ananta koti vaisnava-VRNDA / samaveta bhakta-VRNDA

[Guest guest]

Camp: ISKCON New Delhi

 

Dear Radheshyam Prabhu,

 

Namonamaha. Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

 

Received your message:

 

> If I am not mishearing Srila Prabhupada is praying in prema-dhvani:

>

> ananta koti vaisnava (no VRNDA) ki jaya.

 

Where did you hear that? On a tape? Or have you assumed it since it's

prevalent within ISKCON?

 

> What does mean VRNDA (assembled?) and what is the difference between:

>

> ananta koti vaisnava-vrnda-ki jaya

> All glories to the unlimited millions of VaiÒÎavas

>

> samaveta bhakta-vrnda-ki jaya

> All glories to the assembled devotees?

 

As I recall, Srila Prabhupada used this last phrase while reciting the

prema-dvani. "samaaveta" in English is "assembled". See the first verse of

"Bhagavad-gita": there is "samaaveta yuyutsavaha" - those assembled with the

desire to fight". "Vrinda" in samskritam is "group". Ananta = unlimited.

Koti = 10 million. "ananta-koti" = "unlimited millions", would be the

English sense. Both of these phrases are NOT in samskritam, they are either

Hindi or Bengali. "ki" is Hindi and Bengali for "of". In Bhagavatam and

other samskrita literatures it's "jayojayojayaha"! The repetition of a word

is used to give it special impetus in samskritam. "Suta suta" is such an

example from Bhagavatam. There are others: "yadaa yadaa" and "tadaa tadaa"

in the famous verses in the 4th chapter of Gita.

 

> > KRSNA-bhakti or VISNU-bhakti ?

 

In Chaitanya Charitamrita, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that one should not

differentiate between "Vishnu" and "Krishna".

 

As I recall, back in the days when Srila Prabhupada was still "in this

world", "Vishnu bhakti" was used during the "prayer to tulasi devi".

 

> > Some time ago, I also had this doubt about what should be chanted, so

> > I

> > asked HH Jayadvaita Swami Maharaja. I knew he would give me the correct

> > understanding. Upon asking him which is correct, he informed me that

> > both were correct. So, when I lead the chanting during Tulasi Puja I

> > repeat both of them. Another interesting point is that sometimes it isn

> > not easy to distinguish one from the other (hearing). It is surely the

> > Lordss transcendental nature that he can come and go in one and the

> > other, at His sweet will.

 

There is a group of "devotees" in Vrindavan, who've made their own

sampradaya called "Karshni". "Karshni" is the derivative in samskritam from

"krishna", which would mean "son of Krishna", (or "follower of Krishna) like

"Partha" is the "son of Prithaa", "Gaandhaari" is the daughter of Gandhaar",

etc. They say that they are "karshnis" and not "vaishnavas", because they

worship Krishna and not Vishnu. "Vaishnava" means "son" or "follower" of

Vishnu! So now you decide. "ananta-koti karshni vrinda ki jaya!"

 

But Srila Prabhupada and our "purva acharyas" - previous acharyas in our

line, the Gaudiya parampara, used "vaishnava" and not "karshni". As do the

followers of Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka and Vishnu Swami. The 4 vaishnava

sampradayas. That is the tradition.

 

There is no end of concoctions and changes. Therefore, best to follow the

previous acharyas, no?

 

Hoping this meets you well.

 

das,

 

Basu Ghosh Das