A TRIBUTE TO LORD GANESHA

Ritual Worship, Vows, Fasts Connected with Lord Ganesh (i) The Varad Chaturthi Day: (ii) Ganesh-Chaturthi: The Tales Related to the Ganesh Chaturthi (a) Story of Ganesh chaturthi (b) Kuntis Worship (c) The Celebrations in Maharashtra (d) The Spiritual Significance of the Chaturthi Day (iii) Sankashthi Chaturthi Story (iv) Angaarak Chaturthi (v) Ganesh Parthiva Pooja Vrata (vi) Twenty One Days' Ganesh Vrata (vii) Tila Chaturthi Vrata (viii) Doorba Ganapati Vrata (ix) Vat Ganesh Vrata (x) Kapardi Vinayak Vrata " Ganapati bappa morya Mangal moorti morya " Such are the slogans that fill the air. The meaning of this slogan is : "Father Ganapati, come again Auspicious one, come again." And amidst the clash of gongs and cymbals, a crowd maddened in the religious fervour chants such slogans. This is the common spectacle in the streets of Bombay and other towns of Maharashtra amidst the Bhadrapad month (Aug-Sept) after the Fourth Day of the bright half. Although the Fourth Day of the bright half of every lunar month is believed to be the day of Lord Ganesh, the Magh (Jan-Feb.), Bhadrapad (Aug-Sept) and the full moon day of Vaishaakh are held to be the special days for Lord Ganesha's worship. Lord Ganesh is Mangalmoorti, Vighneshwar and the Ganapati-that is, the Lord is the personification of all that is auspicious, the Lord of all the troubles and the head of all the 'Ganas'. All these days, if observed with full ritual worship and full faith definitely ensure welfare of the devotees and grants their desires-so declare the Shastras or the scriptures. The special days dedicated to Lord Ganesh have their special names and significance, which have been discussed below: (i) The Varad Chaturthi Day: According to the Ganesh Purana, this vow or the fast should begin from the Fourth Day of the bright half of the lunar month Shravan (about mid July to mid Aug.). After cleaning oneself by the daily ablutions, the devotee should massage his entire body with the paste made from the til (sesame) and Aanwala 1 powder mixed in a little of water. The process is to rub this paste gently on one's entire body and then allow it to become a little dry. Then peel off the flakes of filth by rubbing it gently by your hand. Having rubbed off the entire paste this way, the devotee should take bath with pure water while concentrating all the time on the auspicious visage of Lord Ganesh. Then select a clean pious and private spot in your house and erect a beautiful canopy (Mandap). Place a bronze pitcher in the middle after covering it with two clean pieces of red cloth. Then draw a symbol of lotus flower on the body of the pitcher. The flower must be shown having eight petals. The drawing should be made by the paste of saffron or sandalwood. Now keep a wooden pedestal (chauki) there and place an idol of Lord Ganesh made of clay or silver. The bronze-pitcher should be placed upon the ground already littered with the grains of some cereal. Now place a Kushasan or a red carpet before the pitcher and sit on it, concentrating on all the names of Lord Ganesh and chanting them with full devotion. The devotee should say: Om Ganeshaya namah Om Dhundhirajaya namah Om Herambaya namah Om Vakratundaya namah Om Shoorpakaranaya namah Om Vighneshaya namah Om Gajanananay namah Om Lambodariiya namah Om Ekdantiiyah namah Om Vinayakayah namah Om Vikatiiya namah Om Kapilaya namah Om Ashapoorkaya namah Om Dhoomraketiive namah Om Mohavarjitiiya namah Om Sarvananda-vaskarkaya namah. The pooja is offered with 'Doorba' (twig of grass) and sandalwood paste by reciting his all names. The use of Tulsi or basil leaves during Ganesh-worship is prohibited. One should always remember that Lord Ganesh's favorite no. is Twenty One (21). Hence offering should be made by 21 things having predominantly white colour or green colour. These offerings could be made by twenty one variety of flowers, fruits or other pious things. The flowers should be offered to the idols with its flowery head up and not upside down. The sindoor or vermilion powder, wetted with a drop of water and having little rice grain, should be applied on the idol's head, forehead; neck, the heart region and while chanting loudly "Om Gananathaya namah"; a mark of the vermilion should be made between the eyes of the idol, just above the nose. The priest (in case the devotee himself cannot perform these functions devotedly) and the devotee should contemplate on the one god who has only one tusk, whose ears are wide like a winnowing basket, who has 'naga' (snake) worn like the sacred thread, and who wields in his hands a snare and a goad or hamulus. On this day the devotee should keep fast and listen to the glorious doings of the Lord by an able and learned person. On this day observation of total continence, lying on the ground and eating only fruits, 'pedas' (a sweet meat made of milk) and milk are some of the commands ordained by the scriptures. This fast and vow should be continued till the Fourth Day of Bhadrapad Shukla (bright half). On the Fifth day after the ritual worship the idol or 'Yantra' should be immersed in thy pious waters. On the day of the 'Immersion' the young maidens and brahmans should be fed: This vow is especially recommended for anyone desiring to have his some cherished wish fulfilled. (ii) Ganesh-Chaturthi: The fourth day of the bright half of every lunar month is called Siddhi Vinayaki Chaturthi. The fourth day of Bhadrapad Shukla (bright half) Chaturthi is known as Mahasiddhi Vinayaki Chaturthi. When this fourth day falls on Tuesday or Saturday it is termed as Varad Chaturthi or Shivaa Chaturthi and its importance gets enhanced. On this auspicious day a beautiful idol of Lord Ganesh should remade of clay or some metal like silver. Now this idol shou1d be installed on a high pedestal with its face facing east�west or north. Having anointed the idol with sandalwood or saffron paste and invoking the Lord for the 'Pran-pratishtha' (consecration), offerings with 21 objects should be kept ready, which should include Patri (leaves), Kewra (pamdames), Shamee (a kind of tree leaves), white flowers (lily), Durba (grass twigs), red sandalwood, sindoor (red vermilion powder), panchamrita (a potion made from mixing milk, curd, honey, sugar and water) and the leaves of Tulsi or basil etc. One must remember that basil leaves or Tulsidal are permitted in the Lord's worship only on this day, and not on other days. Now, after seating yourself on the Kushasan (a small mattress made by the weed called Kusha), you should invoke the Lord and complete the worship as mentioned earlier. Then perform the Mahabhishek (Grand Anointing Ceremony) by Panchamrita etc., and sing the 'Aarti' of the Lord with a lighted lamp waving in your hand before the Lord's idol. Then the oblation of Durba, flowers etc. should be offered to the Lord. After this religiously move around the Lord seven times in anti-clockwise direction and lie with hand and feet fully stretched on the ground with face facing the ground to salute the Lord. This sort of special salutation is called Sashtang Namaskar'. 2 Then 21 Laddoos should be offered as the Lord's symbolic food or the 'Prasadam' which should be distributed to as many devotees as possible. It is said in scriptures that 'Prasadam' should be distributed to the greatest number of persons possible with each getting as little of the share as to have it totally absorbed or digested by the eater's body and there should not be any refuse left out of it after digestion. Having made the offering, the following 'Mantra' (incantation) should be recited: Ganadhipa namasteastu Umaputraghanashana Ekdantabhaktreti tatha mooshak vahana Vinayakesha putreti sarva siddhi pradayaka Kumar gurve tubhyam poojaneeyah prayatnatah [I bow to the head of Ganas, the Destroyer of all sin, the son of Uma (parvati), who has One Tusk and Elephant-Face and the mouse as His vehicle. 0 Supreme Leader, who grants the boon of son and every desire, whose elder brother is Kumar (Kartikeya)-this way I endeavor to worship thee!) The proper time for the performance is mid-day, as ordained by the Celestial Priest Brihaspati (quoted in 'Kalanirnaya') Depending upon one's capacity one should keep fast for two to twenty one days observing the strict vows already explained and then after the ritual worship, the idol of the Lord should be immersed in the holy waters of a tank, river or sea. The Tales Related to the Ganesh Chaturthi (a) Story of Ganesh chaturthi On this pious day viewing the moon is prohibited. In this connection there is a legend in the Ganesh Purana. It is said that once the Lord was going upon his vehicle, the mouse, when he fell down. No one except the moon could see him fall. Seeing the heavy-bodied god falling from his tiny vehicle, the moon let out a loud guffaw, to the great annoyance and indignation of the Lord. Enraged the Lord cursed the moon that henceforth no one would watch the moon. The moon, realizing his committing a sacrilege-like offence, besought the Lord to pardon him. When the luminary-god repeatedly apologized the Lord, he modified his curse and limited it to only the Chaturthi day. He said: "If one views you on this day he shall be held responsible for an offence not committed by him: That is, one may be falsely held responsible for an offence. The Puranas and the Mahabharata record that Lord Krishna was falsely held responsible for stealing the 'Syamantak Mani' (A very rare gem) when he had seen the moon on this day. 3 Then Lord Krishna had offered a method of redemption by saying that one should chant the following Shloka: Sinha Prasenamvadheeta Sinho Jambavata hatah I Sukumarak ma rodeestva hyeshah Syamantakah II Chanting the Shloka the person who sees the moon on the Chaturthi Day should drink water and hear the story about this gem Syamantak. (b) Kuntis Worship On the Ganesh Chaturthi day all the ladies desirous of the welfare of their sons and family especially worship Lord Ganesh's symbol, the Elephant The mother of the Pandavas, Kunti, also wanted to worship an elephant and she told her sons, who were still living jointly with the Kauravas in the palace of Hastinapur, to fetch an elephant for her. Similarly Gandhari, the mother of the 100 Kauravs, asked her sons to get an elephant for her. The Kauravas, being more in numbers and hence more resourceful, got the best elephant available in the area. Meanwhile, the Pandavas also went in Search of a robust elephant but couldn't get the desired one. Since the time of worship was drawing close, Kunti was worried. Then Arjun, her third son and the most renowned archer, offered a solution. He said: "Don't worry, mother? I am sending a message to the chief of gods, Indra, to send his favourite elephant, Airavat, so that you may worship him." Now, this elephant, Airavat is supposed to be the best among the elephants, as this elephant was also one of the gifts that the Ocean gave when it was churned, by the gods and the demons. Kunti was delighted to hear her son's audacious offer. "But, dear son, how will that heavy elephant land on this earth from heaven ?" she asked worriedly. "Don't worry, Mother!" replied Arjun confidently: "I will see to it that Airavat comes here to make you worship him on this pious day." And then Arjun wrote the message on a piece of paper and fixing that piece to the head of his arrow, he pulled at his bow and sent the arrow heavenwards. Indra, whose psychic son was Arjun, readily agreed to the proposal but sent the message back saying: "There is no ladder by which my vehicle, Airavat, could come down from the heaven to oblige your mother. Arrange a passage." Getting this message, Arjun saw the elephant peeping through a cloud crack and ready to come down. So with his expertise in archery, he began to form a ladder made by the arrows he was shooting. But the elephant was heavy and his massive step used to crush hundreds of arrows. But Arjun would fill the gap by more arrows than that elephant could break. At last he succeeded in making the huge elephant reach ground Then Kunti, delighted, happily worshipped that grand symbol of Ganesh. All these tales indicate the great significance attached to the worship of Lord Ganesh on this day, the Fourth Day of the lunar (bright)month Bhadrapada. This day, the Puranas say that Lord Ganesh was born and when Lord Shiv had accepted Lord Ganesh as his son, he celebrated his son's birthday on this day at Kailash Mount, the abode of Lord Shiv. It was on this very day that Lord Ganesh had killed a demon called Sindoor. Hence this day is specially sacred to the devotees of Lord Ganesh. Ganesh Chaturthi is the avowed observance (vrata) of Siddhi- Vinayak. Although on this day the worship lasts for the entire day, the essential worship lasts for one and half hour during each of four or seven days or till even the Anant Chaturdashi (i.e. for 10 days). Thereafter, the image is immersed in the river, sea or tank whichever is nearer. On the day of "Visarjan" (immersion) the image or idol of Lord Ganesh is carried in a procession of the devotees through the streets of the town (especially in Maharashtra) crowded by enthusiastic watchers. (c) The Celebrations in Maharashtra: This is the special function day or the grandest festival of Maharashtra. Almost each locality of every town and village has its own idol of Lord Ganesh specially made for the occasion. Although there are thousands of centres that make such idols, those built by the craftsmen of a small town Pen are rated higher. A Ganapati is brought and installed on a colourful painted plank. The grown-ups carry the plank themselves; the children strike the cymbals and, beat the gongs yelling lustily: "Ganapati bappa morya..." The Ganapati is brought home amidst great fanfare. Since the favorite idols are generally made of clay, special care is taken to carry the idol intact. No one will take the risk of being jostled by the crowd and dropping the idol, for a damaged Ganapati is considered very inauspicious. Ganapati idols are, installed in homes on this day and worshipped. Though they vary in size they are similar in appearance. All of them have the deity seated. In front of God Ganapati is put a big 'thaal' (plate) containing modaks made of rice-flour and f1lled with jaggery, grated coconut, cardamom seeds and dried fruit. How long the Ganapati idol is kept at home depends on family tradition. It may be thirty six hours in some homes, in others it varies from five, seven to nine days, till Anant Chaturdashi. When the idol is brought home it is installed in a specially decorated place. Children decorate their Ganapatis with colorful papers and string of colored lights. During the time Ganapati is kept at home, prayers are offered every morning and evening and Arti performed everyday. In some homes priests are asked to conduct the worship; in others members of the family do it themselves. It is customary to make offerings for twenty-one blades of grass, kewra (pandanus buds), a lotus flower and twenty-one modaks as 'prasadam.' Besides the Ganapatis installed in homes, most localities also have their own community Ganapatis. These images are usually very large, sometimes almost twenty feet high. Since he has different manifestations in the Puranas, the Mahabharat and the Ramayana. he is represented in his multifarious activities. He may be depicted as Krishna, standing on the head of the snake 'Kaalia' or slaying the demon 'Keshi'. There is a belief that the kind and benevolent aspect of Ganapati is represented in every deity of the Hindu Pantheon. Though hundreds of images of Ganapati are made every year in the traditional form, new forms are invented to depict the current theme. One may not be surprised if one finds Ganapati landing on the moon or working on a computer! It was Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who made the ritual worship of Ganesh in Maharashtra almost a national festival. The festival is fondly called the 'Ganesh-Utsav. Tilak revived this festival to instill new faith in the people. He believed that when people got together to celebrate the festival, they would forget their internal differences and be united by goodwill. Tilak also encouraged art and culture; he patronised cultural programmes in which well-known singers and promising musicians were invited. Poetry recitations by renowned poets .were organised and new and old plays staged. There were community hymn singing with 'bhajans' (devotional songs) and 'Kirtan' (group chanting or singing) followed by religious discourses. Though Tilak rejuvenated the festival celebration, the Ganesh Chaturthi has been performed since times immemorial in Maharashtra. 