Essential Practices and Chanting of Mantras

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: The material cause...

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: And the efficient cause. The material and efficient causes.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: What is the meaning of efficient?

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: The doer and the...

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Let us take the example of an earthen pot. The earth, both raw and baked, is upādāna; and the man himself is nimitta.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: The potter.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: We can also take the example of the thread, or other materials. They are upādāna-kāraṇa.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: The immediate cause?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: In the matter of cosmic creation, Karanadakasaiyi-Viṣṇu is nimitta-kāraṇa, and Advaita Ācārya is upādānakāraṇa. Do you understand?

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: We were recently teaching this in Brahma-saṃhitā class.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: The creation of the material world has two causes–nimitta and upādāna–of which upadhana is more important. The ingredient, or eminent, cause (upādāna) is prakṛti, and the instrumental cause (nimitta) is Karanadakasayi-Viṣṇu. Here in Rāgavartma-candrikā, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura tells us about the upādāna-kāraṇa (eminent, or prominent, cause) of greed. One eminent cause is śravaṇam, hearing from our dīkṣā or śikṣā gurudeva about Kṛṣṇa: that Kṛṣṇa who is a beautiful teenage youth, who looks extremely sweet as He holds His flute to His lips, and who inspires gopī-prema. Guru will also tell us about those particular gopīs, namely Rūpa Māñjarī and all of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s other māñjarīs, who are the āśraya (abode) of that gopīprema for which we aspire. We should remember them and talk about all of their activities, and we should also go to all the places of their pastimes.

Burijana dāsa: Līlā-sthāna.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: We should go to the līlā-sthāna, the places of their pastimes, such as Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa, Girirāja Govardhana, Vṛndāvana, and Vaṃśivaṭa. Such devotional services are upādāna-kāraṇa, essential practices, which will hastily bring us to our goal.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: And nimitta?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: I was just about to say; some practices are nimitta-kāraṇa, such as putting on tilaka, wearing...

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Kanti-mala.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Wearing kanti-mala, and taking sannyāsa and wearing saffron cloth. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura is gradually clarifying the subject matter. Some practices are upakarak.

Do you know the meaning of upakarak?

Burijana dāsa: Primary. Is ‘primary’ the proper translation for this word? Primary means ‘completely necessary.’

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Upakāraka means that if you engage in those practices your bhakti will progress, you will gain; and if you don’t, you will be the loser. Such practices include reading ŚrīmadBhāgavatam and similar Vaiṣṇava literature. [Upakarak means ‘beneficial,’ and therefore it refers to both upādāna-kāraṇa, and nimitta-kāraṇa practices.] Gurūpadasraya (taking shelter of the bona fide guru), mantrajapa (chanting mantras), dhyānā (meditation), hearing and remembering–these practices are bhāva-sambandhi upādāna-kāraṇa. These practices are necessary, and in all such practices it is essential to always keep in the center the root bhāva for which we have greed–dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya or mādhurya. In sādhana (the stage of practice), that bhāva (abhista-bhāva) is unripe, and in the siddha stage (the stage of perfection), it is ripe.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Still, the idea of upādāna and nimitta is not clear yet.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: First is bhāva-mayi, actual greed for that particular mood: māñjarī-bhāva. Second is bhāva-sambandhi, which is upādāna-kāraṇa–engaging in those essential practices which quickly give that mood. Without gurūpadasraya, one cannot attain this greed. Hearing from Śrī Guru and serving him are essential practices, and are therefore called upādāna-kāraṇa bhāva-sambandhi. To remember the gopāla-mantra, kama-gāyatrī, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mantra are all bhāva-sambandhi. When remembering klīm gauraya svāhā, will we utter words only? Something should come in our hearts; that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, and that His kindness is causeless. He is always in a mood to give kṛṣṇa-prema through His mantra, klīm gauraya svāhā. To that Gaurāṅga, in order to attain His service, we offer ourselves by the word svāhā. We are therefore advised to chant all these gāyatrī mantras given to us by guru–three times every day.

This is also upādānakāraṇa. We must do this.

निजाभीष्ट कृष्ण-प्रेष्ठ पाछेतऽलागिया
निरन्तर सेवा करे अन्तर्मना हञा

nijābhīṣṭa kṛṣṇa-preṣṭha pācheta'lāgiyā
nirantara sevā kare antarmanā hañā

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.159

Actually, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana are very dear to Kṛṣṇa. If one wants to engage in spontaneous loving service, he must follow the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and constantly engage in devotional service within his mind.

Following one of Kṛṣṇa’s beloved associates according to his inner desire, the sādhaka always chants the mahā-mantra. This is upādāna-kāraṇa–not only chanting, but remembering the qualities of kṛṣṇa-nāma. What qualities? The qualities of Rāma [meaning Rādhā-ramana] in “Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.” In “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” “Hare” is Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Harati kunje iti hare kṛṣṇam harati. This means that Kṛṣṇa is attractive to all, but Śrīmatī Rādhikā attracts Kṛṣṇa and enchants Him in the nikuñja. She is therefore Madana-mohana Mohinī, the enchantress of the enchanter of Cupid. Meditating in this way, we chant harināma.

