Lord Caitanya, the 16th Spiritual Teacher in disciplic line from Lord Krishna, left only one prayer (eight verses) behind him. It contains the complete guide to the practice of devotional service. Here it is in short form with the complete prayer at the end.
. Clean the heart
. Transcend with names
. Humility, like grass
. Desire devotion
. Request a rescue
. Nurture longing
. Feel separation
. Love, no matter what
1. Clean the heart – the first prayer invites us to clean the dust accumulated in the heart through sankirtan – the glorification of Krishna. Sankirtan not only cleanses the heart, it reduces of feelings of misery in life, and enable us to experience spiritual emotions.
2. Transcend with names – Krishna has hundreds and millions of names. Each are invested with his potency. Connect with His name and we connect directly with Krishna Himself.
3. Humility, like grass – the third prayer gives us the mindset for successful devotional practice – more humble than a blade of grass. Find some grass and reflect on this. It’s a powerful insight into what humility can be.
4. Desire devotion – What do we want in life, from life? Peace, love, money, happiness, our own island? What do we want? Lord Caitanya says nothing compares to feelings of devotion to Krishna. Desire only that.
5. Request a rescue – we know we are making progress when we accept we can’t do it on our own, and even more progress when we ask for help. Please pick me up from this ocean of birth and death is the ardent request in the fifth prayer.
6. Nurture longing – when we don’t have something we really want, we long for it. Focus that longing on loving service to Krishna. Such feelings of longing can soothe a heart parched by the troubles and sadness of the world around us.
7. Feel separation – as we come to the end of the verses we glimpse advanced stages of devotion. Even as we move closer to Krishna we ironically feel the spiritual “pain” of separation. It’s a heightened sense of longing that brings a deeper love.
8. Love, no matter what – this is the goal of the practice of Krishna Bhakti – pure, unconditional love for Krishna. He is purchased by this love, only satisfied by this love, and we too are incomplete until we can offer it. This last verse brings us to the summit of love.
This eight verse prayer is deep and wide. It outlines the path to pure love and if we walk it we will see that it’s not so hard. Not only is such love part of us, but Krishna, the object of our love, reciprocates as we progress. The first step is to want it – to want to find, live, and offer pure love. We have to discover that important desire within us and put it front and center of our lives. And keep it there.
Here is the complete prayer:
cheto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha–davagni-nirvapanam
shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamritaswadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtanam
Glory to the Sri-Krsna-Sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-shaktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrishi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrisham ihajani nanuragaha
O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Krsna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.
trinad api sunichena
taror api sahishnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad-isha kamaye
mama janmani janmanishvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki twayi
O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.
ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
patitam mam vishame bhavambudhau
kripaya tava pada-pankaja-
sthita-dhuli-sadrisham vichintaya
O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krsna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
nayanam galad-ashru-dharaya
vadanam gadgada-ruddhaya gira
pulakair nichitam vapuh kada
tava nama-grahane bhavishyati
O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
yugayitam nimeshena
chakshusha pravrishayitam
shunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me
O Govinda! Feeling Your separations I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah
I know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.
Comments