Sri Jagannath Sravan Utsav 2025 | Bhajana Rahasya – Siksastakam Prayers | Jun 7, 2025
Pastimes of Krishna divided in eight parts of the day [Laughs]. So anyway, Bhaktivinoda Thakura uses this kind of framework to discuss Siksastaka. So, by reciting and remembering these verses gradually, the pastimes of the Lord will appear. We know, of course, that Krishna’s name is non-different from his form, qualities and pastimes. So the final goal of chanting Hare Krishna is to enter into the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. So, in other words, by chanting the holy name, by reciting the Siksastaka, etc., we enter into Krishna’s pastimes, which is the goal of our whole bhajana. Of course, here in this Bhajana rahasya, you say, okay, for a few days you meditate on the first verse, and then you go through faith and bhajana kriya, etc., then you get to the second verse, and then you get up to the fourth verse, and you already have Nistha and Ruchi, etc. [Laughs], and then by the time you get to the fifth verse, you’re meditating on your Siddha Deha [Laughs]. And then you get to the sixth verse, seventh verse, eighth verse, by the time you get to the eighth verse, you’ve got separation and union in Prema [Laughs]. Of course, we do see that the last verses are basically about separation and union.
Of course, we also understand that maybe it’s a little bit too advanced for us to meditate on the pastimes of Krishna and our Siddha Deha. So we cannot prematurely, when we’re not ready, start this process of Rāgānugā. We cannot prematurely start to practice Rāgānugā. At the same time, in many temples, every morning, they recite Siksastaka [Laughs]. So if they’re literally reciting it, and you’re supposed to meditate on those verses, ultimately, we are meditating on separation and union in Prema, in those verses [Laughs]. So anyway, his point is that through meditation on these verses, gradually we understand and realize the pastimes of Krishna, and we can participate in those pastimes. So whether we chant Hare Krishna or meditate on Siksastaka we can gradually attain Prema. So this is Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s analysis of the verses.
Verse 1:
ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha–davagni-nirvapanam
shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-Jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamritaswadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtanam
The first verse is expressing faith. The second verse is Sadhu Sanga, Bhajana-kriya, Anartha-nivritti. The third verse is Nistha, or steadiness. The fourth verse is Ruchi. The fifth verse is Asakti. The sixth verse is Bhava. And the seventh and eighth are Prema, one is Vipralambha, one is Sambhoga. So just to get to the first verse. We have the first verse. Everybody knows this thing, so we won’t go over the Sanskrit or whatever like that. Just to mention it of course, at the end here it says, ‘vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam’. So it’s a glorification of chanting the name of Krishna. So when we use the word ‘Vijayate’ – ‘Jayate’ – ‘Jaya’, we usually say all glories to so and so. Of course it also means victory [Laughs]. Conquest. But usually the Acharyas when they talk about this word – ‘Jayate’, they say that the meaning is to remain ever full of excellence. So in other words, by this ‘vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam’, we’re saying that Krishna Sankirtan remains eternally glorious or excellent in the highest level.
So in this particular verse, then we have various descriptive terms which modify Krishna Sankirtanam. So the first term is ‘cetodarpana marjanam’. So in other words, glorification of Sankirtan which cleanses the mirror of the heart. So of course we do know that the name of Krishna uttered even accidentally can destroy all your karmas. Why do we have the mirror of the heart? Because of course the mind or the heart is holding all of our desires and our vasanas. And the vasanas arise from our activities and our experience in the material world. And this causes us to do more material activities and get more karma and stay in the material world. So therefore, this Nama Sankirtan is the most efficient way of cleansing out all these problems and then developing or destroying the forest fire of samsara – material life.
We know from Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami describes the unique qualities of Bhakti. And first quality is ‘Kleshagni’. This means destruction of suffering. But suffering actually means causes of suffering. So Rupa Goswami analyzes suffering into three causes. Karma, obviously we do karmas and we get suffering. Of course by suffering we also mean pleasure [Laughs]. We do papa we get suffering, we do punyas we get material happiness, but both are considered karma. So the cause, the immediate cause of the suffering would be karma. But then why do we do the activity? And the answer is desire. Of course these desires are related to previous experiences, related to previous karmas, related to previous experiences [Laughs]. And what’s the first desire? What’s the first karma? – Anadi, no beginning. So endless or beginningless [Laughs] series of karmas. And beginningless desires. But our scriptures, not just Nectar of Devotion, but scriptures, yoga scriptures and Vedas, etc., ultimately they say, what is the cause of all those desires? For enjoyment, ignorance. So all three causes are destroyed by Bhakti.
