Crying for Krishna

[Guest guest]

Crying for Krishna

 

By Srila Sivarama Swami

 

A beautiful meditation on chanting Hare Krishna, from a podcast

recorded by Sivarama Swami:

Chanting Hare Krishna is so wonderful, the only real activity that we

have. Everything else is complimentary to it, secondary to it, or

meant to help us increase our attachment to it. Calling out, as Srila

Prabhupada would say, as a child calls out to his mother.

But what does it mean, chanting Hare Krishna like a child? Caitanya

Mahaprabhu says, ayi nanda tanuja kinkaram; that " I am fallen. " We are

fallen in this material world, we are in this material condition, and

so like a mother, when she sees her child has fallen on the ground,

what does she do? She doesn't leave him there, but she opens her arms,

she bends down, she lifts him up, she takes the baby to her breast and

embraces him. So when we are chanting Hare Krishna, we are crying out

to Krishna, begging for Krishna, " I am also fallen here in this

material world, it is not a place that I like, it is a horrible place.

Although there may be very nice facilities, I am separate from You.

Please lift me up. "

 

We want Krishna to extend His hand; we are looking to Him, reaching

out with our hearts to Krishna, and asking Him to lift us up, to bring

us close to Him, to embrace us, to lift us up from the material

platform to the spiritual platform, to be with Him.

And Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, " Please situate me like a particle of

dust. " So we don't want to be here in this material world, we want to

be situated at the lotus feet of Krishna, we want to be where He is.

He is always transcendentally situated, He is always above the

influence of matter. So we want to be on the same spiritual platform.

This desire to be spiritually liberated, to be freed from the miseries

of material existence, and even better, to be able to render pure

devotional service with spiritually enlivened and purified senses, in

knowledge of kinkara, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, it means to be a

servant. It is such a beautiful word, kinkara or kinkari. Kin means

" what " and kara means " do. " So, " what can I do. " Isn't that a

wonderful word. When you are in that mentality, " What can I do? " As

Srila Prabhupada wrote in his last letter to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

Thakura, " What service may I render. " When one has this attitude, then

he is called a kinkara, or a kinkari. So then he is situated in his

original spiritual position.

 

Being situated in our original spiritual position, with purified

senses - we want to be able to render pure devotional service like

that. It's not suitable being in this material world, even if we are

fortunate to be in the mode of goodness, still the distraction of

happiness that comes from transcendental knowledge, of being freed

from material miseries, and being peaceful, that is also not the

spiritual platform. Although it is a peaceful situation, it is not our

real spiritual situation.

 

So in this way our chanting Hare Krishna is for real, our japa is

calling out to Krishna, " Please lift me up to that place where You

are. " And it requires that He lift us up. Like a little baby cannot

climb on its own into its mother's lap, it requires lifting up. So

like that, we need Krishna to lift us up, we are dependent on Him. And

that is called s€ ¦ädhana. Rupa Goswami says this is sadhana. The mood of

devotion by which one is chanting Hare Krishna, or doing everything,

is to come to that really satisfactory place of rendering devotional

service, which is the spiritual platform.

 

This type of abhimana, or identity, conception, absorption, it is what

we want. Japa is not just pacing back and forth to finish our rounds,

to get them finished so we can get on with the important thing that is

our service, but being absorbed in a certain mood.

This morning when I was chanting I was meditating on a wonderful verse

by Raghunatha dasa Goswami, when he is praying for that time when he

can see Radha and Krishna when they are strolling through the forests

of Vrindavan, singing each others' glorification; when the gopis are

accompanying them; when the trees are scattering flowers in their

path; when the birds are singing in accompaniment to their song; when

everything is participating in the glorification of the Divine Couple.

 

And as they are strolling along with radiant smiles and sidelong

glances, all who see them become overwhelmed in bliss, and those who

even think of them feel an upsurge of emotion in their heart. Still,

says Raghunatha dasa Goswami, I am unfortunate because I have to be

absorbed in these thoughts, rather than actually be at that place

where those things are taking place.

 

So we cry out, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. Perhaps Srimati Radharani and

Sri Krishna, while they are strolling, they hear that heartfelt call,

which rises above the rustling leaves of Vrindavan and the sounds of

musical instruments played by their associates, then perhaps they will

look down, and reach down, and lift up those souls who sing with

enough heartfelt devotion to attract the attention of Radha and

Krishna.

 

Then chanting Hare Krishna will be for real, and meditation will no

longer be an exercise of the mind but a natural perception of the

senses, that our eyes are able to see the form of the Lord, our ears

hear their voices, our nose the natural fragrance of Vrindavan-dhama.

Perhaps one day that wonderful opportunity will come. All we can do is

chant...

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna,

 

Thanks for the wonderful message.

 

Love,

Sanju