PURPORT
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Prabhupāda

This is a song by Narottama dāsa Thakura. He says “I have invited my spiritual death by not worshipping Lord Caitanya.” Gaura panhū nă bhajiyā. Gaura panhū means, “Lord Caitanya,” and na bhajiyā means, “without worshipping.” Mainu means, “I have invited spiritual death.” Adhane yatane kari dhanu tainu. “Why have I invited the spiritual death? Because I am engaged in something which is useless and I have rejected the real purpose of my life.” Adhane means valueless things, dhana means valuables. So actually, everyone of us, neglecting our spiritual emancipation are engaged in material sense gratification and are losing the opportunity of this human body to elevate ourselves to the spiritual platform. This human body is especially given to the conditioned soul to take a chance for spiritual emancipation. So anyone who does not care for spiritual emancipation is inviting spiritual death. Spiritual death means to forget oneself, that I am a spirit soul. That is spiritual death. In the animal life it is full forgetfulness. They cannot be reminded in any circumstances that they are not this body, they are different from this body. It is only in this human form of life that one can understand that he is not this body, he is a spirit soul. So by chanting Hare Krşņa one can easily understand this fact, and by worshipping Lord Caitanya, following His principles and ways, one can easily come to the platform of spiritual understand- ing. Therefore Narottama dāsa Thakura says on our behalf that we are neglecting this. We are inviting spiritual death. Then he says, prema- ratana-dhana helāya hārāiņu. Spiritual life means to develop real love. Everyone wants love. There are so many signboards, so many papers advertising love. But there is no love. This is illusion. It is all lust. Love for intoxication, love for sex, etc. But actual love is applicable only to Krsna, with God. Because we are created for that purpose. To love means to love Krsna. So that is wanted. That is spiritual love, prema-ratana. I could achieve that transcendental position of love, but I am neglecting. Therefore I am inviting my spiritual death. And these things are happen- ing due to my past misdeeds. Due to my past deeds I have got a type of body. Everyone who has got this material body, it is due to past misdeeds. Actually, so long one gets this material body there are impious deeds. Pious deeds means no more material body. That is pious deeds. Otherwise it is to be taken as a fact that even Brahma, who is the chief living entity within this universe and has got a mass of years as duration of his life, and has all power, still that is also considered as coming from misdeeds, because he has got the material body. So we are going deep down and down, one after another, by our misdeeds. In the Bhagavata it is stated that they do not know that by this sense gratificatory process they will have another body, and the body is the cause of material pangs. Because I have got this body, therefore I feel headache, I feel stomach-ache, I feel this and that. But, as soon as we are out of this material body there are no more material pangs. It is simply joyful life. Brahma-bhūta prasannātmā. Prasannātmā means joyful as soon as one gets spiritual life. So due to my past deeds I am missing this opportunity.

And why it is happening? Sat-sanga chādi khainu asatyera vilāsa. “I have given up the association of devotees, but I am associating with common nonsense men.” Asat and sat. Sat means spirit and asat means matter. Association of material attachment means implication in this material conditional life. So one has to make association with devotees. Satān prasāngād mama vīrya-samvido. One can understand about God only in association of devotees. Therefore we are advocating this Krşņa consciousness movement. Sat-sanga chādi asatyera vilāsa. And as soon as we give up the association of the devotees, immediately māyā will catch us. Māyā is side by side. As soon as we give up this company, Māyā says “Yes, come in my company.” Without any company, nobody can remain neutral. That is not possible. He must associate with either Māyā or Krşņa.

“krşņa” means Krsna with His devotees. Krşņa is never alone. Krşņa is always with Rādhārānī. Rādhārānī is with the gopīs. And Krşņa is with the cowherd boys. We are not impersonalists. We do not see Krşņa alone. Krsna consciousness means to keep association with the devotees of Krşņa. Vişaya vişama vişa satata khāinu. Narottama dāsa Thakura then says, “I have drunk the most dangerous poison of sense gratification.” Vişaya means sense gratification. Eating, sleeping, mating, and defend- ing; These four principles are called visaya. Vişama means dangerously and vişa means poison. If one is simply engaged with these four prin- ciples of life, just like animals, then it is to be supposed that he is simply drinking poison. That’s all. Vişaya vişama satata khāinu. “I know this is poison, but I am so much intoxicated that I am drinking this poison every moment.” Gaura-kīrtana-rase magana na painu. “I could not merge myself into the sankīrtana movement started by Lord Caitanya.” That is actually the fact. Those who are too much attached to the materialistic way of life, or always drinking the poison of sense gratification, are not attracted by the sankīrtana movement.

Narottama dāsa Thakura is not actually lamenting, he is representing us. If one comes to that point of lamentation, that is also very nice. He immediately becomes purified. Lamentation means purification. So he says, kena vā āchaya prāna kichu bali… “Why am I living? I do not make association with the devotees. I do not take part in the sankīrtana move- ment. I do not understand what is Krsna. I do not understand what is Lord Caitanya. Then what am I living for?” “What is my happiness? What is the standard of my happiness? Narottama dāsa kena na gela. “Why did I not die long, long ago? I should have died. What is the meaning of my liv- ing?” So it is not only Narottama dāsa Thakura’s lamentation, everyone of us should think like that. If we cannot make association with devotees, if we do not understand what Krsna consciousness is, if we do not come in touch with Lord Caitanya and His associates, it will be better for us to die. And there is no other remedy. This is the substance of this song.