Planet ISKCON

Gadadhara Pandit was a childhood friend of Nimai and both were students in the same ‘Tola’ or school. Gadadhara’s parents Madhav Mishra and Ratnawati were natives of Chattagram district but later on moved to Navadwipa. Gadadhara Pandit was born in Navadwipa.

In the Gaura-ganodesa-dipika, verses 147 through 153, it is stated: “The pleasure potency of Sri Krishna formerly known as Vrindavaneshvari, Srimati Radharani is now personified in the form of Sri Gadadhara Pandit in the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.”

After some time, Gadadhara accompanied some devotees from Navadwip to visit Mahaprabhu in Puri. He stayed on in Puri, not returning to Navadwip. Gadadhara started living in Jameshwar’s Tota (garden). Everyday, Gadadhara would read out aloud from the Srimad Bhagavatam for the pleasure of Mahaprabhu. 

Once while sitting on the beach, discussing some topics on Krishna, Nimai decided to bestow his special grace on Gadadhara. He told Gadadhara to dig in a particular spot. After digging for sometime, Gadadhara discovered the beautiful deity of Sri Gopinath. The deity was established in a temple in the garden and came to be known as Tota Gopinath. 

Soon after, Gadadhara took a vow of “Kshetra Sanyas” (limiting oneself to one particular place only), so as to do uninterrupted seva of Lord Sri Gopinatha.

There’s a story in connection with Sri Gadadhara Pandit that when He was very old and trying to render service to Tota-Gopinath that He couldn’t any more reach to put the garland around the neck of the Deity. To reciprocate with His loving service the Deity knelt down to accept the flower garlands of His beloved Gadadhara, Who is none other than His beloved Srimati Radharani incarnate as mentioned previously.

Sri Gadadhara pandit appears on the new moon and leaves the world on the same day. New moon means no moon – dark moon or Amavasya tithi. He also appeared in a land that is desert-like, dry and vacant in contrast to the lush Ganga basin of Navadwipa.

Today we are observing the disappearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sri Gadadhara Pandita. I first learned of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura when I visited the Boston temple. At that time there were only two published books in ISKCON: the abridged edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, published by Macmillan, and Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, published by ISKCON. And at the front of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya was a series of very dignified black-and-white photographs of Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji, and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Under the photograph of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a caption: “The pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness by the instructions of Lord Chaitanya.” I understood from the caption that Srila Prabhupada was continuing the work of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and that we were able to come in touch with Krishna consciousness in part because of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

As the years passed and I came to learn more about Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, I began to see more and more how the Krishna consciousness movement brought by Srila Prabhupada to the West and expanded throughout the world was a continuation of the work of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and the result of his desire. We are all indebted to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and we are intimately connected with him through parampara.

Lord Chaitanya predicted, prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama/ sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama: “In every town and village of every country of the world, My name [Krishna’s name] will be preached.” Although Lord Chaitanya made this prediction more than five hundred years ago, even His followers have sometimes been bewildered about how it would be fulfilled. Some of them have even thought the prediction was metaphorical or abstract. But Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had faith in the order and in the desire of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and through his books he began the work of spreading Krishna consciousness and the holy name of Krishna throughout the world. In particular, in 1896, the year of Srila Prabhupada’s birth, he wrote a book called Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts and distributed it to libraries worldwide.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura passed on his desire, which was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s desire, to his son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, though he never left India, passed on the same desire to his disciples. In particular, he gave Srila Prabhupada the order to preach Krishna consciousness in the English language, which even then was the universal language in the Western world, and in the whole world.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura predicted, “Very soon the unparalleled path of hari-nama-sankirtana will be propagated all over the world.” He foresaw the day when Vaishnavas from all over the world would come to Mayapur and chant, “Jaya Sacinandana” together with the Bengali Vaishnavas, Gaudiya Vaishnavas. And Srila Prabhupada was the one who acted to fulfill the desire and prediction of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura:

“Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German, and American people will take up banners, mridangas, and karatalas and raise kirtan through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the fair-skinned men from their side, chanting, ‘Jaya Sacinandana ki jaya,’ will extend their arms and, embracing devotees of our country coming from our side, treat us with brotherly feelings. When will that day be?” (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in Sajjana-tosani)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had a house in Godrumadvipa, across the Jalangi River from Mayapur, and he used to chant on his balcony there. One day he looked across the river and had a vision of an effulgent city with a wonderful temple, an adbhuta mandira, at its center. He desired that this wonderful temple and splendorous city should come into existence, and here too Srila Prabhupada has engaged his followers to fulfill the prediction and desire of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sri Nityananda Prabhu:

eka adbhuta mandira ei haibe prakasa
gaurangera nitya-seva haibe vikasa

“An astounding temple will appear and will engage the entire world in the eternal service of Lord Chaitanya.” (Sri Navadvipa-Mahatmya, Parikrama Khanda, Ch. 4)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also discovered the actual birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Mayapur. Over centuries of the Ganges flooding and changing course, the location of Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, was lost. Bhaktivinoda Thakura studied old maps and consulted different local people, and ultimately he determined the actual location.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura carried forward the idea of the Vedic city in Mayapur, and he had some of his householder disciples build small houses there. But again, it was really Srila Prabhupada who carried the desire of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura forward to the point where there is now a budding metropolis in Mayapur. He was very enthusiastic about the project, and now his disciples are working to make this magnificent vision a physical reality.

Srila Prabhupada had to struggle to get some land in Mayapur. Eventually it was Tamal Krishna Goswami who was able to secure the purchase of the land. Then Srila Prabhupada designed, or gave the basic idea for, the first building to be constructed and brought the drawings with him from London to Calcutta.

But there had been flooding in Mayapur, and sometimes the flooding there is very severe. Therefore, although Srila Prabhupada was so enthusiastic about the project and had struggled so hard to get the land in Mayapur and had personally brought the plans for the first building there, still, right when we were at the peak of our enthusiasm, he raised the question: “What will happen if the Ganges floods? What will happen to the temple, to the project?”

He suggested that we not build the temple in Mayapur and discussed different arguments for and against his suggestion. Then he presented the idea that we should build the temple at Birnagar, the birthplace of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. We were completely bewildered, and when Srila Prabhupada argued so strongly that we should build the temple at Birnagar because it would be safe from the floods there, we were swayed by His Divine Grace’s argument. But in the end he brought us back to the conclusion that we should go ahead with the project in Mayapur. “If you all build this temple,” he said, “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”

So, that is both Srila Prabhupada’s and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s desire—that we build a wonderful temple and go back to Godhead. And by following in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps, we are also following in the footsteps of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

Another important program of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was nama-hatta. In fact, before Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura built his house in Godrumadvipa, he built a bhajana-kutira near the site of the house, in Surabhi-kunja, which is the original place where the nama-hatta was started by Nityananda Prabhu. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura got his inspiration for the nama-hatta there.

The basic idea of the nama-hatta is that grihastha Vaishnavas, householder devotees, preach. By definition, householders will usually have a spouse, children, work, and a home. But they should still preach; they should use all of their spare time to preach. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura himself was a householder for many years, and he would lead his householder devotees through the streets, performing sankirtana, and then they would hold festivals, large gatherings where Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura would preach bhagavata-dharma and the glories of the holy name. He published a book, Sri Godruma Kalpatavi, about his nama-hatta program, which included reports of some of his preaching events. The harinama-sankirtana and bhagavata-dharma discourses were ecstatic, and the nama-hatta was spreading very nicely. During Srila Prabhupada’s presence His Holiness Jayapataka Swami and other ISKCON devotees revived the nama-hatta in Bengal and Orissa, and now it has spread all over the world.

So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura set a great example for us all. Although he had so many responsibilities—as a magistrate, as the superintendent of the Jagannatha temple, as a husband, as the father of ten children—still he did so much service. He was expert at utilizing his time so that he could serve Krishna more. He would generally take rest at eight o’clock at night and get up at midnight to write. He wrote approximately one hundred books. He was expert in many things, including fulfilling his duties as magistrate. He would dispose of his cases very quickly. Judges are also judged—by how quickly they dispose of their cases and by how many of their judgments are appealed and overturned. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura disposed of his cases quickly and expertly.

Somehow, with so many duties and responsibilities and so many children, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was able to write many, many books and spread Krishna consciousness widely. We can take inspiration from him and keep in our minds and hearts his glorious example: that even in our various, demanding positions, we can do more and more for Krishna and for the disciplic succession, for Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and for our spiritual master.

One of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s books, Sri Harinama-cintamani, has as its subject, as the title suggests, the touchstone of the holy name. The book is a dialogue between Lord Chaitanya and Haridasa Thakura. They begin by discussing the holy name in general. Then they consider the ten offenses against the holy name, because the efficacy of the name depends on the quality of the chanting. In her prayers to Lord Krishna, Queen Kunti says:

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
  edhamana-madah puman
naivarhaty abhidhatum vai
  tvam akincana-gocaram

“My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” (SB 1.8.26) In the purport, Srila Prabhupada remarks that the scriptures state that “by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. . . . But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord.”

