bhakticollective.com

patram pushpam phalam toyam / yo me bhaktya prayachati
tad aham bhakty-upahritam / ashnami prayatatmanah

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.”

Bhagavad-gita 9.26

On January 31, 2009 photographer Stephan Crasneanscki shot the annual Pushya Abhishek Festival at the Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai. Below are some of the photos as well as an excerpt of the inaugural talk given by H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaja.

Kaustubha das

Excerpt From the Inaugural Talk

“This wonderful festival is a festival of devotion. Please don’t see just with your eyes, see through your heart. Through the wisdom we receive from the Holy Scriptures and the great saints. It is a shower of our combined intent to please Krishna, to purify our own hearts and ultimately to be instruments of love in every aspect of our life.”

“The world is in turmoil, economically, ecologically, emotionally, psychiatrically. According to the World Health Organization depression, mental illness, is the number three disease that causes pain and death. Why? Externally we have so much, but internally so little. The jewels of divine love within our hearts have been plundered by the thieves of greed, envy, anger, arrogance, selfish passion and illusion. Driven by those thieves, enemies within us, even the pure soul creates havoc within this world. There is a great need to understand what is really of value. Things like character, integrity, humility, self- control, a selfless spirit of compassion towards other living beings, which are all part and parcel of love for God. These are the greatest needs within this world.”

“Today hundreds and hundreds of devotees have been plucking flower petals. It is really beautiful to see, and to really appreciate it you have to know the people. There are simple taxi drivers, simple waiters who work in restaurants, simple people who are unemployed, living in little huts. And they are sitting next to multi, multi millionaires who are industrialists with international corporations. And together they are just plucking the petals. Little children are sitting next to PhD, IIT graduate engineers. Anyone can do it. We are all united in our combined efforts to just offer this very, very simple service to the Lord. It is said that all people are created equal. On the spiritual level we are all created equal but as long as we think ourselves American, Russian, European, or any of these other things, we are not equal. As long as we think ourselves man or woman, young or old we are not equal. There are no two snowflakes, since the beginning of time, that are identical. There are no two cats, two dogs or two human beings that are the same. We all have our karmas, conditionings, and attributes. Real equality is on the spiritual platform. In our devotion to the Lord we are equal. It was beautiful to see this.”

“India has been condemned because of its caste system, which is a perverted conception as it is lived and understood today. On the spiritual platform we are all servants of God and we can be united in that love, on a real level, not just a sentimental level. So we are all together plucking flowers and the result is baskets and baskets of flower petals, more than one ton. How beautiful! How much does the flower petal weigh? The endeavor to get so much made everyone so happy. People go to Bollywood movies, people work so hard to get a Mercedes Benz, or good clothes. They go to the gyms to get strong. Nothing against these things, but as far as happiness is concerned, none of these could compare to plucking the flower petals. Why? Because it awakens such ecstasy in our hearts if we do it with the right intent. And we really all become brothers and sisters, united. And the culmination of so many people plucking is that, although not one of them is getting paid, they are happy because they are doing it out of love in the spirit of service.”

“The culmination is that we get to see every single tiny flower petal made an offering of our united devotion. Our meditation while offering these flower petals is that we are making a prayer for the purification of our own hearts, for the awaking of the love that is dormant within us. We are praying for the blessing of the Lord within all living beings. We are praying for the spiritual prosperity of every living being. That is the mood of the offering of each of those millions and millions of petals. And after the offering there will be the festival where of all the maha prasada flower petals showered upon all of us.”

H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaja

Click here to hear the entire talk, and for more photos and descriptions of the festival.

More Slideshows

On January 31, I was fortunate to be present at the Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai for their annual Pushya Abhishek, a devotional festival in which the temple congregation comes together to profusely decorate the deities of Radha and Krishna with flowers, and then offer them an extended shower of over a ton of fresh flower petals.

