Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur in Mayapur
Mar 03, 2023 — CANADA (SUN) — A Songbook of 62 Bengali Songs by Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Published in 1880. Translation by Dasaratha-suta dasa. Published to commemorate the 500th Appearance Anniversary of Lord Caitanya.
INDEX OF SONGS TOPICS
AUSPICIOUS INVOCATION and DESCRIPTION
of the KALYAN KALPA-TARU
FIRST BRANCH: "UPADESA" (Spiritual Advice)
1) The soul's Real Position
2) Mundane Lust vs. Spiritual Lust
3) Scientific Doubt Resolved
4) Demigods Worship Put Into Perspective
5) Impersonal Doubts vs. Personal Truth
6) Scholarly Logic Kicked out
7) Hatha-yoga is Unnecessary
8) Merging with Brahman is Foolish
9) Caste-Pride is False
10) Mundane Knowledge is Most Harmful
11) Bodily Beauty is Temporary
12) Madness for Wealth is Ridiculous
13) Sannyasa Not as Important as Devotion
14) Traveling on Pilgrimage Not Necessary
15) Austerities and Penance Defined
16) Cheating Devotees are Rejectable
17) Fault-Finders of the Disciplic Succession Rectified
18) Bogus Ecstatic Symptoms
19) Lust is Not Love
SECOND BRANCH: "UPALABDHI" (Attainment of Realization)
I ANUTAPA (Repentance)
1) Whole Life Wasted
2) Bereft of Devotees'' Association
3) Time Wasted in Karma
4) Poisonous Mayavada Philosophy
5) Remedy for Mayavada and Misery
II NIRVEDA (Despondency)
1) Material Life is Not Nice
2) How Material Hopes Increase
3) Bhukti & Mukti Rejected
4) Rare Human Birth Wasted
5) The Nature of the Misled Siddha-Deha
III SAMBANDHA-ABHIDEYA-PRAYOJANA-VIJNANA (Relationship, Action & the Goal)
1) Sambandha (Relationship with Krsna)
2) Vaisnava Truth
3) Imitation Vaikuntha
4) Worship Now, Not Later
THIRD BRANCH: "UCCHVASA" (Overflowing Spiritual Emotions)
I DAINYA-MAYI (Utter Humility)
1) Vaisnavas Can Give Krsna
2) Lord Caitanya is the Deliverer of the Fallen
3) The Ocean of Material Existence
4) A Prayer to Yoga-maya
II LALASA-MAYI (Eager Longing)
1) Longing
2) Servant of the Servant
3) Give up Non-devotees
4) The Secret of Lord Caitanya's "Enemies"
5) How to take Shelter of Vrndavana
6) Favorable Practices
7) The Pure Devotee
8) Prayer to the Pure Devotee
9) My Worshipping-Cottage at Navadvipa
10) Prayer to Lord Caitanya in Navadvipa
11) The Splendor of Vrndavana at Navadvipa
12) Wandering Madly in Navadvipa
III VIJNAPTI (Confidential Confessions)
1) Gopinatha
2) Gopinatha
3) Gopinatha
4) A Humble Petition for Service
IV UCCHVASA KIRTANA (Overflowing Chanting)
A) NAMA-KIRTANA (Chanting His Names)
1) Names of Lord Caitanya
2) Names of Lord Krsna
B) RUPA-KIRTANA (Chanting His Beauty)
1) Description of Lord Krsna's beauty
C) GUNA-KIRTANA (Chanting His Qualities)
1) Krsna's Quality of Mercy
2) Krsna's Unlimited Qualities
D) LILA-KIRTANA (Chanting His Pastimes)
1) Krsna's Human-like Pastimes
2) Krsna's Pastimes with the Gopis
E) RASA-KIRTANA (Chanting His ecstatic mellows)
1) Rendezvous: Called for the Rasa Dance
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
by SRILA BHAKTIVINODA THAKURA
(1)
vande vrndatavi-candram
radhikaksi-mahotsavam
brahmatmananda-dhikkari
purnananda-rasalayam
vande - I offer my respectful obeisances; vrnda-atavi - the forest of Vrndavana; candram - the moon; radhika - Srimati Radharani; aksi - eyes; maha-utsavam - grand festival; brahmatma-ananda - the bliss of merging into the Brahman effulgence; dikkari - puts to shame; purna-ananda - full in spiritual joy; rasa-alayam - the abode of transcendental mellows.
Those aspirant practitioners who have first had profound meditation on the purport of great statements like "tattvamasi", etc., and who have attained unity with the bliss of merging into the Brahmana effulgence, themselves find that such so-called bliss is put to shame before the completely ecstatic spiritual relationship between the taster and tasted mellows. I offer my respectful obeisances unto that most astonishing abode of such totally blissful mellows, the very moon over Vrndavana: Sri Krsna, Who is the delightful festival for Sri Radhika's eyes.
(2)
caitanya-caranam vande
krsna-bhakta-janasrayam
advaita-mata-dhaureya
bharapanodanam param
caitanya-caranam - the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya; vande - I offer my respectful obeisances; krsna-bhakta - the devotees of Lord Krsna; jana-asrayam - the refuge of such persons; advaita - undifferentiated monism; mata - the opinion; dhaureya - fit for a burden; bhara - the weight; apanodanam - throws away; param - the only.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, which are the only shelter for all of the greatly fortunate devotees of Lord Krsna. His lotus feet cast out to a distant place the unbearable burden of the doctrine of undifferentiated monism, as it was propounded by Sripada Sankaracarya.
