Monthly Archives: June 2021

Amra Mahotsav, Mango festival

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Amra Mahotsav, Mango festival

Text 79: One day the Lord performed saṅkīrtana with all His devotees, and when they were greatly fatigued they sat down.
Text 80: The Lord then sowed a mango seed in the yard, and immediately the seed fructified into a tree and began to grow.
Text 81: As people looked on, the tree became fully grown, with fruits that fully ripened. Thus everyone was struck with wonder.
Text 82: The Lord immediately picked about two hundred fruits, and after washing them He offered them to Kṛṣṇa to eat.
Text 83: The fruits were all red and yellow, with no seed inside and no skin outside, and eating one fruit would immediately fill a man’s belly.
Text 84: Seeing the quality of the mangoes, the Lord was greatly satisfied, and thus after eating first, He fed all the other devotees.
Text 85: The fruits had no seeds or skins. They were full of nectarean juice and were so sweet that a man would be fully satisfied by eating only one.
Text 86: In this way, fruits grew on the tree every day throughout the twelve months of the year, and the Vaiṣṇavas used to eat them, to the Lord’s great satisfaction

Sri Caitanya Caritatamrita
Adilila 17 th chapter.

Sri Ramananda Ray

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SRI RAY RAMANANDA

By His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami

Ramananda Raya was a married man, but he was recognized by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as a master of his senses to the extreme degree. Once a brahmana priest named Pradyumna Misra came to Mahaprabhu and told Him, “I would like to hear about Krishna from Your lips.” Mahaprabhu said, “I do not know anything about Krishna, but Ramananda Raya knows. Go to him and hear about Krishna. Take My name, and perhaps he will talk with you.”

Pradyumna Misra was hesitant, but he went and observed Ramananda Raya for some time and then returned and reported to Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu asked him, “Have you heard about Krishna from Ramananda?” “No.” “Why?” “I saw him engaged in something objectionable. I watched for some time, and then returned here.” “What did you see?” Pradyumna Misra answered, “I saw Ramananda Raya training some young dancing girls!”

Girls who are generally devoted to the service of the Jagannath Deity from a young age are known as deva-dasis. They do not marry, and sometimes their character is not very good. Pradyumna Misra saw Ramananda Raya training deva-dasis in a very objectionable way. He was showing them how to go before the Jagannath Deity and dance and sing. He showed them how their posture should be, how they should gesture, and how their looks should be enticing. And for such training he would sometimes even touch their private parts. So Pradyumna Misra told Mahaprabhu, “Seeing Ramananda doing all these things, I had no regard for him, so for some time I saw him busily engaged in that matter, and then I went away.”

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