seeing through the eyes of scriptures
Srila Rupa Goswamis : Sri Astadasa Chandah Stava vers 4
Mulotkhata vidhayini bhava taroh krsnanya trsna
ksayat
Kheladhir muni cakravaka nicayir acamyamana muhuh
karnanandi kala svana vahatu me jihva tati prangane
ghurnat tunga rasavalis tava katha piyusa kallolini
Oh Krsna,I pray that the river of words about You ,which by destroying the thirst for anything other than You ,uproots the tree of repeated
birth and death ,which is continually sipped by the cakravaka birds of the great sages, which makes a sweet sound delighting the ears, and which is filled with swiftly moving currents of nectar exchanges of transcendental love ,may flow into the courtyard of my tongue.
Comments: Sri Prahlada Maharaja has stated
sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam arcanam vandanamdasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam... [SB 7.5.23]
And Krsna has stated in Bhagavad Gita :
satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nitya-yukta upasate
Translation
Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.
In Srimad Bhagavatam we find so many verses in glorification of Krsna katha:
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.25.23
mad-āśrayāḥ kathā mṛṣṭāḥ
SYNONYMS
mat-āśrayāḥ — about Me; kathāḥ — stories; mṛṣṭāḥ — delightful; śṛṇvanti — they hear; kathayanti — they chant; ca — and; tapanti — inflict suffering; vividhāḥ — various; tāpāḥ — the material miseries; na — do not; etān — unto them; mat-gata — fixed on Me; cetasaḥ — their thoughts.
TRANSLATION
Engaged constantly in chanting and hearing about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sādhus do not suffer from material miseries because they are always filled with thoughts of My pastimes and activities.
PURPORT
There are multifarious miseries in material existence — those pertaining to the body and the mind, those imposed by other living entities and those imposed by natural disturbances. But a sādhu is not disturbed by such miserable conditions because his mind is always filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he does not like to talk about anything but the activities of . Mahārāja Ambarīṣa did not speak of anything but the pastimes of the Lord. Vacāḿsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (Bhāg. 9.4.18). He engaged his words only in glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sādhus are always interested in hearing about the activities of the Lord or His devotees. Since they are filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are forgetful of the material miseries. Ordinary conditioned souls, being forgetful of the activities of the Lord, are always full of anxieties and material tribulations. On the other hand, since the devotees always engage in the topics of the Lord, they are forgetful of the miseries of material existence.
These teachings of Lord Kapila is very important to read :
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.25.25
satāḿ prasańgān mama vīrya-saḿvido
bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani
śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati
SYNONYMS
satām — of pure devotees; prasańgāt — through the association; mama — My; vīrya — wonderful activities; saḿvidaḥ — by discussion of; bhavanti — become; hṛt — to the heart; karṇa — to the ear; rasa-ayanāḥ — pleasing; kathāḥ — the stories; tat — of that; joṣaṇāt — by cultivation; āśu — quickly; apavarga — of liberation; vartmani — on the path; śraddhā — firm faith; ratiḥ — attraction; bhaktiḥ — devotion; anukramiṣyati — will follow in order.
TRANSLATION
In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.
PURPORT
The process of advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service is described here. The first point is that one must seek the association of persons who are Kṛṣṇa conscious and who engage in devotional service. Without such association one cannot make advancement. Simply by theoretical knowledge or study one cannot make any appreciable advancement. One must give up the association of materialistic persons and seek the association of devotees because without the association of devotees one cannot understand the activities of the Lord. Generally, people are convinced of the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. Because they do not associate with devotees, they cannot understand that the Absolute Truth can be a person and have personal activities. This is a very difficult subject matter, and unless one has personal understanding of the Absolute Truth, there is no meaning to devotion. Service or devotion cannot be offered to anything impersonal. Service must be offered to a person. Nondevotees cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa consciousness by reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or any other Vedic literature wherein the activities of the Lord are described; they think that these activities are fictional, manufactured stories because spiritual life is not explained to them in the proper mood. To understand the personal activities of the Lord, one has to seek the association of devotees, and by such association, when one contemplates and tries to understand the transcendental activities of the Lord, the path to liberation is open, and he is freed. One who has firm faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes fixed, and his attraction for association with the Lord and the devotees increases. Association with devotees means association with the Lord. The devotee who makes this association develops the consciousness for rendering service to the Lord, and then, being situated in the transcendental position of devotional service, he gradually becomes perfect.
"Since Krsna had departed from Vrndavana to Mathura, the inhabitants of Vrndavana, especially mother Yasoda, Nanda Maharaja, Srimati Radharani, the gopis and the cowherd boys, were simply thinking of Krsna at every step. They were thinking, "Krsna was playing in this way. Krsna was blowing His flute. Krsna was joking with us, and Krsna was embracing us." This is called lila-smarana, and it is the process of association with Krsna most recommended by great devotees; even Lord Caitanya enjoyed lila-smarana association with Krsna when He was at Puri. Those who are in the most exalted position of devotional service and ecstasy can live with Krsna always by remembering His pastimes. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has given us a transcendental literature entitled Krsna-bhavanamrta, which is full with Krsna's pastimes. Devotees can remain absorbed in Krsna-thought by reading such books. Any book of krsna-lila, even this book, Krsna, and our Teachings of Lord Caitanya, is actually solace for devotees who are feeling the separation of Krsna."
tava kathamritam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmashapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad atatam
bhuvi grinanti ye bhuri-da janah
The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.
NoI 7: The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Krishna are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidya [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.
NoI 8: The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one's full time -- twenty-four hours a day -- in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord's divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one's tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vrindavana dhama] and serve Krishna under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord's beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.
(1) vibhāvarī śeṣa, āloka-praveśa, nidrā chāri' uṭho jīva bolo hari hari, mukunda murāri, rāma kṛṣṇa hayagrīva
(2) nṛsiḿha vāmana, śrī-madhusūdana, brajendra-nandana śyāma pūtanā-ghātana, kaiṭabha-śātana, jaya dāśarathi-rāma
(3) yaśodā dulāla, govinda-gopāla, vṛndāvana purandara gopī-priya-jana, rādhikā-ramaṇa, bhuvana -sundara-bara
(4) rāvāṇāntakara, mākhana-taskara, gopī-jana-vastra-hārī brajerarākhāla, gopa-vṛnda-pāla, citta-hārībaḿśī-dhārī
(5) yogīndra-bandana, śrī-nanda-nandana, braja-jana-bhaya-hārī navīnanīrada, rūpa manohara, mohana-baḿśī-bihārī
(6) yaśodā-nandana, kaḿsa-nisūdana, nikuñja-rāsa-vilāsī kadamba-kānana, rāsa-parāyaṇa, bṛnda-vipina-nivāsī
(7) ānanda-vardhana, prema-niketana, phula-śara-jojaka kāma gopāńganā-gaṇa, citta-vinodana, samasta-guṇa-gaṇa-dhāma
(8) jāmuna-jīvana, keli-parāyaṇa, mānasa-candra-cakora nāma-sudhā-rasa, gāo kṛṣṇa-jaśa rākho vacana mana mora
TRANSLATION
1) The night has come to an end and the light of dawn is entering. O jiva soul, arise and give up your sleep. Chant the holy names of Lord Hari, who is the giver of liberation; the enemy of the Mura demon; the supreme enjoyer; the all-attractive one; and the horse-headed incarnation, Hayagriva.
2) Lord Hari [Krsna] incarnated as the half-man, half-lion, Nrsimha. He appeared as a dwarf-brahmana named Upendra and is the killer of the Madhu demon. He is the beloved son of the King of Vraja, Nanda Maharaja, and is blackish in complexion. He is the slayer of the Putana witch and the destroyer of the demon
Kaitabha. All glories to Lord Hari, who appeared as Lord Rama, the son of King Dasaratha.
3) He is the darling of mother Yasoda; the giver of pleasure to the cows, land, and spiritual senses; and the protector of the cows. He is the Lord of the Vrndavana forest; the gopis' beloved; the lover of Radhika; and the most beautiful personality in all the worlds.
4) As Ramacandra He brought about the end of the demoniac King Ravana; as Krsna He stole the older gopis' butter; He stole the younger gopis' clothes while they were bathing in the Yamuna. He is a cowherd boy of Vraja and the protector of the cowherd boys. He steals the hearts of all and always holds a flute.
5) Lord Krsna is worshiped by the best of yogis and is the son of Nanda. He removes all the fears of the inhabitants of Vraja. He is the color of a fresh rain cloud, and His form is enchanting. When He wanders about, playing His flute, He looks very charming.
6) He is the son of Yasoda and the killer of King Kamsa, and He sports in the rasa dance among the groves of Vraja. Krsna engages in this rasa dance underneath the kadamba trees, and He resides in the forest of Vrndavana.
7) He increases the ecstasy of His devotees. He is the reservoir of all love and is the transcendental Cupid who uses His flowered arrows to increase the loving desires of the gopis. He is the pleasure of the gopis' hearts and the abode of all wonderful qualities.
8) Lord Krsna is the life of the River Yamuna. He is always absorbed in amorous pastimes, and He is the moon of the gopis' minds, which are like the cakora birds that subsist only upon moonlight. O mind, obey these words of mine and sing the glories of Sri Krsna in the form of these holy names, which are full of nectarean mellows.
Views: 405
Comment
About
Welcome to
Sastra Caksusa
© 2025 Created by Paramananda das.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Sastra Caksusa to add comments!
Join Sastra Caksusa