1. The Appearance of Srimati Visnupriya Devi
Today is the Holy Day of Vasanta pancami (the fifth day of the light fortnight of the moon, month of Magh, when Krsna is worshiped with the new flowers of spring. On this day, the holy advent of Srimati Visnupriya Devi occurred. Her father was Sri Sanatana Misra of Nabadwip, who was a Brahmana and great devotee of Lord Visnu. Srimati Visnupriya Devi is the Eternal Con¬sort of Sri Gaurasundar in His feature of Gaura-Narayana, and according to Sri Gauraganoddesa dipika she is directly Satyabhama in Krsna’s Dvaraka lila.
She was the second wife of Sriman Mahaprabhu in the householder period of His Pastimes. From childhood, she was devout in the Divine Service of the Supreme Lord. Kasinatha Pandit was the intermediary in Her marriage to Mahaprabhu.
She was the ideal of Divine Self surrender at the Lotus Feet of Mahaprabhu. When she was only fourteen, Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, and after that she lived the rest of Her life in penance. From early morning she would take the Holy Name the whole day, and for every Mahamantra that she chanted, she would put one grain of rice into a clay pot. After chanting her quota, she would take that rice and cook it and offer it to the Lord. That was all she would take for her subsistence, so gradually she became emaciated. She passed her days in this way.
Her brother was her guardian after Saci-devi departed, and ultimately she had a Sri Murti (Deity) of Maha¬prabhu, and she would worship Him in that Form. And since the time of Visnupriya, that worship is being con¬tinued up to the present in the Temple here in Nabadwip known as ‘Mahaprabhura Badi’ (the Home of Maha¬prabhu). So this day of the year is connected with her holy memory, and we may achieve her Grace if we honor this time in her name, discussing her Pastimes. She will be propitiated and Sri Chaitanyadev will also be pleased with us, giving us a step forward in our transcendental march towards Him.
2. The Appearance of Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi
Today is also the appearance day of Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi. He is considered to be Vrsabhanuraja of Varsana, Vrndavana, the father of Srimati Radha¬rani. Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi was born in a Brahmana family at Chattagram, and he bore the title ‘Vidyanidhi’ on account of his scholarship. Apparently he was a man of luxurious habits. In those days, people who could afford it would have a house in Nabadwip on the banks of the holy Ganges river; they would from time to time visit Nabadwip to regularly bathe in the Ganges and remain for some time in this Holy Place, and then return to their homes to continue their liveli¬hood. So, Pundarika Vidyanidhi also had a house in Nabadwip.
Here, in Gaura lila, Gadadhara Pandit was the Repre¬sentation of Srimati Radharani Herself. At that time, Gadadhara Pandit was a young boy. He was younger than Mahaprabhu. Mukunda Datta was a follower and admirer of Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev, and he also came from Chattagram, the village of Pundarika Vidyanidhi. He knew Pundarika Vidyanidhi to be a man of higher religious type, that is, a Bhagavata type or Krsna bhakta. But outwardly Pundarika Vidyanidhi lived a life of luxury. He was a well to do man, a general zamindar (state landowner). Mukunda Datta naturally knew him when he came to Nabadwip, since he hailed from the same place. Mukunda Datta went to Gadadhara Pandit and asked him, “Would you like to have the darsana of a Vaisnava?”
From childhood Gadadhara Pandit was very fond of Vaisnavas and Krsna nama. He had much fondness for Nimai Pandit, when the Lord returned from Gaya. Pre¬viously he was very much afraid of Nimai Pandit, because whenever They met, Nimai Pandit would always tackle him with some apparent quarrel about etymology or something of that nature. So, after returning from Gaya, when Sri Chaitanyadev expressed His Devotional Aspect, He said one day, “Gadadhara, from your very childhood you are a devotee of Krsna, and My days have been wasted discussing grammar and mundane literature. But you, Gadadhara, My friend – your life is very successful. You have fulfillment of life. From the beginning you are fond of Krsna nama.” So, from the beginning Gadadhara Pandit’s heart was towards Krsna. Therefore when Mukunda Datta asked him, “Would you like to see a Vaisnava who has come from afar?” the reply came, “Yes, yes, I shall go; take me there.”
