' "I am white,'' "I am black''--I identify with this body because we are very much attached to this body. But if we study very deeply, "Why I am attached to this body?'' Suppose if there is some danger, and immediately a warning, that this roof is going to fall down, we shall immediately take care of our own body, not of our Godbrothers. Because we are very much attached to this body. This is our first business, how to save this body. Now, the next question is "Why you are so much anxious to save this body?'' What will be the answer? Why one is so much attached to this body? The answer is that because I, the real I, I am within this body, therefore am I anxious to save it. Then why are you anxious to save the individual soul? The answer will is that because I am part and parcel of KRSNa. So ultimately we want to love KRSNa, but because we are on a forgetful platform, someone is trying to save his body, someone is trying to save his bodily relationship. Therefore in so many ways we have become implicated with this material atmosphere.
SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu came to teach us how to become detached to this material body. That is vairAgya-vidyA. VidyA means vairAgya-vidyA. VidyA does not mean to become more and more attached to this material world. That is avidyA, illusion, because I will not be able to save this body. This body will change. I will be annihilated. But still, I am very much anxious for this body. This is called illusion or ignorance or avidyA. So Caitanya MahAprabhu came to teach us vairAgya-vidyA, how to become detached. He personally showed by His life's example, He was a very learned scholar in NavadvIpa. His name was NimAi PaNDita, and He was also very influential. He was so influential that simply by His calling, 100,000 people joined Him to partake in a civil disobedience movement, disobeying the order of the Magistrate that "You cannot perform kIrtana." So Caitanya MahAprabhu immediately organized about one lakh of people and went on to perform at the house of the Magistrate. The civil disobedience movement was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in India against the British government. But five hundred years before, Caitanya MahAprabhu started this civil disobedience movement against the order of the Kazi. He was so popular. He was a very learned scholar, He was a young man, twenty, twenty-two years, but He was also so popular that He could call 100,000 people at once to start this civil disobedience.
His other name is Gaurasundara, a very beautiful boy, and NimAi PaNDita, a very learned scholar. Nobody could defeat Him. He was very influential and born in a very high-grade brAhmaNa family. His father, His grandfather, were very, very learned scholars. So in every way He was very well situated, although the brAhmaNas are not very rich. They do not care for money. They are interested in knowledge, brahma-jJAna, and if one knows Brahman, then he is brAhmaNa. Brahma jAnAtIti brAhmaNaH: "BrAhmaNa means one who knows the Absolute Truth." That is brahma-jJAna. This human life is meant for that purpose, athAto brahma-jijJAsA. Everyone should be interested to inquire about Brahman, the Absolute Truth. At least, a class of those men must be there in the society. That is the brain of the society, brAhmaNa. Just like you have got a brain in your body. If the brain is absent, if the brain has gone mad, then your whole body is useless. That is the position at the present moment. There is no brain in this society. All zUdras, no brAhmaNas. Because nobody is interested in the Absolute Truth.
Everyone is interested in on how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex and how to defend. That is going on, nationwide, worldwide. Therefore our KRSNa consciousness movement is interested to make a section of the people brAhmaNa, brain. They can guide. Not that everyone requires to be brAhmaNa; that is not possible. Unless one is very intelligent, he cannot become brAhmaNa. BrAhmaNa means the most intellectual class of society. That is brAhmaNa. Satya zamaH damaH titikSa ArjavaH, jJAnaM vijJAnam AstikyaM brahma-karma svabhAva-jam. These are the brAhmaNa's qualifications. He must be truthful, so much so, that he will not keep any secrets even from his enemies. That is called truthfulness. And zamaH. SamaH means controlling the senses. SamaH means controlling the mind. The mind is our enemy; the mind is our friend. If we can control the mind, then the mind acts as a very good friend. And if we do not control the mind, then he will act as an enemy. Therefore the yoga system means controlling the mind and controlling the senses, so they act as my friend. Otherwise they will act as my enemy. KAma krodha lobha moha.