Of course, other people can say, well, yoga will destroy karma, jnana will destroy karma, because you can’t get liberation unless you destroy your karma. So those processes also destroy your karmas, desires and ignorance if you’re going to get liberation. But it takes a long, long time. Secondly, bhakti destroys karma, but karma has different types. Karmas we’re experiencing in this body, that’s called prarabdha karma. We have the karmas we’re going to experience in next, next, next, next, so many piles up of karma, that’s called the aprarabdha karma. So jnana and yoga say, these processes of jnana and yoga will destroy all the future karmas. They won’t destroy the present karmas. So whatever your karmas of this birth are, that remains. The karmas of this birth remain they cannot be destroyed by jnana or yoga. But in bhakti it is said, in Bhagavatam it is said, that bhakti will destroy even the karmas of this lifetime. And in fact, not only does bhakti destroy karmas in this lifetime, but it destroys the karmas, desires and ignorance much quicker than jnana or yoga.
Now, the quickest way in bhakti to destroy the karmas is nama sankirtan. And that is illustrated in the story of Ajamila. And he didn’t even have any faith. And he just named his son Narayana, not even Krishna’s name, Narayana’s name, not with any devotion, not meaning or remembering Vishnu. All of his karmas got destroyed – past, present and future [Laughs]. So this is a very great glorification of the name, it’s great power. So because it has the power to destroy your karmas, your desires, your ignorance, your ahankara, etc., therefore it finishes off your material life of samsara. Okay anyway, this is just a diagram.
Avidya or ignorance and ahankara, they’re the root. Then we have the desires or papa bija, then we get your karmas, etc , then you get your suffering. All stages get destroyed through the process of bhakti and particularly nama sankirtana.
So in the sixth canto of Bhagavatam, we have the story of Ajamila. This story in the sixth canto is one of several stories in the sixth canto to illustrate one of the topics of Bhagavatam called Poshana. So Bhagavatam and other Maha puranas have ten topics. So we have sarga and visarga and sthana and then we have Poshana. So Poshana means protection of the Lord. So the Lord creates the material world, he creates the bodies through Brahma, he creates all the planetary systems, sthana in the fifth canto, etc. How does the Lord protect the Jivas within the material world? So the sixth canto illustrates that. So the story of Ajamila there is illustrating how the Lord protects people, the Jivas, through His name. So here in this sixth canto, second chapter, it says there is no better way for those desiring liberation to cut the bondage of karma than chanting about the Lord. It says other processes.. by other processes the mind again becomes contaminated by rajas and tamas.
In the twelfth canto again, just to repeat the idea about the power of the name of the Lord, etc.. in the twelfth canto, it talks about how the Lord personally enters into the heart and destroys unlimited misfortune. Now generally people when we glorify the name and say it can destroy all your karmas, etc., they say, ah, it’s an exaggeration. But we know that to say that the glories of the holy name are exaggeration is also aparadha. So the reason people say exaggeration because generally to destroy karmas, ignorance, etc., it takes a lot of endeavour. So how is it possible that just chanting the name you get rid of your karmas in a few seconds? And the answer is the name of the Lord is non-different from the Lord. So when you chant the name of the Lord, Lord is present. Lord can do everything. He can destroy all your karmas.
Okay so another, we had that verse, you know, then the third descriptive term is ‘shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam’, which means to distribute the moonlight from the white lotus which is most auspicious. So of course, generally lotuses bloom in the day. If you look at the thing, when the sun rises, the lotuses bloom. But there is a type of lotus which is a ‘Kairava’, which is a water lily, it blooms at night when the moon rises [Laughs]. So in other words, the Sankirtana is like the moonlight and then the lotus, auspicious lotus, ‘Kairava’ begins to blossom.
We also know that the second quality of Bhakti is ‘Subadha’. Subha means auspiciousness. So Bhakti destroys all the karmas and suffering and it also produces simultaneously all auspiciousness. So our Acharyas explain auspiciousness in this case means manifesting wonderful spiritual qualities. So Bhakti and Sankirtana not only destroy all the bad karmas, etc., it also produces nice spiritual effects. So one definition is it manifests nice spiritual qualities like 50 spiritual qualities out of Krishna’s 64 qualities. Another auspiciousness is that it produces spiritual happiness. Of course we don’t say bliss because at the beginning we don’t get bliss. Bliss arises in Bhava and Prema. But we get a happiness which is different from material happiness. We get a happiness which is different from Moksha happiness. So this is the auspiciousness that Bhakti manifests even at the beginning stages. So Rupa Goswami makes it very clear that these two qualities, Kleshagni and Subhadha, manifest when we start Bhakti.
