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Today is the auspicious disappearance day of Sri Madhavendra Puri, the grand spiritual master of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri was accepted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as His spiritual master. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is Himself the origin of all knowledge—all perfect, Vedic knowledge—and He had no need to accept a spiritual master. But because He was playing the part of a devotee, to set the example for others He accepted a spiritual master. And He accepted Isvara Puri specifically because he came in the line of Madhavendra Puri and was most dear to him. Madhavendra Puri was the first to exhibit love of God in separation, specifically in the mood of the gopis in separation from Krishna after He left Vrindavan. So, Madhavendra Puri is a most important person in the history of our disciplic succession—and in the history of the world.

We shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eight: “Ramacandra Puri Criticizes the Lord.” Ramachandra Puri was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri and a godbrother of Isvara Puri, but he developed an offensive mentality toward his spiritual master, and as a result he became so fallen that he dared to criticize Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We begin with the chapter summary:

“The following summary of the Eighth Chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya. This chapter describes the history of the Lord’s dealings with Ramacandra Puri. Although Ramacandra Puri was one of the disciples of Madhavendra Puri, he was influenced by dry Mayavadis, and therefore he criticized Madhavendra Puri. Therefore Madhavendra Puri accused him of being an offender and rejected him. Because Ramacandra Puri had been rejected by his spiritual master, he became concerned only with finding faults in others and advising them according to dry Mayavada philosophy. For this reason he was not very respectful to the Vaisnavas, and later he became so fallen that he began criticizing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for His eating. Hearing his criticisms, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu reduced His eating, but after Ramacandra Puri left Jagannatha Puri, the Lord resumed His usual behavior.”

TEXT 1

tam vande krsna-caitanyam
  ramacandra-puri-bhayat
laukikaharatah svam yo
  bhiksannam samakocayat

TRANSLATION

Let me offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who reduced His eating due to fear of the criticism of Ramacandra Puri.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-caitanya karuna-sindhu-avatara
brahma-sivadika bhaje carana yanhara

TRANSLATION

All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of the ocean of mercy! His lotus feet are worshiped by demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva.

TEXT 3

jaya jaya avadhuta-candra nityananda
jagat bandhila yenha diya prema-phanda

TRANSLATION

All glories to Nityananda Prabhu, the greatest of mendicants, who bound the entire world with a knot of ecstatic love for God!

TEXT 4

jaya jaya advaita isvara avatara
krsna avatari’ kaila jagat-nistara

TRANSLATION

All glories to Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead! He induced Krsna to descend and thus delivered the entire world.

TEXT 5

jaya jaya srivasadi yata bhakta-gana
sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu—yanra prana-dhana

TRANSLATION

All glories to all the devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura! Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is their life and soul.

TEXT 6

ei-mata gauracandra nija-bhakta-sange
nilacale krida kare krsna-prema-tarange

TRANSLATION

Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, at Jagannatha Puri, performed His various pastimes with His devotees in the waves of love for Krsna.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The next verses describe Ramachandra Puri’s arrival in Jagannatha Puri. He came specifically to meet Paramananda Puri and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. His policy was to invite Vaishnavas and feed them prasada and by various means induce them to eat more and more—and then criticize them for eating too much. Next, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, the author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, explains the history of Ramachandra Puri, which contains the story of the disappearance of Sri Madhavendra Puri.

TEXT 18

purve yabe madhavendra karena antardhana
ramacandra-puri tabe aila tanra sthana

TRANSLATION

Formerly, when Madhavendra Puri was at the last stage of his life, Ramacandra Puri came to where he was staying.

TEXT 19

puri-gosani kare krsna-nama-sankirtana
“mathura na painu’ bali” karena krandana

TRANSLATION

Madhavendra Puri was chanting the holy name of Krsna, and sometimes he would cry, “O my Lord, I did not get shelter at Mathura.”

TEXT 20

ramacandra-puri tabe upadese tanre
sisya hana guruke kahe, bhaya nahi kare

TRANSLATION

Then Ramacandra Puri was so foolish that he fearlessly dared to instruct his spiritual master.

TEXT 21

“tumi—purna-brahmananda, karaha smarana
brahmavit hana kene karaha rodana?”

TRANSLATION

“If you are in full transcendental bliss,” he said, “you should now remember only Brahman. Why are you crying?”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, brahma-bhutah prasannatma: a Brahman realized person is always happy. Na socati na kanksati: he neither laments nor aspires for anything. Not knowing why Madhavendra Puri was crying, Ramacandra Puri tried to become his advisor. Thus he committed a great offense, for a disciple should never try to instruct his spiritual master.

COMMENT

The scriptures contain many negative injunctions, such as the one we just read from the Gita: na socati na kanksati—one who is on the Brahman platform neither hankers nor laments. In the Upanishads negative statements are also used to describe the Lord, that the Lord has no name, no form, no qualities, no face, no hands, no legs. Srila Prabhupada explains that these negative statements mean that the Lord has no material hands or legs but that He has spiritual hands and legs. Similarly, instructions such as na socati na kanksati—one should not hanker or lament—mean that one should not hanker or lament materially, for material things. Madhavendra Puri was on the highest platform of love of God. He was feeling separation from Krishna, hankering to attain Krishna’s service and lamenting because he felt unable to do so. He was on the spiritual platform. But Ramachandra Puri, being influenced by impersonal philosophy, could not understand that the negative statements apply to material form and qualities, and material hankering and lamentation. He could not understand that his spiritual master was feeling separation from Krishna on the transcendental platform. And he was so audacious that he dared to advise his spiritual master, which was his downfall.

TEXT 22

suni’ madhavendra-mane krodha upajila
“dura, dura, papistha” bali’ bhartsana karila

TRANSLATION

Hearing this instruction, Madhavendra Puri, greatly angry, rebuked him by saying, “Get out, you sinful rascal!

PURPORT

Ramacandra Puri could not understand that his spiritual master, Madhavendra Puri, was feeling transcendental separation. His lamentation was not material. Rather, it proceeded from the highest stage of ecstatic love of Krsna. When he was crying in separation, “I could not achieve Krsna! I could not reach Mathura!” this was not ordinary material lamentation. Ramacandra Puri was not sufficiently expert to understand the feelings of Madhavendra Puri, but nevertheless he thought himself very advanced. Therefore, regarding Madhavendra Puri’s expressions as ordinary material lamentation, he advised him to remember Brahman, because he was latently an impersonalist. Madhavendra Puri understood Ramacandra Puri’s position as a great fool and therefore immediately rebuked him. Such a reprimand from the spiritual master is certainly for the betterment of the disciple.

COMMENT

Krodha upajila—when Madhavendra Puri heard the words of Ramachandra Puri, krodha, anger, arose in him. On the material platform, krodha is a no-no. Kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, and matsarya—lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride, and envy—are enemies of the conditioned soul and are considered gateways to hell. The Bhagavad-gita (3.37) explains,

 kama esa krodha esa
  rajo-guna-samudbhavah
mahasano maha-papma
  viddhy enam iha vairinam

“Lust is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath; it is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.” Lust and anger are products of the mode of passion, and they lead one to degradation. Yet here we read, krodha upajila—anger arose within Madhavendra Puri. But his was not any ordinary, material anger; it was transcendental. Material anger arises when one’s lust is frustrated (kamat krodho ’bhijayate). The Third Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam uses the Sanskrit term kamanujena for anger. Literally, kama-anujena means “the younger brother of lust”—wherever the older brother goes, the younger brother follows. Wherever there is lust, anger follows. When our material desires become frustrated, we become angry. Spiritually, when there is an obstacle to devotional service, one may also become angry—not materially, but spiritually—and use that anger to remove the obstacle. From one point of view, Ramachandra Puri’s presence was an impediment to Madhavendra Puri’s meditation on Krishna, so Madhavendra Puri wanted him away. But on another level, Ramachandra Puri’s pride and tendency toward impersonalism were obstacles to his own spiritual advancement, and so his spiritual master rebuked him to purify him. As Srila Prabhupada notes, “Such a reprimand from the spiritual master is certainly for the benefit of the disciple.”

Vaisnavera kriya mudra vijneha na bujhaya: even the most learned scholar cannot understand the activities and characteristics of a transcendental Vaishnava. Therefore, we should be careful when we deal with Vaishnavas, lest we misunderstand them and offend them.

TEXT 23

“krsna na painu, na painu ‘mathura’
apana-duhkhe maron—ei dite aila jvala

TRANSLATION

“O my Lord Krsna, I could not reach You, nor could I reach Your abode, Mathura. I am dying in my unhappiness, and now this rascal has come to give me more pain.

TEXT 24

“more mukha na dekhabi tui, yao yathi-tathi
tore dekhi’ maile mora habe asad-gati

TRANSLATION

“Don’t show your face to me! Go anywhere else you like. If I die seeing your face, I shall not achieve the destination of my life.

TEXT 25

“krsna na painu muni maron apanara duhkhe
more ‘brahma’ upadese ei chara murkhe”

TRANSLATION

“I am dying without achieving the shelter of Krsna, and therefore I am greatly unhappy. Now this condemned foolish rascal has come to instruct me about Brahman.”

COMMENT

Generally, a spiritual master does not reject a disciple. Still, Krishna, in the Bhagavad-gita, says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: as people approach Me, I reciprocate accordingly. If someone neglects Krishna, Krishna will neglect him. The spiritual master is the representative of Krishna. Ramachandra Puri had in effect rejected Madhavendra Puri as his spiritual master, because how can a disciple advise his spiritual master so?

Of course, sometimes even Krishna consults. In Mathura and Dvaraka He would consult Uddhava, and Uddhava would advise Him in a humble mood of loving service. But Ramachandra Puri was not offering advice in a mood of humble service. Rather, he was proud and thought himself superior in transcendental knowledge even to his spiritual master. Therefore he dared to advise his spiritual master in the matter of Krishna consciousness. In effect, he rejected Madhavendra Puri as a spiritual master. He thought he was more advanced than him, that he was on the Brahman platform and that his spiritual master wasn’t. So he foolishly instructed his spiritual master to be fixed in Brahman.

One of the lessons here is that if a disciple gets too close to the spiritual master without having the required purity, he or she may mistake him to be ordinary and commit offenses. Srila Prabhupada never rejected a disciple—unless the disciple rejected him. One case was Prabhupada’s disciple Aravinda, who served for some time as Prabhupada’s personal servant but eventually left. Later he met a devotee who informed him that Srila Prabhupada was in town. “You should come and meet Srila Prabhupada,” the devotee told him.

So, Aravinda came, and when he saw Prabhupada he told him, “Krishna consciousness never really worked for me, so I left.” Indirectly, he was criticizing Srila Prabhupada and Krishna consciousness. And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Good, I am glad you left, because now I don’t have to look at your morose face anymore.” Reading this line—“Don’t show your face to me”—reminded me of Srila Prabhupada’s words. But it was tit for tat. Prabhupada would call the scientists and other critics fools and rascals because in their own way they were calling Krishna’s devotees fools and rascals. Aravinda said that he had tried Krishna consciousness for some time but that he hadn’t really gotten much from it. In effect, he was saying he didn’t really like Krishna consciousness or being around Srila Prabhupada. And Prabhupada was saying, “I am glad you left, because we didn’t really like having you around us.”

