The following is a transcription of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja’s explanation of the song Śrī Madhurāṣṭakam by Śrī Vallabhācārya, in Holland, on July 9, 2000

 

Śrī Madhurāṣṭakam

adharaṁ madhuraṁ vadanaṁ madhuraṁ
nayanaṁ madhuraṁ hasitaṁ madhuram
hṛdayaṁ madhuraṁ gamanaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (1)

His lips are sweet, His face is sweet, His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet, His heart is sweet, His gait is sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

vacanaṁ madhuraṁ caritaṁ madhuraṁ
vasanaṁ madhuraṁ valitaṁ madhuram
calitaṁ madhuraṁ bhramitaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (2)

His voice is sweet, His character is sweet, His attire is sweet, His speech is sweet, His movements are sweet, His wandering is sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

veṇur madhuro reṇur madhuraḥ
pāṇir madhuraḥ pādo madhuraḥ
nṛtyaṁ madhuraṁ sakhyaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (3)

His flute is sweet, His foot-dust is sweet, His hands are sweet, His feet are sweet, His dancing is sweet, His friendship is sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

gītaṁ madhuraṁ pītaṁ madhuraṁ
bhuktaṁ madhuraṁ suptaṁ madhuram
rūpaṁ madhuraṁ tilakaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (4)

His singing is sweet, His drinking is sweet, His eating is sweet, His sleeping is sweet, His beauty is sweet, His tilaka is sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

karaṇaṁ madhuraṁ taraṇaṁ madhuraṁ
haraṇaṁ madhuraṁ ramaṇaṁ madhuram
vamitaṁ madhuraṁ śamitaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (5)

His deeds are sweet, His acts of deliverance are sweet, His stealing is sweet, His amorous play is sweet, His yawning is sweet, and even His chastisements are sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

guñjā madhurā mālā madhurā
yamunā madhurā vīcī madhurā
salilaṁ madhuraṁ kamalaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (6)

His garland of guñja is sweet, His garland is sweet, His Yamunā River is sweet, and her waves, water, and lotuses are all sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

gopī madhurā līlā madhurā
yuktaṁ madhuraṁ bhuktaṁ madhuram
hṛṣṭaṁ madhuraṁ śliṣṭaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (7)

His gopīs are sweet, His pastimes are sweet, His paraphernalia and ornaments are sweet, His food is sweet, His delight is sweet, His embrace is sweet— everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

gopā madhurā gāvo madhurā
yaṣṭir madhurā sṛṣṭir madhurā
dalitaṁ madhuraṁ phalitaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram (8)

His gopas are sweet, His cows are sweet, His staff is sweet, His creation is sweet, His defeating of demons is sweet, and His bestowal of fruits is sweet—everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.

Kṛṣṇa’s beauty is sweet, His mother, Yaśodā, is sweet, and His father is sweet. Especially His flute is very sweet when He plays on it and smiles with His very sweet and crooked side-long glance. Even the stick which He uses for cow grazing is very sweet. His Yamunā is very sweet-crooked, but very sweet, and the dancing of peacocks is also sweet. When Kṛṣṇa speaks, it is so sweet. Do you know who is the sweetest sweet? The gopīs are very sweet. Lalitā and Viśākhā and the other eight principle gopīs are so sweet. Among them, Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the sweetest of the sweet. Kṛṣṇa’s going anywhere for cow herding is very sweet, and His calling of the cows – Kālindī, Dhavalī, Śyāmalī – is so very sweet. Everything about Him is sweet. Even His stick, which is three-folded, that is, bent in three places, is sweet. His glancing is sweet, and it penetrates the hearts of all the gopīs.

Why are you not coming? If you want to be sweet – forever – then at once come with us. Don’t waste your time. At once. What are you doing? You can relish the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa. There may be so many reasons for not coming to Vṛndāvana: you have your job to maintain your life and sense gratification.

You are still not chanting the very sweet, pure Name with rasika Vaiṣṇavas. Vaiṣṇavas are sweet. Their speaking is sweet and their association is sweet – because they are always explaining sweet, sweet and sweet hari-kathā. You cannot realize all these things from your platform, so come with the rasika Vaiṣṇavas. Where? To Vṛndāvana. And be sweet, so that Kṛṣṇa can relish your sweetness. Try to be qualified for this, and in this way your life will be successful. In Vṛndāvana there are no problems – in the real Vṛndāvana. If you go to Vṛndāvana, where are you going? You are going to be covered by the net of māyā. We should try to pray, “O Yogamāyā, please take away the net”.

We want to relish the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa. You can only do that there, in the real Vṛndāvana, where there are no problems. There is no old age, no death, and no pain there. Try to be qualified, and try to be actually in Vṛndāvana – as Kṛṣṇa grazes His cows. When He returns from cow herding, all the gopīs assemble to see and taste His sweetness. Also, they themselves are so sweet that Kṛṣṇa wants to taste their sweetness. Be sweet, taste sweet honey, and be honey. Be like this. You should try to chant in such a way that you will become like this.

This song was written by Vaiṣṇava poet Vallabhācārya.

These are not speculations. They are reality. But you will have to come to this stage in order to realize them. Always follow Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:

tan-nāma-rūpa-caritādi-sukīrtanānu-
smṛtyoḥ krameṇa rasanā-manasī niyojya
tiṣṭhan vraje tad-anurāgi-janānugāmī
kālaṁ nayed akhilam ity upadeśa-sāram

Nectar of Instruction, verse 8

“The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one’s full time – twenty-four hours a day – in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord’s divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one’s tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vṛndāvana-dhāma] and serve Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.”

Don’t waste a single moment; then you will realize. Otherwise what will you think? “Oh, this is bogus.” Thus, after some time you will give up chanting and remembering. You should not waste your time. Go on with full strength, strong faith and your whole energy. Now old age is coming, embracing so many of you. Old age could not touch Nārada. He jumped out of her embrace. To where? To the transcendental world, from where he could not fall. Death is coming; you have to die very soon. Don’t waste time. Follow Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and follow your Gurudeva.

I am inviting you to come to Vṛndāvana for Kārtika, which is coming in a few months. Vraja Maṇḍala parikramā, the circumambulation of Vraja Maṇḍala, will begin on October 12; and it will be very sweet. I am also inviting you all to Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā for Gaura Pūrṇimā. You should come there, and we will arrange everything there for you.

(Source: Purebhakti.com)

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