Book excerptsHarinama-cintamaniTo Whom To Pray - Harinama-cintamani

To Whom To Pray – Harinama-cintamani

[The following is an excerpt from the upcoming Bhaktabandhav publication, Sri Harinama Cintamani]
Pray to Kṛṣṇa to be empowered by His śakti. Cry to Him for mercy. We are enamoured by māyā-śakti, but we do not pray to Kṛṣṇa for His transcendental śakti. If we are chanting harināma without this relation and service tendency, then many living entities will come and eat us like how ants eat a large snake. If we chant harināma and pursue māyā-śakti simultaneously, Māyā-devī will say, “Oh, you like me?” Then she will cut us up into many small pieces and throw us into hell.
Pray to parā-śakti, Śrīmatī Rādhārānī. Then your harināma will be successful.
It is stated in Śri Gautamīya-tantra:
devī kṛṣṇamayī proktā
rādhikā para-devatā
sarva-lakṣmīmayī sarva-
kāntiḥ sammohinī parā
“Śrī Rādhikā is the Supreme Goddess, the exclusive abode of Kṛṣṇa’s loving pastimes, and the shelter of all goddesses of fortune. She is the most beautiful. She is Kṛṣṇa-mayī. She is incessantly absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. She is the embodiment of all splendor, and is the enchantress of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s heart.”
If you take shelter of any māyā-śakti, then this life and millions of lives to come will be lost. While you chant, come to svarūpa-śakti and take Her shelter.
Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s śakti are non-different, just as the heat of fire and its light are non-different. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa-śakti Rādhārānī is also included within harināma while you chant.
You should pray:
rādhe! jaya jaya mādhava-dayite
gokula-taruṇī-maṇḍala mahite
“O Rādhā! All glories to You! All glories to You, the most beloved of Mādhava! You are the most celebrated among all the young damsels of Gokula.”
dāmodara-rati-vardhana-veśe
hari niṣkuṭa-vṛndā-vipineśe
“The beautiful way You dress causes Śrī Dāmodara’s attachment for You to swell. You are the presiding Goddess of Śrī Hari’s pleasure groves in the forests of Vṛndāvana.”
vṛṣabhānu-dadhi-nava-śaśīlekhe
lalita-sakhi-guṇa ramita viśākhe
“From the milk ocean of Śrī Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja’s affection, You have arisen like a beautiful young moon. O dear friend of Lalitā, by Your qualities of playfulness and friendship You have enchanted the heart of Your intimate sakhī, Viśākhā.”
karuṇāṁ kuru mayi karuṇā-bharite
sanaka-sanātana–varṇita-carite
“You are so full of mercy that great yogīs and brahmacārīs like Śrī Sanaka Kumāra and Sanātana Kumāra are always engaged in describing Your exalted nature, so please be merciful to me!”
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has composed many beautiful prayers. While chanting, pray with these songs and the verses of Śrīmad-bhāgavatam and the literature of our gosvāmīs. Always contemplate, “How will svarupa-śakti be pleased with me?” She is very kind, yet still we neglect her.
We do not like our mother. We like prostitutes instead. A mother will not sit in the same place as a prostitute. How can we stay with bahiraṅga-śakti māyā and expect svarūpa-śakti to give us mercy? We are always attracted to bahiraṅga-śakti, like a lusty man is attracted to a prostitute. We have no attachment or desire to serve svarūpa-śakti, who is like our mother. If this is our situation, then svarūpa-śakti will not remain with us.
Kṛṣṇa is omnipresent, and nāma is also omnipresent. Śakti is His vaibhava; His glories and beauty. She has all-controlling power. If this transcendental śakti comes to you, you will be extremely powerful and māyā or anything mundane will never be able to touch you. Make your heart into a garden for svarūpa-śakti, and then you can cross māyā. If you have no place for svarūpa-śakti in your heart and you chant with attachment to māyā-śakti, then svarūpa-śakti will not come to protect you.
Haridāsa Ṭhākura described that there are three kinds of śakti and that Kṛṣṇa’s nāma and His śakti are non-different. When you chant harināma, make a place for svarūpa-śakti within your heart. Then Kṛṣṇa will definitely give you His mercy. Otherwise if you chant Kṛṣṇa’s names, but have no place for His śakti, He will not be happy with you.
For instance, if there is no place for the Guru-varga in a certain temple, then Vaiṣṇavas will not go there. Such a place is not really a temple; it is like a hotel or a business center. Similarly, if your heart has no room for Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, svarūpa-śakti, or antaraṅga-śakti, you may be chanting harināma, but only other things will come, not the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Your harināma will result only in mundane affairs.
When śakti comes, then all vaibhava and goodness will manifest. Kṛṣṇa has 64 qualities, His incarnations have 60 qualities, and the living beings have up to 50. All of our good qualities however, have been lost due to our entanglement in māyā. When we make a place for svarūpa-śakti in our hearts, we will be awarded with all good qualities. When svarūpa-śakti is present in the heart, Kṛṣṇa will also be present there in His original form. Then one’s life will be successful.

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