So Mukunda Datta took Gadadhara Pandit to Punda¬rika Vidyanidhi. And what kind of Vaisnava was Punda¬rika Vidyanidhi? He was sitting on a luxurious bedstead, smoking a very ornate and valuable pipe. His head was adorned with beautiful oiled curly locks, and many valu¬able pastes were anointed on his body. Two attendants fanned him on either side.
Gadadhara Pandit thought, “Mukunda has brought me to this luxury loving man sitting on the bedstead and smoking? What type of Vaisnava has he brought me to see?” He was disappointed at heart and Mukunda could guess it. Mukunda Datta was a very good singer, and in a very sweet tone he sang this sloka of Bhagavatam:
aho baki yam stana kala kutam
jighamsayapayayad apy asadhvi
lebhe gatim dhatry ucitam tato 'nyam
kam va dayalum saranam vrajema
This sloka was chanted by Mukunda in a very sweet tone, and this created a wonderful effect in Pundarika Vidyanidhi. The Bhagavatam says, “Who else but Krsna should we approach? Who can be so kind, so gracious? There is limitless Grace in Him. Why? Baki – Putana, came to kill Him in a treacherous way, taking the garb of dhatri, a motherly garb. In this way she came to try and kill Him; yet Krsna gave her a position as a nurse¬maid in His group of assisting mothers. So gracious is the Lord. Who else can we approach for our good?”
This is the meaning of the verse. “She painted deadly poison on her breast, and came to suckle the boy Krsna. So treacherous was her action. In the garb of motherly affection she tried to murder the boy, and she was given such a high position as an attendant of His mother. She was elevated to the motherly group. Such Grace, such Mercy He showed, without considering or passing judgment on the worth of that action. So other than that kind-hearted and gracious Krsna, where else should we go for shelter?”
This entered the heart of Pundarika Vidyanidhi and began to vibrate, and produced such force that he was stunned; then shivering began, and madly gesticulating, he began to pull his hair and tear his silken dress, kicking over the tobacco and pipe. His rich bedding and dress were ruined, and he began to roll on the ground and cry, kam va dayalum saranam vrajema – “In whom shall we take shelter other than Him?”
Then Gadadhara Pandit thought, “Oh, I have com¬mitted a great offense in my mind, thinking that he was not a Vaisnava, because of his fashionable dress and style. Really, how great a Vaisnava he is – what a won¬derful effect the memory of Krsna caused in him!”
Then Gadadhara Pandit revealed his mind.
“Mukunda, I have committed offense against this great Vaisnava. What will be my fate? When I first saw him, I shunned him; I committed offense. I think that if I take mantra from him – become his disciple then he may forgive all my offenses. There is no other way to be absolved from this Vaisnava aparadha. I shall have to inform my Lord Gauracandra, Nimai Pandit, about this.”
So they left the place of Pundarika Vidyanidhi, and Gadadhara went to take Nimai Pandit’s permission to become the disciple of Pundarika Vidyanidhi.
Before anyone knew that Pundarika had come from Chattagram to Nabadwip, and even before Mahaprabhu had met him, Mahaprabhu was seen to suddenly cry, “Bap Pundarik! Bap Pundarik!” In the mood of Sri¬mati Radharani, Nimai was taking his name. Bap means ‘father.’ So He was calling, “Father, Pundarika! Father, Pundarika!” Nimai Pandit was chanting like this, in the mood of Radharani.
When Gadadhara made his proposal to Mahaprabhu, the Lord immediately replied, “Yes, very good proposal. Go and accept him at once.” Gadadhara Pandit repre¬sents Radharani in Gaura lila, and Pundarika is Radha¬rani’s father in Krsna lila: the Guru is like the father, and the disciple is like the child. So Mahaprabhu at once approved and Gadadhara took initiation from Pundarika Vidyanidhi. He was none other than Vrsabhanuraja, and Gadadhara was the incarnation of Radharani in Gaura-¬lila.
