Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Gitavali (Selected Songs)

Sri Namastaka, prayers glorifying the holy name, 8 songs

(1) sri-rupa-badane sri -saci-kumar
swa-nam-mahima koralo pracar

jo nam, so hari -kachu nahi bheda
so nam satya-miti gayati beda

sabu upanisada, ratna-mala-dyuti,
jhakamaki �carana-samipe
mangal-arati, koro-i anukhan,
dvi-gunita-panca-pradipe

caudda bhuvana maha, deba-nara-danaba,
bhaga jakor balavan
nama-rasa-piyusa, pi-oi anukhana,
chorata karama-geyan

nitya-mukta punah, nama-upasana,
satata koro-i sama-gane
goloke baithata, gaowe nirantar,
nama-biraha nahi jane

sabu-rasa akara, �hari� iti dvikhar,
sabu-bhave karolun asroy
nama carane pari bhaktivinoda kohe,
tuwa pade magohun niloy

Translation

Through the mouth of Srila Rupa Gosvami, Krsna, in the form of Lord Caitanya, the son of Mother Saci, preached the glories of His own holy name.

There is no difference between that holy name of Lord Hari and Lord Hari Himself. The Vedic scriptures sing of the true value and glory of the holy name.

All the Upanisads are like a necklace of beautifully effulgent jewels shining before the lotus feet of the holy name. They are perpetually perform mangala arati for the holy name with arati lamps of ten ghee wicks.

Within the fourteen worlds , those demigods, men and demons whose fortune is very great, perpetually drink the nectar of the sweet mellows of the holy name, casting aside all kinds of fruitive activities and speculative froms of knowledge.

The eternally liberated souls, however, always worship the holy name in beautifully composed hymns and songs and sit in Goloka Vrndavana constantly singing the name. Therefore they do not know any separation from the holy name.

The two syllables ha and ri are a mine of all devotionall mellows. All the ecstasies of devotion have taken shelter in them. Falling at the lotus feet of the holy name, Thakura Bhaktivinoda says, O Harinam, I pray for residence at Your lotus feet.�

All glories, all glories to the holy name, the abode of immortal transcendental bliss. The Supreme Absolute Truth, who possesses an eternal form, has descended in the form of the holy name. He shows mercy to His devotees and shows boundless compassion and kindness to all fallen souls.

All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is called by different names such as Hari, Krsna and Rama. He is the auspicious resting place of all living entities within the universe, and He delights the minds of all souls. Great sages, honoring His holy name, constantly sing that holy name, filling their mouths with the sound.

O eternal holy name of Krishna, You possess all powers and bestow auspiciousness upon the living beings. Without You there is no other friend to deliver us from the ocean of material existence. You have come for the deliverence of all fallen souls.

For all souls within this world there is much misery and sorrow. O Harinam, if someone calls upon You just one time, feeling himself very meek and lowly, possessing nothing and seeing no other remedy for his relief, You then easily destroy all his sorrows.

If one simply obtains a slight reflection or glimmer of You, then all sorts of terrible miseries disappear. Thakura Bhaktivinoda says, �All glories, all glories to the holy name of Lord Hari! O Harinam, I perpetually fall at Your lotus feet.�

The sun of the holy name has appeared in the universe to destroy all forms of ignorance. Casting aside all worldly things, the saintly become devoted to Him alone.

The sun of the holy name is the remover of the darkness of ignorance. O Harinam, who actually knows Your greatness? What sort of learned man is capable of singing all Your glories?

O holy name, from the very moment You first appear on the horizon of the heart, the darkness of this material world is almost totally devoured.

Quickly destroying all remaining darkness, You bestow divine wisdom upon our spiritually blinded eyes.

That divine wisdom gives rise within the heart to pure devotion and an understanding of the transcendental characteristics of Lord Hari.

This wonderful pastime of Yours is eternal and Thakura Bhaktivinode has understood its essence.

The learned man, endeavoring in the practice of jnana-yoga, eventually sees the Supreme Brahman. That realization of Brahman, in full knowledge, removes all the potential sinful reactions lying in his heart.

By dint of Brahman realization all such potential sinful reactions are destroyed; but unless one undergoes the suffering of current sinful reactions, they will not be destroyed. Therefore, despite being a Brahman realized soul, even such a learned man must undergo the current reactions to his sins and thus be implicated in the cycle of birth and death.