Of course we don’t get complete destruction of all karmas and manifestation of all good qualities, if we have done aparadhas and we are going through gradual process of Anartha-nivritti, Nistha, Ruchi, Asakti. This is a famous verse, ‘madhura-madhuram etan maṅgalaṁ maṅgalānāṁ’. So there we have the word auspiciousness. The most auspicious of all auspicious things. So in other words the chanting of the name can give us of course its beyond liberation. Of course it says here ‘tarayat’, in the sense liberated, you are delivered.
Krishna’s name will deliver you [Laughs]. Whether you chant with faith or out of inattention and even once [Laughs]. Of course we will say exaggeration, must be exaggeration [Laughs].
But if you go to like Harinama Cintamani, there in discussing the different Aparadhas, Bhaktivinoda Thakur says that scriptures will also give exaggerations for Karma Yoga. So we have many statements by doing so and so yajna, you go to Svargaloka and you have eternal life. So he says yes, scripture is stating this, it is exaggeration. So why they do this? To give people faith in those particular processes so they will follow it. So they state something which is not true in order to encourage people to follow that particular process. But for the process of chanting the holy name, there is no necessity of exaggerating anything. And of course the people who begin to chant the holy name also, they are not really interested in anything material or liberation. At the same time, the power of Bhakti and the holy name is such that it surpasses the power of Karma, Jnana and Yoga.
So then the next descriptive term or phrase modifying Krishna Sankirtanam is ‘vidya-vadhu-Jivanam’. So Jivanam of course means life or life giving. Vidya of course means knowledge. Vadhu actually means wife [Laughs]. So it gives life to knowledge which is the wife [Laughs]. So in other words, this whole process simultaneously gives complete knowledge. While the wife and the husband are inseparable, so then Bhakti itself and Nama Sankirtan inseparably give full spiritual knowledge. In other words, we do not practice Jnana Yoga to get knowledge and Bhakti to get Bhakti. So this Vidya or Jnana is the intrinsic element of Bhakti itself. Of course it includes everything that is there in the Jnana Yoga process. But it also surpasses that knowledge. So in other words, complete knowledge. So many people of course will think yes, Bhakti and chanting the name is very nice because it is all sentimental. But serious people should go to Jnana and get some knowledge. But we see from Bhagavatam that through the process of Bhakti automatically give all knowledge and all detachment, everything you get through Jnana is automatically accomplished. So we should have no fear that by practicing Bhakti we get complete knowledge. So here in Garuda Purana says, if you want to achieve the highest knowledge by which you attain the supreme abode, that’s Vaikuntha, then do Govinda Kirtan. So what is real knowledge? Real knowledge is, that which makes you think of Krishna at all times and destroys all ignorance and samsara [Laughs]. So therefore, we chant Krishna’s name. And along with that we get all knowledge.
So the next modifying phrase is ‘anandambudhi-vardhanam’. ‘Vardhanam’ means to increase. And of course ‘ambudhi’ means ocean and anandam means bliss. So of course an ocean means huge quantity of bliss. But oceans also have a limit. They have a shore here and they have a shore somewhere else. So spiritual bliss is unlimited. The ocean keeps increasing. So of course the ocean is very big, full of water, but if it increases even more. So this is an ocean of bliss.
So I mentioned previously that just by beginning chanting we get this Subadha, auspiciousness. One of the meanings was happiness. So the happiness begins in Sadhana. It becomes ananda in Bhava. Because you perceive the Lord and you establish a relationship with the Lord. In Prema it becomes intense bliss. So that bliss results from Rasa. So in other words through chanting the holy name you will realize Krishna, you realize Rasa and then you get bliss. So many descriptions of bliss are there in the Srimad Bhagavatam. So this bliss is always increasing. So therefore it says ‘sarvatma-snapanam’, we get bathed in that bliss at every moment. So in other words the Jiva becomes completely overcome with this bliss. So these are the descriptive terms describing Nama Sankirtan. It removes all the bad effects, gives good effects etc., gives you all knowledge and then it starts giving you realization of Krishna, Rasa and bliss.