Pundarika Vidyanidhi would not take bath in the Gan¬ges because he could not tolerate that his feet would touch the holy Ganges river. Before daybreak, he would go to the Ganges and take some of the water on his head. He did not go to the Ganges by day, because he could not tolerate to see persons who would dive into the water or spit there and contaminate the pure, holy water by misusing it. Before worship, prayer, etc., the general pandit section may bathe in the Ganges and fast to purify their bodies of sin. But Pundarika Vidyanidhi would rather drink some Ganges water prior to his daily worship and duties, thereby teaching us the proper wor¬shipful respect due to the Ganga.
In Puri, his dearmost friend and associate was Sri Svarupa Damodara. When he went to Puri, he felt some pain in his heart that the priestly servants of Lord Jagannatha dressed the Lord in starched cloth, which is gener¬ally considered impure. When cloth is manufactured by hand loom, the thread is soaked in boiled rice water which acts as a paste to hold it firm in the loom. That cloth is considered impure, and must first be rinsed in water before offering it to the Deity. But in Puri, that was not the practice. They directly used starched cloth for dressing Lord Jagannatha, and Pundarika Vidyanidhi could not accommodate this.
That night, he dreamt that both Jagannatha and Bala¬rama came to him and dealt slaps to his cheeks, saying, “You have come here to point out the defects in My servitors? What is this!”
They both began to slap him, and the dream was so intense that when he rose in the morning he found that both his cheeks were inflamed. He expressed to his most intimate friend, Svarupa Damodara: “My dear friend, Svarupa Damodara, such is my position. I had this ob¬jectionable feeling my heart towards these servitors, so Jagannatha and Balarama have punished me in this way. See the swelling on both cheeks!”
Such was the nature of Pundarika Vidyanidhi. In essence, we are told that he is the father of Srimati Radharani, incarnated here as Pundarika Vidyanidhi. A slight holy association of this day, his appearance day, will help us a great deal in our advancement of spiritual life.
3. The Appearance of Sri Raghunandana Thakura
Thirdly, this is also the birthday of Raghunandana Thakura. He was born in a place named Srikhanda, near Katwa, in a Kaviraj family, a lineage of Ayurvedic doc¬tors. Raghunandana was the son of Mukunda Kaviraja, who was such a notable doctor that even kings called for him for treatment. Raghunandana was a bachelor his whole life. His figure was extraordinarily beautiful, and he was very fond of dancing. From the beginning he was, of course, a natural devotee.
The family of Mukunda Thakura worshiped their ancestral Deity at home. Once, when Raghunandana was a growing boy, who had perhaps only recently received the sacred thread and admission to worship, his father asked him, “I’m going out and won’t return in time. You please worship the Deity and feed Him – offer bhogam for His food.” His expression was, “Please try to feed my Deity.”
When he was away, Raghunandana’s mother cooked many items and brought them to the temple, and asked Raghunandana to offer them to the Deity. Generally the doors are kept closed during worship, so behind the closed doors Raghunandana offered and prayed to the Lord,
“Please take these dishes I am offering You – please eat.”
But the Sri Murti did not answer or come forward to eat. Raghunandana began to cry.
“My father will rebuke me! He has requested me to feed You, and You are not eating. I’ll be punished. You have to take this food!”
The sincere boy began to cry in such a way that Krsna had to eat. Raghunandana was satisfied, and came out from the Deity room.
His mother came to remove the Prasadam.
“What is this? All the plates are empty!”
Raghunandana replied,
“You asked me to feed the Deity. He has taken.”
His mother said angrily,
“You, boy, you have eaten it! The Deity doesn’t eat. We offer, everything remains, and afterwards we take the Prasadam. You wicked boy, you have turned out to be such a rogue – you have eaten everything.”