But, O holy name, if You are vibrated on the tongue of Your unalloyed devotee, then all of his sinful reactions of both past and present lives are comnpletely destroyed. This truth is sung by the Vedas again and again.

O sun of the holy name, when You arise on the horizon of the living being�s heart, it becomes completely purified, the bondage to materialistic activities and speculatiove knowledge disappears and the soul�s worldly existence comes to an end without any difficulty.

Thakura Bhaktivinoda, raising his arms says, �Take up the banners of the holy name and walk along sounding the drum of the holy name. In this way you will surely obtain the direct audience of Krsna, the holder of the flute.�

O Harinam, You possess unlimited forms, such as the beloved son of Mother Yasoda, the increaser of the bliss of Gokula, the son of Nanda, and the reservoir of all transcendental mellows.

You are the slayer of the demons Putana and Trnavarta, the breaker of the cart, the protector of the cows, the player of the flute, the destroyer of the demons Agha and Baka, the holder of Govardhan Hill, and You are a cowherd boy.

You destroyed the Kesi demon, bewildered Lord Brahma, and broke the pride of Indra, king of Heaven. You are the destroyer of Aristasura, the enchanter of all the young girls of Gokula, and You sport along the sandy banks of the river Yamuna.

You delight Srimati Radhika and give life to the rasa dance. You sport in the groves near Radha Kunda, performing a variety of pastimes. You are the reservoir of pleasure, attractive to every living being. You remove all inauspiciousness and are the husband of the goddess of fortune. You are the source of all incarnations such as Lord Nrsimha, the half-man half-lion incarnation and Matsya, the fish avatara.

O Harinam, You are pleasing to the cows, land and senses. You are the dwarf brahmana incarnation Vamana and the slayer of the demon Madhu. You are the moon of the Yadu dynasty and always wear beautiful garlands of fresh forest flowers. You are the destroyer of the Kaliya serpent, the delighter of Gokula and You rejoice in the worship of Srimati Radharani.

Thakura Bhaktivinoda, understanding Your glories, clasps the lotus feet of Rupa Goswami and Swarup Damodar Goswami and prays, �O Harinam, according to Your sweet will You are manifest in all these forms and in many others also. Please let them increase my love and attachment for You.�

O Lord, You possess two transcendental forms, properly called vacya and vacaka. The vacya is Your beautiful form full of transcendental knowledge and bliss.

The vacaka froms are Your holy names, such as Sri Krsna, etc. This transcendental sound form is the resting place of the bliss of all souls.

Your unlimited manifestations are found in these two forms. Taking pity and being very kind, they confer upon the fallen souls entrance to Your divine pastimes.

But I have understood Your vacaka form to be more merciful than Your vacya form, O Lord. Thus do I find Your holy name most wonderful.

It is the declaration of the Vedas that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord are nondifferent, yet still the holy name is more merciful than the Lord Himself.

If one is an offender to Lord Krsna but respects His holy name and calls out with all his heart and soul, �Rama!� �Krsna� �Hari� then all his offenses depart, and that person then swims without difficulty in the ocean of divine bliss and transcendental mellows.

A person may commit offenses to the vacya or the transcendental feature and personality of the Lord; but if he is under the shelter of the pure holy name, he crosses over all those offenses.

At the lotus feet of Srila Rupa Goswami, Thakura Bhaktivinoda begs for constant attachment and love for the vacaka or divine holy name of the Supreme Lord.

O holy name, Your glories are boundless! I therefore bow down at Your lotus feet again and again

O festival of Gokula! O ocean of bliss! I fall down at Your lotus feet, for I am feeling very distressed and troubled at heart.

You are Lord Krishna, Your divine form is perfect and You are the origin of all transcendental mellows. Falling down at Your lotus feet, I sing of Your divine qualities.

You destroy the multitude of afflictions of that person who takes exclusive shelter at Your holy feet.

O holy name, you destroy all his offenses, even those he might have committed to You directly.

Cleansing him of all impurities, You, who are the supreme shelter, sit upon a throne within his heart.

You are delightful and beautiful, the personification of complete cognizance and deep ecstasy. The Vedas sing of You, saying, �The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the personification of all transcendental mellows.�

At the lotus feet of Srila Rupa Goswami, Thakura Bhaktivinoda constantly begs that at every moment there be the transcendental vibration of the holy name.

When the great soul Narada Muni plays his vina, the holy name , Radhika-raman, descends and immediately appears amidst the kirtan of the Lord�s devotees.