So this first verse is a glorification of the unlimited powers of Nama Sankirtan. So to believe this, we have to have faith. So this first verse, we chant the first verse, we should actually cultivate our faith. So strong faith is the basis for strong bhakti. So here this particular verse from Naradiya Purana also quoted in Nectar of Devotion.
sad-dharmasyāvabodhāya
yeṣāṁ nirbandhinī matiḥ
acirād eva sarvārthaḥ
sidhyaty eṣām abhīpsitaḥ
It talks about ‘Nirbandhani mati’- literally, your intelligence or your mind should be completely attached to understanding about Krishna. And if you have that condition, then ‘Savartha-Siddhi’ – you can get all desires fulfilled. So in other words we have to have very strong faith and practice with that faith.
So of course there are many rules in scripture. Bhaktivinoda Thakura here quotes from Hari Bhakti Vilas. The particular verse of course is talking about Japa. Actually talking about Japa of Mantras. So Mantra is different from Nama. So the Mantras are your Diksha Mantras. So the Mantras actually require a greater qualification and more rules. So here it says you have to have a pure heart, you have to control the mind, you must be silent, you can’t gossip when you are doing your Japa [Laughs]. You have to remember the meaning of the mantra with affection. You have steadiness and patience. Then you get success in chanting the mantra. So these are causes for getting realization through the Mantra. So of course when we are doing nama japa, these things are favorable. But they are not absolute requirements. Because we see that Ajamila had no faith, no pure heart, no control of the mind, no silence, no meaning [Laughs], Narayana only meant the name of his son, no steadiness, no patience, nothing but he at least destroyed all of his karmas.
Okay, so anyway, when we are chanting the holy name of course, we have no faith, it has effect. Better of course if we have faith and we have some knowledge. And if we know the meaning, also very good. So this verse of course said you should know the meaning of the Mantra. Of course most people get the Diksha Mantras, but they don’t know any of the meaning [Laughs]. So we may also get Hare Krishna, but the meaning of course is much simpler because its only names of Krishna [Laughs]. Of course the name is technically defined as the name of Krishna or Vishnu or whatever. Its in the Sambodhana or evocative case. That means its simply calling out to Krishna. And therefore the ending is very simple. And it doesn’t require a verb or an object or anything like that, no other grammatical structure. So we call out the names of Krishna. So in scripture of course there are various meanings given. So we call out Hari, Hari becomes Hare when we call out. Of course Hari can also mean calling out to Hara which is Radha. Anyway Hari, the root of Hari actually means to take away or to steal. So Krishna is called Hari, because he takes away ignorance [Laughs]. So of course as I said Hara means Radha. Of course she can also take away ignorance, but she also steals Krishna’s mind, so she is Hara [Laughs]. So that’s when we say Hare, it can mean either of these as expressed in this verse here.
So of course then we also chant the name of Hare Krishna, chant the name of Krishna. And when we chant the name of Krishna we actually mean of course the beloved of Radha, the son of Nanda who is dark blue in color and plays the flute. Okay, so when we say Hare Krishna of course then we are chanting the name of both Radha and Krishna. So we also chant Hare Rama. Of course Rama can mean Ramachandra, Parasurama, Balarama also. But if we are worshipping Radha Krishna, then Rama also means Krishna. And of course the word Rama comes from the root Rama which means to enjoy. So in other words Rama means Krishna who enjoys with Radha. So therefore, when we are chanting Hare Krishna mantra we are actually glorifying Radha and Krishna. So if we know the meaning, this is a good way of remembering Radha and Krishna when we are chanting those names. So this is the explanation of Guru Goswami. I think we also have his work here. Okay what’s the name of that? Gaura Govinda Archana paddhati. And also something written by Dhyana candra Goswami is there, similar type of thing [Laughs]. That’s separate.
Oh, it’s 9 o’clock already. What do we do? Do we do questions or do another verse?
Q & A
1) You mentioned about the importance of faith and knowledge. At the level of a sadhaka how can we increase this faith and this knowledge required for this holy name?
