SRI SIKSASTAKAM - THE EIGHT INSTRUCTIONS OF SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU

Sri Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1535) is the most recent and munificent 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 Sri Siksastakam, in which His mission and precepts are revealed.

Within his Siksastaka, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stresses the importance of singing (bhajan) and chanting (japa) the Names of God. This is the primary feature of Gaudiya Vaishnava spiritual practice (sadhana). This is particularly evident in the first three verses of the Siksastaka.

The starting verse of Siksastaka states a number of reasons why sankirtana (congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, which in Gaudiya Vaishnavism especially refers to Hare Krishna) should be emphasized in spiritual practice.
"The first reason is because it cleanses the heart of all the dust that's been there for many years. This refers to an internal cleansing process. If we neglect to clean a room, soon dust will appear on the furniture and under the bed. But the dirt that the chanting of Hare Krishna cleans is the dirt of material desires within the heart. Whenever we desire something and forget the pleasure of Krishna , the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is a "dirty" desire. Otherwise, nothing is innately good or bad. But if we desire anything other than pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is inauspicious." —Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

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