In the early morning devotees gathered to pluck the petals from millions of fragrant flowers. In the evening 2000 devotees squeezed into the temple as thousands more gathered in the temple courtyards to watch via video screen. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

Listen On This Site

Right-click to Download as Podcast

Among all the kirtan singers out there, it would be hard to find one with a voice more pure or beautiful than Karnamrita. She’s been singing kirtan since her early childhood and was trained in Indian classical vocals in Vrindavan. This track, “The Story of Pingala”, is from the CD Dasi–Prayers by Women, a compilation of songs and prayers by or about great women in the Krishna Bhakti Traditions. This brilliant and exciting recording is composed of verses taken directly from a section of the Srimad-bhagavatam’s 11th Canto known as the Uddhava-gita.

The Uddhava-gita is a rich resource of teachings on bhakti. Responding to Uddhava’s request for instructions on renunciation, Krishna relates an avadhuta‘s account of his twenty-four gurus. These twenty-four gurus are an eclectic group of people, animals and other natural phenomena – for instance, the earth, the wind, the sky, the moon, the python, the moth, etc. The avadhuta’s account shows how one can develop wisdom and conviction in bhakti through observing one’s surroundings.

One of the guru’s, the prostitute Pingala, is the subject of this song. These verses are an expression of her frustration with sensual pursuits and her joyous awakening of detachment and devotion.

I’ve included the Srimad-bhagavatam verses below, both in the original Sanskrit and the English translation. I highly recommend the CD which has a variety of beautiful songs.

Kaustubha das

To Purchase the CD Dasi - Prayers by Women Click Here

The Story of Pingala From the CD Dasi - Prayers by Women

Vocals: Karnamrita
Melody composed by: Yuddhistira and Karnamrita
Tablas: Yuddhistira
Kartals: Chaitanya Nitai
Hand Claps: Ron Marinelli
Produced by Karnamrita and Ron Marinelli
Mixed and mastered by Ron Marinelli

Related Posts

From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11th Canto, Chapter 8

11.8.30
pingalovaca
aho me moha-vitatim
pasyatavijitatmanah
ya kantad asatah kamam
kamaye yena balisa

The prostitute Pingala said: Just see how greatly illusioned I am! Because I cannot control my mind, just like a fool I desire lusty pleasure from an insignificant man.

11.8.31
santam samipe ramanam rati-pradam
vitta-pradam nityam imam vihaya
akama-dam duhkha-bhayadhi-soka-
moha-pradam tuccham aham bhaje ‘jna

I am such a fool that I have given up the service of that person who, being eternally situated within my heart, is actually most dear to me. That most dear one is the Lord of the universe, who is the bestower of real love and happiness and the source of all prosperity. Although He is in my own heart, I have completely neglected Him. Instead I have ignorantly served insignificant men who can never satisfy my real desires and who have simply brought me unhappiness, fear, anxiety, lamentation and illusion.

11.8.37
nunam me bhagavan prito
vishnuh kenapi karmana
nirvedo ‘yam durasaya
yan me jatah sukhavahah

Although I most stubbornly hoped to enjoy the material world, somehow or other detachment has arisen in my heart, and it is making me very happy. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, must be pleased with me. Without even knowing it, I must have performed some activity satisfying to Him.

11.8.38
maivam syur manda-bhagyayah
klesa nirveda-hetavah
yenanubandham nirhritya
purushah samam ricchati

A person who has developed detachment can give up the bondage of material society, friendship and love, and a person who undergoes great suffering gradually becomes, out of hopelessness, detached and indifferent to the material world. Thus, due to my great suffering, such detachment awoke in my heart; yet how could I have undergone such merciful suffering if I were actually unfortunate? Therefore, I am in fact fortunate and have received the mercy of the Lord. He must somehow or other be pleased with me.

11.8.39
tenopakritam adaya
sirasa gramya-sangatah
tyaktva durasah saranam
vrajami tam adhisvaram

With devotion I accept the great benefit that the Lord has bestowed upon me. Having given up my sinful desires for ordinary sense gratification, I now take shelter of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

11.8.40
santushta sraddadhaty etad
yatha-labhena jivati
viharamy amunaivaham
atmana ramanena vai

I am now completely satisfied, and I have full faith in the Lord’s mercy. Therefore I will maintain myself with whatever comes of its own accord. I shall enjoy life with only the Lord, because He is the real source of love and happiness.