Ordinary devotees like us have to practice to come to the stage of such chanting, and in particular we must be aware of the ten offenses and try to avoid them. In Harinama-cintamani Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses each of the ten offenses one by one in depth and in detail. First he defines and describes what constitutes each offense; then he explains how to avoid each offense; and then, in case somehow we have fallen into the offense, he discusses how to become free from it and from its damaging effects.

The first offense is sadhu-ninda: blaspheming the devotees who have dedicated their lives to the propagation of the holy name. Ninda means to criticize or to blaspheme. But what is the meaning of sadhu? How do we recognize a sadhu? Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that in essence a sadhu is one who has taken shelter of Krishna, or of the holy name of Krishna, which is non-different from Krishna. He lists twenty-six qualities of a sadhu, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Then he says that of all the qualities, one is the primary characteristic (svarupa-laksana) and the others are marginal (tatastha). The essential quality of the devotee is that he or she has taken shelter of Krishna (mat-sarana), or the holy name of Krishna. Even if a devotee is lacking in the other qualifications, if he or she has the single qualification of having taken exclusive shelter of Krishna, then that devotee is considered a sadhu. On the other hand, if someone has the other qualifications but lacks the one qualification of complete surrender to Krishna, then the other qualities have no particular value.

Now that we know who a sadhu is, we can avoid criticizing or blaspheming him or her. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses different grounds that people may think are justification for criticizing a sadhu. One is the sadhu’s caste or low birth, but Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that this is not ground for criticizing a sadhu. If one criticizes a sadhu because of his or her low birth or caste, then that critic is involved in sadhu-ninda. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also mentions past sinful activities. If one criticizes a sadhu for past sinful activities, one is involved in sadhu-ninda. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also mentions present traces of sinful activities. In other words, a sadhu may have engaged in sinful activities before he or she got the association of devotees but even after coming to the association of devotees may maintain some last traces of previous bad habits or by accident may fall down. Even then we do not have grounds to criticize. If we criticize a sadhu for an accidental falldown or for traces of past sinful activities, we are involved in sadhu-ninda.

Then he discusses different categories of asadhus, or nondevotees, so that we can clearly identify them too. In other words, as preachers, do we hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil? Do we not speak the truth if we see something is wrong and we want to correct it or protect others from it? No—as preachers we must be able to recognize nondevotees, especially if they are posing as devotees, and help neophyte devotees avoid them. Thus, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura lists three categories of persons who are not sadhus but who may be mistaken for sadhus. One is the Mayavadi impersonalist, who thinks that Krishna’s eternal form and holy name are illusory, or maya. Another is the pretender, or dharma-dhvaji, who waves the flag of religion; he is not actually a devotee, but he makes a show of being a sadhu for materialistic ends. And one is the atheist. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that when one preaches, one has to criticize nondevotees and advise innocent devotees to avoid their association and influence. Such criticism does not constitute sadhu-ninda. If ignorant or envious people argue that such criticism is sadhu-ninda, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, we should avoid their association. Because they are wrongly accusing or criticizing the preacher, they themselves are implicated in sadhu-ninda.

I will give an example. When I was in Madras on Srila Prabhupada’s behalf, I preached more or less the way I had heard him preach, criticizing demigod worshippers and impersonalists. In Madras there were a lot of impersonalists and demigod worshippers, and when I repeated what the Bhagavad-gita said about them, some people began to criticize me for criticizing others. Some said, “You shouldn’t criticize others; you should just state positively what you want to say about your philosophy and activities, but you shouldn’t criticize others.” The criticism of my criticism reached such a point that I actually began to have doubts. I thought, “So many people are saying the same thing; maybe I am doing something wrong.” They even gave the example of the Gaudiya Matha: “They don’t criticize others like you do; they have a nice temple, and every year they have a big celebration of Janmashtami and thousands of people come. Why can’t you be like them?”

So, I thought about what they said. I wasn’t really convinced that Srila Prabhupada would want us to be like the Gaudiya Matha, but then again, even people who were our friends, who were sympathetic to us, were saying the same thing: “Don’t criticize others. Just say what you want in a positive way about your own philosophy and activities.” So I wrote to Srila Prabhupada, and he wrote back, “The fact is that I am the only one in India who is openly criticizing not only demigod worship and impersonalism, but everything that falls short of complete surrender to Krishna.” And he continued, “My guru maharaja never compromised in his preaching, nor will I, nor should any of my students. We are firmly convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that all others are His part-and-parcel servants. This we must declare boldly to the whole world, that they should not foolishly dream of world peace unless they are prepared to surrender fully to Krishna as Supreme Lord.”

So, that is the mood of the preacher: he or she has to criticize the nondevotees. In the course of criticizing the nondevotees, a preacher may offend people who have sentiments for such nondevotees because they think that such nondevotees are devotees. But what else can we do? This, as Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses, is not sadhu-ninda; it is in the category of those things that might appear to be offenses but really are not.

There was a vivid example of this once, when Srila Prabhupada was walking one morning with Dr. Patel on Juhu Beach. Dr. Patel was praising someone who was definitely not a devotee but who was revered in India as a spiritual leader and teacher, and Srila Prabhupada began to criticize the person and point out the defects in his philosophy and his procedures. Dr. Patel became very offended and agitated—incensed. He began to argue with Srila Prabhupada and was practically shouting at him. And Srila Prabhupada was shouting at Dr. Patel. Srila Prabhupada roared, “I am not saying; Krishna is saying, na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah: anyone who does not surrender to Krishna is a mudha [fool], naradhama [lowest of mankind].” It became a fierce argument, and Dr. Patel’s friends tried to restrain him. “Swamiji is an old man,” they said. “He has a heart condition; you shouldn’t excite him.” It was like an explosion. Finally, Dr. Patel’s friends pulled him away and we reached the spot where we would leave the beach for the temple, and the argument ended.

After that, Srila Prabhupada said, “All right—no more discussion. We will just read from the Krsna book on the morning walks.” So we started to read from the Krsna book. Before this, Dr. Patel would come faithfully every morning and walk with Srila Prabhupada. Often, he would drive Srila Prabhupada to the beach in his car and then they would walk and talk on the beach, or they would walk from the temple to the beach and talk. Now, for the first time, Dr. Patel avoided the morning walks with Srila Prabhupada—because of that big argument. But some days later, he was drawn back to Srila Prabhupada. He said to Srila Prabhupada, “We are trained to respect all the accredited saints of India.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Our business is to point out who is not a saint.”

So, that is the mood of a preacher. If a preacher criticizes nondevotees who may be revered as saints by many people, he or she is not involved in sadhu-ninda. But if people criticize the preacher for criticizing such nondevotees, those critics may be involved in sadhu-ninda and we should avoid their association—unless we can change them or engage them, like Srila Prabhupada did with Dr. Patel.

Next Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “All right, if one has committed the offense, what does one do then? What is the remedy?” The specific way to counteract the offense of sadhu-ninda, or vaisnava-aparadha, is to go to the person we have offended and beg the person to forgive us. Generally, the Vaishnava is softhearted and will forgive the offender if he has realized his mistake and is sincerely repenting and earnestly trying to improve.

One may also commit an offense that is not directly against another person. To counteract such an offense, one may confess to other Vaishnavas. There is value to opening one’s heart to other Vaishnavas and admitting one’s offenses.

What Srila Prabhupada criticized about the Christians’ practice of confession was that after they had sinned and confessed, they would often go and commit the same sin again. In other words, the process of confession alone was not sufficient to remove the heart’s desire to sin. But here, if a devotee sincerely repents his or her mistake and confesses and begs for the mercy of the Vaishnavas and then really tries his or her best not to commit the offense again—and continues with the real process of purification, hearing and chanting the holy name—then such confession or admission becomes a part of the process of purification and rectification.

 Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura instructs us that the best way to avoid offense, which is negative, is to go to the other side and be positive. The best way to protect ourselves from sadhu-ninda, for example—from blaspheming or criticizing devotees—is to glorify the devotees, to appreciate and praise them.

So, we can benefit greatly from reading Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s books. Once, a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada about reading books of the previous acharyas: “Srila Prabhupada, I remember once I heard a tape where you told us that we should not try to read . . . Bhaktivinoda’s books or earlier books of other, all acharyas.” Srila Prabhupada clarified, “No, you should read. . . . We are following previous acharyas.”

Of course, for ISKCON devotees, Srila Prabhupada’s books are the basis. And if we are well versed in Srila Prabhupada’s books and faithful to Srila Prabhupada, then when we read the previous acharyas we will see how Srila Prabhupada is representing them, as we do with Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta. So much of what Brhad-bhagavatamrta says about the holy name is exactly what Srila Prabhupada taught us. Thus, reading the book strengthens our faith in Srila Prabhupada. It also clarifies for us the philosophy and principles of devotional service so that we can practice better in the line of Srila Prabhupada. At the same time, the reading makes us more knowledgeable in the scriptures so that we are better equipped to preach.

