Prabhupāda: Vandanam Prayer?
Yamunā: Vandanam Prayer?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Yamunā: . . . (indistinct)
(Prabhupāda sings Vande 'ham)
- yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
- śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
- sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
- śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
Chant.
(Yamunā leads kīrtana)
Prabhupāda:
- kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī
- dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau
You can get up. Can anyone follow on the harmonium, this? Mukunda, you can follow. (sings)
- kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī
- dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau
- śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bhārāvahantārakau
- vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
- (Śrī Śrī Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 1)
(repeats song) (Prabhupāda continues playing karatālas while speaking)
This, today, a devotee is being initiated, so we are praying to the lotus feet of the six Gosvāmīs, who inaugurated this movement under the instruction of Lord Śrī Caitanya. Who are they? Śrī rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau. Just try to chant these six names.
(sings) Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.
Repeat. (devotees chant)
Again. (devotees chant twice more)
Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.
Rūpa, Sanātana, two, vande rūpa-sanātanau; raghu-yugau. There were two Raghunāthas. One Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya and one Raghunātha dāsa. Two Raghunāthas, and Rūpa, Sanātana.
Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau. (repeats with devotees)
Repeat. (devotees chant twice more)
So what was their business? Kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau: always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇotkīrtana. Hare Kṛṣṇa means kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau. Nartana means dancing. So chanting and dancing. That was their business.
(sings)
Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī. And kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, whenever one is merged in kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, that means he is merged into the ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa. That should be the test. As soon as "Kṛṣṇa," this sound is vibrated, one immediately becomes merged into the ocean of love. That is the sign of pure devotion. Immediately. So these Gosvāmīs, they . . . premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī. They merged immediately into the ocean of love of God.
(sings)
- Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī,
- dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau.
And these Gosvāmīs were dear both to the devotees and nondevotees. Not that they were simply liked by the devotees, but nondevotees also liked them. That was their position. A devotee's position is ajāta-śatru: he has no enemy. He has no enemy. Ajāta-śatru. Nirmatsara. Nirmatsara means because they are not envious. A devotee is always open to everyone.
There is no question of discrimination, that "This person should be allowed to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and this person should not be allowed." No. In the material platform there is difference: high, low, man, woman, this or that. But in the spiritual platform there is no such difference. Therefore they were nonenvious, nirmatsara, and because they were nonenvious, pūjitau. Pūjitau means they are worshipable.
A person should be worshipable because he's nonenvious. Śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau: such kind of position can be attained by one who has acquired the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bhārāvahantāra. And such person can deliver the suffering humanity from this material contamination. Therefore we offer our respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvāmīs, Rūpa, Sanātana, two Raghunātha, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī.
(sings along with devotees)
Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.
Repeat.
- Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.
- nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau
- lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau
- rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau
- vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
(Prabhupāda continues playing karatālas while speaking)
Nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau: they were expert in scrutinizingly studying all the scriptures. Nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau. Nipuṇau means expert. Why? Sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau: to establish real religion in the world. Real religion. Just yesterday we have received one letter from Mr. Renovich, Vancouver. He says that the Canadians, they want real religion. That is very good, encouraging. Anyone, if he is anxious to have real religion, for him this is the best thing, this kṛṣṇa-kīrtana-gāna-nartana. So without religion, human society is nothing but animal society. It is simply polished animalism.
So these Gosvāmīs, they made so many books to guide us. You have read Rūpa Gosvāmī's Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. That is the first direction in the line. So they always worked very hard, day and night. Their business was writing books or chanting and dancing. And other necessities—eating, sleeping, mating and fearing—they practically abolished. There was no question of mating; there was no question of fearing. And sleeping, they used to sleep utmost one and a half hour daily in twenty-four hours. And eating, that is also practically nil. When they felt hungry they would go to some householder's home and beg one cāpāṭi or two cāpāṭis. That's all. Finished.