Ultimately, both the blessings and the curses of a Vaishnava are beneficial. Once, two sons of Kuvera (the treasurer of the demigods) were sporting naked with heavenly women in a celestial river. They were so intoxicated with their material opulence and prestige that when their spiritual master, Narada Muni, came upon them, they felt no shame and did not even cover themselves. And so Narada cursed them to take birth as trees. Srila Prabhupada said that trees stand naked and think themselves very beautiful, and that Krishna fulfills all desires: “Oh, you wanted to be naked, to expose your beauty? Okay, take birth as a tree; stand naked for a hundred years and display your beauty.” But Sri Narada’s curse was actually a blessing. He took advantage of the situation to show the young men special mercy by giving them a curse that would relieve them of their false pride and ultimately give them audience of Sri Krishna. And so they took birth as twin arjun trees in the courtyard of Mother Yasoda. Then, during His damodara-lila, to fulfill the desire of Narada, Krishna dragged a wooden grinding mortar between the two trees, uprooted them, and delivered the two demigods, saying,

jnatam mama puraivaitad
  rsina karunatmana
yac chri-madandhayor vagbhir
  vibhramso ’nugrahah krtah

“The great saint Narada Muni is very merciful. By his curse, he showed the greatest favor to both of you, who were mad after material opulence and who had thus become blind. Although you fell from the higher planet Svargaloka and became trees, you were most favored by him. I knew of all these incidents from the very beginning.” (SB 10.10.40)

Ramachandra Puri—at least initially—was quite unfortunate, as we shall read.

TEXT 26

ei ye sri-madhavendra sripada upeksa karila
sei aparadhe inhara ‘vasana’ janmila

TRANSLATION

Ramacandra Puri was thus denounced by Madhavendra Puri. Due to his offense, gradually material desire appeared within him.

PURPORT

The word vasana (“material desires”) refers to dry speculative knowledge. Such speculative knowledge is only material. As confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.4), a person without devotional service who simply wants to know things (kevala-bodha-labdhaye) gains only dry speculative knowledge but no spiritual profit. This is confirmed in the Bhakti-sandarbha (111), wherein it is said:

jivan-mukta api punar yanti samsara-vasanam
yady acintya-maha-saktau bhagavaty aparadhinah

“Even though one is liberated in this life, if one offends the Supreme Personality of Godhead he falls down in the midst of material desires, of which dry speculation about spiritual realization is one.”

In his Laghu-tosani commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.32), Jiva Gosvami says:

jivan-mukta api punar bandhanam yanti karmabhih
yady acintya-maha-saktau bhagavaty aparadhinah

“Even if one is liberated in this life, he becomes addicted to material desires because of offenses to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

A similar quotation from one of the Puranas also appears in the Visnu-bhakti-candrodaya:

jivan-muktah prapadyante kvacit samsara-vasanam
yogino na vilipyante karmabhir bhagavat-parah

“Even liberated souls sometimes fall down to material desires, but those who fully engage in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not affected by such desires.”

These are references from authoritative revealed scriptures. If one becomes an offender to his spiritual master or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he falls down to the material platform to merely speculate.

COMMENT

One effect of offenses is that one becomes influenced by material desires and sometimes is overwhelmed by them, and then, to justify one’s sinful activities, one may speculate and manufacture many excuses. Or one may develop an impersonal attitude. Yet another effect of offenses is that one becomes prone to commit more offenses, as explained in the next verse.

TEXT 27

suska-brahma-jnani, nahi krsnera ‘sambandha’
sarva loka ninda kare, nindate nirbandha

TRANSLATION

One who is attached to dry speculative knowledge has no relationship with Krsna. His occupation is criticizing Vaisnavas. Thus he is situated in criticism.

PURPORT

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has explained in his Anubhasya that the word nirbandha indicates that Ramacandra Puri had a steady desire to criticize others. Impersonalist Mayavadis, who have no relationship with Krsna, who cannot take to devotional service, and who simply engage in material arguments to understand Brahman, regard devotional service to Krsna as karma-kanda, or fruitive activities. According to them, devotional service to Krsna is but another means for attaining dharma, artha, kama, and moksa. Therefore they criticize the devotees for engaging in material activities. They think that devotional service is maya and that Krsna, or Visnu, is also maya. Therefore they are called Mayavadis. Such a mentality awakens in a person who is an offender to Krsna and His devotees.

COMMENT

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stated emphatically, mayavadi krsne aparadhi: “The Mayavadis are the greatest offenders to Lord Krishna.” Here we gain the further insight that they became Mayavadis as a result of offending Krishna. Because they committed offenses, they became impersonalists, Mayavadis, and as Mayavadis they committed more offenses and thus continued their degradation.

Now we come to the other example—that of a devoted disciple.

TEXT 28

isvara-puri gosani kare sripada-sevana
svahaste karena mala-mutradi marjana

TRANSLATION

Isvara Puri, the spiritual master of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, performed service to Madhavendra Puri, cleaning up his stool and urine with his own hand.

TEXTS 29–31

Isvara Puri was always chanting the holy name and pastimes of Lord Krsna for Madhavendra Puri to hear. In this way he helped Madhavendra Puri remember the holy name and pastimes of Lord Krsna at the time of death.

Pleased with Isvara Puri, Madhavendra Puri embraced him and gave him the benediction that he would be a great devotee and lover of Krsna.

Thus Isvara Puri became like an ocean of ecstatic love for Krsna, whereas Ramacandra Puri became a dry speculator and a critic of everyone else.

TEXT 32

mahad-anugraha-nigrahera ‘saksi’ dui-jane
ei dui-dvare sikhaila jaga-jane

TRANSLATION

Isvara Puri received the blessing of Madhavendra Puri, whereas Ramacandra Puri received a rebuke from him. Therefore these two persons, Isvara Puri and Ramacandra Puri, are examples of the objects of a great personality’s benediction and punishment. Madhavendra Puri instructed the entire world by presenting these two examples.

COMMENT

It is stated that the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee is very powerful but that the same dust that elevates one to the highest level of Krishna consciousness, to the spiritual realm of Vrindavan, can also push one down to hell if one offends it. This principle was enunciated by Sati to her father Daksha after Daksha had offended Shiva, the greatest Vaishnava (vaisnavanam yatha sambhu), and the purport is relevant to the present discussion.

In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Four (“Sati Quits Her Body”), Text 13, Sati says:

nascaryam etad yad asatsu sarvada
  mahad-vininda kunapatma-vadisu
sersyam mahapurusa-pada-pamsubhir
  nirasta-tejahsu tad eva sobhanam

“It is not wonderful for persons who have accepted the transient material body as the self to engage always in deriding great souls. Such envy on the part of materialistic persons is very good because that is the way they fall down. They are diminished by the dust of the feet of great personalities.”

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, “Everything depends on the strength of the recipient. For example, due to the scorching sunshine many vegetables and flowers dry up, and many grow luxuriantly. Thus it is the recipient that causes growth and dwindling. Similarly, mahiyasam pada-rajo-’bhisekam: the dust of the lotus feet of great personalities offers all good to the recipient, but the same dust can also do harm. Those who are offenders at the lotus feet of a great personality dry up; their godly qualities diminish. A great soul may forgive offenses, but Krsna does not excuse offenses to the dust of that great soul’s feet, just as one can tolerate the scorching sunshine on one’s head but cannot tolerate the scorching sunshine on one’s feet.”

One must be especially careful when one comes close to a great soul. Rendering personal service unto a great soul, as Isvara Puri did to Madhavendra Puri, can bestow the greatest benefit, but if one is not pure enough and comes too close, one may commit offenses—and not just the accidental type. One may actually develop an offensive mentality toward the great soul and commit serious offenses that will cause one to go away and fall down.

In Sati’s statements about Lord Shiva we find a very surprising statement, that it is good that such envious persons commit offenses, because that way they fall down. How can a pure devotee who is a well-wisher of all living entities say that it is good for someone to commit offenses and fall down? Srila Prabhupada explains that the spiritual master, who is an ocean of mercy, will never reject a disciple, even when the disciple is fallen and causes pain to the spiritual master, but that Krishna, out of compassion for the spiritual master, out of His mercy, will cause the disciple to go away so that he does not cause more pain—even though the spiritual master himself does not reject the disciple. Of course, Krishna is the father of every living entity (aham bija-pradah pita) and the well-wisher of all (suhrdam sarva-bhutanam). He wants the ultimate benefit of everyone, but if one comes too close to the devotee or the Deity and out of familiarity develops misconceptions and an offensive mentality, it may be better if that person is removed from the situation and, being kept at a distance, gradually comes to his senses and redeems himself.

Now we come to Madhavendra Puri’s feelings of separation.

TEXT 33

jagad-guru madhavendra kari’ prema dana
ei sloka padi’ tenho kaila antardhana

TRANSLATION

His Divine Grace Madhavendra Puri, the spiritual master of the entire world, thus distributed ecstatic love for Krsna. While passing away from the material world, he chanted the following verse.

TEXT 34

ayi dina-dayardra natha he
  mathura-natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvad-aloka-kataram
  dayita bhramyati kim karomy aham

TRANSLATION

“O My Lord! O most merciful master! O master of Mathura! When shall I see You again? Because of My not seeing You, My agitated heart has become unsteady. O most beloved one, what shall I do now?”

TEXT 35

 ei sloke krsna-prema kare upadesa
krsnera virahe bhaktera bhava-visesa

TRANSLATION

In this verse Madhavendra Puri teaches how to achieve ecstatic love for Krsna. By feeling separation from Krsna, one becomes spiritually situated.

TEXT 36

prthivite ropana kari’ gela premankura
sei premankurera vrksa-caitanya-thakura

TRANSLATION

Madhavendra Puri sowed the seed of ecstatic love for Krsna within this material world and then departed. That seed later became a great tree in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 37

prastave kahilun puri-gosanira niryana
yei iha sune, sei bada bhagyavan

TRANSLATION

I have incidentally described the passing away of Madhavendra Puri. Anyone who hears this must be considered very fortunate.

COMMENT

Having been blessed by hearing about the glorious passing of Sri Madhavendra Puri, we shall now discuss some of his earlier pastimes—and then return to the special verse that he uttered at the time of his passing from this world. Once, as described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu and some of Their associates were traveling from Bengal to Orissa, to Jagannatha Puri. On the way, they visited a town called Remuna, where there is a Deity called Gopinatha. At the temple of Gopinatha, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu narrated the story of Madhavendra Puri as He had heard it from His spiritual master, Isvara Puri.

Earlier, when Madhavendra Puri came to Govardhana Hill, he had a dream in which the Deity Gopala appeared to him, took him by the hand, and led him to a place where He was hidden under a bush in the jungle at Govardhana. Then He instructed Madhavendra Puri to inform the villagers and to come take Him from the bush and install Him on Govardhana Hill. Madhavendra Puri followed the instructions of Gopala in the dream. He told the villagers, and they helped him cut through the thickets, discover the Deity, and take Him out of the ground. Then, as further directed by Gopala in the dream, Madhavendra Puri installed the Deity on top of Govardhana Hill. Devotees and brahmans bathed the Deity, chanted mantras, sang and danced, and offered garments, tulasi leaves, and flower garlands. Then they offered various kinds of food (bhoga), performed arati, and distributed massive, sumptuous prasada in a ceremony called Annakuta—just as it had been performed at the time of Lord Krishna during the Govardhana-puja.

For two years, devotees from all over the area came to see Gopala, present Him offerings, serve Him, worship Him, and celebrate the Annakuta ceremony, almost as it had been done on the first day. Then Gopala appeared to Madhavendra Puri again in a dream and told him that He was feeling very hot and that to cool Him and give Him relief, Madhavendra Puri should bring sandalwood from Jagannatha Puri and smear the pulp on His body. Madhavendra Puri took the instruction to heart, and after making all arrangements for the continued service of Gopala, he left by foot for Jagannatha Puri. On the way, in Bengal, in Shantipur, he met Advaita Acharya, who was so pleased to see his ecstatic love that he begged him for initiation. Thus Advaita Acharya was initiated in the line of Sri Madhavendra Puri. And further along the way, in Orissa, at Remuna, Madhavendra Puri saw the Deity Gopinatha.

Madhavendra Puri was so detached that he would never beg or ask for food. If someone offered him some food, he would eat a little. Otherwise, he would fast. He depended completely on the mercy of the Lord and made no effort to get food.

