01 March 1997 Singapore
The Son of Nanda Maharaja
[A translation of Hindi Hari-katha spoken by Nitya Lila Pravista Om Visnupada Astottara Sata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja – Srila Gurudeva]
Srila Gurudeva: Who is He? He is the primordial Lord, the essence of all incarnations, the Creator of the universe, and the cause of all causes. The son of Nanda Maharaja—Nanda Nandana Krishna is that Lord. He (Brahma) is offering pranamas to Krishna, but how is he offering them? You should note this in your heart. By hearing this, Srimati Radhika will be so pleased. Except for Srimati Radhika, no one can bestow full-fledged service to Krishna. Only performing Krishna’s bhajan will not do; if Srimati Radhika is not there alongside Him. But if we worship only Srimati Radhika alone, She will at once call Krishna. So it is imperative that we worship Srimati Radhika, otherwise Vraja bhajana will go dry.
[Referring to the devotee who sung a bhajan:] She is very dear to the Vrajavasis, and she is a Vrajavasi who lives in Seva kunja, Vrindavana. So she is singing the song of Vrindavana. She is originally from Vrindavana, but she comes to Delhi occasionally. The song she sung is so sweet and it seems that it has been told by Mirabhai. Do you know who Mirabhai is? She is a very good, chaste devotee. In India, all know who she is. She has given her heart at the lotus feet of Krishna. From her childhood, she was not involved in material hankering, desires and all these things. Her father was also like her.
He got his daughter married to a king from Rajasthan. Do you know where Rajasthan is? It is a state that is in India. They are all warriors by nature, and they belong to the dynasty of Rama; Surya-vamsha. So she came to live with her husband, but her husband was of an opposite tendency. He would warn her again and again, “Don’t be in the association of sadhus. You are not a girl now; but a queen. So if naked sadhus come here, it will be against our aristocracy.” But she was singing this song, “Mero to Giridhara Gopal, dusro no koi.” When she would sing this song on her Vina, Krishna would come and play on His flute very melodiously.
Her husband would stand guard outside and wonder, “Oh who has come here?” He would knock on the door, but Mirabhai was internally observed and unaware of her surroundings. Totally oblivious of her body and mind, being absorbed in prema, she would sing, “Mero to Giridhar Gopal, Mero to Giridhar Gopal.”
Her husband would sternly question, “Where is that person? Is your boyfriend here?”
“No boyfriend is here. But Shyamasundara is here, can you see?”
But her husband could not see. Anyone cannot see Him, especially those bound by a physical body. Those bound think, “I am this body, this material body.” Having many material desires, he cannot see and realize Krishna. Krishna is not far away, He is present in every atom. But it is our misfortune that we cannot see Him.
When we go to take darshana of Krishna in Vrindavana, all the paths reverberate with the names, “Radhe Radhe!” Indeed, the leaves and creepers also sing, “Radhe Radhe.” The watchmen who stand guard at night also chant, “Radhe Radhe.” But in Mathura, the state of affairs has taken a turn to the worse. In Mathura it is not as before, but in Vrindavana to this day, everyone chants, “Radhe Radhe.”
Everyone sings, “Radhe Radhe.” Krishna’s name is not sung as much.
[Laughter from audience.]
They know that Krishna is a cheater, who always steals hearts, keeps them in His pocket, and never returns them. But Srimati Radhika is so simple hearted. Being simple hearted, Srimati Radhika can steal the heart of even Krishna and keep Him in Her pocket.
So in this song, she has sung, “Shyama, I am Yours, whether this world knows or not. I don’t care for this.” What does this world know? How will the world understand the moods of our hearts? Instead, the world is absorbed in false beauty and in trying to fulfill their mundane desires. How can those trying to further their stance of considering this body of flesh and bones as their all in all ever understand Krishna?
