Approaching the All-Blissful, All-Spiritual Holy Name

Giriraj Swami: It is a great honor and privilege and pleasure to be here with all of you on the auspicious occasion of the twelve hour kirtan. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says, satataṁ kīrtayanto mām, that one should always engage in kirtan, or one should always engage in chanting the glories of Krishna. And in his Śikṣāṣṭakam, Sri Krishna Chaitanya says the same thing, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, one should always engage in chanting the name of Hari or Krishna. And that is the ideal. There are liberated souls who chant the holy name almost twenty-four hours a day. They are hardly conscious of their bodies, they practically make no effort to maintain their bodies, but everything is arranged by the mercy of Krishna. Most of us are conditioned souls, or you could say, liberated, but not in the fullest sense, but we can say liberated but not to the extent that we can chant twenty-four hours a day. And so, the twelve hour kirtan is in effort to encourage us to increase the time we have in chanting.

We do have to take care of the body. One might say that living in Vrindavan or Mayapur or Jagannatha Puri, it is easier to live. The climate is not as harsh, and the people are not as harsh, although they are getting harsher. But whatever the factors are, we may find ourselves in a situation where we have a house to maintain, a wife and children, or parents to maintain, or even if we are living alone, we may have to make some effort to meet expenses. And our acharyas explain that those efforts that are required to keep the body and soul together, and fit for chanting the holy name, are not a violation of the principle of kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, because they are meant for the same purpose of kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, but in a mood of support.

In the Third Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna explains that there is a chakra or a wheel or a cycle that culminates in the performance of sacrifice. All living entities subsist on food grains. Of course, we are meant to eat directly, food grains, kṛṣṇa-prasāda, but now, due to artificial influences, people eat other things, but even then, let us say they eat the flesh of animals, but the animals ultimately eat food grains, or other vegetation. So, all living entities subsist on food grains, and food grains are produced by rain. Without rain, we cannot have food grains, we cannot get any of our necessities. We wear cotton cloth, that is also produced from rainfall. So, in all aspects of our life we are dependent on rainfall, and rains are produced by performance of sacrifice.

And in the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says that in the beginning of creation, the Lord sent forth generations of demigods and men, and told them, “Be happy by performance of sacrifice, for by performance of sacrifice, you will get whatever you need to live peacefully and happily in this life, and you will ultimately attain liberation.” So, in previous ages, sacrifices were very elaborate and costly, but in the present age of Kali, the sacrifice has been simplified, saṅkīrtana; yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ, those who are intelligent, will worship the incarnation of God for the present age, that means Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, by the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña, and that is what we are doing. There are many practical incidents, in India there was a big drought in Hyderabad, and when Srila Prabhupada and the devotees performed a Hare Krishna Festival, in Hyderabad the rains came after a long, long time, and even the newspapers commented that the rains came from the Hare Krishna Festival. And one year, there was another big drought, and coincidentally, we visited the Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, and they were doing some yajña, it had been going on for some time, doing some yajña to get rain, and the very day that we went and performed saṅkīrtana, the rains came. So, it is practical, saṅkīrtana-yajña.

And there is another important verse in the Third Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā that explains that food, which is eaten for one’s own bodily nourishment or sense gratification, is actually sinful. Srila Prabhupada says, “You are actually eating lumps of sin.” But food taken as the remnants of sacrifice, free one from all sins. And therefore, whatever we eat is offered first to Krishna, and we take the remnants as prasāda. We will discuss this a little more when we come to today’s verse. But that is a very important principle, that we have to purify our senses in order to properly chant the holy name, and that purification of the senses begins with the tongue.

And as Srila Prabhupada explains, the tongue has two functions, vibrating and tasting. And so, we engage in service with the tongue. It sounds very odd to engage in service with the tongue, but we engage in service with the tongue by vibrating the holy names of the Lord, and by tasting kṛṣṇa-prasāda. It is very easy, but the tongue, it is just this little muscle in our mouth, but it is so powerful. In spite of all our good intentions, that little muscle will talk about so many other things besides Krishna. We know kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ, but that little one-inch muscle is so difficult to control. And we know we are supposed to take only kṛṣṇa-prasāda, but that tongue takes us to different places where we buy food not prepared by devotees, and Krishna will only accept offerings from devotees; patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. Krishna says, “If one offers Me with love and devotion, a leaf, a fruit, or some water, a flower or some water, with love and devotion, I will accept it.” So, Krishna accepts offerings only from devotees.

