Writing can be a form of bhakti • One can associate with saintly personalities through their words • Chanting a fixed number of rounds daily is crucial • The teachings of the Gītā are to help us chant • One must combine every aspect of one’s life with bhakti
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha
Tegharipara, Navadvīpa (Nadia)
21/9/1970
Snehāspadāsu[1]—
Mā Umā! A special memorial issue of the Patrikā entitled Śrī Ācārya-viraha-saṅkhyā is being published and will include an account of our worshipful Śrīla Guru-pādapadma’s extraordinary life, as well as essays, poetry, and eulogies contributed by various writers. It will be coming out this upcoming 28th of Aśvina, on the occasion of his holy disappearance day. I will stay here for a month for this work. You too will be sent a copy of the issue. Are you on the Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā subscription list?
If it is possible for you, you should quickly write a very nice poem or a small essay and send it. As time is very short, only if your submission reaches the Patrikā office soon will it get a spot in this special edition. The article you submitted earlier for editing was sent to me by post while I was preaching in Assam. I am sad to inform you that, due to a mix-up at the post office, it did not make it into my hands. If you have a draft rough copy of it, try to write it again and send it.
Submitting articles to the Patrikā is also bhagavad-anuśīlana (cultivation of devotion to the Lord) and service, because writing such articles necessitates studying and memorizing the many fundamental truths and conclusions of scripture. The various sacred texts are like bouquets of flowers from which you will have to fashion the garlands of essays and poems as you please. You need to have a working knowledge of prosody, grammar, rhetoric, and aesthetic taste. But that alone is not the ultimate subject of poetry, prose, etc. The core focus of a composition should be introspective, focused on bhakti. If bhakti to Bhagavān is not the express topic of a composition, then it falls in the same category as other devotionless works of mundane poetry. The connoisseurs of transcendental poetry cannot find full satisfaction and contentment in that. There is extensive proof in this regard within the king of sacred literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I will gradually be able to acquaint you with all those topics as I write to you.
If there is difficulty in receiving teachings and instructions from sādhu and guru in person, scripture grants the provision of associating with sādhus in the form of sacred texts. The lives and words of exalted personalities are synonymous. Should the sādhaka and sādhikā study and discuss them, they reap the ultimate welfare for their souls.
Study scriptural texts on a regular basis. Read Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, Jaiva-dharma, Śrīman Mahāprabhur Śikṣā, Śrī Harināma-cintāmaṇī, and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s anthology of essays in a patient and steady mood. Learn bhajanas and kīrtanas from Śrī Gauḍīya-gīti-guccha and sing them softly to yourself, doing kīrtana like that. Read Māyāvāder Jīvanī and try to understand it.
It is imperative to complete a fixed number of rounds every day without offences. Śrī Bhagavān shows disinterest in accepting the offerings of a servant who does not chant lakṣa-nāma (one lakh, or 100,000, names) daily. One who completes a lakh of nāma every day without fail has been referred to by Śrīman Mahāprabhu as a lakṣeśvara (“lakh master”). “Dekho, nāma binā jena dina nāhi jāya[2] – see that not a day goes by without nāma.” It is our duty to follow this instruction of His properly.
The bhakti-sādhikā will be tenacious in her worship of śrī nāma with conviction and sincerity, in a mood of heartfelt anguish. That is when she obtains Śrī Nāma Prabhu’s mercy. She, the chanter of śrī nāma, will then be able to realize that Śrī Bhagavān and His form as śrī nāma are one entity. It is only through the medium of the holy name that it is possible to come face-to-face with Bhagavān.
It is not possible for the living entity to attain perfection in sādhana without weeping before Śrī Bhagavān and humbly supplicating Him. Although the restless mind is scattered here and there during the chanting of śrī nāma, one must draw it back and steady it. By abhyāsa-yoga (the yoga of practice), this becomes possible and, along with that, it is necessary to practice some vairāgya-yoga (the yoga of renunciation) or in other words, regulation of one’s diet and leisure and maintaining self-restraint. A natural distaste for things unrelated to Bhagavān is referred to as vairāgya. The injunctions Śrī Kṛṣṇa imparted in Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā to His dear friend Arjuna to help him control his mind are imperative for our spiritual practice. As a supreme devotee absorbed in divine love, Śrīla Nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura bestowed upon the world the perfect methodology and instructions to perform śrī nāma-sādhana. Those constitute the ideal of our lives.
Even in the midst of adverse circumstances, you will strive to cultivate a favourable mood of devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Reject what is unfavourable for bhajana and be particularly careful to “internally maintain your convictions while outwardly conducting yourself suitably in the world – antara-niṣṭhā karo, bāhye loka-vyavahāra[3].” Always avoid bad company that is opposed to bhajana and try to create an environment that is favourable to bhajana. Take every opportunity you have to combine all aspects of your life – your conduct, beliefs, habits, lifestyle, attire, and adornments – with a mood of devotion. Seeing this example of yours, other people will be inspired. Only by profusely chanting śrī nāma and performing śravaṇa and kīrtana of hari-kathā will the blemishes of the heart, such as asat-tṛṣṇa (a thirst for that which is temporary) and hṛdaya-daurbalya (weakness of heart), be dispelled and all your offences eradicated. If you genuinely devote your soul to the service of Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas, you will reap true benefit. This is my auspicious wish for you. Śrī Bhagavān will surely have mercy on you. The mercy of guru and Vaiṣṇavas is our strength, or wealth, in the performance of sādhana. Please accept my affectionate blessings. Iti—
Forever your well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] A form of address for a female, meaning “object of my affection”.
[2] Prema-vivarta by Śrīla Jagadānanda Paṇḍita
[3] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 16.239)
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