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Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the Science of Krishna, a task which those who follow Him have continued to carry out down to the present day. The elaborations and expositions on the philosophy taught by Lord Chaitanya are in fact the most voluminous, exacting and consistent-due to the unbreakable system of disciplic succession of any religious culture in the world. Yet Lord Chaitanya, in His youth widely renowned as a scholar, Himself left us only eight verses, called Sikshastak, in which His mission and precepts are revealed. Here, rendered by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, are these eight supremely valuable prayers:
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#$p#Glory to the Sri Krishna Samkirtan which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years together. Thus the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death, is extinguished. This Samkirtan movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction Moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge, it increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it helps to have a taste of thefull nectar for which we are always anxious.
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#$p#O my Lord! Your Holy Name alone can render all benediction upon the living beings, and therefore You have hundreds and millions of Names, like Krishna, Govinda, etc. In these transcendental Names You have invested all Your transcendental energies, and there is no hard and fast rule for chanting these Holy Names. O my Lord! You have so kindly made approach to You easy by Your Holy Names, but, unfortunate as I am, I have no attraction for Them.
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#$p#One can chant the Holy Name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street, more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the Holy Name of the Lord constantly.
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#$p#O almighty Lord! I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor I have any desire to enjoy beautiful women; neither do I want any number of followers of mine. What I want only is that I may have Your causeless devotional service in my life—birth after birth.
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#$p#O Son of Maharaj Nanda, I am Your eternal servitor, and although I am so, somehow or other I have fallen in the ocean of birth and death. Please, therefore, pick me up from this ocean of death, and fix me as one of the atoms of Your Lotus Feet.
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#$p#O my Lord! when shall my eyes be decorated with tears of love, flowing constantly while I chant Your Holy Name? When will my words be choked up when uttering the Holy Name? And when will all the holes of hair on my body have eruptions by the recitation of Your Name?
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#$p#O Govinda! Feeling Your separation I am considering a moment twelve years or more, and tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain. I am feeling all vacant in the world, in the absence of You.
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#$p#I do not know anyone except Krishna as my Lord, and He shall always remain as such, even if He handles me roughly by His embrace; or He may make me broken-hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, but He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.
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Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the science of Kṛṣṇa, a task which those who follow Him have continued to carry out down to the present day. Due to the unbreakable system of disciplic succession, the elaborations and expositions on the philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya are in fact the most voluminous, exacting and consistent of any religious culture in the world. Although Lord Caitanya was widely renowned as a scholar in His youth, He left only eight verses, called Śikṣāṣṭaka. These eight verses clearly reveal His mission and precepts. These supremely valuable prayers are translated herein.
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Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years together and thus extinguishes the fire of conditioned life, of repeated birth and death. This saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge, it increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to taste the full nectar for which we are always anxious.
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O My Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benedictions to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Kṛṣṇa and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies, and there are no hard and fast rules for chanting these holy names. O My Lord, You have so kindly made it easy to approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.
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One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
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O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.
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O son of Mahārāja Nanda, I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from this ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
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O My Lord, when will My eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will My voice choke up, and when will the hairs on My body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
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O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
#$p##b#8.#/b##br /#
I know no one but Kṛṣṇa as My Lord, and He shall always remain so, even if He handles Me roughly by His embrace or makes Me brokenhearted by not being present before Me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, yet He is always My worshipful Lord, unconditionally.
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