Prayer XXXVIII

Their Hearts’ Desire

Who can be humbler than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appeared as His own devotee in order to demonstrate to the world how an ideal devotee should behave? Though His associates were aware of His divine identity, and thus always desired to worship Him in a manner befitting the Supreme Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so determined to set an example that He did not allow them to do so. A devotee, He explained, should never consider themselves equal to God or claim that they are God.

Yet on one occasion, due to His great love for His devotees, He relented and allowed them to fulfil their hearts’ desire. And thus, in a grove on the banks of the sacred Gaṅgā, a beautiful ārati ceremony took place. That Gaura-ārati was so glorious that it attracted the minds of all the living entities in the universe. How fortunate Gaṅgā-devī must’ve felt to witness such an astonishing sight!

The radiance of Lord Caitanya’s face surpassed that of many millions of moons, and the garland of fragrant forest flowers that hung from His neck shone brightly.

On Lord Caitanya’s right side stood the ever-merciful Lord Nityānanda, and on His left the gentle Śrī Gadādhara. Nearby stood Śrī Advaita, and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura lovingly held an umbrella over the Lord’s head.

After Lord Caitanya took His place on a jewelled throne, the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, began performing the ārati ceremony. Tears of love were surely flowing from Brahmā’s four pairs of eyes as they did so!

Narahari Sarakāra and other associates of Lord Caitanya fanned their beloved Lord with cāmaras, and devotees headed by Sañjaya Paṇḍita, Mukunda Datta and Vāsudeva Ghoṣa sang melodious kīrtana for His pleasure.

Conch shells, bells and karatālas resounded, and devotees played the mṛdaṅga very sweetly. Indeed, all those who heard the kīrtana considered it to be supremely sweet and relishable.

Exalted devotees like Lord Śiva, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Nārada Muni were all present there, and their voices were choked with the ecstasy of transcendental love. All glories to the ārati ceremony of Lord Caitanya! I pray that one day, we all may be fortunate enough to witness that extraordinary exchange of love.

Prayer XXXVII

The Kindest Master

My dear Lord, today we celebrate Your glorious victory over the demoniac Rāvaṇa. Although that victory appears amazing to us, for You it is not amazing at all. Through the agency of Your energy, You could effortlessly vanquish millions of Rāvaṇas simply by desiring it. However, You choose to personally appear in this material world in order to enjoy Your pastimes and attract the hearts of the conditioned souls. This is Your great mercy upon us.

Rāvaṇa had ten heads and, therefore, ten mouths. As I reflected on that fact this afternoon, it occurred to me that my material senses also appear to have ten mouths – no matter how much I feed them, it is never enough to satisfy their ravenous appetites. They also quickly lose taste for familiar experiences, so I have to go to ever-greater lengths to find new experiences for them to enjoy, sometimes finding myself in situations that I never thought I’d be in. Quite honestly, it’s exhausting to serve such relentless masters, but I still do so anyway, being unable to break free from the chains that bind me.

In stark contrast, my Lord, You are very easily satisfied by the service of Your devotees. When You assumed a gigantic form to accept all the food offered to Govardhana Hill, You repeatedly called for more, so eager were You to taste the love of Your devotees, but when a single tulasī leaf was finally offered to You, You felt completely satisfied. In this way, You demonstrated the truth of Your statement to Arjuna that if one lovingly offers You a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or some water, You gladly accept it. O Lord, who could be a kinder master than You?

In most situations, I know which path I should take, but I often lack the willpower to do so. Dear Kṛṣṇa, please grant me the strength to act according to my higher nature – the nature of the soul – and ignore the incessant demands of my senses. Please help me to increase my desire to serve You and Your devotees, so that it eclipses all other desires.

Prayer XXXVI

Like a River to Her Feet

I have very little figured out in my life at the moment, but I do know for sure that Śrī Rādhikā is the person who gives my life meaning. Although I am currently distracted by so many things, I know that my ultimate goal is to find a place at Her lotus feet. On the surface, material life appears to be very attractive, but a closer look reveals that it is completely hollow and meaningless – now that I have tasted a tiny fraction of the sweetness of Śrī Rādhā’s name, form, qualities and pastimes, surely it is only a matter of time before I lose all interest in such an empty life? Yet if I want to continue growing closer to Her, I need the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu. I therefore offer Them the following prayer:

My dear Lord Caitanya, You are Śrī Kṛṣṇa in His most merciful form; my dear Lord Nityānanda, Your heart is always full of compassion! All glories to You! The goal of my life is to attain the lotus feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, but the ācāryas explain that one cannot approach Her without Your mercy. I therefore beg You to guide the river of my life in such a way that it flows into the ocean of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet.

