Our Line

mātala hari-jana kīrtana raṅge
pūjala rāga-pātha gaurava-bhaṅge

“Intoxicated with the joy of sankirtan, the devotees worship raga-marg, the path of loving service unto Radha-Krishna, from within the posture of vidhi-marg, the path of scripturally regulated devotional practice.”

Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

explains the practice of devotion
within
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Our Math is located in Gupta-Govardhan, Hidden Govardhan, in Sri Nabadwip Dham. Giriraj Govardhan is the highest, most worshippable place of Radha-Krishna’s Pastimes, and Radha-Krishna’s highest lila happens in the groves around Govardhan Hill. Thus Govardhan is the primary place of raga-marg worship of Radha-Krishna. Srila Das Goswami Prabhu prays,

pramada-madana-līlāḥ kandare kandare te
rachayati nava-yūnor dvandvam asminn amandam
 iti kila kalanārthaṁ lagnakas tad-dvayor me
nija-nikaṭa-nivāsaṁ dehi govardhana tvam
(Sri Govardhana-vasa-prarthana-dasakam: 2)

(“Oh Govardhan, the Divine Couple liberally enact Their Pastimes of maddened love within your caves. Please grant me a dwelling beside you so I can observe Their Pastimes.”)

When I wanted to make a diorama expressing our siddhanta on the front of our Math in Nabadwip, I engraved two lines on our nat-mandir. I wanted to show in the diorama that it is through Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan that we must worship Radha-Krishna in kali-yuga.

mātala hari-jana kīrtana raṅge
pūjala rāga-pātha gaurava-bhaṅge

This verse means that devotees are intoxicated with the practice of Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan—they are hearing and chanting the Holy Name and the glories of Mahaprabhu—and through that they are serving and satisfying the Divine Couple Radha-Krishna. Gaurava-bhange means that there are some rules and regulations and from afar we worship the raga-path; in the formal posture (gaurava-bhange) of Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan the devotees worship Radha-Govinda and Their intimate servitors.

At present we do not live in the domain of Radha-Krishna and we are not trying to forcefully enter that abode. Rather we are trying to honour that abode through our life in kali-yuga under our proper shelter in the practice of sankirtan at the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So we are proceeding systematically towards the goal of our lives, the service of Radha-Govinda, under the guidance of Their intimate associates headed by Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu.

We presented our diorama on the front of our Math to show everyone that through the sankirtan of Mahaprabhu we can properly honour the most worshippable plane of raga-marg service of Radha-Krishna—Govardhan—and that we will automatically enter there when we become qualified through our sincere practice of sankirtan.

mātala hari-jana kīrtana raṅge
pūjala rāga-pātha gaurava-bhaṅge

Our target is the service of Radha-Krishna under the guidance of Radharani’s associates. But if we immediately think we will get it very easily then we will be cheated. It is first necessary to practise Hari-nam-sankirtan properly and try to attract Radha-Krishna to appear in our heart by the grace of Their associates.

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