NoI -- Preface

[Guest guest]

Hare Krsna.

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

My thoughts:

 

1) Here Srila Prabhupada quotes Narottam Das Thakura:

"Ruupa-raghunaatha-pabe hoibe aakuti..." - "When will that eagerness

to study Six Goswami's books appear within me?" Srila Prabhupada says

in his purport to this song that "Aakuti" means "strong desire",

"eagerness". He calles Srila Rupa Goswami "a father of devotional

service." Also we find a warning in that purport: don't even try to

conceive loving relationship between Radha and Krsna (yugala-peeriti)

by yourself, on your own. The key to understanding of that lila is Six

Goswami's books. And if we want to get that understanding, we should

cultivate Aakuti, strong desire to study those books in order to get

Goswami's instructions on devotional service...

 

2) Sree Caitanya Mahaaprabhu. In the preface Srila Prabhupada mentions

that "condition" Mahaaprabhu appeared in. Feelings and thoughts, the

mood of Sree Radha - that was His condition. That's a good point to

name the reasons of Mahaaprabhu's appearance. As far as I know,

there's two groups of them:

 

- external reasons

- internal reasons

 

/Internal reasons/: 1) Krsna wants to understand the mood of Sreematee

Radharani; 2) Krsna wants to understand the mood of His devotees;

3) Krsna wants to focus his attention on Himself. Because even He is

attracted by Himself. When in His childhood Krsna suddenly saw His

reflection in a column, He thought: "Who is that lovely, beautiful

child?"

 

/External reasons/: 1) Krsna told the science of devotional service in

"Gita" and now He wants to "tell" it with an example. He wants to teach

people with His own example. 2) Krsna wants to give the Holy Name.

So He makes a "prema-nama" garland. He fills His Name with Prema, with

mood of the Gopis. No other incarnation of Krsna, except of Caitanya

Mahaaprabhu did that. All Mahaaprabhu filled the Holhy Name with

Prema; 3) Krsna wants to establish yuga-dharma...

 

Those are the reasons I know. I'm begging devotees to correct me if I've

mistaken somewhere...

 

3) Also Srila Prabhupada mentions "Sree Siksastaka." So I want to say

a few words about it. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura calls the third,

the "trinad api..." verse, "siddha-pranaali for Gaudiya Vaisnavas".

"Siddha-pranaali" means "a way to perfection"; "a way, leading to

perfection." I've said about that, because as the word "Siksastaka"

surfaces within my mind, the next words I begin to think of are "trinad

api sunicena..." - "One must more humble than a grass and more

tolerant than a tree. One must offer all respect to others and wait

for no respect to himself. Only in THAT mood one can chant the Holy

Name constantly." But it is not enough just to think about that words;

we must try to live by those words; we must /_ALWAYS_/ remember them...

 

This year Srila Niranjana Swami spoke in our Moscow temple on that

verse, so I have some notes somewhere... :-))

 

4) The next important point: one won't be successful in his spiritual

practise until he controls his mind and feelings. How can we control

them? By following the instructions of Srila Rupa Goswami.

 

5) Also Srila Prabhupada says that "we must /_STRICTLY_/ follow

instructions from "Upadesamreeta". Not just follow, but STRICTLY

follow... without any compromise...

 

That's all... Please correct me if I wrong...

 

--

Your servant,

Dennis. dennis_s