[Translation from Srimad-bhagavatam, courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. Used with permission.]

mama- my, mana– mind or heart, mandire– in the temple
Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinode Thakura was a nineteenth century religious reformer in the Chaitanya or Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. He was a prolific author, songwriter, poet and proponent of Krishna bhakti.
In this beautiful Bengali song, Bhaktivinode Thakur expresses his ardent desire for Lord Krishna to reside in his heart, where he can make his offerings of love. I find this song serves as a reminder and inspiration that behind all religious ritual lies the purpose of the transformation of the mind or heart, and that ultimately, the heart is both the place of genuine worship as well as the truest and most pleasing item to be offered in devotion.

The song is sung by the bhajana group Spiritual Skyliner, which was a traveling group of Vaishnava brahmacaris from Germany. The angelic lead singing is by Gadadhara Das. Musically this song is unique in that each verse is sung in a different melody. Mama Mana Mandire appeared on the cd Spiritual Skyliner: Sacred Mantras. More of their music can be found here and here.

Kaustubha das

Mam Mana Mandire
Right-click to Download as Podcast

Listen On This Site

Mama Mana Mandire

by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

(1) mama mana mandire raha nisi-din
krsna murari sri krsna murari

Please abide in the temple of my heart
both day and night, O Krsna Murari, O Sri Krsna Murari!

(2) bhakti priti mala candan
tumi nio he nio krsna-nandan

Devotion, love, flower garlands, and sandalwood- please accept them,
Delighter of the Heart!

(3) jivana marana tava puja nivedan
sundara he mana-hari

In life or in death I worship You with these offerings,
Beautiful One, O Enchanter of the Heart!

(4) eso nanda-kumar ar nanda-kumar
habe prema-pradipe arati tomar

Come, son of Nanda, and then, O Son of Nanda
I will offer Your arati ceremony with the lamplight of my love.

(5) nayana jamuna jhare anibar
tomara virahe giridhari

The waters of the Yamuna river cascade incessantly from my eyes
in your separation, O Holder of Govordhana Hill!

(6) bandana gane tava bajuk jivana
krsna murari sri krsna murari

May I pass my life absorbed only in songs of Your praise, O Krsna Murari, Sri Krsna Murari!

Related Posts: Kirtan Podcast: As Kindred Spirits / Kirtan Podcast 2: Aindra Das

Whenever I stay in Vrindavan, I make a point of spending every evening in the Krishna Balaram Temple with hundreds of bhaktas singing in kirtan led by Aindra Das. An American who moved to Vrindavan in the early 8o’s, Aindra das leads a group of kirtaniyas who maintain kirtan 24 hours a day, everyday in the temple. He lives simply, he’s learned in the teachings of bhakti and he is deeply devoted to kirtan. One can always witness and experience the most amazing things at his kirtans, not just occasionally, but every evening. Here’s one example. It’s a fifteen minute recording that starts slow and gradually builds. The rhythms may feel unfamiliar at first, but if you relax and give it a little time I think you’ll find a special treasure here.

Kaustubha das

Aindra Das Kirtan
Right-click to Download as Podcast

Listen On This Site

Related Posts: PODCAST: As Kindred Spirits

An excerpt from Steven Rosen’s new book The Yoga of Kirtan - Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting.

Steven Rosen: In our remaining time, can you talk a little more about kirtan? I know this is actually the center of your current practice and also the main theme of your recent temple, opened in Ujjain.

Bhakti Charu Swami: The way I understand it, kirtan is actually a prayer to the Lord. Originally, those prayers were very personal, when initially composed. And then they take on more general expression, and anyone can chant it. But, early on, these were confidential prayers, like the mantras in the Vedas, where they are not open to the general public. Those mantras – like Gayatri, for example – were meant for meditative chanting, but they were circumscribed, only for special clientele, so to speak.. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

A group of us gathered in the bedroom after the wedding, and as the large reels of the tape recorder slowly revolved, the room filled with the sound of “the Swami” leading the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. I sang in response, answering his call. Looking back, the chanting on that August afternoon in 1967 appears to me now as a rare moment in time, a kind of karmic singularity, like the pinched waist of an hourglass, into which my whole past poured and from which my entire future would expand. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