But we go to the store and we see different things not prepared by devotees, not offerable to Krishna, and we want them. Or some even go to restaurants, and it is not prasāda. So, this ornery one-inch muscle really exerts a very powerful influence on our lives, and it can be engaged in sevā, and bring us to Krishna, or it can be engaged in maya, and take us away from Krishna. And therefore, the scriptures and our acharyas advise us to control the tongue first. If we can control the tongue, then the other senses that come and align the tongue, the valley of the genitals, the others can be controlled. But if the tongue is uncontrolled, then it is very hard to control the others.

So, I will speak briefly on a verse that is on the board, that tells us a little bit about what the holy name is. And this discussion is also part of the process. Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, has written that hari-kathā, hari-kathā means talks about Krishna, Krishna consciousness, is like the svarūpa-śakti of hari-nāma. And he says that just as Krishna is always accompanied by His svarūpa-śakti or Radharani, similarly, hari-nāma should always be accompanied by hari-kathā. Otherwise, that hari-nāma is considered to be imperfectly or improperly performed. So, these discussions are part of the process of purification and of developing faith in hari-nāma, which is the basis of our progress. So, please repeat after me.

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

So, just a little bit more about the tongue, since we are on that subject and my tongue wants to talk about it some more, and I am helpless to do anything about it. The mind is the center of the senses. And as Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, the tongue is the most voracious and difficult to control. So, the mind is very influenced by the tongue. And the mind can convince us, although we might not need that much convincing, the mind might convince us that we should make an exception to the rule of taking only kṛṣṇa-prasāda. And there may be exceptions. They say there is an exception to every rule, there may be an exception, but exception means exception. It doesn’t mean that the exception becomes the standard. So, I will tell two stories from my own degraded life as an aspiring devotee. The first one was in Pakistan, and we developed quite a good friendship with a very highly placed Muslim advocate, and he was very helpful to us, because one of our American devotees was arrested and put in jail, and we consulted people, and they said he would be the best because he was one of the top lawyers, if not the top lawyer in Karachi, and he was very favorable to Hindus. In fact, he was very good friends with one of our life members, and he liked vegetarian food, and it was a pleasure to work with him. But politics is such that, people explain to me that in Pakistan, the police and other authorities, they don’t really mind that much about the religious part, but they will find some excuse to threaten you with legal action on religious grounds, in order to procure a bribe. And so, it happened that one of our first friends, really first good supporter in Karachi, Mr. Gangwani, he had devotees, the first devotees, some of the first devotees, they stayed in his house. And, after some days, boom, boom, boom, knock on the door, the police. “We understand you have Hare Krishna devotees staying with you.” Well, what did it come to? They wanted some paisa, lots of money, that is all it came to.

So, Mr. Gangwani and the lawyer were very good friends. So, after some time, the lawyer, (because he was on a very high level), he got a phone call from one of the government secretaries. I think he got two, one from one of the government secretaries, and one from the inspector general of police, the highest officer in the police departments, saying that, “We understand that Hare Krishna devotees are frequently visiting you, this has to stop.” So, then we couldn’t go that often and we had to wear salvar-kamiz or something a little more ethnic. So, at the end of the whole ordeal, the devotee was freed, and the lawyer wanted to celebrate. He had a huge mansion and a very large, expansive lawn and gardens enclosed in the compound wall. So, he had a big feast, invited a lot of important Muslims as well. It has different items. It was like a buffet style, not exactly, they have buffet but they have these bain-maries, it keeps it hot, and then there are all these waiters in uniforms. And, there is always a little pressure, “Oh, Swamiji, you are not eating.” [laughter] So, my mind, looking at all these delicacies, thought, Well, it is for preaching, and he did so much to help us, and it is a special occasion.”

I was a little cautious but not that cautious. And so, I took things on my plate and then it was a little rich and heavy, but I took it and so, I ate it. And when I got back to our apartment that night, I mean, Srila Prabhupada, at one stage, he predicted that the third world war would begin between India and Pakistan. It was like it was beginning in my stomach. [laughter] It was like the bombs were exploding, it was just devastation, which I could not contain. So, then, I realized, “Okay, this is a message. There can be exceptions but really. . .” I never made that mistake again. [laughter] Yes, no cheating in other words, the mind is always cheating.