“Shyam I have become Yours whether this world knows or not. I don’t care for anyone.” All the devotees are of this conviction, especially those whose hearts are suffused with Krishna prema. Vrindavana is such a wondrous place where young, beautiful princes of India and abroad…
[Pointing to his entourage]: Even these young boys accompanying me have left their parents, siblings, and everyone else and have become engrossed in chanting, “Krishna Krishna! Radhe Radhe!” They have no worries about their homes and relatives. What is Vrindavana? It is the abode of those who have given up their parents, spouses, children, wealth, and everything else and who have become street beggars. They wander, without even asking anything from anyone. They have no hut even. They sleep on the streets or anywhere else. They don’t get any sleep, for they are always chanting, “Krishna Krishna, Radhe Radhe.” Their lives are blessed with such extreme degrees of bliss that the grandeur of infinite universes will wither in comparison with what they cherish in Vrindavana. They engage in madhukari and obtain rotis. There are many mothers in Vrindavana, whose service is to distribute rotis to the sadhus.
Do you know what madhukari is? It means to beg pieces of chapatti, like a quarter but not an entire chapatti. The sadhus are satisfied with what they receive. They are content with their chanting and remembering. They don’t sleep at all. The words, “Radhe Radhe,” always dance within their hearts.
So Mirabhai sings, “I have become of Shyama whether the world knows or not. I don’t care for anyone. My husband may keep me in his house or kick me out; I don’t care.”
So she sang a very beautiful kirtana of Mirabhai. Now you should do maha mantra kirtana and then we will start our class.
[Break of audio.]
Gaura Premanande! Haribol!
Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe! Shyam!
[Srila Gurudeva begins the class.]
By the mercy of Bhagavan, with the aim of preaching, we left Mathura Vrindavana and went to Holland and England first. We also went to America, Canada, and many other places in the West. After our preaching in the West, we have come here to the East. We have already visited Australia, Malaysia, Bali, and now in the course of our preaching; we have reached Singapore. Do I have to translate or speak in Hindi? But I think all the members of the audience know English. When I speak some parts of the lecture in Hindi, someone may translate the katha to English.
What is the aim of our preaching? The object of my preaching in the Western countries is to tell you how you can have that happiness you want in life. We all want peace and happiness. There is no living entity within this world who can claim otherwise. In the entire universe, not a single person, what to speak of a single person, even creepers, trees, and all the insects also want peace and happiness. Everyone wants to be happy and peaceful. So everyone wants peace and happiness in this world, but, it is the highest truth that one cannot get peace and happiness just by desiring it. We try, we want happiness, but only wanting happiness will not do. No one in this world is really happy. In this world, no one lives their life happy and content. One always desires and desires, “I want more, I want more.” One will not understand this while he is young, as old age dawns on him; he will realize.
I have half an hour to finish my class, so everyone should listen. Even thirst should not deter one from listening. Parikshit Maharaja abandoned the desire to even drink water. He wasn’t concerned with eating also, while we cannot sit still for even five or twenty minutes. Parikshit Maharaja left all desire for eating and drinking water, so we should also be of the same conviction.
Just by desiring happiness and peace, a person will not get it. During your childhood and youth, you will not understand this truth. But, anguish is necessary. Old age will come and afflict you despite you being unrelenting. Old age will definitely love you, regardless of you being a man or a woman. Your hairs will turn white, eyesight will be weakened, teeth will fall, and despite having a desire to sumptuously eat; the fire of digestion would have slackened. The juice of fruits will also not be digested. It is true—that you will be old. You may not know if God is true or not, but it is true that impending death awaits. Death is certain. Death will set on us and we will surely die. It is mandatory that we should suffer from anguish. If we escape from the sadness of old age; still, we will have to suffer. Different countries are engaged in fighting each other. Though it was non-existent before, now, even husbands and wives incessantly fight. This is especially seen in the Western countries. Time had barely passed, but Prince Charles divorced Diana. So no one is happy here. That is why; no commodity of this world can give us happiness and shield us from death. Lakhs and lakhs of doctors, scientists, engineers, cannot check our death, sufferings, and sorrows. Also, we can never check old age. All the doctors, scientists, and members of the U.N.O.…cannot solve anything. So deeply contemplate what you will be forced to taste. Death and sufferings will come. No facilities of this world can save us from old age. Think about this, tomorrow, old age will come running towards you. Despite a thousand endeavors, we do not obtain happiness and peace, why? This is the problem in all the universes. What is the problem? This problem has been plaguing mankind since time immemorial.
These problems were existent during the time of Prahlada Maharaja, during the time of Sri Ramachandra. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared five hundred years ago, but even to this day people are beset with problems. This world is like a prison with maya-devi as its warden. Those who don’t perform bhajan, despite Bhagavan giving them human bodies, will be jailed in this prison. And what are the shackles that bind one there? It is mamata, where one is possessive about his wife and children. These relationships constitute ‘mamata.’ These shackles bind one, not letting him break free. This ‘my-ness,’ characterized by statements like, “This husband is mine. I am his wife. These are my children.” These conceptions are the shackles that bind us. There is no need of ropes to bind us for we are already bound by mamata. We have been wandering aimlessly for lakhs and lakhs of births, not only one birth. This human life is a form of life that affords one the chance to realize the atma, paramatma, and bhagavan. This way we can develop a relationship with Krishna based on spontaneous love, and affection. If we lose this chance in the human form of life, then we will have an uncertain fate, and will be oblivious of the form of life that we will be forced to take birth in. Understand that the acts we are engaged in at present will not guarantee us a human form of life in the future.
What are you doing? You are engaged in eating, drinking, and making merry. Sometimes you eat meat and eggs, but have you petitioned the Lord at least once with the following prayer, “Prabhu, You have benefited me so much. I have a responsibility to You.” Sometimes, you perform a kirtana, and sometimes not. Krishna has given you this body, and only by this body can you know what atma, paramatma, and Bhagavan is. You will know what is real love and affection. But if you have uselessly spent your time, then it is not certain if you will get a human form of life in your next birth. This truth must be deep-rooted in your consciousness.
So make your human form of life a success. I have just heard from my son, Dau Dayal Gupta, that the government here places a special emphasis on health. So much so, that a special ministry has been created for this purpose. In this way, to make this world a happy place, present day society with its legion of the intellectuals has united to achieve this purpose. Great advancements have been made from the kitchen to the medical department. The advancements scale from replacing a defective heart and curing blindness of the eyes by transplanting them from the dead. They can even change a mentally challenged person. Great strides have also been made in the field of communication and travel. We can travel from America to here in less than twenty four hours. Sitting at home, we can see the president of another country and listen to what he speaks. We can see cricket and football being played in random countries. In the flash of a second we can know who has won the game.
It seems we have the clenched the entire world in our fist. The world is not like before, when it would take a person six months to travel to another country. The world is not like how it used to be during Columbus’ time or when Clive came to India. Travelling in a ship, it would take a person six months or a year to travel to another country. Now we can see what is happening in another country within minutes. The world has become one. There is no department in this world where advancement hasn’t taken place. But why have such advancements been made? Only to make us happy and peaceful. But is anyone happy and peaceful? Conversely, problems have been on the rise. Today, I cannot come to your country without a passport and a visa. What is the problem? Is it a spiritual problem? They are fighting like dogs, which are territorial. This problem is not just in this country but in all countries. But I wonder what these problems are? Can we be happy and peaceful by a problem prone situation? What is the problem, which makes us unhappy in this world? There is only one problem. The only problem is that we have been forgetting Bhagavan that in turn has led to the incessant rise of problems. And this problem is the root cause of lakhs and lakhs of problems. Sukadeva Gosvami has no cloth, nor does he have a home to host anyone. His body is naked. What is the use of clothing a naked body? The atma is covered by the subtle body of mind, intelligence, and false ego. This subtle body is covered by a gross body that is, “Panca racita ya adhama sarira.” The atma is already covered by two bodies, so what is the use of covering it with another? This is atma-jnana. So Sukadeva Gosvami has no concern with covering himself with clothes. So there is no problem for Sukadeva Gosvami, he has bhagavat darshana from any place he is in. He has no need for any things of this world. He is happy as he is. So, the more we distance ourselves from Bhagavan, the sadder we will be. Having left the country of our birth for another will not make us happy. One day, a predicament will befall on us and old age will victimize us. Then, your children will tell you, “Father please leave to your country. Now we will manage.” Your children would have become adults and if you don’t accept their request; a situation will arise where you will be forcibly sent back to your country. This will surely happen. This world is crippled with problems, only to tell you this have I come from Bharath-varsha. Wherever I went—Holland, England, America, this was the message I conveyed.
While giving a discourse, I would say, “I have not come from impoverished India for your pounds or dollars. I have come from such a greatly respected, highly honorable, culturally enriched India, that if a person has tasted even a particle of her glories; his life will certainly become auspicious.”
