SB 10.47.32 – The Glories of Kartik

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, my dear devotees. I will begin with singing maṅgalācaraṇa prayer and lead a short kirtan. Then I will read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and then say something about the auspicious month of Kartik or Damodara.

[Prayers]

So, my dear devotee, we are reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Ten, Chapter Forty-seven, “The Song of the Bee – The Brahma-Gītā.” And to set the context for today’s verse, I will read the Chapter Summery.

SUMMARY

This chapter describes how Uddhava, on the order of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, delivered the Lord’s message to the gopīs, consoled them and then returned to Mathurā.

When the young maidens of Vraja saw lotus-eyed Uddhava, who wore a yellow garment and attractive earrings, they were astonished at how much he resembled Kṛṣṇa. Thinking “Who is this?” they approached and encircled him. When they realized that Kṛṣṇa must have sent him, they brought him to a secluded place where he could speak to them confidentially.

The gopīs then began to remember the pastimes they had enjoyed with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and putting aside all ordinary propriety and shyness, they loudly wept. One gopī, while deeply meditating on Her association with Kṛṣṇa, noticed a bumblebee before Her. Imagining the bee to be a messenger from Him, She said, “Just as bees wander among various flowers, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has abandoned the young girls of Vraja and developed affection for other women.” The gopī continued to speak in this way, contrasting Her own supposed ill fortune to Her rival lovers’ good fortune, all the while glorifying the names, forms, qualities and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. She then declared that although Kṛṣṇa may have abandoned the gopīs, they could not possibly stop remembering Him for even a moment.

Uddhava tried to console the damsels of Vraja, who were so anxious to see Kṛṣṇa once again. Uddhava explained, “While ordinary persons must perform many pious deeds to qualify as servants of Lord Kṛṣṇa, you simple cowherd girls are so extremely fortunate that the Lord has favored you with the very highest degree of pure devotion for Him.” Uddhava then related to them the Lord’s message.

Quoting Lord Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava said, “I am the Supreme Soul and supreme shelter of all. By My potencies I create, maintain and destroy the cosmos. I am indeed most dear to you gopīs, but to increase your attraction for Me and intensify your remembrance of Me, I left you. After all, when a woman’s beloved is far away, she fixes her mind upon him constantly. By incessantly remembering Me, you are sure to regain My association without delay.’”

The gopīs then asked Uddhava, “Is Kṛṣṇa happy now that Kaṁsa is dead and He can enjoy the company of His family members and the women of Mathurā? Does He still remember all the pastimes He enjoyed with us, such as the rāsa dance? Will Śrī Kṛṣṇa once again appear before us and give us ecstasy, just as Lord Indra, with his rain, gives life back to the forests aggrieved by the summer heat? Although we know that the greatest happiness comes from renunciation, we simply cannot stop hoping to attain Kṛṣṇa, for the marks of His lotus feet are still present throughout the land of Vraja, reminding us of His graceful gait, generous smiles and gentle talks. By all these our hearts have been stolen away.”

Having said this, the gopīs loudly chanted Lord Kṛṣṇa’s names, calling out, “O Govinda, please come and destroy our suffering!” Uddhava then pacified the gopīs with statements that dispelled their pain of separation, and they in turn worshiped him as nondifferent from Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Uddhava stayed in the district of Vraja for several months, giving pleasure to the residents by reminding them about Kṛṣṇa in various ways. Very satisfied at seeing the extent of the gopīs’ love for the Lord, he declared, “These cowherd girls have perfected their lives by coming to the platform of unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, even Lord Brahmā is inferior to them. The goddess of fortune herself, who always resides on Kṛṣṇa’s chest, could not get the same mercy as that which the gopīs obtained during the rāsa dance, when Kṛṣṇa embraced their necks with His mighty arms. What, then, to speak of other women! Indeed, I would consider myself most fortunate to take birth as even a bush or creeper that would sometimes be touched by the dust of these gopīs’ lotus feet.”

Finally, Uddhava entreated Nanda Mahārāja and the other cowherd men for permission to go back to Mathurā. Nanda presented him with many gifts and prayed to Uddhava for the ability to always remember Kṛṣṇa. Returning to Mathurā, Uddhava offered Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa, and King Ugrasena the gifts sent by Nanda Mahārāja and described to them everything he had experienced in Vraja.

COMMENT

I’ll skip a little ahead and read the Uddhava’s prayers. This is Text Sixty-one. I will just read the translation.

TEXT 61

The gopīs of Vṛndāvana have given up the association of their husbands, sons and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to be one of the bushes, creepers, or herbs in Vṛndāvana, because the gopīs trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet.