So, we’re gathered here at the feet of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. I believe he is pleased with our efforts to serve him through his representatives, and we can pray to him to bless us with a drop of faith in the holy name and with a fraction of a drop of his enthusiasm for preaching, so that even amidst our heavy duties and responsibilities we can also find time, as he did, to chant the holy name in the association of other devotees and to spread the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Nitai-Gaura premanande hari-haribol!

I have only touched a few drops of the nectarean ocean of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Would any other devotee like to speak something in his glorification?

Kesava Bharati Dasa: One of the prominent characteristics of Bhaktivinoda Thakura was that throughout his life he had recurring diseases. He suffered from rheumatic fever, and he was born in a town that was wiped out by a plague—his whole family. Over time, he underwent many traumas, and so one of the important aspects of his life was how he dealt with difficulties. His life wasn’t laid out on a silver platter. He was born in a very exalted family—descendants of kings, devotional kings—but at the same time, he had to face so many obstacles and difficulties, and in an exemplary way he showed how to take shelter in devotional service, in the holy name, in the lotus feet of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhara, and guru. He confronted and overcame many obstacles. For instance, there was a yogi in Jagannatha Puri who was doing all kinds of nonsense and had the power to make people sick and cause problems for their family members—so many things. Bhaktivinoda Thakura confronted him and put him in jail. He himself went and physically arrested the yogi. Then the yogi cursed him, and in fact Bhaktivinoda Thakura and his family members did become sick. In jail the yogi was saying all sorts of blasphemous things—“Everyone’s going to die; you’re going to die; your family is going to die!” At one point, as he was fighting the yogi within the court, the Thakura realized that the man was carrying his power in his hair—he had all these matted locks. As the judge, Bhaktivinoda Thakura instructed the constables to cut the yogi’s hair, so they cut his hair and the yogi lost his power, and soon thereafter he died in jail. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura, along with everyone in his family, got well.

Also, at that time there was a powerful dacoit movement in Vrindavan—there is always a dacoit movement there—and Bhaktivinoda Thakura went there, and just by his tremendous spiritual power and strength, he cleaned up those dacoits. Anybody who has ever been in Vrindavan knows what that means. Cleaning up the dacoits there is practically impossible. His spiritual strength was just extraordinary.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura attained a prominent position under the British rule when the British were systematically and powerfully convincing people in India that their culture and philosophy were inferior to Western culture and philosophies. Indians weren’t appointed to key positions very often, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so good—so pious and so popular wherever he went—that they wouldn’t dare pass him over. And they trusted him. He was so honest, so forthright, and such a wonderful servant, that they put him in important positions of authority, and wherever he was posted they wanted him to stay. Throughout, he kept wanting to go to Navadvipa, but his administrative authorities always tried to get him to stay. Even at a time when the ruling government did not favor people like him, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was granted high material status, placed in very responsible positions.

So, we can be in any ashrama—grihastha or any other—any position in life, and still develop devotional qualities if we follow the instructions that Bhaktivinoda Thakura gave in Harinama-cintamani—to stop criticizing one another, playing politics with one another, and backbiting one another, and instead to glorify one another, even if the other person is not present. Then we will get the power to serve the cause of Krishna consciousness to our full capacity.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gave us all these different standards and all these priceless examples. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Jaya! Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura ki jaya!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s disappearance day, June 29, 2003, Dallas, Texas]

Sri Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura appeared in 1838 in a wealthy family in the Nadia district, West Bengal. He revealed that he is an eternal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by his extraordinary preaching activities and prolific writing.

Living as a maha-bhagavata Vaisnava, he stayed in the grhastha ashram until the last few years of his life. Then he renounced everything, accepted babaji, and entered samadhi, totally absorbed in the loving service of Gaura-Gadadhara and Radha-Madhava.

He had a responsible government position as the District Magistrate (high court judge), maintained a Krishna conscious family, and wrote almost one hundred books on Krishna consciousness. At the same time, he served the Supreme Lord in so many ways.

Biographers list three major preaching achievements of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura:
 
(1) Wrote 100 authorized spiritual books.

(2) Discovered appearance place of Lord Caitanya.

(3) Introduced preaching innovations. 

Besides books (in Bengali, Oriya, English) reviving and explaining Mahaprabhu’s message, he wrote hundreds of poems and songs full of spiritual sentiments and sastric siddhanta (philosophical conclusions). 

In 1914, on the tirobhava tithi (disappearance day) of Sri Gadadhara Pandit (the incarnation of Sri Radha), Thakura Bhaktivinoda entered the eternal pastimes of Gaura-Gadadhara and Radha-Madhava. 

Click here to download notes:

One year, when I was leaving the Dallas/Fort Worth airport on July 4, a large American flag flying in the wind caught my eye, and I was surprised by how happy I felt. I reflected on how fortunate we were to live in a country where we have freedom of religion, and how Srila Prabhupada said, “America has been so good to me to give me money, men—everything. I have no designation that ‘this is my country,’ but because they have given me so much facility, I cannot forget my obligation to them. I want to make them happy and through them the whole world.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

On June 26, 2024, ISKCON community members from all over the world gathered in Ujjain to honor the departure of His Holiness Rupa Raghunath Swami Maharaj, a revered ISKCON sannyasi who passed away on June 22, 2024, in Bhopal, India. The ceremony was filled with devotion and deep respect, reflecting Maharaj’s profound impact on his […]

The post Honoring the Departure of Rupa Raghunath Swami appeared first on ISKCON News.

Hear this class at: 2 GEV Gita Course Chp 2 5 Detachment What It Is And Isn’t

2 GEV Gita Course Chapter 2-5 Detachment What It Is And Isn’t Click here to download notes

 

We are happy to announce the inaugural Bhaktivedanta Institute Summer School (online-only). Everyone is encouraged to register for free (registration deadline: 10th July)! Please register and advertise this within your circles.

Program:
Four amazing sessions of online presentations of the latest research and projects of the BI covering: Mind & Consciousness, the Philosophy of Science, understanding the science within shastra, life sciences, appearance of species, archeology, cosmology and what’s beyond the universe. The esteemed speakers are affiliated to or collaborators of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS, Florida). The summer school is open to participants of all ages. Students and early-career professors of science and philosophy, and doctors of medicine, are especially encouraged to join.

Dates: 13th-14th July and 20th-21st July 2024 (two weekends in July)

Timings:

• US Eastern Time 9am – 12pm
• United Kingdom 2pm – 5pm
• Indian Standard Time 6.30pm – 9.30pm

For Registration and more information see:

https://biss2024.github.io/
https://iskconnews.org/bhaktivedanta-institute-for-higher-studies-inaugurates-online-summer-school-in-july-2024/

 

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Yadubara Dasa (John Griesser), the director of the award-winning documentary “Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami who started it all” recently shared an enlightening Q&A following a YouTube post which also shared the full Hare Krishna film. In the Q&A, Yadubara shared the early history that led up to the film being […]

The post HARE KRISHNA! Film Continues to Reach Hundreds of Thousands of New Viewers Online appeared first on ISKCON News.

Srivasa Pandita is one of the members of the Pancha-tattva: sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasa. Vedic authorities state that in the current Age of Kali, Krishna came as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Balarama came as Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Similarly, Maha-vishnu appeared as Advaita Acharya, Srimati Radharani as Gadadhara Pandita, and Narada Muni as Srivasa Pandita.

panca-tattvatmakam krsnam
  bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam
  namami bhakta-saktikam

“I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krsna, who is nondifferent from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee, and devotional energy.” (Cc Adi 1.14)

Panca-tattvatmakam: The Pancha-tattva comprise one truth on the absolute platform. Lord Chaitanya is bhakta-rupa, Krishna in the form of a devotee. Lord Nityananda is svarupakam, the expansion of a devotee. Advaita Acharya is bhaktavataram, the avatar of a devotee. Srivasa Thakura is bhakta, a devotee. And Gadadhara Pandita is bhakta-saktikam, the energy of the Supreme Lord who supplies energy to the devotees—the devotional energy, Srimati Radharani.

In the Adi-lila of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes the tree of Lord Chaitanya. The tree itself is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and at the same time Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the gardener who tends to the tree. This tree, like any tree, has a trunk, limbs, and branches. The limbs and branches and leaves are devotees—the devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami says that he is listing such devotees for his own purification, just to glorify them, and that he cannot distinguish between who is higher and who is lower; he wants to glorify them all. And Srila Prabhupada remarks that this is the attitude of a pure devotee. A pure devotee respects all devotees. He does not distinguish that some should be respected and some not; he respects all of them.

Srila Prabhupada also mentions that ISKCON is a branch of the Chaitanya tree. In reality, Prabhupada himself is a most important branch of the Chaitanya tree, but in his humility he says that ISKCON is a branch. So, all the devotees in ISKCON, who are attached to ISKCON, are leaves on the Chaitanya tree. And we should respect and honor them all.

