Publisher's Synopsis
The songs and prayers included in this compilation of Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava poetry are not mere songs and not mundane poetry. They are a transcendental creation expressing the inner moods of highly exalted spiritual personalities, the saintly devotees of our ancient tradition. They are portals to the spiritual world. They convey the essence of the Vaiṣṇava spiritual wisdom, and express the mood and philosophy of pure bhakti and prema - pure divine love. Such sublime devotional poetry can transport us to the transcendental realm of pure loving devotion for the Divine Couple, Sri Radha and Krishna.Singing these songs, hearing them or even contemplating them in the written form will give us the higher taste of our soul's connection with the Divine Coupled. Such transcendental poetry can purify our hearts, elevate our consciousness and open the floodgates of mercy.We have all had the experience that when we do japa (chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra on japa beads as an individual meditation) - the mind often wanders off. When we do our bhajan (deep silent meditation communing with our worshipable spiritual personalities) - the mind often wanders off. But when we chant together in kirtan, congregational chanting of the holy name (Harinam Sankirtan) the mind gets completely absorbed in the kirtan and all the mental nonsense fly far away. Similarly when we sing bhajans together, the mind becomes sweetly absorbed and we spontaneously transcend our mundane state of consciousness. Kirtan usually refers to chanting the maha-mantra with a melody, and bhajans refers to singing about the pastimes and glories of Radha-Krishna and Their associates. But beyond that, kirtan is a genuine prayer, a soulful song, a call from the heart to our Eternal Beloved.The word bhajan has two meanings: 'To sing bhajans' means singing devotional songs. 'To do bhajan' - means to render service by mind, to meditate internally on rendering service to Radha-Krishna with our mentally conceived spiritual form (svarupa). The root verb of bhajan is bhaj, which means to serve or to worship. Therefore singing bhajans is a way of serving or worshiping Sri Guru, Sri Nitai-Gauranga, and Sri Radha-Krishna.For example, taking prasad (foodstuffs which have been sanctified by being cooked and offered with love to the Lord) is referred to as prasad seva, serving (or honouring) the sacred remnants of the Lord. When we 'honour' prasad, we are not merely eating, we are serving Sri Krishna. Therefore it is said that by taking prasad "We eat our way to the spiritual world." Similarly, when we sing bhajans, we are attracting Radha-Krishna's attention, praying for Their mercy, spiritualizing our consciousness, purifying our minds, softening and sweetening our hearts, and re-establishing our lost connection with Divinity. Thus by singing devotional songs (bhajans) we are "Singing our way to the spiritual realm." Of all the activities of bhakti, the sweetest and most heart-melting is the chanting and singing of kirtans and bhajans. Our prayer is that the readers will cherish and relish the rare treasures hidden in every verse of every song therein and experience the sweet taste of bhakti for themselves. Radhe! Radhe!
