The Glories of Srimati Radharani

Today as I was practicing my bhajan I began to think about the glories of Srimati Radharani, the Queen of Vraja. Sri Radha has unlimited transidental qualities and is praised in song and dance. She is so mericiful and is forever the beloved of Sri Gaura-Sundara for whom our hearts are constantly yearning.

As Sri Krishn's beloved, that most merciful lord has promised Srimati Radharani that her name shall always come before his own. To this divine and enchanting couple I bow down again and again.



Radharani ki jai, maharani ki jai
bolo barsane vari ki jai jai jai

Thakurani ki jai, hari priya ki jai
vrsabhanu-dulari ki jai jai jai

Gaurangi ki jai, hemangi ki jai
vrajaraja-kumari ki jai jai jai

Vraja-rani ki jai, vraja devi ki jai
gahvara vana vari ki jai jai jai

Translation:

1. All glories to Radharani! All glories to the greatest of all Queens. Sing the glories of Radharani, who lives in Barsana.

2. All glories to Radha Thakurani (Queen Radha), who is the beloved of Sri Hari. All glories to the beloved daughter of King Vrsabhanu.

3. All glories to Radharani who has a fair complexion and golden limbs.

4. All glories to the Queen of Vraja. All glories to the goddess of Vraja. All glories to Radha who wanders in the Gahvara forest.


rādhe jaya jaya mādhava-dayite
gokula-taruṇī-maṇḍala-mahite


(1)
dāmodara-rati-vardhana-veśe
hari-niṣkuṭa-vṛndā-vipineśe


(2)
vṛṣabhānūdadhi-nava-śaśi-lekhe
lalitā-sakhi guṇa-ramita-viśākhe


(3)
karuṇāḿ kuru mayi karuṇā-bharite
sanaka-sanātana-varṇita-carite


Translation:

(Refrain) O Radha! O beloved of Madhava! O You who are worshiped by all the young girls of Gokula! All glories unto You! All glories unto You!



(1-3) You who dress Yourself in such a way as to increase Lord Damodara's love and attachment for You! O queen of Vrndavana, which is the pleasure grove of Lord Hari! O new moon that has arisen from the ocean of King Vrsabhanu! O friend of Lalita! O You who make Visakha loyal to You due to Your wonderful qualities of friendliness, kindness, and faithfulness to Krsna! O You who are filled with compassion! O You whose divine characteristics are described by the great sages Sanaka and Sanatana! O Radha, please be merciful to me!

Busy

A lot of the time I find myself 'too busy' to do... well, a lot of things. I managed to find time to read this the other day, which was really all I needed.

"In 1986, I was very busy because I was in charge of the construction of Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi in Mayapur. And there was no limit- no limit- in what had to be arranged for that building. One day I looked at that Samadhi and it looked just like a huge face with a big mouth and the mouth just said, ‘Aniyor! Aniyor! Aniyor! Bring me more! Bring me more!’ And I brought trucks of cement and steel and bricks and stone and marble, and I brought engineers and draughts men and drawings and technical experts and labors and I broke labor strikes to bring more work and I had to deal with endless things and I was chanting my rounds during mangal arati because I had to start working at six and in the evening I was so tired that I couldn’t chant anymore and I would just crash…and I was just so totally busy!!! And in the middle of that, one day Lokanatha Maharaja appears in 1986! At that time Lokanatha Maharaja had the padayatra. And the padayatra had a mad elephant! This elephant was heavy; it had picked up people and had thrown them about! And there was a camel that would bite people! And then there were many villagers from India, and all these villagers, (imitates) ‘ha ha ha’- many of them! And then they had so many dioramas and exhibitions and tractors and everything! And Lokanatha Maharaja came to me and said, “I want you to look after the padayatra when we come to Mayapur.” I said, “Maharaja, Maharaja, Maharaja, please Maharaja, have mercy! Maharaja, I am so busy, Maharaja, I am so busy that it’s…Maharaja, I, I have hardly time to chant my rounds! One more straw Maharaja, it will break the camel’s back…” I thought finished, you know- got rid of Lokanatha Maharaja! And then he starts and he said, “You know, in my village, they say that if you want to get something done, you go to a busy man.” He said, “Because a man, who is not busy, is a lazy man. So if you go to him he won’t do anything! But a busy man is by nature very active- he may be busy and he may not be able to do so much but at least he’ll do something! So if you want something done you go to a busy man!” What could I say after that! Defeated by village logic! It’s like totally practical!"

