The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California, 1997

 

We must have some moods at the time of ārati. It should not be performed without a mood. When you are making an offering, you will also have to have a mood. It may be the mood of Yaśodā Mā, who is offering everything to Kṛṣṇa and then distributing to all others. Or, if your svarūpa (constitutional position) has the mood of the gopīs and you are very qualified for that, if you have some greed for that, then you can see that Śrīmatī Rādhikā is giving the preparations to Kṛṣṇa.

We should try to follow Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, and all others like them. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has composed the kīrtana (Bhoga Ārati):

bhajô bhakata-vatsala śrī gaurahari
śrī gaurahari sohi goṣṭha-bihārī,
nanda-yaśomatī-citta-hārī

 Śrī Madhyāhna Bhoga Ārati (1)

[“Just worship Śrī Gaurahari, who is very affectionate to His devotees. He is that very Kṛṣṇa who roams the pasturing grounds of Vṛndāvana with His cows and who steals the hearts of Nanda Mahārāja and Mother Yaśodā.”]

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja leads the devotees in singing:)

yaśomatī-nandana, vraja-vara-nāgara,
gokula-rañjana kāna
gopī-parāṇa-dhana, madana-manohara,
kālīya-damana-vidhāna

Yaśomatī-nandana (1)

[“Kṛṣṇa is the beloved son of Mother Yaśodā, the topmost hero of Vraja, the delight of Gokula, and Kāna (an affectionate nickname for Kṛṣṇa). He is the treasure of the lives of the gopīs, the enchanter of Cupid, and the punisher of the serpent Kālīya.”]

At the time of maṅgala-ārati, the gopīs, and especially Lalitā and Viśākhā, are performing the ārati to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Yaśodā Mā does ārati at eight or nine in the morning, just before Kṛṣṇa goes to the forest for cow grazing. By her ārati, she is taking away His ills, sufferings which may come, and all obstacles. Lalitā and Viśākhā do ārati during niśānta (the end of the night), telling Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, “You will have to go to your own houses.” We should know all these truths.

When you chant, you have no taste, and therefore, sleepiness comes. But even if there is no taste, you should force your mind by telling it, “I will not listen to you. I will have to give you a lesson. I will tie my śikhā here, and then, you will have to chant.” This situation is like a boy who does not want to eat, and his mother forces him by hook or crook. She somehow induces him to eat. Similarly, you should induce your mind by telling it, “You will have to chant harināma. I will not give you anything to eat if you have not chanted 16 rounds in the morning, sitting in one place.”

We try to do more than 22 rounds in the morning in one sitting. You should tell your mind, “I will not give you anything to eat, and not even a drop of water to drink, if you do not chant. I know you are a very bad person, so I will whip you.” By this, you will see that after some days, ruci (taste) will come and all diseases will go away. Then, at one sitting, you will be able to chant one lākha (64 rounds) of harināma. There will be no need to go here or there, or to do this or that. No sleepiness or idleness will come.

In between your harināma, you can chant:

he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho
dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta
rādhā-kānta namo ’stu te

 [“O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, You are an ocean of mercy, the friend of the fallen, Lord of the universe, master of the cowherds, beloved of the gopīs, and (above all) the beloved of Śrī Rādhā. I offer praṇāma unto You.”]

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi
rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devi
praṇamāmi hari-priye

[“O Śrī Rādhā, O Gaurāṅgi, whose complexion is like molten gold, You are the queen of Vṛndāvana, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, and the divine goddess, who is most dear to Śrī Hari. I offer praṇāma unto You.”]

Chant in such a mood that tears will come:” O Rādhe! O Kṛṣṇa! O Harināma, you are Kṛṣṇa Himself! O Rādhikā, You Yourself are Hare.” Sit straight and sometimes weep. Then there will be no room for sleep. Also, while doing harināma, from time to time chant:

bhajāmi rādhāṁ  aravinda-netrāṁ
smārami rādhāṁ madhura-smitāsyām
vadāmi rādhāṁ karuṇā-bharādrāṁ
tato mamānyāsti gatir na kāpi

Śrī Stavāvali Śrī Viśākhānandadabhi Stotram (131)

[“I worship Śrīmatī Rādhikā who has lotus-petal eyes, I remember Śrīmatī Rādhikā whose face is sweetly smiling, and I speak of Her whose heart is melting with compassion. My life has no other purpose than serving Her.”]

Where is sleep? Where are kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and mātsarya (lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion and envy)? They will all fly away. Sometimes you can utter, “There is no sinner like me. There is no one as wretched as I. You are giving everything, but I am so wretched that I am unaware of Your mercy.” And sometimes you can chant:

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ

 Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (2)

[“My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as “Kṛṣṇa” and “Govinda,” by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offences while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.”]

Remember the meaning of this śloka and, weeping, pray, “You are endlessly merciful, and I am a wretched person. None is like me. You are the greatest in giving mercy, but I am such a person who does not take your mercy. O Prabhu, I need only Your mercy – nothing else.

nayanaṁ galad-aśru-dhārayā
vadanaṁ gadgada-ruddhayā girā
pulakair nicitaṁ vapuḥ kadā
tava nāma-grahaṇe bhaviṣyati

 Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (6)

 [“My dear Lord, when will My eyes be beautified by filling with tears that constantly glide down as I chant Your holy name? When will My voice falter and all the hairs on My body stand erect in transcendental happiness as I chant Your holy name?”]

When weeping in this way, where is lust, anger, greed and so on? They will fly away, and there will be no idleness, sleepiness, or any other material impediment. You will be able to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa for hours. Test this yourself. After some time, you will be able to see that parama-pūjyapāda Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja came to give this mood, and it will automatically come. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not mean to control anyone – only your mind is to be controlled. Do not try to control anyone; only try to control your bad mind. Do not criticise anyone. Give honour to others, thinking, “They are all more advanced than I am. I am the most wretched.” Criticise your mind and the bad activities you have performed. With this mood, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

You can also think, “Why are my tears not coming? Why is my heart not melting? My heart is harder than stone, iron, and steel. O nāma, you are my only help, and yet I think, ‘I am such a bona fide Vaiṣṇava or guru; I am now an ācārya. I can control everyone.’ Oh, what to do?”

Then:

yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa
cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam
śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ
govinda-viraheṇa me

Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (7)

[“My Lord Govinda, because of separation from You, I consider even a moment a great millennium. Tears flow from My eyes like torrents of rain, and I see the entire world as void”]

You can think, “That mood is not here, but I want to follow. I want to have that mood – a greed to follow the pure devotees in the line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.” And then chant, thinking:

āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām
adarśanān marma-hatāṁ karotu vā
yathā tathā vā vidadhātu lampaṭo
mat-prāṇa-nāthas tu sa eva nāparaḥ

 Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam (8)

 [“Let Kṛṣṇa tightly embrace this maidservant who has fallen at His lotus feet, or let Him trample Me or break My heart by never being visible to Me. He is a debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but still He alone, and no one else, is the worshipable Lord of My heart.”]

Who is uttering this? Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is uttering the entire Śikṣāṣṭakam, and only very rare persons – bona fide Vaiṣṇavas – can give all these impressions in your heart. Such a person is actually a śikṣā-guru.

We have to learn everything – how to do bhajana, how to do arcana, how to make offerings, and how to do this systematically, with mantras. If we do not do this with the proper mantras, we will not progress.

It is stated in the Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, with reference to the Purāṇas, that if you are not practising proper vaidhī-bhakti with proper mantras and so on, then the bhoga is not offered, or the ārati, etc., is not accomplished.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)