By Śrīla Shyam Das Baba Date……..08.10.2024
Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Paramahaṁsa Jagad Guru said that –‘param vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanaṁ is the absolute idealism of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha as was directed by Śrīman Mahāprabhu—Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Deva Himself. And also Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say that— “‘kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hari is the Motto of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha.
The Prabhupāda further said that— “We all Gauḍīya devotees must always be ready to sacrifice our lives into the saṅkīrtan yajña agni which was originally enlightened by the saṅkīrtan pīṭhā Śrīman Mahāprabhu at Śrīvas Angan, otherwise we have no right to identify ourselves as Gauḍīya devotees.” – So to satisfy saṅkīrtan pīṭhā by the help of nāma-saṅkīrtane is the main duty of those members of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha.
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (ŚB 11.5.32)
In the Age of Kali those who are intelligent in true sense they can perform nāma-saṅkīrtane yajña all together in a group to worship the golden incarnation – Supreme Lord Śrī Gaura Hari who constantly chants and sings the names of Śrī Kṛṣṇa who Himself is Kṛṣṇa. Although His apprakrita body complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.
kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt (ŚB 12.3.52)
“The self-realization which was possible in the Satya millennium by meditation, in the Tretā millennium by the performance of different kind of sacrifices, and in the Dvāpara millennium by worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa can be achieved in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the holy names of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”
All the members of Gauḍīya Maṭha must always be ready to sacrifice their lives for the absolute purpose of nāma-saṅkīrtane–yajña. The saṅkīrtana-yajña-agni which was originally enlightened by Śrīman Mahāprabhu at Śrīvas Angan should be protected and preserved for the abslotue benefit of the whole cosmic creation. Śrīman Mahāprabhu is saṅkīrtan-pīṭhā, so to give Him full satisfaction — nāma-saṅkīrtan-yajña-agni is the best possible way open before us, no other alternative. It is our main duty to add more and more fuel (ghee) in to the saṅkīrtan–yajña-agni which means our honest effort or sacrifice to do nonstop harinam-saṅkīrtan for the complete satisfaction of the saṅkīrtan-pīṭhā – Śrī Gaura Hari.
As per Gauḍīya siddhānta vichar under the guidance of Śrīman Mahāprabhu mouna vrata means to do nāma-saṅkīrtane always and every time, and not to indulge in any kind of material talking. Śrīman Mahāprabhu already has given advice to Śrīla Raguṇatha das Gosvāmīpad in the following way to teach us properly about what is called actual bhajan—
grāmya-kathā nā śunibe, grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe
bhāla nā khāibe āra bhāla nā paribe (Cc Antya 6.236)
Do not try to hear any material talking, do not try to speak any material topics. Do not try to take nice nice tasty food stuff, and do not try to wear glamorous garments or saris.
amānī mānada hañā kṛṣṇa-nāma sadā la’be
vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa-sevā mānase karibe (Cc Antya 6.237)
“Do not expect honor, but offer all respect to others. Always chant the Holy Name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and mentally render service to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.
As per the 3rd sloka of Siksastakam, the final teaching of Sriman Mahaprabhu–
tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”
So in fact Sriman Mahaprabhu Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Deva always wanted to teach us by the help of his own acharan to chant and sing the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and not to go for mouna vrata, which is very very impractical.
The Prabhupad very often used to say the following sloka to teach us the above absolute siddhnata vichar —
ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kiṁ
nārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim
antar bahir yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kiṁ
nāntar bahir yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim
“If the Supreme Lord Hari is worshiped, without practicing any austerity, then what is the need for such practice? If by practicing austerity the Lord is not worshiped then what is the use of such practice? If without practicing any austerity one finds the Lord manifest in his heart and his surroundings, then what is the need for such practice? If by practicing austerity one does not find the Lord manifest in his heart and surroundings, then what is the use of such practice?”
So we can see that if Bhagavan is already satisfied with me than what i can do by opening an exhibition of mouna vrata to collect labha-puja -pratiṣṭhā— which is a foolish conception.
The flame of the original saṅkīrtan-yajña agni, which was originally enlightened by Śrīman Mahāprabhu saṅkīrtan-pīṭhā at Śrīvas Angan, should be protected and preserved at any cost. All those Maṭhas and Mandiras must follow the same goal. All Maṭhas and Mandiras or bhajan āśrama in the line of Gauḍīya bhajan should not have any individual interest at all. We all must remember Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda — all his absolute accharan and instructions. Maybe at present somehow kīrtana going on everywhere, but we must confess that this is not at all the original saṅkīrtan-yajña-agni. Because if at all the original saṅkīrtan-yajña-agni is there, then there cannot have any possibility of infighting, mastarya, politics, etc., or there cannot be any mutual competition for lābha, pūjā, pratiṣṭhā.