COMMENT

So, Uddhava is so humble. It is said that Krishna sent Uddhava to Vrindavan, not only to deliver His message to gopīs but He wanted Uddhava to see the exalted love of the gopīs for Him, which he saw and appreciate.

So, now coming to today’s verses. Again, these are Krishna’s instructions to gopīs through Uddhava.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Ten, Chapter Forty-seven, “The Song of the Bee,”

TEXT 32

yenendriyārthān dhyāyeta
mṛṣā svapna-vad utthitaḥ
tan nirundhyād indriyāṇi
vinidraḥ pratyapadyata

TRANSLATION

As a person just arisen from sleep may continue to meditate on a dream even though it is illusory, so by the agency of the mind one meditates on the sense objects, which the senses can then obtain. Therefore one should become fully alert and bring the mind under control.

PURPORT by disciples of Srila Prabhupada

The verb pratipad means “to be perceived or restored.” The soul that is vinidra, free from the dreamlike condition of material consciousness, is restored to its constitutional position as an eternal servitor of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and thus the soul is directly perceived by pure consciousness.

COMMENT

So, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Himself in the role of a devotee, in the mood of Srimati Radharani and her body complexion of golden hue, has stated, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’, that the svarūpa, the constitutional position of the living entity is, kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’, he is an eternal servant of Krishna. So, that is our constitutional position, our natural position. And any other position is false and illusory. When we are in our constitutional position as eternal servant of Krishna, we are happy and satisfied. And when we are in any other position in effect in competition with Krishna, we are frustrated and miserable. This instruction, therefore one should become alert and bring mind under control applies to us, especially when we chant the holy names, in japa or even in kirtan, our mind may wonder but we should bring the mind under control with the intelligence and bring it back to Krishna; back to sound of holy name.

There are different stages of chanting as you may know. The first stage is nāma-aparādha, which means offensive chanting. The next is nāma-ābhāsa, which is the clearing stage. And ultimate is śuddha-nāma, which is a pure name. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that if one chants attentively then all other offenses are destroyed. But if one is inattentive while chanting, the other offenses will flourish. So, it is most important that we are attentive while we chant. I have facilitated a number of japa retreats or workshops, and in one of them, Mahatma Prabhu said that devotees have become very expert in using their left hand because their right hand is in bead-bag, with their left hand, they are taping their emails, all sorts of things. That how we should not be how we chant our japa. He also quoted one devotee, who said that previously he used to think that his japa was getting him the way of his life, but now he thinks, his life is getting him getting way of his japa. So, his priorities shifted.

So, whenever we can, we should chant. In one talk in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you got time, chant Hare Krishna, don’t speak nonsense. Don’t waste time. Chant Hare Krishna.” So, we should do that, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, as far as possible, all the time. And in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami has enumerated sixty-four items of devotional service. And of the sixty-four, he says that five are most potent. And even with a little association with anyone of these five, one can awaken dormant love for Krishna. And the five are: sādhu-saṅga, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇa, mathurā-vāsa, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana. Sādhu-saṅga in general sense means association with devotees. But Rupa Goswami has given a very specific definition of sādhu-saṅga. Sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅga svato vare. Sajātīyāśaye means is the sort of literal sense, belonging to same caste or community. In our case, it really means the followers of Srila Prabhupada. Snigdhe means the sadhu should be affectionate to you. svato vare means sadhu should be more advanced that you. That is real sādhu-saṅga. So, in those five processes, sādhu-saṅga, nāma-kīrtana—chanting the holy names, bhāgavata-śravaṇa – hearing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, mathurā-vāsa – residing in Mathura or Vrindavan, Mayapur, Navadvipa. And mūrtira śraddhāya sevana – serving deity with faith and veneration.

Once I was in Mauritius with His Holiness Gaura Govinda Swami Maharaja. After we finished the program at ISKCON Vedic Farm in Bonakia in Mauritius, somehow, I mentioned these five most potent items of devotional service. And when I came to mathurā-vāsa, he looked me in my eyes and said, “Kamsa also resided in Mathura.” So, it is potent if we are in right consciousness.

So, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. Now, if any one of you have any questions or comments, you can raise your hand.

Devotee: Oh, Hare Krishna Maharaja, nice to see you.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:43:15]

Giriraj Swami: That is very good question. He says that Lord Brahma admits that he cannot understand Krishna. So, what hope do we have to understand Krishna?

