Name of Radharani

[Guest guest]

> After taking part in this year Vraja Mandala parikrama ,i would like to

> ask if somebody can clear some dilemmas about chanting the name of

> Radharani.

> Senior devotees have told me that chanting the name of Radharani is meant

> only for Brijabasis ,exclusively.

 

I don't know that Srila Prabhupada said it was exclusively for the

Braja vasis. He sometimes praised the Vraja-vasis for their glorification of

Srimati Radharani, and he sometimes spoke in general about devotees

glorifying and chanting the name of Radharani:

 

Chandigarh October 17 1976 --

lecture at pandal

"As far as knowledge is concerned, Prabhupada said, the first

thing is to understand that we are not the body. We cannot

get any body we like. Rather, “First deserve and then

desire” is the principle by which we are awarded a body,

and it is given by Durga Devi, maya, the material energy,

who is another form of Radharani. But her infuence is just

the opposite. “Durga Devi’s duty is that when you want to

forget the Lord, she makes you forget. Take whatever you

want, take how much money you want, take fame if you

want, and forget the Lord. But by the mercy of Radharani

you can attain the Lord and be engaged in the service of

the Lord. Therefore those who are devotees, they always

chant ‘Jaya Radharani.’”

 

> And that Prabhupada never chanted Her

> name publicaly , even while in Vraja when some Brijabasi would say Radhe

> Radhe ,Prabhupada would answer back with, Hare Krishna!.

 

Its a fact that whenever he was greeted on his morning walks by a

Brij-vasi calling out "Jaya Radhe!" Srila Prabhupada would always answer

with "Hare Krsna!" I never heard him once say "Jaya Radhe!"

>

> Since , in Vraja ,and specially on Vraja Mandala parikrama many devotees

> are chanting Radhe, Radhe, i would like to know what Prabhupada have

> told us about chanting Radharanis name. And also to make ,perhaps,

> standard rule within ISKCON ,about chanting or not chanting Radharanis

> name ,since very often we can hear ,chanting Radhe Radhe ,within ISKCON

> temples worldvide.

 

Srila Prabhupada was very clear that he only wanted us to chant the

mantras that are given in shastra:

 

Nov. 5th, 1976-- Vrndavana

Class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.14 – Do not invent

 

"Prabhupada's conclusion was that if we practice according to the prescribed

method, sastra-vidhi, then we can become liberated. Otherwise, he said, it

is not possible. Quoting both Lord Krsna and Rupa Gosvami who both advised

that we not act whimsically but only according to the scriptures, he

condemned concocted forms of spiritual practice. In that connection he also

had a few words to say about the fashion of making up one's own mantras.

"There are so many they have invented. Just like Hare Krsna mantra is

prescribed in the sastras, and they have invented so many. Although there is

the name of the Supreme Lord, still you have to follow the sastra. If you

say Rama Rama Rama, Radhe Radhe Radhe, Krsna, there are so many mentioned.

That is also name, but you have to follow the sastra. Sastra says:

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

You have to take that. Not that you can say, nitai-gaura radhe-syama, hare

krsna hare rama, no. Why? Is there any in the sastra? No, you have invented.

What is the value of your invention? You are not perfect. But they like that

‘It is my guru, I have got some followers, I invent some type of chanting.'

This is nonsense. You must follow, mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc.

Madhya 17.186]. You cannot invent."

[end]

 

We never heard Srila Prabhupada chant Radhe Radhe Radhe, but we

heard him tell us not to chant anything that was not given in shastra. Not

that its a crime to chant the names of Lord and Krsna and His associates,

but there is a danger if we do not follow the acaryas.

 

On October 6 1976 in Vrndavana I asked Srila Prabhupada about a new

style of chanting Jaya Radha Madhava prayers:

 

"As far as the new version of Jaya Radha-madhava is concerned, Prabhupada

said it was all right. But he added, "Bhaja Hare Krsna is not all right. The

thing is, they add these things without asking, and that is the danger. It

is better to just follow the guru."