And then, much later, when I became more serious about my. . . I guess I was sort of serious but it was a different context, but about japa, and I think it was some sort of family function that I was expected to attend, I don’t even remember the details. But anyway, I ate something. I mean, sometimes with family you have to make an exception. But anyway, it wasn’t like a very explosive reaction, it was more subtle. And so, when I went to chant my japa, I felt it wasn’t the same as usual, there was something I couldn’t immediately think of what it was. “Okay, well, what is it? Did I commit some offense? What is it? Why am I not able to chant in the same way as usual?” And then I made the connection, “Oh, I ate that, I ate that food.” And as soon as I made that connection, that little cloud that was hovering over my japa, it sort of lifted and it was, “Okay, Krishna’s trying to show me that I have to be careful.” Because the consciousness of the cook enters the food you eat. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that if you eat food prepared by Mayavadis or worldly-minded people, it will affect your consciousness and impede your remembrance of Krishna. So, these can be experienced. But yes, even if you are not able to perceive the difference that clearly, but on the faith of the scriptures and our previous authorities, you should follow the process because you will only really be able to experience that nectar in a consistent way, if you do follow the process.

It is Krishna’s mercy. We do get glimpses and especially, in an assembly of devotees all focused on chanting the holy name, and especially with Madhava Prabhu or other devotees who will be blessing us with their association. The bhakti in their hearts affects our hearts. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura recommends to chant in the association of pure devotees. We struggle, but it becomes so much easier in the association of pure devotees, in the association of devotees who have faith in the holy name and taste in the holy name. And His Holiness Ṛtadhvaja Swami and I chant japa together a lot, and we both feel that our japa flows more easily when we are with the other person, so that association helps. And I never would have guessed it if he hadn’t told me. I was feeling it about him, but I wasn’t thinking he would be feeling it about me, but it works like that.

I think of this story with His Holiness Niranjana Swami. He had been staying with me in Santa Barbara for almost two months, and he was getting ready to leave. And the night before he was to leave, I visited him, we were just talking, and I mentioned His Holiness Gour Govinda Swami because I knew that His Holiness Niranjana Swami had a lot of faith in him. And I asked him, “Do you pray to him?" and he said, “Yes, I do.” He said, “In fact, I pray to you also.” That, “Every morning I pray to. . .” and then, whoever, Gour Govinda Swami, Shivarama Swami, Indradyumna Swami, Govinda Swami, me. So, I heard it but it was late in the evening and I knew he was leaving the next morning, so I just let it go, I had other things on my mind. Then, the next morning, just a little before he was to leave, I phoned him on the intercom, and I said, “What you said about that you prayed to me too, is that really true?” And he said, “Yes, it is.” I think maybe that is when he mentioned the list. And then I said, “Wow, that is amazing because I also pray to you.” And then he said, “Well, I don’t know how that works because I am depending on the mercy I get from all of you.” So, anyway, whether it is mutually beneficial or whether we are the only ones who benefit by chanting with some advanced devotee, we should. And that is why you are all here, well, to chant in the association of all the devotees and then, perhaps especially because Madhava Prabhu is here. So, that is something that we can do easily, means it is an effect that we can feel easily, but we may have to make the effort to get the association.

So, actually, on that subject of association, it is a phenomenon that if you present yourself as being very strong in a certain way, Krishna will send a test that exposes you that you are not really that strong in that area. So, Ṛtadhvaja Swami confidentially confided in me that he made a statement, it wasn’t really made in a boastful way, but he made a statement that could sound a little boastful, and he immediately realized, Oh, I made a mistake, and he immediately prayed to Krishna, “Please Krishna forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, I will never do it again, don’t expose me and don’t test me, don’t send your bewildering potency, I will never do it again, please.” So, then I mentioned how I have taken up the subject of writing about death and dying, the whole Bhagavad-gītā is of Arjuna facing the aspect of death everywhere, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s Maharaja Parīkṣit awaiting his death, what to do in preparation, how to spend his time. So, I said, “I am writing about death and dying, but sometimes I am afraid of death, that is embarrassing.” And Ṛtadhvaja Swami said, “Sometimes I am afraid and sometimes I am not.” I said, “Yes, that is the way I am.” And then he said, “If I could be assured that in my next life I would have this kind of association like I have with you and other dear godbrothers, then I wouldn’t be afraid.” And then he said, “I have actually worked very hard for many years to be able to have these relationships, and if I could have these relationships with you or similar relationships in my next life, I wouldn’t be afraid. I have whatever I need.”

