Chandan-yatra

Giriraj Swami:

BHULIYA TOMARE (“FORGETTING YOU”)
from Śaraṇāgati by Bhaktivinoda Thakura

(1)
bhuliya tomare, samsare asiya,
peye nana-vidha byatha
tomara carane, asiyachi ami,
bolibo duhkhera katha

O Lord, I forgot You and came to this material world, where I have experienced a host of pains and sorrows. Now I approach Your lotus feet and submit my tale of woe.

(2)
janani-jathare, chilama jakhona,
bisama bandhana-pase
eka-bara prabhu! dekha diya more,
vancile e dina dase

While still bound up tightly in the unbearable confines of my mother’s womb, O Lord, You once revealed Yourself before me. Appearing only briefly, You then abandoned this poor servant of Yours.

(3)
takhona bhavinu, janama paiya,
koribo bhajana tava
janama hoilo, podi’ maya-jale,
na hoilo jnana-lava

At that moment I thought, “After my birth, I will worship You.” But alas, after taking birth I fell into the entangling network of worldly illusions; thus I possessed not even a drop of true knowledge.

(4)
adarera chele, swa-janera kole,
hasiya katanu kala
janaka-janani- snehete bhuliya,
samsara lagilo bhalo

As a dear son fondled in the laps of relatives, I passed my time smiling and laughing. The affection of my father and mother helped me to forget You still more, and I began to think that the material world was a very nice place.

(5)
krame dina dina, balaka hoiya,
khelinu balaka-saha
ara kichu dine, jnana upajilo,
patha podi ahar-ahah

Day by day I gradually grew into a young boy and began playing with other boys. Soon my powers of understanding emerged, so I diligently read and studied my school lessons every day.

(6)
vidyara gaurave, bhrami’ dese dese,
dhana uparjana kori
swa-jana palana, kori eka-mane,
bhulinu tomare, hari!

Proud of my accomplished education, later I traveled from place to place and earned much wealth. Thereby maintaining my family with undivided attention, I forgot You, O Lord Hari!

(7)
bardhakye ekhona, bhakativinoda,
kandiya katara ati
na bhajiya tore, dina brtha gelo,
ekhona ki habe gati?

Now in old age, this Bhaktivinoda very sadly weeps. I failed to worship You, O Lord, and instead passed my days in vain. What will be my fate now?

SONG 2—SUDDHA-BHAKATA
from Śaraṇāgati

(1)
suddha-bhakata-carana-renu,
bhajana-anukula
bhakata-seva, parama-siddhi,
prema-latikara mula

The dust of the lotus feet of pure devotees, enthusiastic devotional service, and service to the pure devotees of the highest order are the roots of the creeper of devotion.

(2)
madhava-tithi, bhakti-janani,
jetane palana kori
krsna-basati, basati boli’,
parama adare bori

The holy days like Ekādaśī and Janmashtami are the mother of devotion for those devotees who respect them. Let the holy places of Krishna’s pastimes be my places of worship, and bless me.

(3)
gaur amara, je-saba sthane,
koralo bhramana range
se-saba sthana, heribo ami,
pranayi-bhakata-sange

May I always visit all the holy places associated with the līlā of Lord Chaitanya and His devotees.

(4)
mrdanga-badya, sunite mana,
abasara sada jace
gaura-bihita, kirtana suni’,
anande hrdoya nace

When I hear the sound of the mridanga in my heart I always desire to join in kirtan; and when I hear the bonafide songs describing Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes, my heart dances in ecstasy.

(5)
jugala-murti, dekhiya mora,
parama-ananda hoya
prasada-seba korite hoya,
sakala prapanca jaya

Whenever I see the transcendental sri-vigrahas of Radha-Krishna I am in bliss, for by taking Their Lordships’ prasāda we can conquer over the material elements.

(6)
je-dina grhe, bhajana dekhi,
grhete goloka bhaya
carana-sidhu, dekhiya ganga,
sukha na sima paya

One day while performing devotional practices, I saw my house transformed into Goloka Vrindavan. When I take the caraṇāmṛta of the Deity, I see the holy Ganges waters that come from the feet of Lord Vishnu, and my bliss knows no bounds.

(7)
tulasi dekhi’, juraya prana,
madhava-tosani jani’
gaura-priya, saka-sevane,
jivana sarthaka mani

By seeing the tulasi tree my heart feels joy and Lord Madhava (Krishna) is also satisfied. When I eat the prasāda favored by Lord Chaitanya it is a new life’s experience. (Lord Chaitanya was very fond of a green vegetable preparation called śāk, and there is another song in this book that tells of the amazing effects of this type of prasāda.)