'Gauri (parvati) pooja' is also performed in many homes during these days of festivity and during the ten-day Ganesh festival. Domestic servants go dancing from house to house. This ritual starts on Janmashtami and continues till Anant Chaturdashi. After " Govinda aala re�� " they start rehearsing for " Ganapati bappa morya..... " Ganesh Utsav is celebrated in villages as well as large cities. There also the Ganapati idol is installed preferably in some school or the house of headman of the village with great enthusiasm. At long last comes Anant Chaturdashi. Elaborate preparations are made for the immersion ceremony. Some people accompanied by their relatives and friends, prefer to perform the immersion of Ganapati themselves. Others place their idols near the big images installed in public places. These are then mounted on decorated bullock carts and trucks. Children are allowed to clamber up behind them. The procession goes down the street striking cymbals and gongs and rending the air with " Ganapati bappa ... ". At the appointed place the truck and bullock-carts meet to form a larger procession. Every village and town has its own tradition regarding which of its many Ganapatis is to be given the honor of leading the procession. Usually pride of place is given to the idol from the oldest temple. It is carried in a palanquin. Choral groups. and drummers accompany the procession. They chant hymns while people watching from the roadside, shower coloured powder on them. And so with much fervor and enthusiasm the idols are immersed in the river, tank or sea usually at dusk-time. Then they raise a cry: �Ganapati bappa morya! Purhchya varshi laukar ya !" . [0 Father Ganapati, return again early the following year ] (d) The Spiritual Significance of the Chaturthi Day: Chaturthi is the fourth digital phase of the waxing moon. The spiritualists believe that Amavasya or the moonless night is the period of hibernation of this luminary. When one wakes up from the deep slumber, one gets fully conscious in the fourth stage. These are 'Swapna', 'Swaap', 'Jagaran' and 'Chetana' which can be loosely rendered as the stage of dream, hangover, awakening and consciousness. It is in the fourth stage that one is fully conscious after getting up. In this stage one sees the world as it exists, sans any imagination or dream. Hence this is the stage when one's all senses are fully conscious and alert. This is also the stage when one can fully concentrate with total devotion. It is for this reason that those who are well versed in spiritualism recommend worship of Lord Ganesh. the first god to be worshipped, on the Chaturthi Day. The prohibition to look at the moon on this day has also its spirituo-psychological explanation. The moon, as we all know. is believed to represent one's 'Man' -the mind or self. This is the traditional belief corroborated by psychologists and astrologers both. The man is not deemed fully conscious of the environment when he is introvert or looking more towards himself than outside. As explained earlier, the day of Chaturthi represents the fully conscious-stage of the mind. And one is fully conscious when one looks outside with his all senses. Hence looking towards your 'Man' or inside your sense is not recommended on this day for this tendency is conducive to induce sleep or dreaminess or imagination. When one is fully conscious one should look at the world to assess one's real position and rise to reality. Hence it is prohibited to look at the moon on the Chaturthi Day. All the myths created around this assertion. are owing to the inherent and dominant tendency of the Aryan brain. In fact all the recommendations of the Hindu religious belief originate because of this tendency. The Aryan brain was convinced that man would not accept the secular authority unless it has an aura of the supernatural woven around it. Since the very symbol of Ganesh is the creation of such a brain, all the myths around this symbol are created to make this symbol appear logical and convincing. In fact, suppression of 'Man' or control of it is the basic burden of all the teachings of Sanatan Dharma whether they say it by the means of Puranas or Scriptures or the great treatise on human behaviour like Gita. This prohibition to look at the moon is a small corollary to the original and basic concept. (iii) Sankashthi Chaturthi: Sankashthi Chaturthi or just 'Sankashthi' means that fourth day of the moon's phase which occurs in the dark fortnight in every month. This day assumes greater importance when this Chaturthi falls on Tuesday, when it is called Angarak Chaturthi. Otherwise any Chaturthi falling on any other day is called' Sankashthi'. Alternatively it is also called Vinayaki Chaturthi in some parts of India. According to the Pauranic dictates on this day the devotee should keep fast and should break this fast on the next day ie on Panchami. During the fast, visit to a temple of Lord Ganesh, listening to the tales connected with Lord Ganesh's worship should be listened to with full devotion. The Ganesh Puran extols the glory of this fast and says that one who keeps fast on this day has his all obstacles removed by the grace of Lord Ganesh and gets all his desires fulfilled. There are many legends mentioned in the same Puranas to extol the virtues of keeping fasts on Sankashthi Chaturthi. Sankashthi literally means end of the afflictions or distress. Some of the tales are mentioned below: Story:- (a) Raja Kritveerya was a 'Shoodra' in his previous life and used to stoop to the meanest level to keep his family well-fed. One day he slayed a brahman named Sham in his attempt to extract some money from the brahman's pocket. Having killed the brahman, he returned home on the Magh (Dec.-Jan.) Chaturthi (dark half) day. As his good luck would have it, he had a son named Ganesh. Owing to his fighting with that brahman and caring for the safety of the money he had usurped, he had not eaten any thing that day. When reaching home, he called his son Ganesh. Since he was also badly wounded in his fight with the brahman, he expired as soon as he gave that money to his son. But since he had kept fast on that day out of sheer compulsion and called the name �Ganesh', his all sins were redeemed and in the next birth he got the birth in a king's house and later himself became the king Kritveerya. Although he was a powerful king in this life and had a devoted wife called Sugandha, the royal couple had one great shortcoming that they had no son. On the advice of the priests the couple performed many severe penance but in vain. Dejected, both of them had left their kingdom and repaired to jungle to waste away their life. When Narad saw them in that sorry state, he informed the king's departed father, residing in heaven, Brahmadeva who made Narad convey his message that the king should keep fast on the Sankashthi Day to get a son. The king, Kritveerya did so and had his wish fulfilled eventually. The same Purana says that one should keep fast on this day with determination for one or twenty one years. It says that the merit of such a vow could make even the Destiny change its course to get the devotee his desired boon. The procedure to start this Vrata is to begin it after morning ablutions and keep fast. On this day the aspirant should keep quiet and shun violence and dishonesty. On this day helping a distressed person gives additional merit. No intoxicating material should be consumed on this day. Remembering the twelve names of Lord Ganesh and doing his worship is recommended. In the evening before the rise of the moon, the aspirant should rub his body with the paste of Aanwala (Emblic mynobalan) and til (sesame seeds) powder and then after taking bath should perform the 'Ganesh-poojan' Chanting the 'sixteen mantras, 4 and with 21 earthen lamps, 21 flowers and 21 doorva (grass twigs). Then the aspirant should offer water to the rising moon and pray Lord Ganesh to grant his wish. Those who want their enemies to be slain or the troubles removed must have the 'Prasadam' of 21 laddoos out of which one 'laddoo' must be salty. Then ending the fast, one should eat those laddoos as his main food. The remainder of the laddoos should be fed to a cow. The 'Ganesh Porana' says that if the completion of the fast is accomplished under a 'Shami' tree then a blind man gets his vision restored, a dumb man speaks again and a lame gets power to walk unhampered. When one gets one's desire fulfilled, the fast should-be continued even for five to seven months more. Only then the Cessation of the Fast (Udyapan) should take place. (iv) Angaarak Chaturthi: As explained earlier the Sankashtha Chaturthi becomes Angaarak Chaturthi when the Fourth Day of the moon falls, in the dark half, on the Tuesday. Then the Chaturthi Day has the added significance owing to its falling on the Tuesday. On this day strict vow should be observed. Glorifying the merit of the vow, the 'Ganesh Purana' gives an interesting story When the sage Bharadwaj got a son from the earth, as red as the flower of 'Jaaruband', he gave him the name 'Bhaum' which literally means (the son) of the earth. When Bhaum came of age, sage Bharadwaj gave him 'The Ganesh Mantra' and explained the procedure to chant it. Then he asked Bhaum to go to the bank of river Narmada and chant the 'Mantra' observing total .continence and piety of the character. That was the 'Ekakshari Mantra, 5 which Bhaum chanted with total devotion. Seeing that great devotion and concentration of the boy Bhaum, Lord Ganesh was delighted and appeared before his devotee on Magh Krishna Chaturthi (Fourth Day of the lunar month Magh, ie. between January and February of the English or Gregorian Calendar, in the dark fortnight) and declared that he who does so on Angaarak Chaturthi will have his all enemies destroyed and troubles removed. The Lord also gave the boy Bhaum the right to imbibe the nectar churned out from the ocean, thus providing him the godhood. The Lord also declared that thenceforth Bhaum would be known by the name 'Mangal'. "Since you are the son of the earth and have red complexion, your one name shall be Angaraka." Hence the name Angarak Chaturthi given to the Chaturthi falling on the Tuesdays. (v) Ganesh Parthiva pooja Vrata: ParthivaPoojan means physical worship or the ritualistic worship of the deity. This pooja or worship is done by those who take a vow for the fulfillment of their some specific want Normally this worship lasts for a month. Traditionally this is started on Shravan Shukla Chaturthi (fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month Shravan ie., mid-July to mid-August) and ends on the Bhadrapad Shukla Chaturthi (fourth day of the lunar month Bhadrapad i.e., mid-August to mid-Sept.). On the appointed day the devotee or aspirant should complete his morning ablutions and then should make a clay idol of Lord Ganesh having four arms and in which all his symbols like the snare, the goad etc. be dearly displayed. The clay selected for the making of the idol should be black smooth clay. After making it, the idol should be ritually installed on a pedestal and sitting before it on a Kushasan the aspirant should anoint the Lord's (idol's) head with vermilion and rice grains. Then concentrating his mind on the auspicious visage of Lord Ganesh, he should chant 'Ekakshari Mantra' for exact one lakh times, giving time for natural bodily functions. When the chant is over the aspirant should perform the 'Havan' ceremony on the Panchami (known as Rishi Panchimi) day after chanting the 'Mantra' ten thousand times during the havan. On the Shashti (next day after Panchami) day, the idol of the Lord should be carried in a palanquin amidst a procession and it should be immersed in a pond or river or sea whichever is nearer. Even the women of the household should accompany the procession. In this vow or Vrata, there is a scriptural provision for having more than one idol. One to two idols for getting an impossible work accomplished; three for money etc. But it is advisable to concentrate on one idol. It is declared in the Puranas that faith in one symbol ensures better concentration and hence better communication. There is a story in the Puranas that when Lord Shiv had slain Tripurasur, he found his eternal spouse Parvati ji missing. Only when she had heard about the good news of Tripurasur's death that she emerged from a cave in Himalaya. She had hidden there on account of the fear she felt when her espouse Lord Shiv had gone to fight with that deadly demon. When she had come out of the cave and told her Lord about her fear, he admonished her and ordained that she should do the Ganesh Parthiva Pooja to get rid of all fear. [The reader might be surprised that how the mother was asked by the father to worship their son which had not been born ! It is because of the perpetuity of the form's existence in different epochs. It is not that Lord Shiv and Parvati and Ganesh existed only in this Chaturyugi (the cycle of the four Yugs viz. Satya, Trem, Dwapar and Kaliyug) but they exist in every cycle. This is a common fallacious imagination occurring in the entire Hindu Mythology. So much so, Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati have been described to have worshipped Ganesh before their marriage ! This is perhaps to show the eternity of these celestial existences. The same explanation is given by Goswami Tulsidas in his 'Ram Charita Manas' where he says: kou suni sansaya karaya jani sur anadi jiya jani (One should not nurse any doubt deeming gods to be the eternal existences) (vi) Twenty One Days' Ganesh Vrata: This should be started on Shravan Shukla Chaturthi and completed on Bhadrapada Krishna Dashmi [i.e., for eleven days in Shrawan and remaining 10 days in Bhadrapada], which makes exactly twenty one days. [It appears Lord Ganesh is specially fond of the figure of twenty one, for in his all worship rituals this figure occurs repeatedly]. On the completion of the Vrata the pious brahmans and unmarried girls should be fed on the 'Prasadam' of laddoos. This is also a special vow observed for some specific purpose. (vii) Tila Chaturthi Vrata: This vow is observed on Magh Shukla Chaturthi. 6 As the name suggests, on this day white til (sesame seeds) is only used for making eleven 'Modaks' -as the 'Prasadam'. The aspirant should eat only this laddoo in the night after day long fast This fast is normally kept to get rid of some dreadful disease i.e., for a specific purpose. (viii) Doorba Ganapati Vrata: In this vow_the grass twigs or Doorba have special significance. This vow or Vrata is observed when Vinayak Chaturthi falls on Sunday. In this ritualistic worship, after sixteen customary offerings, the aspirant should bow six times before the idol and circumambulate round the idol six times and then offer oblation of 6 twigs of grass (Doorba), and 6 laddoos. The observance of this vow ensures grace of Lord Ganapati-so declare the Puranas. (ix) Vat Ganesh Vrata: This vow is so named because all the rituals, worship etc., are performed beneath a banyan tree or a 'Vat'. This is normally observed right from Kartik Shukla Chaturthi 7 to Magh Shukla Chaturthi. 8 In this worship the rituals are performed before the whole family of Lord Shiv-his espouse Parvati, his two sons Ganesh and Kartikeya-and cermonial "Shodasaupchar" (sixteen offerings) are made in the same way as already mentioned in the worship of Lord Ganesh. The ultimate purpose, of this vow is to ensure good health of the devotee. (x) Kapardi Vinayak Vrata: Kapardi is the Sanskrit term for cowrie. The observer of this vow gives in alms cowrie and a handful of rice grain to beggars to please Lord Ganesh. It should be observed on Shravan Shukla Chaturthi. 9 After ritual Ganesh worship with sixteen customary offerings, the 'prasadam', made specially of milk and rice-Iaddoos or kheer should be distributed among the poor. The purpose is getting rich by the grace of Lord Ganesh. 1 . Emblic mynobalan (its fruit) 2 . 'Shashtang literally means with all the eight organs or members of one's body. These eight organs are : head, hands, feet, eyes, thighs, heart, speech and mind. It means salutation made with total or complete devotion in which mind and all other organs of the body are united in totality. 3 . The brief story is like this : There was a man in Dwarika called Satrajit He was an ardent worshipper of Lord Sun. Propitiated by his worship the Lord appeared before him and granted a wonder-gem called Syamantak to Satrajit The gem radiated such a dazzling light that the people of Dwarika thought as though Lord Surya (Sun) had givm him his own radiance. That gem used 10 give about 8 'bhar' (nearly 80 tolas) gold every day. Lord Krishna. asked to give that gem to the royal coffer of Dwirika but Satrajit refused. later, Satrajit's brother Prasen had gone for hunting wearing that gem where a lion devoured him and Satrajit blamed Loot Krishna that he had stolen the gem after slaying Prasen. To prove his innocence Loot Krishna went in search of that gem. The lion that had devoured the gem after killing Prasen happened to reach the cave of the fabled Bear Jambavant of the 'Ramayan' fame. Jambavant had slain the lion when the beast reached his cave and gave that gem to his daughter Jambavanti. Ultimately Loot Krishna fought a duel with Jambavant to get the gem back. Jambavant realised who he had fought with ~his chosen Lord Rim in a different form along with the gem also gave his daughter in marriage to Lord Krishna When the gem was brought back.. Lord Krishna was absolved of the entire blame and Satrajit apologised to Lord Krishna. and also married his daughter to him. The same story is referred to in the ShIoka.. 4 . Mentioned under the sub-heading 'Varad Chaturthi'. 5 . The Mantra is : "OM Ganapataye Namah" 6 . Fourth Day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month Magh i.e. between mid-Dec. to mid-January. 7 . Bright half, Fourth 'Day of !be Kartik month i.e., mid-October to mid November. , 8 . Bright half, Fourth day of Magh month i.e., mid-Dec to mid-Jan. 9 . Bright half, Fourth day of the month of Shravan (mid-July to mid-August).