And we are not talking about anything luxurious but, he said from the time he joined, whatever he needed, he got, whatever he needed to keep his body and soul together to serve Krishna. I haven’t asked Madhava recently, we haven’t discussed it for quite a while, but somehow, he is getting what he needs, and performing kirtan is very delicate because it all depends on the purity. Of course, any pure devotee would say the same thing, that you can’t perform kirtan to get money. Srila Prabhupada always criticized the professional bhāgavata reciters. So, it is the same idea, you can’t perform kirtan to get money. There is one well-known Vaishnava in Barsana who also has taught some devotees from ISKCON music, and the condition was you cannot use this for any commercial purpose. I will teach you, but only on the condition that you promised me you will not use this to make money in any way, it can be only for the glorification of the Lord. So, like I said, I haven’t looked into it, but he is chanting the holy name, he is traveling all over the world, he is getting what he needs. So, that is all we need.

So, since I have surrendered so much to my tongue, the introduction that I was giving to the verse while the devotees who are writing it on the board has become three quarters of the class. But I will briefly read this verse and the following verse because they are very important, and they will help prepare us for this wonderful final kirtan that we are all looking forward to, I am looking forward too, to be led my Madhava Prabhu. So, we won’t chant responsibly, but the words are there, you can see them. This is Śrī Chaitanya-caraṇāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Seventeen, “The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana,”

TEXT 133

nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś

caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ

pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto

’bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ

COMMENT

So, now I will read the synonyms, and we can do these responsibly because it will help you understand the ingredients of the verse, which means the ingredients or the qualities of the holy name. So, please repeat.

TRANSLATION

“ ‘The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.’

COMMENT

So, the last line, ‘bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ, the name and the person named are the same, that is the basic principle. Srila Prabhupada explains that in the material world, a person and his body and his name are all different. Suppose I want Nama Ruchi dasa. So, if I just chant “Nama Ruchi dasa, Nama Ruchi dasa, Nama Ruchi dasa,” it doesn’t mean that Nama Ruchi dasa will appear. [laughter] Because the name Nama Ruchi dasa and the person Nama Ruchi dasa are different. But if I chant, “Krishna Krishna Hare Krishna,” Krishna is there, because Krishna and His name are not different, they are the same. And in the conditioned state, the person’s body and the soul are different. I may have who I think is the person, but if the soul leaves, the body is there, but the person is gone. But with Krishna, He is absolute. There is no difference between His body and soul, they are all spiritual, and there is no difference between His name and Himself, they are all the same on the absolute platform.

So, how can we approach the absolute platform? This is a very interesting question. We are conditioned souls, there is a difference between our body and soul, our senses are contaminated. How can we actually chant the holy name and hear the holy name? So, that answer is given in the next verse, and I gave a hint of it already so I needn’t say much more.

TEXT 136

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi

na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ

sevonmukhe hi jihvādau

svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ

COMMENT

So, this is the first half of the sloka. Ataḥ, therefore because Krishna’s name, form, qualities, and so on, are all on the absolute platform, na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ, they cannot be perceived through these senses. This is a very significant point; we can’t perceive them with these senses. So, what can we do? How do we get out of this darkness, this predicament, this impasse? Then, the next half.

TRANSLATION

“ ‘Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is.’

COMMENT

In other words, when we use the tongue in serving Krishna by tasting the remnants of prasāda, enchanting the holy name and glories of Krishna, Krishna reveals Himself. So, sevā; sevā is so important. Many times, when Lord Chaitanya was approached by His devotees from Kulinagram, “What is our duty?” Every year they came to Jagannatha Puri and asked Him, and each time He replied that, “Your duty is to chant the holy names of Krishna, and serve the devotees of Krishna.” The two go together. Sevā, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau, and when we serve the Lord, serve the devotees, the Lord reveals Himself to us, specifically in the form of His holy name, because that is why we have gathered, but in the form of the deity, in the form of the holy scripture, in the form of the devotees, in the form of the dhāma. Krishna reveals Himself. So, we should take every opportunity to render service. And studying the lives of some of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples who attained very good destinations, a common factor was their spirit of service, selfless service, not wanting anything in return. And the first was Jayananda Prabhu. His Holiness Gunagrahi Maharaja approached me, he heard I was writing a book about some departed Vaishnavas, and he said somehow, he never got a chance to speak about his association with Jayananda Prabhu, he wanted to. So, he asked if I could interview him. And he told me so many wonderful things about Jayananda Prabhu, but one that seems relevant on this subject of service.