So there is a necessity for a class of men who will act as the brain of society. That is called brAhmaNa. That is real human society, where there are four classes of men: one acting as brain, one acting as arms or armies or protection, one acting as belly, or the food digesting machine. Unless you eat and digest food, how will your body be maintained? So everything is very scientifically designed in Vedic civilization. In the Kali-yuga there is a scarcity of brAhmaNas. BrAhmaNa is vairAgya. A brAhmaNa is not interested with pounds, shilling, pence, "Get money and enjoy." That is not the brAhmaNa's business. What us enjoying? That is illusion. You cannot enjoy because you are conditioned by the stringent laws of nature, and where is enjoyment? There is no enjoyment. But they are thinking, "I am enjoying." This is called illusion or mAyA. There cannot be any enjoyment. When you are conditioned under the stringent laws of nature, you are not free. You do not like to die. You are forced to die. You must die. You cannot say, "No, I will not die." No, that is not possible. So where is your freedom? But we are declaring, "Now we are independent." This is all illusion.
So Caitanya MahAprabhu appeared to save us from all these illusions. That is Caitanya MahAprabhu. Caitanya means living, not dead. If we have no spiritual consciousness, if we have not KRSNa's consciousness, then we are dead. What is this body? This body is dead. Alive or dead, so-called dead, it is already dead because it is matter. But because there is a spirit soul present, the body is moving. The same example: the motor car, what is this? A lump of matter, some iron, some other metals or some rubbers and combination. And so long the driver is there--it is moving--it is important so long it is moving. And as soon as the movement stops, you throw it away. That is a very good experience in your country. So many useless motor cars are heaped together. So similarly, brAhmaNa means that one must know who the driver of this body is, brahma-jJAna. So at the present moment nobody knows who is driving this body. So therefore all of them are zUdras, fourth-class men. There is no first-class man. But in the human society there must be four classes of men: first class, second class, third class and the fourth class which is also required for assisting the higher, third class. Everything is very nicely described in the Bhagavad-gItA, and Bhagavad-gItA was taught by KRSNa Himself. But people could not follow Him, they misunderstood Him. Therefore KRSNa came again as KRSNa-caitanya to teach personally the philosophy of KRSNa.
Caitanya MahAprabhu did not teach anything else than what was taught by KRSNa. Therefore, Sarvabhauma BhaTTAcArya said, vairAgya-vidyA-nija-bhakti-yogaM zikSArtham, purANah puruSaH. That Supreme Personality of Godhead... VairAgya-vidyA-nija-bhakti-yogaM zikSArtham ekaH purANaH puruSaH, zrI-kRSNa-caitanya-zarIra-dhArI: "Now You have assumed the form of SrI KRSNa-caitanya, but You are KRSNa.'' RUpa GosvAmI said. We have to follow the mahAjanas, great personalities, authorities. MahAjano yena gataH sa panthAH. We cannot manufacture a way of life. We have to follow the footprints of mahAjana, great personality. That is the way. Here, at the present moment, everyone is speculating. What is the use of speculation? You are imperfect. Your senses are imperfect. Whatever you establish, because you have established by imperfect senses, they are all imperfect. Therefore, that suffering, there is no solution. So speculative method will not help us. So Caitanya MahAprabhu's teaching is, it is not as He had manufactured something. He is also following. He quoted one verse from the prayers of Lord BrahmA.
