Gunarnava das, Kirtan, 2023, April 16, Varuthini Ekadashi, Izhevsk
Channel: ISKCON Izhevsk
Date: 20/04/2023

Chanting auspicious mantras recommended during the age of Kali Yuga.

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu-nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara
srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda

I offer my obeisances to Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of devotion.

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण
कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे
हरे राम हरे राम
राम राम हरे हरे

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

The word "mantra" means to deliver or free the mind. The word "Hare" refers to the divine feminine potency of God. "Krishna" means the all-attractive one, and "Rama" is the reservoir of all pleasure.
The mantra is a spiritual call to the Lord, meaning, “Oh energy of the Lord, please engage me in the loving service of Lord Krishna.”

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Varuthini Ekadasi most mercifully descends in the month of Vaisakha (April/May) and is described in details in a conversation between Sri Krsna and Yudhisthira Maharaj. Once upon a time the sublime king Yudhisthira asked the Lord: "Please explain to me the process for observong this Ekadasi which takes place during the waning Moon in the month of Vaisakha. What is the process for observing this Ekadasi and what results may be obtained by such practice."

Lord Krsna replied: "My dear Raja (king) the name of this Ekadasi is Varuthini and it awards one greatly intrinsic fortune, both in this life and the next. By following the vow of Ekadasi one obtains perpetual happiness and his sinful reactions dwindle as of a dimminuendo. By following such a vow an unfortunate wife grows fortunate, a lame man may leap and a blind man see. A human being attains prosperity in this life and the next, and even without realising so; an animal may be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Many saintly kings such as Dhundhumara and Jambhudra became liberated by following this delectable and most transcendent of days… Varunthini Ekadasi."

"O great king! Donating an elephant is superior to donating a horse, donating land is superior to donating an elephant and donating sesame seeds is greater than donating sesame seeds and donation of food grains is greater than donating gold. In fact there is no greater charity than donating food grains in charity. By such munificence one can satisfy the forefathers, the demigods and all living entities. The learned scholars have recorded in their Vedic legacy that, giving a daughter in charity is equal to giving  grains in charity. The Supreme Lord Himself has compared donating food grains to be equal in stature and benificence to donating cows! Moreover, among all kinds of charities sharing one's knowledge with others is the highest.

"By following Varuthini Ekadasi one can attain the results of all charities. A person who earns his livelihood by cowardly selling of his daughter, deserves to live in hell untill the end of time. Therefore no one should ever accept wealth in exchange for his daughter. A householder who, under the influence of greed sells his daughter in exchange for money becomes a cat in his next life. But one who decorates his daughter with beatific ornaments according to his own capacity and gives her away in all good faith to a qualified and chaste groom, even Citragupta-the secretary of Yamaraja, is unable to count his piety."