The 10 vows of Srila Raghunath das Goswami

[Paramananda das]

dear devotees

Please accept my humble obaisences

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

 

When reading the 10 vows of Srila Raghunath das Goswami something very sweet stands out:

 

anadih sadhir va patur ati-mrdur va pratipada-

     pramilat-karunyah praguna-karuna-hina iti va

maha-vaikunthesadhika iha naro va vraja-pater

     ayam sunur gosthe pratijani mamastam prabhu-varah

 

 

 

     Beginningless or with a beginning, cruel or very gentle, merciful at every moment or merciless, greater than the king of Maha-Vaikuntha or an ordinary human being, the son of Vraja's king is my Lord birth after birth.

 

Srila Raghunath das Goswami like all the 6 Goswamis never failed in chanting 64 rounds daily as ordered by Lord Caitanya:

 

dasa gosvamira ache laksha pramana;
ei mata sarva bhakta kare harinama.

"Shrila Raghunatha dasa Goswami also rigidly followed the instructions of Lord Gauranga by chanting 100,000 names daily. In this way all the devotees chanted the Holy Names of the Lord daily without exception.

 

Praying at the lotusfeet of Srila Raghunath das Goswami  I pray I can chant  the Mahamantra purely free from all offences

 

"You have to minimize your sleeping. If you cannot finish sixteen rounds, then you must not sleep on that day, you must not eat. Why don't you forget to eat, forget? Why do you forget chanting Hare Krishna? This is negligence, aparadha, offense. Rather, you should forget your sleeping and eating, and must finish sixteen rounds. This is called determination. This is called determined. So you are welcome to take initiation, but if you are neglectful, if you want to make it a farce, that is your business. I cannot give you any protection." (Shrila Prabhupada 28/1/74)

 

Letter to: Indira (Iris Mendoza), Ekayani (Esther Mendoza), San
Francisco, 17 December, 1967

"I am very glad to learn you are chanting 48 rounds. Actually it is
all right that one should chant 64 rounds, even 16 rounds, so if one
is able to chant more than 16 rounds up to 64, it is very good. You
fix up your rounds.

Try to increase it but never decrease it."

 

 

In our Krishna consciousness movement we are teaching our followers to
chant the Hare Krishna mantra continuously on beads. Even those who are
not accustomed to this practice are advised to chant at least sixteen
rounds on their beads so that they may be trained. Sada
means "always." Haridasa Thakura says, nirantara nama lao: "Chant the
Hare Krishna mantra without stopping." One's real duty is to
surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna, but if one is unable to do so,
he should adopt this process, as introduced by Shri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu and His most confidential servant, Namacarya Shrila
Haridasa Thakura. This is the way to achieve success in Krishna
consciousness. (Shri Chaitanya-charitamrita Antya-lila 3.137)

 

FIRST INITIATION BY SRILA PRABHUPADA

The Hare Krishna Explosion, p. 63, by Hayagriva dasa, Palace Press
1985.

"Now that you have beads," Swamiji says the next morning, "you should
chant sixty-four rounds every day." "Sixty-four rounds?" To pronounce
every word of the mantra distinctly, we require five minutes to chant
a round. Sixty-four rounds would take over five hours. "Impossible!"
we say. "We'll never have the time." "All right," Swamiji
says. "Thirty-two rounds." "Impossible," we say. "We'll never be able
to do it. It's way too much." "All right," Swamiji says. "Sixteen
rounds. No less."

 

Srila Prabhupada following the lotusfootsteps of Srila Rupa and Raghunath Goswamis encouraged devotees to chant 64 rounds,there is no(bonafide) excuses to not chant

ones 16 rounds and if one really wants the mercy of Lord Caitanya one must endeavor for 64 rounds ( and also daily distribute Srila PRabhupadas books /and do harinama)

These things will garantie our success in KC if we also avoid the 10 offences to the holy name

 

 

your servant

Paramananda  das

Shri Sva-niyama-dasakam by Srila Raghunath das Goswami 

 

Ten Vows

 

 

Text 1

 

 

gurau mantre namni prabhuvara-sacigarbhaja-pade

     svarupe shri-rupe gana-yuji tadiya-prathamaje

girindre gandharva-sarasi madhu-puryam vraja-vane

     vraje bhakte gosthalayisu param astam mama ratih

 

 

     I vow I shall love my spiritual master, the Gayatri mantra, the holy name of Lord Krishna, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's feet, Shrila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Shrila Rupa Gosvami, his associates, his elder brother (Shrila Sanatana Gosvami), Govardhana Hill, Radha-kunda, Mathura City, Vrndavana Forest, the land of Vraja, the devotees of Lord Krishna, and the residents of Vraja.

 

 

Text 2

 

 

na canyatra ksetre hari-tanu-sanatho 'pi sujanad

     rasasvadam premna dadhad api vasami ksanam api

samam tv etad gramyavalibhir abhitanvann api katham

     vidhasye samvasam vraja-bhuvana eva pratibhavam

 

 

 

     I vow that I shall live in the land of Vraja birth after birth, chatting casually with the villagers. I shall not live even for a moment in any other place, even if the Lord resides there in His Deity form, and even if the great devotees fill it with the sweet nectar of transcendental love.