jJAne prayAsam udapAsya namanta eva
(jIvanti) san-mukharitAM bhavadIya-vArtAm
sthAne sthitAH zruti-gatAM tanu-vAG-manobhir
ye prAyazo 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyAm
This is a quotation from SrImad-BhAgavatam in BrahmA's prayer to KRSNa. The purport is that you should give up this bad habit of speculation. JJAne prayAsam. PrayAsam means endeavor: "I shall get this knowledge by speculating." This is called jJAna-prayAsam, endeavoring uselessly for knowledge. So udapAsya. You give it up. JJAne prayAsam udapAsya namanta. Just become submissive. Don't think yourself very learned. Because if the senses are imperfect, how you can be learned? Whatever you see, that is imperfect. Just like we see the sun every day, with these eyes. And what do we see? It appears just like a disc. But is it a disc? It is fourteen hundred times bigger than this earth. So what is the value of your seeing? You cannot even see what is behind the wall. Still, you are proud of your seeing power--"Can you show me? Can you show me God?" And what power you have got to see? That he does not consider. He thinks, "I have got seeing power." Similarly, you study every sense--they are all imperfect, blunt. So any knowledge you acquire by gymnastic of the senses--useless. This is Caitanya MahAprabhu's teaching. Not just Caitanya MahAprabhu's, it is also the BhAgavata's teachings as well. So we have to give up this nonsense idea, that "I can attain to perfect knowledge by speculation, manodharma, mental gymnastic." This will not help us.
So jJAne prayAsam udapAsya namanta eva. Just become submissive. And how to submit? You must submit to a perfect person. Otherwise why should you submit? Tad-vijJAnArthaM sa gurum eva abhigacchet, samit-pANiH zrotriyaM brahma-niSTham. So BhagavAn SrI KRSNa also says,
tad viddhi praNipAtena
paripraznena sevayA
upadekSyanti tad jJAnaM
jJAninaH tattva-darzinaH
Tattva-darzI, one who has seen things as they are. Go there and take knowledge from him, not from one who is speculating. This is the Vedic process. Therefore it is called zruti. SravaNam. SravaNaM kIrtanaM viSNoH. SravaNam means hearing, kIrtanam means glorifying. Of whom? About ViSNu, not for anything else. So SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu approved this point. When He was talking with SrI RAmAnanda RAya, RAmAnanda RAya suggested various methods of self-realization. So SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu did not reject them. He said, "Yes, that is also nice, but go farther still." So in this way, when RAmAnanda RAya quoted this verse from SrImad-BhAgavatam, jJAne prayAsam udapAsya, He said... No, in the beginning He had, eho bAhya, Age kaha: "This process is not very important; it is external. If you know better than this, say." So in this way, after many rejections, when RAmAnanda RAya came to this version, jJAne prayAsam udapAsya, Caitanya MahAprabhu did not say that it was useless. Eho haya: "Yes, it is nice." Eho haya: "It can be accepted." That is the beginning, that don't try to speculate. Just become humble and meek and hear from the realized soul. Namanta. JJAne prayAsam udapAsya namanta eva. Just become submissive. Do not think that you know everything. That is your illusion, mAyA. Because you cannot know everything. You can or may know something. But is not possible that you know everything.
You cannot know everything perfectly simply by speculating or handling your imperfect senses. San-mukharitAM bhavadIya-vArtAm. You hear from the realized soul. So hear from KRSNa. He is perfect. And sthAne sthitAH. To hear about KRSNa, you do not require to change your position. SthAne sthitAH. You are a medical man? That's all right. Remain a medical man. You are a scientist? That's all right. You are a lawyer? That's all right. You are a fool? That's all right. (laughter) Because everyone is a fool, but they are divided by mental concoction that "Here is a fool; here is a learned.'' Because the learned is also a fool. But by mental concoction, he is recognized as intelligent. Same mental concoction. Dvaite' bhadrAbhadra sakali samana. Caitanya-caritAmRta kar said that "In the material world, this is good; and this is bad--this is all mental speculation.'' Dvaite' bhadrAbhadra sakali samana, ei bhAla, ei manda', saba manodharma: "That division, ‘This is good; this is bad,' it is mental speculation.'' It has no value. So this mental speculation will not help us. And therefore sthAne sthitAH. You remain in your position. It doesn't matter, good or bad. The mental speculator's verdict that "This is good; this is bad. This is intelligent; this is foolish,'' they are all mental speculations. That will not help.
