Bengali Hymn.

Hoorah for podcasts! Well, maybe "hoorah" is a bit too enthusiastic in this case, as the quality isn't perfect; but they're still very good to listen to. These two are from our recent Gaura-Purnima festival; Gopal hari sings a song by Narottama das Thakura. "Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Sri Gauranga" and comments on it afterwards (there's the tail end of a previous kirtan just before this song begins.) Gopal is a very good kirtaniyah - as I'm sure you will agree!

The second is Gopal's talk "From Bengal to Belfast" - the spreading of Lord Chaitanya's sankirtan movement. Many thanks to Lal-krishna for his technical help with these. And I hope you enjoy listening to them.

St. Patrick's Day Offering.

It's a bit late to be sure, but not for want of trying!

We thought St. Patrick would like this. Our temple-musician, Vrajesvari devi, has rendered Lord Chaitanya's eight poems - the Shikshastakam - into verse and sung them to a stirring Irish tune, accompanied by guitar.

"Because love of country means wanting the best for one's country-folk, and Lord Chaitanya has put the essence of all happiness and love of God into these verses. By chanting the sacred names of God, as he advises, we can overcome unhappiness and frustration and learn to respect and live peacefully with everyone."

You can listen to it here: Vrajesvari Sings Shikshastakam. And the words are below.

All glories to Sri Sankirtana, the benediction moon
The blissful transcendental chant will cleanse the heart right soon
Samsara's wheel of birth and death, this shackle let us burn
And fully taste the nectar chant for which our hearts do yearn

O transcendental Lord, rain down Your mercy and Your grace.
The Name of Krishna and Govinda saves this human race
The gateway to the Lord of Lords is the chanting of His Name
T'is the only blessing of this age, thus let me chant the same.

With humble mind and lowly heart, as the Holy Name you speak
More tolerant than the sheltering tree, or the straw upon the street.
And full respect we're offering to the people that we see,
So in this way, we'll chant the Name of Krishna constantly.

Almighty Lord, life after life,Your servant would I be.
No wealth do I desire, likewise no female company.
I ask for no material boon, nor to grant me liberty
To this devotional cause I pledge as your servant endlessly.

O son of Nanda Maharaja! eternally I will serve
You are my only happiness, how will I deserve
Oh rescue me from this deep sea, from bondage set me free,
And at your lotus feet, dear Lord, an atom let me be.

Oh when, on chanting Krishna's names will tears flow from my eyes.
Oh when on chanting Names of God, will ecstasies arise.
Oh universal Lord, when will You pour Your grace on me?
At recitation of Your name Your bliss will nectar be.

At separation from Govinda, how my tears do pour,
And every moment we're apart is like ten years or more.
I feel all vacant in this world, which is not home to me.
Govinda, O Govinda, let your Name my watchword be.

No-one but Krishna do I know, Him unconditionally,
And ever so shall He remain, though He treat me carelessly,
And even if He break my heart by vanishing from me,
It's Krishna first and Krishna last, and Him eternally.

Gaura's Trumpets and Radha-dendrons.

Daffodils? No, no - they're Gaura's trumpets!

A few years ago, at one of our temple gardening-days, we sat around at lunch-time, musing about the names of flowers and trees. There are many flowers and plants named after Christian saints, or biblical scenes, such as Jacob's Ladder and Solomon's Seal or St. John's wort. And several after Our Lady, the mother of Christ, such as marigolds (Mary-golds) and the Madonna lily. There's also a Pasque flower which blooms at Easter, a Christmas rose and a Passion flower.

In our country, centuries ago, the Bible was the only book which most people knew of, and hearing, or reading only stories from the Bible, they naturally saw the world around them in terms of those stories.

