Sri Siksastakam Verses 2 & 33rd August 2011Venue: ISKCON Radhadesh BelgiumImportant pointsVerse 2- nija sarva saktisIn this partial verse Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is pointing out that Krishna ismanifested in many names. In these names He has reposed His entire energy.So the name is Krishna Himself. His potency is what makes Krishna Krishna.The difference between an ordinary human being and Krishna is in thepotency. The Lord has three principal categories of potencies:1. Sandhini : existence aspect2. Samvit: consciousness aspect3. Hladini: pleasure aspectKrishna's name is the sound.When the potency is in the sound that is theSupreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna has unlimited names, these aresynonymous to His pastimes and qualities. For instance the name Govindameans the master of the senses and the giver of pleasure to the cows. Itdescribes a quality of the Lord. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is defining what theHoly Name is. The name is Krishna Himself. So if we call out to Him He isthere.-tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalahThe difference between a statue and a Deity is that a Deity has all thepotency of the Lord, Krishna's form is Krishna Himself. But if you want toapproach a Deity there are many rules and regulations you have to follow(take bath, put on clean clothes and so on), so many restrictions are there.But with the Holy Name there are no such restrictions. Anyone can chant atany time, at any place, under any circumstance.In this respect there is an anecdote concerning Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.Mahaprabhu came out of the toilet and He was biting on His tongue. Everyonewas surprised and asked the Lord why He was doing that. He answered that Hewas on the toilet, a dirty place, but even there he couldn't stop chantingthe Holy Names, so in order to stop Himself from chanting He was biting onHis tongue!Also a little boy Gopal asked Mahaprabhu if it was allowed to chant the HolyNames if someone leaves his body in a dirty place. Mahaprabhu answered thatHe learned an important lesson from this boy. He accepted him as His guru.The answer to the question was of course, yes! The boy later became known asGopal Guru. The point is: anyone can chant, in any place, at any time.Anyone can chant the Holy Name. For Deity worship you have to be a brahmanato be able to worship the Deity, but with the Holy Name Chaitanya Mahaprabhuis so merciful that He even allowed beef eaters to chant. The Lord has neverbeen this merciful before.Question: Is it better to sit down while chanting (instead of walking)?Answer: Yes, it is conducive for chanting, because it is meditation. Forevery pious, spiritual activity it is better to sit down, but the HareKrishna Mahamantra you can even chant lying down (at the deathbed).-etadrsi tava krpaBecause we are so unqualified the Lord has made this special arrangementotherwise we would have been left out of the mercy of the Lord. If it wasn'tfor this arrangement the only option we would have would be to follow theYuga Dharma of Dvapara Yuga, Deity worship. But for this you have to be abrahmana, meaning here born in a brahmana family. Srila Prabhupada madebrahmanas out of beef eaters, that is his special mercy. He did that becausethe Vaishnava position is superior than that of a brahmana. Therefore for adevotee to become a brahmana, although not being born in a brahmana familyis alright. Today we are simply doing this devotional service because ofSrila Prabhupada, otherwise we couldn't have done it at all.-DurdaivamUnfortunately we have no taste for chanting the Holy Name. Krishna came downin the form of the Holy Name so that everyone can have access to Him, at anytime and under any circumstances. So why can't we develop attraction to theHoly Name? The answer one can find in verse 3.Verse 3-trnad api sunicenaThe main consideration is to chant ALL the time, not just the minimum amountof sixteen rounds. For this we need to have taste. What is taste? If youappreciate something so much that you want to do it all the time. Forexample, eating food. You eat until the stomach is full, then we stopeating. That is the taste. When you like the taste you want to do it againand again. Srila Rupa Goswami wrote in a verse that he wished he had many,many tongues because it is so wonderful to chant, and tens of millions ofears so that he could hear the Holy Name all he wanted. This is what happenswhen you develop taste for the Holy Name.Sometimes devotees ask: we are chanting for so long, why do we develop notaste. The answer is that there is no trnad api sunicena: to chant the HolyName in a very humble state of mind, considering himself lower that a bladeof grass. The goal is kirtaniyah sada harih, so when that happens it meanswe have developed genuine taste.We have to qualify ourselves by trnad api sunicena, more humble than a bladeof grass. If you step on a blade of grass it bends back straight again, buta Vaishnava will still keep lying on the ground.