(8)
bhakativinoda, krsna-bhajane,
anakula paya jaha
prati-dibase, parama-sukhe,
swikara koroye taha

COMMENT

Bhaktivinoda concludes by saying: “Whosoever attains the stage of enthusiasm for these devotional practices will be supremely blissful wherever he may be.”

Today is the beginning of the festival of Candana-yatra, which continues for twenty-one days. Bhakta Janesh has kindly invited us to his temple to celebrate. In India the period now of May and June is very hot and therefore the devotees place sandalwood pulp mixed with camphor on the body of the Lord to cool Him. On Saturday Rupa Raghunatha Prabhu from Vrindavan visited us and he told us that when he used to worship the Deities in Vrindavan and put the sandalwood pulp on Them the next morning when he would remove the sandalwood pulp he would feel how cool the body of the Lord was, how cool the Deities was. 

Today I thought specially of Madhavendra Puri. Madhavendra Puri, as described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta discovered the deity of Gopal at Vrindavan and installed Him with the ceremony called Anakut. Later Madhavendra Puri traveled by foot all the way from Vrindavan to Orissa to bring sandalwood to cool the body of Gopal in Vrindavan. At Puri he was able to obtain a large quantity of sandalwood which is always a precious commodity and with the help of several men he began the journey by foot from Puri to Vrindavan carrying not only the sandalwood but also camphor. At the time India was under the control of Mohammedan rulers and they posted many tax collectors at various points. So Madhavendra Puri, in addition to the great ordeal of carrying the sandalwood and camphor by foot all the way from Puri to Vrindavan in the heat, also had to face the trouble caused by the Mohammedan tax collectors along the way. But Madhavendra Puri accepted the trouble he took in the service of the Lord as the greatest pleasure. Srimati Radharani also expressed the same mood that if Krishna takes pleasure in meeting with some other gopī even though such a thought produces the greatest misery for Srimati Radharani but she would take that misery as the greatest happiness. Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in his song ‘Siddhi Lālasā also says the same—that the greatest trouble encountered in the service of the Lord is taken by him as the greatest pleasure.

So Madhavendra Puri also was in the same mood of pure devotion that although externally he was undergoing great difficulty but internally he was feeling the greatest happiness thinking that Gopal would be pleased. But the relationship between the Lord and the devotees is reciprocal just as the devotee wants to see that the Lord is pleased and is ready to take all sorts of trouble for the sake of the Lord, the Lord also likes to serve His devotees specially when the devotee has passed many tests. Then the Lord is ready to give all facility to the devotee and even give Himself to the devotee. When Madhavendra Puri reached Remuna in the temple of Gopinatha, Gopal appeared to him in his dream and told him that I and Gopinatha are the same. If you prepare sandalwood and camphor and rub it into the body of Gopinatha then the distress that I feel due to the heat will be relieved. So in the morning, when Madhavendra Puri informed the priest of his decision—of course the priest was very glad that Madhavendra Puri would spend the whole hot season with them and Gopinatha and engage all of the sandalwood and camphor in the service of Gopinatha. So there are many lessons to be learned from this pastime. One is, as I mentioned, that just as the devotee is eager to serve the Lord, the Lord also cares for His devotees. Lord Gopal could not bear the idea of Madhavendra Puri taking more trouble and suffering, more distress on His account and therefore to save Madhavendra Puri from all the trials and tribulations of the journey He instructed him to remain in Remuna and offer the service to the Deity of Gopinatha there. 

We also learn, as we know in any case that Krishna is Krishna. The deity of Krishna in one place is the same as the deity of Krishna in some other place but still out of love one accepts the service of a particular deity and the deity reciprocates with the particular servant but here we find that Gopal instructed Madhavendra Puri that if you rub the sandalwood pulp into the body of Gopinatha in Remuna He, Gopal, would feel the effect in Govardhana. So when Ganesh asked me if he thought we should observe Candana-yatra here even though the temperature is not so hot, although today it was a bit hotter in honor of Candana-yatra, I thought well by serving the Deities here the Deities in Vrindavan will also benefit. Of course in the ultimate sense the Deities don’t really require any service but they take pleasure from the devotion and there is always so much devotion here. I am sure the Deities would be pleased and when the Deities are pleased the devotees are also pleased. So ultimately I suppose I thought I would be pleased with this festival. That’s why we should have it. 

Candana-yatra ki jaya!
Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura Bhakta Vrinda ki jaya!

One thing about the ārati. The ārati was beautiful but Srila Prabhupada said ārati means to receive the Lord. So out of respect for the Lord we stand. So I think in the future you should like wait till the end of whatever the activities (inaudible) respect. Anyone else would like to say anything?