After introducing the Chaitanya tree, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami begins to describe specific devotees, and the first he describes is Srivasa Thakura. For our purification, we shall read now the first verses of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Trunk, Branches, and Subbranches of the Caitanya Tree.” And then we shall discuss more about Srivasa Thakura.

TEXT 1

sri-caitanya-padambhoja-
  madhupebhyo namo namah
kathancid asrayad yesam
  svapi tad-gandha-bhag bhavet

TRANSLATION

Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If even a doggish nondevotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The example of a dog is very significant in this connection. A dog naturally does not become a devotee at any time, but still it is sometimes found that a dog of a devotee gradually becomes a devotee also. We have actually seen that a dog has no respect even for the tulasi plant. Indeed, a dog is especially inclined to pass urine on the tulasi plant. Therefore the dog is the number one nondevotee. But Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement is so strong that even a doglike nondevotee can gradually become a devotee by the association of a devotee of Lord Caitanya. Srila Sivananda Sena, a great householder devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, attracted a dog on the street while going to Jagannatha Puri. The dog began to follow him and ultimately went to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu and was liberated. Similarly, cats and dogs in the household of Srivasa Thakura were also liberated. Cats and dogs and other animals are not expected to become devotees, but in the association of a pure devotee they are also delivered.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

This is an important verse to begin the description of the Chaitanya tree. The tree describes the devotees, and here Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami glorifies the power of the devotees: by their power, even a doglike nondevotee can become a devotee and taste the nectar at the lotus feet of the Lord.

In six days we shall observe Jagannatha Ratha-yatra, and that date is also the disappearance day of Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Srila Sivananda Sena. Every year, Sivananda Sena would take a party of devotees from Bengal to Orissa for the Ratha-yatra, and one year a dog joined them. Sivananda Sena was so merciful that he accepted the dog as part of his party, so much so that when they had to cross a river by boat, he paid the boatman extra to take the dog.

One day, when Sivananda Sena had to attend to some work, his servant forgot to feed the dog. And when Sivananda came and inquired, “Did you feed the dog?” he discovered that it had not been given its meals. Sivananda Sena immediately sent ten men to find the dog, but they could not find it. And Sivananda Sena felt so sorry, he fasted.

The next day too they did not see the dog, but when they reached Puri they saw it sitting a little distance from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was throwing it remnants of green coconut pulp and requesting it to chant the holy names “Hari,” “Krishna,” and “Rama.” Sivananda Sena, out of his humility, offered obeisances to the dog, feeling that he had been an offender, because he had neglected to serve it properly. The following day, however, no one saw the dog, for it had been liberated and gone back home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the holy names.

This is the strength of the mercy of a pure devotee. By the mercy of such a devotee, one gets the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—the opportunity to chant the holy names of Krishna—and in the end goes back home, back to Godhead.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-krsna-caitanya-nityananda
jayadvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda! All glories to Advaita Prabhu, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by Srivasa!

TEXTS 3–6

The description of Lord Caitanya as the gardener and the tree is inconceivable. Now hear with attention about the branches of this tree.

The associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu were many, but none of them should be considered lower or higher. This cannot be ascertained.

All the great personalities in the line of Lord Caitanya enumerated these devotees, but they could not distinguish between the greater and the lesser.

I offer my obeisances unto them as a token of respect. I request them not to consider my offenses.

TEXT 7

vande sri-krsna-caitanya-
  premamara-taroh priyan
sakha-rupan bhakta-ganan
  krsna-prema-phala-pradan

TRANSLATION

I offer my obeisances to all the dear devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the eternal tree of love of Godhead. I offer my respects to all the branches of the tree, the devotees of the Lord who distribute the fruit of love of Godhead.

TEXT 8

srivasa pandita, ara sri-rama pandita
dui bhai—dui sakha, jagate vidita

TRANSLATION

The two brothers Srivasa Pandita and Sri Rama Pandita started two branches that are well known in the world.

PURPORT

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (90), Srivasa Pandita (Srivasa Thakura) is described as an incarnation of Narada Muni, and Sri Rama Pandita, his younger brother, is said to be an incarnation of Parvata Muni, a great friend of Narada’s. Srivasa Pandita’s wife, Malini, is celebrated as an incarnation of the nurse Ambika, who fed Lord Krsna with her breast milk, and as already noted, his niece Narayani, the mother of Thakura Vrndavana dasa, the author of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, was the sister of Ambika in krsna-lila. We also understand from the description of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata that after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s acceptance of the sannyasa order, Srivasa Pandita left Navadvipa, possibly because of feelings of separation, and domiciled at Kumarahatta.

COMMENT

Sivananda Sena resided at Kumarahatta, and Srivasa Thakura came to live near him. Later, Vasudeva Datta also took up residence there.

Kumarahatta is a very important place. It is the birthplace of Isvara Puri, whom Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted as His guru. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went there on pilgrimage and visited His guru’s birthplace, and He took dirt from the ground there and kept it in His cloth, and every day He would eat a little bit of the dirt. Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (Adi-khanda 17.98–103) describes:

“The Supreme Lord, Sri Caitanya, personally visited the birthplace of Isvara Puri. The Lord said, ‘I offer My obeisances to the village of Kumarahatta, where Sri Isvara Puri appeared.’ He cried profusely at that place and spoke nothing other than the name of Isvara Puri. He took some dust from the birthplace of Isvara Puri and tied it in His cloth. The Lord said, ‘The dust from the birthplace of Isvara Puri is My life, wealth, and living force.’ The Lord exhibited such affection for Isvara Puri, because He takes pleasure in increasing the glories of His devotees.” Even today, devotees take dirt from the same place.

It is said that, following the example of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, every disciple should visit the birthplace of his spiritual master. Last November, His Holiness Radhanath Swami and I visited Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace in Calcutta. Srila Prabhupada took birth under a jackfruit tree, and we visited the tree. We also saw the Deities and temple that his mother would visit. I imagined how she would pray to that Deity of Krishna for the child in her womb and how after the child’s birth she and all the relatives would pray for his well-being.

TEXT 9

sripati, srinidhi—tanra dui sahodara
cari bhaira dasa-dasi, grha-parikara

TRANSLATION

Their two brothers were named Sripati and Srinidhi. These four brothers and their servants and maidservants are considered one big branch.

TEXT 10

dui sakhara upasakhaya tan-sabara ganana
yanra grhe mahaprabhura sada sankirtana

TRANSLATION

There is no counting the subbranches of these two branches. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu held congregational chanting daily at the house of Srivasa Pandita.

COMMENT

This sankirtana that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed at Srivasa-angana is significant. There is a parallel between the pastimes of Sri Krishna Chaitanya and the pastimes of Krishna, and the nocturnal kirtan at Srivasa-angana in gaura-lila corresponds to the rasa-lila in Krishna’s pastimes. It was the highest ecstasy. To enable Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His confidential devotees to enter deeply into the kirtan and relish its mellows without disturbance, Srivasa Thakura would lock the door to his house. Only the most confidential devotees were allowed.

Srila Prabhupada comments that to spread Krishna consciousness, when we have large-scale congregational chanting of the holy name we keep our doors open for everyone to participate, and that by the grace of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu this policy has brought good results. But the special kirtans held at Srivasa Thakura’s residence at night were reserved for only the most intimate devotees, so that they could freely experience and manifest their ecstasy, which they could do only in the association of devotees. A pure devotee will not do that if there are outsiders.

Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Gargamuni dasa once told Prabhupada that sometimes he felt like crying in the kirtan. Prabhupada replied, “That’s all right, because you are chanting with devotees and they will understand.” Otherwise, devotees don’t manifest such symptoms of ecstasy.

TEXT 11

cari bhai sa-vamse kare caitanyera seva
gauracandra vina nahi jane devi-deva

TRANSLATION

These four brothers and their family members fully engaged in the service of Lord Caitanya. They knew no other god or goddess.

PURPORT

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has said, anya-devasraya nai, tomare kahinu bhai, ei bhakti parama-karana: if one wants to become a pure, staunch devotee, one should not take shelter of any of the demigods or -goddesses. . . .

COMMENT

This is an important point, especially for Hindus who are used to worshipping gods and goddesses. Sometimes even after such people come to the association of devotees and hear the philosophy of Krishna consciousness and to some extent understand it, they are reluctant to give up their worship of demigods. They may think, “Our ancestors worshipped demigods, so how can we stop?” Sometimes their deities have been passed down through generations in their family and they are afraid that they will displease their ancestors or deities if they stop the worship—that Lord Shiva or Durga or whoever will be displeased. But according to the Bhagavad-gita, one should not worship gods and goddesses. Rather, one should take full shelter of the Supreme Lord Krishna, and if one does so, the demigods too will be pleased. Lord Krishna states,

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)

sarva-dharman parityajya
  mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
  moksayisyami ma sucah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Gita 18.66)

To engage fully in the service of Krishna or Krishna Chaitanya and to know no other god or goddess is an important qualification. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami could have mentioned many other qualities of Srivasa Thakura and his family, but he specifically mentioned that they had full faith in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and did not worship any devas or devis.