After Madhavendra Puri saw the beauty of Gopinatha in the temple, he went into the village marketplace, which was vacant, to sit and chant. That night, Gopinatha’s pujari had a dream in which the Deity told him that He had hidden a pot of sweet rice for Madhavendra Puri behind the curtains and that the pujari should find the sannyasi Madhavendra Puri in the marketplace and give him the pot of sweet rice. The pujari immediately awoke, bathed, went into the Deity room, and found the sweet rice, but he did not know exactly where Madhavendra Puri was. So he went into the vacant marketplace and called out, “Will the sannyasi named Madhavendra Puri please come and take his pot! The Deity Gopinatha has stolen this pot of sweet rice for you! You are the most fortunate person in all the three worlds!” Eventually Madhavendra Puri heard the call and came out, and the pujari gave him the sweet rice. But after relishing the prasada in ecstatic love, Madhavendra Puri considered that the next morning, when people heard that the Deity had delivered a pot of sweet rice to him, they would throng around him, and so he immediately departed for Jagannatha Puri. Madhavendra Puri was such a great devotee, so humble and fixed in his mood of service to Krishna, that he did not want any praise or popularity or attention. So he decided, “I must leave immediately.”

Even in Puri people understood that Madhavendra Puri was a great devotee, because whenever he would come before the Deity of Jagannatha, he would exhibit symptoms of ecstatic love of Godhead. Furthermore, they were aware of his transcendental reputation, and so they all came with love and devotion to offer him respects. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami comments that the reputation of a devotee is so sublime that it follows him wherever he goes:

pratisthara bhaye puri gela palana
krsna-preme pratistha cale sange gadana

“Being afraid of his reputation [pratistha], Madhavendra Puri fled from Remuna. But the reputation brought by love of Godhead is so sublime that it goes along with the devotee, as if following him.” (Cc Madhya 4.147)

For his own sake, to avoid the crowds who came to honor him, Madhavendra Puri would have left Puri, but because he had come on a mission for Gopala, to get sandalwood and camphor, which were not easy to obtain but were available in Puri because they were used in the service of Lord Jagannatha, he remained. Yet even in Puri these items were very costly, and further, they were controlled by the government. Without a permit, one could not obtain or transport them. But when Madhavendra Puri told the local devotees about the history of Gopala and how He wanted sandalwood, they all came forward to help. They met people, got the permits, got sufficient quantities of sandalwood and camphor, and arranged a servant and expenses for Madhavendra Puri’s travels. And so he left, by foot, with his burden of sandalwood—his burden of love—back to Vrindavan, back to Govardhana.

On the way, after some days, Madhavendra Puri reached Remuna and again visited the temple of Gopinatha. And when the pujari saw him, he immediately brought him sweet rice prasada. That night in the temple, Madhavendra Puri had another dream. The Deity Gopala came to him and said, “There is no difference between My body and Gopinatha’s body. So if you smear the sandalwood pulp on the body of Gopinatha, My body will be cooled.” Sri Caitanya-caritamrta explains that the Deity of Gopala did not want Madhavendra Puri to have to suffer more by carrying such large amounts of sandalwood and camphor by foot in the hot sun and having to deal along the way with the Mohammedan officers, who would demand tolls and taxes and create trouble for travelers.

One could say that Madhavendra Puri passed Gopala’s test. Without any personal consideration or hesitation, he had acted with no interest other than to serve and please the Lord. And the Lord reciprocated. He was satisfied that Madhavendra Puri had come as far as Remuna, and He did not want his pure devotee to suffer any further. So Gopala instructed him to render the service to Gopinatha and that the service would be accepted by Gopala.

While narrating these pastimes, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu extolled the glories of Srila Madhavendra Puri, and He asked Nityananda Prabhu, “Is there anyone in this world as fortunate as Madhavendra Puri?” Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said (Cc Madhya 4):

TEXT 180

“hena-jana gopalera ajnamrta pana
sahasra krosa asi’ bule candana magina

“After receiving the transcendental orders of Gopala, this great personality traveled thousands of miles just to collect sandalwood by begging.

TEXT 181

“bhoke rahe, tabu anna magina na khaya
hena-jana candana-bhara vahi’ lana yaya

TRANSLATION

“Although Madhavendra Puri was hungry, he would not beg food to eat. This renounced person carried a load of sandalwood for the sake of Sri Gopala.

TEXT 182

“maneka candana, tola-viseka karpura
gopale paraiba’—ei ananda pracura

“Without considering his personal comforts, Madhavendra Puri carried one maund [about eighty-two pounds] of sandalwood and twenty tolas [about eight ounces] of camphor to smear over the body of Gopala. This transcendental pleasure was sufficient for him.

TEXT 183

“utkalera dani rakhe candana dekhina
tahan edaila raja-patra dekhana

TRANSLATION

“Since there were restrictions against taking the sandalwood out of the Orissa province, the toll official confiscated the stock, but Madhavendra Puri showed him the release papers given by the government and consequently escaped difficulties.

TEXT 184

“mleccha-desa dura patha, jagati apara
ke-mate candana niba-nahi e vicara

TRANSLATION

“Madhavendra Puri was not at all anxious during the long journey to Vrndavana through the provinces governed by the Muslims and filled with unlimited numbers of watchmen.

TEXT 185

“sange eka vata nahi ghati-dana dite
tathapi utsaha bada candana lana yaite

TRANSLATION

“Although Madhavendra Puri did not have a farthing with him, he was not afraid to pass by the toll officers. His only enjoyment was in carrying the load of sandalwood to Vrndavana for Gopala.

TEXT 186

“pragadha-premera ei svabhava-acara
nija-duhkha-vighnadira na kare vicara

TRANSLATION

“This is the natural result of intense love of Godhead. The devotee does not consider personal inconveniences or impediments. In all circumstances he wants to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

TEXT 187

“ei tara gadha prema loke dekhaite
gopala tanre ajna dila candana anite

TRANSLATION

“Sri Gopala wanted to show how intensely Madhavendra Puri loved Krsna; therefore He asked him to go to Nilacala to fetch sandalwood and camphor.

TEXT 188

“bahu parisrame candana remuna anila
ananda badila mane, duhkha na ganila

TRANSLATION

“With great trouble and after much labor, Madhavendra Puri brought the load of sandalwood to Remuna. However, he was still very pleased; he discounted all the difficulties.

COMMENT

One might think that Madhavendra Puri made the endeavor and carried the burden because the Deity asked him but that it was such a hard labor that he must have really been exhausted and frustrated. But no, he was still happy. In fact, his pleasure increased (ananda badila). That is the nature of pure devotional service. The servant is happy, and his happiness increases. The same was said in relation to Govardhana Hill, the best of Lord Hari’s servants (hari-dasa-varyah).

hantayam adrir abala hari-dasa-varyo
  yad rama-krsna-carana-sparasa-pramodah
manam tanoti saha-go-ganayos tayor yat
  paniya-suyavasa-kandara-kandamulaih

“Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Krsna and Balarama, along with Their calves, cows, and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers, and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Krsna and Balarama, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.” (SB 10.21.18)

Govardhana Hill was such a great servant that he offered his body for the service of the Lord and His devotees, who would step on him. He offered his grasses for the cows to eat. He offered his stones and caves as sitting and resting places. He offered his waters for drinking and washing. He offered his entire body for the service of the Lord. And he was jubilant (pramoda), being touched by the lotus feet of the Lord and His devotees. When a servant offers service in a mood of happiness, of jubilation, of pleasure, that gives more pleasure to the master, to the Lord. Naturally, if someone is happy to serve you, that makes you happy. If a service is offered out of duty—what to speak of begrudgingly—it is not as pleasing as when it is offered with genuine pleasure. Madhavendra Puri, in spite of taking so much trouble—traveling by foot, going through toll points, dealing with Muslim officers, enduring the heat and all the other impediments—was still in a very pleased mood (ananda badila) by the time he reached Remuna.

TEXT 189

“pariksa karite gopala kaila ajna dana
pariksa kariya sese haila dayavan”

TRANSLATION

“To test the intense love of Madhavendra Puri, Gopala, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ordered him to bring sandalwood from Nilacala, and when Madhavendra Puri passed this examination, the Lord became very merciful to him.”

COMMENT

In the course of Lord Chaitanya’s discussion of Madhavendra Puri, He came to quote the verse that Madhavendra Puri recited at the end of his life. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta tells us that this verse emanated directly from the mouth of Srimati Radharani and that only three people understood its deep meaning—Srimati Radharani, Sri Madhavendra Puri, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Now we shall read more about what the Caitanya-caritamrta says about this verse (from Madhya-lila, Chapter Four: “Sri Madhavendra Puri’s Devotional Service”):

TEXTS 191–194

eta bali’ pade prabhu tanra krta sloka
yei sloka-candre jagat karyache aloka

ghasite ghasite yaiche malayaja-sara
gandha bade, taiche ei slokera vicara

ratna-gana-madhye yaiche kaustubha-mani
rasa-kavya-madhye taiche ei sloka gani

TRANSLATION

“. . . Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu read the famous verse of Madhavendra Puri. That verse is just like the moon. It has spread illumination all over the world.

“Continuous rubbing increases the aroma of Malaya sandalwood. Similarly, consideration of this verse increases one’s understanding of its importance.

“As the Kaustubha-mani is considered the most precious of valuable stones, this verse is similarly considered the best of poems dealing with the mellows of devotional service.”

COMMENT

Actually, this verse was spoken by Srimati Radharani Herself, and by Her mercy only was it manifest in the words of Madhavendra Puri.

TEXT 195

kiba gauracandra iha kare asvadana
iha asvadite ara nahi cautha-jana

TRANSLATION

Only Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has tasted the poetry of this verse. No fourth man is capable of understanding it.

PURPORT

This indicates that only Srimati Radharani, Madhavendra Puri, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu are capable of understanding the purport of this verse.

TEXT 196

sesa-kale ei sloka pathite pathite
siddhi-prapti haila purira slokera sahite

TRANSLATION

Madhavendra Puri recited this verse again and again at the end of his material existence. Thus uttering this verse, he attained the ultimate goal of life.

TEXT 197

ayi dina-dayardra natha he
  mathura-natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvad-aloka-kataram
  dayita bhramyati kim karomy aham

TRANSLATION

“O My Lord! O most merciful master! O master of Mathura! When shall I see You again? Because of My not seeing You, My agitated heart has become unsteady. O most beloved one, what shall I do now?”

PURPORT

The uncontaminated devotees who strictly depend on the Vedanta philosophy are divided into four sampradayas, or transcendental parties. Out of the four sampradayas, the Sri Madhvacarya-sampradaya was accepted by Madhavendra Puri. Thus he took sannyasa according to parampara, the disciplic succession. Beginning from Madhvacarya down to the spiritual master of Madhavendra Puri, the acarya named Laksmipati, there was no realization of devotional service in conjugal love. Sri Madhavendra Puri introduced the conception of conjugal love for the first time in the Madhvacarya-sampradaya, and this conclusion of the Madhvacarya-sampradaya was revealed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He toured southern India and met the Tattvavadis, who supposedly belonged to the Madhvacarya-sampradaya.

When Sri Krsna left Vrndavana and accepted the kingdom of Mathura, Srimati Radharani, out of ecstatic feelings of separation, expressed how Krsna can be loved in separation. Thus devotional service in separation is central to this verse. Worship in separation is considered by the Gaudiya-Madhva-sampradaya to be the topmost level of devotional service. According to this conception, the devotee thinks of himself as very poor and neglected by the Lord. Thus he addresses the Lord as dina-dayardra natha, as did Madhavendra Puri. Such an ecstatic feeling is the highest form of devotional service. Because Krsna had gone to Mathura, Srimati Radharani was very much affected, and She expressed Herself thus: “My dear Lord, because of Your separation My mind has become overly agitated. Now tell Me, what can I do? I am very poor and You are very merciful, so kindly have compassion upon Me and let Me know when I shall see You.” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was always expressing the ecstatic emotions of Srimati Radharani that She exhibited when She saw Uddhava at Vrndavana. Similar feelings, experienced by Madhavendra Puri, are expressed in this verse. Therefore, Vaisnavas in the Gaudiya-Madhva-sampradaya say that the ecstatic feelings experienced by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu during His appearance came from Sri Madhavendra Puri through Isvara Puri. All the devotees in the line of the Gaudiya-Madhva-sampradaya accept these principles of devotional service.

