7l: Devotional Prayers
Devotional Prayers
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MAṄGALACARANA
(I am offering my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and unto the feet of all Vaisnavas. I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Krsna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, along with Advaita Acarya, Gadadhara, Srivasa, and other associates. I offer my respectful obeisances to Srimati Radharani, and Sri Krsna along with their associates Sri Lalita and Visakha.)
SRILA-PRABHUPADA-PRANATI
(I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krsna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.)
(Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.)
SRI-GURU-PRANAMA
(I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.)
SRILA-BHAKTISIDDHANTA- SARASVATI
SRILA-GAURAKISORA-PRANATI
SRILA-BHAKTIVINODA-PRANATI
(I offer my respectful obeisances unto Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda, who is transcendental energy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is strict follower of the Gosvamis, headed by Srila Rupa.)
SRILA-JAGANNATHA-PRANATI
(I offer my respectful obeisances to Jagannatha dasa Babaji, who is respected by the entire Vaisnava community and who discovered the place where Lord Caitanya appeared.)
SRI-VAISNAVA-PRANAMA
(I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.)
SRI-GAURAṄGA-PRANAMA
SRI PANCA-TATTVA PRANAMA
SAMBANDHADHIDEVER PRANAMA
(O my dear Krsna, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the gopis, and the lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.)
ABHIDHEYADHIDEVER-PRANAMA
PRAYOJANADHIDEVER PRANAMA
SRI RADHA PRANAMA
(Chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name. There is no other alternative, there is no other alternative, there is no other alternative for God realization in the Age of Kali.)
SRI GURVASTAKAM
Eight Prayers Glorifying the Spiritual Master -by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur (1)
(The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as the cloud pours water on the forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.)
(2)
(The spiritual master is always engaged in chanting and hearing the message of Lord Caitanya and sometimes is dancing in ecstasy. Sometimes he feels quivering in his body because of spiritual trance. I offer my respectful obeisances unto such spiritual master.)
(3)
(4)
(The spiritual master is always offering Krsna four kinds of foodstuffs [analyzed as those which are chewed, those which are licked up, those which are drunk and those which are swallowed]. Four kinds of prasadam are offered to Krsna, and when the spiritual master sees that the devotees are eating bhagavat-prasadam, he is satisfied. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such spiritual master.)
(5)
(The spiritual master is always anxious to hear and chant about the wonderful pastimes between Radhika and Madhava, which are all in the modes of loving exchanges [Madhurya-Lila], as well as about their quality, names and form. The spiritual master aspires after relishing these things at every moment. I offer my respectful obeisances to such spiritual master.)
(6)
(The spiritual master is very much expert in assisting the gopis, who are engaged in the perfection of Radha-Krsna conjugal love affairs. At different times they make different tasteful arrangements for such spiritual exchange, and the spiritual master is there to assist in the affairs. I offer my most humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.)
(7)
(The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because of his being the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Sri Hari [Krsna].)
(8)
(By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master no one can make any advancement. Therefore I should always remember the spiritual master. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master.)
ARATRIKA CEREMONY
Prayer by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur (1)
(2)
(3)
(Come see how Lord Caitanya is seated on the jeweled throne.)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(Listen to the sounding of the conchshells, the ringing bells, and the sound of the kartals.)
(8)
(All these sounds, along with that of the sweet mrdaṅga, are very relishable to hear.)
Song Taught by Srila Prabhupada, from Srimad-Bhagavatam
(This material world is full of danger, and the ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross. But for one who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, this vast ocean is like a puddle of water contained in a calf's hoofprint in the mud. There is danger at every step, but the devotee is not affected by it.)
Song about Krsnaloka, from Sri Brahma-samhita
(I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose-trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of Laksmis, or gopis.)
(cont'd on p. 79)
Sri Sri Siksastakam
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the science of Krsna, a task which those who follow Him have continued to carry out down to the present day. The elaborations and expositions on the philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya are in fact the most voluminous, exacting and consistent-due to the unbreakable system of disciplic succession-of any religious culture in the world. Yet Lord Caitanya, in His youth widely renowned as a scholar, Himself left us only eight verses, called Siksastakam, in which His mission and precepts are revealed.
Glory to the Sri Krsna Saṅkirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years together. Thus the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death, is extinguished. This saṅkirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge, it increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it helps us to have a taste of the full nectar for which we are always anxious.
O my Lord! Your holy name alone can render all benediction upon the living beings, and therefore You have hundreds and millions of names, like Krsna, Govinda, etc. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies, and there is no hard and fast rule for chanting these holy names. O my Lord! You have so kindly made approach to You easy by Your holy names, but unfortunate as I am, I have no attraction for them.
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street, more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
O almighty Lord! I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor have I any desire to enjoy beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. What I want only is that I may have Your causeless devotional service in my life-birth after birth.
O my Lord! when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love, flowing constantly while I chant Your holy name? When will my words be choked up when uttering the holy name? And when will all the holes of hair on my body have eruptions by the recitation of Your name?
O Govinda! Feeling Your separation I am considering a moment twelve years or more, and tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain. I am feeling all vacant in the world in the absence of You.
I do not know anyone except Krsna as my Lord, and He will always remain as such, even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me broken-hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, but He is always my worshipable Lord, unconditionally.
SIX SYMPTOMS OF SURRENDER
in Devotional Service • One should accept everything favorable for discharging devotional service.
• One should reject everything unfavorable for discharging devotional service. • One should believe firmly that the Lord will protect His devotee always. • One should feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the Lord. • One should have no separate interest besides the interest of the Lord. • One should always feel oneself meek and humble. Song about Krsnaloka, cont'd.
(I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals, with head bedecked with a peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids.)
(I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth and substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses, in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.)
Prayer to Lord Nrsimhadeva for the Continued Health of Our Spiritual Master
(O my Lord, Your hands are very beautiful, like the lotus flower, but with Your long nails You have ripped apart the wasp Hiranyakasipu. Unto You, Lord of the universe, do I offer my humble obeisances.)
(Jagannatha-svami-O Lord of the universe; nayana pathagami bhavatu me-please be visible unto me.)
OBEISANCES AND RESPECTS
(All glories to the temple of the Lord of the universe at Puri.)
gaṅgamayi ki jaya, yamunamayi ki jaya.
(All glories to the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers.)
tulasidevi, ki jaya.
bhaktidevi ki jaya.
(All glories to bhakti, devotional service to the Lord.)
(All glories to the assembled devotees.)
THE MAHA-MANTRA
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