* Transcribed version of the lecture given by H. H. Mahanidhi Maharaja on the topic - Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi.
This is Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi 2009. Hari Bhakti Vilas is talking about this, ordinarily this is Pasankusa Ekadasi, the first ekadasi which Kartika vrata begins on and Srila Prabhupada in 1972, wrote in a letter to some disciples – “Now we are going to Vrndavana and we are going to celebrate Kartika. We will begin our Kartika vrata on ekadasi. This year is a very special combination of tithis and stars, so it is called Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi.”
Which is glorified in Hari Bhakti Vilas, eleventh chapter, verse 356-399. And we have organized those verses in a more understandable way. So firstly we describe the boons or benedictions by observing this. Of course, for the sincere sadhaka, he is happy to know that God is pleased by my activities. And so many places Krsna says, “I am very pleased by observing this day.” In fact He goes so far to say that this day is Hari Vasara.
Ekadasi is Hari vasa. Hari Vasara – is the day of Hari, Hari lives in this day.
Text 376, Chapter 11.
Observing one Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi is better than performing 1,000 Rajasuya sacrifices. Only uttering the name “Vyanjuli” at once can counteract the sinful reaction of 10,000 lifetimes.
So everyone can please repeat “Vyanjuli”. Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi Ki Jai!
And Text 386 says,
The sin of eating abominable food can be nullified by glorifying the Supreme Lord on Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi. Anandakhanda Bhagavan Ki Jai!
Abominable food means bhoga. Krsna's telling in Bhagvad-gita, chapter 3, verse 13.
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
Srila Prabhupada: The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
MS: Krsna says that food which offered first in yajna or sacrifice, this is acceptable to Me, and is purifying. But we eat food only for personal sense gratification, without offering in yajna, then verily that food is equal to sin. In this particular verse, as Srila Prabhupada often says, this verse Krsna is not talking about vegetarianism. He is talking about ‘Krsnarian’.
They would ask Srila Prabhupada, “Are you people vegetarian?”. He said, “No. We don’t care about vegetarian. We are not vegetarians. We are Krsnarian” Because even vegetarians are pāpis; they are sinful. How is that? Because they are not offering their food in yajna. Every single sip of carrot juice is pāpā. Every single mung bean sprout is pāpā. Every single kaaju and kismis is pāpā, according to Krsna in Bhagvad-gita, chapter 3, verse 13.
yajña-śiṣṭā means food taken after the performance of yajna, sista is like sesh, seshtha, the tendency to eat at the end; after the yajna, yajña-śiṣṭā
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
aghaṁ pāpā – pāpā means sin, but agha means very vile, vicious sin – agha. That is why his name is Aghasura, the snake demon. Agha means sin, it doesn’t mean snake. So it actually means the sin demon. When we say pāpā, pāpā means generic sin, like we say aspirin… there are so many types of aspirins, but then there is Tylenol 500 and Crocin and Bocin and Tocin…No-sin. It should be No-sin not Crocin! Mysin, Your-sin, so many sins… right? Myacin – some type of antibiotic, Myacin. Tetra-my-sin, Tetra-your-sin. They should be saying, tend-to your-sin and I will tend-to-my-sins. (audience laughs) Oh we want No-sin not Crocin!
Food taken after performance of yajna, yajna-sista, asina – eaters, they are santas, the santas means the devotees, the saints.
mucyante is actually a derivative of mukti. They get mukti from sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ, kilbisaih means sins.
bhuñjate - the devotees, they perform yajna, they take yajña-śiṣṭā, yajna vai visnu, they take the yajna phal. It is called yajna phal – the fruit of the yajna. So we perform yajna, we ring the bell, we offer incense, then we do puja afterwards and we offer bhoga to Krsna. Yes it is vegetarian, that is a fact, there is nothing produced from violence or killing of animals. It is the food that is sanctioned by God for human beings, that is what we eat.