My dear sons and daughters, you have also come from that selfsame transcendentally opulent India, where her residents bow their heads in respect. Don’t consider yourself to be ‘daridra,’ or having come from an impoverished household. You are indeed very wealthy.
Lord Sankara is naked. Anything you wish from him, he will fulfill. He will be ready to even give you renewed life. Hanumanji is always absorbed in the service of Rama. He has no home, wife, sons or daughters, or any opulence. But he can give you all things. Sankaraji wears a garland of skulls, only to show us that this is the fate of this world. Don’t run after this illusion. The golden city of Lanka was reduced to ashes in a moment by the kick of Hanuman’s leg. There was no resident of Lanka whose house wasn’t constructed of gold. Ravana had one lakh sons and one hundred and twenty five thousand grandsons who were as strong as a thunderbolt, even so, his stomach wasn’t full and he kidnapped Sita. This way, he garlanded himself with a snake (nagina)??? And what happened to Kamsa? The riches of this world cannot give us happiness. Only bhakti to Bhagavan can give us happiness. Understand these facts. When Lanka was burnt to ashes, only Vibhisana was happy as he was engaged in bhajan to Bhagavan. Being Indians, never forget your roots. Think of yourself as Indians whose heritage and culture is so exalted. Don’t forget that Shyama who comes and plays the flute in Mathura. Just pray once in your mind that, “Krishna, You are mine.” This is enough. There should never be a day where you forget to remember Vamshidhari Krishna in the morning. Srimati Radhika can control Krishna, so remember Her also. Wherever you are, whether you are in your country or abroad; no misfortune will affect you. But save yourself from meat, fish, and wine. By saving yourself from these things, you will attain peace and happiness at the snap of your fingers. But engaging in bhajan is foremost.
[To a devotee]: What did I say?
Devotee: You spoke of how we must not take wine, fish, and meat.
[To Sripada Madhava Maharaja]: What did I say?
Sripada Madhava Maharaja: Gurudeva is telling us to not forget Krishna at any moment. You are from Mathura and Krishna plays His flute in Mathura, in Vraja Mandala. Gurudeva told us to remember Krishna every morning and if we do so, we will never have to face any problems. We will be beyond problems. But we shouldn’t take meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic, or wine. We should leave all these things. Just like your forefathers would never take any of these things. So don’t follow western culture. Then you will be happy forever.
Srila Gurudeva: So I was speaking about the dilemma we are in. What is the predicament we are in? We will have to become old and leave this world. If you don’t leave, your children and grandchildren will force you to leave. So we will have to understand from where we have come? Why have we come here? Why are all these problems coming and where will we have to go?
Saints tell us, “Our dharma is prema. This truth stands regardless of us belonging to the Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist religions. These religions are different facets of social convention. In reality, our religion is prema.” These religions serve as rules and regulations to help us come towards Krishna.
Krishna and Rama descended to this world to give us this prema and solve all our problems. They tell us, “Make Us the recipients of your love, and We will shower you with love. When Krishna would play the flute in Vraja, all the animals, birds, leaves, creepers, trees, and deer would direct their gaze entirely on Krishna and beg for love from Him. Krishna loved everyone. There was no one who wasn’t the recipient of His love. All loved Krishna and that is why He came for this.
The followers of the Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and other religions don’t do anything. But all of them have the tendency to love. There is no living entity that doesn’t love his parents, wife, and children. The lion also loves the lioness and its cubs. The monkeys and ants also love their fellow beings. The ants are always in a group. We have seen in Vrindavana of how tight knit monkeys are. Teasing or harming one of theirs’ would draw the ire of the entire group and they would instinctively attack.
The constitutional nature of this world is to love. If you want peace and joy in this world, then treasure this love. What is the problem of this world? None believe in each other and atma-dharma has ended. Only selfishness reigns. Why do we educate our daughters? So that they can be married to good men and end our predicament of not getting them married yet. There is a heavy burden on the heads of the parents until the girl remains at home. To relieve ourselves of this burden, we get them married. In this world priti is extremely rare, while selfishness reigns supreme. Today, all the members of the family like the father, mother, son, and daughter have their separate bank accounts. We don’t believe in our family members, that is why; there are separate bank accounts for everyone—daughters, sons, wife, mother, father, father-in-law, son-in-law etc. It wasn’t like this before, during the ancient days. They had faith in Krishna and in each other. Atma-dharma is being distanced and selfishness is vigorously being brought into the fray. How can this selfishness be in turn; distanced? If we have love for Krishna, love is automatically distributed to everyone. Then we can trust and love each other. If we don’t have love for Krishna, despite lakhs of endeavors, peace and tranquility will not be attained. By understanding Krishna, all knowledge will be attained. A person’s heart is filled with love, and he becomes magnanimous. He will be filled with transcendental qualities.