Five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna exhibited the pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. The residents of Vrindavan were used to worshipping Indra, who is the king of heaven and demigod in charge of rainfall. Lord Krishna told them to take the paraphernalia that they had gathered for the indra-yajna and use it instead to worship Govardhana Hill, the cows, and the brahmans. And because the Vraja-vasis had simple faith in Lord Krishna, they did what He said.

Due to some false pride and illusion, Indra became angry when his worship was stopped. But what was the result? Although Indra became angry and sent torrents of rain to inundate Vrindavan, Lord Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill and held it up as an umbrella to give shelter to all the residents of Vrindavan. And the result was that they were able to be with Krishna continuously for one week, 24/7. Every day, under ordinary circumstances, they would be with Him for some time but then they would be separated. In the early morning, for example, Krishna and Balarama would be with Their mother and father, but then They would go out to the fields to tend to the cows and Their parents would be separated from Them. Almost all of the residents of the Vrindavan village would be separated from Them during the day; only the cowherd boys would be with Them. But in the late afternoon, when Krishna came back from the pasturing grounds, He would again enter His home and be with Nanda and Yashoda and others there, and He would be separated from the cowherd boys. Then in the middle of the night He would sneak out to meet the gopis, and then He would sneak back before His mother came to wake Him up in the morning. And then He would be separated from the young gopis.

When the gopis gazed at Krishna as He returned from the pasturing grounds in the late afternoon, they would curse the creator, Brahma, for creating eyelids. Even the momentary blinking of their eyes, that momentary separation from the sight of Krishna, felt like yugas, like many thousands of years, because they had such intense attachment (anuraga) for Him. And so the gopis prayed to Krishna,

 atati yad bhavan ahni kananam
  truti yugayate tvam apasyatam
kutila-kuntalam sri-mukham ca te
  jada udiksatam paksma-krd drsam

“When You go off to the forest during the day, a tiny fraction of a second becomes like a millennium for us because we cannot see You. And even when we can eagerly look upon Your beautiful face, so lovely with its adornment of curly locks, our pleasure is hindered by our eyelids, which were fashioned by the foolish creator.” (SB 10.31.15)

So, there was constant meeting and separation, and the separation was terrible for the Vraja-vasis, because they had such deep love for Krishna. But during the govardhana-lila the Vraja-vasis could be with Krishna continuously. The gopis, the elder cowherd men and ladies, the cowherd boys, the servants, and the animals all got to be with Krishna continuously. So by giving up their worship of Indra and following Krishna’s instruction to worship Govardhana Hill (which is nondifferent from Krishna), they did not lose. Rather, they gained continuous, close association with Krishna. So, if we give up the worship of demigods or goddesses and take fully to the service of Krishna, we will not lose. Rather, we will gain in the most wonderful way.

Because Srivasa Thakura would lock the doors of his house during the kirtans, some people became angry. The Caitanya-caritamrta describes that, being excluded, some of these nonbelievers (pasandis) burned with envy and plotted against Srivasa Thakura. The leader of the nonbelievers was a brahman named Gopala Chapala, and he assembled paraphernalia for the worship of the goddess Bhavani (Durga) and placed it outside Srivasa Thakura’s door to defame him, because generally the worshippers of the goddess Bhavani, Durga, or Kali, are considered lower class. They drink wine and eat meat. For a Vaishnava, such things are anathema. So, Gopala Chapala wanted to defame Srivasa Thakura, and alongside the paraphernalia for the worship he placed a pot of wine.

In the morning, when Srivasa Thakura opened the door and saw all the paraphernalia, he immediately called for the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood. He told them, “Just see, here is the paraphernalia for the worship of Bhavani.” There was a banana leaf and some rice and red sandalwood paste—and the jug of wine. He said, “Every night I worship the goddess Bhavani. Now all you respectable gentlemen can understand my actual position—who I really am—and you can take whatever action you deem fit.”

Of course, the respectable brahmans and other members of the higher castes could understand what had happened, that some envious person had wanted to defame Srivasa Thakura and desecrate his house. So they called for a sweeper, a hadi, to dispose of all those untouchable things and purify the place by mopping it with a mixture of water and cow dung.

Three day later, Gopala Chapala was afflicted with leprosy. Blood oozed from sores all over his body, and he was attacked by germs and insects. The position of a devotee is such that anyone who offends any devotee suffers. And that is also the Lord’s mercy. By punishing the offender, He simultaneously protects His devotees from being offended further and prevents the offender from committing more offenses. He helps the offender realize his mistake and make progress in spiritual life. So Gopala Chapala was burning with leprosy, suffering unbearable pain.

One day when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu passed nearby, Gopala Chapala appealed to Him, “You are an incarnation of God. You have come to deliver the fallen souls. I am very fallen and wretched. So please deliver me.” Of course, it is true that Lord Chaitanya came to deliver the fallen souls, but He really came to deliver them from material existence altogether—not from any particular condition—by distributing the holy name and krsna-prema. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura prayed,

golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana,
            rati na janmilo kene taya
samsara-visanale, diva-nisi hiya jvale
            judaite na koinu upaya

“The treasure of divine love in Goloka Vrindavan has descended as the congregational chanting of Lord Hari’s holy names. Why did my attraction for that chanting never come about? Day and night my heart burns in the fire of the poison of worldliness, and I have not accepted the means for relieving it.”

 vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta hoilo sei,
             balarama hoilo nitai
dina-hina yata chilo, hari-name uddharilo,
            tara saksi jagai-madhai

 “Lord Krishna, the son of the King of Vraja, became the son of Saci, and Balarama became Nitai. The holy name delivered all those souls who were lowly and wretched. The two sinners Jagai and Madhai are evidence of this.”

Lord Chaitanya brought the practice of chanting the holy name—the treasure of krsna-prema—and delivered all who were sinful and fallen, even Jagai and Madhai. Although this Gopala Chapala was very sinful and insulting, he had one good quality: he was simple. He accepted Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and had faith that Mahaprabhu could deliver him. So he appealed to Him, and Mahaprabhu called him a sinner and told him, “Because of your sins, you are suffering.” And that is a fact: whatever suffering we experience in this world is due to our sins. The Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu explains that suffering is due to sin and that sin is due to ignorance. Thus the only way to really become free from suffering is to become free from sin and ignorance—in other words, to become enlightened in transcendental knowledge, engage in devotional service, and ultimately go back to Godhead.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told him, “You are envious of pure devotees. That is the worst sin. I shall not deliver you. Rather, I shall see you bitten by these germs for millions of years. For your offense against Srivasa Thakura, you will fall into hellish conditions for millions of lifetimes. He is My pure devotee.” After some time, Gopala Chapala actually took shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Lord mercifully instructed him, “If you approach Srivasa Thakura and get his mercy—and if you do not commit such sins again—you will be freed from the effects of your offenses.”

That is the only way to be relieved from vaisnava-aparadha. It is the recommended way and the fastest way—to go to the Vaishnava you have offended, throw yourself at his feet, and beg for forgiveness. Gopala Chapala did that. He took shelter of the lotus feet of Srivasa Thakura, and by Srivasa’s mercy he was freed from all sinful reactions.

Then there was another person, a brahmachari who practiced austerities and ate only milk and fruits. Repeatedly, daily, he begged Srivasa Pandita, “Please allow me to witness the sankirtana in your house at night. I will be ever grateful to you.” He begged and pleaded, and finally Srivasa Pandita relented: “I know you are a good soul. You are a strict brahmachari and eat only fruit and milk. I think you are eligible to see the Lord’s dancing, but you will have to remain hidden, because the Lord has ordered that no one be allowed in the house.”

Srivasa Pandita secretly brought the brahmachari inside the house and hid him. During the kirtan, Lord Chaitanya and His other associates chanted and danced, but they did not experience their usual ecstasy. After a while, the Lord remarked, “Today I do not feel the same ecstasy while dancing. Perhaps someone is hiding inside the house. Please tell the truth.”

Srivasa Pandita became afraid and said, “My Lord, I assure you that there are no nonbelievers in the house—only a brahmachari, a qualified, sinless brahman who eats only milk and fruits. He had a strong desire to see You dance. Still, You are right, my Lord. He is hiding here.”

The Lord became furious and said, “Take him out of this house immediately. What is his qualification to see My dancing? How can one develop devotion to Me simply by drinking milk?”

“Just by drinking milk no one can attain Me,” the Lord declared. “A person may be a renunciant without mundane attachment, but if he does not surrender to Me I do not accept him. On the other hand, even a low-caste dog-eater who takes full shelter of Me I accept.”

Hearing all this, the brahmachari was trembling with fear, and he came out of hiding. Still, he thought, “I was so fortunate to see the Lord dance. And now I am receiving the appropriate punishment.” He accepted the Lord’s chastisement as mercy. And the Lord, understanding the brahmachari’s heart, blessed him. He told him, “Do not try to attain power through penances and austerities. Rather, render loving service unto the Supreme Lord Krishna. That is the highest activity.” And the Lord placed His lotus feet on the brahmachari’s head.