(3)
gurum vande mahabhagam
krsnananda-svarupakam
yan mude racayisyami kalyana-kalpa-padapam
gurum - unto the spiritual master; vande - I offer my respectful obeisances; maha-bhagam - most worshipable; krsna - of Lord Krsna; ananda - bliss; svarupakam - the original form; yat-mude - the cause of the increase of whose bliss; racayisyami - I will write; kalyana-kalpa-padam - the book named Kalyan Kalpa-taru.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my most worshipable Gurudeva, who is the personified form of blissful Krsna consciousness. Jut to increase his transcendental happiness, I will compose the book known as "Kalyan Kalpa-taru".
(4)
aprakrta-rasanande
na yasya kevala ratih
tasyedam na samalocyam
pustakam prema-samputam
aprakrta - transcendental; rasa-anande - in the bliss of transcendental mellow; na - not; yasya - whose; kevala - unalloyed; ratih - love; tasya - his; idam - this; na - not; samalocyam - subject to criticism; pustakam - the book; prema-samputam - a box for the safekeeping of the most extremely confidential jewels of ecstatic love.
The aggregate of the following 24 elements i called "prakrti": the 5 gross elements, the 5 objects of the senses, the 5 working senses, the 5 knowledge-acquiring senses, mind, intelligence, ego, & mahattattva. The truth that is above and beyond all these is called "transcendental truth". That truth although being the original reservoir of all blissful spiritual mellows, is not appreciated by all persons, indeed, those who have not developed unalloyed love and attachment to this transcendental truth will not read this book, which is just like a small jewel box for guarding the most confidential gems of ecstatic love. Thus they simply remain attached to meditating on material bodily happiness, becoming completely submerged and drowned in the insignificant ocean of lust.
(5)
ayam kalpa-taror-nama
kalyana-padapah subhah
vaikuntha-nilaye bhati vane nihsreyasahvake
ayam - this; kalpa-taror-nama - named "kalpa-taru"; kalyana-padapah - the desire-tree of auspiciousness; subhah - auspicious; vaikuntha-nilaye - in the abode of Vaikuntha; bhati - conspicuously present; vane - in the forest; nihsreyasa-ahvake - named the "ultimate welfare".
In the abode of Vaikuntha, within the forest of ultimate good, there is one special wish-fulfilling desire tree of supreme auspiciousness, conspicuously present among all the others.
(6)
tasya skandha-trayam suddham vartate vidusam mude
upadesas thatha copalabdhistucchvasakah kila
tasya - that tree; skandha - branch; trayam - three-fold; suddham - principle; vartate - is existing; vidusam - of learned men; mude - for the purpose of increasing the joy; upadesah - advice; tatha - that; ca - and; upalabdhih - attainment; tu - and; uchvasakah - overflowing emotions; kila - known as.
This tree is divided into three principle branches known as "Upadesa" (spiritual advice), "Upalabdhi" (attainment of realization), and "Ucchvasa" (overflowing spiritual emotions), which increase the joy of all persons who are actually wise.
(7)
asritya padapam vidvan
kalyanam labhate phalam
radha-krsna-vilasesu
dasyam vrndavane vane
asritya - taking shelter; padapam - of the desire-tree; vidvan - most learned persons; kalyanam - in the form of auspiciousness; labhate - attaining; phalam - the fruit; radha-krsna-vilasesu - in the performance of Sri-Sri-Radha-Krsna's pastimes; vrndavane vane - within the transcendental forest called Vrndavana, beyond the abode of Vaikuntha.
The shelter of this special desire-tree produces the attainment of fruits in the form of auspiciousness. This means eternal servitude to the performance ce of Sri-Sri-Radha-Krsna's pastimes in the realm of the transcendental fores named Vrndavana, within the innermost secret abobe of Vaikuntha.
(8)
sampujya vaisnavan vipran
sarva-jivamsca nityasah
kirtayami vinito 'ham gitam vraja-rasasritam
sampujya - fit for being worshipped; vaisnava - to all vaisnavas who are residents of Sri Navadvipa, Sri Ksetra, and Sri Vraja-dhama; vipran - to all the brahmnanas who are followers of the Vaisnavas; sarva-jivan ca - and also to all souls from Lord Brahma down to the untouchable outcastes and dogs; nityasah - always; kirtayami - I perform kirtana; vinitha - humbly; aham - I; gitam - songs; vraja-rasa - the mellow of Vraja; asritam - sheltered.
I now humbly perform the chanting of all the songs which are sheltered under the mood of Vraja, just to worship all of Lord Krsna's jiva souls. This includes all the Vaisnava residents of Vraja-dhama, Ksetra-dhama, and Navadvipa-dhama, as well as all the brahmanas who are beyond fruitive activities and speculative knowledge, as well as all the souls from Lord Brahma down to the untouchable outcastes and dogs.
NOTE: The word for word translations are fused on Bhaktivinoda's own Bengali translation of his Sanskrit verses. Therefore expanded explanation are evident.
(To be continued...)