Of course faith is the qualification for beginning bhakti. But through bhakti, faith also increases. So Rupa Goswami gives a very interesting relationship between knowledge and faith. So in the beginning of Nectar of devotion, he gives three types of faith. Kanistha, Madhyama, Uttama. This is particularly in relation to Vaidhi Bhakti Sadhana. As we know, Vaidhi Bhakti has large dependence on scriptural rules. So the Kanistha is a person who has komala Sraddha, very weak faith. This is like a little plant that sprouts up and then [Laughs]. And if you neglect it for one day, it may wither [Laughs]. So the faith is weak and if the person talks to people and they give all sorts of other opinions, then faith gets weaker and weaker [Laughs]. And the reason is that, they have no knowledge. People will speak and argue and he has no way of arguing back, because he has no knowledge of scripture.
The second person in faith is called the Madhyama. This person has a little knowledge. That little knowledge is enough so that even if people argue with him, he doesn’t lose his faith. But because he doesn’t have deep knowledge, then he may not be able to answer properly [Laughs]. But at least he does not give up the process of Bhakti and do something else. So the Uttama is a person who has very deep knowledge of scriptures. And he also has logical ability. So he doesn’t just memorize scriptures, he actually makes sense of the scriptures. So that person’s faith is very deep. So we have a relationship between knowledge and faith. The deeper the knowledge, the more we appreciate the Gaudiya conclusions, then the stronger our faith becomes. So that of course is the analysis given by Rupa Goswami concerning Sadhana Bhakti and in Vaidhi Bhakti.
2) Maharaj, you have mentioned that while calling his son Ajamila, he was not having faith on Lord Narayana. But before falling down, he was a Brahmana following the rules. How can we understand this Maharaj?
So he was a Brahmana, but it never mentions he was a Vaishnava Brahmana [Laughs]. So maybe a Saivite or who knows what he was [Laughs]. But in general, these Brahmanas even if they are not Vaishnavas, they have no opposition to Vishnu also. Of course, unfortunately, though we do have many Brahmanas, even in ancient times, they also may not know the deep conclusion of scripture. In fact, they may be absorbed in rituals and karmas. So, he named his son Narayana. He heard the name somewhere [Laughs]. But he did not name him with an intention of remembering Vishnu. Of course, it was good luck that he did that [Laughs]. Because through that, he got saved from the Yamadutas and he also began the process of Bhakti.
Verse 2 :
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-shaktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrishi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrisham ihajani nanuragaha
Ok, so, verse 2, this is by Bhaktivinoda Thakura when he analyzes, this includes sadhu sangha, bhajana kriya and anartha-nivrruti. So the verse of course is glorifying how the name has all saktis. Now, the Lord is characterized by having inconceivable saktis. He expands His form into so many forms. So, similarly, He doesn’t have one name, he has millions of names. Interesting to note that many religions have a struggle even with naming God. In fact, in the Jewish religion, they don’t want to name God at all [Laughs]. So, of course, there is no hesitation in Vedic literature. We give not only one name to God, but many names to God. And like the Lord Himself, the names have all saktis.
Okay so, the significance of the name is that it has a minimum of rules. Most Vedic processes have rules. In fact, the Vedas have too many rules. Because of too many rules, Pancaratra has lessened the rules. Even in Pancaratra, we will say, too many rules. So, of course, we look in Hari Bhakti vilas, which is following Pancaratra. It is too bewildering, too many rules [Laughs]. As I said previously, I was talking about mantras from Hari Bhaki vilas, all the conditions to get the success, then you have to control mind, silence, all this. So, many rules for everything. So, of course, in other types of Bhakti besides Archana, which is part of Pancaratra, less rules. But, Nama or Nama Sankirtan has the least rules. And thus, even without faith, inadvertently you chant, you get effect. Of course, if you want to get Prema, then we do have some rules for that [Laughs]. But even so, it is minimum. So, the Holy Name has, say the greatest power of all the different processes. So, because of this, the power of this name, it is the principle Sadhana. This is just an example.
Lord has not one name, but many names [Laughs]. O killer of demon Aga, O son of Yashoda, O son of Nanda, O lotus eyed one, O moon of the Gopis, O lord of Vrindavan, O merciful to the submissive, O Krishna, you have mercifully manifested in various forms, may my attachment for you be greatly increased [Laughs]. Because the Lord has many forms, many qualities and many pastimes, therefore he will have many names. This means, of course, that when we are struggling to give one name to God, it means we don’t know about His form, qualities and pastimes. So, not only does the Lord have many names, but in all these names, he has got all Saktis. So, of course, the Lord puts Sakti in various things. He puts a little of His Sakti in charity, in austerities, in visiting Tirtha’s, worshipping demigods, performing Rajasuya sacrifices. He puts little Sakti everywhere. But in the name, all those Saktis of all those things plus extra Saktis are there. This is from Skanda Purana.
