Gaur Purnima ...

[Guest guest]

Hope everyone has been enjoying the festivites in

some form or the other!<br><br>It is also Gaura

Purnima, the birthdate of Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya

Mahaprabhu. He is associated with the renaissance of the

Bhakti movement in the history of "Hinduism". <br><br>I

would love to hear more about this. What was the role

of Sri Chaitanya dev in the movement? How did he

help in the evolution of the religion? How does the

Bhakti path help in bringing us closer to

God-realization? What role does it play in our Sadhna?

<br><br>Some food for dialogue!!<br><br>Hope to hear lots on

this.<br><br>Tat twam Asi<br><br>UMA

[Guest guest]

In conclusion, I would like to say

this,<br>"Churecho koloshi er kaana, taboley ki prem

bebona,<br>Shobai emon hotey paarey, toder Nimai omon to

noye"<br><br>These are two lines of a Bengali songs I had heard when

I was a kid. Lines maynot be absolutely corect but

heres what it means "You hit me with a piece ofbroken

pitcher, that does not mean I will not give you love -

everyone else may be like that, your Nimai is not like

that".<br>Jagai and Madhai of Nabadwip were the most abandoned of

sinners and the worst of criminals ever known to history.

They were brothers. They were the Kotwals of Nabadwip.

They plundered the rich, outraged the modesty of women

and committed murders on the slightest provocation.

There was no heinous crime on earth which those

brothers had not committed. Though Brahmins by caste, they

were inveterate drunkards. <br><br>Chaitanya and Nitai

undertook the serious task of reclaiming the two brothers.

Chaitanya proposed to his devotees that they should go to

the tent of Jagai and Madhai, doing Kirtan all the

way, and then give Hari Nam to them. <br><br>Chaitanya

and his devotees appeared in the streets and started

the Sankirtan. Nitai was at the head of the party. He

led the party to the camp of Jagai and Madhai. He

then came face to face with the two brothers. Nitai

said, "Pray, dear brothers, take Krishna's name and

serve Krishna, for He is the Supreme Lord". This

exhortation inflamed Madhai, the stronger of the two. Madhai

pelted Nitai with the broken neck of an earthen jar and

inflicted a gaping wound in his forehead. Blood gushed from

the wound. Nitai pressed the wound with both hands to

stop the gush. Madhai picked another piece of the same

jar and wanted to throw it on the head of Nitai.

Jagai caught hold of Madhai's arms and remonstrated

with him: "Hold Madhai. You are very cruel. What is

the merit of killing a Sannyasin? It will do you no

good". <br><br>News was conveyed to Gauranga, who was

behind in the Kirtan party, that Jagai and Madhai were

killing Nitai. Gauranga immediately ran to the spot where

Nitai stood wounded. He took his own cloth and wrapped

it round the forehead of Nitai to stop the bleeding.

He then embraced Jagai for the good he had rendered

to Nitai by checking Madhai from attacking Nitai

again. Jagai fell down in a state of trance. Madhai was

in a state of despair. He lost all power of speech.

He prostrated at the feet of Gauranga: "O Lord, I am

a great sinner. Have mercy on me". Gauranga asked

Madhai to go to Nitai and seek his pardon. Madhai

apologized to Nitai. Nitai pardoned Madhai and embraced him.

Madhai also, like his brother, fell down in a state of

trance. <br><br>Afterwards those brothers became holy

saints, and as beloved of the world as they were hated

and dreaded in their earlier days for their

brutality. They atoned for their past misdeeds by going over

on their knees in utter humility before everybody

who went to the river for bathing and by doing for

them all sorts of menial services. They prepared,

spade in hand, a bathing Ghat which is still known by

the name of "Madhai's Ghat" at Nabadwip.

<br><br>Bhakti is said to have been said to be the way of

self-realization in this age. Love and devotion seem to be the way

of showing love. Chaitanya's way, like that of

Mirabai's, show that the day we treat God as our own and

shower selfless love on Him, we can achieve our

goals.<br><br><br>--<br>Babu

[Guest guest]

krishna-lila amrita-asra, tara shata shata

dhara<br>dasha-kike vahe yaha haite<br>se caitanya-lila sarovara

akshaya<br>mano-hamsa caraha' tahate<br><br>There is no doubt that we

find the highest nectarine taste of rasa in

krishna-lila. But what is guara-lila? In gaura-lila, the nectar

of krishna-lila is not confined to a limited circle,

but is being distributed on all sides. It is just as

if from all ten sides of the necarian lake of

krishna-lila hundreds of streams are flowing. Caitanya

charitamrita (25.261)<br><br>In the age of Kali, Sri

Mahaprabhu performs a double function- He preaches the

nama-sankirtana (congregational chanting of the Holy Name) and

more importantly, He assumes the mood of Radharani to

taste His own sweetness (rasa). He becomes rasa Himself

because only devotees of Sri Krsna can taste that special

rasa! Only Radha can taste the maximum rasa of He had

to take Her nature, Her mood, and temperament. This

is svabhajana-vibhajana (ecstasy in the mood of

Radha).<br><br>This incarnation of Lord Krsna is generally worshipped

by Sankirtana. Those who have good gudance

internally, good fortune, can catch the fire of this truth by

chanting and dancing before the diety of Godhead this

chant:<br><br>Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare<br>Hare

Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.<br><br>The jiva

who possesses this highest ideal (Nama Sankirtana)

should be a soul of the highest order since he has taken

this path to satisfying the Supreme Being!<br><br>om

tat sat<br><br>>:*)