Jaya Sacinandana! Gaura-Hari!

[Guest guest]

Dearest Devotees,

 

vancha-kalpa-tarubhyas ca

krpa sindhu-bhya eva ca

patitanam pavanebhyo

vaisnavebhyo namo namah

 

Please read this excerpt, of Srila Vrindavan Dasa Thakura's,

Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, Adi-khanda, ch.16; and then, perhaps,

we will "jiva jago!", wake-up from our deep slumber; and return

to the streets, of the world, with books, prasadam and Nama

Prabhu(Harinam-sankirtan); and show, once again, some compassion

(para-upakara) to one and all.

 

Always wishing you all, the absolute very best.

 

I remain;

 

Radha Govinda dasa

rgovindadasa(at),com

 

 

(Please read-on)

*********************************************************************

 

Srila Haridasa was a pure devotee of Lord Caitanya and although Sri

Gauracandra was yet to reveal the process of devotional service to

the Supreme Lord, Haridasa continued to demonstrate his love for Sri

Krsna. People in general were disinterested in the process of

devotional service, and they could not understand the purpose behind

chanting the holy name of God. Because of a general apathy toward the

holy name, the mood of devotional service was absent.

 

People taunted and jeered at the Vaisnavas who engaged in kirtan, so

the saintly devotees assembled in a quiet spot away from everyone

where they could sing and dance undisturbed. Even then, atheistic

people angrily condemned them. "These degraded brahmanas will

completely destroy this entire country," they complained. "All this

loud, sentimental singing and dancing will probably cause a famine in

the land. These emotionalists sing like this just to fill their

bellies, not realizing that Lord Visnu takes rest during these four

months of the rainy season. They will just disturb Him, and in

irritation He will send some natural calamity. Can't these fools

understand the disaster they could cause?"

 

Another man threatened, "If there is an increase in the price of food

grains then I will catch them one by one and beat them soundly."

 

"It may be proper to chant loudly on the night of Ekadasi, but what

is the use of this daily recitation of Govinda's names?" questioned

another irritated atheist.

 

The devotees felt genuine compassion for the atheistic people, and

despite their harassment, the devotees continued the kirtans. Srila

Haridasa was one of those sincere devotees who felt sorry to see that

the majority of the people in society were not the least inclined

toward devotional service. He continued his loud chanting of Krsna's

holy name which the extremely sinful people in society found

unbearable.

 

Once in a village named Hari Nadi, an arrogant brahmana offended

Srila Haridasa. He shouted angrily, "Hey Haridasa, why do you behave

like this? Why must you chant so loudly? The actual injunction is to

chant softly in your mind. Which scripture instructs you to chant

loudly? Who has taught you this type of religious practice? Here is

an assembly of scholars; you can ask them about the correct method of

worship."

 

Srila Haridasa humbly replied, "I do not know the scriptural

conclusions about the glories of the holy name of God. You must

certainly know more than I. I can only repeat what I have heard from

scholars like yourself. The principle effect of chanting the name of

God loudly is that it purifies the soul one thousand times more than

any other form of worship. Nowhere in the scriptures is loud chanting

of the holy name condemned; on the contrary, there are excellent

benefits which have been described in many places. In one scripture

it says: Loud chanting of Lord Krsna's name is a thousand times

better than silent chanting."

 

"Why is the result of loud chanting magnified a thousand times over

any other process?" demanded the brahmana.

 

"My dear Sir, please listen to the conclusions of the Vedas and

Srimad Bhagavatam." As Srila Haridasa spoke, he floated in the ocean

of love of Krsna and his explanations capsulized the essence of all

scriptures. "O brahmana, please try to understand that when any

living entity - be it human, animal, insect or bird - hears the holy

name chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord, he goes directly to the

spiritual world, Vaikuntha, after leaving this body.

 

"In the Srimad Bhagavatam, tenth canto, chapter thirty-four, verse

eighteen, it says: 'O Lord when your name is chanted by the unalloyed

devotee who has been purified by the touch of your lotus feet, and

that holy name is heard even once by any living entity, it can

immediately purify both the chanter and the listener.' There is

nothing disputable in the matter of the unalloyed devotee purifying

other living entities. Lower species which do not possess the ability

to chant the Lord's name can be liberated simply by hearing the name

chanted by a pure devotee.

 

"One who chants the holy name to himself liberates himself only, but

one who chants the Lord's name loudly liberates anyone who hears him.

The sound of the Lord's name is beneficial for everyone. Therefore

the scriptures all assert that loud chanting of the Lord's name is a

thousand times more effective then any other religious process.

 

"Again, in the Naradiya Purana there is a quote from Prahlada

Maharaja saying, 'I see perfect logic in the fact that a person who

chants the Lord's name loudly is a thousand times more pious that the

person who chants to himself; one who chants softly liberates only

himself but one who chants loudly liberates himself and any other

living entity who hears him.'

 

"O brahmana, listen carefully. It is easy to understand that a person

who acts for the benefit of the entire society including the lower

animals is certainly on a higher religious platform than a person who

is simply concerned with his own liberation. Only the human being has

been endowed with the capacity to utter the Lord's name; an animal

cannot.

 

"If loud chanting can liberate these unfortunate animals who

otherwise have no hope for liberation, then what is the harm in

chanting loudly? A selfish person is interested in his own welfare,

but a selfless devotee is concerned with everyone's welfare. If you

understand this, you can easily determine who is on the higher

platform. I must emphasize that loud chanting of the Lord's holy name

is the most efficient type of chanting."

 

 

 

 

 

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