Jadi Gaura na ho’to

Sing Gaurāṅga’s glories again and again, keeping your heart simple. In the ocean of this material world, no one has ever seen anyone so merciful.

Srila Gurudev singing Jadi Gaura na ho’to on Sri Gaura Purnima day, 28 February 1991.
yadi, gaura nā ha’ta tabe ki ha-ita
kemane dharitām de
rādhāra mahimā prema-rasa-sīmā
jagate jānāta ke? [1]
If Śrī Gaura had not come, what would have happened? How would we have maintained our lives? Who would have revealed to the world Śrī Rādhā’s glory and the extremes of Her ecstatic divine love?
madhura vṛndā- vipina mādhurī
praveśa chāturī sāra
varaja-yuvatī bhāvera bhakati
śakati ha-ita kāra? [2]
Who would have the great expertise needed to enter into the sweetness of sweet Vṛndāvan? Who would have any qualification for the Vraja-gopīs’ ecstatic devotion?
gāo punaḥ punaḥ gaurāṅgera guṇa
sarala kariyā mana
e bhava-sāgare emana dayāla
nā dekhiye eka-jana [3]
Sing Gaurāṅga’s glories again and again, keeping your heart simple. In the ocean of this material world, no one has ever seen anyone so merciful.
gaurāṅga baliyā nā genu galiyā
kemane dharinu de
vāsura-hiyā pāṣāṇa diyā
kemane gaḍiyāchhe [4]
I chant ‘Gaurāṅga’, but have not melted (with love). How have I maintained this body? How has Providence made Vāsu a stone rather than a heart?
(Śrīla Vāsudev Ghoṣ)