Like a monsoon cloud, the holy name showers nectar in their ears. All the devotees, due to great ecstasy, repeatedly dance to their hearts content.

All the people of the universe become maddened upon entering this intoxicating shower of nectar. Some people cry, some dance and others become fully intoxicated within their minds.

Lord Siva, embracing Narada Muni, repeatedly makes loud screams of ecstatic joy, and Lord Brahma, dancing very ecstatically, says, �All of you kindly chant, Haribol! Haribol!�

In great happiness the thousand-faced Ananta Sesa chants �Hari! Hari!� By the influence of the transcendental vibration of the holy name, the whole universe becomes ecstatically maddened and everyone tastes the mellows of the holy name.

Thakura Bhaktivinoda, the humble servant of the Lord, says, �The holy name of Krishna has fulfilled all my desires by vibrating on everyone�s tongue.� Bhaktivinoda therefore prays at the feet of Sri Rupa Goswami that the chanting of harinam may comtinue like this always.

Sri Godruma-candra-bhajanopadesa, instructions for the worship of Lord Caitanya, the Moon of Godruma

(1) If you want you heart to be always absorbed in drinking the ambrosial mellows of the lotus feet of Lord Hari, then give up household life, which is full of quarrels and strife, and just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(2) Material riches, youth, long duration of life, and royal happiness � none of these are eternal. At any moment they may be destroyed. Give up all useless topics of mundane conversation and just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(3) O Friend, ultimately the pleasure to be had in the company of beautiful young women turns to fearfulness and distracts one from the real goal of life. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers with your mind intoxicated by the nectarine mellows of the holy name.

(4) The taste of mundane poetry does not afford the sweet taste of actual poetry. The sweet mellows of true poetry are found in descriptions of Lord Caitanya, the savior of all souls in the Kali yuga. Enough with the study of any other topics! Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(5) Krishna, the transcendental paramour, stands on the banks of the Yamuna with Radha, the daughter of Vrsabhanu, on His left side. He is absorbed in the pastime of playing soft, melodious songs on His flute. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers, Lord Caitanya, who is non-different from the son of Nanda.

(6) He is Lord Hari, shining like molten gold and surrounded by His loving devotees in the midst of hari-kirtana, He is the only ocean of mercy for the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(7) Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers � Lord Caitanya, who along with His beloved wife Visnu-priya is glorified by all demigods and saintly persons. His home, Navadvipa, is surrounded by the river Ganga, the daughter of the Himalayas. He is the Lord of Navadvipa and the stealer of the hearts of all sannyasi�s.

(8) Lord Gauranga is like a powerful hammer which smashes the sin and oppression of the mad-dog of the Kali-yuga. and He is absorbed in distributing the holy name of Krishna, which is the greatest medicine to release one from the material existence. His transcendental form is beautiful , and His heart is full of compassion for the suffering, fallen souls of this world. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(9) Compassion which is free from the duality of �Friend� and �enemy� is always manifest of his lotus face. He is the son of Maharaja Nanda � Krishna, who has appeared in a golden form in the land of Navadvipa. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(10) In this world and in the Upanishads He is celebrated as the all-pervading Supreme Lord. He appeared as the son of a brahmana and is Lord Hari Himself, with a shining complexion of molten gold. In His own abode He sports with His cowherd boy friends. Just worship this Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(11) He is the most wonderful of all avataras because He is the source of all other expansions of God. He is the Supreme Truth, enjoying His pastimes here in this world. He is the embodiment of the most confidential flows that exist in the ocean of rasa.

(12) Without strong devotional worship and service, mere mundane scholarship, high family lineage , wealth and so on are not effective for invoking the causeless mercy of the Lord. O friend, just worship Lord Gaura, the beautiful moon of Godruma�s forest bowers, by the path of unmotivated devotion.

(13) In His appearance as Hari, the Lord liberated Gajendra, the king of elephants, from the grasp of the crocodile in the lake, and in His appearance as Sri Caitanya, He delivered King Gajapati Prataparudra from the jaws of the kali-yuga crocodile who was lying in the lake of politics. Lord Sri Caitanya is unborn, possesses inconceivable power ,and is likened to an auspicious desire tree. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(14) Lord Krsna, who was pleased with the penances and austerities of Indra and the Surabhi cow, appeared in this world as Lord Caitanya, possessing a golden complexion. He is eternal happiness and the captivator of the intelligence of all learned sages. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(15) Give up all worldly desires, monistic meditation and relative conceptions of inauspiciousness and auspiciousness. In a favorable mood, with loving devotion, just engage yourself in just worshipping Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(16) Remaining devoted to the service of the Vaishnava�s, being addicted to drinking the sweet nectar of the name of Hari, and with a mentality endowed with modesty, humility, and compassion, just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

(17) Always worship Lord Gaura, the beautiful moon of Godruma�s forest bowers, and call out to the Lord,� O Yadava, ! O Madhava O Krishna, O Hari, O Rama O Janardana, O Keshava, O beloved Lord of Radha!�

(18) Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers and call out to the Lord �O Lord of the Vrindavana forest, which lies along the banks of the Yamuna! O Lord of Govardhana Hill! O sun of the forest of Gokula! O giver of life to the rasa dance.! O Gaurahari!

(19) Go to Navadvipa, the land of Lord Caitanya, Read and recite with great joy the wonderful pastimes of Lord Gaurahari. Roll about in ecstasy on the banks of the Ganges, which are marked with the footprints of Lord Caitanya, and just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

Remember the wonderful pastimes of Gaura and Gadadhara.

Become a servant of Gaura and Gadadhara. Listen to the beautiful narration�s concerning Gaura and Gadadhara and just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma�s forest bowers.

The human form of life is the rarest opportunity for attaining spiritual perfection. But now I am lamenting, because I've somehow or other been born with such an opportunity, and I wasted it by never worshiping Lord Krsna. Oh, to whom shall I tell the tale of this misery?

Having married and entered into the entanglements of materialistic family life, I passed my time in vain. I never got any tangible gain or permanent benefit, only trouble and botheration.

What kind of world is this anyway? It seems to be just like a magic lantern show that I saw at a carnival, wherein so many shadows and optical illusions dance magically before my eyes. I feel great attachment and identification with such a world, and thus day after day passes by fruitlessly, without any purpose whatsoever.

When this body drops dead on the ground then what will remain mine? At that moment, all of my sons and dearest loved ones will not be able to give me any happiness.

I work hard just like an ass every day, and now I am wondering for whom am I working so hard? I am still surrounded by so many illusions.

I waste every day in useless, insignificant work, and I waste every night controlled by sleep. And in every 24 hours I never for one second consider that cruel death is sitting very close by my side.

I live a very carefree life-style, sometimes eating a lot, or eating a little if I feel like it, sometimes I see nice things around the town, or sometimes I do not go out at all, sometimes I wear opulent clothing, or if I'm in the mood, I'll wear something simple. I live so carefree that I never consider that one day I will have to give up this body.

My poor heart is plagued by constant anxieties about the maintenance and daily turmoils created by my body, my house, my wife, my family members and my social obligations. All these anxieties are pinching me and destroying all my intelligence.

Alas, alas! What a remorseful situation has arisen! I am absorbed in all this trouble, but I never consider that all these things are temporary and subject to perish very soon. After I'm dead and gone, where will all of my material opulences remain?

When my body will be thrown int the pit at the cremation grounds, it will simply lie there motionlessly. Then many crows, vultures, ants, and worms will come and playfully sport there.

All the stray dogs and jackals will then become very much delighted, and in great ecstasy they will make a festival ground out of my body and will have a huge celebration and feast.

Just see, this is the ultimate destination of this material body. And the most amazing thing is that all of my material opulences, house, family and friends have exactly the same destination.

Therefore I ask of anyone who has any sharp intelligence: please give up all of these temporary illusions presented by maya, and kindly search after the means to get pure devotion to Lord Krsna, for this is the only really tangible eternal truth.

A wise, experienced man will never say: 'At the end of my life I will woship God, but now I will enjoy happiness in family life'-- for he knows that this body is tottering and unstable, about to drop at any second.

Death certainly must come, either today or in about hundred years, so don't live so carefree, brothers! Immediately begin worshiping the lotus feet of Krsna, for ther is no fixed certainty of this life.

One thinks: 'After spending my worldly life I shall go to Vrndavana, but to purify myself of the three debts I am endeavoring very hard now'.

This type of idea is not the ultimate goal of life. By the influence of such a nonsensical desire, your life will depart in the end without your ever having worshiped the lotus feet of -dina-bandhu-, sthe dearmost Friend of the fallen.

If you want the topmost auspiciousness, then just sing always the name of Krsna whether you live at home or in the forest. All these other arguments described here are simply aimless excuses.