Vishnujana Swami: Kirtan is to be executed constantly.

[Guest guest]

VJS on chanting

 

 

Devotee: Can you give some practical advice as far as chanting kirtan and japa?

 

Vishnujana Swami: Kirtan is to be executed constantly. Lord Chaitanya went through the streets and He invited everyone to join in the sankirtan movement, constantly chanting the holy names of the Lord. So arrangements should be made for the chanting of the holy names of the Lord to go on in every town and village, constantly. In every media -- radio, television, etc. -- chanting should be going on, along with nice dancing and feasting. That's the program.

 

Then, as far as japa is concerned, one has to chant personally for his advancement in Krishna Consciousness, 16 rounds daily on his beads. There are helps in chanting attentively. One of these helps obviously is simply the beads. The beads are given to you by the Spiritual Master, and you chant Hare Krishna, paying attention to each bead. And this vow of chanting attentively, on each bead, this vow impresses the Supreme Lord. He sees that you are serious, and He gives you realization. It's that simple. You chant in regulation and vow; the Supreme Lord sees, "Oh, he is serious. He's keeping his vow," and then He gives you realization. If you don't chant attentively, if you don't, you're thinking of making the 10 kinds of offenses while chanting, then the Lord will see that you're desiring something else. After all, you can't fool Him -- He's livin g right there within your heart. He knows your desire before you even speak or think. So, if while you're chanting you're committing offenses, thinking of sense gratification, being attached to material objects, then the Lord will know what you really want, and therefore you won't feel the bliss of chanting offenselessly. The Lord won't allow you to feel that, because you are desiring other things. See, the main thing is to realize that "I'm dealing with Krishna." That's the main thing.

 

That this chanting -- "I'm being with Krishna; therefore I have to be very careful." Krishna can't be fooled like you can fool me. You can easily fool me, that you are chanting attentively, you see. That's easy to fool me because my senses are imperfect... [break] ...Actually, if you see me come in the room and you are thinking something nonsense and doing something nonsense, and immediately you feel ashamed, actually you should feel that way twenty-four hours a day, because Krishna is always there, witnessing. You know how it is that you'll be doing some nonsense and you're thinking that no one is watching. "No one knows what I am thinking." But as soon as your godbrother comes in and suspects you, then immediately you feel ashamed, "Oh, I'm doing something which is not good." Now, the difficulty here is that you don't realize that it's not good for you. It's not that you're offending me; you're hurting yourself -- this is what they don't understand, you see. This means that he doesn't understand that he's hurting himself. So herein lies a great difficulty: there's a blind spot in our consciousness, that we don't know that our actions are directly harming our development in Krishna Consciousness, if we're not humble in dealing with Krishna at every moment. We don't understand that. We don't give that value, you see, we think we're simply socially existing. That if I do some offense, then my godbrother will criticize me and I have to bear his criticism.

 

No. You're hurting yourself for not realizing that you're dealing with Krishna. That is the worse suffering. That's the worst illusion, you see. Therefore japa is meant as an individual practice of Krishna Consciousness. So that for some time, at least two hours during the day, you stop socially dealing. You understand? You stop socially dealing and you realize that "I am dealing with Krishna." If I make offense in thought, well here's the holy name right on my lips; the Lord is right there, and He is witnessing. You can easily fool me as we're going through the day's activities, if you're looking lustfully on a girl or this or that. That's easy, you see, and if I catch you, you can feel that "Oh, Vishnujana has caught me," or this or that. But the difficulty is that you don't realize that you're dealing with Krishna. Therefore one of the beautiful aspects of japa is it forces you to realize that "When no one else is around, and I'm chanting Hare Krishna, I'm dealing with Krishna." And, "Unless I do it properly, then I'm being offensive to the Lord." There's no one else to hurt but me. I can't hurt Vishnujana, I can't hurt this one, I can't hurt that one, you see. I can't offend them, all I can do is offend God and myself. Therefore, this solitary chanting of japa is also recommended. Japa is done individually. Sometimes I see devotees, they have a collective japa class. No, japa means individually, we are chanting, for two hours. So try to utilize that time, scrutinizingly...

 

VSN: Bhagavad-gita Class 4.36 - St. Louis, Missouri -- March 27, 1973 >>> Ref. VedaBase => VSN: Bhagavad-gita Class 4.36 - St. Louis, Missouri -- March 27, 1973

 

[Guest guest]

kirtans an stories

 

http://www.vishnujana.com/2.htm

 

 

 

[Kulapavana]

He was too honest and sincere... such a great loss to our society /images/graemlins/frown.gif ...but he still lives in sound! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

What happened to him? Where is he now?

[SDL]

Some say he committed suicide. I don't think they ever found his body though.

 

He's with Krsna now.

[gHari]

I have unsuccessfully tried to find the discussion about the rumours that Visnujana after committing some infraction of the sannyasa order felt so distraught that he drowned himself in the Ganges like Junior Haridasa (aka ChoTa HaridAsa) who had been banished from Mahaprabhu's sight for speaking to a woman and who later in grief drowned himself in the Ganges. Srila Prabhupada was very upset. I think his words were something like "He was very sincere about his vows, but He didn't have to do that". Here was an interesting, almost prophetic conversation:<blockquote>ViSNujana: SrIla PrabhupAda, how did ChoTa HaridAsa achieve perfection by killing himself after apparently pouring water on his devotional creeper by talking to a woman?