COMMENT

This is a very deep topic—feeling separation from Krishna in the mood of Srimati Radharani and the gopis. We are certainly not qualified to discuss it. Still, following our acharyas, we shall try to say something to glorify Sri Madhavendra Puri on his disappearance day.

When Krishna left Vrindavan for Mathura, all the residents of Vrindavan were plunged into deep separation. The separation of the gopis was the most intense, because their attachment to Krishna was the most intense. None of the residents of Vrindavan had any interest in life other than Krishna and Krishna’s service. Still, comparatively, the gopis’ love for Krishna was the greatest. And among the gopis, Srimati Radharani’s love was the greatest. And that love reaches its most sublime heights in separation. In fact, the actual reason why Krishna left Vrindavan was to allow His devotees there to experience the highest ecstasy of love in separation and in that love to always relish His association. In their separation they actually meet Krishna, although externally they continue to express separation—even though internally they are relishing Krishna’s association.

The seed of this ecstatic mood was passed from Madhavendra Puri to his disciple Isvara Puri, who served him perfectly to the end, and from Isvara Puri to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And as Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami says, that seed became a great tree in the person of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore even fallen souls like us in Kali-yuga have been given access to this understanding and this process. It is inconceivable how people as fallen as we in Kali-yuga can be given access to this most highly confidential and exalted process.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives the example of a king who becomes intoxicated, goes into his treasury, takes out his most valuable jewels, goes out on the street, and distributes the jewels to the beggars. They have no qualification, but the king, the owner of the jewels, is free to give the jewels to whomever he wishes. And in his intoxicated state, he distributes them without consideration. Similarly, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, intoxicated with ecstatic love of God, is making these most precious gems available even to the most destitute of beggars. In Srila Rupa Gosvami’s words (Sri Upadesamrta 4), dadati pratigrhnati—Lord Chaitanya is giving (dadati), and it is our prerogative to accept (pratigrhnati).

This confidential verse spoken by Madhavendra Puri could be misunderstood—not in the gross way of Ramachandra Puri, who thought that Madhavendra Puri was absorbed in mundane lamentation when he should have been fixed in spiritual consciousness, but in a more subtle way. One may misunderstand and imagine that Madhavendra Puri wanted to see Krishna out of some selfish desire, but that, of course, was not the case. The truth is that Srimati Radharani and the gopis know that Krishna cannot really be happy without them; He cannot enjoy the same happiness with others as He does with them in Vrindavan. Therefore the young gopis want to see Him again not for their own happiness but for Krishna’s happiness, so they can please Him as only they can. Their love is completely pure—spotlessly pure. That same pure love was exhibited by Madhavendra Puri when he went to Jagannatha Puri to get sandalwood and camphor for Gopala without any consideration of personal gain or loss, pleasure or pain. And it was expressed by him in this verse. When the gopis say that they want to be with Krishna, it is not for their own happiness but to give Krishna happiness. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains that although the gopis’ feelings appear to be lust, they are not; they are actually pure love. Lust (kama) is the desire for one’s own happiness, one’s own sense gratification, whereas pure love is the desire for Krishna’s happiness, Krishna’s satisfaction. Although superficially lust and love may resemble each other, intrinsically there is a great difference between them. Although iron and gold are both metals and thus have much in common, there is a vast difference between the value of gold and that of iron.

kama, prema,—donhakara vibhinna laksana
lauha ara hema yaiche svarupe vilaksana

“Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures.

atmendriya-priti-vancha-tare bali ‘kama’
krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare ‘prema’ nama

“The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kama [lust], but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krsna is prema [love].” (Cc Adi 4.164–165)

Although sometimes the gopis pray to Krishna, “Please appear before us and satisfy our lusty desires,” that is their indirect way of speaking (paroksa-vada). Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains why the gopis speak as if they were lusty for Krishna, when all scriptures state that their love is completely pure. One reason he gives is that if someone expresses his or her love openly, it decreases. He gives the example that if one keeps a lamp within one’s house, it will burn bright and strong, but if one puts it outside, it will waver and may even be extinguished. When one’s confidential feelings of love are kept within one’s heart, they increase, and if they are expressed openly, they decrease. That is the special feature of parakiya-rasa, that one’s loving feelings are kept inside.

Another reason is that in pure love one does not want the beloved to take any trouble, especially for oneself. Visvanatha Cakravarti gives the example that if you are hungry and visit someone, although you want to eat, if your friend asks, “Do you want some prasada?” you might say, “No, I am all right,” because out of love you don’t want your friend to take trouble. So the friend, knowing that you are hungry, won’t ask if you want him to prepare prasada for you, because he knows that you won’t want him to take trouble. Instead, he’ll say, “Actually, I’m just about to cook an offering for my Deities. Please wait.” Then he’ll cook and offer the food to the Deities and give you the prasada. In the same way, if the gopis were to say openly, in a direct way, “Krishna, we know that You are missing us, so we will come to be with You,” Krishna would say, “No, don’t take trouble for Me. I am fine as I am.” So instead of suggesting that Krishna wants them, they say that they want Krishna: “Please come back. We are burning in the fire of separation—in the fire of lusty desires. Please come back and fulfill our desires.” Thus, for example, the gopis say to Krishna (SB 10.31.7):

pranata-dehinam papa-karsanam
  trna-caranugam sri-niketanam
phani-phanarpitam te padambujam
  krnu kucesu nah krndhi hrc-chayam

“Your lotus feet destroy the past sins of all embodied souls who surrender to them. Those feet follow after the cows in the pastures and are the eternal abode of the goddess of fortune. Since You once put those feet on the hoods of the great serpent Kaliya, please place them upon our breasts and tear away the lust in our hearts.” But their actual intention is completely pure—to serve Krishna and please Him.

These are the intricate dealings of love on the platform of pure devotional service. By the mercy of Sri Madhavendra Puri first and then from him the disciplic succession—Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers, the Gosvamis; and later Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and our Srila Prabhupada—these very confidential moods have been explained for us so that we can come to appreciate them and hanker for them. It is a most special gift.

Devotees have asked, “Why did Srila Prabhupada take so much trouble to preach? Love of God is there in every bona fide scripture, and every bona fide process of religion can lead one to love God. There are examples of practitioners in different traditions who have developed love for God, so why all this effort, why all this sacrifice, specifically for Krishna consciousness?” The real reason is to give this love of Krishna in Vrindavan, especially in the mood of separation. This love is not available anywhere else. Although on the absolute platform all love of God is transcendental—even the love of the servants of Lord Narayana who worship Him in opulence in Vaikuntha—the greatest ecstasy is experienced in the pure love (kevala-bhakti) of Vrindavan, which is incomparable. Therefore, although this love is very confidential, Srila Prabhupada exerted this superhuman effort to induce the fallen souls to take to Krishna consciousness, so that ultimately they—we—could receive this most valuable, priceless, precious treasure. And all this is coming to us through disciplic succession by the grace of Sri Madhavendra Puri, whose disappearance day is today.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Madhavendra Puri’s disappearance day, March 18, 2008, Houston]

From a Miracle in the Making to the Miracle is Happening, to the concluding Miracle is Achieved, Sri Nrsimha Vaibhavotsava – the historic opening of the TOVP Nrsimha Wing on March 1-2 was another milestone towards the Grand Opening of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium in 2026. The Nrsimha Wing will be 100% completed by Nrsimha Caturdasi, 2024.

Help finish Lord Nrsimhadeva’s temple www.givetonrsimha.com page.

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Shukratal is a holy town about 2-3 hours (72 km) from Haridwar on the banks of Ganges River in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Srila Sukadeva Goswami spoke sacred Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) to Maharaja Pariksit (the grandson of Arjuna and son of Abhimanyu), under a banyan tree 5000 years ago.

Here at a place called Sri Sukadeva Temple, there is a gigantic 5100 year old Banyan tree, also known as Akshaya Vat Vriksha, underneath where Sukadeva Goswami, Maharaja Pariksit and 80,000 sages sat for 7 days continuously hearing Bhagavatam narration. The branches of this Akshaya Vat tree spread far and wide, sprouting through the nearby surroundings. The Sukadeva ashrama is built around the tree.

Under Akshaya tree is a small temple which has the deities of Sukadeva Goswami and Pariksit sitting alongside and their footprints. In the courtyard there is a temple with the exquisitely beautiful deity of Lord Sri Krishna giving darshan to everyone assembled there after the conclusion of Bhagavatam Katha.

Our party reached Shukratal after leaving Rishikesh.

A unique sponsorship opportunity is now available for devotees: The 31 Dresses Campaign – sponsor all the Deity dresses for one day during the 3-month long TOVP Grand Opening Festival, scheduled for early 2026. This includes Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva, Sri Nrsimhadeva and the fifteen new sampradaya acharya murtis. A new set […]

The post TOVP Announces a Unique Sponsorship Opportunity: The 31 Dresses Campaign appeared first on ISKCON News.

Podcast:

Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s Global Communications Minister and GBC member, recently toured the Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Center, a multi-specialty tertiary care hospital located in Mumbai, India, across the street from the ISKCON Mira Road Temple. People come from all over the world to receive treatment here because of the emphasis on the spiritual, physical, and […]

The post Bhaktivedanta Hospital Helping Patients to Maintain Health Through New Media Studio appeared first on ISKCON News.

Hrishik means senses and ish means master or lord. Hence the word means lord of the senses or Lord Vishnu. The sage Raibhya conquered his senses and attained darshana of Lord Vishnu, the conqueror of senses. Hence the place is known as Hrishikesh. However, later on it was pronounced as Rishikesh.

Lord Vishnu appeared before the sage Raibhya who was performing penance under a mango tree and told him to ask for a boon. The great sage Raibhya Muni prayed to Lord Vishnu and asked Him to dwell in this place forever.

After leaving Haridvara, our party reached Rishikesh where we stayed in rooms at the Iskcon MVT. We traveled to many of the holy places in the area, which included the caves where Lord Rama and Lord Laksman meditated in caves. Nearby was the cave of Vashistha Muni.

Amalaki-vrata Ekadasi is celebrated in Krishna Paksha (Waxing Phase) in the Phalgun month (February–March). ‘Amalaki’ or ‘Amla’ is the Indian gooseberry, and the tree is celebrated on this day. It is believed that Lord Vishnu resides in this tree, and this occasion also marks the beginning of Holi — Indian festival of colors.

This is also the final Ekadasi before Gaura Purnuma, 2024 (March 25 in India/March 24 in North America) and is an auspicious time to contribute financially towards the completion and opening of Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Temple Hall which is 80% finished. There are many, many different sponsorship options available and most are pledges which can be paid over two years. Visit the Give To Nrsimha Fundraiser page for more information.

  NOTE: Amalaki-vrata Ekadasi is observed on March 20 in the U.S. and in India. Please refer to your local calendar through www.vaisnavacalendar.info.

  View, download and share the TOVP 2024 Calendar​.

The Glories of Amalaki-vrata Ekadasi

From the Brahmanda Purana

This Ekadasi is described in the Brahmanda Purana in a conversation between King Mandhata and the great sage Vasistha.

King Mandhata once said to Vasishtha Muni, “O great sage, kindly be merciful to me and tell me of a holy fast that will benefit me eternally.”

Vasishtha Muni replied. “O king, kindly listen as I describe the best of all fast days, Amalaki Ekadasi. He who faithfully observes a fast on this Ekadasi obtains enormous wealth, gets free of the effects of all kinds of sins, and attains liberation. Fasting on this Ekadasi is more purifying than donating one thousand cows in charity to a pure brahmana. So please hear me attentively as I tell you the story of a hunter who, though daily engaged in killing innocent animals for his living, achieved liberation by observing a fast on Amalaki Ekadasi following the prescribed rules and regulations of worship.