“No, no, I did not eat, the Deity ate everything.”
“This is impossible, you foolish boy! Do you want to make a fool of me? This can never happen!”
He began to cry.
“No, I’m speaking the truth.”
“All right, let your father come, and I shall ask him to punish you.
Mukunda returned, and Raghunandana’s mother complained,
“Your boy has grown to be such a rogue! He says the Deity has eaten.”
Raghunandana also petitioned his father,
“Yes, the Deity has eaten. He would not take in the beginning, but I began to cry, and then He ate.”
“Is this true?”
“Yes, it is true my father, I am not lying.”
“Can you show me?”
“I shall try.”
So he was given another chance to worship, and from a hidden place his father could see that the Deity had actually taken the food.
Such a devotee was Raghunandana Thakura. When he danced in Sankirtana, it was such a charming scene that even Mahaprabhu was attracted. During the Jagannatha Rathayatra seven special groups would chant and dance, and in the party from Srikhanda we find that Raghunandana was the dancer.
So today is the day connected with the memory of Sri Raghunandana Thakura, who is considered to be Pradyumna Avatara. Many more incidents occur in his pastimes – I have only touched on them. It is also said that near the banks of the lake Madhu puskarini there is a Jambu tree, and according to his wish two Kadamba flowers bloom on that tree every day for the worship of his Deity. Many miracles are found in his pastimes.
4 The Appearance of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami
Then, the fourth personality is Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami. He was born nearly five hundred years ago in Krsnapur village, Hooghly District. He came in the Kayastha caste. His father, Hiranya Majumdar, was a very rich man. His father had one brother, Govardhana, but Raghunatha was the only child. His father and uncle were state landowners. At that time, they collected 20 lakhs (2,000,000) rupees in taxes. 12 lakhs was to be paid to the king, and their net income was 8 lakhs.
Raghunatha heard about Mahaprabhu after His san¬nyasa. Hiranya and Govardhana had association with Advaita Acarya, and they used to make an annual contribution to all the superior Sanskrit scholars and their schools, in Bengal, of the time.
When Mahaprabhu went back to Sri Advaita Acarya’s house (Advaita bhavan) after His sannyasa, Raghunatha Dasa came and saw Him, and became mad with Love of Krsna. His heart was completely melted by Mahaprabhu’s beauty and charming Personality, His Devotion and His Teachings of Devotion for Krsna. Mahaprabhu Himself was also aware of this. Raghunatha would not leave Mahaprabhu, but the Lord told him, “Go home. Don’t be over enthusiastic; control yourself. Keep your Divine Love for Krsna within your heart, and don’t express it outwardly. Don’t advertise it. Very soon the time will come when Krsna will guide you. He will make a way for you. Don’t allow any external show but keep it within your heart.”
sthira hanya ghare yao, na hao batula
krame krame paya loka bhava sindhu kula
(C.c. Madhya 16.237)
“Compose yourself and go home – don’t be a madman. One reaches the shore of the material ocean gradually.”
Then, he later came into the association of Nityananda Prabhu in Panihati. Nityananda Prabhu said to him, “Give a feast here for My followers. You are the son of a rich man, so manage to give a feast here for My followers.”
Raghunatha did so, and Nityananda Prabhu was very satisfied. He also blessed him, saying, “Very soon your bright day will come.” And He addressed His devotees, “See this young boy – he has immense wealth; in abundance he has everything required for a young man’s enjoyment, but he does not care for it. Krsna’s Grace has come down into his heart, so he does not care for anything of this world; but he’s mad to leave his home of material grandeur and become a street beggar. He has become mad for Krsna. Just see this high ideal – devotion, attraction. Love of Krsna has made him mad. He is very, very fortunate. This royal dignity and pros¬perity cannot please him.”
Anyway, he returned home. But one day Hiranya and the others noticed that he no longer entered the inner section of the house. He began to stay in the outer section only. His father and other guardians thought that his condition had become very grave, so ten men were engaged to keep guard that he may not leave.