The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is a siddha-mantra, and therefore no anusthana (ceremony) of puraścaraṇa (preliminary purificatory procedures) need be performed along with its utterance. Chanting the mantra in this way is a practice of bhāva-sambandhi (that practice which quickly gives its performer his cherished goal), and therefore such chanting is upādāna-kāraṇa (essential practice). Nimitta-kāraṇa practices are not bhāva-sambandhi.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains about the aṣṭa-daśākṣara (eighteen-syllable) mantra, and the daśākṣara (ten-syllable) mantra that Caitanya Mahāprabhu received from his Gurudeva. With the addition of klīm kṛṣṇāya govindāya, the mantra is aṣṭa-daśākṣara, and with only gopijana vallabhāya svāhā it is a daśākṣara mantra.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: The last thing you just said–can you clarify that further please?

Burijana dāsa: The mantra that Mahāprabhu received?

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What does daśākṣara mean?

Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Gopijana-vallabhāya svāhā is the daśākṣara mantra.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Ten-syllable mantra.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Without klīm.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What is the mantra?

Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Your guru has given this to you, and I have also given it: gopijana-vallabhaya svāhā.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: But no klīm.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Klīm is not counted within the ten syllables; it is separate. It is the bīja-mantra; the bīja itself is a mantra, and it has combined with the other syllables.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What happened to kṛṣṇāya govindāya?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: With the addition of these two words and klīm, the mantra becomes an eighteen-syllable mantra. Some persons say that there are twenty-four syllables in the kāma-gāyatrī, and others say there are twenty-six, but when Rādhikā gave the correct information in the svapna (dream)...

Burijana dāsa: In a dream to Viśvanātha Cakravati...

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Then he knew...

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Twenty-four and a half syllables. He knew what that half syllable is.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: These mantras are also bhāvasambandhi, and hearing and telling about Kṛṣṇa with His dear ones are also bhāva-sambandhi. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that in rāgānuga there are two primary activities–smaraṇa (remembering) and kīrtana (chanting). In this regard which is superior, kīrtana or smaraṇa?

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Smaraṇa.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: You say that smaraṇa is superior?

Burijana dāsa: Bṛhat-Bhāgavatāmṛta clearly says that kīrtana is superior.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī explains that smaraṇa seems to be superior, but for Kālī-yuga it has been declared, “Harer nāma, harer nāma, harer nāma eva kevalam.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has come only for kīrtana, and those who engage in kīrtanayajña (harināma saṅkīrtana) are called sumedhasah.

कृष्ण-वर्णं त्विषाकृष्णं साङ्गोपाङ्गास्त्र-पार्षदम्
यज्ञैह् सङ्कीर्तन-प्रायैर् यजन्ति हि सु-मेधसह्

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṃ tviṣākṛṣṇaṃ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaih saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasah

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 11.5.32

In the age of Kālī, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.

In this śloka, the word sumedhasa means very....

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Intelligent.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Here, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that what Caitanya Mahāprabhu has decided is the decided fact. Therefore smaraṇa is not superior; rather it is in the anugatya of kīrtana (it follows kīrtana). Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has explained in his Bṛhat-bhāgavatāmṛta why this is so; but sahajiyā bābājīs do not follow his idea. He has especially written that smaraṇa should be executed under the supervision of saṅkīrtana. When a person is engaged in remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, if there is any noise or if we would loudly chant saṅkīrtana, that person’s concentration would be interrupted. If that person is pure, even if we loudly chant kīrtana, his silent meditation would not be disturbed.

On the other hand, even if a person’s mind is very cancal...

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: Flickering.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Even if his mind is flickering, if he performs loud kīrtana, then all his senses are bound to become silent. Therefore, chanting and remembering together is bhāva-sambandhi. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura refers us to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s book, Śrī Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, which discusses the ṛṣis who performed tapasyā. Do you know the meaning of tapasyā?

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja and Dhanurdhara Mahārāja: Austerities.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: We should not think that in this regard ‘austerities’ means surrounding oneself by fire in the summer, taking bath in very very cold water in the winter, not eating, taking a vow of silence, or accepting any other such bodily hardships. Here, ‘austerities’ refers to arādhāna, worship. Sixty-thousand ṛṣis performed arādhāna by mind, and by the grace of Lord Rāmacandra, all of them became gopīs.

So these practices are all bhava-sambandhi.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: When you mentioned before that kīrtana is superior to smaraṇam, does this kīrtana mean japa (chanting softly on beads), or does it mean congregational chanting with many people doing kīrtana together?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Which one is not important? The important thing is having greed, being in the anugatya (under the guidance) of a rasika Vaiṣṇava, remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa while chanting by tongue, and being in Vṛndāvana by body or by mind. This type of kīrtana is best. If our Gurujī is performing kīrtana and we have participated in that, our kīrtana will not be the same as his, because we are not equal to him. He is remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and weeping, but we are not doing so. We are only singing along with him; our chanting is not the same.