My first connection with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra happened during the “Summer of Love” in August, 1967 in the course of a wedding within a three-room apartment in Powelton Village, the budding hippie district in Philadelphia. The wedding epitomized the time and place. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

Author Steven Rosen and FOLK Books have just released a new book on kirtan. From the press release:

“The Yoga of Kirtan explores the history, musical dimensions, and emotional content of sacred chant. Through a series of intimate conversations, this volume brings it’s readers into the company of present-day kirtan masters, such as Krishna Das, Jai Uttal Vaiyasaki, Ragani, David Newman, and others. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant constantly.” (Shri Shikshastakam verse 3)

Pradyumna, a friend and noted scholar, recently shared with me, in his own words, Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s interesting commentary on the phrase trnad api, “lower than a blade of grass” from Shri Shikshastakam (Shri Caitanyas eight core instructions), where the anonymity of the kirtaniya (kirtan leader) is described: CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

From A Portrait of the Hindus: Balthazar Solvyns
& the European Image of India 1760-1824

More from Robert Hardgrave’s A Portrait of the Hindus: here is Balthazar Solvyns’s etching of a kirtan gathering in 18th century Calcutta. The term sankirtan - a compound of the Sanskrit words san (together), and kirtana (glorification) - refers to the practice of congregational singing of the holy names of God, especially in public, as a practice and expression of bhakti. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

From A Portrait of the Hindus: Balthazar Solvyns
& the European Image of India 1760-1824

As promised, from Robert L. Hardgrave’s A Portrait of the Hindus, Balthazar Solvyns’s etching of the khol or mridanga drum. Here, I’ve provided a detail of the etching. The entire image can be found below. I’ve included an excerpt from the description by the artist, Balthazar Solvyns, and below that, an excerpt from Robert Hardgrave’s commentary, (I’ve not included the footnotes). One observation of my own: it appears that the musician is wearing, around his right ear, a small pushpa-mala (flower garland). CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE »

He Gopal (Yasomatinandana)
Download as Podcast

Listen On This Site

From the CD Nectar of Devotion, Hey Gopal (Yasomati-nandana)

On this track As Kindred Spirits blend the traditional chant “Krishna, Govinda, Govinda, Gopal, Nandulal” with the bhajan Sri Nama Kirtan (Yasomati-Nandana) composed by Vaishnava theologian and songwriter Bhaktivinode Thakura. In Sri Nama Kirtan Bhaktivinode Thakura employs a lyrical device wherein nearly the entire song consists of Krishna’s names, each of which serve to rouse remembrance or meditation of the Lords many lilas (pastimes). You can find the translation below.

Kaustubha das

From the CD’s liner notes:

“Adapted from a melody performed at the world famous Radha Ramana Temple in Vrindavan, this song is composed of names of Lord Sri Krishna. Vaisnavas love to sing the names of Krishna – amala harinam amiya-vilasa. ‘These pure, holy names of Lord Hari (Krishna) are full of sweet, nectarean pastimes.’ If you know what to listen for, you’ll also hear a riff from one of the sweetest devotional Indian movies ever made, called, Sita Swayamvara.”

More Information on As Kindred Spirits

Purchase the CD

Gaura Vani: Lead vocal, Harmonium arrangements and recording engineer
Sandeep Mody: Tabla, Sarod, Violin, arrangements, and backing vocals.

Sridhama, Bhakti, Tuka, Radhika, Ani, Rombhoru, Ketu, Radha Madhava, Nandu, Sunanda, Jayananda, Jagannath Chandan, Bali, Mitrasena, Shyam, Sita and Krpa: All vocal and instrumental accompaniment.

Bada Haridas, Bhakta Jim Sater: Sound mastering, mixing, and additional technical assistance.