This seemed to us such a nice thing to do - to name things around us in such a way that our thoughts will always be led back to God. It would help our meditation on Krishna, to see everything connected with Him in this way; Why not be inventive, and rename the world? Well, maybe not all of it, but we could start with a few flowers: daffodils immediately became 'Gaura's trumpets', because they always bloom around the time of Lord Chaitanya's feast-day and look like golden trumpets heralding His arrival. The Rhododenrons became 'Radha-dendrons'; and the marigolds we grow for making garlands for Radha-Madhava we call 'gopi-golds' after the cowherd girls of Vraja - who love Krishna the most. And the idea works; these flowers now seem more intimately a part of Krishna's world.

One thought, dear to our hearts, was to have a rose named after Srila Prabhupada. It's possible to ask a rose-breeder to do that, but you have to pay several thousand pounds for it. Maybe one day! We think it should be of a delicate saffron colour, with a strong, sweet fragrance.

I wonder if any of our readers from more distant places would tell us of similar traditions in their own countries. We'd be very interested to know. I've heard of an Arjuna tree in India, and there must be many more such folk-names relating flowers to Krishna and His friends.

Photos: " Radha-dendrons" and "Gaura's Trumpets" blooming now in the temple garden.

Lord Chaitanya on the BBC.

Lord Chaitanya gave a rare appearance on BBC radio yesterday, on His festival-day. Shaunaka Rishi Das, former temple-president of Belfast Temple, has been invited to present a series of Prayers for the Day; his first went out on Gaura-Purnima.

Lord Chaitanya doesn't appear much in the media, at present. We look forward to the time when His teachings, philosophy and sublime example of love of God are more often presented and discussed there. And that may depend partly on our sincere work on His behalf; developing in ourselves the attractive qualtities of a pure Vaishnava and learning how to present Lord Chaitanya to a Western audience.

Anyway, here is the transcript of Shaunaka's broadcast: and you can hear it as well here.

"Good Morning. Today in England small groups of Hindus, from the Vaishnava denomination, gather together to celebrate the saint Shri Chaitanya, who lived in India 500 years ago. Shri Chaitanya is renowned for his beautiful chanting of the names of God, and his inspiring personal example of humility.

There's something about humility. Once you claim you have it you've lost it. Yet, it's such a universal principle, appreciated by every culture in the world. And we all have our humbling experiences.

I have one that happened on live TV news. The interview was going well. One of those, "Where was God during the tsunami?" interviews. Questions coming thick and fast but I was ready for all angles, on top of my game. Yes, I was as proud as a peacock. Then one of my front teeth, a crown - that has stayed religiously in place for 25 years in my head - fell out in mid-theological flow. There I was defending God, in all my righteousness, only to be reminded that my pride is as false as my front tooth. I survived to tell the tale - we usually do.

But if we can honestly reflect on these experiences we will find them most instructive. They will help mould good character and nurture wisdom.

We can practice being humble. We can pause with Sri Chaitanya, that exemplar of humility, as he prays for strength to - serve God and creation in a humble state of mind, thinking ourselves lower than the straw in the street - more tolerant than a tree- ready to offer all respect to others and expect none for ourselves. In such a state of mind we can serve the Lord constantly. Hare Krishna."

My First Gaura-Purnima Festival.

Padma-malini dasi, former President of the Belfast Temple wrote this about her first Gaura-Purnima. Padma is presently teaching art at a school in Luton.

My first experience of celebrating the appearance of Lord Chaitanya had a profound and lasting effect on my life. Although it was almost twelve years ago, I clearly remember how the Hare Krishna mantra touched me and strengthened my faith in the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna is present in His name and within His name there is the unlimited pleasure that we all want but usually run away from. I was fortunate to somehow catch a glimpse of the inner contentment and closeness to God that chanting can bring.

Half-way through my degree course in Belfast I took a year out to focus on my spiritual education. I had spent three years at a reputable university yet wanted more. I wanted to learn about more metaphysical and philosophical topics, and to bring more discipline into my life. I was attracted to Srila Prabhupada’s uncomplicated presentation of eastern philosophy and its practical application, and so decided to take time out from university to attend a one year residential course at the Belfast ISKCON temple.