So, ‘niyamitah smarane na kalah’. There is no rules of time in chanting the name. So, as I mentioned, most Vedic processes have rules. And, of course, they have rules for the materials, rules for the qualification of the person and rules for the place and rules for time. Certain times are auspicious, certain times are inauspicious. Thus, we see that marriages are at certain times you don’t do [Laughs]. So, everything in the Vedas has got auspicious, inauspicious times. So, in chanting the name, no restrictions of any time. All times are auspicious. So, day or night, any month, any day of the week, any time, pure, impure, it’s okay. So, this is just one verse from Vaishnava Samhita that says, no restriction of place, time, purity, impurity. So, all of this arises because of the great Sakti of the Lord in the name. And all of this is because of mercy of the Lord. By the Lord’s mercy, He has put all of this Sakti into His name. So, in the last line, Lord Caitanya is expressing, durdaivam, I am very unfortunate because I have no attraction for the name. So, such is the humility. In the material world, of course, people are naturally not attracted to Krishna or His name. So, this is their great misfortune. And the devotee, on the other hand, is fortunate to get the name. But in the beginning stages, again, he struggles with becoming attached to the name. All of this, of course, is because of anartha. So, this verse is supposed to illustrate anartha-nivritti [Laughs].
The name has the power to destroy all of these anarthas. And what are the anarthas? Of course, anarthas can mean all of the material qualities and desires that arise in the Jiva, ultimately arising from ignorance. But in this work and also in Harinama Cintamani, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, he analyzes four types of anarthas. So, the first is called Tattva vibhrama. So, vibhrama means mistake or illusion. So, Tattva means about truth. So, we are very confused about what’s the actual truth. Okay, so, what is the Tattva about which we have confusion? So, he gives again four types of Vibhrama, confusions of Tattva. One is the Tattva of the name, confusion about what is the name. So, if we are a materialist, we’ll say, okay, name of Krishna is a name, it’s a material sound, it goes in your ear, whatever. That’s all, it’s a material sound. But this verse itself in Siksastaka is talking about how the name has all the power of the Supreme Lord in it. So, it’s not a material name at all. It’s not a material sound. It’s non different from Krishna. Of course, the name is all powerful. It can even influence a person like Ajamila. But, if we have a very strong aversion to the name, then this makes it more likely we don’t get much effect. So, Ajamila, of course, he was not a devotee, he was also very sinful, but he was neutral as regards Vishnu and the name. Of course, he was ignorant, but he was not overly hostile [Laughs].
So, another vibrahma or confusion or illusion is position of Krishna. Many people will say, okay, Krishna, others, I don’t believe in God, it’s all illusory. Others will say, yes, I believe in Krishna. Krishna is like Indra. Krishna is like Shiva. Krishna is like Durga. I believe in all of them. Ultimately, they believe in them to give material benedictions. So, this is another type of anartha. It will limit the power of the name.
Third vibrahma is position of the Jiva. Of course, materialists don’t even believe a Jiva exists [Laughs]. But when we get to philosophers, then the Mayavadis will say, the Jiva doesn’t exist. Actually, he is Brahman. So, what is wrong with this is that if the Jiva becomes Brahman, there is no question of starting bhakti. So, one of our first positions in getting spiritual knowledge is to understand Jiva is different from Supreme Lord.
So, the fourth tattva vibrahma is the goal. So, many people will say, the goal is to enjoy in the material world. That is the goal of karma-kanda. Others say, the goal is liberation from the material world. That’s the goal of jnana and astanga yoga. So, if we chant the holy name and we think that the goal is liberation and material enjoyment, yes, we can get liberation and we don’t get prema [Laughs]. So, all of these are philosophical or theological ignorance. So, of course, scripture clears all of this up. So, we see in the catuh sloki of Bhagavatam, this is made very clear. It clears up all this tattva vibrahma. So, Jiva and Supreme Lord are made very clear in the first of those verses, aham evāsam evāgre. And maya is made very distinct from both of them. And the process of sadhana bhakti and prema is made very clear. And, of course, then we have so many other verses to clarify about sadhana and prema. So, tattva vibrahma is, let’s say, solved by knowledge of scripture.
