690109 - Bhajan and Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1969

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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690109PU-LOS ANGELES - January 09, 1969 - 29:29 Minutes

Prabhupāda: (sings)

'gaurāṅga' bolite habe pulaka-śarīra

'hari hari' bolite nayane ba' be nīra

(When will that opportune moment come to me when there will be shivering of the body as soon as I chant Lord Gaurāṅga's name? And after the shivering, while chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, when will there be tears pouring down from my eyes?)

āra kabe nitāi-cānder koruṇā hoibe

saṁsāra-bāsanā mora kabe tuccha ha'be

(And when will Nityānanda bestow His causeless mercy upon me so that my desire for material enjoyment will become very insignificant? When will that time come?)

viṣaya chāriyā kabe śuddha ha 'be mana

kabe hāma herabo śrī-bṛndābana

(When my mind is completely purified, being freed from material anxieties and desires, then I shall be able to understand Vṛndāvana and the conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and then my spiritual life will be successful.)

rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti

kabe hāma bujhabo se jugala-pīriti

(When shall I be very much eager to study the books left by the Six Gosvāmīs? One has to learn of the conjugal loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa through the teachings of these Six Gosvamīs.)

rūpa-raghunātha-pade rahu mora āśa

prārthanā koroye sadā narottama-dāsa

(Narottama Dāsa always longs to remain at the lotus feet of Śrīla Rūpa and Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmīs.)

This nice song was sung by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, one of the great ācāryas of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. That is the sect of Vaiṣṇavism started by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. "Gauḍīya" means belonging to Bengal. There are five Gauḍa-deśa in the northern part of India, out of which part of Bengal, West Bengal, is called Gauḍa-deśa. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's songs are very appropriate just to the conclusion of Vedic injunctions. So he sings this song, how one can rise up to the transcendental plane for associating directly with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, what is that process.

The process is one should begin this Kṛṣṇa consciousness under the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, and He is teaching people how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Lord Kṛṣṇa, He (break) personally spoke about Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, but people who are not very intelligent, who are described in the Bhagavad-gītā as mūḍha—mūḍha means rascal—and duṣkṛtina, and miscreant—and narādhama (break) narādhama means lowest of the mankind—such persons cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. But still, Kṛṣṇa was so merciful that in order to claim all these people, means the lowest of the mankind, miscreant, and fools and rascals, rejected, so He came in the form of Lord Caitanya to reclaim them.

So God is so merciful that even some persons cannot understand Him . . . first thing is people cannot understand actually what is God, but God Himself comes to explain Himself. Still, they commit mistake. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes as a devotee to teach us about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So we have to follow the footprints of Lord Caitanya.

And Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura teaches that, "First of all, try to chant the name of Gaurasundara."

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsadi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

In this way, when we are a little bit attached with Gaurasundara, Lord Caitanya, then we automatically feel transcendental emotion. And that emotional stage is exhibited by shivering in the body. We should not, however, imitate such shivering to show to the public that "I have become a great devotee," but we should execute devotional service nicely and faithfully; then that stage will come automatically, shivering.

As soon as one will chant the name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, there will be shivering. This is the first symptom that one is getting advanced in the perfectional stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, gaurāṅga bolite habe pulaka śarīre. He's expecting. Although he was a great ācārya, still, he was expecting, "When that stage will come?"

The wording of the song is as follows. G-a-u-r-a-n-g-a, gaurāṅga. Bolite, b-a-l-i-t-e. Habe, h-a-b-e. Gaurāṅga bolite habe pulaka, p-u-l-a-k-a. Pulaka śarīra, s-a-r-i-r. Gaurāṅga bolite habe pulaka śarīra hari hari, h-a-r-i h-a-r-i. Bolite, b-a-l-i-t-e. Hari hari bolite habe, h-a-b-e. Hari hari bolite kabe . . . not habe; kabe, k-a-b-e. Nayane, n-a-y-a-n-e. Ba'be, b-a-b-e. Nīra, n-e-e-r. The meaning

(break) that there will be not only shivering as soon as I utter the name of Gaurāṅga, but there will be torrents of tears in my eyes as soon as I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the explanation.