This clipping is from H.H KKSwami, 04 Oct '09, Phoenix, Durban, SA. I've actually seen it a few times, as I think it applies to many. Its wicked how the mind can turn such simple ideas into complex ones, geared toward sense gratification.

I defiantly appreciate this reality check. Words from H.H. Lokanath Swami, such a simple and clear explanation. Its refreshing for this covered soul.

A Glorious Ekadasi

Happy Ekadasi!

Today being the auspicious Rama Ekadasi, our Vaisnvava tradition tells us to fast from grains and beans, and increase our hearing and chanting.

Coincidentally, all of my programs for the day were almost magically rescheduled, postponed, or cancelled on their own. I took it as a sign from above and embarked on a long, relaxed journey to the temple. The long journey gave me ample time to finish my sixteen rounds (and even a few extra!)

Fond memories of a Kartik four years ago flooded my mind. My best friend an I decided to do a nirjal on this very same ekadasi. It was one super-surcharged day! We went to mangal arati, the morning program, spend the day chanting japa, in kirtan, and trying to remember Krsna as much as possible (in spite of school). We even went on harinam sankirtan and book distribution! Aahhh, youthful, happy days...

Today, I wasn't sure if I could do a nirjal fast successfully. The weather has been quite hot and I didn't want to promise something I couldn't do. So I decided to do a nirjal for half the day, till noon, and allow myself to take as little fruit and water as possible. The lesser the eating, the more the time of sravanam, kirtanam, and visnu-smaranam!

I even read the beautiful bhakti-rasa-filled poetry of Srila Vrndavana Das Thakur, Srila Narahari Cakravarti Thakur, Srila Govinda Das Thakur, and Srila Vasudeva Ghosh. These poetic songs filled with philosophy as well as extraordinary pastimes are powerful enough to melt even the most stone-like of hearts! My heart swells up in pride and admiration for our rich Gaudiya Vaisnava culture, and its radiant gem-like saints.

Read the glories of Karttika-krsna Ekadasi, or Ramaa Ekadasi, from the Brahma-Vaivarta Purana of Srila Krsna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa here.

Read a Dandavats article: Hearing Gaura Katha on ekadasis in Kartika here.

A taste of pure nectar

The 24 hour kirtan...how can I even begin to describe such devotion? Such pure strength of the Holy Name? Surely there is nothing more wonderful in this world. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us more then we could ever hope to appreciate or disserve in this life time or many.

So many talented vaishnava(i)s brought their voices, their mrdungas, and their personalities to New Vrindavan. People like Bada Hari Prabhu, Sarvajaya from DC, Goshi with his spunky style who still manages to sing so sweetly it tugs at your heart, Bhakti with her pure and beautiful devotion, Jagi, Manu Prabhu….there are so many others, but these people were just a catalyst for awaking the tender flame of devotion which forever resides in all of our hearts.

Every one of us is an eternal servant of Sri Krishna. Each one of us has that small spark of devotion in our hearts just waiting for the chance to show itself. What I saw this last weekend is hundreds of devotees tasting pure love of God, perhaps for the first time. With so much nectar of the Holy Name, how then can we remain oblivious to the love which resides forever in our hearts? Give them a taste, Srila Prabhupada once said, and that is all it takes. Sravanam and Kirtanam - hearing and chanting the glories of Sri Krishna, there can be no better dharma in ones life.



It just so happened that the last chapter of the 24 hour kirtan fell on Sunday which was the most auspicious appearance day of Sri Radha Kunda and although I was without any internet for the duration of my trip I thought to share a small piece from my journal entry that day.