One day in the early morning before sunrise, the family Guru, Yadunandana Acarya, suddenly entered the house. Finding Raghunatha in the outer section of the house, he met him and requested him, “I am going out for some important business, but there is no one to worship my Deity. So please ask one Brahmana disciple in my name to serve the Deity for a day or two during my absence.” As Yadunandana Acarya left, Raghunatha went with him. The guards saw him going with the family Guru, so they did not interfere. On the way, Raghunatha requested the Guru, “You may go ahead with your business, and I shall request the gentleman to do the worship in your absence.”
The Guru left. Raghunatha took advantage of the situation. Perhaps he requested that man to do the ser¬vice, but he started off in the direction away from Puri. He knew that as soon as they realized at home that he wasn’t returning, they would send men to search for him on the way to Puri. So for the whole day he walked in the opposite direction. In the evening he stopped at a cowherdsman’s house, took a little milk from him and passed the night in the cowshed. Then in the morning he started for Puri.
When his guardians found that Raghunatha had not returned home, they heard from the guards that he had gone with the family Guru. They went to the Guru’s house, but Raghunatha was not to be found. Then they thought that he must have left for Puri, and they sent ten men to that side. They returned without finding him. In this way, Raghunatha cleverly managed to escape. For twelve days he walked to Puri, taking food here and there for only three of those days. On the other days no food was necessary. He was helped by Divine Love, surcharged.
He had already heard that Mahaprabhu was at the Gambhira, the Kasi Misra Bhavan. He went there, and in the courtyard fell flat in obeisance unto Mahaprabhu.
Mukunda Datta announced to the Lord,
“Raghunatha has come.”
Mahaprabhu said,
“Yes, look after him. He has come with great difficulty, walking and walking without food. Take care of him for a few days. Then, he will manage for himself.”
That was the direction of Mahaprabhu. For a few days Raghunatha took Prasadam there. After that he began to beg at the gate of the Jagannatha Temple.
The parents now thought it was impossible to bring him back, and they did not make any further attempt. But they sent some money with one Brahmana and two servants, instructing them to hire a house and offer Raghunatha a place to stay, and see that their son may not die without food. They tried their best, but Raghu¬natha continued to subsist on alms. Over a period of two years, Raghunatha invited Mahaprabhu to take Prasadam at that house, and the Lord did so for his satisfaction. After that, Raghunatha left that idea, think¬ing, “This is only to produce some name and fame for me. Mahaprabhu is not pleased with such Prasadam.”
Svarupa Damodara was the dearmost Attendant of Mahaprabhu, and a very good scholar as well. Raghu¬natha was also a scholar – we find that later he left the world beautiful poetry in Sanskrit. Mahaprabhu gave Raghunatha over to the charge of Svarupa Damodara, saying, “I request Svarupa Damodara to take your charge, and he will advise you what will be necessary for your devotional life.”
But suddenly one day, Raghunatha approached Maha¬prabhu:
‘Why have You managed to take me out of my house, and what is my best benefit? If You please tell me in Your own words, my heart will be satisfied.”
Mahaprabhu said,
“I have given you over to the charge of Svarupa Damo¬dara. He is more qualified than even Myself. Still, if you want to hear something directly from Me, then I say in brief:
gramya katha na sunibe, gramya varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hanya krsna nama sada la’be
vraje radha krsna seva manase karibe
“Don’t indulge in worldly talk, don’t hear worldly talk. Try your best to avoid mundane matters. Don’t eat de¬licious dishes, but take whatever ordinary food may come of its own accord; and don’t dress luxuriously. Always try to take the Name of Krsna with the attitude of giving respect to others, without expecting respect from anyone. Be humble, but never aspire after respectful dealings from others. In this way, try to take the Name of Krsna constantly. And within, try to serve Sri Sri Radha Krsna in Vrndavana. Mentally, be in Vrndavana rendering Ser¬vice to Sri Sri Radha Krsna lila.”