Life in the temple was different. Rising before 4am daily to attend temple services and engage in meditation and prayer—how often had I gone to bed at this time as a student! Apart from assisting with various duties in the temple, my day was filled with classes and personal study. Not only was there so much information to learn, relating to the tradition but also codes of etiquette and guidelines that covered numerous aspects of life. I learned so much and began to feel energised and cleansed of my short yet intense spurt of student life.

Half-way through my course we began to prepare for Gaura Purnima, the celebration of the birth of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We learned about His life and teachings, and how He introduced the congregational chanting of Hare Krishna. Preparations for the festival started months in advance, ranging from sending invitations to finalising menus. A ten-hour sponsored kirtana was organized to encourage congregational members to chant together for an extended period on this auspicious festival day, as Lord Chaitanya had done daily with associates and disciples. Read more ...

Golden Things.

A collage of golden things, which can all be seen around the time of Gaura-purnima. In the centre is the beautiful Lord Chaitanya from the Pancha Tattva deities in Mayapur.

Most of our readers know that Lord Chaitanya is golden-complexioned and has many 'golden' names such as Gauranga - golden limbed, Gaurachandra - golden moon and Gaura-natha-raj - great golden dancer. But some may not, so I thought I'd better mention it!

"May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Sachidevi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love." Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 1.4

Belfast Hare Krishna Temple.

Discovering Lord Chaitanya.

Our first encounter with Lord Chaitanya and His sankirtana movement is a very special time for devotees. Most of us grew up never having heard of either of Them, yet suddenly this becomes the most important thing in our lives - an understanding and an experience which we can never turn our backs on. There are two pieces of writing on this subject which you might like to read, on the way to Gaura-purnima. Here's the first:

Yadunandana das, a Vaishnava monk from Spain, Principle of Bhaktivedanta College , relates his first encounters with Lord Chaitanya's sankirtana movement.

When I first came in contact with the Hare Krishna movement, the personality of Sri Chaitanya intrigued and attracted me. Having being trained as a Catholic in my childhood, I had great appreciation and feeling for Jesus, although I was not practicing his teachings very much. To hear and read about Sri Chaitanya evoked in my heart some of those feelings I had experienced during my confirmation, but in an increased way. I liked that Sri Chaitanya had shown the path to spiritual perfection by giving up everything to serve the Lord and that he widely disseminated the chanting of the holy name.

In those beginning days, I used to read and re-read Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to Srimad-Bhagavatam, in which he wrote a summary of the life of Sri Chaitanya. In the description, I learned that Sri Chaitanya had been a great scholar almost from his childhood and had astounded and humbled great intellectual and spiritual champions of his time such as Kesava Kasmiri, Prakasananda Sarasvati, and Sarvabhauma-Bhattacharya. These influential, renowned philosophers and teachers became followers of Sri Chaitanya or, at least, accepted the Vaisnava teachings after meeting him. It was amazing to read, that in spite of being such a prodigious scholar, Sri Chaitanya had written only eight verses. The translations of these verses appeared at the end of Srila Prabhupada’s summary; I used to enjoy their poetry and deep spiritual feeling. They express the greatness of God and how tiny we are in comparison to Him and yet, how a very intense, sweet—sometimes bittersweet—relationship develops between the Lord and His devotee. I felt moved by those sublime expressions. I saw it, and still see it, as an ideal to be achieved: deep, loving attachment to God and open and honest communication with Him.

Later on, when I became a novice in a Hare Krishna temple in Spain , I would recite those same verses every morning, both in Sanskrit and Spanish, as part of the morning spiritual programme. Now, after 27 years, I still derive great inspiration from them. These eight verses of instruction, embody the teachings and mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They reveal the process of pure love of Godhead, bhakti, and the congregational chanting of the holy name of Krsna (sankirtana) as the best method for spiritual perfection in this difficult age. In the first verse, Sri Chaitanya expresses the purpose of his advent on earth. He says: “Let there be all victory to the Sri-Krishna-sankirtana”. Sri Chaitanya is described by Srila Prabhupada as the great apostle of love of God and the father of congregational chanting. Every day Sri Chaitanya would go into the streets with his devotee companions and perform public congregational chanting of the holy name, inspiring other people to join in. He requested His followers to do the same for the benefit of others.

