| Śrī Kīrtanāmṛtam Bindu: The Nectar of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava songs Contributor(s): Dau Dayal Das, Dauji (Author) |
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ISBN: ISBN-13: 9798709657113 Publisher: Independently Published OUR PRICE: $13.15 Product Type: Paperback Published: February 2021 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Hindu |
| Physical Information: 0.24" H x 5.98" W x 9.02" (0.36 lbs) 116 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The songs and prayers included in this compilation of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava poetry are not mere songs and not mundane poetry. They are a transcendental creation expressing the inner moods of highly exalted spiritual personalities, the saintly devotees of our ancient tradition. They are portals to the spiritual world. They convey the essence of the Vaiṣṇava spiritual wisdom, and express the mood and philosophy of pure bhakti and prema - pure divine love. Such sublime devotional poetry can transport us to the transcendental realm of pure loving devotion for the Divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā and Krishna.Singing these songs, hearing them or even contemplating them in the written form will give us the higher taste of our soul's connection with the Divine Coupled. Such transcendental poetry can purify our hearts, elevate our consciousness and open the floodgates of mercy.We have all had the experience that when we do japa (chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra on japa beads as an individual meditation) - the mind often wanders off. When we do our bhajan (deep silent meditation communing with our worshipable spiritual personalities) - the mind often wanders off. But when we chant together in kīrtan, congregational chanting of the holy name (Harinām Sankīrtan) the mind gets completely absorbed in the kīrtan and all the mental nonsense fly far away. Similarly when we sing bhajans together, the mind becomes sweetly absorbed and we spontaneously transcend our mundane state of consciousness. Kīrtan usually refers to chanting the mahā-mantra with a melody, and bhajans refers to singing about the pastimes and glories of Rādhā-Krishna and Their associates. But beyond that, kīrtan is a genuine prayer, a soulful song, a call from the heart to our Eternal Beloved.The word bhajan has two meanings: 'To sing bhajans' means singing devotional songs. 'To do bhajan' - means to render service by mind, to meditate internally on rendering service to Rādhā-Krishna with our mentally conceived spiritual form (svarūpa). The root verb of bhajan is bhaj, which means to serve or to worship. Therefore singing bhajans is a way of serving or worshiping Śrī Guru, Śrī Nitāi-Gaurānga, and Śrī Rādhā-Krishna.For example, taking prasād (foodstuffs which have been sanctified by being cooked and offered with love to the Lord) is referred to as prasād seva, serving (or honouring) the sacred remnants of the Lord. When we 'honour' prasād, we are not merely eating, we are serving Śrī Krishna. Therefore it is said that by taking prasād "We eat our way to the spiritual world." Similarly, when we sing bhajans, we are attracting Rādhā-Krishna's attention, praying for Their mercy, spiritualizing our consciousness, purifying our minds, softening and sweetening our hearts, and re-establishing our lost connection with Divinity. Thus by singing devotional songs (bhajans) we are "Singing our way to the spiritual realm." Of all the activities of bhakti, the sweetest and most heart-melting is the chanting and singing of kīrtans and bhajans. Our prayer is that the readers will cherish and relish the rare treasures hidden in every verse of every song therein and experience the sweet taste of bhakti for themselves. Radhe Radhe |