Visnujana | The Hare Krishna Movement

What More Can I Describe Than This?

05 Nov 2026 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Damodara, Damodarastakam, Kartika, Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, Sri Damodarastakam, Uncategorized, Vishnujana Swami Tags: Damodara, Damodarastakam, Kartika, Krishna, Krsna, Lord Damodara, Mother Yasoda, short-story, spirituality, Srila Prabhupada, translation, Visnujana, Visnujana Swami

I love this month of Damodara (Kartik). Every evening we sing the Damodarastakam Prayers and offer a candle to the Lord. I am sure everyone has a favorite verse. The verse that melts my heart is verse 5.

idaḿ te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair
vṛtaḿ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā
muhuś cumbitaḿ bimba-raktādharaḿ me
manasy āvirāstām alaḿ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ

O Lord, the cheeks of Your blackish lotus face, which is encircled by locks of curling hair, have become reddened like bimba fruit due to Mother Yasoda’s kisses. What more can I describe than this? Millions of opulences are of no use to me, but may this vision constantly remain in my mind.

I remember singing this song with Visnujana Swami, and he has given a nice purport to the verse I found on KKSongs.

The poet demonstrates in this verse that longing for the association of the Lord in the heart is the best means to achieve Him. The longing to see the beautiful lotus face of the Lord, which is supremely enchanting, is stated first (idam te mukhambhojam). The indescribably sweet face of Sri Krishna resembles a lotus flower in full bloom. Simply by seeing His face, which is the treasure house of supreme bliss, all anxiety and distress disappear. Therefore, may that lotus face (mukhambhojam) manifest within the mind even just once (manasy avirastam), or again and again (muhuh), or constantly (sada). The concept of sada is carried over from the previous verse to give its definitive conclusion in this verse. All three meanings are intended.

That lotus face is always surrounded (vrtam) by curling hair (kuntalaih) which is a very dark blue color (atyanta-nilair). It is tinged with a reddish hue (raktaih) and is shining (snigdha). The curly locks encircling Krishna’s face bounce as He moves here and there, just as a lotus flower is surrounded by hovering honey bees. This is the meaning suggested by vrtan. His lotus face is kissed again and again by Mother Yasoda (gopya). The word muhuh (again and again), defines the supremely fortunate gopi (gopya) who repeatedly kisses that divine lotus face (muhus cumbitam).

Furthermore, Krishna’s lotus face is adorned with crimson red lips like the bimba fruit (bimba-raktadharam). That form is so completely enchanting and satisfying that millions of other attainments (laksa-labhaih) are simply useless (alam). They have no value. This is the meaning of the verse. (Visnujana Swami)

Your Eagerness is the Perfection for Serving Krsna

04 Jul 2015 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Devotional Service, Krsna Consciousness, Lectures Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, anxiety to serve Krsna, devotion, devotional service, perfect service to Krsna, Spiritual world, Srila Prabhupada lecture, Visnujana

Excerpt from lecture given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Seattle, October 4th, 1968

Visnujana: How do we render perfect service to Krsna?

Srila Prabhupada: By your anxiety. If you are anxious to serve Krsna, that is the real asset. Krsna is unlimited. What service we can offer to Him? And He has got unlimited servants also. What service He requires from you and me? He’s perfect in Himself. He doesn’t require any service also. But if you are anxious to serve Him, then He does not refuse. That is His mercy; that is His magnanimity. So the more you increase your anxiety to serve Krsna, the more it becomes perfect. He’s unlimited. Your anxiety, you become unlimited. So there is competition.

The more you serve Krsna, the more He accepts you and the more He gives you intelligence…

Relief from Distress

03 May 2012 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Krishna Consciousness, Lectures Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, adhibhautic, adhidaivic, adhyatmic, happiness, Jaya Gopala, lecture by Prabhupada, Madhudvisa, material comforts, material conditional life, material world, miseries, prabhupada, relief from distress, Tamal Krishna, Visnujana

…So sufferings are always there. But we are trying to adjust by patchwork. Sufferings are always there. Everyone is trying to get out of sufferings, that is a fact. The whole struggle for existence is to get out of the suffering. But there are different kinds of prescription… But according to Krishna consciousness movement, you can get out of all sufferings if you simply change your consciousness, that’s all. That is Krishna consciousness.

In any case you are only servant
Lecture given by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Seattle, September 27, 1968

So our program is to worship the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Brahma-samhita: “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord”]. In this material world everyone is trying to get happiness and to get relief from distress. Two things are going on, attempt. There are different processes. Material process is completely absurd. That is already proved. No amount of material comforts or happiness, so-called happiness, can give us the actual happiness that we are hankering. That is not possible. Then there are different other processes also.

There are three kinds of miseries due to our material conditional life: adhyatmic, adhibhautic, adhidaivic. Adhyatmic means pertaining to the body and to the mind. Just like when there is some disarrangement of the different functions of metabolism within this body, we get fever, we get some pain, headache—so many things—so these miseries are called adhyatmic, pertaining to the body. And another part of this adhyatmic misery is due to the mind.