WHAT IS BHAKTI ?

The term Bhakti comes from the root 'Bhaj', which means 'to be attached to God'. Bhajan, worship, Bhakti, Anurag, Prem, Priti are synonymous terms. Bhakti is love for love's sake. The devotee wants God and God alone. There is no selfish expectation here. There is no fear also. Therefore it is called 'Parama Prem Rupa'. The devotee feels, believes, conceives and imagines that his Ishtam (tutelary deity) is an Ocean of Love or Prem.
Bhakti is the slender thread of Prem or love that binds the heart of a devotee with the lotus feet of the Lord. Bhakti is intense devotion and supreme attachment to God. Bhakti is supreme love for God. It is the spontaneous out-pouring of Prem towards the Beloved. It is pure, unselfish, divine love or Suddha Prem. There is not a bit of bargaining or expectation of anything here. This higher feeling is indescribable in words. It has to be sincerely experienced by the devotee. Bhakti is a sacred, higher emotion with sublime sentiments that unites the devotees with the Lord.
Mark how love develops. First arises faith. Then follows attraction and after that adoration. Adoration leads to suppression of mundane desires. The result is single-mindedness and satisfaction. Then grow attachment and supreme love towards God.
In this type of highest Bhakti all attraction and attachment which one has for objects of enjoyment are transferred to the only dearest object, viz., God. This leads the devotee to an eternal union with his Beloved and culminates in oneness.

TYPES OF BHAKTI

Bhakti is of various kinds. One classification is Sakamya and Nishkamya Bhakti. Sakamya Bhakti is devotion with desire for material gains. A man wants wealth with this motive practices Bhakti. Another man wants freedom from diseases and therefore does Japa and offers prayers. A third one wants to become a Minister and does Upasana with this aim. This is Sakamya Bhakti. Whatever you want the Lord will certainly give you, if your Bhakti is intense and if your prayers are sincerely offered from the bottom of your heart. But you will not get supreme satisfaction, immortality and Moksha through Sakamya Bhakti.
Your Bhakti should always be Nishkamya Bhakti. God has already given you a good position, a good job, wife and children and enough wealth. Be contented with these. Aspire for Nishkamya Bhakti. Your heart will be purified and the Divine Grace will descend upon you. Be in communion with the Lord, you will become one with the Lord and you will enjoy all the Divine Aisvaryas (Divine attributes like wisdom, renunciation, power, etc.). All the Vibhutis (Special forms in which the Lord manifests) of the Lord He will give you. He will give you Darsan. He will help you to dwell in Him. At the same time He will give you all the Divine Aisvaryas also.
Another classification of Bhakti is Apara-Bhakti and Para-Bhakti. Apara-Bhakti is for beginners in Yoga. The beginner decorates an image with flowers and garlands, rings the bell, offers Naivedya (food-offerings), wave lights; he observes rituals and ceremonies. The Bhakta here regards the Lord as a Supreme Person, who is immanent in that image and who can be propitiated through that form only.
He has no expanded heart. He is a sectarian. He dislikes other kinds of Bhaktas who worship other Devatas. Gradually, from Apara-Bhakti, the devotee goes to Para-Bhakti, the highest form of Bhakti. He sees the Lord and Lord alone everywhere and feels His Power manifest as the entire universe. "Thou art all-pervading; on what Simhasana shall I seat Thee ? Thou art the Supreme Light, in whose borrowed light the sun, the moon, the stars and the fire shine; shall I wave this little Deepa or light before You ?" - thus the devotee recognizes the transcendental nature of God. Para-Bhakti and Jnana are one. But every Bhakta will have to start from Apara-Bhakti. Before you take your food, offer it to God mentally; and the food will be purified. When you pass through a garden of flowers, mentally offer all the flowers to the Lord in Archana (offering flowers in worship). When you pass through the bazaar and see a sweetmeat shop, offer all the sweetmeats as Naivedya to the Lord. Such practices will lead to Para-Bhakti.
Bhakti is also classified into Gauna-Bhakti and Mukhya-Bhakti. Gauna-Bhakti is the lower Bhakti and Mukhya-Bhakti is the higher type of Bhakti.
Go from stage to stage. Just as a flower grows in the garden, so also gradually develop love or Prem in the garden of your heart.
The enemy of devotion is egoism and desire. Where there is no Kama or desire, there alone will Rama (the Lord) manifest Himself. The enemies of peace and devotion are lust, anger and greed. Anger destroys your peace and your health also. When a man abuses you, keep peaceful. When blood begins to boil, it is impoverished. You lose vitality if you become a prey to fits of temper.

HOW TO CULTIVATE BHAKTI

It would be a gross mistake if you consider Bhakti as merely a stage of emotionalism, while it is actually a thorough discipline and training of one's will and the mind, a sure means to intuitive realization of God Almighty through intense love and affection for Him. It is a means to thorough apprehension of the true knowledge of Reality, beginning from the ordinary form of idol worship right upto the highest form of cosmic realisation of your oneness with Him. You can achieve this by following the eleven fundamental factors which Sri Ramanuja had prescribed. They are Abhyasa or practice of continuous thinking of God; Viveka or discrimination; Vimoka or freedom from everything else and longing for God; Satyam or truthfulness; Arjavam or straightforwardness; Kriya or doing good to others; Kalyana or wishing well-being to all; Daya or compassion; Ahimsa or non-injury; Dana or charity; and Anavasada or cheerfulness and optimism.
People put a question: "How can we love God whom we have not seen ?"
Live in the company of saints. Hear the Lilas of God. Study the sacred scriptures. Worship Him first in His several forms as manifested in the world. Worship any image or picture of the Lord or the Guru. Recite His Name. Sing His glories. Stay for one year in Ayodhya or Brindavan, Chirakut or Pandhapur, Benares or Ananda Kutir. You will develop love for God.
Every act must be done that awakens the emotion of Bhakti. Keep the Puja(worship) room clean. Decorate the room. Burn incense. Light a lamp. Keep a clean seat. Bathe. Wear clean clothes. Apply Vibhuti (sacred ash) or Bhasma, and Kumkum on the forehead. Wear Rudraksha or Tulasi Mala. All these produce a benign influence on the mind and elevate the mind. They generate piety. They help to create the necessary Bhava or feeling to invoke the Deity that you want to worship. The mind will be easily concentrated.
Practice of right conduct, Satsanga, Japa, Smarana, Kirtan, prayer, worship, service of saints, residence in places of pilgrimage, service of the poor and the sick with divine Bhava, observance of Varnashrama duties, offering of all actions and their fruits to the Lord, feeling the presence of the Lord in all beings, prostrations before the image and saints, renunciation of earthly enjoyments and wealth, charity, austerities and vows, practice of Ahimsa, Satyam and Brahmacharya - all these will help you to develop Bhakti.