Now I will explain these truths by the authority of Srimad Bhagavatham. In Srimad Bhagavatham, a pastime is spoken of by Sukadeva Gosvami to Parikshit Maharaja. Do you know Vyasadeva and Narada rsi? Vyasadeva divided the Vedas into four, manifested the Mahabharatha, Upanishads, Vedanta-sutra, 18 puranas, upa-puranas, and sakha-puranas. In these scriptures, Vyasadeva explained what our dharma to our parents, family, Bhagavan, and society should be.
One day, Vyasadeva sat in deep contemplation in his “Shyamya-prakasha” ashram on the banks of the Ganges. He was not happy. The entire knowledge of this world finds its place in Vyasadeva. He was in no want of anything. With a grave sense of introspection, he thought, “Why don’t feel peaceful at heart and that there is something lacking in my life?” You have come from India to earn money. Here, you pay your maid servant twenty five thousand rupees. How much do you pay your maid-servant here?
Devotee: Eighteen thousand.
Srila Gurudeva: Eighteen thousand with all facilities for food, cloth, and lodging? I don’t know if even our President gets paid 18 thousand rupees.
[Laughter from audience.]
And if the maidservant’s salary is finished, will you pay her more? There is no question of this???? ***
By the strength of his bhajan, Vyasadeva can give you innumerable touchstones, golden houses, and even the darshana of Krishna, if you so desire. Just by his benedictory words; your wishes will be fulfilled. But today, Vyasadeva was grief-stricken; he was dissatisfied, despite having the power to see Krishna also.
Vyasadeva knows everything, and he can do anything because he is like God; a sakthyavesha avatara. He can do anything, but he was dissatisfied. Sitting on the shore of the Ganges, he thought, “Why am I not satisfied? What is lacking in me? But he could not determine the reason for his sadness. Are you all listening? My dear daughter, do you understand my words? If you contemplate on this; then you are indeed a daughter of Mathura and India.
Devotee: Forty minutes have passed Gurudeva.
Srila Gurudeva: In the meantime, Vyasadeva’s guru Naradaji came. After receiving his guru, Vyasadeva offered an asana to his Gurudeva and offered puspanjali at his lotus feet. After Naradaji was comfortably seated, with folded hands Vyasadeva politely offered him his services.
Naradaji said, “What services can you perform? You are crestfallen and your mind is flickering. I can sense the lacking in you. So how can you serve me?”
Vyasadeva replied, “Guruji, you are right. There is something in me that triggers a sense of emptiness in me.”
When you return home, all of you should think if all your desires have been fulfilled or not? When you reflect, you will realize that none of your desires have been fulfilled. You should ask your hundred year old mother, “Dear mother, you have much opulence, children, and grandchildren; are you happy?”
“O dear daughter, I can barely walk, eat, or see. I am greatly anguished.”
So what has she done her whole life? This is the problem that haunts this world.
Vyasadeva told Naradaji, “Guruji, I don’t know the lacking in me. What should I do? How can I be happy forever?”
The children think that they will study well, get a good job, become content, and finally do business. After being trained in college, they start earning money. But they think, “The house is devoid of a wife.”
Women also think, “Everything is all right, but I wish I can find a good husband.” After being married, she longs for a son. She is greatly anxious for a son or a daughter. She begets a son, but he turns out to be rascal number one. Or he may even die an untimely death. So there great dilemmas everywhere and at all times.
Similarly, Vyasadeva was in a great dilemma. But he couldn’t find the solution by himself. When a man is diseased, he cannot be cured by himself. He has to go to an expert doctor. So Vyasadeva told Naradaji, “Guruji, I have surrendered at your lotus feet. Now please tell me what it is that is lacking inside me; I cannot determine this lacking by myself.”
