The ULTIMATE Dance Party

mahaprabho kirtana-nrtya-gita-
vaditra-madyan-manaso rasena
romanca -kampashru-taranga-bhajo
vande guro shri-caranaravindam

We sing this verse every morning during the mangala arotik. This verse means

Chanting the holy name, dancing in ecstasy, singing, and playing musical instruments, the spiritual master is always gladdened by the sankirtana movement of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Because he is relishing the mellows of pure devotion within his mind, sometimes his hair stands on end, he feels quivering in his body, and tears flow from his eyes like waves. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.

Dancing and singing, these two activities are the central beam of Mahaprabhu’s movement. He’s made the process of self-realization so easy. All we have to do is just sing and dance to the tune of holy names of the lord Krishna – The mahamantra. Can there be something easier than that? And over that it is not difficult to dance as the mridangas, the kartalas, the shankhas and other instruments produce such transcendental vibrations that it becomes difficult to stop rocking feet from one side to another.

That day while coming down from college to back home, I was hearing “Nadiya Godhrume Nityananda Mahajana” on my i-pod. It was difficult to walk straight as this particular kirtan is really rocking. Especially if one visualizes the video clip in which hoards of vaishnava jana are following the big deities of their lordships – the Panchatatva. The whole crowd seems to be dancing in ecstasy. Then I thought where are they going dancing on the way? To the temple hall where the deities would be installed. During the installation there is even more ecstatic kirtana, more jubilations more dancing.

And the festivities would begin at Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple. And on all these festivities there would be singing and dancing. Where will this process stop ?

Seeing devotees dancing like madmen, people in general will also leave their shyness behind and dance a bit, and slowly they’ll be immersed into the ever-increasing pleasure of sankirtana movement. Dancing will lead to more dancing and singing would lead to even louder singing. Resonance Effect or Inductive Effect…whatever…?

Then one day at the end of the road of life, which was not walked by but danced by in divine love for Sri Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure the devotee would enter the ULTIMATE DANCE PARTY. After living a life as instructed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a living entity would enter into the spiritual abode, which is the transcendental abode of Sri govinda, the giver of pleasure to cows and gopas.

That supreme place known as Goloka dham, where each word is a song and each step is a dance step. In this material world while dancing and singing we feel breathlessness and tired. But up there, nothing of this sort exists. There is eternal uninterrupted dance of emotions, eyes, limbs going on. Each and every particle of that pure place dances in love of Sri Krishna. And whats best is that He, himself dances with his eternal consort Srimati Radha Rani. He dances with all his gopis. He plays with his gopa friends, dances with them, jokes with them.

So all in all it is an unending dance party going on which will never be interrupted, never be stopped. Such is the magnanimity of Mahaprabhu, who makes us expert in our eternal function on this earth only for he knows that this is what we’ll ultimately do after reaching our original home.

All those people who are mad after dance parties, rock shows. Whose life starts with the late night parties and ends with them, I request them to take to this way of life, take to Krishna Conscious way of life. For they will attain a place where there will only be a party, a blissful gathering of expert dancers and rockers and singers – the lead performer being Sri Krishna himself.

Hare Krishna.