Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam, Part 5

Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam, Part 5

BY: SUN STAFF

Jun 22, 2010 — CANADA (SUN) — A commentary on Lord Caitanya’s ‘Siksastakam’ by HDG Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, with a Bengali song for each verse that expands upon Mahaprabhu’s devotional moods (Sanskrit, 1886).

 

The forms and features of Transcendence radiate a tender and cooling sheen that is perceivable through the chanting of Krsna’s holy name. In the mundane realm, the body, mind and above them the soul not only become purified by chanting the holy name, but they too gradually and inevitably are touched by the cooling tenderness of the spiritual realm. The subtle and gross contaminations of the material conception of life and the acceptance of false designations have devoured the spirit soul, but all these afflictions can be ended by chanting the holy name. When the soul finds release from material designations, he becomes eager to reach Lord Krsna. He thus engages in devotional service, taking shelter in the cooling shade of the Lord’s lotus feet.

 

In Bhaktisandarbha 273 and in the Kramasandarbha of the Seventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Jiva Goswami writes, ata eva yadyapyanya bhaktih kalau kartavya, tada kirtanakhya- bhakti-samyogenaiva, which means: “Although it is required even in Kaliyuga to practice the other eight limbs of devotional service, they must be performed in conjunction with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.”

 

The contaminations that cover the mirror of consciousness is swept away by chanting the holy name; the holy name is the embodiment of profound spiritual bliss. For example Srila Rupa Goswami writes in the seventh stanza of the Namasthaka –

 

“O holy name! O Lord Krsna! You dissipate the sufferings (offenses against the holy name) of Your surrendered devotees; You possess a transcendental form of ecstatic beauty and bliss and You appear as the figure of sublime joy for the residents of Gokula.

 

“You are therefore a fully spiritual entity of the same spiritual nature as the Vaikuntha planets. I offer my repeated obeisances to You.”

 

The second perfection:

 

“The blazing fire of material existence is extinguished.”

 

In Srimad Bhagavatam it is stated:

 

“Therefore one who desires freedom from material bondage should adopt the process of chanting and glorifying the name, fame, form and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at whose feet all the holy places stand. One cannot derive the proper benefit from other methods, such as pious atonement, speculative knowledge and meditation in mystic yoga, because even after following such methods one takes to fruitive activities again, unable to control his mind, which is contaminated by the base qualities of nature, namely passion and ignorance.”

 

A quote from Skanda Purana appears in Haribhaktivilasa 11.234:

 

“The holy name of Krsna the highest benediction above all other benedictions for humanity, sweeter than the sweet honey, the eternal fruit of transcendental knowledge of the tree of entire sruti scriptures. O best of Bhagavas! If anyone chants Lord Krishna’s name just once without offence, whether he chants with faith or indifferently, the holy name immediately liberates him.”

       #Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam