By performing kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, the practitioner first develops respect and friendship with the jīvas and īśvara, and then gives up his attachment to prakṛtī. The sādhaka will then only accept just enough from prakṛtī to maintain his body. Then one will conquer over kāla, material time, by engaging all his energy in bhakti-yoga.
āyur harati vai puṁsām
udyann astaṁ ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta
uttama-śloka-vārtayā
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.17
Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except for one who utilizes his time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.
When the jīva engages all his time and energy in bhakti-yoga, then he also conquers over material karma. Working or doing karma is not bad in itself, but it becomes bad if it is done selfishly for one’s own material enjoyment. People do so many things throughout the whole day, but if they are asked to do some service for Hari, Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, they claim to have no time or to be weak and sick. But for their own enjoyment, they have the strength to work eighteen hours a day.
When the sādhaka understands the true nature of īśvara, jīva, prakṛti, kāla, and karma, and how he should relate with them, he will be freed from all contaminations.
Īśvara, jīva, prakṛti, kāla, and karma—the jīvas run after these five things. And since they don’t know how to properly use them, they become contaminated by coming in contact with them. Using everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa is called svadharma, one’s proper state. If this tendency arises, the jīva will never have to return to the cycle of birth and death, the blazing forest fire of material existence will be extinguished.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Kīrtana on the First Verse
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote songs for each verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam. I used to watch the ācāryas reciting these in the early morning. First they started with the recitation of the verse itself:
pīta-varaṇa kali-pāvana gorā
gāoyai aichana bhāva-vibhorā
This Kali-yuga is very dark, but Mahāprabhu came to defeat all darkness by spreading the bright light of kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. The Lord assumed a golden complexion and came to taste and distribute the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, which destroys the darkness of the age of Kali. If the jīvas accept this gift of harināma, the contamination from millions of lives that is covering the soul will be cleansed automatically. The glories of kṛṣṇa-kīrtana is that when it touches one’s heart, the heart is enchanted and purified.
citta darpaṇa pari mārjana kari
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya citta-bihari
All glory to kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, which cleanses the mirror of consciousness and delights the soul!
helā-bhāva-dāva-nirvāpaṇa-vṛtti
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya kleśa-nivṛtti
Whether one chants with respect or without, kṛṣṇa-kīrtana eliminates all disturbances, kleśa.
śreyaḥ-kumuda-vidhu-jyotsnā-prakāśa
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya bhakti-vilāsa
By performing kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, all auspiciousness arises like the rising of the full moon, cooling the atmosphere with its rays and distributing nectar. Then Bhakti-devī comes and wholeheartedly helps the jīva. When the sādhaka performs kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, he will be present in Her association.
viśuddha-vidyā-vadhū-jīvana-rūpa
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya siddha-svarūpa
Parā-vidyā, transcendental knowledge, is food for the soul, by which a tendency to serve comes in the sādhaka. When kṛṣṇa-kīrtana and sevā-vṛtti fully develop, the sādhaka attains svarūpa-siddhi. While doing service, one will also chant harināma. This sevā is for the exclusive pleasure of Kṛṣṇa.
ānanda-payo-nidhi-vardhana-kīrti
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya plāvana-mūrti
One will then experience unlimited and ever-increasing happiness. The desire to perform kṛṣṇa-kīrtana will increase like a flood, covering everything else.
pade pade pīyūṣa-svāda-pradātā
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya prema-vidhātā
Step by step, the sādhaka will taste transcendental rasa, while simultaneously, the desire for other tastes disappears.
bhaktivinoda-svātma-snapana-vidhāna
kṛṣṇa-kīrtana jaya prema-nidāna
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, “When the jīva offers himself to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he will be the recipient of all goodness.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to this world to distribute His deep love and affection for Kṛṣṇa, and the whole Guru-varga received this anurāga.
Kṛṣṇa sends good association to whoever is crying while chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma. Without good association, the sādhaka stops crying and runs away when he gets a little strength to walk. And then he jumps inside a drain or a river and dies. As soon as a worm gets wings, he flies away and ends up in the fire. The sādhaka who stays in sādhu-saṅga is like a baby being protected by its mother who warns her child from touching the fire or other dangers. Like a mother, the sādhus protect the sādhaka. Even if the child rejects his parents, the parents never abandon their child. Kṛṣṇa is even more kind to the jīvas than parents are to their children. He sends mahā-bhāgavata Vaiṣṇavas to help and protect the jīvas and to arrange hari-kīrtana, hari-kathā, and mahā-prasāda. Apart from them, the jīvas have no protection.