The first time I heard congregational chanting, was in a small room my friends and I had rented in the cultural centre of my hometown. We had a youth group for research about yoga and the paranormal. That day, when I came into the room, two or three of my friends were there, euphorically singing, accompanied by hand cymbals and a little metal box, which they used as a drum. They had not taken any drugs nor drunk any alcohol. They were simply singing with their hearts and voices, bodies moving from side to side, following the rhythm of the chanting and the instruments, their faces beaming. When I entered the room I felt my whole being caught up in an intense, spiritual happiness. This was not ordinary singing or music. It was full of tangible, spiritual power.

Some weeks later, I went to the temple in Barcelona for the first time. I was already chanting the Hare Krishna mantra on my beads, reciting sixteen rounds of 108 mantras every day and my friends and I used to meet regularly and have our kirtanas (chanting sessions), sometimes in one of our yoga rooms, which we had transformed into a temple, and other times in a nearby forest or park. Still, when I took part in my first kirtana in the temple, with all the temple devotees gathered and their enthusiastic and graceful dancing, the experience was even stronger. I felt immersed in an ocean of bliss. This may sound like an exaggerated expression, but I have no better words to describe it. After that kirtana I decided: “I want to come here and live with these people”. Since it was my first time in the temple, I had not made any friends. Yet, the experience was so powerful that it increased my desire to follow Sri Caitanya’s teachings and mission.

During the week, I could hardly wait for the weekend, to go to the temple, which was thirty kilometres from my hometown, to join the devotees and sing and dance with them, and to experience the happiness of that chanting. For me, this was a living proof that made me identify with the character of Sri Chaitanya and fanned in my heart a growing vocation to follow him, a vocation that has profoundly marked my life and that I pray will continue until my last breath.

Shortly afterwards, I participated regularly in the Sunday chanting processions in the streets of Barcelona. I was not dressed like the other devotees and I was less experienced than them, but this did not make any difference to me. I was going out to bring the experiences I was having so that others could have the same opportunity. Somehow the sankirtana of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his devotees had touched me so deeply that I became part of his mission and was actively spreading it. The happiness I experienced, and still experience, surpasses beyond any comparison, the ordinary happiness of the mind and senses. Therefore, as Sri Chaitanya says in this verse: "param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam, let there be victory to the Holy name of Krsna which expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life!"

©2005 iskcon.com

Festival Preparations.

We're busily preparing for Gaura-Purnima - the feast day of Lord Chaitanya. It takes place on Saturday, 3rd of March, less than a fortnight away.

We want to make the festival, here in Belfast, as gorgeous an offering as we can, but as well as running around planning and organising, we're trying to prepare in a contemplative way too - reading from Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita and The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, and becoming inwardly strengthened and purified by His sublime activities and instructions. Then when the festival day comes, we'll feel more thoroughly "in the mood".

Another nice meditation before Gaura-Purnima is Lord Chaitanya's Eight Poems - the Sri Shikshastakam. A couple of years ago, Belfast devotees Lal-krishna das and Keshava dasi, commissioned reflections on these verses by eight contemporary Vaishnavas, to be posted on ISKCON.com., one a week, before Gaura-Purnima that year. They're very well worth reading and you can find them here on ISKCON.com. Beautiful pictures there too, and you can also listen to Srila Prabhupada singing the Shikshastakam prayers with deep devotion. Satisfaction for all the senses!

Love Poetry.

A reader wrote to enquire about poetry in our tradition, which expresses the idea of prema - the pure love for God which we mentioned yesterday. Thank you for your questions, dear reader.

Out of the many, many such poems available, here are two verses from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Shikshastakam. These are translations from the original Sanskrit:

"Feeling separated from You, a moment seems like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I feel all vacant in the world in Your absence."

"I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so, even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally

By the way, Lord Chaitanya's festival-day, Gaura-Purnima is approaching - on the 3rd March. A date for your diary!

Belfast Hare Krishna Temple.