Sri Nama-Kirtana

(by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

(1)
yashomati-nandana, braja-baro-nagara
gokula-ranjana kana
gopi-parana-dhana, madana-manohara
kaliya-damana-vidhana

(2)
amala harinam amiya-vilasa
vipina-purandara, navina nagara-bora
bamshi-badana suvasa

(3)
braja-jana-palana, asura-kula-nashana
nanda-godhana-rakhowala
govinda madhava, navanita-taskara
sundara nanda-gopala

(4)
jamuna-tata-chara, gopi-basana-hara
rasa-rasika kripamoya
shri-radha-vallabha, brindabana-natabara
bhakativinod-ashraya

Translation

(1) Krishna is the beloved son of Mother Yashoda; the transcendental lover in the land of Vraja; the delight of Gokula; Kana [a nickname of Krishna]; the wealth of the lives of the gopis. He steals the mind of even Cupid and punishes the serpent Kaliya.

(2) These pure, holy names of Lord Hari are full of sweet, nectarean pastimes. Krishna is the Lord of the twelve forests of Vraja. He is ever-youthful and is the best of lovers. He is always playing on a flute, and He is an excellent dresser.

(3) Krishna is the protector of the inhabitants of Vraja; the destroyer of various demoniac dynasties; the keeper and tender of Nanda Maharaja’s cows; the giver of pleasure to the cows, land, and spiritual senses; the husband of the goddess of fortune; the butter thief; and the beautiful cowherd boy of Nanda Maharaja.

(4) Krishna wanders along the banks of the River Yamuna. He stole the garments of the young damsels of Vraja who were bathing there. He delights in the mellows of the rasa dance; He is very merciful; the lover and beloved of Shrimati Radharani; the great dancer of Vrindavana; and the shelter and only refuge of Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

Related Posts: An Expression of Conviction in Bhakti

by Dhanurdhara Swami

CLICK TO VIEW ARTICLE (right-click to download to your own hard drive)

Dhanurdhara Swami’s paper, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and Raganuga Sadhana
Bhakti explores a central point of contention regarding the influence
of Vaishnava reformer and modernizer, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (1874 – 1937).
The following is meant to serve as a brief introduction, as the paper’s primary
audience are those persons who are somewhat familiar with the Gaudiya
tradition and the main forms of sadhana which it advocates.

Like other traditions of late-Medieval Indian spirituality, Gaudiya
Vaishnavism, the tradition stemming from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
(1486-1533), developed visualization techniques to aid the meditation of
adept practitioners. Such techniques are often passed down from guru to
disciple in some form of initiation. The purpose of these practices, called
Raganuga Sadhana Bhakti (”the devotional practice which follows from deep
attachment”) is well summarized by scholar David Haberman:

The goal of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana is to shift identity. . . [to] the
“perfected form” (siddha-rupa), which is one’s true and ultimate identity.
Salvation, to the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, is unending participation in the
cosmic drama, and the skills of the actor are employed in pursuit of the
true identity which allows such participation. (Acting as a Way of
Salvation, Motilal Edition, 4)

Such practices are traditionally nourished by absorption in kirtan, which,
for Gaudiyas, takes the form of nama-sankirtana, meditation on God’s
(Krishna’s) names. It should be underscored that the visualization practices
involved in raganuga sadhana bhakti are highly esoteric. Most members of the
tradition (including non-renunciates and most lay persons) do not engage in
it, though, doubtless, they engage in some kind of kirtana. Most hope to
eventually practice some form of Raganuga sadhana when they are spiritually
prepared.

Dhanurdhara Swami’s paper discusses the decision by Sri Bhaktisiddhanta to
deemphasize certain developments of Raganuga sadhana, particularly what is
called ekadasa-bhava, where a guru imparts to the disciple different
features of his or her siddha-rupa at the time of initiation.
Bhaktisiddhanta instead focused on the performance and promulgation of
kirtana. This was part of Bhaktisiddhanta’s adjustments to Gaudiya Vaishnava
tradition in the face of modernity, and is a source of no small contention
among his critics. What makes Bhaktisiddhanta and his reforms so important
is that his followers are largely responsible for the global awareness of
Gaudiya Vaishnava religion and culture (including kirtana). Dhanurdhara
Swami argues that Bhaktisiddhanta’s reforms are quite within the tradition’s
boundaries–in fact, he argues, they help manifest the heart of the
tradition, not obscure it. He further argues that both critics and followers
of Bhaktisiddhanta must understand the spirit behind such reforms, lest they
forget Bhaktisiddhanta’s deep engagement with tradition.

-MD

To read the article follow the link above.