Another brahman came to witness the kirtan at Srivasa-angana, but because the door was locked, he could not enter, and he returned home disappointed. The next day, he met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, broke his brahman thread, and cursed Him: “You will never enjoy material happiness.” When Lord Chaitanya heard this curse, He felt great jubilation. He took it as a blessing: “I will be free of material enjoyment.”

Even the cats and dogs in Srivasa Thakura’s house were delivered. In Caitanya-bhagavata, after Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard Srivasa Thakura speak with great faith and love for Nityananda Prabhu, He blessed him, “Everyone in your household, including your pet dogs and cats, will find complete shelter in My devotional service.”

Srivasa Thakura had a Muslim tailor. (We also had a Muslim tailor, Abdul, at our Juhu temple, and he sewed our cloth.) This tailor stayed near Srivasa-angana and used to sew garments for Srivasa Thakura and his family. One day the tailor saw Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced in ecstasy not only in His private kirtans but on other occasions as well, and the tailor, seeing the Lord’s dancing, became enchanted. Lord Chaitanya understood the tailor’s mind and mercifully showed him His original form as Krishna. Then the tailor began to shout, “Dekhinu! Dekhinu!”—I have seen! I have seen! In ecstatic love, he danced with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and he became a first-class Vaishnava and prominent devotee of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Anyone who takes shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can be delivered. It does not matter if one is a brahman, a brahmachari, a milk-drinker, a meat-eater, or a Muslim. These are not qualifications or disqualifications. Anyone who takes shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or, better yet, His devotee (the tailor was a servant of Srivasa Pandita) can get the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and obtain love for Krishna.

In His ecstatic mood, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Srivasa Thakura, “Please bring My flute,” because He was in the mood of Krishna. But Srivasa replied, “The gopis have stolen it.” When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, He became ecstatic. He said, “Please say more. Please say more.” Srivasa Thakura began to describe the mellows of Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Please say more. Please say more.” Then Srivasa Thakura described more—how Krishna played on His flute and the gopis wandered in the Vrindavan forest, and how Krishna celebrated the rasa dance and played in the Yamuna. “Please say more. Please say more.” Srivasa spoke more and more about the mellows and pastimes of Krishna in Vrindavan, especially the rasa-lila. Thus the two of them passed the entire night, and when morning came, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Srivasa Thakura and Srivasa was satisfied.

These are some of the earlier pastimes, when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu resided in Navadvipa. Eventually Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, left Navadvipa, and settled in Jagannatha Puri, and Srivasa Thakura, in separation from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, moved to Kumarahatta.

Every year, Sivananda Sena would lead a party of devotees from Bengal to Orissa to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, participate in the Ratha-yatra, and stay with Him for caturmasya, the four months of the rainy season. One year, Srivasa Thakura observed the Hera-panchami festival with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami. Hera-panchami is a very special festival. Two weeks before Ratha-yatra is Snana-yatra, the public bathing of Lord Jagannatha, after which Lord Jagannatha retires to His private quarters and for two weeks does not see His devotees. It is said that He catches a cold from the Snana-yatra, and so for two weeks His wife Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, serves Him faithfully, giving Him special drinks and infusions, represented by fruit juice, to help Him recover and feel better.

After two weeks, feeling separation from His other devotees, Lord Jagannatha takes permission from Lakshmi to go out. Really, He wants to meet and reciprocate with His devotees in Vrindavan. So, in the Ratha-yatra, He proceeds on His chariot from Nilachala, which is like Dvaraka (or Kurukshetra), down the road to Sundarachala, to the Gundicha temple, which is considered to be Vrindavan.

The day before the Ratha-yatra is Gundicha-marjana, during which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees clean the Gundicha temple to make it fit to receive the Lord. And the next day is the Ratha-yatra procession. Then, for about eight days, Lord Jagannatha stays in the Gundicha temple. But after four or five days, Lakshmi becomes impatient: “Where is my husband? He said He was just going out for a ride. Where is He? He should be back.” Restless and angry, she takes her maidservants and travels to Sundarachala in her own procession. At the gate of the Gundicha temple, she sends her maidservants to arrest the principal servants of Lord Jagannatha, which they do. They bind the servants around the waist and make them fall down at her lotus feet. And they berate the servants, making them the butt of jokes and loose language.

During this pastime Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, and Srivasa Thakura had a discussion. Srivasa Thakura, as the incarnation of Narada Muni, a great devotee of Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha, became ecstatic seeing the opulence of the goddess of fortune, the eternal consort of Lord Narayana. He told Svarupa Damodara, “Just see how opulent my goddess of fortune is. Vrindavan’s opulence consists of a few flowers and twigs, some minerals from the hills, and a few peacock feathers. When Jagannatha was in Vrindavan, Lakshmi wondered, ‘Why did Lord Jagannatha give up so much opulence and go to Vrindavan?’ Then, to make Him a laughingstock, she decorated herself and brought her maidservants to deride Him and His servants. Finally, His servants submitted to her and promised to bring Lord Jagannatha before her the very next day, and the goddess of fortune, being pacified, returned to her apartment.” Thus Srivasa Thakura joked with Svarupa Damodara, as described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 14.213–215):

amara laksmira sampad—vakya-agocara

“ ‘Just see! My goddess of fortune is opulent beyond all description.

dugdha auti’ dadhi mathe tomara gopi-gane
amara thakurani vaise ratna-simhasane

“ ‘Your gopis are engaged in boiling milk and churning yogurt, but my mistress, the goddess of fortune, sits on a throne made of jewels and gems.’

arada-prakrti srivasa kare parihasa

suni’ hase mahaprabhura yata nija-dasa

“Srivasa Thakura, who was enjoying the mood of Narada Muni, thus made jokes. Hearing him, all the personal servants of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began to smile.”

Then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself spoke.

prabhu kahe,—srivasa, tomate narada-svabhava
aisvarya-bhave tomate, isvara-prabhava

“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Thakura, ‘My dear Srivasa, your nature is exactly like that of Narada Muni. The Supreme Personality of Godhead’s opulence is having a direct influence upon you.

inho damodara-svarupa-suddha-vrajavasi
aisvarya na jane inho suddha-preme bhasi’

“ ‘Svarupa Damodara is a pure devotee of Vrndavana. He does not even know what opulence is, for he is simply absorbed in pure devotional service.’ ” (Cc Madhya 14.216–217)

Then Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who is an incarnation of the gopi Lalita-devi, one of Srimati Radharani’s most confidential girlfriends, glorified Vrindavan’s opulence. He said that the natural opulence of Vrindavan is like an ocean and that the opulence of Dvaraka and Vaikuntha cannot be compared even to a drop of that ocean. He said that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in all opulences, and that His opulences are fully manifest only in Vrindavan. He paraphrased and elaborated upon a verse from Sri Brahma-samhita (5.29):

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
  laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
  govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of laksmis, or gopis.” Govinda, Krishna, the cowherd boy, is served by hundreds of thousands of laksmis in the form of gopis. In fact, these gopis are considered super laksmis. The laksmis in Vaikuntha are only expansions of these gopis. In Vrindavan, the houses and land are made of cintamani stones; the trees are kalpa-vrksas, wish-fulfilling desire trees; and the cows are surabhis, who deliver oceans of nectar-like milk.

Svarupa Damodara then quoted a related verse by Bilvamangala Thakura, to glorify the opulence of the gopis and Vrindavan:

cintamanis carana-bhusanam angananam
  srngara-puspa-taravas taravah suranam
vrndavane vraja-dhanam nanu kama-dhenu-
  vrndani ceti sukha-sindhur aho vibhutih

“The anklets on the damsels of Vraja-bhumi are made of cintamani stone. The trees are wish-fulfilling trees, and they produce flowers with which the gopis decorate themselves. There are also wish-fulfilling cows, which deliver unlimited quantities of milk. These cows constitute the wealth of Vrndavana. Thus Vrndavana’s opulence is blissfully exhibited.” (Brs 2.1.173, Cc Madhya 14, 228)

And he quoted another verse from Sri Brahma-samhita (5.29):

sriyah kantah kantah parama-purusah kalpa-taravo
  druma bhumis cintamani-gana-mayi toyam amrtam
katha ganam natyam gamanam api vamsi priya-sakhi
  cid-anandam jyotih param api tad asvadyam api ca

“The damsels of Vrndavana, the gopis, are super goddesses of fortune. The enjoyer in Vrndavana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. The trees there are all wish-fulfilling trees, and the land is made of transcendental touchstone. The water is all nectar, the talking is singing, the walking is dancing, and the constant companion of Krsna is His flute. The effulgence of transcendental bliss is experienced everywhere. Therefore Vrndavana-dhama is the only relishable abode.” (Bs 5.56, Cc Madhya 14.227)

Actually, the opulence of Vrindavan is greater than that of Vaikuntha. But the special quality of Vrindavan is that its opulence is covered by an exquisite sweetness so powerful that the pure devotees in Vrindavan forget that Krishna is God. In Vaikuntha the devotees are aware of the Lord’s opulence and worship Him with awe and veneration. They act as His servants (dasya-rasa) or at most as reverential friends (gaurava-sakhya-rasa); there is no sense of equality with the Lord. But in Vrindavan the devotees are able to enjoy ecstatic, intimate relationships with Krishna, with full freedom, because they forget that He is God.