Mahaprabhu told Raghunatha that this was the essence of His advice to him. Then, He again took Raghunatha’s hand and offered it to the hand of Svarupa Damodara. He said, “I am giving you to the charge of Svarupa Damodara. He is the best Spiritual Teacher. He will take care of you.”
After Raghunatha’s arrival in Puri, Mahaprabhu stayed there continuously for sixteen years. After that, Mahaprabhu departed from the world. Raghunatha left Puri and went to Vrndavana, thinking, “I have what is to be had; now I only want to see Vrndavana Dhama once, and then I shall leave this body by jumping from the highest peak of Govardhana.” With this idea he went to Vrndavana, but there he came into contact with
Sanatana Goswami and Rupa Goswami – he found the beginning of a new life. He thought, “What is this? Mahaprabhu has not departed – He is living in them.”
Mahaprabhu delegated Rupa and Sanatana with the power to preserve the Devotional Current they had received from Him, and to present it in a new light. They were asked to prove by drawing upon different Scriptures that Mahaprabhu’s Teachings are the very gist and purpose of all the Scriptures. As in Bhagavad-¬gita, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: “The attempt of every Revealed Scripture is to show Me as the Highest Center – I am the Absolute.” So Mahaprabhu said, “Krsna is the Absolute. With the help of the different Scriptures and historical reference – by all means poss¬ible – try to prove that Krsna is Svayam Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that Vraja lila, Vrndavana lila, is the highest achievement.”
The two brothers had already begun that work when Raghunatha came into their association, and he found, “Oh! Mahaprabhu is here.” He abandoned the idea of leaving this world, and joined Rupa and Sanatana as their disciple. Mahaprabhu had already ordered Sanatana Goswami, “My followers are very poor and helpless. You’ll have to look after them whenever they come to Vrndavana. You’ll have to be the caretaker of all my
disciples that come to Vrndavana.” So Raghunatha came to Sanatana Goswami, and Sanatana took care of him.
Raghunatha was so self forgetful that one day as he was sitting on the banks of Radha kunda and taking the Name, a tiger came just beside him to drink water, but Raghunatha paid no attention. Suddenly, Sanatana Go¬swami came upon the scene. He was astonished. Up until then Raghunatha had lived under the shade of a tree, but Sanatana said, “Please construct a hut to live in. Don’t disregard my request – I entreat you to do this.” Then from that time he managed to construct a small dwelling and stay there. His abnegation, vairagya, was incomparable. Sanatana, Rupa, and all the Go¬swamis’ indifference to worldly enjoyment was extreme, but Raghunatha’s abnegation surpassed all.
When he was in Puri, sometimes he would beg Pra¬sadam at the gate of the Jagannatha Temple, and some¬times he would take Prasadam at a chatram or free kitchen where rich men distribute Prasadam for beggars. But then he thought, “I am taking what is due to others’ karma.”
The unsold Jagannatha Prasadam is given to the cows of Jagannatha Puri. But when it becomes so stale that it emits a bad odor, even the cows cannot eat it. So now Raghunatha would wash that Prasadam with sufficient water, and adding a little salt he would eat that. Maha¬prabhu heard about this, and one day when Raghunatha was taking that Prasadam Mahaprabhu approached and suddenly took some and ate it. He said, “Oh! I have tasted many times the Prasadam of Jagannatha, but such sweet Prasadam I have never taken anywhere!”
So, what is the taste in Prasadam? It is not mundane. Raghunatha had such intense faith in Prasadam that he lived on apparently rotten things with a little salt – and he was the son of a family of kingly opulence. So much indifference was in him. And in his last days in Vrnda¬vana, he would pass each day taking only a pot of ghol, buttermilk. This is not possible for a man of flesh and blood. Great souls like the Goswamis are really person¬alities come down from the other world, and so it was possible for them to show the ideal of abnegation. It is not possible for ordinary humans of flesh and blood to observe such a degree of abnegation without dying. But the Goswamis created the standard and ideal by such vairagya. At the same time, Raghunatha studied Rupa Goswami’s presentation of the highest type of Rasa or Devotional Sentiment – Madhura rasa.
