Descriptions of Śrī Kṛṣṇa are the perfection of literature • The effects of kīrtana • The importance of acting according to one’s adhikāra • The power of chanting a lakh • The contribution of Vaiṣṇavī saints • The meaning of the name Umā • The power of association with Vaiṣṇavas
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Jagannātha Mandira
105, Netaji Subhash Road
Behrampore (Murshidabad)
11/11/1970
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā, I read the poem you wrote. It will be good if you edit it. “Poetry is the outburst of a single inspired moment.” For poets, novelists, and litterateurs, discussions on the nature of God constitute the utmost limit of their pursuits. If connoisseurs of literature and lovers of poetry do not accept the subject of God as the focus of their deliberations, theirs is a fruitless toil. Hence, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the king of sacred scriptures, says: “That discourse or literature, no matter how eloquent, which never extols the glories of Vāsudeva, sanctifier of universes, is likened by scholars to a place of pilgrimage for crows.”[1] This is because saints who abound in Parabrahma, the Supreme Being, take no delight in such discourses. In the kingdom of mundane pleasures, conditioned souls read and promote books concerned with gross sensuality. Transcendental poets and litterateurs adept in bhagavad-rasa display only disinterest in this mundane poetry and literature, knowing it all to be but fleeting ventures averse to the service of Hari. On the other hand, utterances that extol Bhagavān’s glorious śrī nāma may not maintain perfect tune, beat, tempo, and metre at every progression, but those utterances destroy people’s sinful tendencies. That is all that saintly personalities hear, recite, and remember daily, thus reaping ultimate benefit for their souls. Utterances that do not describe Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes – the various topics bereft of Bhagavān’s glories that are propagated around the world – offer nothing for the scrutiny of any intelligent person.
Kīrtana extolling the glories of Śrī Bhagavān and His devotees has the capacity to evaporate the fathomless ocean of sorrows that afflict mankind and is supremely delicious and charming in newer and newer ways. Discussion of topics that are bereft of Kṛṣṇa submerge the consciousness of the soul in an ocean of sorrow, whereas singing the glories of Bhagavān, instead of invoking a sense of lacking (abhāva), establishes the living entities in their true natures (svabhāva), endowing their souls with eternal auspiciousness. Without devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the experience of life is meaningless to the soul. Therefore, scripture says:
vidyā-vayo vā kavitaṁ ca śobhā, sundara-rūpaṁ viphalatvam eva
śrī kṛṣṇa-bhaktiṁ vinā narāṇāṁ, sindura-bindura-vidhavā-lalāṭe
To be learned and of esteemed age, quoting poetry and flaunting luxury and beauty is all fruitless for a human being without devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, like sindur and a bindi on a widow.
Without devotion to Bhagavān, the sādhaka or sādhikā’s knowledge, maturity, poetry, affluence, and vanity prove fruitless. Those who have unconditional devotion to Śrī Bhagavān are heir to the sum total of all desirable attributes. Where are the dignified qualities of souls opposed to Śrī Hari? They are constantly chasing evil whims, choosing only ultimate misfortune. But even in regard to singing the glories and pastimes of Śrī Hari, sādhakas or sādhikās have different qualifications. The neophyte kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs’ worship of Bhagavān is outlined from śānta, dāsya, sakhya, up to vātsalya-rasa. Only supremely liberated personalities are deemed qualified for unnata-ujjvala mādhurya-rasa. Should a person who has not controlled his or her senses discuss that [mood] improperly, he will end up regarding the Divine Couple (cil-līlā-mithuna) Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda to be a mundane hero and heroine and thus become a prākṛta-sahajiyā. Aside from the designations of the thirteen deviant apa-sampradāya sects, the names kiśorī-bhajā, ghara-pāgalā, gṛhī-bāulā, smaraṇa-panthi, yugala-bhajanānandī, etc., are also used to refer to such persons. Therefore, it is necessary for the sādhaka to proceed in bhajana-sādhana having made a special effort to assimilate these considerations of varying levels of eligibility.
When you have time, read Jaiva-dharma, Prema-pradīpa, Śrīman Mahāprabhur Śikṣā, Māyāvāder Jīvanī, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa-prema-taraṅgiṇī. Memorize the dainya (humility) and vijñapti (confession) prayers from Śrī Gauḍīya-gīti-guccha and practice those kīrtanas in a soft, melodic voice. Try to study books that glorify Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma. Read the Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā articles and other offerings in a patient and steady fashion. Parts that seem unintelligible will become simple and easy with repeated study. And if you are still having trouble, then let me know, and I will try my best to curb your doubts. Try to make the best use of your time. Never waste your time out of laziness. If you are living at home, you have people to look after and tend to. In the midst of all that, you have to maintain the practice of taking some time out from that to complete your daily worship and study of various books. These activities have been referred to as the limbs of bhakti. Of the sixty-four limbs of bhakti, it is only by the cultivation of navadhā-bhakti – śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, etc. – that one can attain bhakti-prema for Śrī Bhagavān. This is the verdict of saints, scriptures, and guru.
