Radhanath Swami: On behalf of Srila Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupad and all of the previous acharyas and all of the assembled vaishnavas, I would like to welcome you all to Sri Sri Radha Gopinath temple. We are most honored and grateful that you have taken this time from your busy travelling schedule to visit our very simple temple here in Bombay.
Srila Prabhupada’s mercy on the city of Bombay
Srila Prabhupad put in tremendous amount of his life’s energy in this city of Bombay. In fact he spent more time here than any other city in all of the world. And he only considered that if the people of India took Santana-dharma as their life and soul then they could change the whole world. And he considered that Bombay is the most important city in India because it had such tremendous influence. So Srila Prabhupad spent much time here just before he left for America. And many years he spent performing great great austerities to develop Sri Sri Radha Rasbihari’s temple in Juhu, in cultivating the people of Bombay. So Srila Prabhupad really entrusted this project to His Holiness Giriraj Maharaj who took this service as his life and soul. And we are somehow or the other trying to assist in some small way in this beautiful temple that Srila Prabhupad has given us.
Importance of sound vibration of Krishna’s names and glories
The essence of Krishna consciousness is to always remember Krishna. And Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us the process by which we can perfect our religious principles in the age of Kali by hearing the glories of the Lord and chanting His holy names. Srimad-Bhagwatam describes how the powerful medicine of Krishna-katha, sound vibration of Krishna’s names and glories is the only means by which the fever of material attachment, which is the source of all suffering, can be eliminated. And it is for this reason Srila Prabhupad put so much of his life’s energy into translating these books to give all generations for all time to come of devotees within this movement so much material to hear about and to discuss. Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad-Bhagvatam, Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Nectar of devotion, Sri Isopanishad and so many other great literatures. He also asked his disciples and grand disciples to also translate these great Vedic literatures so that throughout our day we could keep our consciousness always filled with the sound vibration of Hari-katha.
Holy Name over Mundane Sound Vibrations
In the society around us all over the world there are innumerable distractions trying to divert our attention away from Krishna through sound vibration. There is so much music and so many newspapers and magazines and popular books and there are televisions and cinemas and so many politicians making so many promises and people talking about everything of the phenomena of this material world. And the result of such sound vibration is the repetition of birth and death. That is all. But the pure holy sound vibration of the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead brings about the result of eternal life, of bliss and knowledge.
Krishna katha can deliver all
Maharaj Parikshit and Sukdev Goswami are discussing in the tenth canto of Srimad-Bhagvatam, how only a person who is the killer of his own soul or the killer of animals cannot be attracted to hearing the beautiful narrations of Krishna. Those who are too much attached to the material senses and to their false ego’s, they are wasting their lives. In this way they are considered to be killers of their own souls such persons cannot truly to be attracted to hearing the glories of the Lord. But when people come into the association of genuine devotees and they learn to hear Hari-katha in such association gradually the attraction to chant the glories of the Lord, to remember the Lord awakens in our heart. And it is this attraction that is the medicine for the cure of all the diseases in this age of Kali. There is so much cruelty and greed, so much pride and lust, so much corruption in this age. No one is happy and those who think they are happy it is just a matter of a few moments of time until they realize the miserable situation that they are living in. But we must take very seriously.
Teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu basically thought us this: How to hear and chant the glories of the Lord in association of devotees and how to preach those devotees to expand the influence of Krishna consciousness amongst the conditioned souls. This is the sublime and joyful method that lord Chaitanya has given us: Chanting, dancing and feasting. And if we always keep this principle in the forefront of our spiritual life there is no power of maya that can any way disturb our progress back home back to godhead.
Glimpse of spiritual world in this material world through temples
Srila Prabhupad put the ultimate emphasis on hearing the glories of the Lord and chanting His holy names. By attentively chanting our japa everyday and having wonderful wonderful blissful kirtan’s we can find the pleasure of the spiritual world even in this very life. And our temples are meant to demonstrate the joy of Krishna consciousness to the world. And that joy is the joy that will attract their souls back to Krishna.
Thanking / well wishing the devotees
And we are very much happy that you have come to make our day joyful by chanting and dancing with us in Sri Sri Radha Gopinath’s temple. I pray that you have a wonderful spiritual experience and through Calcutta for Srila Prabhupad’s Maha Vyas Pooja, his 100th birth anniversary in the very place that he appeared in this world. You are all very fortunate. We would like to go but we are obliged to remain in his office serving him. Srila Prabhupad said that Bombay was his office and we have so much office work to do. And we will be celebrating Maha Vyas Pooja here. But I pray that Srila Prabhupad and Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu’s most auspicious blessings shower upon you. And that you experience the great mercy of our founder acharya during your auspicious travels through India. Hare Krishna!
The day after I returned to India the premier showing was at Juhu and we all had the good fortune of seeing the first episode and Srila Bhakti Caru Maharaj, he melted the hearts of all the devotees by his unlimited devotion to Srila Prabhupad. So you are very fortunate under the care of such great souls, Bhakti Caru Maharaj, Giriraj Maharaj. And my aspiration is always to be the servant of their servants. So if you allow me to be your servant then my desire will be fulfilled. Thank you very much.
Srila Prabhupad ki Jai!!!!!
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