But that is not sufficient to free you from being a aghaṁ pāpā – a very vicious and vile, grossest of sinners. Although you are proud to say “I am vegetarian”, but you are going to hell! Because you are killing those innocent cauliflowers, and those innocent broccolis, and patta gobis. You know, patta gobi, Mr. Gobi, he was a very virtuous man, till you fried him up and you didn’t even offer him… so you are a gobi bhogi… patta gobi bhogi to be exact!
Devotees of the Lord are released, mucyante, mukti yante, from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin. So we are ‘Krsnarians’. We eat Krsna prasadam.
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
They prepare food, pacanty, ātma-kāraṇāt, only for themselves. ātma-kāraṇāt means doing it for me. Atma-banaya, mein banaya, mein bhoga banaya, svatantra bhoga, aham bhogi. So they are sinful, they are not much appreciated by Lord Krsna.
So if one eats abominable food, he can be released from that sin by observing Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi and glorifying the Lord. One can nullify the sin of stealing another’s property. Mental illness, lamentation, misery, physical ailments and dreaded diseases are alleviated by observing this vow.
Text 393 -
Oh this is very interesting, I thought this was a very humorous side point in this discussion, Hari Bhakti Vilas, chapter 11, says that Yamaraja is having a discussion with Citragupta, his secretary, PS of Yamaraja, and he says, ”So tell me, are people observing this Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi or not?” and he said, “Some are, some aren’t.”
And Yamaraja replied in Text 393, “People that are averse or against observing Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi, they give me a headache.”
In the Sanskrit, it says, siradhara, so don’t give a headache to Yamaraja! It’s not a very good idea… you want to keep on good terms with him!
Observing this Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi is equal to observing all kinds of tirtha yatras, all kinds of tirtha snanas, all kinds of vows and all kinds of dhanams. The most important, auspicious engagement for all people is to observe Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi.
Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi Ki Jai!
Now, what should we do on this auspicious day? Devotional activities… for the pleasure of Lord Hari, we should recite the Bhagvad-gita (which we did) and the Srimad Bhagvatam (which we will)
There are verses from the Srimad Bhagvatam where Srila Prabhupada mentions in a purport of the seventh canto, I believe, he says, “Devotees who are sincere and desire to get free from their offenses in chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, they should memorize and repeat these two verses, as a means to overcome the offenses to the holy name.”
Our founder acarya, and our beloved gurudev, and param guru for many, is giving us a wonderful opportunity in this purport as a means to getting free from offenses to the holy name.
There are 3 stages in chanting. There is Nama Aparadha stage, which is the dirty stage, the confused and cloudy stage. And the second stage is the clearing stage, where things become a little clearer, and this is called the Nama Abhas and the third stage is Sudha Nama, when we actually perceive Krsna.
Therefore it behooves us to become free from offenses as soon as possible; by any means – by more chanting, by taking advantage of these remedial measures such as chanting these prayers.
One prayer is from the Srimad Bhagvatam, 10th canto. This is in relation to King Kamsa, when he grabbed Devaki on the chariot and was going to kill her on the spot on the day of her wedding and then Vasudev convinced him that that wasn’t a very good idea.
So he desisted from that. At the end of that chapter, Sukadev Goswami is describing about offending devotees like Devaki as a general point. One should be a little careful about that. This is actually at the beginning of the Srimad Bhagvatam, 10th canto, chapter 1, verse 4. But this verse, almost in one sense, acts like a mangalacarna to indicate the future, what I mentioned.
nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-’bhirāmāt
ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt
pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt
Srila Prabhupada: Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparā system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?
MS (reading from the purport): Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparā system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation.
Descriptions of the Lord Sri Krsna are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing… ausadhi, this word is there, bhavauṣadhāc, bhava-ausadhi, they the ausadhi, the medicine for the ones in the bhava-sagar… those who are undergoing repeated birth and death, that is us. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord (uttamaśloka) except a butcher – an animal killer, (paśughnāt) or one who is killing his own self?