-taror iva sahishnunaMore tolerant than a tree. A tree will not protest if you cut it down, onthe contrary: it still continues to provide its fruits and its shade to theone cutting it down. This is an example of a humble disposition. Only withutmost humility and inconceivable tolerance we can chant continuously.Question: How do you develop these qualities?Answer: With practice and the proper understanding. As the heart becomesmore pure and pure, we desire nothing from this material world. All materialattraction will become meaningless. An example. Toys are very valuable for alittle boy, but when he grows up it holds no significance for him. Ifsomebody wold have broken it when he was young, he would have cried andprotested, but as an adult he doesn't care about it at all. He has grown outof the attachment. So similarly with chanting.Another example, with local anaesthetics you don't feel pain in the fingerbecause you have no awareness of consciousness in that place. In the sameway, Vaishnava consciousness is withdrawn from the material body butprojected to Krishna. The objects of sense gratification are of no value tohim. He sees everybody as spirit souls that's why he can offer respect toeverybody. This is the state of pure Krishna consciousness, pure devotionalservice.Question: Beef eaters can eat beef and chant but what about the fourregulative principles (no meat eating)?Answer: Yes, he can chant, but he has to stop when he starts to chant. Like,if you are a criminal and you ask for amnesty, the government won't tolerateit if you after the granting of amnesty continue your criminal activities.One may be very criminal, but once you are surrendered to Krishna, Krishnawill take care of that. But after the surrender the four regulativeprinciples have to be followed because dharma is standing on four legs, thefour regulative principles.Question: Why doesn't a Vaishnava get up after someone stepped on him (likewith the blade of grass when it is stepped on)?Answer: Not all Vaishnavas are that humble, but only the first classVaishnavas, the pure devotees. He may not defend himself but the Lord willgive him all protection. If you abuse a little child, it can't do anythingbut the parent will be very displeased and you'll have to deal with theconsequences. The consciousness of a Vaishnava is completely withdrawn, hisconsciousness isn't here, like for example Prahlada Maharaja.Question:What is the difference between listening to the Holy Name andchanting the Holy Name?Answer: The first aspect is hearing and the second is chanting. Chantingalso includes hearing because when one chants, one also hears. Also, whenone chants loudly those who hear also benefit. So these are two why chantingis better, more effective. Even more effective is to engage others also inchanting and that is the Yuga Dharma for this age (sankirtana).Question: Is there a special significance of the Hare Krishna Mantra overthe other names of the Lord?Answer: Names have categories: names directly related to the Lord andindirectly related to the Lord. There are Krishna's names in Vaikuntha andKrishna's names in Vrindavana. Of all the names Krishna and Rama are themost attractive. Krishna means most attractive. Even the incarnations of theLord are attracted to this name. And Rama, ramate iti rama, He is theSupreme Enjoyer.Question: Is chanting while driving offensive?Answer: There are no restrictions to chanting but there are ten offenses tochanting. If certain acts displease the Holy Name Krishna doesn't bestow Hismercy. While chanting if the aparadha is there, it is not the Holy Name.Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura said that this is chanting aparadha,not chanting the Holy Name. In the cleaning stage the aparadha reduces andone attains liberation. When the chanting is completely without offense, onecan chant purely.Question: How can one remain humble when someone is provoking you fordevotional service?Answer: When it comes to devotional service one doesn't have to be thathumble. Ask the person who is provoking you to rectify that situation.Vaishnavas are there in three stages1. kanistha adhikari: he doesn't even understand what is a devotee anddevotional service2. madhyama adhikari: a devotee who still has to deal with thesurroundings. Generally in ISKCON we have to function on this stage becausewe have to preach3. uttama adhikari: the pure devotee totally transcendental toeverything. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is talking about this level in thisparticular verse of the Siksastakam
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