Chanting may be of two types: vyakti-gata and the other is samasti-gata.

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: Individual and congregational.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Yes, ‘individual and congregational.’ Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was performing kīrtana ‘individually,’ alone; but when he was chanting with Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s kīrtana party, that chanting was not individual. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke with Rāya Rāmānanda, their discussion was ‘individual.’ Nimitta-kāraṇa practices include vratas (vows, religious observances), such as Ekādaśī vrata and Janmāṣṭamī vrata, and performing any austerity for Kṛṣṇa–while having that greed.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: But why the comparison with upādāna and nimitta? Why is he choosing these two words–upādānakāraṇa and nimitta–to explain the difference between these two groups?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Upādāna-kāraṇa practices must certainly be performed. If we do not perform nimitta-kāraṇa practices at any time, it is harmful, but not as harmful as the neglect of upādānakāraṇa practices.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: You gave the example that upādānakāraṇa is the clay and nimitta may be the potter.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Without the potter, and without earth, nothing can be done; but the earth is especially crucial, and therefore upādāna is superior. Hearing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and serving Gurudeva are upādāna-kāraṇa, and these other practices are secondary.

Burijana dāsa: ‘Primary and secondary’ is the proper translation. One is supportive, or secondary. Nimitta means ‘it supports,’ and upādāna means ‘the basis,’ or ‘the primary.’

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: That’s what it means here; but when describing creation, those two words are not used.

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: It is the same, though.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: It is not same, but similar.

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: One is the ingredient. Without the ingredient, you cannot cause anything; so it is more important.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: If anyone says that we should not observe Ekādaśī–like Hita-Hari-vāṃśa–this is not right.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What do you mean?

Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We must observe Ekādaśī and Janmāṣṭamī, even though they are nimitta-kāraṇa, and even though they are not as important as the practices which quickly induce internal absorption. Ekādaśī, Janmāṣṭamī and similar observances, like placing tilaka marks on the body, are beneficial for remembering the main objective. They support the practices of bhāva-sambandhi, which in turn leads to abhiṣṭa-bhāva-mayi.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: Can you repeat that one more time please?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: First is abhiṣṭa-bhāva-mayi, and then bhāva-sambandhi. The practices of bhāva-sambandhi are superior to those of nimitta-kāraṇa. The bhāva-sambandhi practices are the mūlakāraṇa, the main cause, in the development of abhiṣṭa-bhāva-mayi, and Ekādaśī, Janmāṣṭamī etc. are secondary.

Dhanurdhara Svāmī: If the secondary practice is not present, still the primary cause is sufficient?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: Suppose someone gives stress on Ekādaśī, Janmāṣṭamī and Rāmā-navamī, but that person is not hearing hari-kathā, chanting, and remembering; the injunction that Ekādaśī is secondary is for him.

What is the harm in neglecting Ekādaśī? For one who has greed, and is so engaged in bhāva-mayi or bhāva-sambandha that he is unaware of the day, there is no harm. Vāṃśīdāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is an example of this. He was observing Ekādaśī for three or four days, for example, on Aṣṭamī (the eighth day of the moon) and Navamī (the ninth day of the moon). Then, when Ekādaśī (the eleventh day of the moon) came, he was completely unaware of the day. Similarly, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī would be internally absorbed in remembering his services in the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa for many days, and Ekādaśī would go by at that time. Because these two mahā-bhāgavatas were performing rāgānuga-bhajana, there was no harm in their missing Ekādaśī. However, if one misses Ekādaśī when one is externally conscious, this would be very harmful for his bhakti.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: What is the difference between bhāva-mayi and bhāva-sambandhi? What is the distinction?

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: I have told you all these things.

Śrīpāda Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja: I know, but I got confused on the point when you went into the differences between upādāna and nimitta, and how they refer to each one.

Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja: First I explained abhiṣṭa-bhāvamayi, which may be in an unripe or ripe stage. In the stage of sādhana it is the absorption that “We are gopīs;” and in the siddha stage we will actually become gopīs. In both cases, it is abhiṣṭa-bhāva-mayi. Next is bhāva-sambandhi upādāna-kāraṇa. These are activities we must perform, like hearing and remembering. These practices must not be neglected for any reason. Regarding nimitta-kāraṇa practices, if we cannot follow them under certain circumstances, it is not harmful; therefore it is considered secondary. Vāṃśīdāsa Bābājī Mahārāja or Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī were fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa-līlā for so many days, and Ekādaśī came and left during that time of absorption. For them there was no harm. On the other hand, if there are occasions that we do not follow it, this is harmful for us. That is why nimitta-kāraṇa is called ‘secondary.’

(Excerpts of transcribed recordings end here)