And the other verse is from the Nama astakam, by Srila Rupa Goswami, I believe. It is the opening verse in our Gauranga Prema Song Book.
nikhila-śruti-mauli-ratna-mālā-
dyuti-nīrājita-pāda-paṅkajānta
ayi mukta-kulair upāsyamānaṁ
paritas tvāṁ hari-nāma saṁśrayāmi
I take complete shelter – sama asraya, complete shelter. I take complete shelter of Hari nama.
Who is this Hari nama? This Hari nama is a person. And a person has hands and feet and a head, and mouth and eyes. pāda-paṅkajānta - Your beautiful, effulgent toe nails. They are dyuti-nīrājita, they are glowing and gleaming, scintillating toe nails. Beautiful toe nails of Hari nama. The lotus feet of Hari nama and His beautiful toe nails, pāda-paṅkajānta.
And is it just me who is doing this? Taking complete shelter? Am I alone? Am I a mad man? Some Hare Krsna devotee? Some brainwashed zombie from New York city? ayi mukta-kulair – the mukta kula, the entire group of mukta janas, of the muktanandas, the liberated souls, the mukta-kulair, they are doing the same thing… upāsyamānaṁ - upasya, they are worshipping the toes of this Hari nama, not only me. I have taken complete shelter there - saṁśraya, I have no other shelter in these fourteen worlds, but this holy name of Sri Krsna, the mahamantra
hare krsna, hare krsna, krsna krsna, hare hare
hare rāma, hare rāma, rāma rāma, hare hare
Is it just me and some of these mukta kula - This whole family of liberated souls that are worshipping? No. nikhila-śruti-mauli-ratna-mālā- all the srutis, all the nikhila sruti, mauli – the crown jewel of all the srutis, they are also worshipping, they are lining up, they have lined up like a mala, a ratna mala, a jeweled mala, to glorify the toe-nails of Hari nama Prabhu.
Brhad Naradiya Purana and this purana and that purana… everywhere the glories of Hari nama are described.
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
This is Brhad Naradiya Purana, then Padma Purana
atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
nama cintamanih krsnas
caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
purnah suddho nitya-mukto
'bhinnatvan-nama-naminoh
And the Bhagavat Purana…
kaler dosa-nidhe rajann
asti hy eko mahan gunah.
kirtanad eva krsnasya
mukta-sangah param vrajet
Many verses everywhere glorify… this is holy name, which we are worshipping.
(Sings)
If you want to live with the Lord of play,
You must chant your days away
Isn’t that right? If you want to live with the Lord of play, you must chant your days away. Chant the holy name!
What was, is past
What is, won’t last
At all times be steadfast
Chant Hare Krsna and have a blast!
Nitai Gaur Premanandi! Hari Hari Bol! Hari Bol!
Devotional acts to be performed on this day – recite the Bhagvad-gita and Srimad Bhagvatam. By fasting, giving charity, feeding brahmanas, one will attain the ultimate goal of life.
Puja – early in the morning, one should take a bath and establish a golden deity of Lord Narayana and bathe Him with milk, offer incense and argya, (flowers, coconut water mixed in a conchshell, this is argya) we could do mental, manasa argya.
“Oh Narayana, Jagannatha, Janardhana, Mahavisnu, Pitambara, Sanatana, kindly deliver me from the ocean of material existence. Please deliver all my forefathers.”
And after worshipping Lord Narayana with this argya, then we should worship the guru.
Hari Bhakti Vilas also glorifies jagaran.
Text 381
Anyone who remains awake on this night of Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi, and hears of Krsna's lilas and hears and chants about the Supreme Lord, they will get the punya of giving 1,000 cows in charity. One should sing dance and play musical instruments for the satisfaction of the Lord.
Now listen to this. It is told - in text 390.
Lord Visnu descends from Vaikuntha to associate with the vratis and fulfils their desires.
Breaking the vrata – test 395
Feed brahamanas after the vrata and then you will attain the association of Lord Visnu. Offer everything to the spiritual master and Lord Visnu and beg forgiveness for any transgressions or deficiencies in the execution of the vrata.