The Kingdom of Vaidisha

“There was once a kingdom named Vaidisha, where all the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras were equally endowed with Vedic knowledge, great bodily strength, and fine intelligence. Oh lion among kings, the whole kingdom was full of Vedic sounds, not a single person was atheistic, and no one sinned. The ruler of this kingdom was King Pashabinduka, a member of the dynasty of Soma, the moon. He was also known as Chitraratha and was very religious and truthful. It is said that King Chitraratha had the strength of ten thousand elephants and that he was very wealthy and knew the six branches of Vedic wisdom perfectly.

“During the reign of Maharaja Chitraratha, not a single person in his kingdom attempted to practice another’s dharma (duty); so perfectly engaged in their own dharmas were all the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras. Neither miser nor pauper was to be seen throughout the land, never was there ever a drought or flood. Indeed, the kingdom was free of disease, and everyone enjoyed good health. The people rendered loving devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, as did the king, who also rendered special service to Lord Shiva. Moreover, twice a month everyone fasted on Ekadasi. In this way, O best of kings, the citizens of Vaidisha lived many long years in great happiness and prosperity. Giving up all varieties of materialistic religion, they completely dedicated themselves to the loving service of the Supreme Lord, Hari.

Observing Amalaki Ekadasi

“Once, in the month of Phalguna (February – March), the holy fast of Amalakii Ekadasi arrived, conjoined with Dvadasi. King Chitraratha realised that this particular fast would bestow especially great benefit, and thus he and all the citizens of Vaidisha observed this sacred Ekadasi very strictly, carefully following all the rules and regulations.

“After bathing in the river, the king and all his subjects went to the temple of Lord Vishnu, where an Amalaki tree grew. First the king and his leading sages offered the tree a pot filled with water, as well as a fine canopy, shoes, gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls, sapphires, and aromatic incense. Then they worshiped Lord Parashurama with these prayers: ‘Oh Lord Parashurama, Oh son of Renuka, Oh all-pleasing one, Oh liberator of the worlds, kindly come beneath this holy Amalaki tree and accept our humble obeisances.’ Then they prayed to the Amalaki tree: ‘Oh Amalaki, Oh offspring of Lord Brahma, you can destroy all kinds of sinful reactions. Please accept our respectful obeisances and these humble gifts. O Amalaki, you are actually the form of Brahman, and you were once worshiped by Lord Ramachandra Himself. Whoever circumambulates you is therefore immediately freed of all his sins.’

“After offering these excellent prayers, King Chitraratha and his subjects remained awake throughout the night, praying and worshiping according to the regulations governing a sacred Ekadasi fast. It was during this auspicious time of fasting and prayer that a very irreligious man approached the assembly, a man who maintained himself and his family by killing animals. Burdened with both fatigue and sin, the hunter saw the king and the citizens of Vaidisha observing Amalaki Ekadasi by performing an all-night vigil, fasting, and worshiping Lord Vishnu in the beautiful forest setting, which was brilliantly illuminated by many lamps. The hunter hid nearby, wondering what this extraordinary sight before him was.

The Fortunate Hunter

“‘What is going on here?’ he thought. What he saw in that lovely forest beneath the holy Amalaki tree was the Deity of Lord Damodara being worshiped upon the Asana of a waterpot and he heard the devotees singing sacred songs describing Lord Krishna’s transcendental forms and pastimes. Despite himself, that staunchly irreligious killer of innocent birds and animals spent the entire night in great amazement as he watched the Ekadasi celebration and listened to the glorification of the Lord.

“Soon after sunrise, the king and his royal retinue – including the court sages and all the citizens – completed their observance of Ekadasi and returned to the city of Vaidisha. The hunter returned to his hut and happily ate his meal. In due time the hunter died, but the merit he had gained by fasting on Amalaki Ekadasi and hearing the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as well as by being forced to stay awake all night, made him eligible to be reborn as a great king endowed with many chariots, elephants, horses, and soldiers. His name was Vasuratha, the son of King Viduratha, and he ruled over the kingdom of Jayanti.

King Vasuratha

“King Vasuratha was strong and fearless, as effulgent as the Sun, and as handsome as the Moon. In strength he was like Sri Vishnu, and in forgiveness like the Earth itself. Very charitable and every truthful, King Vasuratha always rendered loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Sri Vishnu. He therefore became very well versed in Vedic knowledge. Always active in the affairs of state, he enjoyed taking excellent care of his subjects, as though they were his own children. He disliked pride in anyone and would smash it when he saw it. He performed many kinds of sacrifices, and he always made certain that the needy in his kingdom received enough charity.

“One day, while hunting in the jungle, King Vasuratha strayed from the footpath and lost his way. Wandering for some time and eventually growing weary, he paused beneath a tree and, using his arms as a pillow, fell asleep. As he slept, some barbarian tribesmen came upon him and, remembering their long-standing enmity toward the king, began discussing among themselves various ways to kill him. ‘It is because he killed our fathers, mothers, brothers-in-law, grandsons, nephews, and uncles that we are forced to aimlessly wander like so many madmen in the forest.’

The Great Rescue

“So saying, they prepared to kill King Vasuratha with various weapons, including spears, swords, arrows, and mystic ropes. But none of these deadly weapons could even touch the sleeping king, and soon the uncivilized, dog-eating tribesmen grew frightened. Their fear sapped their strength, and before long they lost what little intelligence they had and became almost unconscious with bewilderment and weakness.

Suddenly a beautiful woman appeared from the king’s body, startling the aborigines. Decorated with many ornaments, emitting a wonderful fragrance, wearing an excellent garland around her neck, her eyebrows drawn in a mood of fierce anger, and her fiery red eyes ablaze, she looked like death personified. With her blazing chakra discus she quickly killed all the tribal hunters, who had tried to slay the sleeping king.

“Just then the king awoke, and seeing all the dead tribesmen lying around him, he was astonished. He wondered, ‘These are all great enemies of mine! Who has slain them so violently? Who is my great benefactor?’ At that very moment he heard a voice from the sky: ‘You asked who helped you. Well, who is that person who alone can help anyone in distress? He is none other than Sri Keshava, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He who saves all who take shelter of Him without any selfish motive.’

“Upon hearing these words, King Vasuratha became over-whelmed with love for the Personality of Godhead Sri Keshava (Krishna). He returned to his capital city and ruled there like a second Lord Indra (king of the heavenly regions), without any obstacles at all.

Conclusion

“Therefore, Oh King Mandhata”, the venerable Vasishtha Muni concluded, “anyone who observes this holy Amalaki Ekadasi will undoubtedly attain the supreme abode of Lord Vishnu, so great is the religious merit earned from the observance of this most sacred fast day.”

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Phalguna-sukla Ekadasi, or Amalaki Ekadasi, from the Brahmanda Purana.

This article has been used courtesy of ISKCON Desire Tree

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Located at the foothills of the Himalayas, Haridwar is a city of temples and ashrams and its pious ambience envelops everyone. Haridwar is one of the four holy Indian cities that host the Kumbha Mela, a pious gathering of millions of pilgrims every 12 years.

I haven’t visited this holy place for a long time but after I left Mayapur I was able to travel there with my god-brother Vasusrestha prabhu. Our host Buddhimanta das from Noida drove us and we were able go to beautiful ghats at the side of the Ganga river.

Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja comes in the Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession after Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana. He was a renounced ascetic, fully engaged in chanting the holy names of Krishna and meditating on the pastimes of Krishna. For some time he made his residence at Surya-kunda in Vraja-dhama, near the temple of Suryadeva, where Srimati Radharani used to come and worship the sun-god—or, I should say, where She used to come to meet Krishna on the pretext of coming to worship the sun-god.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who comes after Jagannatha dasa Babaji in the disciplic succession, accepted Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja as his main guru, his siksa-guru. Once, some of Jagannatha dasa Babaji’s disciples in Vraja approached the Thakura and complained that although they had come to Vraja to live like Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja, fully absorbed in chanting the holy names and meditating on Sri Sri Radha-Krishna’s astakaliya-lila, Babaji Maharaja had refused to instruct them in such topics and had instead engaged them in cultivating tulasi plants, flowers, and vegetables to offer to the Lord. And they requested Bhaktivinoda Thakura to appeal to their guru maharaja to instruct them in the esoteric practices of Krishna consciousness.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura told the disciples, “Actually, your Gurudeva’s instructions are right for you. Because you still have anarthas, for you to sit and try to do nirjana-bhajana [solitary worship] and practice asta-kaliya-lila-smarana [meditation on the Lord’s eightfold daily pastimes] would be artificial, and you would just become degraded. So you should follow his instructions with full faith and work hard in Krishna’s service. Then, in time, you may be able to chant the holy names purely.”

Eventually, Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja moved to Mayapur, where he lived by the banks of the Ganges, fully absorbed in chanting the holy names. He had the greatest reverence for the holy land of Navadvipa. Although he was so renounced and so absorbed in Krishna consciousness, as his reputation spread, gentlemen would come to him and give him donations. Once, Babaji Maharaja asked one of his servants to take the donations he had received, which he kept in an old burlap bag, and purchase a large pot of rasagullas. All the devotees were surprised, because Jagannatha dasa Babaji was so renounced and lived so simply; he would eat only the simplest rice and dal. Anyway, the servant brought the sweets, and Jagannatha dasa Babaji offered them to his Deities and then distributed them to the cows and dogs in the dhama. He said that the creatures of the dhama were elevated souls and worthy of service.

Later, Babaji Maharaja would not honor prasada until he had shared it with ten newborn puppies. He would wait until they came, and because in his old age his eyelids drooped over his eyes and prevented him from seeing, he would count them with his hands. And only after they had begun to eat would he also partake. He would say, “They are puppies of the dhama. They are not ordinary living entities.” He had so much faith in and affection for the dhama.

He did not have affection for Mayavadi impersonalists. He used to say, “Let the dogs come in for darshan, but the impersonalists—kick them out!”

Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji lived to a very old age. Some Vaishnavas say he was just waiting for Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura to come—someone to whom he could impart his special knowledge and realization, for the benefit of humanity. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura requested to be transferred from his post in Orissa to Bengal so he could be near Navadvipa-dhama. And eventually he was posted at Krishnanagar, near Navadvipa.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura did extensive research to determine the actual birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He studied old maps, consulted the local people, and visited the different places. Eventually he found a mound where many tulasi trees were growing. He got the intuition that this was the actual birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, but he wanted his intuition to be confirmed. At the time, Jagannatha dasa Babaji was the most renowned Vaishnava, and he was Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s siksa-guru. So, Jagannatha dasa Babaji’s disciples brought him to the place with the mound and tulasi plants. He was so old—over a hundred and forty years old, some say—that his disciples had to carry him in a basket. The disciples brought him, but when they came to the site, they didn’t tell him that Bhaktivinoda Thakura had determined it was the birthplace. Still, when Babaji Maharaja arrived there, he spontaneously jumped out of his basket and began to dance in ecstasy, singing the holy names. Thus he confirmed the location of Mahaprabhu’s birthplace.

Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji’s bhajana-kutira and samadhi are there in Navadvipa-dhama, in Koladvipa. Devotees who perform Navadvipa-parikrama visit there and get his mercy. We also pray to him for his mercy, that we may be instrumental in fulfilling the desires of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and the other acharyas in the line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu coming to us through Srila Prabhupada and his disciples.

Today especially, we think of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, who left this world on Jagannatha dasa Babaji’s Disappearance Day, also in Gauda-mandala-bhumi. Two years ago, I was in Dallas for the disappearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, just a few months after Goswami Maharaja passed away. As we were observing the ceremony in the temple, I was thinking how Goswami Maharaja was the perfect servant and therefore the fit representative of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Then I thought of him in relation to all of the acharyas in the last two centuries—Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and Srila Prabhupada (who are the most prominent of them)—and how he really took their mission to heart. He was absorbed in fulfilling all aspects of their mission: developing Mayapur, distributing books, spreading the chanting of the holy names throughout the world in various ways—all the programs that were so important to our predecessor acharyas.