The Acme of Divine Service
Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami appreciated the acme of Divine Service, the culminating point of Divine Service, Radha dasya, which is Servitude unto Srimati Radharani. Therefore he is called the Prayojanacarya. Srila Sanatana Goswami is generally conceived of by his successors as the Acarya of Sambandha-jnana. Sam¬bandha refers to ‘what is what’ – ‘what is my position in the spiritual hierarchy.’ That was explained most clearly by Srila Sanatana Goswami. And Abhidheya – what we should cultivate in order to attain to our objective – was mainly given by Srila Rupa Goswami. He taught us how we can attain fulfillment of our life in the Domain of Love. And what is particularly the highest point of our attainment, or Prayojana, was very vividly shown by Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami. In his famous sloka he says:
asabharair amrta sindhumayaih kathancit
kalo mayatigamitah kila sampratam hi
tvan cet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me
pranair vraje na ca baroru bakarinapi
This sloka has given us the highest conception of our attainment in the school of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What is that? Srila Raghunatha Goswami is addressing Srimati Radharani: “O Queen of my heart, for a long, long time I am waiting with great patience to have Your Mercy, which is so sweet to me that I cannot avoid it. It is heart melting, heart attracting, heart crushing. It is so deeply touching me – I can’t avoid Your Service Con¬nection. Somehow I have managed to come such a long way, to endure such a long time, but I am impatient now. Be gracious; if You are not gracious upon me, I have got no hope. I will come to the end of my patience.
“My life will end here. So much so, that, what shall I do with this Vrndavana? Vrndavana is of no use to me! What is the utility of living my life? It is useless – it will end with no utility. I can’t love even Vrndavana, which is associated with the Lila of Krsna. To say nothing of Vrndavana, I can’t relish the company of even Krsna, without You. Without You, even Krsna is meaningless to me. I can’t tolerate, I can’t relish either my own life, or this environment, or even Krsna – if He Himself comes to grace me I can’t relish that, without Your connection.
“So please be gracious upon me. You are all in all. Without You, Krsna consciousness is not Krsna cons¬ciousness. Your position is so great, so beautiful in Krsna-lila – You are the center of all the Lila of Krsna. Without You I can’t conceive of any life worth living. I utterly surrender unto You, my Queen.”
This is Radha dasya. Our best fulfillment is in the Service of Sri Radha, because only She can fully attract the Grace of Krsna. She is the other Half who can draw the maximum Rasa, Ecstasy, from Krsna – in quantity as well as in quality. So those who are serving Srimati Radharani get the highest type of qualitative Rasa from Krsna in reciprocation for their Service. That cannot be had through any other channel. Service that comes through Srimati Radharani is of the highest quality, so Her Service should be our summum bonum of life.
This was announced clearly by Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami who is considered to be Prayojanacarya, the Guide to show us our highest fulfillment of life. By our association with this day and by our humble attempt to discuss all these matters, we may be benefited in the achievement of our goal. This is the day of the advent of such great personalities.