Every day, without fail, you must complete your vowed number of utterances of śrī nāma. As per Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s directive, you will have to chant lakṣa-nāma and become a lakṣa-pati. Only then will Bhagavān directly accept the water and grains you offer. Everything we do in this material world is so we can chant śrī nāma, so you must tailor your environment in such a way that you can properly execute the vow of chanting śrī nāma. Uttering śrī nāma without offences and having direct vision of Bhagavān are synonymous.
If, with strong conviction and one-pointed focus, you dedicate yourself to performing sādhana-bhajana, Śrī Bhagavān will surely have mercy on you. Why would you be a wretched, helpless, fallen, unworthy daughter? By Śrī Gaurasundara’s blessing, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita’s housemaid went from being called Duḥkhī (sad) to Sukhī (happy). The royal princess Mīrābāi worshipped Giridhara-Gopāla and became renowned throughout the world as a most dignified woman and saint. If you study Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, you will behold the example of the divine lives of Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī, Mālinī-devī, Vasudhā and Jāhnavā Mātā, Lakṣmī-priyā, Viṣṇu-priyā and other personal potencies of Viṣṇu, as well as Gaṅgāmātā Gosvāminī, Hemalatā Ṭhākurāṇī and other glorious and learned Vaiṣṇava ladies. If you study all that in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava literature, you will be able to properly grasp the contribution that the lives of these devotee women made.
A, u, m – these three letters have given rise to the sacred syllable oṁ. The letter a represents the one true hero of all the worlds, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as He Himself stated in the Gītā:[10.33]: “akṣarāṇāṁ a-karo ’smi”. The letter u represents Śrī Rādhā, whom Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta refers to as “nāyikā-śiromaṇī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī, the crowning jewel of all heroines”. The letter m refers to the living entities who in this material world are differentiated as male and female and identified as sādhakas and sādhikās. Hence, the living entities can attain the omnipotent Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa through sādhana by worshipping the syllable oṁ and Śrī Nāma-brahma. Joining the character u, representing Śrī Rādhikā, with the letters mā produces the name Umā. Even though this then entails Śrī Rādhārāṇī being envisioned as Mother of the Universe, it does no harm to Her personal identity or mood as divine paramour. By worshipping Śrī Rādhikā, who is Kṛṣṇa-mayī (Kṛṣṇa-imbued), Parā-devī (the Supreme Goddess), Sarva-lakṣmī-mayī (the reservoir of all goddesses of fortune), Kṛṣṇa-mana-mohinī (the enchantress of Kṛṣṇa’s mind), along with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is Her prāṇa-nāṭha (the Lord of Her life), you will attain bhakti to Them. Your name Umā will then be successful.
Only the company of guru and Vaiṣṇavas can foster auspiciousness for the soul, for no matter where they are, that place becomes Śrī Vṛndāvana. That is why Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: “jathāya vaiṣṇava-gaṇa, sei sthāna vṛndāvana, sei-sthāne ānanda aśeṣa – wherever the Vaiṣṇavas are, that place is Vṛndāvana, and in that place, the bliss is endless.”
You have been able to hear the glories of Śrī Hari from the shining, beautiful faces of the Vaiṣṇavas and you have the opportunity to see them all the time. This is a matter of great good fortune. Should Śrī Bhagavān give me the time and opportunity to go to Chunchura, I will try to fulfil your request. Eagerness for hearing and chanting topics pertaining to Bhagavān will surely propel you along the path of devotion. “Dainya, dayā, anye māna, pratiṣṭhā-varjana, cāri-guṇe guṇī hai’ karaho kīrtana[2] – humility, compassion, respect for others, and shirking of prestige; develop these qualities and perform kīrtana.” This was Śrī Gauracandra’s special order and instruction. If, in accordance with these instructions, one becomes exclusively dedicated to performing bhajana of śrī nāma, then along with śrī nāma, Śrī Nāmī, who is Śrī Hari Himself, will appear to you. Perform bhajana of Hari without any worries and your spiritual well-being (kalyāṇa) will be assured. Iti—
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.10)
[2] Gītāvalī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-kīrtana Jadi (7) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
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