Srila Prabhupada’s Warm Greetings of New Year

The Apparently cordial greetings of the New Year:

Mahamaya’s mother Durga who occupies the entire celestial egg inside her womb maintains the universe uninterruptedly. In this material world, five components are always in force. These five components are 1) Ishvara (God), 2) Jiva (living entities), 3) Kāla (time), 4) Karma (action) & 5) Prakriti (nature). Kala (time) is one of them. In this material universe, every living entity fears the “Kala”. Because “Kala” devours everything. It does not let anything remain permanent. The new year is nothing but a special moment of this revolving cycle of Kala.

There is a ritual. Usually, people share their cordial greetings and feed sweetmeats to each other according to their social stature. During this festival, children offer “dandavat” (bowing down on the earth like a stick) before their parents. Students do the same thing before their teachers. Parents or teachers also give their auspicious blessings to them. Siblings share suitable greetings among themselves. Friends embrace each other when they meet. In a word, everyone conveys appropriate regard to their respective relatives and familiar individuals.

Invocation and immersion, breaking and remaking, determination and doubts are the nature of this world. According to Srimad Bhagavatam, all of these endeavors are “akshaja chesta” or “attempts directed by our limited senses”. The apparently delightful greetings are also considered mundane attempts.

These Apparently delightful greetings are meaningless from
Sri Chaitanya Deva’s point of view:

Sri Chaitanya Deva taught how to do “Prema Seva” (transcendental service) of God who is “Adhokshaja” i.e. beyond our material senses. There is neither “Avahana” (invitation) nor “Visarjana” (immersion) in this divine relationship. There are no material endeavors like reformation or remaking. In that realm of ecstatic divine love, no venture of harmonization between the transitory mundane nature and the perpetual nature of consciousness is seen. There is only the unbound and unalloyed action of eternal consciousness i.e. unconditional service to God.

Addressing two consciousness, love, embrace, affection, attachments, affinity, and fondness all are the absolute Dharma. These attachments are eternal, unconditional, and spontaneous. There is no condition, fear, disease, or violence. But the mundane people refrained from Krishna and engaged in self-satisfaction. Therefore, the apparently visible love among them is full of fear, self-satisfaction, and violence. Hence that affection, those greetings, embraces or obeisances do not last forever.

The result of this apparently delightful greeting among mundane people:

Every year friends embrace each other, and the father gives his blessings in reciprocation to his son’s obeisances, husband, and wife exchange love. Unfortunately, all of these go in vain soon. Because these are contaminated with material existence. Once a friend who embraced another friend tightly might become his killer too. That son who used to bow down before his father might be an extreme enemy of his father. That father once who blessed his son may curse him constantly. That husband once left his relatives due to his blind love towards his wife, may divorce her and chase another woman. Similarly, a wife can do vice versa.

A Real example of loving greetings:

We can see an example of Sri Chaitanya Deva’s loving greetings in Srimad Bhagavatam.

“īśvare tad-adhīneṣu, bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca
prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā, yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ”

(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.46)

An intermediate or second-class devotee, called madhyama-adhikārī, offers his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to ignorant people who are innocent, and disregards those who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the bestower of the deluge of divine love. He is instructing the entire world how to send wishes on the new year according to Srimad Bhagavatam. He rejected the hypocritical mentality of Karmis who seem to be well-wishers apparently; but envious inside. He also rejected the idea of Mayavadis who consider Jivas and Brahman equivalent. He instructed us to reveal our original identity and engage in devotional service to Sri Krishna. He also instructed us to be a friend of sincere devotees, show our mercy to ignorant people and ignore those who are envious.