10 Oct 2015
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Hari Hari Biphale Janama, Narottama Dasa Thakura, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krishna, Goloka Vrndavana, Hari Hari Biphale Jama, Narottama Dasa Thakura, Radha and Krishna, Radha-Krsna
This morning I was out in the shop working, and I had a CD playing on the sound system. Srila Prabhupada was singing “Hari Hari Biphale Janama” the famous song by Narottama Dasa Thakura. Then he began giving the Translation and Purport to the song, and it caught my attention. I turned off the saw and just stood there listening as the sun was rising on the horizion and lighting the whole world.
Hari Hari Biphale Janama
by Narottama Dasa Thakura
hari hari! biphale janama gońāinu
manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā,
jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu
golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-sańkīrtana,
rati nā janmilo kene tāy
saḿsāra-biṣānale, dibā-niśi hiyā jwale,
jurāite nā koinu upāy
brajendra-nandana jei, śacī-suta hoilo sei,
balarāma hoilo nitāi
dīna-hīna jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo,
tāra śākṣī jagāi mādhāi
hā hā prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-juta,
koruṇā karoho ei-bāro
narottama-dāsa koy, nā ṭheliho rāńgā pāy,
tomā bine ke āche āmāra
Translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada More
02 Sep 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, B. G. Sharma Art, Radha Krishna, Radhastami, Srimati Radharani
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appearance day of srimati radharani, beauty of krsna, beauty of radharani, Lord Caitanya, Radha, Radha-Krsna, Radharani, Ramananda Raya, SB 2.3.23, Spiritual world, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimati Radharani
click on image to enlarge
So today being the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, my mind has been absorbed in thoughts of Radha and Krsna. It is described that she is the beloved consort of Krsna, Krsna’s pleasure potency, and the spiritual energy of Krsna.
…Lord Caitanya requested Rāmānanda Rāya to explain something more: “What are the transcendental features of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī, and what are the transcendental features of the reciprocation of Their feelings, and what is the love between Them? If you kindly describe all this to Me, I will be very much obliged. But for you, no one can describe such things.” (Teachings of Lord Caitanya Chapter 30)
…In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that when Kṛṣṇa comes before Rādhārāṇī, She becomes so much engladdened by seeing the beauty of Kṛṣṇa that She becomes more beautiful, and as soon as Rādhārāṇī becomes beautiful, Kṛṣṇa becomes engladdened and He becomes more beautiful. So unlimitedly there is competition of becoming more beautiful. That is the state. Competition. Because in the spiritual world everything is unlimited. So unlimitedly both of them becoming beautiful and both of them enjoying unlimitedly. ((Lecture on SB 1.2.8 New Vrindaban, September 6, 1972)
…Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Rādhārāṇī is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord at once accepts the devotee’s admittance into His association. (Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 2, Chapter 3, Text 23)
…She is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa divided Himself into His energy and Himself. That energy, original spiritual energy, is Rādhārāṇī. ((Lecture on SB 2.1.1-5 Melbourne, June 26, 1974)
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14 Feb 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Devotional Service, Narottama Dasa Thakura, Radha Krishna, Radha Krsna Prana Mora
Tags: aguru, appearance of narottama dasa thakura, devotional service, golden throne, Narottama Dasa Thakura, O youthful couple, peacock tail fan, Radha Krsna Prana Mora, Radha-Krsna, sandalwood pulp, songs about devotional service, songs by narottama dasa thakura
click on image to enlarge
Today marks the Appearance Day of Narottama Dasa Thakura. We honor him today with this beautiful song he composed about the glories of devotional service to Radha and Krishna and Their wonderful pastimes.
Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, my living force! O youthful couple, in life or death I have nothing more than you. On the banks of the Yamunā, in a grove of flowering kadamba trees, I will prepare a golden throne, and seat You there. I will anoint Your dark and fair forms with sandalwood pulp sented with aguru. I will fan You with a peacock tail fan, and see Your two moonlike faces. I will string garlands of mālatī flowers and place them around Your Lordship’s necks, and for Your lotus lips I will offer betel leaves scented with camphor. By the side of Lalitā and Viśākhā, I will stand, ready to fulfill any order of service at their Lotus feet. Narottama dasa, the servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Caitanya, says: “Allow me to engage in these pastimes of devotionas service” (translation from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas)
Full song More
14 Oct 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramananda Raya, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta
Tags: 1975 edition, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Govinda-mohini, Krsna, maha-bhagavata, pleasure potency, Radha-Krsna, Ramananda Raya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Krishna, Srila Prabhupada, Srimati Radharani, Talks between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya
click on image to enlarge
Not only is this one of my most favorite pictures from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, but this is one of the most nectarean chapters as well. This is a continuation from our previous post Drops of Nectar, and includes texts 279-289 from chapter eight of the Madhya-lila entitled “Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya”.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personification of ecstatic love of Godhead. These two forms has combined as one in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This being the case, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed His real form to Rāmānanda Rāya.
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16 Aug 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, Vrndavana
Tags: cowherd girls, goddesses of fortune, Gopinatha, gopis, Govinda, Krsna, Radha-Krsna, surabhi wish-fulling trees, touchstone, Vrndavana
click on image to enlarge
It is late at night and I was searching for some late night reading…The Teachings of Lord Caitanya was there on the shelf, so I opened it and began to read the Introduction. The Introduction was originally delivered by Srila Prabhupada as five morning lectures on Caitanya-caritāmṛta before the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, New York City, April 10–14, 1967. This is the conclusion of the Introduction and proved to be a good choice for late night reading and an early morning post.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī petitions the blessings of Lord Gopīnātha: “May that Gopīnātha, the master of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa, bless you. May you become blessed by Gopīnātha.” The author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta prays that just as Kṛṣṇa attracted the gopīs by the sweet sound of His flute, He will also attract the reader’s mind by His transcendental vibration.
…Govinda resides eternally in Vṛndāvana. In the spiritual world of Vṛndāvana the buildings are made of touchstone, the cows are known as surabhi cows, givers of abundant milk, and the trees are known as wish-fulfilling trees, for they yield whatever one desires. In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa herds the surabhi cows, and He is worshiped by hundreds and thousands of gopīs, cowherd girls, who are all goddesses of fortune. When Kṛṣṇa descends to the material world, this same Vṛndāvana descends, just as an entourage accompanies an important personage. Because when Kṛṣṇa comes His land also comes, Vṛndāvana is not considered to exist in the material world. Therefore devotees take shelter of the Vṛndāvana in India, for it is considered to be a replica of the original Vṛndāvana. Although one may complain that no kalpa-vṛkṣa, wish-fulfilling trees, exist there, when the Gosvāmīs were there, kalpa-vṛkṣa were present. It is not that one can simply go to such a tree and make demands; one must first become a devotee. The Gosvāmīs would live under a tree for one night only, and the trees would satisfy all their desires. For the common man this may all seem very wonderful, but as one makes progress in devotional service, all this can be realized.
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15 Aug 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Lectures, The Hare Krishna Movement
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Arrival Lecture, Hare Krishna, in every town and village, Krishna, Krsna Caitanya, krsna consciousness, Radha-Krsna, Srila Prabhupada, svayan krsna
Arrival Lecture
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, May 18, 1972
Prabhupada: (airport noises) (leads Prema-dhvani; says “Los Angeles bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!”)
So my dear boys and girls, about six years ago I came to your country single-handed, with this pair of cymbals. Now you are so many chanting Hare Krsna. That is my success. It was the prediction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara hoibe mora nama
Lord Caitanya desired that “In all the towns, in as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the globe, My name will be broadcast.” He is Krsna Himself, svayam krsna, krsna caitanya-namine, simply changing His name as Krsna Caitanya. So His prediction will never go in vain. That’s a fact. So my plan was that “I shall go to America. America is the leading country of the world. If I can convince (the) younger generation of America, they will take up.” I am old man. I came here at the age of seventy years; now I am seventy-six. So my warning is already there. In nineteen hundred and seventy-one, I had a severe heart attack. You know, all. So the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is now in your hands. You are American boys and girls, very intelligent and graced by Krsna. You are not poverty-stricken. You have enough resources, prestige. Everything materially, you are all well-equipped. If you kindly take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, your country will be saved, and the whole world will be saved.