5. Departure of Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Today is also the day that Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura departed from this world. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura appeared about 180 years after the Advent of Sri Gaurangadev. He composed a commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam and many other books to help the devotees coming later in the Sampradaya. He was such a great Acarya. In his own special way, he has dealt elaborately with many spiritual matters, giving the proper approach. He was the sastric or Scriptural dispensation of Sri Rupa Sanatana, etc. By his grace, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana composed the Sri Gaudiya Vaisnava commentary on Vedanta sutra, Sri Govinda¬-bhasya. From such great Masters there is much to be read.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti was born in a Brahmana family in Devagram of Murshidabad district. He was a great scholar of Sanskrit. He came in the line of Sri Narottama Thakura. He gave us extensive Scriptural writ¬ings to help us very precisely and elaborately to know about the Pastimes of Mahaprabhu and Radha Krsna, Vrndavana, Nabadwip, and the Guru parampara. The Gurvastakam we chant daily was written by him, as well as many other important works. Srila Rupa Goswami wrote Sri Bhakti rasamrta sindhu, ‘The Nec¬tarine Ocean of Devotional Joy,’ and Srila Visvanatha wrote Sri Bhakti rasamrta sindhu bindu or a drop of that Ocean. And from Sri Rupa’s Sri Ujjvala nilamani, ‘The Brilliant Jewel of the Supernatural World,’ or Krsna in Madhura rasa, he gave Ujjvala nilamani kirana or a ray of that Jewel. In this way, he has given volumes of books and poems. As Sri Rupa Goswami gave the Asta kaliya-¬lila of Krsna, or twenty four hour Service engagement with Sri Sri Radha Govinda, he has similarly given in Caitanya lila twenty four hour engagement in the Ser-vice of Sriman Mahaprabhu. So he has done great Service to the Sampradaya and profusely bestowed his mercy upon us.
6,7 Departures of Srimad Bharati Maharaj and Srimad Parvat Maharaj
Today is also the disappearance day of two of our senior Godbrothers, sannyasi disciples of our Guru Maharaj, Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Viveka Bharati Maharaj and Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Svarupa Parvat Maharaj. They both preached extensively on the order of Srila Prabhupada. Sri Bharati Maharaj was very popular; his preaching style was very charming and en¬gaging. In the beginning we appreciated his preaching very much.
Sri Parvat Maharaj was also among the earliest dis¬ciples of our Guru Maharaj. He was born at Svarupa Ganja, on the other side of the Ganges from here (Naba¬dwip). He was born in the house directly next to Surabhi Kunja where Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura lived for some time. During his childhood, he told me, he saw Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura chanting the Name. In the early morning Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura would chant the Hare Krsna Mahamantra just as one calling someone from a distance. A living thing – like one man calling another. In this way, in a living way, he was calling Krsna. He was in his old age, and his body was somewhat attacked with rheumatism. There was a cement chair constructed there; he would stroll about at his sweet will, and when he felt fatigued he would take his seat on that chair. That chair is still there today.
So, at a very early age, Srimad Parvat Maharaj came to Srila Prabhupada and accepted his shelter. For a long period he was posted as the caretaker at Bhakti Kutir, the then ‘head office,’ a small seaside house in Puri owned by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Then, when Prabhupada began his preaching life, Parvat Maharaj became a sannyasi. During the lifetime of Prabhupada he preached throughout the whole of Bengal and beyond as well. He established a Math in Orissa.
I remember, once, when I was a newcomer in the Math, he was telling one gentleman about how he preached on the East side of Bengal. At that place, some people challenged him,
“Why have you come to preach here? Don’t you know that just nearby on the bank of the river there is a siddha mahatma? He has attained the highest end of life. Have you seen him?”
He replied to them, “I have seen many siddha, like aloo siddha, etc.!”
Siddha may mean ‘perfected soul,’ but another mean¬ing of siddha is ‘boiled.’ So he was saying, “I’ve seen many siddha – boiled things. Boiled pota¬toes, boiled cabbage, etc. We already have so many boiled things!”
They said,
“What are you saying? You are insulting him.”
He replied,
“This is no insult. Those who are full of all those siddhas – they know nothing. What Mahaprabhu has brought us is the highest. All other proposals are trash and nasty things. We have come from a great Mahatma to carry to you the highest objective, the summum bonum of life – accept Mahaprabhu and Bhagavatam. We hate all those ‘siddha’ impostors who are deceiving the people in the garb of religion.”
Such was the great preaching of Sri Gaudiya Math in those days.
To my best capacity I have tried my best to represent to you my humble knowledge of these Mahatmas, and I pray that they may be propitiated and give us their best favor. With this prayer, I end here:
vancha kalpa-tarubhyas ca krpa sindhubhya eva ca, patitanam pavane bhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah.