Vyanjuli Mahadvadasi Ki Jai!
Now we are going to read from the Ekadasi Mahatmyam, about this most wonderful day. We are all so fortunate to be able to be alive so we can hear the glories of this holy day.
The glories of Pasankusa Ekadasi which occur Sukla paksa Ashwin mahina are described in the Brahma-vaivarta purana in a conversation between Lord Sri Krsna and Maharaj Yudhishthira.
Maharaj Yudhishthira said, “O Madhusudana, what is the name of the ekadasi which occurs in Sukla paksa Ashwin mahina?”
Bhagavan Sri Krsna replied, “O, best of kings, the name of this ekadasi is Pasankusa Ekadasi. Please hear the glories of this ekadasi. It destroys all of one’s sins. Some people call this ekadasi Papankusa. One should particularly worship Lord Padmanabha on the day of this ekadasi. This ekadasi awards a person heavenly pleasures, liberation and his desired results. Just by chanting the holy names of Visnu one can attain the piety of visiting all the places on the earth.
1000 names of Visnu equals 3 names of Rama, 3 names of Rama equals 1 name of Krsna.
(Sings) Krsna Krsna Krsna Krsna Krsna Krsna Krsna e!
If the conditioned soul in spite of indulging in various sinful activities due to illusion takes shelter and offers obeisances at the lotus feet of Lord Hari, who is expert in delivering the fallen souls, then such a person does not have to go to hell. Those vaisnavas who criticize Lord Siva and those saivaites, who criticize Lord Visnu, will both undoubtedly go to hell.
The result one obtains by performing 1000 horse sacrifices or performing 100 Rajasuya sacrifices cannot equal to 1/16th portion piety one obtains by following this ekadasi. Now figure that out!
There is no piety in this world which is equal to the piety earned by observing this ekadasi. Therefore there is no other day as sanctified as this ekadasi, which is very dear to Lord Padmanabha.
O King Yudhishthira, as soon as a person fails to observe this ekadasi, sins begin to reside in his body. This ekadasi awards its follower heavenly liberation, freedom from desires, beautiful women, wealth and food grains. O maintainer of the earth, if one observes this ekadasi and remains awake on that night, he easily goes to the abode of Lord Visnu.
Hari Bol!!
Lord Krsna continued, “O best of Kings, by observing the vow of this ekadasi, one can deliver 10 generations from his mother’s side, 10 generations from his father’s family and 10 generations from his wife’s family.
If a person observes this ekadasi even in his childhood, youth or old age, he does not suffer the miseries of material existence.
One who strictly observes this Pasankusa Ekadasi is relieved of all the sinful reactions. At the end of his life, he returns to the abode of Lord Visnu.
Hari Bol! Visnulok prapti ki jai!
If a person gives away gold, sesame seeds, land, cows, food grains, water, umbrella or shoes in charity, then such a person does not have to go to the abode of Yamaraja. Anyone who spends his day without engaging in pious activities is like a dead man, although breathing. His breathing is compared to the bellows of the blacksmith.
O best of Kings, a person who digs wells and lakes for the benefit of others, who donates land and houses and performs other pious activities such as sacrifices, is not subjected to the punishment of Yamaraja.
Is result of piety only that people live long lives, become rich, take birth in high class families, become free from disease? The purport is that direct result of observing ekadasi is to attain Krsna bhakti, and the indirect result is to attain the various temporary material benefits.
Janma aiswarya sruta sribir - these are the results of punya karma from last life. And people are so foolish, they are reaping these results and enjoying and relishing and exploiting these results that they have within their hand. They are not doing anything more in this life to procure similar benefits in their next life because of foolishness and false pride. You may know people like that. They have good money, good health, but they are not doing anything… not giving charity to poor people, religious things, not doing anything… many people are like that.
Everywhere in the scriptures, they are telling, they are not lying. All of you have good karma but you if don’t do more good things next life you will be pulling rickshaws…
Pasankusa Ekadasi ki Jai!