Amnesty

By Samapriya devi dasi

There comes a time when human kind
descends to most degraded.
When basic need is fixed on greed
and honesty’s dissuaded.

A fallen age of selfishness
when no one trusts another,
And a life within the womb,
is aborted by the mother.

But the Lord who loves us all,
hearing Sri Advaita’s call,
devised a plan to counter-act,
the brutal ways of Maya’s attack.

Considering the state of affairs,
in a place where no one cares,
with interest in oneself alone,
and hearts become as hard as stone,
A process with a guarantee
that when followed would set you free,
descended by the Lord’s decree,
When He Proclaimed An Amnesty!

Conditioned souls please gather here
in opened hearts will soon appear,
A sound that changes dark to light
making clear your inner sight.

The Lord announces clemency
and breaks our chains to set us free.
But first we must now clearly see,
we’ve been enslaved eternally.

What we profess that gives us joy
is nothing more than Maya’s toy.
She’ll make you think it’s all you need
as you are strangled in your greed.

But now the Lord has come again
giving hope to all good men,
who set aside the misconceptions
steeped in illusion and deceptions.

A benediction with new hope,
a process with which we can cope.
For in this age the mind’s distracted,
to wicked deeds becomes attracted.

What makes one worthy of such a gift?
When once received there is a shift.
And sinful yearnings thus depart,
as the Holy Name enters the heart.

Lord Caitanya comes to give
the greatest benediction.
No one is excluded,
and there is no restriction.
The Lord has now appeared in sound,
Let the world proclaim!
There is not a trace of difference,
between Krsna and His Name.

“ ‘The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.’ “ (CC Madhya 17.133 from Padma Purana)