Devotee: Is it only in Vrindavan that we do this?

Giriraj Swami: No. In Mayapur they do to Radha-Madhava and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, may be the other Deities but I have seen pictures of Radha-Madhava and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva and of course in Nṛsiṁhadeva temples they put Candana on the Lord just to cool Him down.

Devotee: Just Ugra Nṛsiṁha?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I have heard of it in relation to Ugra Nṛsiṁha.

Devotee: Inaudible.

Giriraj Swami: Ganesh tried here but didn’t work. Rupa Raghunatha is experienced. He is still in America. We could send him an email. We’ll either ask him by email or ask his phone number and speak to him. 

I think we should conclude or at least before we conclude sing ‘Jaya Radhe Jaya Krsna Jaya Vrndavana.’

(1)
jaya rādhe, jaya kṛṣṇa, jaya vṛndāvan
śrī govinda, gopīnātha, madana-mohan

All glories to Radha and Krishna and the divine forest of Vrindavan. All glories to the three presiding Deities of Vrindavan-Sri Govinda, Gopinatha, and Madana-mohana.

(2)
śyama-kunḍa, rādhā-kuṇḍa, giri-govardhan
kālindi jamunā jaya, jaya mahāvan

All glories to Syama-kuṇḍa, Radha-kunda, Govardhana Hill, and the Yamuna River (Kalindi). All glories to the great forest known as Mahāvana, where Krishna and Balarama displayed all of Their childhood pastimes.

(3)
keśī-ghāṭa, baḿśi-baṭa, dwādaśa-kānan
jāhā saba līlā koilo śrī-nanda-nandan

All glories to Keśī-ghāṭa, where Krishna killed the Kesi demon. All glories to the Vaṁśī-vaṭa tree, where Krishna attracted all the gopīs to come by playing His flute. Glories to all of the twelve forests of Vraja. At these places the son of Nanda, Sri Krishna, performed all of His pastimes.

(4)
śrī-nanda-jaśodā jaya, jaya gopa-gaṇ
śrīdāmādi jaya, jaya dhenu-vatsa-gaṇ

All glories to Krishna’s divine father and mother, Nanda and Yasoda. All glories to the cowherd boys, headed by Sridama, the older brother of Srimati Radharani and Anaṅga-mañjarī. All glories to the cows and calves of Vraja.

(5)
jaya bṛṣabhānu, jaya kīrtidā sundarī
jaya paurṇamāsī, jaya ābhīra-nāgarī

All glories to Radha’s divine father and mother, Vrsabhanu and the beautiful Kirtida. All glories to Paurnamasi, the mother of Sandipani Muni, grandmother of Madhumangala and Nandimukhi, and beloved disciple of Devarṣi Narada. All glories to the young cowherd maidens of Vraja.

(6)
jaya jaya gopīśwara vṛndāvana-mājh
jaya jaya kṛṣṇa-sakhā baṭu dwija-rāj

All glories, all glories to Gopisvara Shiva, who resides in Vrindavan in order to protect the holy dhāma. All glories, all glories to Krishna’s funny brahman friend, Madhumangala.

(7)
jaya rāma-ghāta, jaya rohiṇī-nandan
jaya jaya vṛndāvana-bāsī jata jan

All glories to Rama-ghāṭa, where Lord Balarama performed His rasa dance. All glories to Lord Balarama, the son of Rohini. All glories, all glories to all of the residents of Vrindavan.

(8)
jaya dwija-patnī, jaya nāga-kanyā-gaṇ
bhaktite jāhārā pāilo govinda-caraṇ

All glories to the wives of the proud Vedic brahmans. All glories to the wives of the Kāliya serpent. Through pure devotion they all obtained the lotus feet of Lord Govinda.

(9)
śrī-rasa-maṇḍala jaya, jaya rādhā-śyām
jaya jaya rasa-līlā sarva-manoram

All glories to the place where the rasa dance of Sri Krishna was performed. All glories to Radha and Syama. All glories, all glories to the divine rasa dance, which is the most beautiful of all Lord Krishna’s pastimes.

(10)
jaya jayojjwala-rasa sarva-rasa-sār
parakīyā-bhāve jāhā brajete pracār

All glories, all glories to the mellow of conjugal love, which is the most excellent of all rasas and is propagated in Vraja by Sri Krishna in the form of the divine parakīyā-bhava [paramour love].

(11)
śrī-jāhnavā-pāda-padma koriyā smaraṇ
dīna kṛṣṇa-dāsa kohe nāma-sańkīrtan

Remembering the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda’s consort, Sri Jahnava devi, this very fallen and lowly servant of Krishna sings the saṅkīrtana of the holy name.