PrabhupAda: His instance was that even an associate of Caitanya MahAprabhu can fall down. And if one falls down, his punishment is that, suicide. There is no other punishment. He must commit suicide. This is Caitanya MahAprabhu's instruc.... Otherwise he is Caitanya MahAprabhu's personal servant. He cannot fall down. But Caitanya MahAprabhu showed this instance that "Even one is My personal servant, he can fall down." And if anyone by any cause he falls down, his punishment is he must commit suicide. This is instruction.

TamAla KRSNa: Very strict.

PrabhupAda: Oh, yes. "You have fallen down? You must commit suicide. No more My association."

PuSTa KRSNa: Is that the same as in the Bhagavad-gItA where KRSNa says, "For one who is honored, dishonor is worse than death"?

PrabhupAda: Yes. That is another thing. Caitanya MahAprabhu personally taught this. To be victimized by mAyA is possi.... There is possibility.... Just like Jaya and Vijaya. They were gatekeepers in the VaikuNTha. They also fell down, HiraNyakazipu. So this falldown, there is possibility in any moment because we are very small. We can be captivated by mAyA at any moment. Therefore we shall be very, very careful. And if you fall down, then punishment is you make suicide. That's all. Then next life we shall see.

SatsvarUpa: But SrIla PrabhupAda, in The Nectar of Devotion it says devotional service is so pure that there's no prAyazcitta necessary. Just again engage in your service.

PrabhupAda: Yes. This is not prAyazcitta. This is exemplary punishment. He was not liable to be punished, but they played that "This is the.... This should be done."

Guru-kRpA: He did not kill himself immediately. He waited for a year.

PrabhupAda: He was waiting if Caitanya MahAprabhu would accept him again. But when he saw that Caitanya MahAprabhu is not so lenient, he committed suicide. VajrAd api kaTora. Harder than the thunderbolt and softer than the rose. This is the position.

TamAla KRSNa: But, PrabhupAda, if you were as strict as.... If you were that strict...

PrabhupAda: No, I am not Caitanya Prabhu. I am not.... Why you are comparing me? I am an ordinary man.

Guru-kRpA: So in ISKCON, if someone falls down, it means that he should commit suicide?

PrabhupAda: No.

GurudAsa: We wouldn't have much of a movement, then.

PuSTa KRSNa: We're too attached to our bodies anyway, SrIla PrabhupAda.

PrabhupAda: No, no, if he falls down, that is automatically suicide. If he falls down, that means it is suicide. He got the chance. If he falls down, that is suicide.

Guru-kRpA: Spiritual suicide.

PrabhupAda: Spiritual suicide. If one gets the chance of becoming eligible for going back to home, back to Godhead, and if he commits mistake and it is stopped, is it not suicide?

</blockquote>

[Haridham]

Wow I love Visnu Jana Swami's kirtans.

 

I wonder what actually happened to him. I also heard that he might have been kidnapped.

 

I wonder what happened to him if he commited suicide.

 

He was around 40 at this time right?

 

Man there are times especially recently that i feel like this.

 

He was around 40 at this time right?

 

Anyone know?

Hare Krsna

[Kulapavana]

I believe that he indeed drowned himself in the Ganga. If he was still alive, he would turn up somewhere, he had too much enthusiasm for preaching to stay inactive. He was in his twenties when he disappeared so he would have been in his fifties now. Nice devotees like him are rare and we miss their association very much. Hare Krishna!

[Guest guest]

Bhakta dasa (ACBSP)

 

All Glory to His Holiness Vishnujana Swami Maharaja!

 

I had the great, incredible fortune of joining the Los Angeles Temple in the early months of 1970. Vishnujana dasa Brahmacari was serving there as the "temple commander", as well as organiser of the daily samkirtan parties, the Sunday feast programs, and much more.

 

The very first time I went on a large street samkirtan party to downtown LA, immediately after the first 20 minute kirtan, Vishnujana ordered me to give a talk to the crowd that had gathered. That was his way of training us up; he engaged us in active service. At that time we were going on samkirtan party each afternoon from 1:00 PM until 5:00, then after aratik, class, and a little prasad, we would go to Hollywood Blvd. and do more kirtan until midnight, and on Friday & Saturday nights until 2:00 or 3:00 AM!

 

Somehow Vishnujana had the incredible stamina to keep a mrdunga on his shoulders and continue singing HARE KRISHNA MAHA MANTRA without cessation. Truly he epitomized the the verse: "satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nitya-yukta upasateAlways chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion." Bg. 9.14 Often his hands, covered by cotton gloves and adhesvie tape were cracked and bleeding due to the constant beating to the mridunga, still he never complained and never stopped his service.

 

Most remarkable was when he would come back to the temple at 1:00 AM,or later, and would go to the temple room to perform "diety watch" for one or two hours before taking rest!

 

Vishnujana's eyes were like lotus petal and his voice sweeter than any ghandarva. He enchanted everyone who contacted him with Krsna Katha.

 

When he took sanyass and began travelling in the summer of 1970, all of us residing in Los Angeles Yatra thought the world was coming to an end. We had no idea how we would go on without his association and great inspiration. When he was gone there was an emptiness in the core of my heart that still remains today. After only four months or so with him I had become more attached than to my mother!

 

I keep his photo in my office and remember this true Mahatma every day of my life. I pray that one lifetime I will be reunited with him and we can dance and sing together eternally in Lord Gouranga's Samkirtan Party! Vishnujana Maharaja Ki-Jaya!

 

Your humble servant, Bhakta dasa