If the residents of Vrindavan were conscious that Krishna is God, the cowherd boys could never play with Him as equals like they do. Sometimes Krishna and the cowherd boys compete in sport, and if Krishna loses, He has to carry the other boy on His shoulders. This is unheard of in Vaikuntha; if someone got up on Lord Narayana’s shoulders, he would immediately be expelled. And Krishna’s parents, Nanda and Yashoda, and others in the parental mood, such as Ambika, feel that Krishna is dependent on them. Ambika is Krishna’s nurse in Vrindavan; she suckles Krishna. And Malini, Srivasa Thakura’s wife, is her incarnation. So she has that maternal mood. Such devotees, in vatsalya-rasa, feel that they have to take care of Krishna. The cowherd boys feel that they are Krishna’s equals, His friends, and the elders feel like they are Krishna’s parents and guardians, that Krishna is dependent on their care and protection.

In fact, Krishna is providing everything for everyone. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam: He is the singular eternal one among so many eternal beings, and He is the singular conscious entity among so many conscious entities. Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman: He is the one, singular, eternal conscious being who is providing all the necessities and fulfilling all the desires of the many, plural, eternal conscious beings. He is providing for everyone, but still Mother Yashoda is thinking, “He is my son. If I don’t feed Him, He will starve.” She can think that way because her attachment for Him as a mother for her son is stronger than her awareness of His divine opulence. Most of the time she forgets; she is not even conscious that He is the Lord. And most of the time, the residents of Vrindavan forget.

Sometimes Krishna enacts deeds that remind them of His godly opulence, such as when He lifted Govardhana Hill. After He did so, the elder cowherd men were confused and approached Nanda Maharaja. “Your Krishna is no ordinary boy,” they said. “He lifted a great mountain and held it in one hand for seven days. And as a mere infant, He sucked out the life of the powerful demoness Putana. And He killed many powerful demons and performed many wonderful feats. He is no ordinary person. He might be a demigod—or even Lord Narayana Himself.” They weren’t sure. “Still,” they continued, “we have constant affection for your son—and He has natural attraction for us.” They were bewildered. But when they thought of Krishna’s humanlike pastimes, they became overwhelmed with parental affection. They thought of all the times He had become frightened, the times He had felt hungry, the times He had done mischief. And they remembered how He had become happy when they had coddled Him and sad or angry when they had neglected Him. Thinking of Krishna’s childlike, humanlike behavior (nara-lila), they became overwhelmed with parental affection and forgot His divine opulence.

Once, Mother Yashoda looked into Krishna’s mouth. Krishna and Balarama were playing with Their friends, and all the boys joined with Balarama to complain to Mother Yashoda that Krishna had eaten earth. Sometimes, when children are at a certain age, they put anything into their mouths. Krishna said, “No, Mother. They are lying.” Yashoda replied, “But even Your brother Balarama says that You ate dirt.” Krishna said, “He is lying, too. But if you have any doubt, you can look.” “All right. Open Your mouth. I will see.”

So, Krishna opened His mouth, and Mother Yashoda looked inside, and there she saw the entire cosmic manifestation. She saw all moving and nonmoving entities, all directions, the material elements, the sky and stars and planetary systems. She saw the living entities, the modes of nature, time, and karma. She saw everything. She even saw herself and the land of Vraja. And she was struck with doubt and wonder. Was she dreaming, or hallucinating, or being mystified by some illusion of the material nature, perhaps created by the demigods? Or was she having a vision caused by her son’s mystic power? “All right,” she said. “Close Your mouth. Just don’t do it again.” Even then, she still thought of Krishna as her son. Although Krishna is always full in all opulences, His display of opulence does not diminish His pure devotees’ love for Him—as a son or a friend or a beloved. That is vraja-bhakti.

In this discussion with Srivasa Pandita, Svarupa Damodara glorified the opulence of Vrindavan, but that opulence is covered by the sweetness of these intimate relationships, in which the devotees forget that Krishna is God and, to reciprocate with His devotees’ love, Krishna also forgets that He is God. When Mother Yashoda threatens Krishna with a stick and Krishna becomes afraid, He is not pretending. He actually feels like a child, and He feels afraid. In her prayers, Queen Kunti remarks that she sees the image of Krishna with Mother Yashoda standing with ropes to bind Him: Krishna is crying, and His tears are washing the mascara around His eyes. The same Krishna who is feared by fear personified is afraid of Mother Yashoda. And thinking of this contradiction, Kunti becomes bewildered.

gopy adade tvayi krtagasi dama tavad
  ya te dasasru-kalilanjana-sambhramaksam
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
  sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti

“My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your perturbed eyes overflooded with tears, which washed the mascara from Your eyes. And You were afraid, though fear personified is afraid of You. This sight is bewildering to me.” (SB 1.8.31)

These are elevated, transcendental topics—not easy to understand. Although we may have theoretical knowledge, we still tend to identify with the body and act on the bodily platform: “I” and “mine.” Still, hearing these topics is part of the process of purification. By offenseless hearing of the Lord’s activities, even without complete understanding, we can become attracted and purified. And we want to be attracted, to desire to serve in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, and ultimately in Krishna’s pastimes. We do not want to remain bound to temporary, material affairs and engrossed in ephemeral, mundane relationships.

One night, during the kirtan at Srivasa-angana, a calamity took place. One of Srivasa Pandita’s sons, who had been ill, died. Naturally, Srivasa’s wife, Malini, and others were distraught, but Srivasa said, “Keep quiet. We must not disturb Mahaprabhu’s kirtan.” So nobody cried or said anything. After the kirtan was over, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (who is God and knows everything) said, “There must have been some calamity here.” When Srivasa told him, “My son died,” Sri Chaitanya replied, “Why did you not tell Me earlier?” He went to the place where the son was lying dead and asked him, “Why are you leaving Srivasa Thakura’s home?” The son replied, “I stayed here as long as my destiny allowed. Now that the time is over, I must proceed to my next destination, according to Your order. I am Your eternal servant, a dependent living being, and I move by Your desire.”

By this exchange between Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srivasa Pandita’s dead son, everyone in the household was enlightened with spiritual knowledge. There was no cause for lamentation. They realized the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita (2.13):

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
  kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
  dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” Actually, everyone changes his or her body even in the same lifetime. Just as one has a baby’s body, then a youth’s body, and eventually an old person’s body, similarly, at the time of death, one accepts another body. And dhiras tatra na muhyati: the sober are not bewildered by such a change.

The body is like dress. Just as one discards an old and useless garment and puts on a new one, similarly, when the body is old and useless, the soul leaves it and takes on a new body.

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
  navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
  anyani samyati navani dehi

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” (Gita 2.22)

Ultimately, everything is under the control of the Lord, and all the more so in the case of devotees. Everything and everyone is under the control of the Lord, and these principles were manifested in the exchange between the dead son of Srivasa Pandita and his eternal Lord and master, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Pandita (and Malini), “You have lost one son, but Nitai and I are your eternal sons, and We shall never leave you.” Malini is Ambika in krsna-lila, so she is in the mood of a mother, or nurse. But whoever we may be, if we just surrender to Krishna and offer everything to Him, we will not lose. Rather, we will gain unlimitedly. Srivasa and Malini lost one son, who was encaged in a temporary, miserable body, but they gained two sons who are eternal.

Srila Prabhupada advises that instead of being absorbed in these temporary relationships that last only as long as the body (at most), we should, rather, develop our relationship with Krishna, or Sri Krishna Chaitanya, which is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. This relationship develops by offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy names and pastimes of the Lord. Offenseless, attentive chanting cleanses the dust from the mirror of the mind (ceto-darpana-marjanam), and thus one is able to realize one’s constitutional position as an eternal servant of Krishna, an eternal servant of Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. One still does one’s duties in the world—that is another thing—but one gives one’s heart to Krishna, to one’s relationship with Krishna, and realizes eternal, blissful, spiritual love.

jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
  jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam
sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir
  ye prayaso ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyam

[Lord Brahma said to Krishna,] “Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words, and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.” (SB 10.14.3)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu noticed that Srivasa Thakura never went to earn anything for his family’s maintenance. So one day He asked, “Srivasa, I see that you never go anywhere. How will you maintain your family?” Srivasa replied, “I do not want to go anywhere.” Mahaprabhu said, “But you have a big family. What will happen to them?” “Whatever is destined will come,” he replied. “If that is your mentality,” Mahaprabhu said, “then you should take sannyasa.” “I am not ready for sannyasa,” Srivasa objected. “I do not have the power to take sannyasa.” “Then how will you maintain your family?” Mahaprabhu asked. “These days, if you do not make some effort, nothing will come. Then what will you do?” Srivasa clapped his hands thrice and said, “One. Two. Three.” Mahaprabhu asked, “What does that mean?” Srivasa Thakura replied, “If for three days no food comes and I have to fast, I will tie a rock around my neck and drown myself in the Ganges.”

