Divine Meditation on Song by Narottam Das

On Tuesday 3 November 2015 I was blessed with the opportunity to give a song class on Lalasamayi Prarthana, a song by Narottam Das Thakur, while seated while Gurumata and I were seated with many of my disciples at his samadhi, the sacred tomb in which he is buried, in Vrindavan. The combination of his divine potency, which is very powerful at this place, and his beautiful bhakti inspiring words made it a most enlivening and uplifting experience. His beautiful song is as follows:

'gaurāṅga' bolite habe pulaka-śarīra
'hari hari' bolite nayane ba' be nīra

When will that opportune moment come to me when there will be shivering of the body as soon as I chant Lord Gauranga's name? And after the shivering, while chanting Hare Krishna, when will there be tears pouring down from my eyes?

āra kabe nitāi-cānder koruṇā hoibe
saṁsāra-bāsanā mora kabe tuccha ha'be

When will that day come when Lord Nityananda's causeless mercy is bestowed upon me so that my desire for material enjoyment becomes very insignificant?

viṣaya chāriyā kabe śuddha ha 'be mana
kabe hāma herabo śrī-bṛndābana

When my mind is completely purified, being freed from material anxieties and desires, then I shall be able to understand Vrindavana and the conjugal love of Radha and Krishna, and then my spiritual life will be successful.

rūpa-raghunātha-pade hoibe ākuti
kabe hāma bujhabo se jugala-pīriti

When shall I be very much eager to study the books left by the six Goswamis? One has to learn of the conjugal loving affairs of Radha-Krishna through the teachings of these six Goswamis.

rūpa-raghunātha-pade rahu mora āśa
prārthanā koroye sadā narottama-dāsa

Narottam Das always wishes to understand this conjugal love under the direction of the six Goswamis.
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If we take his wonderful song very seriously and try to enter into the mood that he describes, our spiritual lives will be unlimitedly successful. We will attain the supreme destination.

Song Class at Narottama Das Thakur Samadhi--3 November 2015

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Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Why Do We Need to Chant 16 Rounds on Beads?

Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Why do we need japa mala beads to chant the maha mantra? And why is it necessary to do a minimum of 16 rounds? Does it mean that doing less than 16 rounds is not effective?

With love,
Rishi

Answer: To Facilitate Our Krishna Consciousness

In Krishna consciousness there is no such thing as a rule for rule's sake. Everything we do is for the purpose of helping us to become more fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness.

The Bhagavad-gita injunction is that we are to chant the names of the Lord constantly 24 hours a day. But since we are not able to do that, Srila Prabhupada has mercifully given us the concession that we can instead chant at least 16 rounds daily of the Hare Krishna mantra. If we cannot even do this minimization of the Lord’s instruction, this means that we are not serious about spiritual life and thus not qualified to go back to home, back to Godhead.

The mala (chanting beads) are used to insure that we accomplish at least the minimum number of prescribed rounds. Plus there is an extra benefit by chanting on the beads. By engaging our sense of touch in our daily meditation on Krishna along with the tongue and the ears, the mind becomes more easily absorbed in the sweet sound of Krishna’s holy names.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari