Q. What are the qualities of Sri Jagannatha, Sri Baladeva and Sri Subhadra?
A. Jagannatha is the emblem of God having no other form than the eyes and the hands. They mean to show that God sees and knows and creates. Balarama is the source of Jiva Shakti of God; Subhadra, the Maya Shakti; and Sudarshana is the energy of Will (of God).
“Jagannatha Temple in Puri”
(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura).
DIVINE WORDS OF
THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION
Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami
jane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
jivanti sanmukharitam bhavadiya-varttam
Hatefully giving up all intellectual attempts to understand the Supreme Truth, those who want to realize You should completely surrender unto You. They
should hear from self-realized devotees about Your holy name and transcendental pastimes. Whatever situation they may find themselves in, they should progress by fully dedicating their mind, body, and words to You. In this way the infinite, who is never conquered by anyone, becomes conquered through love. ( Bhag. 10.14.3)
Sri Jagadananda Pandit has written a beautiful description of the variegated conditions of the jivas in his book Sri Prema-vivarta (6.2-13).
krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga-vancha kare
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare
As long as jivas focus their attention on Krsna, they maintain reverence for Him. However, when they turn their attention away
from Krsna, they desire material enjoyment. Krsna’s deluding potency, maya, who is standing near them,
then binds them in her embrace.
pisaci paile jena mati-cchana haya
maya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya
The dharma of the jiva who has turned away from Krsna becomes covered, just as a person’s intelligence
becomes covered when he is haunted by a witch.
There are two types of entities: cetana, animate, and jada, inanimate. Animate entities are those that have desire and the power to experience, and inanimate entities are those that do not. There are also two types of animate entities: those who possess full consciousness (purna-cetana) and those who possess minute consciousness (ksudra-cetana). Bhagavan possesses full consciousness, and in His original feature He is Krsna.
Saraswati!
People of this world who are proud of their own aristocratic birth attack the pure Vaisnava… Thus they commit offenses. The solution to the problem is to establish the order of daiva-varnāśrama-dharma—something you have started doing: you should know that to be the real service to the Vaisnava. Because pure devotional conclusions are not being preached, all kinds of superstitions and bad concepts are being called devotion by such pseudo sampradāyas as sahajiya and ativādi.
Please always crush these anti-devotional concepts by preaching pure devotional conclusions and by setting an example… Please try very hard to make sure that the service to Sri Māyāpur will become a permanent thing. The real service to Sri Māyāpur can be done by acquiring printing presses, distributing devotional books, and sankirtana-preaching. Please do not neglect to serve Sri Māyāpur or to preach for the sake of your own reclusive bhajana. When I am not present any, more, please take care to serve Sri Māyāpur dhāma which is so dear to you. This is my special instruction to you.
I had a special desire to preach the significance of such books as Srimad-Bhagavatam, Şat-Sandarbha, and Vedānta Darśana. You have to accept that responsibility. Sri Māyāpur will prosper if you establish an educational institution there. Never make any effort to collect knowledge or money for your own enjoyment. Only to serve the Lord will you collect these things.
signed Kedarnātha Datta Bhaktivinoda
Once at Srirangam, Swami Ramanuja was explaining to his disciples all that he had learned from his gurus. As he was talking about Tirumalai that was compared to Bhuloka Vaikuntham in those days. Suddenly he felt like seeing his disciple Swami Ananthazhwan who was at Tirumala and have darshinam of Sri Venkatachalapathy. There at Tirumala as per his guru’s aghya (order) Ananthazvan went to Tirumalai and after having darshan of Lord Venkatachalapathi, with deep devotion he started his work. He was successful in laying a garden with all kinds of beautiful and pleasant smelling flowers which were offered to the Lord daily. He also built a small pond for gardening . The garden is also there now and Lord Venkatachalapathi visits the garden and stays there for some time on the appearance day of Ananthazvan and also on Thiruvadipooram day. Swami Ramanuja was very glad to know that Ananthazvan had fulfilled his wish.. Swamy Ramanuja started his journey to Tirumalai with some of his disciples.
The first day he stayed at a place called Idaikazi.
