SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Caitanya-caritāmṛta
Madhya 21.144

kāṇera bhitara vāsā kare, āpane tāṅhā sadā sphure,
anya śabda nā deya praveśite
āna kathā nā śune kāṇa, āna balite bolaya āna,
ei kṛṣṇera vaṁśīra carite

Synonyms: 

kāṇera — the hole of the ear; bhitara — within; vāsā kare — makes a residence; āpane — personally; tāṅhā — there; sadā — always; sphure — is prominent; anya — other; śabda — sounds; nā — not; deya — allows; praveśite — to enter; āna kathā — other talks; nā — not; śune — hears; kāṇa — the ear; āna — something else; balite — to speak; bolaya — speaks; āna — another thing; ei kṛṣṇera — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vaṁśīra — of the flute; carite — characteristics.

Translation: 

“The vibration of His flute is just like a bird that creates a nest within the ears of the gopīs and always remains prominent there, not allowing any other sound to enter their ears. Indeed, the gopīs cannot hear anything else, nor are they able to concentrate on anything else, not even to give a suitable reply. Such are the effects of the vibration of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s flute.”

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Vraja-vilasa-stava text 48
The fortunate flute deeply drinks the nectar of Lord Krishna’s lips day and night. I offer my respectful obeisances to this flute, which, with its transcendental music, weakens the pride of Srimati Radhika.

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.21.12

krsnaḿ nirīksya vanitotsava-rūpa-śīlaḿ
śrutvā ca tat-kvaṇita-veṇu-vivikta-gītam
devyo vimāna-gatayaḥ smara-nunna-sārā
bhraśyat-prasūna-kabarā mumuhur vinīvyaḥ

krsnam — Lord Krsna; nirīkṣya — observing; vanitā — for all women; utsava — a festival; rūpa — whose beauty; śīlam — and character; śrutvā — hearing; ca — and; tat — by Him; kvanita — vibrated; venu — of the flute; vivikta — clear; gītam — song; devyaḥ — the wives of the demigods; vimāna-gatayaḥ — traveling in their airplanes; smara — by Cupid; nunna — agitated; sārāḥ — their hearts; bhraśyat — slipping; prasūna-kabarāḥ — the flowers tied in their hair; mumuhuḥ — they became bewildered; vinīvyaḥ — their belts loosening.

TRANSLATION

Krsna's beauty and character create a festival for all women. Indeed, when the demigods' wives flying in airplanes with their husbands catch sight of Him and hear His resonant flute-song, their hearts are shaken by Cupid, and they become so bewildered that the flowers fall out of their hair and their belts loosen.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from sdgonline.org):

 

O restless girl, don’t delay. Fill Your jar and go home

while Krishna’s flute does not recite its mantra charm. 

Sri Rupa Gosvami - Padyavali

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.21.15
nadyas tadā tad upadhārya mukunda-gītam
āvarta-laksita-manobhava-bhagna-vegāh
ālińgana-sthagitam ūrmi-bhujair murārer
grhnanti pāda-yugalam kamalopahārāh

nadyah — the rivers; tadā — then; tat — that; upadhārya — perceiving; mukunda — of Lord Krsna; gītam — the song of His flute; āvarta — by their whirlpools; laksita — manifest; manah-bhava — by their conjugal desire; bhagna — broken; vegāh — their currents; ālińgana — by their embrace; sthagitam — held stationary; ūrmi-bhujaih — by the arms of their waves; murāreh — of Lord Murāri; grhnanti — they seize; pāda-yugalam — the two lotus feet; kamala-upahārāh — carrying offerings of lotus flowers.

TRANSLATION

When the rivers hear the flute-song of Krsna, their minds begin to desire Him, and thus the flow of their currents is broken and their waters are agitated, moving around in whirlpools. Then with the arms of their waves the rivers embrace Murāri's lotus feet and, holding on to them, present offerings of lotus flowers.

JOURNAL:

There is a meditation I do that works well for me. I sit by a river and, as I watch it flow, I put music to its movements in my head. I like to do this after I have been chanting japa and I am "tired of it"; a relative phrase at best. Here is an excerpt from The Nectar of Devotion, page 173;