BHAVAS IN BHAKTI

When the devotee grows in devotion there is absolute self-forgetfulness. This is called Bhava. Bhava establishes a true relationship between the devotee and the Lord. Bhava then grows into Maha-Bhava wherein the devotee lives, moves and has his being in the Lord. This is Parama-Prema, the consummation of love or Supreme Love.
There are five kinds of Bhava in Bhakti. They are Shanta, Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya and Madhurya Bhavas. These Bhavas or feelings are natural to human beings and so these are easy to practice. Practice whichever Bhava suits your temperament.
In Shanta Bhava, the devotee is Shanta or peaceful. He does not jump and dance. He is not highly emotional. His heart is filled with love and joy. Bhishma was a Shanta Bhakta.
Sri Hanuman was a Dasya Bhakta. He had Dasya Bhava, servant attitude. He served Lord Rama whole-heartedly. He pleased his Master in all possible ways. He found joy and bliss in the service of his Master.
In Sakhya Bhava, God is a friend of the devotee. Arjuna had this Bhava towards Lord Krishna. The devotee moves with the Lord on equal terms. Arjuna and Krishna used to sit, eat, talk and walk together as intimate friends.
In Vatsalya Bhava, the devotee looks upon God as his child. Yasoda had this Bhava with Lord Krishna. There is no fear in this Bhava, because God is your pet child. The devotee serves, feeds, and looks upon God as a mother does in the case of her child.
The last is Madhurya Bhava or Kanta Bhava. This is the highest form of Bhakti. The devotee regards the Lord as his Lover. This was the relation between Radha and Krishna. This is Atma-Samarpana. The lover and the beloved become one. The devotee and God feel one with each other and still maintain a separateness in order to enjoy the bliss of the play of love between them. This is oneness in separation and separation in oneness. Lord Gauranga, Jayadeva, Mira and Andal had this Bhava.
A Caution: Madhurya Bhava is absolutely different from conjugality of earthly experience. One should not be mistaken for the other. Earthly conjugality is purely selfish and is undertaken only because it gives pleasure to one's own self. But in love for God it is because it gives pleasure to God and not for the sake of the devotee. Divine love is not selfish. It is born of sattva. But earthly lust is born of rajas and attachment to bodies. Earthly conjugality is the outcome of egoisitc self-regarding egoistic feeling, while divine communion is the outcome of other-regarding feeling devoid of egoism. Strong selfishness is the root of worldly passion; divine love is the product of loss of egoism. This is the greatest difference between lust (kama) and divine love (prema). The two are related as darkness is related to light. No development of earthly affection, however perfect it may be, can lead one to supreme joy of divine communion. Lust lurks in the heart due to the passion that burns in the core of things. Divine love is unknown to the man of the world, however religious he may be. The secret of divine love cannot be understood, and should not be tried to be understood, so long as man is only a man and woman only a woman. The austere transformation of the human into the divine is the beginning of true love for God.

NAVA-VIDHA-BHAKTI

Devotion to God is developed in nine different ways. It is supreme attacment to God through a Bhava predominant in the devotee. Intense love is the common factor in all the nine modes. Exclusive love for God is expressed through various methods. All Bhaktas of this type are above the formalities of the world. They are untouched by the laws of human Dharma and are out and out concerned with God.
Good conduct which is in accordance with perfect moral law is an auxiliary to pure Bhakti and it follows the true Bhakta wherever he goes. One cannot develop true devotion to God if he is crooked in his heart, if he has got objects of love in this world, if he is tempted by charming worldly things, if he wishes to take care of his wife, children and relatives, if he wishes to feed his body well, if he wishes to earn a great name in the world, if he wants to establish a permanent fame on earth, if he does not like to part with the alluring contents of the world. Perfect detachment from all objects is a preliminary to real devotion. Vairagya is the product of real love for God. One who has love for the world cannot have love for God. Where there is Kama, there cannot be Rama and where there is Rama there cannot be Kama. Love for the world and love for God are diametrically opposite things. One has to be renounced for the attainment of the other. This renunciation can be acquired through the nine forms of Bhakti.
In the Srimad-Bhagavata and the Vishnu Purana it is told that the nine forms of Bhakti are

1. Sravana (hearing of God's Lilas and stories),
2. Kirtana (singing of His glories),
3. Smarana (remembrance of His name and presence),
4. Padasevana (service of His feet),
5. Archana (worship of God),
6. Vandana (prostration to Lord),
7. Dasya (cultivating the Bhava of a servant with God),
8. Sakhya (cultivation of the friend-Bhava) and
9. Atmanivedana (complete surrender of the self).

A devotee can practice any method of Bhakti which suits him best. Through that he will attain Divine illumination.
Sravana is hearing of Lord's Lilas. Sravana includes hearing of God's virtues, glories, sports and stories connected with His divine Name and Form. The devotee gets absorbed in the hearing of Divine stories and his mind merges in the thought of divinity; it cannot think of undivine things. The mind loses, as it were, its charm for the world. The devotee remembers God only even in dream.
The devotee should sit before a learned teacher who is a great saint and hear Divine stories. He should hear them with a sincere heart devoid of the sense of criticism or fault-finding. The devotee should try his best to live in the ideals preached in the scriptures.
One cannot attain Sravana-Bhakti without the company of saints or wise men. Mere reading for oneself is not of much use. Doubts will crop up. They cannot be solved by oneself easily. An experienced man is necessary to instruct the devotee in the right path.
King Parikshit attained Liberation through Sravana. He heard the glories of God from Suka Maharishi. His heart was purified. He attained the Abode of Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha. He became liberated and enjoyed the Supreme Bliss.
Kirtana is singing of Lord's glories. The devotee is thrilled with Divine Emotion. He loses himself in the love of God. He gets horripilation in the body due to extreme love for God. He weeps in the middle when thinking of the glory of God. His voice becomes choked, and he flies into a state of Divine Bhava. The devotee is ever engaged in Japa of the Lord's Name and in describing His glories to one and all. Wherever he goes he begins to sing and praise God. He requests all to join his Kirtana. He sings and dances in ecstasy. He makes others also dance.
Smarana is remembrance of the Lord at all times. This is unbroken memory of the Name and Form of the Lord. The mind does not think of any object of the world, but is ever engrossed in thinking of the glorious Lord alone. The mind meditates on what is heard about the glories of God and His virtues, Names, etc., and forgets even the body and contents itself in the remembrance of God, just as Dhruva or Prahlada did. Even Japa is only remembrance of God and comes under this category of Bhakti. Remembrance also includes hearing of stories pertaining to God at all times, talking of God, teaching to others what pertains to God, meditation on the attributes of God, etc. Remembrance has no particular time. God is to be remembered at all times without break, so long as one has got his consciousness intact.
Padasevana is serving the Lord's Feet. Actually this can be done only by Lakshmi or Parvati. No mortal being has got the fortune to practice this method of Bhakti, for the Lord is not visible to the physical eyes. But it is possible to serve the image of God in idols and better still, taking the whole humanity as God. This is Padasevana. Padasevana is service of the sick. Padasevana is service of the whole humanity at large. The whole universe is only Virat-Swarupa. Service of the world is service of the Lord.
Archana is worship of the Lord. Worship can be done either through an image or a picture or even a mental form. The image should be one appealing to the mind of the worshipper.
Worship can be done either with external materials or merely through an internal Bhava or strong feeling. The latter one is an advanced form of worship which only men of purified intellect can do. The purpose of worship is to please the Lord, to purify the heart through surrender of the ego and love of God.
Vandana is prayer and prostration. Humble prostration touching the earth with the eight limbs of the body (Sashtanga-Namaskara), with faith and reverence, before a form of God, or prostration to all beings knowing them to be the forms of the One God, and getting absorbed in the Divine Love of the Lord is termed prostration to God or Vandana.
The ego or Ahamkara is effaced out completely through devout prayer and prostration to God. Divine grace descends upon the devotee and man becomes God.
Dasya Bhakti is the love of God through servant-sentiment. To serve God and carry out His wishes, realizing His virtues, nature, mystery and glory, considering oneself as a slave of God, the Supreme Master, is Dasya Bhakti.
Serving and worshipping the Murtis in temples, sweeping the temple premises, meditating on God and mentally serving Him like a slave, serving the saints and the sages, serving the devotees of God, serving poor and sick people who are forms of God, is also included in Dasya-Bhakti.
To follow the words of the scriptures, to act according to the injunctions of the Vedas, considering them to be direct words of God, is Dasya Bhakti. Association with and service of love-intoxicated devotees and service of those who have knowledge of God is Dasya Bhakti. The purpose behind Dasya Bhakti is to be ever with God in order to offer service to Him and win His Divine Grace and attain thereby immortality.
Sakhya-Bhava is the cultivation of the friend-sentiment with God. The inmates of the family of Nandagopa cultivated this Bhakti. Arjuna cultivated this kind of Bhakti towards Lord Krishna.
To be always with the Lord, to treat Him as one's own dear relative or a friend belonging to one's own family, to be in His company at all times, to love Him as one's own self, is Sakhya-Bhava of Bhakti-Marga. How do friends, real friends, love in this world ? What an amount of love they possess between one another ? Such a love is developed towards God instead of towards man; physical love turned into spiritual love. There is a transformation of the mundane into the Eternal.
Atma-Nivedana is self-surrender. The devotee offers everything to God, including his body, mind and soul. He keeps nothing for himself. He loses even his own self. He has no personal and independent existence. He has given up his self for God. He has become part and parcel of God. God takes care of him and God treats him as Himself. Grief and sorrow, pleasure and pain, the devotee treats as gifts sent by God and does not attach himself to them. He considers himself as a puppet of God and an instrument in the hands of God.
This self-surrender is Absolute Love for God exclusively. There is nothing but God-consciousness in the devotee. Even against his own wishes, the devotee shall become one with God and lose his individuality. This is the law of being. The highest truth is Absoluteness and the soul rises above through different states of consciousness until it attains Absolute Perfection when it becomes identical with God. This is the culmination of all aspiration and love.
The nine modes of Bhakti are the ways in which a devotee attains the Supreme Ideal of life. A devotee can take up any of these paths and reach the highest state. The path of Bhakti is the easiest of all and is not very much against the nature of human inclinations. It slowly and gradually takes the individual to the Supreme without frustrating his human instincts. It is not direct assertion of God, but a progressive realization of Him.

FRUITS OF BHAKTI

Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. The devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the immortal abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge.
The fruits of Bhakti is Jnana. Jnana intensifies Bhakti. Even Jnanis like Sankara, Madhusudana and Suka Dev took to Bhakti after Realization to enjoy the sweetness of loving relationship with God.
Knowledge or wisdom will dawn by itself when you practice Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti is the pleasant, smooth, direct road to God. Bhakti is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the middle and sweet in the end. It gives the highest, undecaying bliss.
Kindle love divine in thy heart, for this is the immediate way to the Kingdom of God.
Pray to the Lord. Sing His glory. Recite His Name. Become a channel of His grace.
Seek His will. Do His will. Surrender to His will. You will become one with the cosmic will.
Surrender unto the Lord. He will become your charioteer on the field of life. He will drive your chariot well. You will reach the destination, the Abode of Immortal Bliss.