Although I could speak of Goswami Maharaja’s surrender and service for days, today we have the rare opportunity to hear from His Grace Amoghalila dasa Adhikari. Amoghalila, could you please tell us something about your experiences with him and your realizations about him?

Amoghalila Prabhu:

I am thinking of one or two incidents I can mention, and some realizations I had from them. One was actually the last morning Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, in Juhu. I was fortunate, actually by Giriraj Maharaja’s mercy, to be able to be in Srila Prabhupada’s room then. After about a month in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada was leaving that morning for Vrindavan. Madhava Prabhu and Upendra Prabhu were also there, though Upendra was in and out of the room.

Srila Prabhupada was just lying on his bed. He could hardly move. He couldn’t even sit up by himself. He was so weak he could barely speak. But then he said something. It was hard to hear what he said, so I leaned closer and asked, “What, Srila Prabhupada?” He said, “Call Tamal.” So, Upendra Prabhu went out to get Tamal Krishna Maharaja. When Goswami Maharaja came into the room, he offered dandavat-pranama (prostrated obeisances) and then got up. Srila Prabhupada asked him about the arrangements for going to Vrindavan. Goswami Maharaja said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada,” offered dandavat-pranama, and went out. A minute or two later, he came back in. He offered dandavat-pranama, got up, and then told Srila Prabhupada the answer to Prabhupada’s question. He said something, he got something ready, and then he offered dandavat-pranama and went out. This happened at least three times: He came in and went out, he came in and went out, and he came in and went out, all within just a few minutes—it couldn’t have been more than five minutes. Practically every minute he was coming in, offering dandavat-pranama, getting up, talking to Prabhupada for a few seconds or half a minute, offering dandavat-pranama again, and going out.

Later, after Srila Prabhupada left us, when I was Goswami Maharaja’s personal secretary, I mentioned this to him, and he said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada instructed me to do this. Srila Prabhupada said that because familiarity breeds contempt, it is very important when somebody is intimately serving the spiritual master that they keep a reverential mood.” Goswami Maharaja, of course, was such an intimate servant of Srila Prabhupada, yet he always maintained that deep reverence—of course love, also, but at the same time he always had such deep reverence for Srila Prabhupada. Tamal Krishna Maharaja is such an ideal example of a personal servant and disciple.

I am thinking of one other incident then, when I was Goswami Maharaja’s personal secretary in 1978 in Bombay. As I mentioned to Giriraj Maharaja, I think the real reason Goswami Maharaja wanted me to be his personal secretary was so he could train me, because he had seen how disturbing my mismanagement was. I had been the vice president and the so-called manager of Hare Krishna Land, and at one point during that time, Giriraj Maharaja had mentioned to Tamal Krishna Maharaja, “Amoghalila is mismanaging the affairs here.” Goswami Maharaja had said, “There is no mismanagement . . . There is no management!” So, he felt that I needed some training in management. Therefore, he made me his personal secretary, to train me. I think that was the main reason, and he tried to train me and he did.

He did train me a lot, though I didn’t follow his training so well, but one incident when he trained me was very moving. Every time I think about it, I just . . . He was teaching me how to clean the floor. I mean, I had been a devotee for six or seven years, so I had been cleaning floors for a long time. Anyway, once, when I was cleaning the floor, he said, “No, that’s not how you clean the floor,” because I had the cloth bunched up or something. So, he took the cloth from me, got down on his hands and knees, spread the cloth out big, folded it over once, and started cleaning the floor. I tried to stop him; I said, “Maharaja, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll do it.” He responded, “No, I want to show you how to do it.” And he cleaned for quite a while. He cleaned a large area, and I was protesting, but he said, “No. Just watch what I am doing.” He had the cloth spread out quite big, and he cleaned for some time. I tried to stop him again, but he explained, “No, Srila Prabhupada did this to me. Srila Prabhupada showed me like this. He got down on his hands and knees and he cleaned the floor to show me how to do it. So why can’t you let me show you how to do it?”

So, Tamal Krishna Goswami was the perfect servant of Srila Prabhupada. And as you said, Maharaja, the perfect servant or ideal servant becomes the ideal representative. Goswami Maharaja was so strict in following Srila Prabhupada exactly, to the detail, even how you open up a cloth and fold it and clean the floor—every detail, everything! These are just a couple of little incidents I was thinking about.

Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: When you began, saying how Tamal Krishna Goswami would come and offer full obeisances, I thought of what some devotees told me about his routine in Dallas after Srila Prabhupada left. Every night, he would go into Srila Prabhupada’s room, where the deity of Srila Prabhupada was installed, and chant his last Gayatri and put Srila Prabhupada to rest. He wanted to do that as his personal service. And they told me that whenever Goswami Maharaja would leave the temple premises, even for an hour or two, he would first circumambulate the building. They gave me the impression that he was circumambulating Srila Prabhupada, although, of course, he was circumambulating the other deities as well. But he was very conscious of Srila Prabhupada. In general, he was always very conscious of his lords and masters.

I also think of how, after Srila Prabhupada left, Goswami Maharaja distributed different remnants of Srila Prabhupada to different devotees. He had one of Srila Prabhupada’s teeth, which he had placed in a silver capsule and hung around his neck. Indradyumna Swami, who is quite expert in getting deities and sacred relics, once was asking Tamal Krishna Goswami about the tooth—what was eventually going to happen to it. And Tamal Krishna Goswami understood that Indradyumna Maharaja was trying to see if he could one day get the tooth. Goswami Maharaja just laughed and said, “Don’t even think of it. I am taking it with me. Even after I leave, it will stay with my body.” His idea was that by the tooth being put into his samadhi, people who circumambulated his samadhi or offered obeisances there would get the benefit of circumambulating Srila Prabhupada’s tooth, of offering obeisances to his tooth. And on the absolute platform, Srila Prabhupada’s tooth is as worshipable as he is.

Devotee: The tooth was kept with him, even when he was put into samadhi?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it was always kept with him.

Hare Krishna!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji’s disappearance day, February 20, 2004, Carpinteria, California]

Today is Shiva-ratri. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Shiva-ratri, and to begin, I will explain why, with reference to the Bhagavad-gita. We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7: “Knowledge of the Absolute”:

TEXT 23

antavat tu phalam tesam
  tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam
devan deva-yajo yanti
  mad-bhakta yanti mam api

TRANSLATION

Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Some commentators on the Bhagavad-gita say that one who worships a demigod can reach the Supreme Lord, but here it is clearly stated that the worshipers of demigods go to the different planetary systems where various demigods are situated, just as a worshiper of the sun achieves the sun or a worshiper of the demigod of the moon achieves the moon. Similarly, if anyone wants to worship a demigod like Indra, he can attain that particular god’s planet. It is not that everyone, regardless of whatever demigod is worshiped, will reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is denied here, for it is clearly stated that the worshipers of demigods go to different planets in the material world but the devotee of the Supreme Lord goes directly to the supreme planet of the Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

This is logical. As Srila Prabhupada remarked, if you buy a ticket to Calcutta, you cannot expect to reach Bombay. If you worship a demigod, you go to the planet of the demigod. If you worship Krishna, you reach the supreme abode of Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

Here the point may be raised that if the demigods are different parts of the body of the Supreme Lord, then the same end should be achieved by worshiping them. However, worshipers of the demigods are less intelligent because they don’t know to what part of the body food must be supplied. Some of them are so foolish that they claim that there are many parts and many ways to supply food. This isn’t very sanguine. Can anyone supply food to the body through the ears or eyes? They do not know that these demigods are different parts of the universal body of the Supreme Lord, and in their ignorance they believe that each and every demigod is a separate God and a competitor of the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

There is a verse in the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam that says that just as by pouring water on the root of a tree all the limbs and branches and leaves are watered and that just as by supplying food to the stomach all the different limbs of the body are nourished, similarly, by offering worship or rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, all of the demigods and all living entities are served and satisfied.

yatha taror mula-nisecanena
  trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
  tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

“By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs, and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.” (SB 4.31.14)

PURPORT (concluded)

The results achieved by the demigods’ benedictions are perishable because within this material world the planets, the demigods, and their worshipers are all perishable. Therefore it is clearly stated in this verse that all results achieved by worshiping demigods are perishable, and therefore such worship is performed by the less intelligent living entity. Because the pure devotee engaged in Krsna consciousness in devotional service of the Supreme Lord achieves eternal blissful existence that is full of knowledge, his achievements and those of the common worshiper of the demigods are different. The Supreme Lord is unlimited; His favor is unlimited; His mercy is unlimited. Therefore the mercy of the Supreme Lord upon His pure devotees is unlimited.

COMMENT

Everything material is temporary. The demigods themselves—the bodies of the demigods—are temporary. The bodies of their worshippers are temporary. The planets of the demigods are temporary, and the fruits that one obtains from worshipping them are temporary. The demigods have authority only within the material world. They can give only material benefits to their worshippers. It is only Vishnu, or Krishna, who can award liberation from material bondage. No demigod can grant liberation. And beyond liberation, the devotees of Krishna also achieve krsna-bhakti, or krsna-prema—the ultimate goal of life.

Srila Prabhupada said that the impersonalists want to become one with God but that the devotees actually become greater than God, because God comes under their control. We see in the Bhagavad-gita that Krishna is acting as the chariot driver of Arjuna. Arjuna is commanding Krishna, senayor ubhayor madhye ratham sthapaya me ’cyuta: “Please draw my chariot between the two armies so I can see who has assembled on the battlefield to fight.” The Lord likes to be controlled by His devotees, and He comes under the control of their pure love. Of course, the Lord is supreme—no one is equal to Him or greater than Him (na tat-samas cabhyadikas ca drsyate)—but out of love He becomes subordinate to His devotee. The idea of becoming one with the Lord is repugnant to a devotee, because in that impersonal oneness there is no service, no exchange of love.

The demigod worshippers, as described in this verse, are alpa-medhasah, “less intelligent.” The opposite of alpa-medhasah is su-medhasah, or “very intelligent.” Those who worship Krishna, especially through the sankirtana movement in the present age, are described as su-medhasah.

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
  sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
  yajanti hi su-medhasah

 “In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krsna.” (SB 11.5.32, Cc Adi 3.52)

Further, the demigods are not able to give even material benedictions without the sanction of the Supreme Lord. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati— the Lord is in the heart of everyone, including the demigods, so unless He gives His sanction, the demigods themselves cannot give even limited temporary benefits. So, from every point of view, one should worship Krishna. And devotees of Krishna need not worship any demigod. Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is like the king, and the various demigods are like ministers in the cabinet of the king or department heads in the government. As Srila Prabhupada said, if you pay taxes to the central treasury, you need not bribe the ministers or officers in charge of different departments. When you pay your taxes into the central treasury, you have met your obligation and are entitled to all the benefits of a citizen.

In fact, worship of demigods is discouraged in the Bhagavad-gita. The Supreme Lord Krishna says,

ye ’py anya-devata-bhakta
  yajante sraddhayanvitah
te ’pi mam eva kaunteya
  yajanty avidhi-purvakam

“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way.” (Gita 9.23)

Therefore, Vaishnavas do not celebrate Shiva-ratri.

Yet there is another, confidential aspect to Lord Shiva that ordinary people with insufficient knowledge of shastra, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, do not know: Lord Shiva himself is the greatest Vaishnava (vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh), and the worship of Vaishnavas, the service of Vaishnavas, and the glorification of Vaishnavas is included in Krishna consciousness. In fact, it is most highly recommended. So, in an assembly of learned devotees we can appreciate Shiva as a Vaishnava. But otherwise, we don’t worship Lord Shiva, because if we did, people could misunderstand and conclude, “ISKCON devotees worship Shiva, so we will too.” And they will worship Lord Shiva for material benefit. Or they may think that Lord Shiva is on the same level as Krishna—or supreme.