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abhud gehe gehe tumulaharisankirtanaravo
vabhau dehe dehe vipulapulakasru-vyatikarah
api snehe snehe paramamadhurotkarsapadavi
daviyasyamnayadapi jagati gaure’vatarati
Srila Prabhodananda Saraswati Pada
With Sri Gaurasundara’s descent to this world, unprecedented miracles became common occurences – the tumultuous chanting of the holy names of Sri Hari reverberated from every home, rising in continuous waves, while ecstatic physical transformations like horripilation, tears, shivering and so on, adorned the bodies of the residents, nourishing their souls. Moreover, with the deepening and intensification of bhakti-rasa, the path to the exalted plane of the most attractive madhur-prema, far beyond the vedic literatur (amnaya), gradually came within everyone’s perview, expressed through tender, loving affection
“As Sri Gauracandra appeared in Nabadwip, it is therefore the crest jewel of all holy places. Offenders are the object of punishment at other holy pilgrimage places, but in Nabadwip-Dham they are purified. The example is the two brothers Jagai and Madhai, who committed great offenses yet still received Nitai and Gaura. What to speak of other places, at Vrndavana the offenders are punished. But a person who has committed hundreds of offenses can easily receive the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu and overcome those offenses in Nabadwip-Dham. For this reason, sages endlessly praise Nabadwip of Gaura-mandala. He who lives in Nabadwip-Dham is very fortunate, for he achieves attraction for Krishna. He who happens to go there becomes freed from all offenses. What one attains by traveling to all the holy places is attained just by remembering Nabadwip. In this way the scriptures sing. He who sees Nabadwip-Dham gets ecstatic love of Krishna birth after birth. Even one who goes to Nabadwip desiring to gain material comforts through pious activities will not take another birth. The Sastras say that one who walks around Nabadwip attains the fruit of millions of asvamedha yajnas at every step. And one who lives in Nabadwip and chants mantras obtains the sound of Chaitanya as his mantra and easil gets free from maya. What yogis obtain after ten years at other tirthas is obtained in three nights at Nabadwip.”
~ Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya
bhayam pramattasya vaneshv api syad
yatah sa aste saha-shat-sapatnah
jitendriyasyatma-rater budhasya
grihasramah kim nu karoty avadyam
TRANSLATION
Even if he goes from forest to forest, one who is not self-controlled must always fear material bondage because he is living with six co-wives — the mind and knowledge-acquiring senses. Even householder life, however, cannot harm a self-satisfied, learned man who has conquered his senses.
PURPORT
Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has sung, grihe va vanete thake, ‘ha gauranga’ bale dake: whether one is situated in the forest or at home, if he is engaged in the devotional service of Lord Caitanya, he is a liberated person. Here this is also repeated. For one who has not controlled his senses, going to the forest to become a so-called yogi is meaningless. Because his uncontrolled mind and senses are going with him, he cannot achieve anything, even by giving up household life and staying in the forest.
MAHAPRABHU’S SANNYAS – A great tragedy
We must return back to Godhead, back to home. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, “Your home is a beautiful land. You must try for that. Why are you always troubled with the horrors of war, epidemic, earthquake, undesirable disease, stealing, dacoiting, and fighting with so many neighbors? At the bottom of all this is the fact that you have identified yourself with this material world and this body of flesh and blood. You have to retrace your path and go back to your home.” That is what is necessary. Our homeland is such a lovely and beautiful and divine place. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s sannyasa is all for us, and it is for the purpose of taking us back home, where we can have home comforts, home sweetness. If we have any home-consciousness within, then we must appreciate such a proposal: home sweet home.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s sannyasa is apparently very cruel to His devotees, and to His family members, but it was meant only to take us to our home. To work out the ecstasy of union, it was necessary for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to show separation from His devotees and relatives. Separation and union are mutually helpful. Mahaprabhu’s sannyasa, His renunciation, is a great tragedy of separation.
Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami
Audio Record
Harikhatha of Srila Bhakti Prapanna Tirtha Goswami Maharaj
Topics:
– Sriman Mahaprabhu Sannyasa Lila;
– Harikatha of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj;
14-01-2022
India, Nabadwip, SREE CAITANYA SRIDHAR SEVA ASHRAM.
English / Russian