Prayer XXXV

My Amazing Lord

When my mind becomes carried away by thoughts of how amazing I am, may I remember He who is the most amazing – the cowherd boy who lifted a mighty mountain with a single finger, and who swallowed up a fierce forest fire in order to protect His devotees! Putting aside my pointless pride and extensive ego, may I become absorbed in thought of my amazing Lord.

Prayer XXXIV

Kartik Prayer VI: From Crows to Peacocks

In Chapter 20 of Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “In the rainy season, when the clouds appear for the first time, the peacocks dance with joy upon seeing them. The peacocks can be compared to persons who are very much harassed in the materialistic way of life. If they can find the association of a person engaged in the loving devotional service of the Lord, they become enlightened and dance just like peacocks. We have practical experience of this: many of our students were dry and morose previous to their coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but having come into contact with devotees, they are now dancing like jubilant peacocks.”

I pray that I may always remain in the company of the devotees of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, for by their saintly association, even a dull crow like myself may be transformed into a joyful peacock.

Prayer XXXIII

Kartik Prayer V: The Hidden Reality

In Verse 6 of his Śrī Vraja-vilāsa-stava, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī describes the land of Vraja as follows: “Even today, affectionate Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoys the very sweet nectar of transcendental pastimes there, herding the cows with His brother and His many dear friends. A wonderful sweetness becomes manifest in the heart of they who understand the nectar of this place.”

And in a lecture given in Vṛndāvana on 12th August 1974, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, “These six Gosvāmīs directly got the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore we have to understand this Vṛndāvana-dhāma through the Gosvāmīs.”

My dear Gosvāmīs, you received the full mercy of Lord Gaurāṅga, and thus you were able to understand the dhāma in truth. Without your grace, how can one possibly understand Vṛndāvana, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally engaged in exchanges of love with His pure devotees? One will simply misunderstand the Lord’s pastimes and take them cheaply, considering them to be the activities of an ordinary cowherd boy. And seeing the pollution, concrete and open sewers, one will mistake the dhāma for a material place.

Please teach me how to see beyond the material covering and perceive the reality of Vṛndāvana, so that I may also taste the sweetness of that transcendental realm. O six Gosvāmīs, I beg for your mercy.

Prayer XXXII

Kartik Prayer IV: Let Her Take Over

Every Kartik, Śacīnandana Swami shares daily podcasts to keep devotees inspired. In today’s podcast, he said, “When you are free from desires to try to enjoy this world and you stop making efforts, at that time Rādhārāṇī takes over.”

My dear Rādhikā, rather than accepting Your plans for me, I waste away all my days and nights making pointless plans for material enjoyment. O merciful one, please bless me so that I may lose my desire to enjoy this world and allow You to take control of my life.

Prayer XXXI

Kartik Prayer III: Just One Drop

Dearest Rādhikā, nothing gives more pleasure to Your beautiful ears than the names and glories of Your beloved. I, however, am chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa every day but have yet to develop any taste for such chanting. O Rādhā, I beg You – please breathe life into my mechanical chanting by granting me just one drop of taste for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s holy names.

Prayer XXX

Kartik Prayer II: Rays of Mercy

My dear Rādhārāṇī, You are like the life-giving Sun, for the warming rays of Your mercy shine upon us all. However, having shut myself away from that warmth for many lifetimes, my heart has become a lump of ice.

O Mother, I pray that during this month of Kartik, my cold heart may finally be melted, so that the love which once coursed through it can flow freely once more.

Prayer XXIX

Kartik Prayer I: An Arrow Through the Heart

Dearest Rādhārāṇī, day after day I find myself under attack from the six arrows of lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy, and they never give me any respite. Having grown tired of this daily battle, I beg You: please aim the bow of Your beautiful eyes towards me, so that my heart may be pierced by the arrow of Your merciful glance. Without Your mercy, there is no hope of victory.