 

 

Text 3

 

 

sada radha-krsnocchalad-atula-khela-sthala-yujam

     vrajam santyajyaitad yuga-virahito 'pi trutim api

punar dvaravatyam yadu-patim api praudha-vibhavaih

     sphurantam tad vacapi ca na hi calamiksitum api

 

 

     Even though I suffer in long separation from the divine couple, I shall not, even for a moment, leave the land of Vraja, where Shri Shri Radha-Krishna eternally enjoy unparalleled transcendental pastimes, and I shall not, even if He Himself invites me, go to see the opulent king of the Yadus in Dvaraka!     

 

 

Text 4

 

 

gatonmadai radha sphurati harina slista-hrdaya

     sphutam dvaravatyam iti yadi srnomi sruti-tate

aham tatraivoddhata-mati patami vraja-purat

     samuddiya svantadhika-gati-khagendrad api javat

 

 

     If with my own ears I heard, Radha has gone to Dvaraka, where Lord Hari passionately embraces Her to His chest,"  with an excited heart I would leave Vrajapura and fly there faster than Garuda.   

 

 

Text 5

 

 

anadih sadhir va patur ati-mrdur va pratipada-

     pramilat-karunyah praguna-karuna-hina iti va

maha-vaikunthesadhika iha naro va vraja-pater

     ayam sunur gosthe pratijani mamastam prabhu-varah

 

 

 

     Beginningless or with a beginning, cruel or very gentle, merciful at every moment or merciless, greater than the king of Maha-Vaikuntha or an ordinary human being, the son of Vraja's king is my Lord birth after birth.

     

 

Text 6

 

 

anadrtyodgitam api muni-ganair vainika-mukhaih

     pravinam gandharvam api ca nigamais tat-priyatamam

ya ekam govindam bhajati kapati dambhikataya

     tad-abhyarne sirne ksanam api na yami vratam idam

 

 

     Not for a moment shall I go near a hypocrite who worships only Lord Govinda and does not worship exalted Shrimati Radharani, who is glorified by the Vedas and the great sages headed by Narada, and who is most dear to Lord Krishna. This is my vow. 

 

 

Text 7

 

 

ajande radheti-sphurad-abhidhaya sikta-janaya-

     naya sakam krishnam bhajati ya iha prema-namitah

param praksalyaitac-carana-kamale taj-jalam aho

     muda pitva sasvac chirasi ca vahami pratidinam

 

 

     I shall wash the lotus feet of anyone in this world who, bowed down with love, worships Lord Krishna and the nectar person who bears the name Radha. I drink that water and every day I carry that water on my head.

 

Text 8

 

         

parityaktah preyo-jana-samudayair badham asudhir

     durandho nirandhram kadana-bhara-vardhau nipatitah

trnam dantair dastva catubhir abhiyace 'dya krpaya

     svayam shri gandharva sva-pada-nalinantam nayatu mam

 

 

     Abandoned by my dear friends, unintelligent, blind, and drowning in an ocean of pain, I bite a blade of straw with my teeth and beg, O Shrimati Radharani, please lead me to Your lotus feet!"

 

 

Text 9

 

 

vrajotpanna-ksirasana-vasana-patradibhir aham

     padarthair nirvahya vyavahrtim adambham sa-niyamah

vasanisa-kunde giri-kula-vare caiva samaye

     marisye tu presthe sarasi khalu jivadi-puratah

 

 

 

     My food a little of Vraja's milk, my home a leaf-hut, and my actions honest austerity and scripture study, I shall live at Radha-kunda by the best of mountains and I shall die at that dear lake in the company of Shrila Jiva Gosvami and the other devotees.

 

 

Text 10

 

 

sphural-laksmi-laksmi-vraja-vijayi-laksmi-bhara-lasad-

     vapuh-shri-gandharva-smara-nikara-divyad-giribhrtoh

vidhasye kujadau vividha-varivasyah sa-rabhasam

     rahah shri-rupakhya-priyatama-janasyaiva caramah

 

 

 

     In a secluded place in Vrndavana forest, following my dear friend Shrila Rupa Gosvami, in many ways I shall earnestly worship Shri Krishna, who is more splendid than many Cupids, and Shrimati Radharani, whose glorious beauty defeats many goddesses of fortune.

 

 

Text 11

 

 

krtam kenapy etan nija-niyama-samsi-stavam imam

     pathed yo visrabdhah priya-yugala-rupe 'rpita-manah

drdham gosthe hrsto vasati-vasatim prapya samaye

     muda radha-krishnau bhajati sa hi tenaiva sahitah

 

 

     A faithful devotee who reads these ten vows of a certain author and who fixes his mind on the transcendental forms of the dear divine couple, at the proper time happily attains the realm of Vraja and directly worships Shri Shri Radha-Krishna.