As far as His flute is concerned, it is said that the vibration of this wonderful instrument was able to break the meditation of the greatest sages. Kåñëa was thus challenging Cupid by advertising His transcendental glories all over the world. There are three kinds of flutes used by Kåñëa. One is called veëu, one is called muralé, and the third is called vaàcé. Veëu is very small, not more than six inches long, with six holes for whistling. Muralé is about eighteen inches long with a hole at the end and four holes on the body of the flute. This kind of flute produces a very enchanting sound. The vaàçé flute is about fifteen inches long, with nine holes on its body. Kåñëa used to play on these three flutes occasionally when they were needed. Kåñëa has a longer vaàçé, which is called mahänandä, or sammohiné. When it is still longer it is called äkarñiëé. When it is even longer it is called änandiné. The änandiné flute is very pleasing to the cowherd boys and is technically named vaàçulé. These flutes were sometimes bedecked with jewels. Sometimes they were made of marble and sometimes of hollow bamboo. When the flute is made of jewels it is called sammohiné. When made of gold, it is called äkarñiëé.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 18 Text 65
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyamte
pratijane priyo 'si me

mat-manah--thinking of Me; bhava--just become; mat-bhaktah--My devotee; mat-yaji--My worshiper;mam--untoMe; namaskuru--offer your obeisances; mam--unto Me; eva--certainly; esyasi--you will come; satyam--truly; te--to you; pratijane--I promise; priyah--dear;asi--youare;me--to Me.

TRANSLATION

Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada gives us specific instructions in his purport; These words stress that one should concentrate his mind upon Krsna--the very form with two hands carrying a flute, the bluish boy with a beautiful face and peacock feathers in His hair. There are descriptions of Krsna found in the Brahma-samhita and other literatures. One should fix his mind on this original form of Godhead, Krsna. One should not even divert his attention to other forms of the Lord. The Lord has multiforms as Visnu, Narayana, Rama, Varaha, etc., but a devotee should concentrate his mind on the form that was present before Arjuna.

Notes on Cupid

Notes on "Cupid" in The Nectar of Devotion.

There is a statement in this connection that Krsna, on arriving at this age, manifested such beautiful bodily features that His restless eyes became the playthings of Cupid, and His mild smile resembled the newly grown lotus flower. The enchanting vibration of His songs became a great impediment to the young girls, who were supposed to remain chaste and faithful to their husbands.
(p.170)


As far as His flute is concerned, it is said that the vibration of this wonderful instrument was able to break the meditation of the greatest sages. Krsna was thus challenging Cupid by advertising His transcendental glories all over the world.
(p.173)


When Cupid came on one occasion to visit Lord Krsna, some devotee addressed him thus: "My dear Cupid, because you have been so fortunate as to have placed your eyesight on the lotus feet of Krsna, the drops of perspiration on your body have become frozen, and they resemble kaëöaké fruits [a kind of small fruit found in thorny bushes]."
(p.245)

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.21.2
kusumita-vanarāji-śuṣmi-bhṛńga
dvija-kula-ghuṣṭa-saraḥ-sarin-mahīdhram
madhupatir avagāhya cārayan gāḥ
saha-paśu-pāla-balaś cukūja veṇum

SYNONYMS

kusumita — flowering; vana-rāji — among the groups of trees; śuṣmi — maddened; bhṛńga — with bees; dvija — of birds; kula — and flocks; ghuṣṭa — resounding; saraḥ — its lakes; sarit — rivers; mahīdhram — and hills; madhu-patiḥ — the Lord of Madhu (Kṛṣṇa); avagāhya — entering; cārayan — while tending; gāḥ — the cows; saha-paśu-pāla-balaḥ — in the company of the cowherd boys and Lord Balarāma; cukūja — vibrated; veṇum — His flute.

TRANSLATION

The lakes, rivers and hills of Vṛndāvana resounded with the sounds of maddened bees and flocks of birds moving about the flowering trees. In the company of the cowherd boys and Balarāma, Madhupati [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] entered that forest, and while herding the cows He began to vibrate His flute.

PURPORT

As suggested by the words cukūja veṇum, Lord Kṛṣṇa skillfully blended the sound of His flute with the lovely sounds of Vṛndāvana's multicolored birds. Thus an irresistible, heavenly vibration was created.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from Krishna.com):

The Sadbhuja Form Of Lord Chaitanya - Jadurani Dasi

Sri Sadbhuja is the six-armed form of the Supreme Lord, revealed by Lord Chaitanya. In two of His hands He holds a bow and arrow, the symbols of Lord Ramachandra; in two hands He holds a flute, the symbol of Lord Krishna; and two hands hold a danda [sannyas stick] and a waterpot, the symbols of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 16 Text 20
asurim yonim apanna
mudha janmani janmani
mam aprapyaiva kaunteya
tato yanty adhamam gatim

asurim--demoniac; yonim--species; apannah--gaining; mudhah--the foolish; janmani janmani--in birth after birth; mam--Me; aprapya--without achieving; eva--certainly; kaunteya--O son of Kunti; tatah--thereafter; yanti--go; adhamam--condemned; gatim--destination.

TRANSLATION

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kunti, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

JOURNAL:

Yesterday I posted another audio track in the Krishna Vrindavan Lila page. It has slokas from Srimad Bhagavatam, tenth canto, glorifying Krishna's flute and Srila Rupa Goswami's "Krishna Namastakam", among other wonderful verses. It runs about thirty minutes. I hope you will check it out.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from dandavats.com):

Notice that Radha is playing the flute.

An excerpt from The Necter of Devotion

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, after consulting various scriptures, has enumerated the transcendental qualities of the Lord as follows: (1) beautiful features of the entire body; (2) marked with all auspicious characteristics; (3) extremely pleasing; (4) effulgent; (5) strong; (6) ever youthful; (7) wonderful linguist; (8) truthful; (9) talks pleasingly; (10) fluent; (11) highly learned; (12) highly intelligent; (13) a genius; (14) artistic; (15) extremely clever; (16) expert; (17) grateful; (18) firmly determined; (19) an expert judge of time and circumstances; (20) sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures; (21) pure; (22) self-controlled; (23) steadfast; (24) forbearing; (25) forgiving; (26) grave; (27) self-satisfied; (28) possessing equilibrium; (29) magnanimous; (30) religious; (31) heroic; (32) compassionate; (33) respectful; (34) gentle; (35) liberal; (36) shy; (37) the protector of surrendered souls; (38) happy; (39) the well-wisher of devotees; (40) controlled by love; (41) all-auspicious; (42) most powerful; (43) all-famous; (44) popular; (45) partial to devotees; (46) very attractive to all women; (47) all-worshipable; (48) all-opulent; (49) all-honorable; (50) the supreme controller; (51) changeless; (52) all-cognizant; (53) ever fresh; (54) sac-cid-ānanda (possessing an eternal blissful body); (55) possessing all mystic perfections; (56) He has inconceivable potency. (57) Uncountable universes generate from His body. (58) He is the original source of all incarnations. (59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills. (60) He is the attractor of liberated souls; (61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes). (62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. (63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute. (64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation (Chapter 21).

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from Krishna.com):

Gopinatha Garden Flute

Quality of Krishna #63:

"He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute."
Nectar of Devotion, p.130

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 8 Text 21
avyakto 'ksara ity uktas
tam ahuh paramam gatim
yam prapya na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama

ayvaktah--unmanifested; aksarah--infallible; iti--thus; uktah--is said; tam--that; ahuh--is known; paramam--the ultimate; gatim--destination; yam--which; prapya--gaining; na--never; nivartante--come back; tat--that; dhama--abode; paramam--supreme; mama--My.

TRANSLATION

That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns--that is My supreme abode.

JOURNAL:

In his purport Srila Prabhupada gives a short description of Krishna's "supreme abode". He writes; The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is described in the Brahma-samhita as cintamani-dhama, a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Krsna, known as Goloka Vrndavana, is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees, called "desire trees," that supply any type of eatable upon demand, and there are cows, known as surabhi cows, which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune (Laksmis), and He is called Govinda, the primal Lord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow His flute (venum kvanantam).

Sound's like heaven to me!

SLOKA OF THE WEEK
(from Krishna.com):

Sri Jagannathasthtaka, text one
kadacit kalindi-tata-vipina-sangitaka-ravo
mudabhiri-nari-vadana-kamalasvada-madhupah
rama-sambhu-brahmamara-pati-ganesarcita-pado
jagannathah svami nayana-patha-gami bhavatu me
TRANSLATION

Sometimes in great happiness Lord Jagannatha makes a loud concert with His flute in the groves on the banks of the Yamuna. He is like a bumblebee tasting the beautiful lotuslike faces of the cowherd damsels of Vraja, and great personalities such as Lakshmi, Siva, Brahma, Indra, and Ganesa worship His lotus feet. May that Jagannatha Svami be the object of my vision.

JOURNAL:

I dreamed of the devotees last night. In my dream I was in Eugene, OR. although it didn't look like that city at all. I had to catch a flight so that I could go to a temple and spend some time with the devotees. I ran around the city on foot trying to find the airport but couldn't. Soon I realized that I had missed the flight. I went to a coffee shop but they were holding auditions for dancers. Two girls and a guy striped in front of me and I left. I was disappointed but on my way back to my room I went through a kind of outdoor market and who should be there but about fifty devotees sitting on bleachers and arranged like a choir. The colors of their robes flowed in sections from white to yellow to saffron.

I listened to their show for awhile feeling very happy before waking up.