Krishnas tu bhagvan

Real supremacy belongs to Krishna. Krishnas tu bhagavan svayam (SB 1.3.28) is the statement of Shrimad-Bhagavatam: "Krishna is the only Supreme Lord." Worship of Krishna alone, therefore, includes worship of all the parts and parcels, just as watering the root of a tree also waters all the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers.  The Lord is eternally liberated. Whenever He appears, even within this material world, He is never entangled by the three modes of material nature. He is known, therefore, as try-adhisa, the master of the three modes of material nature.  As Lord Krishna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: "This material nature is working under My direction."  Material nature is not independent. She is acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord

Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is confirmed  by all the great acharyas (spiritual masters) like Shankaracharya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacharya, Nimbarka Swami, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and many other authorities of Vedic knowledge in India. Lord Shri Krishna also establishes Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad gita, and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-samhita and all the Puranas, and especially in the Bhagavata Purana also known as the Shrimad-Bhagavatam. In Bhagavad gita (7.14) it is said, daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya: the living entities are all entangled in the three modes of material nature.  The external energy of the Lord is very strong, but the Lord, as the master of the three modes of material nature, is ever liberated from the action and reaction of those modes. He, therefore, is uncontaminated, as stated in the Isopanishad. The contamination of the material world does not affect the Supreme Godhead.

Lord krishna

 

Krishna, the meaning of the word in Sanskrit is all-attractive, He is the of GodhSupreme Personality ead, also called as God of gods. Inotherwords, Krishna is the Godhead because He is all-attractive. From practical experience we can observe that one is attractive due to (1) wealth, (2) power, (3) fame, (4) beauty, (5) wisdom and (6) renunciation. One who is in possession of all six of these opulences at the same time and who possesses them to an unlimited degree is understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to Parasara Muni a great Vedic authority.

Humanity has not come across another personality like Lord Krishna with His unparalleled activities. By all historical accounts, Lord Krishna appeared 5,000 years back and played his part as a human being to perfection. Within the prison of His maternal uncle Kamsa, where His father and mother were confined, Krishna appeared outside His mother’s body as the four-handed Vishnu - Narayana. Then He turned Himself into a baby and told His father to carry Him to the house of Nanda Maharaja and his wife Yashoda in Gokula. The Vedic literatures give further histories of his appearances over millions and billions of years. In the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Krishna states that He can remember instructing the lessons of the Bhagavad-gita some millions of years ago to the sun-god, Vivasvan, because he possesses unlimited knowledge, Krishna has a memory that is boundless.

Bhagavad-gita, spoken by the Lord, has been acknowledged the world over for its philosophical depth and divine instructions. The world’s foremost western philosophers have paid rich tributes for the priceless wisdom that it offers to mankind. A discerning person will notice that the instruction contained in the Bhagavad-gita is higher knowledge, not to be found in any other book of knowledge.

Generally people think that by advancing the cause of moral principles and religious rites they will be happy. Others may think that happiness can be achieved by economic development, and yet others think that simply by sense gratification they will be happy. The whole world is very eager to satisfy the dormant propensity of love for others, however, if one simply reposes his dormant loving propensity in Krishna, then his life becomes successful. This is not a fiction but is a fact that can be realized by practical application. One can directly perceive the effects that love for Krishna has on his life.

Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is confirmed  by all the great acharyas (spiritual masters) like Shankaracharya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacharya, Nimbarka Swami, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and many other authorities of Vedic knowledge in India. Lord Shri Krishna also establishes Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad gita, and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-samhita and all the Puranas, and especially in the Bhagavata Purana also known as the Shrimad-Bhagavatam. In Bhagavad gita (7.14) it is said, daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya: the living entities are all entangled in the three modes of material nature.  The external energy of the Lord is very strong, but the Lord, as the master of the three modes of material nature, is ever liberated from the action and reaction of those modes. He, therefore, is uncontaminated, as stated in the Isopanishad. The contamination of the material world does not affect the Supreme Godhead.

Real supremacy belongs to Krishna. Krishnas tu bhagavan svayam (SB 1.3.28) is the statement of Shrimad-Bhagavatam: "Krishna is the only Supreme Lord." Worship of Krishna alone, therefore, includes worship of all the parts and parcels, just as watering the root of a tree also waters all the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers.  The Lord is eternally liberated. Whenever He appears, even within this material world, He is never entangled by the three modes of material nature. He is known, therefore, as try-adhisa, the master of the three modes of material nature.  As Lord Krishna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: "This material nature is working under My direction."  Material nature is not independent. She is acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord

The Vrindavana-lila of Krishna is the perfect presentation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  We see how big demigods like Brahma, Indra are completely bewildered. They are sometimes mistaken, thinking that "How this cowherd boy can become the Supreme Personality of Godhead?" Just like some of us think that way.  Although he's engaged in pleasing the inhabitants of  Vraja, but when there is need, He can lift up the Govardhana—at the age of seven years. Or He can kill the demoness  Putana at the age of three months.  So although Krishna is playing just like a cowherd boy, His supremacy as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never absent there. That is God. God is not created by meditation. God is God. God is never manufactured. We should know this.

According to Vaishnava philosophy, Narayana cannot be equal to any one of us. What to speak of us, Narayana cannot be equally estimated even with great demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. The Vaishnava Purana says, yas tu narayaana devam brahma-rudradi-daivataih, samatvenaiva vikseta sa pasandi bhavad dhruvam: (Cc. Madhya 18.116) "Anyone who calculates Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, equal with such demigods, what to speak of ordinary human beings, even big, big demigods like Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, immediately becomes a pasandi, atheist."

The materialists, who are after opulence and material prosperity, may take lessons from the Ramayana that the policy of exploiting the nature of the Lord without acknowledging the supremacy of the Supreme Lord is the policy of Ravana. Ravana was very advanced materially, so much so that he turned his kingdom,Lanka, into pure gold, or full material wealth. But because he did not recognize the supremacy of Lord Ramachandra and defied Him by stealing His wife, Sita, Ravana was killed, and all his opulence and power were destroyed.

How can one truly understand the greatness of the Supreme Lord, we don’t have to look further than the Bhagavad gita, where Lord Krishna says that "That very ancient science of relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee." A devotee is one who accepts the supremacy of the Supreme Lord, and he is convinced about his eternal relationship with God.

Imagine you are talking to a friend and she mentions that she has been invited for a dinner which would also be attended by the who’s who of the corporate world, Which quality do you see in common amongst all of them? Richness, isn’t it? The personalities that were mentioned earlier are very attractive because of their riches. They are attractive even though they do not possess all the wealth of the world.

Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,  is the proprietor of all riches. There are many rich men in the world, but no one can claim that he possesses all the wealth. Nor can anyone claim that no one is richer than Him. We understand from the Shrimad-Bhagavatam however, that when Sri Krishna was present on this earth He had 16,108 palaces where His near and dear ones lived, and each palace was made of marble and bedecked with jewels. The rooms were filled with furniture made of ivory and gold, and there was great opulence everywhere. In the history of human society we cannot find anyone who had 16,000 palaces.
We experience in this world that if a man is very rich, he is attractive. The personalities that were mentioned earlier are very attractive because of their riches. They are attractive even though they do not possess all the wealth of the world. How much more attractive, then, is God, who is the possessor of all riches? Great spiritual authorities therefore concluded that Krishna possesses the “attractive” quality of  “richness” or being “wealthy” in full.

Read More to know the definition of God and His Opul

what is the Bhagavad-gita? The purpose of Bhagavad-gita is to deliver mankind from the nescience of material existence. Every man is in difficulty in so many ways, and in the same way Arjuna also was in difficulty in having to fight in the battle of Kurukshetra.

Arjuna surrendered unto Shri Krishna, and consequently this Bhagavad-gita was spoken. Not only Arjuna, but every one of us is full of anxieties because of this material existence. Our very existence is in the atmosphere of nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence. Our existence is eternal. But somehow or other we are put into asat. Asat refers to that which does not exist.

Out of so many human beings who are suffering, there are a few who are actually inquiring about their position, as to what they are, why they are put into this awkward position and so on. Unless one is awakened to this position of questioning his suffering, unless he realizes that he doesn't want suffering but rather wants to make a solution to all suffering, then one is not to be considered a perfect human being. Humanity begins when this sort of inquiry is awakened in one's mind. In the Brahma-sutra this inquiry is called brahma jijnasa. Athato brahma jijnasa. Every activity of the human being is to be considered a failure unless he inquires about the nature of the Absolute Truth.

Therefore those who begin to question why they are suffering or where they came from and where they shall go after death are proper students for understanding Bhagavad-gita. The sincere student should also have a firm respect for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a student was Arjuna.

Lord Krishna descends specifically to reestablish the real purpose of life when man forgets that purpose. Even then, out of many, many human beings who awaken, there may be one who actually enters the spirit of understanding his position, and for him this Bhagavad-gita is spoken. Actually we are all swallowed by the tigress of nescience, but the Lord is very merciful upon living entities, especially human beings. To this end He spoke the Bhagavad-gita, making His friend Arjuna His student.
Arjuna being an associate of Lord Krishna, Arjuna was above all ignorance, but Arjuna was put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra just to question Lord Krishna about the problems of life so that the Lord could explain them for the benefit of future generations of human beings and chalk out the plan of life. Then man could act accordingly and perfect the mission of human life.

Being an associate of Lord Krishna, Arjuna was above all ignorance, but Arjuna was put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra just to question Lord Krishna about the problems of life so that the Lord could explain them for the benefit of future generations of human beings and chalk out the plan of life. Then man could act accordingly and perfect the mission of human life.

The Bhagavad-gita should be taken up in a spirit of devotion. One should not think that he is equal to Krishna, nor should he think that Krishna is an ordinary personality or even a very great personality. Lord Shri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So according to the statements of Bhagavad-gita or the statements of Arjuna, the person who is trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita, we should at least theoretically accept Shri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and with that submissive spirit we can understand the Bhagavad-gita. Unless one reads the Bhagavad-gita in a submissive spirit, it is very difficult to understand Bhagavad-gita, because it is a great mystery.

Krishna – The Supreme personality of Godhead

Who is GOD? 

In the Brahma-sutra there is a definition for God as, "God is He from whom everything comes, emanates."

What is the nature of God? Is it a dead stone or a living being? This is explained in Srimad Bhagavatam: Sloka[SB 1.1.1]. "That God is fully cognizant of everything, directly and indirectly." Unless He is fully cognizant of everything, directly and indirectly, He is not God, indicating thus that God is the Supreme Person.

Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is defined by Parashara Muni as, one who is full of six opulences: strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Vyasadev lists various incarnations and finally concludes:

“All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.”

When Lord Krishna descended on this planet, He displayed all the six opulences unlimitedly. We have seen many rich persons, many powerful persons, many famous persons, many beautiful persons, many learned and scholarly persons, and persons in the renounced order of life unattached to material possessions. But we have never seen any one person who is unlimitedly and simultaneously wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise and unattached, like Krishna in the history of humanity. Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a historical person who appeared on this earth 5,000 years ago. He stayed on this earth for 125 years and played exactly like a human being, but His activities were unparalleled. From the very moment of His appearance to the moment of His disappearance, every one of His activities is unparalleled in the history of the world, and therefore anyone who knows what we mean by Godhead will accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to the Godhead, and no one is greater than Him. That is the import of the familiar saying “God is great.”

Lord Brahma explains in Brahma samhita(Bs 5.1) as follows:

"Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes."

CC Madhya 8.136

“The transcendental body of Sri Krishna is eternal and full of bliss and knowledge. He is the son of Nanda Maharaja. He is full of all opulences and potencies as well as all spiritual mellows.

In the Sama-veda Upanishad, it is stated that Lord Sri Krishna is the divine son of Devaki. Therefore Lord Sri Krishna is the primeval Lord, and if any transcendental nomenclature is to be understood as belonging to the Absolute Personality of Godhead, it must be the name indicated by the word Krishna, which means the all-attractive. In the Padma Purana, it is also stated that out of the innumerable names of the Lord, the name of Krishna is the principal one.

