Reflections on Sacred Teachings Volume I: Sri SiksastakaThe Siksastaka are eight rare and confidential prayers spoken by the Supreme Lord Himself, which have the potency to change our lives, taking us from the most basic levels of consciousness to the ultimate expressions of love of Godhead. These prayers contain volumes of mysteries, secrets, and knowledge. This commentary on the Sri Siksastaka attempts to delve into these mysteries in order to extract their essence. We want to find the means to achieve love of Godhead in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy; therefore, we must go to the source and then endeavor to apply the instructions to our lives in the midst of all the chaos and confusion surrounding us in this mechanized era. The Supreme Personality of Godhead as Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives us the means to progress spiritually in this unfortunate age through the chanting of the holy names of God. If we follow the process given by God Himself, applying His instructions to our lives, we can attain the highest goal of life.
The first sloka or verse describes the glories and benedictions of chanting the holy names of God, which can cleanse our hearts of all the dirt and unwanted contaminations inhibiting the development of love of God. In our daily lives, we must often interact in many environments that do not provide any spiritual nourishment. In fact, many of our environments actually drain us and just increase our tension and anxiety. However, the holy name offers us protection from so many of the negative bombardments that we must constantly ward off if we want to make progress on the spiritual path. The second verse describes our unfortunate position as conditioned souls because, although the Lord has given us the process to reach Him, we have no attraction to the chanting of the holy names of God. Why are we so unfortunate? The scriptures explain that offenses, primarily offenses against the holy name, block our ability to receive the available treasures.
The third sloka emphasizes humility and tolerance. Humility is a difficult concept to understand because it is somewhat foreign to our present existence and artificial senses. The current world order is basically a “take” society in which fundamental patterns of interaction revolve around notions of survival of the fittest and competition. However, this type of individualistic and self-centered mentality will not lead to a deep level of spiritual realization. In order to chant the Lord’s names and access the deeper experiences described in the final verses of Sri Siksastaka, we must develop humility with tolerance. What is humility and what isn’t humility? We will attempt to answer these significant questions through the course of the discussion.
In the fourth verse, we examine the proposition of desire and make a distinction between spiritual desires and material desires. We can never ultimately rid ourselves of desires since desires are an inherent aspect of the soul; however, we can change how we direct our desires. We are ultimately spiritual entities engaged in spiritual activities in the Kingdom of God. The fifth verse addresses this topic of the soul’s original spiritual identity. It helps us appreciate our ultimate identity as servants who have fallen into a rather disgraceful state. We have fallen into a terrible ocean of suffering, filled with bad association, lust, envy, and greed, which keeps us completely entangled. However, a strong boat in the form of the holy name is available for the living entity to cross over this ocean of birth and death.
The final three verses discuss prayojana or the ultimate goal of life, which is love of Godhead. They give us a small glimpse of the ecstasies experienced by the pure devotees of the Lord. We may then wonder, “When will I experience such depth as I chant? When will my voice choke up and tears flow from my eyes when I sing the names of God?” Such experiences will happen when all the anarthas and obstacles that we discuss in elaborate detail throughout the book are removed and when desires separate from Krishna or God are no longer in the heart. Such experiences are accessible for us all if we follow this powerful process given by the Lord Himself.
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