golokera prema-dhana, harinama-sankirtana'

Excerpt from a lecture by HH Varsana Swami

Submitted by Manoj

The sanctified place where the Lord resides is in relationships that place Him in the center.
That keeps everything harmonized, balanced and centered. Song and dance, which is so
inspiring and healing, happens to be the yuga dharma. It's is the yuga dharma in every kali
yuga. But in this special yuga when Sri Caitanya mahaprabhu comes, it is the prema dharma.
Golokera prema dhana harinam sankirtana. So by coming together, singing and dancing with
the holy name in the center, sacrificing false ego on the altar of the holy name, relationships
become pure and holy. 

Our internal purity is a product of our Japa - Individual chanting of the holy name which is for
reclusive purification of our individual parts. But without relationships you become stagnant,
lifeless and withered away. You become overwhelmed by fears and insecurities which
material life breeds. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu emphasized Sankirtan, the
congregational chanting of the holy name. This complements our Japa by purifying
relationships. How? By singing and dancing. Congregationally with the holy name as the
center. 

By coming together in harinam sankirtan, we are preparing ourselves for entrance into that
land where all speech is song and all motion is dance and the vibration which activates
everything is the sound of Krishna's flute. The song of Krishna's flute is non-different from the
sankirtan of Caitanya mahaprabhu, in the sense that They inspire love for Krishna.

Some of us are too old to dance. Bad backs or arthiritis. So we think, we cannot dance. But
there is no mundane obstacle to pure devotional service. As Srila Prabhupada commented in
explaining the song of Narada muni accompanied by the Vina, which made everyone in the
universe dance. Some of the devotees were old and they couldn't dance physically, but they
were dancing in their hearts.

It is important. Because dance is a form of worship in all traditions. Well, almost all traditions.
Like David, before the arc of the covenant, he was dancing and it caused a scandal. Because
some thought that act as shameless. But it had nothing to do with mundane enjoyment. It was
an expression of joy in the presence of the Lord. An expression of closeness with God. So we
can also dance in spirit. 

Dance means a graceful kind of motion. Graceful means full of grace. So, we can also be
graceful in all that we do. And we see that to move through life, through the different
transitions, and relationships, grace is an essential element. And grace and charm are
expressed in dance.

We've all heard the phrase, 'Leap of faith'. It doesn't mean a dive into the irrational. Leap of
faith means to lift your spirits beyond the weight of sin and sorrow which holds us down in this
world. And as Srila Prabhupada taught us how to dance, with arms up-raised, as Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu and his associates did, it is a way of expressing communion with God. A way of
expressing to friends our feelings and emotions. A way of aligning our inner life with our outer
relationships.

So we must be committed to over-coming the inertia that brings stagnancy to our spiritual life.
And dance is a way of expressing joy in a life of celebration, service and dedication to the
Lord. It is a means of moving beyond the world as we know it into the world as we would like
it. This material world is not ever going to become a pleasant place but it is a place to practice
now what we are meant to perform eternally in a world where love, sweetness, beauty and
charm reign supreme.

In practicing and celebrating the life we are preparing for, we can overcome the sorrow and
stagnancy of living in a world where mortality reigns.

So Srila Prabhupada taught the devotees to dance with their arms up-raised, which means
reaching outward and upward through time and space to an inner power of harmony and
rhythm and creative potency.

We say that Krishna is the only male. It means that there is only one independent enjoyer and
everyone else is dependent. Our joy, our satisfaction, our fulfillment is dependent on Krishna's
pleasure. So when we come together and dance in nam-sankirtan, it should be for the
pleasure of Krishna, the Guru and the Vaisnavas. The vaisnavas are personified in their
divine archetype - Advaita Acharya. The ontological form of Guru is Balaram, Sri Nityananda
prabhu. And the supreme male is Krishna. We should come together, sing and dance for
Their pleasure. By serving the desires of Krishna, our individual desires become sanctified
and fulfilled.
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Think About it !
Submitted by Gopinath das.

Isn't it strange how a $100 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to
the temple, but such a small amount when you go shopping? ?

Isn't it strange how endless an hour seems when we are serving God, but how short it is when
we watch a Football game for 60 minutes or 480 minutes for a 1-day international?

Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at the temple and how short they seem
when you're watching a movie?

Isn't it strange that you can't find things to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble in
thinking what to talk about with a friend?

Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of Bhagavad Gita, but how
easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?

Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do
whatever is possible to sit in the last row in the temple?

Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for the temple 2-3 weeks before the day
so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events at the last minute?

Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy
it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?

Isn't it strange how we believe everything that Magazines and Newspapers say but we
question the words in the Ramayana?

Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or
say anything to get there?
Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are Forwarded right away, but when we
are going to send messages about God, we think about twice before we share them with
others?