In Bhagavad-gita 10.12-13 Arjuna declares Krishna as the Supreme Lord:

“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.”

In Bhagavad-gita, the Lord asserts Himself to be the original Personality of Godhead

In Bg 10.8 Lord Krishna says:

“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.”

In Bg 15.19 Lord Krishna says:

“Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is to be understood as the knower of everything, and he therefore engages himself in full devotional service, O son of Bharata.”

In this universe there are millions of planets, and there exist as many universes as mustard seeds in a mustard seed bag. There are innumerable universes coming out of the pores of Mahavishnu’s body when He exhales; and when He inhales, they all enter back into Him. And Mahavishnu is only a portion of Sri Krishna. And beyond this material world there is the spiritual world, full of innumerable, gigantic spiritual planets called Vaikunthas, which are all resting in the effulgence of Sri Krishna, who engages in divine pastimes in Goloka Vrindavana, the supreme and eternal home with transcendental delights.

The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is described in the Brahma-samhita as cintamani-dhama, a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Krishna, known as Goloka Vrndavana, is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees, called "desire trees," that supply any type of eatable upon demand, and there are cows, known as surabhi cows, which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune (Lakshmis), and He is called Govinda, the primal Lord and the cause of all causes.

Vedic literatures (Katha Upanisad 1.3.11) state that there is nothing superior to the abode of the Supreme Godhead, and that that abode is the ultimate destination (purushan na param kincit sa kastha parama gatih). When one attains to it, he never returns to the material world. Krishna's supreme abode and Krishna Himself are nondifferent, being of the same quality. This Supreme abode of Lord Krishna, is shaped like the whorl of a lotus flower. Even when the Lord descends to any one of the mundane planets, He does so by manifesting His own abode as it is. On this earth, Vrndavana, ninety miles southeast of Delhi, is a replica of that supreme Goloka Vrindavana located in the spiritual sky. When Krishna descended on this earth, He sported on that particular tract of land known as Vrindavana, comprising about eighty-four square miles in the district of Mathura, India.

Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is confirmed  by all the great acharyas (spiritual masters) like Shankaracharya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacharya, Nimbarka Swami, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and many other authorities of Vedic knowledge in India. Lord Shri Krishna also establishes Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad gita, and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-samhita and all the Puranas, and especially in the Bhagavata Purana also known as the Shrimad-Bhagavatam. In Bhagavad gita (7.14) it is said, daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya: the living entities are all entangled in the three modes of material nature.  The external energy of the Lord is very strong, but the Lord, as the master of the three modes of material nature, is ever liberated from the action and reaction of those modes. He, therefore, is uncontaminated, as stated in the Isopanishad. The contamination of the material world does not affect the Supreme Godhead.

Real supremacy belongs to Krishna. Krishnas tu bhagavan svayam (SB 1.3.28) is the statement of Shrimad-Bhagavatam: "Krishna is the only Supreme Lord." Worship of Krishna alone, therefore, includes worship of all the parts and parcels, just as watering the root of a tree also waters all the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers.  The Lord is eternally liberated. Whenever He appears, even within this material world, He is never entangled by the three modes of material nature. He is known, therefore, as try-adhisa, the master of the three modes of material nature.  As Lord Krishna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: "This material nature is working under My direction."  Material nature is not independent. She is acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord

The Vrindavana-lila of Krishna is the perfect presentation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  We see how big demigods like Brahma, Indra are completely bewildered. They are sometimes mistaken, thinking that "How this cowherd boy can become the Supreme Personality of Godhead?" Just like some of us think that way.  Although he's engaged in pleasing the inhabitants of  Vraja, but when there is need, He can lift up the Govardhana—at the age of seven years. Or He can kill the demoness  Putana at the age of three months.  So although Krishna is playing just like a cowherd boy, His supremacy as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never absent there. That is God. God is not created by meditation. God is God. God is never manufactured. We should know this.

According to Vaishnava philosophy, Narayana cannot be equal to any one of us. What to speak of us, Narayana cannot be equally estimated even with great demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. The Vaishnava Purana says, yas tu narayaana devam brahma-rudradi-daivataih, samatvenaiva vikseta sa pasandi bhavad dhruvam: (Cc. Madhya 18.116) "Anyone who calculates Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, equal with such demigods, what to speak of ordinary human beings, even big, big demigods like Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, immediately becomes a pasandi, atheist."

The materialists, who are after opulence and material prosperity, may take lessons from the Ramayana that the policy of exploiting the nature of the Lord without acknowledging the supremacy of the Supreme Lord is the policy of Ravana. Ravana was very advanced materially, so much so that he turned his kingdom,Lanka, into pure gold, or full material wealth. But because he did not recognize the supremacy of Lord Ramachandra and defied Him by stealing His wife, Sita, Ravana was killed, and all his opulence and power were destroyed.

How can one truly understand the greatness of the Supreme Lord, we don’t have to look further than the Bhagavad gita, where Lord Krishna says that "That very ancient science of relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee." A devotee is one who accepts the supremacy of the Supreme Lord, and he is convinced about his eternal relationship with God.

 Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, who appeared in this Kali-yuga to inaugurate the yuga dharma for this age - Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord.

His Appearance

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared at Sridhama Mayapura, in the city of Navadvipa in Bengal, on the Phalguni Purnima evening in the year 1486 AD. His father, Sri Jagannatha Mishra, a learned brahmana from the district of Sylhet, came to Navadvipa as a student. He lived on the banks of the Ganges with his wife Srimati Sacidevi, a daughter of Srila Nilambara Cakravarti, a great learned scholar of Navadvipa. Their youngest son, who was named Vishvambhara, later became known as Nimai Pandita and then, after accepting the renounced order of life, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. 

Related Links: Scriptural Evidences of His Appearance | Key Events in His Life 

His Pastimes

The wonderful pastimes performed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the city of Navadvipa and in Jagannath Puri are recorded by His biographers. The early life of the Lord is most fascinatingly expressed by the author of Chaitanya-bhagavata (by Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura), and as far as the teachings are concerned, they are more vividly explained in the Chaitanya-caritamrta (by Sri Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami). Now they are available to the English-speaking public in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya.

His Teachings

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu preached the Srimad-Bhagavatam and propagated the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita in the most practical way.

The essence of His teachings is recorded in Chaitanya Manjusha as follows:

• Lord Sri Krsna, who appeared as the son of the King of Vraja (Nanda Maharaja), is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is worshipable by all.
• Vrindavana-dhama is non-different from the Lord and hence is as worshipable as the Lord. 
• The highest form of transcendental worship of the Lord was exhibited by the damsels of Vrajabhumi.
• Srimad-Bhagavata Purana is the spotless literature for understanding the Lord.
• The ultimate goal of human life is to attain the stage of prema, or love of God.

His instructions to Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami, His discussions with Ramananda Raya, the debate with the Mayavadi sannyasi Prakashananda Sarasvati and the Vedanta Sutra Discussion between Him and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya are the excellent sources through which we understand His teachings in detail. 

The Lord left only eight slokas of His instructions in writing, and they are known as the Siksastaka. All other literatures based on His teachings were extensively written by the Lord's principal followers, the six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, and their followers.

His Mission - The Universal Religion

His mission was to preach the importance of chanting the holy names of the Lord in this age of Kali (quarrel). In this present age quarrels take place even over trifles, and therefore the sastras have recommended for this age a common platform for realization, namely chanting the holy names of the Lord. People can hold meetings to glorify the Lord in their respective languages and with melodious songs, and if such performances are executed in an offenseless manner, it is certain that the participants will gradually attain spiritual perfection without having to undergo more rigorous methods. At such meetings everyone, the learned and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the Hindus and the Muslims, the Englishmen and the Indians, and the candalas and the brahmanas, can all hear the transcendental sounds and thus cleanse the dust of material association from the mirror of the heart. To confirm the Lord's mission, all the people of the world will accept the holy name of the Lord as the common platform for the universal religion of mankind.

The first principle in devotional service is to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra (maha means “great”; mantra means “sound that liberates the mind from ignorance”).

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Kirtan
Hare Krishna Kirtan - slow
Hare Krishna Japa
You can chant these holy names of the Lord anywhere and at any time, but it is best to set a specific time of the day to regularly chant. Early morning hours are ideal.

The chanting can be done in two ways: singing the mantra, called kirtana (usually done in a group), and saying the mantra to oneself, called japa (which literally means “to speak softly”). Concentrate on hearing the sound of the holy names. As you chant, pronounce the names clearly and distinctly, addressing Krishna in a prayerful mood. When your mind wanders, bring it back to the sound of the Lord’s names. Chanting is a prayer to Krishna that means “O energy of the Lord [Hare], O all-attractive Lord [Krishna], O Supreme Enjoyer [Rama], please engage me in Your service.” The more attentively and sin¬cerely you chant these names of God, the more spiritual progress you will make.

Since God is all-powerful and all-merciful, He has kindly made it very easy for us to chant His names, and He has also invested all His powers in them. Therefore the names of God and God Himself are identical. This means that when we chant the holy names of Krishna and Rama we are directly associat¬ing with God and being purified. Therefore we should always try to chant with devotion and reverence. The Vedic litera¬ture states that Lord Krishna is personally dancing on your tongue when you chant His holy name.

When you chant alone, it is best to chant on japa beads (available at the ISKCON temple). This not only helps you fix your attention on the holy name, but it also helps you count the number of times you chant the mantra daily. Each strand of japa beads contains 108 small beads and one large bead, the head bead. Begin on a bead next to the head bead and gently roll it between the thumb and middle finger of your right hand as you chant the full Hare Krishna mantra. Then move to the next bead and repeat the process. In this way, chant on each of the 108 beads until you reach the head bead again. This is one round of japa. Then, without chanting on the head bead, reverse the beads and start your second round on the last bead you chanted on.

Initiated devotees vow before the spiritual master to chant at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. But even if you can chant only one round a day, the principle is that once you commit yourself to chanting that round, you should try and complete it every day without fail. When you feel you can chant more, increase the minimum number of rounds you chant each day—but don’t fall below that number. You can chant more than your fixed number, but you should maintain a set minimum each day. (Please note that the beads are sacred and therefore should never touch the ground or be put in an unclean place. To keep your beads clean, it’s best to carry them in a special bead bag, also available at our temple.)

Aside from chanting japa, you can also sing the Lord’s holy names in kirtana. While you can perform kirtana individually, it is generally performed with others. A melodious kirtana with family or friends is sure to enliven everyone. ISKCON devotees use traditional melodies and instruments, especially in the temple, but you can chant to any melody and use any musical instruments to accompany your chanting. As Lord Chaitanya said, “There are no hard and fast rules for chanting Hare Krishna.”

 The Lord advented Himself on the Phalguni Purnima evening of 1407 Shakabda. On the same evening there was a lunar eclipse. During the hours of eclipse it was the custom of the Hindu public to take bath in the Ganges or any other sacred river and chant the Vedic mantras for purification. When Lord Chaitanya was born during the lunar eclipse, the country was roaring with the holy sound of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare /  Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The simultaneous occurrence of the Lord's appearance and the lunar eclipse indicated the distinctive mission of the Lord. In other words, the advent of the holy name took place along with the advent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

When the Lord was on the lap of His mother, He would at once stop crying as soon as the ladies surrounding Him chanted the holy names and clapped their hands. This peculiar incident was observed by the neighbors with awe and veneration. Sometimes the young girls took pleasure in making the Lord cry and then stopping Him by chanting the holy name. So from His very childhood the Lord began to preach the importance of the holy name. In His early age Lord Sri Chaitanya was known as Nimai. This name was given by His beloved mother because the Lord took His birth beneath a nimba tree in the courtyard of His paternal house.

When the Lord was offered solid food at the age of six months in the anna-prashana ceremony, the Lord indicated His future activities. At this time it was customary to offer the child both coins and books in order to get some indication of the future tendencies of the child. The Lord was offered on one side coins and on the other the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Lord accepted the Bhagavatam instead of the coins.