Naradaji replied, “You have done everything. There is no lacking inside of you, except one–you haven’t mentioned anything about Vamshidhari Krishna and Srimati Radhaji. Krishna is the Lord of Lords, the incarnations of Rama, Nrsingha, Narayana, have their origin in Him. All incarnations are His manifestations. But you have not mentioned His Vrindavana rasa-mayi lilas. If you do this, your life will be fulfilled.
What did I say?
Sripada Madhava Maharaja: Naradaji told Vyasadeva, “You have done everything, but you haven’t described in your spiritual books that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You haven’t mentioned this. If you mention that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that Ramachandra, Narayana, and everyone have come from Krishna, then all problems will be solved. Then why will you be unhappy? If you describe all these things, then you will be immediately happy. No problems will ever bother you in the future.
Srila Gurudeva: Naradaji also said, “You have not explained Vraja-lilas. You have not explained how Krishna after having taken His birth as the son of Nanda and Yashoda; engaged in many pastimes. Krishna would go cow herding with His Gopala-sakhas, play with the Gopis and sometimes gives His head at the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika. You have not mentioned these pastimes. To pacify the Gopis’, despite being the Supreme Lord Himself, Krishna submits to their lotus feet by bowing His head. Krishna is the possessor of all potencies but in Vrindavana, prema makes everyone dance. In Vrindavana, prema predominates, making Radha-Krishna, the devotees, and indeed everyone dance. Prema makes the whole of Vrindavana dance. Leaving that prema, we are wandering here and there. Peace, joy, and tranquility will not be obtained by this way. If you want to attain love at the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna, then serve Krishna by considering Him to be your friend, son, or a beloved. Then you will see for yourself; that all problems have been solved. Don’t consider Krishna to be an ordinary son of a cow herd or a mundane flute-player???and offer all the love of your heart at His lotus feet; if you want happiness and peace.
So Naradaji told Vyasadeva, “If you want to be happy in this world and to be complete in knowledge and in everything, then you will have to make Krishna the repository of all your love and affection. And you will have to describe it any book.”
Vyasadeva replied, “I don’t know anything about this. I don’t know how Krishna took birth in Vraja and performed His pastimes there. So how can I elucidate on this?”
“Okay, by Bhakti yoga you will.”
bhakti-yogena manasi
samyak pranihite ‘male
apasyat purusam purnam
mayam ca tad-apasrayam
—Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.4
[Thus he fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service [bhakti-yoga] without any tinge of materialism, and thus he saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead along with His external energy, which was under full control.]
Situated in bhakti yoga, Vyasadeva prayed, “O Krishna I have surrendered at Your lotus feet. The pastimes You have performed in Vrindavana with the Gopis and Gopas; the pastimes of Brahma, Indra, Sankara, Vayudeva, being illusioned by You; may I have the darshana of all these pastimes. Making his mind and heart steady, Vyasadeva established himself in Samadhi. This Saranagati is the start of bhakti.
One should pray, “I don’t know anything. But I am taking shelter at Your lotus feet. If we become surrendered like this, Krishna???
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
–Bhagavad Gita 18.66
[“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”]
The formula for happiness and peace has been stated in the Bhagavad Gita. “I am nothing, I am like zero, but I am offering myself at Your lotus feet.” Listening to this prayer, Krishna will be happy and mercifully fill the heart with prema. There will be no shortage of anything. Practice this by yourself and see the results. Even if you don’t know anything; just chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and offer pranamas to Krishna. Beseech Him with prayers like, “Krishna, You are my dear friend. You are the support of my life. You are my all-in-all.” Is any money spent in reciting such prayers? Is there any loss at all? You should remember Krishna while cooking, walking, sleeping, sitting, being awake; even while falling down, you should chant, “Rama, Rama, Krishna, Krishna.” There is no need of anything else while chanting. Ajamila was liberated by chanting Bhagavan’s name despite being an abominable sinner. Ajamila was an unqualified, lusty, and a bad person, but by chanting, “Narayana, Narayana” once, he crossed the insurmountable ocean of birth, sorrows, sufferings, and death, forever. Then why can’t we be delivered? So we should also chant.
Now fifty minutes have passed, and the doctors have advised me to not speak as much. Now you should do kirtan. Tomorrow, we will go to the temple.
Gaura Premanande! Hari Haribol!