“October 11th 2009: It is the appearance day of Sri Radha Kunda and I am in New Vrindavan Dham listening to the sweet mellows of Varshana Swami Sing the Holy Name just a few doors down from where I now lay in the girls ashrama. This is the last flame of the 24 hr kirtan but I know that this transidental fire will leave sparks of love in our hearts which may rage once again and bring us all back together in the service of Sri Gopal and Srila Prabhupada.
“I pray that those tender sparks may never be extinguished. That I may always remain attracted to the chanting of the Mahamantra and the association of the sincere devotees of the Lord.
“We are heading back to Alachua in just a few hours. It feels like no time at all and I am sad to go but I know that I have responsibilities at home. For now I will hold these memories close to my heart and eagerly await the next chance to live in such Bhakti.”

I humbly pray that we all may have such a chance. There is talk now of the next 24 hour kirtan and I pray that I will see some familiar faces there next year and perhaps a few new ones as well. Krishna is so merciful, so wonderful, let us share him with the rest of the world.

Sri Krishna Sankirtana Ki!!!

Day 1

All Glories to this most Glorious month of Kartik!

Excited, I went to sleep with butterflies in my stomach, eagerly awaiting the next day, and the beginning of Kartik. I got up early this morning before sunrise, before Brahma Muhurta, around Mangal Arati time, inspired. While my uncle did Mangal Arati, I sang the prayers to Sri Guru.

Samsara davanala lidha loka
tranaya karunya ghana ghanatvam
praptasya kalyana ghunarnavasya
vande guroh sri caranaravindam...

"The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master delivers the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities."

The simple, sweet morning melody swept me away by its mood. It was beautiful. Nrsimhadeva prayers and the Nrsimha Kavaca I chanted reminded me of the purpose of my vrata, and prayed with as much dedication as I could muster. The atmosphere felt magically surcharged. The entire building was quiet, cloaked with thick sleep, while one apartment on the third floor permeated the place with sacred incense, and the auspicious sounds of bells ringing, conch shells blowing, mrdanga rhythms, and beautiful Sanskrit verses.

I smiled happily. It was a good start.

Soon the dark sky began to blush soft shades of pink and saffron, while dreamy wisps of purple floated along. Slowly, a sleeping city began to awaken.

We briskly walked to the bus depot, and caught a bus to the outskirts of Chennai, where our ISKCON temple, though still under construction, stands gloriously above the miles and miles of grazing pastures. The long winding bus ride gave me a perfect opportunity to chant my rounds peacefully, without distractions, and conveniently at an early, most auspicious Brahma Muhurta time! Our friendly bus driver dropped us off in front of the temple road, though there was no bus stop there. He did us a great favor. (Otherwise we'd have to walk quite a distance to the temple.) Unknowingly he must have gotten some good benefit, luckily multiplied a thousand times by Kartik!

Their Lordships Sri Sri Rukmini Krsna Sathyabhama, Gaura Nitai, and Jagannath Baladev Subhadra were dressed in an elegant pearly white, with gold. Resplendent as always, They smiled down on the devotees. A simple morning program with a handful of devotees was held. Next HH Bhakti Vrajendra Nandan Swami, a senior ISKCON sannyasi based in Malaysia, gave Bhagavatam Class (SB 4.11.6). He spoke wonderfully and inspired me to think,

"How inspired Maharaj is, after all these years! It's wonderful. He never deviates from Srila Prabhupada's teachings, and follows so strictly! He has been in ISKCON for so many years... the politics he is forced to see, it doesn't affect him! Inner peace and rock-steady stability... atmarama. Other devotees often complain and leave ISKCON, but the thought hasn't, I'm sure, even crossed his mind! How wonderful. This should be our example. He still remembers the first time he saw devotees in England, and understood them to be always happy, singing, dancing, honoring delicious prasad. That wonder has never left him. Srila Prabhupada has left so much hidden nectar in his books. If we just look carefully, read them over and over and over again, we too can relish that wonderful nectar! These teachings are ever fresh. Devotees delve deeper and deeper in, relishing such bliss! It keeps them alive and inspired for years, lifetimes, and eternity! If they can find it, so can we! Perseverance, dedication, and unflinching faith from association with the Vaisnavas can take us far."