When He was a mere baby crawling in the yard, one day a snake appeared before Him, and the Lord began to play with it. All the members of the house were struck with fear and awe, but after a little while the snake went away, and the baby was taken away by His mother. Once He was stolen by a thief who intended to steal His ornaments, but the Lord took a pleasure trip on the shoulder of the bewildered thief, who was searching for a solitary place in order to rob the baby. It so happened that the thief, wandering hither and thither, finally arrived just before the house of Jagannatha Mishra and, being afraid of being caught, dropped the baby at once. Of course the anxious parents and relatives were glad to see the lost child.

Once a pilgrim brahmana was received at the house of Jagannatha Mishra, and when he was offering food to the Godhead, the Lord appeared before him and partook of the prepared food. The eatables had to be rejected because the child touched them, and so the brahmana had to make another preparation. The next time the same thing happened, and when this happened repeatedly for the third time, the baby was finally put to bed. At about twelve at night when all the members of the house were fast asleep within their closed rooms, the pilgrim brahmana offered his specially prepared foods to the Deity, and, in the same way, the baby Lord appeared before the pilgrim and spoiled his offerings. The brahmana then began to cry, but since everyone was fast asleep, no one could hear him. At that time the baby Lord appeared before the fortunate brahmana and disclosed His identity as Krishna Himself. The brahmana was forbidden to disclose this incident, and the baby returned to the lap of His mother. There are many similar incidents in His childhood. In this way the Lord passed His early childhood.

Navadvipa, the place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived, was considered to be the center of education and culture. Students from all over the country came and stayed here as students. At the age of sixteen, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started His own chatuspathi (village school conducted by a learned brahmana) in Navadvipa and He would simply explain Krishna, even in readings of grammar. 

During this time a great Kashmir scholar named Keshava Kashmiri came to Navadvipa to hold discussions on the shastras. The Kashmir pandita was a champion scholar, and he had travelled to all places of learning in India. Finally he came to Navadvipa to contest the learned panditas there. The panditas of Navadvipa decided to match Nimai Pandita (Lord Chaitanya) with the Kashmir pandita, thinking that if Nimai Pandita were defeated, they would have another chance to debate with the scholar, for Nimai Pandita was only a boy. And if the Kashmir pandita were defeated, then they would even be more glorified because people would proclaim that a mere boy of Navadvipa had defeated a champion scholar who was famous throughout India. 

It so happened that Nimai Pandita met Kesava Kasmiri while strolling on the banks of the Ganges. The Lord requested him to compose a Sanskrit verse in praise of the Ganges, and the pandita within a short time composed a hundred shlokas, reciting the verses like a storm and showing the strength of his vast learning. Nimai Pandita at once memorized all the slokas without an error. He quoted the sixty-fourth shloka and pointed out certain rhetorical and literary irregularities. He particularly questioned the pandita's use of the word bhavani-bhartuh. He pointed out that the use of this word was redundant. Bhavani means the wife of Siva, and who else can be her bharta, or husband? He also pointed out several other discrepancies, and the Kashmir pandita was struck with wonder. 

The Kashmir pandita was astonished that a mere student of grammar could point out the literary mistakes of an erudite scholar. Although this matter was ended prior to any public meeting, the news spread like wildfire all over Navadvipa. But finally Kesava Kasmiri was ordered in a dream by Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, to submit to the Lord, and thus the Kashmir pandita became a follower of the Lord.

 Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began to preach the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord at Navadvipa. Some of the brahmanas became envious of His popularity, and they put many hindrances on His path. They were so jealous that they finally took the matter before the Muslim magistrate at Navadvipa. Bengal was then governed by Pathans, and the governor of the province was Nawab Hussain Shah.

The Muslim magistrate of Navadvipa took up the complaints of the brahmanas seriously, and at first he warned the followers of Nimai Pandita not to chant loudly the name of Hari. But Lord Caitanya asked His followers to disobey the orders of the Kazi, and they went on with their sankirtana (chanting) party as usual. The magistrate then sent constables who interrupted a sankirtana and broke some of the mrdangas (drums).

When Nimai Pandita heard of this incident He organized a party for civil disobedience. He organized a procession of one hundred thousand men with thousands of mrdangas and karatalas (hand cymbals), and this procession passed over the roads of Navadvipa in defiance of the Kazi who had issued the order. Finally the procession reached the house of the Kazi, who went upstairs out of fear of the masses. The great crowds assembled at the Kazi's house displayed a violent temper, but the Lord asked them to be peaceful.

At this time the Kazi came down and tried to pacify the Lord. He pointed out that Nilambara Cakravarti referred to him as an uncle, and consequently, Srimati Sacidevi, the mother of Nimai Pandita, was his sister. He asked the Lord whether his sister's son could be angry at His maternal uncle. In this way the issue was mitigated, and the two learned scholars began a long discussion on the Koran and Hindu sastras.  The Lord finally convinced the Kazi, who became the Lord's follower.

The Kazi thenceforth declared that no one should hinder the sankirtana movement which was started by the Lord, and the Kazi left this order in his will for the sake of progeny. The Kazi's tomb still exists in the area of Navadvipa, and Hindu pilgrims go there to show their respects. 

 

 When Lord Krishna appeared in Navadvipa as Lord Chaitanya, Lord Balarama joined Him incarnating as Lord Nityananda. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu cannot be approached or understood without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, who is the original guru of all the universes and serves as an intermediary between Mahaprabhu and His devotees.

His mercy knew no bounds, and people fortunate to come in contact with Him were inundated with love of Godhead. It was by His mercy that Raghunatha dasa, one of the six Goswamis, started the famous Danda Mahotsava festival of Panihati (a tradition that continues to this day) and was thus able to serve Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

When Nityananda Prabhu came across the Jagai and Madhai brothers, their life was sinful - illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling - though they were born in a nice brahmana family. Once these two brothers were creating disturbance on the street, Lord Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura were out for preaching. So people informed them.  Nityananda Prabhu said, "Why not deliver these two brothers immediately? Then it will be a great credit for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu." The Jagai-Madhai brothers hurt Him on the head by throwing a stone and Nityananda Prabhu started bleeding. 

On coming to know about it Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became very angry: "I shall kill these two brothers immediately.”  Nityananda Prabhu entreated, "You wanted to deliver poor souls. So don't kill them. Accept them." This is Nityananda Prabhu's business, guru's business. The brothers in the meantime fell down at the lotus feet of Lord Chaitanya, "We are so sinful. We have done wrong. Kindly excuse us."

So Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made one condition, that "Your life is full of sinful activities. So if you simply promi Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a very high estimation of the affections of the damsels of Vrajabhumi (Vrindavana) for Krishna, and in appreciation of their unalloyed service to the Lord, once Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chanted the holy names of the gopis (cowherd girls) instead of the names of the Lord. At this time some of His students came to see Him, and when they saw that the Lord was chanting the names of the gopis, they were astonished. Out of sheer foolishness they advised Him to chant the name of Krishna. The Lord chastised them and chased them away. The students were almost the same age as the Lord, and thus they wrongly thought of the Lord as one of their peers. They held a meeting and resolved that they would attack the Lord if He dared to punish them again in such a manner. This incident provoked some malicious talks about the Lord on the part of the general public.

When the Lord became aware of this, He began to consider the various types of men found in society. He noted that especially the students, professors, fruitive workers, yogis, non-devotees, and different types of atheists were all opposed to the devotional service of the Lord. However, people in general were inclined to offer respects to a sannyasi. So the Lord decided to accept the renounced order of life (sannyasa) and become an ideal sannyasi so that the general populace would show Him respect. 

At that time, Keshava Bharati, a sannyasi of the Mayavadi school and resident of Katwa (in Bengal), visited His house. The Lord asked him to award Him the sannyasa order of life. Thus after consulting with Keshava Bharati, the Lord left Navadvipa for Katwa to formally accept sannyasa. He was accompanied by Srila Nityananda Prabhu, Chandrasekhara Acharya, and Mukunda Datta, who assisted Him in the details of the ceremony. The incident of the Lord's accepting the sannyasa order is very elaborately described in the Chaitanya-bhagavata by Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura.

Thus at the end of His twenty-fourth year the Lord accepted the sannyasa order of life in the month of Magha. After accepting this order He became a full-fledged preacher of the Bhagavata-dharma. Although He was doing the same preaching work in His householder life, when He experienced some obstacles to His preaching He sacrificed even the comfort of His home life for the sake of the fallen souls. In His householder life His chief assistants were Srila Advaita Prabhu and Srila Srivasa Thakura, but after He accepted the sannyasa order His chief assistants became Srila Nityananda Prabhu, who was deputed to preach specifically in Bengal, and the six Gosvamis (Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami), headed by Srila Rupa and Sanatana, who were deputed to go to Vrndavana to excavate the present places of pilgrimage. The present city of Vrindavana and the importance of Vrajabhumi were thus disclosed by the will of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 

Lord Nityananda is the eternal associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu cannot be approached or understood without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, He serves as an intermediary between Mahaprabhu and His devotees. He is the second body of the Lord, manifesting as Balarama to Sri Krishna, Lakshmana to Sri Rama and Nityananda Prabhu to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 

Nityananda Prabhu has the whitish complexion of Lord Balarama. He has a deep melodious voice, constantly singing the glories of Sri Krishna and carries a red stick with benedictions for the devotees, but feared by the demoniac. He has the mood of an avadhuta and He is so absorbed in love of Godhead.

Nityananda Prabhu was born in Ekachakra, a small village in present West Bengal, around the year 1474. His birth site is commemorated by a temple named Garbhasva and is visited by pilgrims even today. His father, Hadai Ojha and mother Padmavati, were pious Brahmans originally from Mithila. Nityananda Prabhu was born on the auspicious thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Magha. As a child, Nitai loved to enact the pastimes of Sri Krishna and Lord Rama. 

The village of Ekachakra was completely absorbed in the love of little Nitai, where He spent the first 12 years of his earthly life. In the 13th year, a travelling sannyasi, enchanted by Nitai's devotion and service, requested Nitai from his parents, as a travelling companion. His parents, bound by Vedic culture, could not refuse the request of a guest and reluctantly parted with Nitai. 

Nityananda Prabhu met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in 1506, when He was 32 years old and Chaitanya 20 years. Nityananda Prabhu in His role as the original spiritual master was instrumental in spreading the yuga dharma of sankirtana all over the Gauda desh (Bengal, Odisha). His mercy knew no bounds, and fortunate were the people who tasted the nectar of His instructions.

He married Jahnava devi and Vasudha, the two daughters of Suryadasa Sarakhel, who was the brother of Gauridasa Pandit (an intimate associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the spiritual master of the famous Shyamananda Pandit). Nityananda Prabhu had a son (Virabhadra) and a daughter (Gangadevi) from Vasudha. 

Lord Nityananda wound up His earthly pastimes, by entering into the Deity of Krishna, known as Bankim Ray, not far from Ekachakra. Vaishnava Acharyas emphatically state that people who try to understand Chaitanya Mahaprabhu without getting the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu will never succeed and one must pray very sincerely to Lord Nityananda Prabhu as the adi-guru (original spiritual master) to be delivered to the Lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

 Lord Krsna and Balarama are not two different Personalities of Godhead. God is one without a second, but He expands Himself in many forms without their being separate from one another. They are all plenary expansions. The immediate expansion of Lord Krsna is Balarama. Lord Balarama is as good as Krishna Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Krishna is dark and that of Balarama is fair. 

Lord Balarama is the source of all spiritual power (bala) which helps one attain the highest bliss of life (ramana) and hence the name Balarama. He is the protector of the devotees of the Lord. Without His mercy one cannot approach the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna.

The history of Lord Balarama’s appearance is unique. He appeared in the womb of Devaki as her seventh son (the first six sons were killed by her brother Kamsa) and was then transferred to the womb of Rohini. He lived in the land of Vraja with His brother Sri Krishna and performed many wonderful pastimes. He killed demons like Dhenukasura, Pralambasura, Dvivida and Balvala. 

You can go through the following sections to know more about Lord Balaram

Lord Balarama is the first expansion of Lord Sri Krishna. The Supreme Lord, although one without a second, expands Himself in many forms. The vishnu-tattva forms are expansions of the Supreme Lord, and all of them are qualitatively and quantitatively equal with the Lord. This is described in Brahma Samhita as follows:

diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya
dipayate vivrta-hetu-samana-dharma
yas tadrg eva hi ca visnutaya vibhati
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

The light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in His various manifestations. 

