Balaram Jayanti Festival-Lord Balaram The Original Guru-Nand Dulal 2016 08 18 ISKCON Chowpatty

2016 08 18 Balaram Jayanti Festival-Lord Balaram The Original Guru-Nand Dulal ISKCON Chowpatty SB 10.15.6 ete ’linas tava yaśo ’khila-loka-tīrthaṁ  gāyanta ādi-puruṣānupathaṁ bhajante prāyo amī muni-gaṇā bhavadīya-mukhyā  gūḍhaṁ vane ’pi na jahaty anaghātma-daivam Word for word: ete — these; alinaḥ — bees; tava — Your; yaśaḥ — glories; akhila-loka — for all worlds; tīrtham — the place of pilgrimage; gāyantaḥ — are chanting; ādi-puruṣa — O original Personality of Godhead; anupatham — following You along the path; bhajante — they are engaged in worshiping; prāyaḥ — for the most part; amī — these; muni-gaṇāḥ — great sages; bhavadīya — among Your devotees; mukhyāḥ — the most intimate; gūḍham — hidden; vane — within the forest; api — even though; na jahati — they do not abandon; anagha — O sinless one; ātma-daivam — their own worshipable Deity. Translation: O Original Personality, these bees must all be great sages and most elevated devotees of Yours, for they are worshiping You by following You along the path and chanting Your glories, which are themselves a holy place for the entire world. Though You have disguised Yourself within this forest, O sinless one, they refuse to abandon You, their worshipable Lord. Purport: The word gūḍham is significant in this verse. It indicates that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of Kṛṣṇa or Balarāma appears like an ordinary human being within the material world, great sages always recognize the Lord as the Supreme Absolute Truth. All the transcendental forms of Godhead are eternal and full of bliss and knowledge, exactly the opposite of our material bodies, which are temporary and full of misery and ignorance. One meaning of the word tīrtha is “the means for crossing beyond material existence.” Simply by hearing the glories of the Supreme Lord or by chanting them, one immediately comes to the spiritual platform, beyond material existence. Thus the Lord’s transcendental glories are here described as a tīrtha for everyone in the world. The word gāyantaḥ indicates that great sages give up their vows of silence and other selfish processes to glorify the activities of the Supreme Lord. Real silence means to not speak nonsense, to limit one’s verbal activities to those sounds, statements and discussions relevant to the loving service of the Supreme Lord. The word anagha indicates that the Supreme Lord never performs sinful or offensive activities. The word also indicates that the Lord immediately excuses a sin or offense committed by a sincere loving devotee who may accidentally deviate from the Lord’s service. In the specific context of this verse, the word anagha indicates that Lord Balarāma was not disturbed by the bees who were constantly following Him (anupatham). The Lord blessed them by saying, “O bees, come into My confidential grove and feel free to taste its fragrance.”