So you remain in your position. Either good or bad, it doesn't matter. But you do one thing. SthAne sthitAH zruti-gatAM tanu-vAG-manobhiH. You use your ears. These ears are bestowed upon everyone, either fool or learned. So use that ear, sthAne sthitAH zruti-gatAM tanu-vAG-manobhiH, and hear attentively, and mold your life as you hear from the realized soul. SthAne sthitAH zruti-gatAM tanu-vAG-mano. One who remains like this, although he is an imperfect fool, whatever he may be, he can conquer the ajita. Ajita means God. Nobody can conquer Him, but a devotee who sincerely hears about Him from the realized soul, he can conquer even Ajita, KRSNa. Just like the gopIs. The gopIs were women and not very high class woman, cowherd's men, in the village, not in town, very educated, high society, brAhmaNa, kSatriya, no. They all belonged to the vaizya class. And they were woman, not Vedantists, not scholars. But they conquered KRSNa. How? They heard about KRSNa, and they became lovers of KRSNa. That is required. So that is the real qualification. Caitanya MahAprabhu, He was so strict about womanly association. Still, He recommended, ramyA kAcid upAsanA vrajavadhU-vargabhir yA kalpitA: "There is no better type of worshiping KRSNa than the system which vraja-vadhU, the gopIs, adopted to love KRSNa. That is first-class.'' That is the recommendation of Vedic zAstra. Sa vai puMsAM paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokSaje. First-class religion means to understand God. That is the sum and substance.
The process may be different according to country, men. Just like we worship the Deity in the temple. This is also bhakti. And the Christians go to the church and offer prayers to God. That is also bhakti. That is also bhakti. Nine items of bhakti. SravaNaM kIrtanaM viSNoH smaraNaM pAda-sevanam, arcanaM vandanaM dAsyam. Vandanam is offering prayers. So they go to the church or go to the mosque, they offer prayers to the Supreme. That is also bhakti. There is no question of what type of religion you are following. That doesn't matter. You follow anything, whatever suits you. But the result should be that, You worship with the result on how to love God. That should be the result. If you have come to that platform, how to love God, becoming mad after God, as Caitanya MahAprabhu...
yugAyitaM nimeSeNa
cakSuSA prAvRSAyitam
zUnyAyitaM jagat sarvaM
govinda-viraheNa me
Govinda-viraheNa: "Being separated from Govinda, God, my life is vacant." This is required. It doesn't matter whether you follow Christianity or Hinduism or Muslimism. Whether you are feeling vacancy, everything is vacant without KRSNa, without God--that is the test. YugAyitaM nimeSeNa. Every moment... Because one who is feeling separation from the Lord, he is feeling also, "When shall I see Him?" So this anxiety, Caitanya MahAprabhu, yugAyitaM nimeSeNa: "A moment is seeming to Me a millenium, hundreds and millions of years' separation." That is love. Of course, in the material world, this love is not possible. There is no love in the material world. It is all lust. So love means loving God. That is love. So Caitanya MahAprabhu is teaching this, yugAyitaM nimeSeNa cakSuSA prAvRSAyitam: "I am feeling one moment as a millenium, being separated from KRSNa. And torrents of tears are coming just like torrents of rain.'' And zUnyAyitaM jagat sarvam: "And the whole world is seeming vacant to Me,'' govinda-viraheNa me, "being separated from Govinda.'' This is love. So it doesn't matter what religious system you are following, but the result should be this, that you should be mad after God. That is the test. Sa vai puMsAM paro... That is first-class religion, yato bhaktir adhokSaje, to love. Bhakti means love, rendering service. AdhokSaje. AdhokSaje means beyond the speculation of the mind, mental exercise, bodily exercise. AdhokSaja. AdhakRta akSaja jJAnam.
So Caitanya MahAprabhu taught this. For the benefit of the whole world, He took sannyAsa. He gave up His very opulent position in NavadvIpa, as I have already told you, He was a very learned scholar, had a very beautiful body, a very beautiful wife, a very affectionate mother, and good popularity. There was no scarcity. He was God Himself. Why would there be any scarcity? There is no question. But in spite of all that, He took sannyAsa for the benefit of the whole world. So worship Caitanya MahAprabhu. Parama koruNa, pahU dui jana, Gaura-NitAi are very, very merciful, and a little bit of service will enhance your devotional service to a larger scale.