So, we have these other anarthas. Where was that? Okay, where was that? Okay, yeah. So, we have tattva Vibrahma. We have asat trishna, aparadha. So, that’s what’s covered here. asat trishna or trishna, of course, means desires. And asat means incompatible material desires. So, Bhaktivinoda divides this into four categories again [Laughs]. Desires now, when we’re living. Let me accrue a lot of money now [Laughs]. Let me have a big family. A more sophisticated desire, probably not available now. Nobody wants it. Let me at least enjoy in Svargaloka, so I’ll do punyas [Laughs]. And maybe a little more elevated is let me get some siddhis, yoga siddhis.
And the fourth trishna or desire is liberation. So, if we have these desires, which are material and a little bit spiritual, they also act as anarthas because they will block prema.
So, the next, this is the fourth anartha, is weakness of heart, hrdaya daurbalya. So, due to our material desires, we develop all sorts of transformations [Laughs]. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura identifies four, of course there’s so many, but he identifies four.
1. So, one is greed, that means desire to accumulate material things.
2. Another is envy, where we desire the position or possessions of another person.
3. Another is cheating.
4. And the fourth one is pratishta, desiring fame and position.
So, if these are present, again, it will dilute the chanting of the name. And the fourth type of anartha is called aparadha. Of course, this fourth one is, we can say, more serious [Laughs]. Because if the aparadha is intentional, then it can also destroy the name and bhakti. So, he has also given four categories here. So, we have nama aparadha. So, nama aparadhas, of course, we recite every day, ten aparadhas, they’re explained in Harinama Cintamani. Of course, when I say nama, we can also say it also indicates aparadhas against any process of bhakti. So, apart from hostility or offense against the process of bhakti and the name, we have offense against the lord himself, in the form of the deity. These are called seva aparadhas.
Then we have a third category, offense against the devotee of the lord. This is actually the most serious one. And the fourth one is aparadha against Jivas in general. This we call sin, papa. All of these are, of course, unfavorable for chanting the name and bhakti. If it is accidental, the effect is not so bad. If it is done with hatred against the lord, against the name or against the Vaishnava, it becomes very serious.
Okay , so how do we get relief from all these anarthas? We get association of devotees and we begin the process of bhakti. And this association, of course, is very, very important. So, of course, this is explained in many places in the scriptures. And particularly we find in Nectar of Instruction. We have association described in some detail.
So, how do we associate with the devotees? So, he gives six characteristics here. Offering gifts or accepting gifts, revealing one’s mind or inquiring confidentially, accepting food and giving food [Laughs]. Okay of course they are pretty obvious, feeding and eating [Laughs], obvious. This also operates in the material world. So, what do they do? How do they get together? They eat together [laughs]. Or they give gifts. Or they speak and give knowledge to each other. So, it operates also on the spiritual level. So, in this way, association is very, very important. Of course, when we talk about guhyam akhyati prcchati, we should not mean, describe this as I tell secrets to people. Which means you gossip with other people about other people, that doesn’t mean that [Laughs]. So, guhyam actually means knowledge. We know in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says this is the highest raja-vidyam, raja-guhyam. It’s the highest secret [Laughs]. So, we explain scripture and we hear scripture from devotees.
So, association, of course, is also with devotees, takes place in different ways. With the non-devotees or with the kanishtas, we associate by giving good instructions. With the equals, then we will exchange knowledge, guhyam akhyati prcchati, etc. And with the superiors, what do we do? We get instructions from them. And with non-devotees, we avoid them completely. So, by associating with devotees, we are encouraged to seriously chant the name. And by chanting the names, we begin to destroy all of these anarthas. Of course, then there is actually two ways to destroy the anarthas. One is by avoiding unfavorable things. So, we try to control our senses, stop the vegas like lust, anger, greed, vaco vega, manasa vega, etc. we try to stop these things. And, of course, the positive way is, by carefully following the rules of bhakti. This is also represented in Nectar of Instruction. So, we have ‘utsahan niscayat dairyat’, we should have enthusiasm, confidence, patience, etc. Avoid the non-devotees and of course follow the devotees. And, of course, we are careful to avoid these other things like vaco vega, etc [Laughs]. Which means verbal things, mental things, and physical things. We avoid them all.
Okay, and anyway, then we have another verse in Nectar of instruction. As a result of the first list and the first verse, the second verse expands on that. So, we have all these other items as well. Okay, I think we have to end here. So, finish.
Devotee : HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai. Thank you, Maharaj.