— The Eight Instructions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu —
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1535) is the most recent incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. He appeared 500 years ago in Navadvip, West-Bengal and started His worldwide Sankirtan mission of propagating the chanting of the holy name of the Lord (the process of self-realization for this age - to meditate upon the sound of the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare). He left us only eight verses, called Siksastakam, in which His mission and precepts are revealed.
yugāyitaḿ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam śūnyāyitaḿ jagat sarvaḿ govinda-viraheṇa me
(8)
āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāḿ pinaṣṭu mām adarśanān marma-hatāḿ karotu vā yathā tathā vā vidadhātu lampaṭo mat-prāṇa-nāthas tu sa eva nāparaḥ
(9)
prabhura ‘śikṣāṣṭaka’-śloka yei paḍe, śune
kṛṣṇe prema-bhakti tāra bāḍe dine-dine
WORD FOR WORD TRANSLATION: Ceto Darpana Marjanam
(1)
cetaḥ-darpaṇa–the mirror of the heart; mārjanam–cleansing; bhava–of material existence; mahā-dāva-agni–the greatly blazing forest fire; nirvāpaṇam–extinguishing; śreyaḥ-kairava–the white lotus of good fortune; candrikā-vitaraṇam–spreading the moonbeams; vidyā-vadhū– the wife of all education; jīvanam–the life; ānanda-ambudhi–the ocean of bliss; vardhanam–increasing; prati-padam–at every step; pūrṇaamṛta–the full nectar; āsvādanam–giving a relishable taste; sarva-ātmasnapanam–bathing all souls; param–transcendental; vijayate–let there be victory; śrī-kṛṣṇa-sańkīrtanam–for the congregational chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
(2)
nāmnām–of the holy names of the Lord; akāri–manifested; bahudhā–various kinds; nija-sarva-śaktiḥ–all types of personal potency; tatra–in that; arpitā–bestowed; niyamitaḥ–restricted; smaraṇe–in remembering; na–not; kālaḥ–consideration of time; etādṛśī–so much; tava kṛpā–Your mercy; bhagavan–O Lord!; mama–my; api–although; durdaivam– misfortune; īdṛśam–such; iha–in this (the holy name); ajani–was born; na anurāgaḥ–no attachment.
(3)
tṛṇāt api–than even downtrodden grass; su-nīcena–by feeling oneself much lower; taroḥ–than a tree; iva–like; sahiṣṇunā–by being tolerant; amāninā–by not accepting respect; mānadena–by giving respect to all others; kīrtanīyaḥ–should be chanted; sadā–always; hariḥ–the holy name of Hari.
(4)
na dhanam–not wealth; na janam–not followers; na sundarīm–not beautiful women; kavitām–fruitive activities described in flowery language; vā–or; jagat-īśa–O Lord of the universe!; kāmaye–I desire; mama–my; janmani janmani–in birth after birth; īśvare–unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhavatāt–let there be; bhaktiḥ–devotional service; ahaitukī–unmotivated; tvayi–unto You.
(5)
ayi nanda-tanuja–O son of Nanda Mahārāja!; kińkaram–Your servant; patitam–fallen; mām–me; viṣame–horrible; bhava-ambudhau–in the ocean of nescience; kṛpayā–by causeless mercy; tava–Your; pādapańkaja– lotus feet; sthita–situated at; dhūlī–the dust; sadṛśam–just like; vicintaya–please consider.
(6)
nayanam–my eyes; galat-aśru-dhārayā–by streams of tears running down; vadanam–my mouth; gadgada–faltering; ruddhayā–by being choked up; girā–my words; pulakaiḥ–by thrilled hairs standing erect; nicitam–covered; vapuḥ–my body; kadā–when?; tava–Your; nāmagrahaṇe–in chanting the holy name; bhaviṣyati–will be.
(7)
yugāyitam–makes like a great millennium; nimeṣeṇa–by a moment; cakṣuṣā–from my eyes; prāvṛṣāyitam–makes tears fall like torrents of rain; śūnyāyitam–makes void; jagat sarvam–the entire world; govindaviraheṇa–by the separation from Govinda; me–my.
(8)
āśliṣya–tightly embracing; vā–or; pāda-ratām–who is fallen at the lotus feet; pinaṣṭu–let Him trample; mām–me; adarśanāt–by not being visible; marma-hatām–broken-hearted; karotu–let Him make; vā–or; yathā tathā–as He likes, so He does; vā–or; vidadhātu–let Him do; lampaṭaḥ– the debauchee; mat-prāṇa-nāthaḥ–the Lord of my life; tu–but; saḥ eva–only Him; na aparaḥ–no one else.
TRANSLATION 1) Glory to the sri-krsna-sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
2) O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Krsna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.
3) One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
4) O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.
5) O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krsna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
6) O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
7) O Govinda! Feeling Your separations I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
8) I know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally
9) If anyone recites or hears these eight verses of instruction by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, his ecstatic love and devotion for Krsna increase day by day.
Remarks/ Extra Information:
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the science of Krsna, a task which His followers have continued to carry out down to the present day. The elaborations and expositions on the philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya are, in fact, the most voluminous, exacting, and consistent, due to the system of disciplic succession. Although Lord Caitanya was widely renowned as a scholar in His youth, one of His famous doctrines he left behind was the Siksastaka. These eight verses clearly reveal His mission and precepts. These supremely valuable prayers are translated herein.
The Caitanya Caritmarta had these prayers in here in Chapter 20 in the Antya Lila. The verses are shown in the official name field of this page. The gaps between verses are the purports by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.