In India there is a history of debate between Vaishnavas and Shaivites over who is supreme. And as Srila Prabhupada said, in such debates the Vaishnavas always win. Still, that sense of competition is there. Shaivites say, “Shiva is supreme,” and Vaishnavas respond, “No, Vishnu is supreme.”

The Illustrated Weekly of India once carried an article by Agehananda Bharati, an Austrian-born Indologist and Advaitan sannyasi, under the title “Hare Krishna vs Shiva Shiva.” In the article, Bharati gave his version of a series of exchanges and debates he had had with “Swami Hridayananda” of ISKCON. I shared my impression with Srila Prabhupada that the Weekly’s editor, Khushwant Singh, had run the piece, along with that title, to make us all—believers in general—look silly, bickering over deities and evidence. Prabhupada agreed with my assessment. “Yes,” Prabhupada said. “Bharati is a fool, but Singh is a demon.”

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to respond to articles. Once, later, a devotee informed him of a newspaper report that the Balaji temple at Tirupati, which has immense wealth from donations to the Deity, was going to loan money to encourage local industries. Srila Prabhupada became concerned and said that we should write a letter to the editor stating that the money belonged to Balaji and should have been used for Balaji’s purpose. And what is Balaji’s purpose? Srila Prabhupada quoted, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam/ dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge. Balaji comes to establish the principles of religion. Balaji’s money should be used for Balaji’s purpose—to establish the principles of religion. And what is the principle of religion for the present age? The yuga-dharma in Kali-yuga is hari-nama-sankirtana. The money should be used to promote hari-nama-sankirtana.

When I visited Madras in 1971, I met many intellectuals whose attitude was similar to the editor’s. They thought, “Oh, how silly. You are arguing that Krishna is supreme, and someone else is arguing that Shiva is supreme.” These impersonalists considered themselves to be more intelligent than the naive sentimentalists who worship particular deities, and they counted us as naive sentimentalists because we love Krishna, worship Krishna, chant Krishna’s name, and preach Krishna’s supremacy. There are many Shaivites in Madras, and they argue that Shiva is supreme.

As the first ISKCON devotee to visit Madras, I became quite a sensation—an American Vaishnava. Most people there had never seen a Western sadhu, and they wanted to help. Several suggested that I meet a Mr. Ramakrishna, who they said was pious and religious and would be happy to hear of our activities. So, I met him, and he turned out to be one of those people who thought that Shiva was supreme. Very quickly we came to blows—verbal blows. He had a volatile nature, and he became angry. He became red in the face and raised his voice, and the meeting ended abruptly. But I kept preaching and meeting people who suggested, “You have to meet Mr. Ramakrishna. He is a very pious man. He is a very religious man.” And I imagine that he was meeting people, saying, “Oh, you should meet the Hare Krishna devotees. They are very good people. They are doing excellent work.”

After a few weeks, I thought, “Maybe I should give it another try. This time I will be more careful.” So, I phoned him, and he immediately agreed to meet me. That made me think that people were also speaking favorably about us to him and that it was embarrassing for him that we had disagreed so vehemently. We met, and I tried to restrain myself, and he tried to restrain himself, but eventually we came to the same point: Who is supreme—Krishna (Vishnu) or Shiva? The argument escalated, but neither of us wanted it to end the same way as the last one had. Then I got an inspiration and suggested, “In two weeks my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is coming to Madras. So instead of us discussing, why don’t I invite you to meet him when he comes, and you can discuss with him directly.” He liked the idea. It was a way out for both of us. And ultimately, what could be better than to meet a pure devotee of Krishna?

After Srila Prabhupada arrived, Mr. Ramakrishna came to meet him. “I met your disciple Giriraj,” Mr. Ramakrishna said, “and I argued that Shiva is supreme, and he argued that Krishna is supreme. So, who is supreme?” Srila Prabhupada took a completely different approach. He didn’t enter into the argument about who was supreme. Rather, he said, “There are two words in Sanskrit—puja and bhakti. In puja one worships the deity to get some material benefit, and in bhakti one worships only to give pleasure to the deity, without expectation of personal return.” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Generally the worshippers of Shiva engage in puja—they worship to get some material benefit—whereas in bhakti we worship Krishna for the sake of Krishna’s pleasure, just to please Him.”

“Is it not possible,” Mr. Ramakrishna asked, “to worship Shiva in the mood of bhakti?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is possible, but it would be exceptional. For example, generally people go to a liquor shop to buy liquor. Now, one could go for another purpose, but that would be an exception. Generally people go to buy liquor.” Mr. Ramakrishna was satisfied with the answer. Srila Prabhupada did not enter into the controversy over which deity was supreme; rather, he explained different moods in the worship of different deities.

Later, toward the end of Srila Prabhupada’s stay in Madras, a wealthy householder invited Prabhupada to his home for the consecration of his temple. The host had invited many dignitaries, and although the temple was a good size for a home, it wasn’t large enough to accommodate Srila Prabhupada’s disciples along with all the dignitaries. So Srila Prabhupada and the others went inside the temple, and we disciples looked in from outside. As part of the ceremony, the host distributed flower petals to the guests to offer to the deity of Lord Shiva, a Shiva-linga. And we all were interested to see how Srila Prabhupada would deal with the situation. At the appropriate moment, all the participants threw their flower petals on the deity of Lord Shiva—except for Srila Prabhupada. He threw his in the corner. We thought, “He is the acharya. We have to learn from him.” So, after the ceremony, when the other invitees came out, we went into the temple and looked in the corner. And there we saw a small Deity of Krishna. Prabhupada had offered his flowers to Krishna.

As Srila Prabhupada’s representatives, ISKCON and its members are meant to follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and precedents. And we must be careful not to encourage people’s misconceptions—even if what we do is otherwise all right. If we were to observe Shiva-ratri with participants who are not well versed in shastric conclusions, in Vaishnava siddhanta—if we were to celebrate Shiva-ratri to cater to Hindus who want to worship Lord Shiva on Shiva-ratri but who do not know his actual position as a Vaishnava—they might mistakenly conclude that we accept Lord Shiva on the same level as Krishna. Then, even if they chant the holy name of Krishna, as long as they maintain the idea that Shiva and Krishna are the same, they will not make much advancement, because they will be committing an offense against the holy name (nama-aparadha). The second of the ten offenses against the holy name is to consider the names of demigods such as Lord Shiva to be equal to or independent of the name of Lord Vishnu.

That is why we don’t observe Shiva-ratri. And as Vaishnavas, we have no need to worship Shiva, because we are worshipping Krishna directly. Still, we may worship Lord Shiva as a Vaishnava, a devotee of Krishna, because the worship of Krishna’s devotees pleases Lord Krishna.

The basic definition of bhakti is given by Srila Rupa Gosvami in Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.11):

anyabhilasita-sunyam
  jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
  silanam bhaktir uttama

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” In pure devotional service, one should have no desire other than to serve and please Krishna (anyabhilasita-sunyam). And jnana-karmady-anavrtam—one’s service should not be covered by jnana, speculative knowledge that leads to a conclusion of impersonal monism, or by karma, fruitive work, as in ordinary puja, which one performs for personal gain. In ordinary affairs, for example, one may invite someone to a restaurant and give him food and drink in the hope of getting some benefit from him. In a similar way, one may offer bael leaves and ganga-jala to Lord Shiva in order to get some personal return. That fruitive mentality has no place in pure devotion, and certainly the speculative idea of merging and becoming one with God has no place. Anything that covers the true nature of bhakti has no place (jnana-karmady-anavrtam). Pure devotional service must be rendered favorably to Krishna (anukulyena krsnanusilanam).

Acharyas who have commented on this verse from the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, such as Srila Jiva Gosvami, Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura, and Srila Prabhupada, have explained that “Krishna” does not mean Krishna alone. Srila Prabhupada’s Introduction to The Nectar of Devotion discusses this verse in detail and includes much of the commentaries of Jiva and Visvanatha. And all agree that in this verse “Krishna” does not mean Krishna alone but includes His personal expansions, such as Lord Ramachandra, Lord Nrsimha, Lord Varaha, and other visnu-tattvas, as well as His name, form, qualities, pastimes, paraphernalia, and pure devotees. “Krsna includes all such expansions, as well as His pure devotees,” Srila Prabhupada writes. Serving and worshipping pure devotees is included within uttama-bhakti, pure devotional service to Krishna, and thus devotees of Krishna sometimes worship Lord Shiva as a pure devotee.

Many of Lord Shiva’s pastimes are described in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad- Bhagavatam is the perfectly pure, spotless Purana (srimad-bhagavatam puranam amalam) and is called the Paramahamsa-samhita because it is meant for the highest class of transcendentalists, who are completely free from envy. It is the topmost scripture and discusses no subject other than Krishna and pure devotional service. These pastimes with Lord Shiva show his true nature, or internal mood, as a Vaishnava, a pure devotee of Krishna. In one pastime the hundred sons of King Barhisat, known as the Pracetas, were engaged in austerities to realize Vishnu, or Krishna. Lord Shiva met them and, appreciating their austerities, acted as their guru to guide them. He gave them a series of prayers to sing to please Lord Vishnu and become pure devotees. Upon first meeting the Pracetas, he made the following statement, which I shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-four: “Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva”:

TEXT 30

atha bhagavata yuyam
  priyah stha bhagavan yatha
na mad bhagavatanam ca
  preyan anyo’sti karhicit

TRANSLATION

You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It is said, vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: Lord Siva is the best of all devotees. Therefore all devotees of Lord Krsna are also devotees of Lord Siva. In Vrndavana there is Lord Siva’s temple called Gopisvara. The gopis used to worship not only Lord Siva but Katyayani, or Durga, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Krsna. A devotee of Lord Krsna does not disrespect Lord Siva but worships Lord Siva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Krsna. Consequently, whenever a devotee worships Lord Siva, he prays to Lord Siva to achieve the favor of Krsna, and he does not request material profit. In Bhagavad-gita (7.20) it is said that generally people worship demigods for some material profit. Kamais tais tair hrta jnanah. Driven by material lust, they worship demigods, but a devotee never does so, for he is never driven by material lust. That is the difference between a devotee’s respect for Lord Siva and an asura’s respect for him. The asura worships Lord Siva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction, and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation.

Because Lord Siva is a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he loves all the devotees of the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT

This is a symptom of a devotee. One who is actually a devotee of the Supreme Lord will love all other devotees of the Supreme Lord. Lord Shiva truly loved the Pracetas. He went out of his way to help them, and further, he respected them as representatives of the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Siva told the Pracetas that because they were devotees of the Lord, he loved them very much. Lord Siva was not kind and merciful only to the Pracetas; anyone who is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very dear to Lord Siva. Not only are the devotees dear to Lord Siva, but he respects them as much as he respects the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, devotees of the Supreme Lord also worship Lord Siva as the most dear devotee of Lord Krsna. They do not worship him as a separate Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the list of namaparadhas that it is an offense to think that the chanting of the name of Hari and the chanting of Hara, or Siva, are the same. The devotees must always know that Lord Visnu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that Lord Siva is His devotee. A devotee should be offered respect on the level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and sometimes even more respect. Indeed, Lord Rama, the Personality of Godhead Himself, sometimes worshiped Lord Siva. If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord?

COMMENT

In other words, if a devotee is worshipable by the Lord Himself, why should other devotees not worship a devotee on the same level as the Lord? Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair: the spiritual master is worshipped on the same level as the Supreme Lord. But kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya—although one honors the spiritual master as much as the Lord, one knows that he is not identical with the Lord but is a most confidential servitor of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord? This is the conclusion. From this verse it appears that Lord Siva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality.