Lord Balarama is as good as Krishna Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Krishna is dark and that of Balarama is fair. Although Balarama is non-different from Lord Sri Krishna, He expands Himself in various other forms to render service to the Supreme Lord. In His form as Sesha Naga (Ananta Sesha) He supports unlimited number of universes on His hoods. He constantly glorifies the Supreme Lord with His thousand tongues. Sesha is also called Ananta, or unlimited, because He assists the Personality of Godhead in His unlimited expansions by performing an unlimited variety of services.

Srila Yamunacharya (the spiritual master of Sri Ramanujacharya) describes this: nivasa-sayyasana-padukamsuko-padhana-varsatapa-varanadibhih [Stotra Ratna 37] Although Lord Balaram is the transcendental personal expansion of the Supreme Lord, He has accepted the service of the Supreme Lord in the form of nivasa (residence), shayya (bed), asana (seat), paduka (slippers), amshuka (garments), padhana (pillow) and varshatapa (umbrella). Therefore He is appropriately known by people as Sesha.

Lord Balarama is the mercy incarnation of Lord Sri Krishna. He is described as the protector of the devotees of the Lord. He acts as the spiritual master of all devotees. In the Mundaka Upanisha (3.2.4) it is said: nayam atma bala-hinena labhyo. One cannot attain the goal of life without the mercy of Balarama. In this Kali-yuga, He appeared as Nityananda Prabhu, an associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and delivered the conditioned souls.

Lord Balarama did not participate in the fratricidal war in Kurukshetra. He went for a pilgrimage and visited many sacred places in India. This pilgrimage tour is elaborately explained in the 79th chapter of the Krishna Book. A brief account of the same is presented here.

Lord Balarama took permission from the brahmanas assembled at Naimisharanya and, accompanied by other brahmanas, went to the bank of the River Kausiki. After taking His bath in this holy place, He proceeded toward the River Sarayu and visited the source of the river. Traveling on the bank of the Sarayu River, He gradually reached Prayaga, where there is a confluence of three rivers -- the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati. Here also He took His bath, and then He worshiped in the local temples of the demigods and, as enjoined in the Vedic literature, offered oblations to the forefathers and sages. He gradually reached the asrama of the sage Pulaha and from there went to the rivers Gandaki and Gomati. After this He took His bath in the river Vipasha and in Sona River. (The Sona River is still running as one of the big rivers in Bihar Province.) He continued His journey and reached the city of Gaya, where there is a celebrated Visnu temple. According to the advice of His father, Vasudeva, He offered oblations to the forefathers in this Visnu temple. From here He traveled to the delta of the Ganges, where the sacred river Ganges mixes with the Bay of Bengal. This sacred place is called Gangasagara, and at the end of January every year there is still a great assembly of saintly persons and pious men, just as there is an assembly of saintly persons in Prayaga every year called the Magha-mela fair.

After finishing His bathing and ritualistic ceremonies at Gangasagara, Lord Balarama proceeded toward the mountain known as Mahendra Parvata, where He met Parasurama, an incarnation of Lord Krsna, and offered Him respect by bowing down before Him. After this Lord Balarama turned toward southern India and visited the banks of the River Godavari. After taking His bath in the river Godavari and performing the necessary ritualistic ceremonies, He gradually visited the other rivers -- the Vena, Pampa and Bhimarathi. Then, Lord Balarama gradually proceeded to Sailapura, a pilgrimage city in the province of Maharastra.

Lord Balarama then proceeded towards Dravida-desa and visited the temple of Balaji in Venkatacala. Then He proceeded towards Visnukanci, and also visited Sivakanci. Lord Balarama took His bath in the River Kaveri; and then reached Rangaksetra, the temple of Ranganatha. Then, Lord Balarama visited Madurai, commonly known as the Mathura of southern India. After visiting this place, He went towards Setubandha, the place where Lord Ramacandra constructed the stone bridge from India to Lanka (Ceylon). In this particularly holy place, Lord Balarama distributed ten thousand cows to the local brahmana priests. Lord Balarama then proceeded towards the Krtamala and Tamraparni rivers. These two rivers are celebrated as sacred, and Lord Balarama bathed in them both. He then proceeded toward Malaya Hill. This hill is very great, and it is said to be one of seven peaks called the Malaya Hills. The great sage Agastya used to live there, and Lord Balarama visited him and offered His respects by bowing down before him.

After taking the blessings of sage Agastya, Lord Balarama, with the sage's permission, proceeded toward the Indian Ocean. At the point of the cape (known today as Cape Comorin) is a big temple of goddess Durga, who is known there as Kanyakumari. From there, Lord Balarama went on to visit the pilgrimage city known as Phalguna-tirtha, which is on the shore of the Indian Ocean, and Pancapsarasa. From Cape Comorin Lord Balarama turned toward Kerala. After visiting this place, He came to Gokarna-tirtha, where Lord Siva is constantly worshiped. Balarama then visited the temple of Aryadevi, which is completely surrounded by water. From that island He went on to a place known as Surparaka. After this He bathed in the rivers known as Tapi, Payosni and Nirvindhya, and then He came to the forest known as Dandakaranya. Lord Balarama next came to the bank of the river Narmada, the biggest river in central India. On the bank of this sacred Narmada is a pilgrimage spot known as Mahismati-puri. After bathing there according to regulative principles, Lord Balarama returned to Prabhasa-tirtha, where He had begun His journey.

Krishna and Balarama performed many wonderful pastimes in Vrindavana. The sages of Naimisharanya wondered:

krtavan kila karmani saha ramena kesavah
atimartyani bhagavan gudhah kapata-manusah

Lord Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, along with Balarama, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts. [Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.20] These wonderful pastimes and superhuman acts are recorded in the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.  Srila Prabhupada presented the summary study of this tenth canto in the Krishna Book. You can read this book and relish the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. 

Some of the wonderful pastimes of Lord Balarama are presented here. 

Killing of Dhenukasura

One day the cowherd boys expressed their desire to taste the ripen fruits of palm trees in the Talavana forest, guarded by the demon Dhenukasura who is accompanied by many other demon friends, all assuming the form of ass. Krishna and Balarama wanted to please their friends and took them all to the Talavana forest. Balarama began to yank the trees with His arms, exhibiting the strength of an elephant, and all the ripe fruits fell down on the ground. Upon hearing the sound of the falling fruits, the demon Dhenukasura, appeared before Balarama and kicked His chest with his hind legs. At first Balarama did not say anything, but with great anger the demon kicked Him again more vehemently. This time Balarama immediately caught hold of the legs of the ass with one hand and, wheeling him around, threw him into the treetops. While he was being wheeled around by Balarama, the demon lost his life. Balarama threw the demon into the biggest palm tree about, and the demon's body was so heavy that the palm tree fell upon other trees, and several trees fell down. This exhibition of extraordinary strength is not astonishing because Balarama is the Personality of Godhead known as Ananta Sesha Naga, who is holding all the planets on the hoods of His millions of heads. 

Killing of Pralambasura

Once Krishna and Balarama were playing with the cowherd boys. A great demon named Pralambasura entered their company assuming the form of a cowherd boy. His intention was to kidnap both Balarama and Krishna. Krishna divided the boys into two teams. Some of them were on the side of Krishna, and some others took the side of Balarama. The arrangement is that the defeated members should carry the victorious members on their backs, as a horse carries its master. The party of Balarama, accompanied by Sridama and Vrshabha, came out victorious. Krishna’s party had to carry them on their backs. Pralambasura had to carry Balarama on his back. He took Balarama far away from others. Though the demon was very strong and powerful, he could not carry Balarama and suddenly he assumed his real form. Realizing what had happened, Lord Balarama struck the head of the demon with His strong fist, and the demon fell down dead immediately, just like a snake with a smashed head. 

Killing of Dvivida (The Gorilla)

Narakasura, a demon whom Lord Krishna killed, had a friend named Dvivida, an ape. Dvivida wanted to avenge the death of his friend. He disturbed the cowherds by setting fire to their home. He flooded the coastal lands by churning the ocean’s water with his mighty arms. He tore down the trees in the ahsramas of great sages. He went to the extent of passing stool and urine on their sacrificial fires. He kidnapped men and women and imprisoned them in mountain caves. When Lord Balarama was in Raivataka Mountain, Dvivida came there and insulted Him. His outrageous activities angered Lord Balarama. He threw a stone at the ape, but Dvivida managed to dodge it. He ridiculed Lord Balarama and tried to attack Him with a tree. Lord Balarama smashed the tree trunk to pieces. Dvivida uprooted all the trees one by one and attacked Lord Balarama, and the Lord simply broke all the trees to pieces. Then the foolish ape started throwing a barrage of stones, and Lord Balarama crushed them all to powder. Dvivida then charged the Lord and hit Him on the chest with his fists. Lord Balarama kept aside His club and plow weapon & struck Dvivida’s throat and shoulder. The ape vomited blood and fell down dead.

Killing of Demon Balvala

On the request of the sages of Naimisharanya, Lord Balarama decided to kill the demon Balvala, son of Ilvala, who was disturbing the sacrificial performances of the sages. Lord Balarama prepared Himself to meet the demon Balvala. At the time the whole sky became covered with dust and there was a hailstorm. The atmosphere became surcharged with a filthy smell. The mischievous demon Balvala began to shower torrents of stool and urine and other impure substances on the arena of sacrifice. After this, the demon himself appeared with a great trident in his hand. He was a gigantic person, and his black body was like a huge mass of carbon. His hair, his beard and his mustache appeared reddish like copper, and because of his great beard and mustache, his mouth appeared dangerous and fierce. As soon as He saw the demon, Lord Balarama prepared to attack him. He first considered how He could smash the great demon to pieces. Lord Balarama then called for His plow and club, and they immediately appeared before Him. The demon Balvala was flying in the sky, and at the first opportunity Lord Balarama dragged him down with His plow and angrily smashed the demon's head with His club. Balarama's striking fractured the demon's forehead, making blood flow profusely. Screaming loudly, the demon, who had been such a great disturbance to the pious brahmanas, fell to the ground like a great mountain with a red oxide peak being struck and smashed to the ground by a thunderbolt.

Once upon a time, Vasudeva, the son of Surasena, just after marrying Devaki, was going home on his chariot with his newly wedded wife. At that time, Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena, in order to please his sister, Devaki, had voluntarily taken the reins of the horses of Vasudeva's chariot and was driving. While the bride and bridegroom were passing along on the chariot, suddenly there was a miraculous sound vibrated from the sky which announced that the eighth child of Devaki will kill Kamsa. Immediately Kamsa caught hold of Devaki’s hair and was just about to kill her with his sword. But Vasudeva intervened promised that he will present all the children born of Devaki to Kamsa. 

When the first child was born, Vasudeva immediately brought the child before Kamsa. Kamsa returned the child to Vasudeva because according to the prophecy the danger was from the eighth child. But when he learnt from Narada that all the demigods are born in the family of Vrshnis, he became alarmed. He arrested Vasudeva and Devaki and put them behind prison bars. He also decided to kill all the babies who took birth from Devaki and Vasudeva. Thus he killed the first six babies. Lord Balarama appeared as the seventh son in the womb of Devaki. 

At this time, Krishna, the Supreme Lord, ordered the appearance of Yogamaya, His internal potency. Yogamaya is the principal potency of the Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord ordered her to transfer Lord Balarama from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini. Rohini was one of the wives of Vasudeva and she was residing at the house of Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda in Vrindavana. As ordered by the Supreme Lord, Yogamaya transferred Lord Balarama from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini. On account of being forcibly attracted to the womb of Rohini, He is also known as Sankarshana. 

Thus ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yogamaya circumambulated the Lord and then appeared within this material world according to His order. When Yogamaya, the supreme power of the supremely powerful Personality of Godhead, transferred Lord Sesa from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini, both Devaki and Rohini were under Yogamaya's spell, which is called yoga-nidra. When this was done, people thought that Devaki's seventh pregnancy had been a miscarriage. Thus although Balarama appeared as the son of Devaki, He was transferred to the womb of Rohini to appear as her son.