Due to extreme ignorance – usually those, people are always busy with mouna vrata or with some mouni baba, but any way we think that even they don’t have any basic conception about the actual meaning of bhakti, otherwise how they cannot take this kind of foolish decision to go for mouna vrata to lose their serving temperament — which is the most vital point in the way of Gauḍīya bhajan field. Actually, the meaning of bhakti is to serve Hari-Guru-Vaiṣṇava all the time without any interruption and at the same time without any self-interest, because if there is any gapping in between in our nāma-saṅkīrtane (in the form of printing & publishing books, writing essays, and preaching through periodicals and hari-kathā– kirtan) flow, then Maya Devi can find weakness (loophole) with us to attack us to make us fall down, so it is more and more practical to develop serving temperament then to go for mouna vrata for gathering lābha, pūjā, pratiṣṭhā. For any jīvattma surely this is deplorable, because this is not the question of false sentiment or infighting, in fact this is the question of the survival of our real self forever.
Also, in a lecture 1936 Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Thakur Prabhupāda elaborately explained the necessity of loud chanting, and the detriment of not chanting aloud:
“It is prescribed to chant kīrtana loudly. One who does not profusely and loudly glorify the Lord will be gobbled up by the snake of time. Those who cannot appreciate, that chanting the Lord’s names is the highest display of mercy recommend chanting in the mind; yet by advocating to chant internally, not aloud, they simply encourage people’s eagerness to talk nonsense. Mahāprabhu forbade this. He said, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ: “One should constantly glorify Hari.” To loudly utter the name, pastimes, and qualities of the Lord is called kīrtana. Whoever chants in a loud voice is a magnanimous person; a showbottle paramahaṁsa is not. One who does not perform kṛṣṇa-kīrtana brings inauspiciousness to himself and others by his latent urge to speak. Within his heart he dwells on material pleasure and is malevolent to himself and others. Therefore Mahāprabhu said to always loudly chant the name. If those who hear this chanting are your friends, they will correct you if there is some mistake. And if one continues to chant sincerely, the Lord in the heart will purify him of mistakes in chanting. Persons who make a show of mauna do so out of deceit and desire for glorification, yet at any moment such persons can suddenly tumble into sin. Remaining silent and meditating for nourishing their own misconceived self-interest, they commit violence against others. If there is no chanting about Kṛṣṇa, foolish religions will become strong in this world. Due to lack of compassion, those who do not distribute the mercy of Kṛṣṇa according to time, place, and circumstance commit violence against the soul.
Two types of people do not chant: those who are great dunces—that is, the Māyāvādīs, the offenders, the meditators, those who adopt vows of silence, and so on—and those who think that they are chanting about Kṛṣṇa but actually are not. Everything except hari-kīrtana is simply chatter, like the yelping of a she-jackal. One should not let sounds other than those of Kṛṣṇa enter the ear. For this purpose one must hear in the manner prescribed by Gaura (gaura-vihita-śravaṇa); then one can chant in the manner prescribed by Gaura. By observing mauna the process of hearing and remembering becomes obturated. Those who live alone, disregarding hari–smaraṇa, close the path of śravaṇa-kīrtana.
Bahubhir militvā yat kīrtanaṁ tad eva saṅkīrtanam: “Saṅkīrtana means kīrtana performed with many people.” What is the Gauḍīya Maṭha doing these days? Many preachers are performing hari–kathā-kīrtana in various ways—some with melody and beat, others by dancing, some by slideshow presentations, and others by composing books and other literature.
Kīrtana that is bawled with the intention of pleasing the senses through melody, beat, and tempo is not kīrtana, actually it is not kīrtana for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana means vocalizing the aprākṛta names of aprākṛta Kṛṣṇa and chanting about the aprākṛta form of Kṛṣṇa, the aprākṛta qualities of Kṛṣṇa, the aprākṛta associates of Kṛṣṇa, and the aprākṛta pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Yet it is not that melody, beat, and tempo are to be rejected in kṛṣṇa-kīrtana; all of them must be present. The six rāgas and thirtysix rāgiṇīs are servants of kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. It is prescribed to perform kīrtana with body, mind, and words. All of these should simultaneously be engaged in kīrtana. If the mind does not perform kīrtana, it will think of other things; then there will not really be kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa.
What does Nārada do? At all times he is absorbed with all senses in kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. What does Śiva do through his five mouths? He chants kṛṣṇa–kīrtana. What does Brahmā do through his four mouths? He chants kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. Vyāsa, Śuka, the Kumāras, and Śeṣa all chant kṛṣṇa–kīrtana. All in our line of guru’s chant about Kṛṣṇa. Not one of them observed mauna-dharma. Bhāgavata-dharma does not mean mauna-dharma; it means kīrtana-dharma, saṅkīrtana–dharma.Those in the Gauḍīya Maṭha who produce books, write essays, and preach through periodicals are performing kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. By utilizing the post office and establishing printing presses they are performing kṛṣṇa–saṅkīrtana by the big mṛdaṅga. By holding exhibitions they are performing kīrtana. They are performing kīrtana by their ideal conduct. Hari-kīrtana is put in book form so that it does not vanish into thin air—so that people in the future will be able to hear this kṛṣṇa–kīrtana. But those who meditate alone, who remain silent, can help themselves only very little, and others not at all, not even at present, let alone the future.
Gaura Hari Hari Bol