 

He also more explicitly explained the problem of chanting something

not given by the acaryas on September 6, 1976, again in Vrndavana:

 

>From Transcendental Diary Vol 4:

 

"After the temple darana in the evening there is always a big k…rtana

during €rati, especially with Lokan€tha Mah€r€ja and his men here, as they

are extremely enthusiastic chanters. However, they have developed a style of

k…rtana that is a little different from the ISKCON norm. When the k…rtana

reaches its climax, they gather around in a group and start singing

'nit€i-gaura haribol, haribol, haribol, haribol.' They get completely

carried away with chanting haribol. Sometimes they go on for five or ten

minutes singing back and forth, 'haribol, haribol! haribol, haribol!'

Sometimes it even goes on longer than the chanting of the mah€-mantra. Some

devotees are not happy about it, although no one can fault their enthusiasm.

Harikea Swami objects to it quite strongly, and this evening he went into

the garden to ask ®r…la Prabhup€da's opinion. Since we have never heard

®r…la Prabhupada sing this mantra, Harikea had doubts it was actually a

bona fide practice. Prabhup€da had stopped Lokan€tha's k…rtana at the

pandala in Delhi, but at that time he gave no reason why.

 

Now this evening, Prabhup€da, although not too upset by it, made it clear

that such chanting was not approved by him. He told us that we should mainly

chant the Hare KŠa maha-mantra. He said 'nit€i-gaura haribol' is all

right, because they are bona fide names of the Lord, but the real point is

that we should strictly follow only what the €c€ryas have given. This is the

process. He said that the €c€ryas only chant all five names of the

Pañca-tattva, notjust two. So although there is no offence in chanting the

names of GauraNitAi, if we deviate and chant our own made-up mantras then

this is guror-avajñ€, or disobeying the orders of the spiritual master, and

the line of €c€ryas. To make advancement in spiritual life one must always

follow the line of €c€ryas.

 

He referred to the €rama at the back of our temple where they sing every

morning, "nit€i-gaura r€dhe-y€ma japa hare kŠa hare r€ma." He said that

it is offensive because it is a deviation from the line of €c€ryas.

 

Svayambh™r wanted more clarification on what ®r…la Prabhup€da had said about

the chanting of nit€i-gaura being a deviation. In his mind there was some

contradiction, and he put it to Prabhup€da to resolve. "Prabhup€da, you

wrote in the Caitanya-carit€mta that the Caitanya mah€-mantra,

r…-kŠa-caitanya prabhu nity€nanda. ... there is no offence to that. And

so therefore in the Kali-yuga it is actually more beneficial ..."

 

Prabhup€da repeated his comments made to Harikea Mah€r€ja. "Offence is that

what is spoken by the €c€ryas, if you do not follow, that is offence. Guror

avajñ€. To chant Gaura-Nit€i is no offence. But if our previous gurus have

chanted r…-kŠa-caitanya prabhu nity€nanda r…-advaita—why should we go

beyond that? That is guror avajñ€. Even there is no apar€dha, because guru,

Kavir€ja Gosv€m…, has sung like that and my guru has sung, we should follow

that. We should not make any deviation. That is guror avajñ€,

ruti-€stra-nindanam; n€mno bal€d yasya hi p€pa-buddhiƒ. So it comes to be

one of the items of the daa-vidha-apar€dha [ten offences in chanting].

Guror avajñ€.

 

"Is it more beneficial for people to hear the Pañca-tattva mantra than the

Hare KŠa mah€-mantra?" Svayambh™r asked.

"Oh yes," Prabhup€da told us. "You are going to Hare KŠa through

Nit€i-Gaura. Nit€iyer karuŠ€ habe braje r€dh€-kŠa p€be." But he added,

"The principle is don't try to manufacture. Because you are not experienced,

so what nonsense you will manufacture, that will be offensive. Better go on,

the simple thing."

 

The problem is that many of our senior kirtan leaders are unaware of

what Srila Prabhupada's statements on these issues are, and thus in their

enthusiasm they inadvertently chant things which would never have been

acceptable in Srila Prabhupada's presence. And because they are the leaders

of ISKCON the regular devotees naturally follow them.

 

There is a lot more that could be said, and in fact I have been

presenting a seminar called "Srila Prabhupada The Living Bhagavatam" one

segment of which is about chanting. The above comments are segments from

that. I hope to get a small book out on this topic in a few months.

 

I hope this has been of some help.

 

Your humble servant,

Hari-sauri dasa