<center>saMsAre majiyA, rohili poriyA
se pade nahilo Aza
Apana karama, bhuJjAye zamana,
kahoye locana-dAsa
But Locana dAsa regrets that I am entrapped by sense gratification. Since I have no attraction for the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and Lord NityAnanda, then YamarAja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me by not allowing me to be attracted by this movement.
</center>This is a song by Locana dAsa ThAkura. PahU means "Lord," and dui jana means "two." Locana dAsa ThAkura declares that the two Lords, NitAi-Gauracandra–Lord NitAi and Lord Caitanya–are very merciful (parama koruNa). Saba avatAra-sAra zIromaNi. AvatAra means "incarnation," and saba means "all." They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that prosecuting Their way of self-realization is simply joyful (kevala Ananda-kanda), for They introduced chanting and dancing. There are many incarnations, like Lord RAma and even KRSNa, who taught Bhagavad-gItA, which requires knowledge and understanding. But Lord Caitanya and NityAnanda introduced a process that is simply joyful–simply chant and dance. Therefore, Locana dAsa requests everyone, bhajo bhajo bhAi, caitanya-nitAi: "My dear brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya and NityAnanda with firm conviction and faith." Don't think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to the desired goal. It will. It is the assurance of Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu that one will get all perfection by this process. Therefore one must chant with firm faith and conviction (bizwAsa kori').
But what is the process? The process is viSaya chAriyA, se rase majiyA. If one wants to be KRSNa conscious by this process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. That is the only restriction. If one gives up sense gratification, it is sure that he will reach the desired goal. Mukhe bolo hari hari: one simply has to chant, "Hare KRSNa! Hari Hari!" without any motive of sense gratification.
Dekho ore bhAi, tri-bhuvane nAi. Locana dAsa ThAkura says, "My dear brother, you just try and examine this. Within the three worlds there is no one like Lord Caitanya or Lord NityAnanda, because Their merciful qualities are so great that They make even birds and beasts cry, what to speak of human beings." Actually, when Lord Caitanya passed through the forest known as JharikhaNDa, the tigers, elephants, snakes, deer, and all other animals joined Him in chanting Hare KRSNa. It is so nice that anyone can join. Even the animals can join, what to speak of human beings. Of course, it is not possible for ordinary men to induce animals to chant, but if Caitanya MahAprabhu could inspire animals to chant, at least we can encourage human beings to adopt this path of Hare KRSNa mantra chanting. It is so nice that even the most stonehearted man will be melted. PASANa means "stone." It is so nice that even stone will melt.
But Locana dAsa ThAkura regrets that he is entrapped by sense gratification. He addresses himself, "My dear mind, you are entrapped in this sense gratification process, and you have no attraction for chanting Hare KRSNa. Since you have no attraction for the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and Lord NityAnanda, what can I say? I can simply think of my misfortune. YamarAja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me by not allowing me to be attracted by this movement."
[All purports presented here are the opinions of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and necessarly the opinions of this poster.]
Google that long ago? I doubt it. ed maybe, but not Google. Likely when doing reference checks on your resume they heard something about Krsna from a prevous employer. It seems you found out the hard way about the rednecks' opinion of them there airport-harrassling, homo child-abusing idol-worshipping tambourine bald sheet-wearing whackos. Some cities, thanks to large levels of Indian immigrants are developing a little class about Krsna. In Toronto, it is only the really unintelligent and uninformed sector that haven't gained at least some perspective on the issue. Frankly, I think it's all a godly plot to keep devotees out of the bars and away from the bottom-dwellers. If it gets too depressing just read the Gita sections about the modes of nature and the divisions of faith. You will see why they cannot see things clearly; darkness is their karma.