The next line is āra kabe nitāi-cānder koruṇā koribe. (spells out) Āra kabe nitāi-cānder koruṇā koribe. This is also aspiration, that, "When Nityānanda Prabhu, the constant associate of Lord Caitanya, will be pleased upon me?" Koruṇā koribe. Koruṇā koribe means "He will be pleased upon me."

Nityānanda Prabhu, or Nitāicānd, is the original spiritual master. He is Baladeva. Bala means strength, and deva, the Personality of Godhead who gives strength. Therefore Nitāicānd is the symbol of spiritual master who gives strength to the disciples. This is the process of disciplic succession.

We have to acquire the spiritual strength. No amount of material strength can help me in advancement of spiritual life. We must derive the spiritual strength. Just like we have to take electricity from the powerhouse by directly connecting with the powerhouse—not the wiring, but the electricity—similarly, this disciplic succession means the strength is descending from the original person through the spiritual master. That is the idea.

So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura explains that, "When Nitāicānd will be pleased?" And the result of such pleasure of Nitāicānd is that one becomes free from all desires for material enjoyment.

āra kabe nitāi-cānd koruṇā karibe

saṁsāra-bāsanā mora kabe tuccha ha'be

(spells out) So by the mercy of Nitāicānd, one will get free from all desires of material enjoyment.

The next line is viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana. (spells out) This kabe means "when," aspiring. Śuddha means "purified." Ha'be, "will be." Mana means "mind." So when actually our spiritual master or Nityānanda Prabhu is pleased upon us, at that time the symptom will be that we shall no longer hanker after material enjoyment.

When that stage of life is arrived, at that time only, we can understand what is Vṛndāvana, the abode of Kṛṣṇa. Vṛndāvana is not a material place, just like ordinary city or country. It is transcendental. So appreciation of Vṛndāvana will be possible when our mind is free from all material desires, viṣaya chāḍiyā.

Viṣaya means eating, sleeping, mating and defending. They are called viṣaya. Viṣaya means "objects." In the material world there are these four objects are in view—how I shall eat, how I shall sleep, how I shall mate, how I shall defend. So as soon as one is purified of all material desires, these material objectives will not be a problem.

viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana

kabe hāma herabo śrī-vṛndāvana

So then we shall be able to understand what is Vṛndāvana and what is kingdom of God, or Goloka Vṛndāvana.

And the next stage is that one has to understand what is the loving affairs, conjugal love, between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. And that will be possible if we carefully study the literatures left by the Gosvāmīs. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī has left behind him Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Vidagdha-mādhava, Lalitā-mādhava. Many books, especially that Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. So:

viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana

kabe hāma herabo śrī-vṛndāvana

rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti

Habe means "will be." Ākuti, "eagerness." "When I shall be very much eager to understand what is spoken by the Gosvāmīs?" These are the processes. We have to derive the pleasure of Nityānanda. We have to understand the six Gosvāmīs, what they are speaking. We have to cleanse our mind from material desires. These are the qualifications to understand what is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, we shall be misled; we shall think Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa ordinary boy and girl. No.

The activities are just like that, but it is all spiritual. There is no material contamination at all. There is no material inebrieties. Therefore, in such loving affairs, in such embracing, such kissing in Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, that is all spiritual, eternal, blissful, full of knowledge, full of pleasure.

So at the present moment, in material condition, it is not possible to understand, but this is the purificatory process. We have to chant:

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

This chanting process has got the spiritual value to lead us to the highest stage of understanding Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as we are capable of understanding what is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, then it is possible for getting admission in the spiritual world.

So all people interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should follow the regulative principles, gradually raise himself, one after another, and reach the highest successful transcendental platform of understanding Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. (end)