COMMENT

In relation to the demons (asuras), Lord Shiva thinks, “Okay, they are worshipping me. They want something. Okay, I will give them something.” Thus, one of Shiva’s names is Asutosa, because he gives benedictions very easily. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Many demons go to bother Lord Shiva: ‘Give me this. Give me that.’ And his name is Asutosa. He gives immediately: ‘All right, take it. Go away. Don’t bother me.’ ” He blesses then simply for the sake of formality, to get rid of them.

PURPORT (concluded)

From this verse it appears that Lord Siva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality. Actually he loves one who is devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

In addition to the pastimes of Lord Shiva described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, there are many pastimes with Lord Shiva in Vrindavan that show his great love for Lord Krishna and his eagerness to serve Him. And Lord Krishna’s great-grandson, Vajranabha, who established many of the main temples in Vrindavan, installed several deities of Lord Shiva in Vraja to honor his pastimes there.

One prominent deity of Lord Shiva in Vraja is Nandesvara Mahadeva, at Nanda-grama. He is worshipped in a small temple situated within the courtyard of the main temple there, and every day, the pujaris offer him the remnants of food that has been offered to Lord Krishna in the main temple. This tradition goes back to the time when Krishna and Balarama lived in Nanda-grama with Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda. As the local history goes, when Lord Shiva came to Nanda Bhavan to see his beloved Lord Krishna, he arrived in his usual attire—with matted hair, ashes all over his body, and a snake wrapped around his neck—playing his damaru drum. When Mother Yasoda came to the door, she could not bring herself to let this wild-looking ascetic in to see her darling little child. And so she gave him alms and sent him on his way. As he was leaving, however, baby Krishna began to cry. Mother Yasoda tried in many ways to pacify Him, but she couldn’t; He was inconsolable. She began to think that she might have committed an offense against the ascetic and that he had put a spell on her baby, so she sent for him. In the end, Lord Shiva was found in the forest now known as Asesvara-vana, the forest of hope, where he was praying, hoping against hope (asa means “hope”), that he would somehow get the darshan of Nandalal, Krishna. Lord Shiva was very happy when he was asked to return to Nanda Bhavan, and as soon as he arrived, baby Krishna stopped crying. But when Mother Yasoda indicated that it was time for him to leave, Krishna again began to cry. He didn’t want Lord Shiva to leave. It was then settled that Lord Shiva would remain permanently in Nanda Bhavan and get the caranamrta and food remnants of Nandalal every day. And to this day it has been so.

Another important deity is Kamesvara Mahadeva, who resides at Kamyavana. He fulfills all desires, and so devotees pray to him to give them pure devotional service to Krishna.

Chaklesvara Mahadeva resides at Chakra-tirtha, by Manasi-ganga at Govardhana Hill. It is said that Sanatana Gosvami was good friends with Lord Shiva and always resided near him in Vraja. At Manasi-ganga, Sanatana Gosvami’s bhajana-kutira is near Chaklesvara Mahadeva, and at the Madana-mohana temple, near the Yamuna River in Vrindavan, his bhajana-kutira is near Gopisvara Mahadeva.

To illustrate the intimate relationship between Sanatana Gosvami and Lord Shiva, I shall relate one story. Once, at Chakra-tirtha, Sanatana Gosvami was being disturbed by mosquitoes and couldn’t do his bhajana or write his books. So he decided to leave. When Lord Shiva saw that his dear friend was about to leave, he came in the guise of a brahman and inquired, “Why are you leaving?” Sanatana Gosvami replied, “I am too disturbed by the mosquitoes and cannot do my seva.” Lord Shiva was relieved, because he knew that this was a problem he could solve. He requested Sanatana Gosvami, “Please stay one more night, and if the mosquitoes still bother you, you may go.” Then Lord Shiva summoned the demigod in charge of insect life and told him, “I don’t want any mosquitoes disturbing this great devotee here. So tell your boys to lay off.” The mosquitoes stopped coming there, and Sanatana Gosvami stayed.

The most famous and important deity of Lord Shiva for us is Gopisvara Mahadeva, established by Vajranabha near the site of the rasa dance, near Vamsivata, where Gopinatha played upon His flute to call the gopis. Gopisvara Mahadeva wanted to participate in the rasa dance, the highest and best of all of Lord Krishna’s pastimes. According to one version, Lord Shiva approached Paurnamasi, an elderly brahmani and siksa-guru of the Vrajavasis, who was the mother of Sandipani Muni, Lord Krishna’s guru. She advised Mahadeva to perform some austerities and then take bath in the Yamuna; thus he would get the form of a gopi. According to other sources, Paurnamasi directed him to Vrndadevi and Vrndadevi advised him to take bath in Mana-sarovara, a little further south across the Yamuna River from Kesi-ghata. Be it as it may, he took bath and came out in the form of a gopi.

When Krishna was about to enjoy His rasa-lila with the gopis, this new gopi appeared. The other gopis took note—“Oh, a new gopi has come”—and gathered around her. They asked, “What village are you from?” She didn’t know what to say. “What is your husband’s name?” “How many cows does he have?” “Who are your children?” She had no answers. Then the other gopis thought, “This is not a gopi. She is not one of us. This is an imposter.” They were ready to beat this imitation gopi when Mother Paurnamasi appeared and said, “This is Mahadeva Shiva. He is a great demigod. Do not take any action against him.” Then she told Lord Shiva, “No one can participate in the rasa dance without being a gopi. You can observe it from a distance, but you cannot actually enter it.” Then she gave him a service: he could guard the arena of the rasa dance. One of Lord Shiva’s regular services is to be ksetra-pala, protector of the dhama, and he serves as such in Vrindavan, Navadvipa, Jagannatha Puri, and other holy places. Paurnamasi gave Mahadeva the authority to restrain the unqualified and to admit the qualified. But beyond that, he would have the power to give someone the qualification to enter. So, devotees, Vaishnavas, in Vrindavan pray to Gopisvara Mahadeva to enable them to enter the pastimes of Krishna with the gopis.

The deity of Gopisvara Mahadeva is worshipped as a regular Shiva-linga during the day, but every evening at about four the pujaris dress the Shiva-linga like a gopi. They cover the linga with a sari and ornaments and decorate it to resemble a gopi, with a crown on it or a shawl draped over its top. And devotees come and worship Gopisvara Mahadeva to attain the favor of Radha and Krishna.

In his Sankalpa-kalpadruma (103) Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura prays:

vrndavanavani-pate jaya soma soma-
  maule sanandana-sanatana-naradedya
gopisvara vraja-vilasi-yuganghri-padme
  prema prayaccha nirupadhi namo namaste

“O gatekeeper of Vrndavana! O Soma, all glories to you! O you whose forehead is decorated with the moon (soma), and who is worshiped by the sages headed by Sanandana, Sanatana, and Narada! O Gopisvara! Desiring that you bestow upon me limitless love for the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, who perform joyous pastimes in Vraja-dhama, I offer my obeisances unto you again and again.”

Sri Gopisvara Mahadeva ki jaya!

Once, as described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men wanted to go to Ambikavana to observe Shiva-ratri, which they did. The Bhagavatam uses the word ekada, “once.” Srila Prabhupada explains, “Between the Dola-yatra ceremony [Holi] and the rasa-lila ceremony there is an important ceremony called Siva-ratri, which is especially observed by the Saivites, or devotees of Lord Siva. Sometimes the Vaisnavas also observe this ceremony because they accept Lord Siva as the foremost Vaisnava. But the function of Siva-ratri is not observed very regularly by the bhaktas, or devotees of Krsna. Under the circumstances, Srimad-Bhagavatam states that Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men ‘once upon a time desired.’ This means that they were not regularly observing the Siva-ratri function but that once upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikavana.” (Krsna, Chapter 34) And what was the result? “They had come to worship Lord Siva and Ambika, but the result was that they became more and more attached to Krsna.”

Are there any questions or comments?

Rasaraja dasa: I have a question about Lord Shiva and impersonalists. Although many of his statements and songs are in the mood of bhakti, Lord Shiva is normally worshipped by impersonalists. How is the impersonal philosophy associated with him?

Giriraj Swami: The first answer is that Lord Shiva has a planet that is situated on the border of the material sky and the spiritual sky. In fact, it is said that the impersonalists who want to merge end up there. It is the borderline between matter and spirit.

Another answer is that Lord Shiva, for a very specific purpose, appeared as Shankaracharya, the great proponent of Mayavada philosophy. Earlier, because the so-called followers of the Vedas had been misusing the Vedas to support animal slaughter, Lord Krishna incarnated as Buddha, out of compassion for the innocent animals and to save these so-called Vedic followers from the sin of killing them. Buddha preached the philosophy of ahimsa, non-violence. He said, “Don’t follow the Vedas. If the Vedas say that you can kill animals, then don’t follow the Vedas. Just follow ahimsa.” Thus the Lord’s purpose was served: people stopped killing animals in the name of Vedic sacrifice. But then the Lord wanted to reestablish the authority of the Vedas, and because the Buddhist philosophy was nontheistic, followers would not immediately accept the correct, theistic understanding of the Vedas. So He wanted someone to reestablish the authority of the Vedas with a nontheistic interpretation—Advaitavada—which admits no difference between the individual soul and the supreme soul. In other words, it advocates impersonal monism. But when Lord Narayana approached His assembly of servants, no one was willing. They said, “Advaitavada? No, no—not Advaitavada! Ask anything but that. We don’t want to touch Advaitavada.” Then Lord Shiva, the greatest of the Vaishnavas, agreed. It was like when the demigods and demons were churning the ocean and it turned into poison, Lord Shiva was the one who came forward and said, “All right, I will drink the ocean of poison.” In this case, as Shankaracharya, he spit out an ocean of poison in the form of Advaitavada, or Mayavada. Shankara is a name for Lord Shiva, and so he became Shankaracharya. Because of the connection between Shankaracharya and Shankara, or Shiva, Mayavadis often are inclined toward Lord Shiva. But whether Mayavadis worship Shiva or Krishna, their goal is to merge and become one with Brahman.

Even Shankaracharya on occasion revealed his inner mood as a devotee. The most famous expression of his devotion was his parting words before he left this world: bhaja govindam bhaja govindam bhaja govindam mudha-mate. He advised his followers,

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam bhaja govindam mudha-mate
samprapte sannihite kale na hi na hi raksati dukrn-karane

“You fools and rascals, all your grammatical word jugglery of suffixes, prefixes, and philosophical speculation will not save you at the time of death. Just worship Govinda! Worship Govinda! Worship Govinda!”

There are other expressions as well. When Shankaracharya saw the Deity of Krishna, Vitthala Thakura, in Pandarapura, he recited many wonderful prayers to the Lord, which are inscribed in marble in the temple, the most famous and popular in Maharashtra. Similarly, Shankaracharya visited the temple of Guruvayurappan in Guruvayur, the most famous temple in Kerala. It is said that with his mystic powers he was flying over the temple and saw the devotees worshipping, and he thought, “What is this? What are these people doing? What is going on here?” As soon as that thought entered his mind, his power to fly was withdrawn and he came crashing down to the ground right in front of the Deity. Then he saw, “Oh, it is Lord Narayana, Lord Vishnu.” He recited many beautiful prayers, which are inscribed in the temple there. And in his Gita-bhasya commentary on Srimad Bhagavad-gita, he admitted, narayana paro ’vyaktat: “Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material creation.”

Lord Shiva, even as Shankaracharya, is a devotee, but he has different services. As Lord Shiva, he is the demigod in charge of destruction. He is in charge of the mode of ignorance, and he gives shelter to people in ignorance—to ghosts and hobgoblins. He is merciful even to them. But his true feature, his inner mood, is as a devotee of Krishna.

On this occasion we pray to Lord Shiva that out of his immense compassion and love he may be merciful to us and help us to attentively chant the holy names, respect and honor all devotees, and serve his Lord and master, the Lord of the gopis, Sri Krishna.

Hare Krishna.

Sri Gopisvara Mahadeva ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Shiva-ratri, March 7, 2008, Dallas]