Generally, if we are in the temple and someone is supposed to do some service and doesn’t show up or phones in or sends an email or a text message that, “I can’t do my service” it is like, “Oh, darn.” Jayananda Prabhu, whenever someone couldn’t do his service, he would say, “Great news Prabhus, so and so is not coming to do his service, jaya, there is more service for us to do, Haribol!” And he meant it. I couldn’t do it the way he did it, [laughter] but he meant it. He wasn’t just saying it, it wasn’t just a device, he actually meant it, he welcomed every opportunity to do service. So, we should be like that, always in the mood of service, always in the mood to chant the holy name, and that will assure our complete perfection.

When we chant, we are calling the names of Krishna, Hare Krishna, Radha and Krishna or Their combined form, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and so, if you call someone’s name and then they say, “Yes? What do you want?” So, if they ask, “What do you want?” what will we say? If Krishna came to you and asked you, “I have come. What do you want?” What just passed through your mind? I won’t ask you, I won’t embarrass you or myself, but a pure devotee or even someone aspiring to be a pure devotee will ask for service. And therefore, the chanting of the holy name is a prayer for service, “O Radha, O Krishna, please engage me in your service.” And that service can be in different ways and on different levels, but that is what we are doing, we are begging, pleading, crying, “Radha, Krishna, Mahaprabhu, Vaishnavas, please engage me in Your service.” And then, if They give us some service, like someone doesn’t show up or we were just praying for service, we should see that as a response to our prayer. So, this sevā, Mahaprabhu’s instruction, always chant the holy name and serve the Vaishnava, these two processes go together, and each one reinforces the other. And japa also, japa and kirtan, each one reinforces the other.

So, without further ado, I think we can now try to practice what we just heard and said. It is a little unclear because usually Prabhupada would take questions, and if it was an important question and a relevant question, it could add to the discussion. And this is not to put you on the spot because, it is not like if you raise your hand, it means you are saying you are important or anything, but no, if you have a question that is meaningful to you, it could be meaningful to others, and is relevant to the topic, you can raise your hand. Dharma Prabhu?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:01:45]?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we all need support, we all need help. I remember there were some circumstances, and Jaya Advaita Swami and I, went to Spain, and we were sleeping together on the floor of the temple president’s office, and as he was getting into his sleeping bag, he told me, “At such and such time, you must wake me up.” I think maybe quarter to four. And, “You tell me it is time to get up, and then, if I still don’t get up, you tell me louder, and if I still don’t get up, you touch me, and if I still don’t get up, you put water on my face.” [laughter] “And whatever I tell you in the morning, don’t follow that, but follow what I am telling you now.” [laughter] So he was serious about it.

But the other, of course, is to have something positive to look forward to, because a lot of the time we think, Well, what’s waiting for me if I get out of bed? Better just stay in bed. [laughter] There is nothing personal. [laughter] It is a general principle. But if we think, Oh, boy, I can go to the temple, chant with the devotees, and so, that can serve as an impetus. But it is very tricky because you don’t want to eat too much or eat too little, sleep too much or sleep too little, but if you have had enough sleep, then that should be the positive. It is like the more good experiences you have, the more it increases your eagerness to have more good experiences.

And Prabhupada, in the early days, he had us read the Kṛṣṇa book at night before taking rest, and that is very good to put one’s mind in a proper condition, and that sort of helps prepare the mind for the next morning. And then when you chant the next morning, those pastimes of Krishna are in your mind, and they may automatically come to mind when you chant. Yes, it is good if you have someone to do this together with. Do you want to add anything, Madhava Prabhu? Madhava said he was just telling one devotee instead of having one alarm clock, have four.

All right, thank you. We were looking for one sincere, serious, intelligent, important question and we got it.