Sri Krishnah Sharanam

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

We were fortunate to be in Rajkot recently for the ratha yatra. On the day of initiation, our beloved guru Maharaja soulfully sang the following beautiful verse and gave very practical explanation for the same. I am sharing herewith some of the nectar from the discourse given by Maharaj.

sri krishnah sharanam samasta jagataam krishnam vinaa kaa gatih
krishnena pratihanyate kali malam krishnaaya kaaryam namah
krishnaat trasyati kaal bhima bujago krishnasya sarvam vashe
krishne bhaktir akhanditaa bhavatu me bho krishna tvam eva aashrayah

1. Sri krishnah saranam samasta jagataam: Krishna is the only supreme truth to whom we can surrender. This is completely stamped. It is decided for us that Krishna is the only one who can give some benediction to us. In the whole of the material and spiritual manifestation, He is the only supreme autocrat. We have to surrender to Him. Jagat is not Prthvi. Prthvi is our earthly planet. Jagat means whole of universe or whole of manifestation. There is nobody else to whom we can surrender. Except Him there is no other person whom we can fully surrender. That is why He is known as Supreme Absolute Truth. na tat-samas caabhyadhikas ca drsyate. Nobody can be equal to Him. Then who can be greater than Him? This is the definition of Krishna. Once you understand this, your feeling is aroused. The feeling is required. Go to Krishna and sing lovingly and feelingly.

2. Krishnam vinaa kaa gatih: There is no other way. He is the only one. Eventually you have to come here. If you don’t come in this life may be life after this life or after that. Anyway we have to come to Him. Otherwise termination is not there. We take comfort from the fact that after this life we will do. But we have to understand that in between this life and next life there is 8.400.000 species of life. How many species you have to undergo? We should be very clear about these things. Only one quality in our life will force us to have unflinching faith in Krishna. That is straight forwardness. No contamination. How will you prove that you are not contaminated? We are all addicted to mobiles. Mobile is dearer than food. Those who are straightforward, when the phone rings, without seeing the number, they will push the button and answer. Because of our contamination attitude we are afraid. Anybody who is ringing he is spending money to call you. Without any discrimination we should receive the calls. Many things are there in which we are not straight forward. Particularly money matters. We should be very very clean. Really if you want to have less contamination, don’t touch other’s money and if we touch we should be very extra clean about it. Otherwise better not to touch other’s money. Even a farthing goes of others money they will become your enemy. Don’t try to grab. As soon as you control this grabbing tendency the root of quarrel disappears. There are three causes for quarrel - Wealth, Land and Women. All this will vanish as soon as you give up this grabbing tendency. These things have to be ingrained in our nature from today at least. We should try very hard to practice these things or otherwise initiation will be only in name and there is no change in behaviour. If Krishna has given something, give to others whatever is possible. Don’t grab others money. We may not give but don’t take. If you don’t have anything, take a teaspoon of sugar and put it to the ants. That is food distribution. If you want to give more then distribute prasadam, give some grains to the pigeon or grass to the cows. According to our capacity we should try to give or if we are not able to give, please ask excuse from the Lord that I am not in a position to give and I will definitely give once You give me. Promise before Lord that you will not grab.

The effect of sober attitude - not grabbing wealth, women and land and straightforward behaviour gives you unflinching faith in chanting the names of Krishna. Because we are peaceful, our mind is not agitated to grab this or that. We want minimum things but we do not run after it. It gives a peaceful nature and chanting is the best with peaceful nature. Those who have crossed the age limit, please increase the chanting and decrease the material requirements. The four regulative principles are the main sign of our society so far luckily. We do not have illicit connections. We do not run after gambling. Our food is not that much contaminated. Intoxication is absent. If something is still remaining it is the sign of not being sober. Srila Prabhupada has condensed the whole thing, particularly the process of being sober into these 5 things - that you chant 16 rounds and follow the 4 regulative principles. We people already follow them. Please try to include sobriety to that so that our attitude will be mature. This is the main thing we should understand.

3.Krishnena pratihanyate kali malam: Krsna’s nature is described. The contamination of Kali yuga can be destroyed only by Krishna. Nobody else. Otherwise we are all contaminated. The age effect is there. Prabhupada is already there in our lives but still our sinful attitudes are also there. So don’t be surprised, why a devotee is behaving like this. Kali yuga peeps out. Try to get rid of Kali yuga constantly. That is only possible if Krishna’s association with you is unbroken.

As I told you, we don’t keep any dirt in our mind. So we don’t presuppose about any living entity. Everything is changing. Once he may behave in some way. Next time he may change. We should be very normal and innocent in our behaviour with the living entities. We should be genuinely happy to see the living entities. The Kali yuga tendencies are so powerful that one thing is very very obvious. We don’t want the living entities and we criticize them or kill them or do them harm. For removing this, bhakti to the names has got to be there.

yasyaasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincanaa
sarvair gunais tatra samaasate suraah
(Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.12)

All good qualities are assembled in the persons who have unflinching faith in the devotional service of the Lord and once they are out of contamination everything regarding Him, becomes auspicious for us.

4. Krishnaaya kaaryam namah: We bow down to His leela also. So many times we have heard about Sudama but even now we feel like hearing. So many times we have read about Prahlada Maharaja but even today whenever we start we feel fresh. His miracles or those of His devotees puts us on the right path of thinking. So many instances are there. Prabhupada’s miracles are in front of our eyes. He started with forty rupees and today that forty rupees are there and so many other manifestations are there. We may go anywhere but do not forsake Prabhupada. We are free to go and hear but we cannot find a sincere bhakta like Prabhupada to explain everything thoroughly. Unnecessary clashes should not be created in our mind. So don’t follow these things. Be on your guard that you are always with Krishna.

5. Krishnaat trasyati kaala bhima bujago: Even death personified is afraid of Krishna. I mean to say death is bound to be there. It is not that He will not take your body but death of soul is not there. And with continuation of the soul, all the spiritual matters will be continued. Soul is spiritual. So this bhakti we do will be continued. It will never end. Whatever we have read from Bhagavatam will be continued. It will never end. Who knows? Again if we have to come back as a sinful living entity we will have some association somewhere. It is Krishna’s arrangement. The fortune in this existence is that a real saint like Prabhupada came in front of us. Like Lord Jagannath ratha yatra, he went all the way to America. Jagannath was only pulled from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan. But Prabhupada was pulled from Vrindavan to New York. Real ratha yatra.

6. Krishnasya sarvam vashe: Everything is under the full control of Lord Krishna. We are all like wooden dolls under the complete control of the puppet master. The remembrance of this purifies our intelligence.

7. Krishne bhaktir akhanditaa bhavatu me bho Krishna tvam eva aashrayah: We pray that we may have uninterrupted bhakti at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna and He is our only shelter.

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.