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26 May 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna, Krishna Consciousness, Nectar of Devotion
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, devotees, linking up with the Lord, Nectar of Devotion, perfection, perfectional stage of meeting krsna, Radha-Krsna, Radharani, Rupa Goswami, satisfaction, Srimati Radharani, steadiness, Yamuna, yoga
click on image to enlarge
…When Kṛṣṇa and His devotees meet, the meeting is technically called yoga, or linking up with the Lord. Such meetings between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees can be divided into three classes-namely, perfection, satisfaction, and steadiness. When the devotee meets with Kṛṣṇa in great eagerness, that state of meeting is called perfection.
An example of this perfectional stage of meeting Krishna can be found in the words of Srimati Radharani in this very nice verse;
Rādhārāṇī told Her companion, “My dear friend, I was just going to the bank of the Yamunā, and all of a sudden a very nice boy whose complexion is like a dark blue cloud became visible in front of My eyes. He glanced over Me in a way that I cannot describe. But since this has occurred, I am sorry that I can no longer engage My mind in the duties of My household affairs.”
The following is Chapter 39 from the Nectar of Devotion More
18 May 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Back to Godhead, Jananivasa das, Mahamaya devi dasi, Radha Madhava
Tags: Back to Godhead Magazine, Jananivasa dasa, Krsna, Madhava, Mahamaya devi dasi, Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir, Radha, Radha-Krsna, Radha-Madhava, Radhapada, Radharani, Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, Srila Prabhupada, the husband of the goddess of fortune
The Center of Attention: Radha-Madhava
by Jananivasa Dasa
Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magizine, 1999, Vol. 33, No. 6
At the heart of any Krsna conscious community are the Deities. On the main altar of the Mayapur Chandro-daya Mandir (ISKCON’s temple in Mayapur) stand Sri Sri Radha-Madhava (Radha-Krsna) along with Radha’s eight intimate gopi (cowherd girl) friends. Overseeing the worship is Jananivasa Dasa, who has been serving the Deities in Mayapur for forty-one years. The following history of Radha-Madhava was adapted from an interview with Jananivasa conducted by Mahamaya Devi Dasi.
…Once I was standing in the Deity room near Srila Prabhupada while he was viewing the Deities, and he said, “They’re dancing.”
Another time he said, “You see how Radharani is standing like this—” (imitating Her outstretched hand) “holding something out to Krsna? Sometimes Radharani is holding her hand up like this [in blessing pose]. When She’s like that, Krsna can leave Her. But when She’s offering something to Him, He can never leave.”
Once a devotee asked, “Srila Prabhupada, we’re sitting in these rice fields, and you’ve asked us to build a city. Where is all the money going to come from?”
Srila Prabhupada laughed. “You are always worried about where the money will come from. Here we have Radha-Madhava. ‘Madhava’ means the husband of the goddess of fortune. You just worship Radha-Madhava nicely, and everything will come by Their mercy. You don’t have to worry about money.”
click on image to enlarge
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22 Feb 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Narottama das Thakur, Nitai Pada Kamala, Nityananda, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appearance of Nityananda Prabhu, lotus feet are like cooling moons, lotus feet of lord nityananda, Narottama Dasa Thakura, Nita Pada Kamala, nitai-pada, Nityananda, Nityananda Prabhu, nitāi-pada-kamala, Radha-Krsna, Sri Nityananda, Sri Nityananda Nistha
Nita Pada Kamala
Sri Nityananda Nistha (offical name)
by Narottama Dasa Thakura
nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala
je chāyāy jagata jurāy
heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi
dṛḍha kori’ dharo nitāir pāy
The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are a shelter where one will get the soothing moonlight not only of one, but of millions of moons. If the world wants to have real peace, it should take shelter of Lord Nityananda. Unless one takes shelter under the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, it will be very difficult for him to approach Radha-Krsna. If one actually wants to enter into the dancing party of Radha-Krsna, he must firmly catch hold of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.
se sambandha nāhi jā’r, bṛthā janma gelo tā’r
sei paśu boro durācār
nitāi nā bolilo mukhe, majilo saḿsāra-sukhe
vidyā-kule ki koribe tār
Anyone who has not established his relationship with Nityananda Prabhu is understood to have spoiled his valuable human birth. Such a human being is actually an uncontrollable animal. Because he never uttered the holy name of Nityananda, he has become merged into so-called material happiness. What can his useless education and family tradition do to help him?
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