Well, our hope is Krishna’s mercy, received through Srila Prabhupada. Of course, we could never understand Krishna fully and our real goal is to love Him. Once a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada that sometimes we hear that Lord Brahma created all the planetary systems. And sometimes we read that all the planetary systems are in the stalk of the lotus flower. So how do we understand this contradiction? And Srila Prabhupada replied, “You cannot understand this contradiction, but your duty is to love Krishna.” So yes, if we can love Krishna, then our life, our efforts in bhakti-yoga are successful.

Devotee: Thank you for your visit to Mauritius. My question is, Maharaja, the Bhāgavatam said that, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ, the greatest Vaishnava is Lord Shiva. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, “Of the deities, I am Prahlada,” who is also the greatest devotee. And here we find that, when Narada Muni is searching who is the highest devotee, and he came to Thavas who is one step below the gopīs. So, this greatness of the devotees, first of all, who is the greatest? Is it according to the rasa they are great or greater than each other?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, there are different statements proclaiming the glories of the different devotees as being the greatest. But we know that greatest is Srimati Radharani. And the other statements glorifying other devotees to be greatest are in the particular context but in absolute sense, Srimati Radharani is the greatest.

Once I was in the room with Srila Prabhupada in Calcutta, Achyutananda Prabhu had a discussion with our landlord, Mr. Singh Raya, who had his own understanding. He said that, “Actually, Lord Chaitanya comes first and then Radha and Krishna.” And he said that, “Lord Chaitanya is greater than Radha and Krishna. Just like rasagullā is greater than milk and sugar.” So, Achyutananda brought this question to Srila Prabhupada and he said that, “Actually, Radha and Krishna come first. Just like milk and sugar comes first and then comes rasagullā.” And then Achyutananda asked, “Who is the greatest?” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Srimati Radharani is the greatest.” And he pointed a picture on the wall, that showed Radharani sitting up in Maan, which means transcendental jealous anger. And Krishna, kneeling at her feet, begging her to give up her Maan. So, Srila Prabhupada said, “Srimati Radharani is the greatest.”

Srimati Radharani ki jaya!

So, as requested by our esteemed Dharmatma Prabhu, I will speak little about auspicious month of Kartik or Damodara. I wrote something, so I will read that.

“Kartik is also the known as the month of Damodara. Dama means rope and udara means abdomen. Lord Krishna, who allowed Himself to be bound by the waist by His devotee’s love. Srila Rupa Gosvami complied the law book of Krishna consciousness, the science of devotion as the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, translated by Srila Prabhupada the summery study as Nectar of Devotion. There, the observance of Kartik is mentioned as one of the sixty-four items of devotional service. Rupa Gosvami quotes from the Padma-Purana that just as Lord Damodara is favorably inclined toward his devotees, the month of Kartik, which is also dear to him, bestows great favors upon his devotees for even a little service or a little practice. It is said that the benefit gained for service performed in the last five days of Kartik is equal to that gained from service performed entire month. In other words, for a very small performance of devotional service in the month of Damodara, one gets the big result especially in Vrindavan. Also Srila Prabhupada has explained that wherever deities of Radha and Krishna are installed, that is also Vrindavan. So, our devotional service performed in Vrindavan is magnified one thousand times.

Srila Prabhupada gave the example of store holding a sale, where costumers get the valuable items by paying small amount. So, month of Kartik is like a sale, a transcendental sale. By a little investment in spiritual practices and service, one can get great benefit. Of course, management of the store hopes that you come to appreciate its goods and patronize the store even after the sale is over. And we too hope that you will continue your spiritual practices or increase practices even after the month of Kartik. There is a special potency to month itself just like certain time of the day such as Brahma-muhūrta, which begins one hour and thirty-two minutes before sunrise and it continues until the sun rises. Our most auspicious for spiritual progress and enhance the value of one’s practices, so too, within the year, the month of Kartik is most auspicious.

Devotees try to take advantage of facility offered by Kartik by on the one side by increasing spiritual practices and doing extra service. They chant more rounds, read more scripture, recite more prayers, distribute more books and make special offerings. And on the other side, they decreased their material involvement, their sense gratification. As it is, we are in the four-month period of cāturmāsya. So, every month, we forgo certain type of food but in Kartik, devotees may do extra austerities. They may eat once a day or give sweets or fried food or rise earlier than usual or whatever. Work on some area of their spiritual life that they want to improve and they get special mercy in the month of Kartik to fulfill their vows and improve their spiritual practices.

Sri Damodara maas ki jaya!

Sri Kartik vrata ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol!

Devotees: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!