Re : A Doubt .........

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Bhagavane Guruvayoorappa ! Dear Sri Gopalakrishnaji and Smt . Sarojam Ji , I thank you both for your enlightening explanation . This doubt had been troubling me for long . When I recently read the following ISKCON translation of Bhagavatham (11.5.32 ) , I thought it to be appropriate to seek the advice of Bhagavatas like you . -------------------Quote--------------- Krishna Varnam Tvisha Akrishnam Sangopanga Astra Paarshadam Yajnaih Sankirtanaih Prayair Yajanti Hy Sumedhasah "In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions." - http://srimadbhagav atam.com/ 11/5/32/en - SB 11.5.32. --------------------End of Quote--------------- Another Doubt I personally believe that , the objective

of Sri Krishna’s devotee-form Chaithanya Mahaprabhu was to re-establish the glory of Krishna-bhakti in Kali-yuga , through “Nama-sankeertanam” . Notably, Lord Chaitanya didn’t reveal Himself as Krishna ; He remained as a loyal Krishna-devotee till the end ; and removed all obstacles in the worship of Sri Krishna . However , as we see in the above mentioned translation , ISKCON is focusing entirely at Lord Chaithanya's worship as Krishna . Basically, I am following “Narayaneeyam” for Bhakti-yoga , since it has the approval of Bhagavan Krishna Himself . I believe, “Narayaneeyam” was written after the appearance of Chaithanya Mahaprabhu . Although , it is a condensation of Bhagavatam , “Narayaneeyam” contains key additions like the eulogy of Radha and “Gopi-bhava” as well as precise clarifications on the contradictions in Puranas . Laymen-devotees like myself are directly worshipping Bhagavan Sri Krishna by “Saranaagati” and “Nama-japam” . We have utmost respect to all Krishna-bhaktas . But, we don’t worship devotees (like “Madhyastas” in Christianity) for the sake of taking us to Lord Krishna . The following interpretation of ISKCON advises “worship of pure devotees is

superior to the worship of Krishna ” ; and this caused my doubt : --------------------Quote--------------- Krishna says to Arjuna in Adi Purana :[ Ye Me Bhakta Janah Partha, Ne Me Bhaktas Cha Te Janah, Mad Bhaktanam Cha Ye Bhakta, Te Me Bhaktatamah Matah."My dear Partha, those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees, but those who claim to be devotees of My devotees are actually My devotees." ]Krishna also

says "Mad Bhakta Pujaya Abhidaka" meaning "performing first-class worship of My devotees" in the verse SB 11:19:21 (http://vedabase. net/sb/11/ 19/20-24/). Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purport in relation to that:[ The words mad-bhakta-pujabhya dhika are significant in this verse. Abhyadhika indicates "superior quality." The Lord is extremely satisfied with those who offer worship to His pure devotees, and He rewards them accordingly. Because of the Lord's generous appraisal of His pure devotees, worship of the pure devotees is described as superior to worship of the Lord

Himself.] ----------------End of Quote--------------- I humbly request Bhagavatas like KVG Ji and Sarojam Ji to clear this doubt also . Om Namo Narayanaya !!!! Krishnadaya. Gopalakrishna.kv wrote….. Dear Rajeev,Radhe krishna!I add my

comments to Krishnadaya' s query this query although it is addressed to Smt. Sarojamji. Hope she will correct me if I am wrong. Otherwise, kindly treat it as another doubt asked by a devotee.No doubt, Narayaneeyam is an epitome of Srimad Bhagavatam. There is no mention of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bhagavatam, probably because Bhagavatam is as old as Kali-yuga, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was living in the Kali-yuga. Narayaneeyam or Bhagavatam do not speak of a would-be avatar of the Lord in the name of Chaitanya-Mahaprabhu. So it is my opinion that we can consider Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as a great devotee of the Lord, an "Agra-ganya" and not as an avatar of the Lord.Narayaneeyam was written in the 16th century. Of course, Narayaneeyam does not refer to any Bhaktas by name, except those mentioned in Bhagavatam.We can consider all great Bhaktas as the Lord himself, as there is no doubt

that the Lord only manifests Himself in the form of Bhaktas to teach the world---like Adi Sankara, Ramanujacharya, Raghavendra, even Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. ..By the way, what exactly do you mean by “ worship of the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna ”?RegardsKVG. Sarojam18 wrote…. Dear Krishnadaya, About your questions on Narayaneeyam perhaps KVG will be able to answer more authentically than me.I am not familiar with Malayalam literature of Ezutthacchan etc. But so far as my knowledge goes Narayaneeyam is only Bhagavatham retold in his own words by Narayanabhattadri because the sequence of the topics are the same, so is the subjectmatter. But as Bhattadri was addressing Guruvayurappan he mentioned Krishna as the supreme godhead as you call it thereby denoting Krishna as synonymous with Narayana. Vaishnavites, I mean the followers of Ramanuja see no difference between Krishna ,Rama ,Nrsimha etc. as all are the manifestations of Naryana which is also the essence of Bhagavatha. The epithe Vasudeva does not only mean vasu devaputhra but the Paravasudeva the first of the four vyuhas of the Lord, the others being,Sankarshana, Pradhyumna and aniruddha, which are again not to be confused with the names mentioned in Krishnavathara, as the names of the vyuha are given to these entities and not vice versa. I hope I have made it clear and I welcome any more info.on this from KVG and others. saroja Ramanujam -------------Krishnadaya wrote: Bhagavane Guruvayoorappa !Dear Smt. Sarojam Ji ,Could you please clarify the following : “ Narayaneeyam “ is the condensation of Srimad Bhagavatham . However , “Naryaneeyam” doesn’t mention about “ worship of the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings

the names of Krishna ” . Most Krishna-bhaktas in Kerala are singing only the “nama” of Sri Krishna (Maha-Vishnu/ Narayana) . I have read somewhere that , Sri Ramakrishna has said “ Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself” . This concept is the core of ISKCON’s literature , but the same is not in Ezhuthanchan’ s “kilippattu” . I don’t have a copy of the original Srimad Bhagavatham text with me , and therefore unable to refer it . I understand from books that , Chaithanya Mahaprabhu during His lifetime was promoting worship of Krishna ; and didn’t accept direct worship . Om Namo Narayanaya !!!Krishnadaya

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