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, He became agitated and roared, “Srivasa, what are you saying? Why should you fast three times? Have you forgotten My words in the Bhagavad-gita (9.22)—ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate/ tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham: ‘Those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have’? Not even once will you be lacking. Even if the goddess of fortune herself becomes poverty-stricken—even if she becomes a beggar—your house will never know want. I will personally bring whatever you need.”

Of course, what the Lord says in the Gita is true, though such constant concentration on Krishna is not so easy. But if one does come to the stage of always meditating on Krishna without deviation, the Lord will arrange whatever one needs. In that stage, one depends completely on the mercy of the Lord. Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham—as people surrender to Krishna, He rewards them accordingly. If one thinks, “I will make my own arrangement,” the Lord will think, “All right, he’s making his own arrangement, so I need not worry about him.” The Lord reciprocates according to our degree of surrender.

It could be said that previously the culture was more conducive to a brahminical way of life, and that is true, but still, what Lord Chaitanya said is also true.

There is a famous story of a brahman who was reading the Bhagavad-gita, and when he came to the verse in which Krishna says, “To those who concentrate on Me exclusively, I preserve what they have and carry what they lack (yoga-ksemam vahamy aham),” he thought, “Well, no. Krishna might send it through somebody, but He will not come personally.” (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Thakura, “I will come personally if need be.”)

ananyas cintayanto mam
  ye janah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam
  yoga-ksemam vahamy aham

“Those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.” (Gita 9.22)

When the brahman came to the words vahamy aham, “I carry,” he scratched them out with red ink. He did not believe that Krishna would personally carry what the devotee required.

Later, the brahman went out to beg alms. There are different ways by which brahmans maintain themselves, and one is to go out and beg alms. So, while the brahman was gone, a young boy came to the brahman’s house with a rod across his shoulders, and suspended from the ends of the rod were baskets full of rice, dal, flour, ghee, and vegetables—everything one needed to prepare a feast. It was such a heavy load that the boy could hardly carry it. He barely managed to reach the door. The lady of the house, the brahmani, asked, “Who are you?” He said, “Your husband sent me. I have brought all these ingredients for you. He will be coming soon. Please cook a nice feast for him. He will be hungry.” She cooked a big feast and invited the boy to stay. But the boy replied, “No, if I take too long, your husband becomes angry with me, so I will have to go.” And when he turned to leave, she saw slashes on his back—wound marks—which were red with blood.

Eventually the husband returned, dejected. He said, “I tried all day, and not one person gave me anything. I did not get even one grain of rice. Today we shall have to fast.” She said, “No, you sent that boy with so many provisions. I have already cooked a big feast.” “No, I didn’t send any boy.” “You did. He brought all these ingredients. But when I asked him to stay, he said that if he delayed, you would become angry with him. He already had wounds from you on his back.”

The brahman thought of the Bhagavad-gita. He looked in his copy to where he had cut the words vahamy aham, and he saw that the red ink was gone. Then he knew: “That boy was Krishna.” The Bhagavad-gita is the Lord Himself. By cutting those words in the Gita, he had cut the body of the Lord. And he understood that Krishna, true to His word, had come personally and carried what His devotee lacked (yoga-ksemam vahamy aham).

That is a high level of Krishna consciousness—to always be absorbed in Krishna, without deviation—but that is our goal. And the more we have faith in Krishna, the more we will be able to chant and hear about Krishna with exclusive attention. We won’t be distracted, worrying, “From where will the money come? How will we pay the bills?”—or whatever—so many anxieties. As we develop more faith in Krishna, we are able to surrender more, to Krishna and to the process of bhakti-yoga, to chanting and hearing the holy name and glories of the Lord and serving the Lord’s devotees. We are confident that Krishna will take care of us.

Devotees never go hungry. Once, many years ago, I asked a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada, “Krishna consciousness is so nice—just chanting, dancing, feasting, and philosophy, with no anxiety—is there any austerity?” And he replied, “The austerity is that there is too much to eat. To honor the prasada and to please the devotees, we may have to eat more than we want.”

We have much to learn from the example of Srivasa Thakura, from his dealings with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees. And we have much to learn from all the members of the Pancha-tattva, and from all the devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—from the branches, subbranches, and leaves of the Chaitanya tree, including the present members of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual family and transcendental household.

Sri Srivasa Thakura ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srivasa Pandita’s disappearance day, June 28, 2008, Moorpark, California]

Srivasa Thakura is understood as tatastha-shakti, a marginal energy of Bhagavan, Krishna in person. Devotees who are headed by Srivasa Thakura are described as ‘parts’ of transcendental body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (his eyes, ears, hands, disc/cakra, etc.).

They all participated in His transcendental pastimes. They all helped to spread Krsna consciousness, sankirtana-yajna. On the other hand, Srivasa is also Narada – an eternal transcendental associate of Lord Krsna.

Srivasa was studying Srimad-Bhagavatam with Advaita Acarya, who was at that time in Navadvipa. The home of Srivasa, Srivasa-angam, was a place where Sri Caitanya perform sankirtana-yajna, congregational chanting of Krsna’s Holy Names, and it was a place where the Kazi, a noted Muslim leader, ruled. 

However, the Kazi had a dream where Sri Caitanya said that he should allow devotional service, so since that time he promised that he would never oppose sankirtana-yajna, and also that no one from his family would ever be against Krsna. 

Srivasa Thakura had previously lived in Sri Hatta, but because he wanted the association of devotees he went to live on the banks of the Ganges in Navadvipa. Srivasa Thakura had three brothers: Sripati, Srirama and Srinidhi. He also had one son, but at a young age his son died.

In the house of Srivasa, Chaitanya showed His transcendental form to all His eternal associates. So Srivasa-angam is also a place from which the Krishna Consciousness movement around five hundred years ago was started.

Water is life. The shortage of water gravely endangers the ecology of our planet. To address this impending threat exacerbated by climate change, the need for adaptation strategies, innovative and sustainable water management solutions are paramount. Gokuldham, a unique and picturesque eco-village near Belgaum Karnataka, India, uses simple, effective and environmentally friendly methods of conserving
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Today is the of Sri Vakresvara Pandita, one of Lord Chaitanya’s most dear associates. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 10.17–20) states, “Vakresvara Pandita, the fifth branch of the [Caitanya] tree, was a very dear servant of Lord Caitanya’s. He could dance with constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally sang while Vakresvara Pandita danced, and thus Vakresvara Pandita fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke as follows. ‘O Candramukha! Please give me ten thousand Gandharvas. Let them sing as I dance, and then I will be greatly happy.’ Lord Caitanya replied, ‘I have only one wing like you, but if I had another, certainly I would fly in the sky!’ ”

In his purport to text 17, Srila Prabhupada writes, “In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (71) it is stated that Vakresvara Pandita was an incarnation of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple expansions of Visnu (Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna). He could dance wonderfully for seventy-two continuous hours. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu played in dramatic performances in the house of Srivasa Pandita, Vakresvara Pandita was one of the chief dancers, and he danced continuously for that length of time. Sri Govinda dasa, an Oriya devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has described the life of Vakresvara Pandita in his book Gaura-krsnodaya. There are many disciples of Vakresvara Pandita in Orissa, and they are known as Gaudiya Vaisnavas although they are Oriyas. Among these disciples are Sri Gopalaguru and his disciple Sri Dhyanacandra Gosvami.”

A contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu named Devananda Pandita had no faith in Mahaprabhu and thus avoided Him, but fortunately, Devananda Pandita developed great faith in Vakresvara Pandita and rendered service to him. And by Vakresvara Pandita’s mercy, Devananda Pandita developed faith in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and ultimately achieved His shelter.

Concerning this incident, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (Antya 3.485–487) confirms the efficacy of serving pure devotees and the results one attains by doing so: “The service of Vaishnavas is superior to the service of Krishna. All scriptures, headed by Srimad-Bhagavatam, confirm this. There may be a doubt whether the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will attain perfection, but there is absolutely no doubt that those who are attached to serving the Lord’s devotees will attain perfection. Therefore service to the Vaishnavas is the best means of deliverance.”

Hare Krishna.

Once in the house of Srivasa Thakura Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sang while Vakresvara Pandit danced in constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours. At that time Lord Caitanya said, “Vakresvara, I have only one wing like you, but if I had another certainly I could fly in the sky”.

Expert at singing and dancing, Vakresvara Pandit always pleased Lord Caitanya with his service in the Navadvipa sankirtana parties (which he joined from the beginning), the dramas at Srivas Angam, and the yearly Rathayatra at Jagannatha Puri.

By Vakresvara’s blessings Devananda Pandit was freed from the Vaisnava aparadha he committed against Srivasa Pandit. Then Sri Caitanya accepted Devananda Pandit as one of His “own devotees.”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu commented on this incident, “Krishna has made His home in the heart of Vakresvara Pandit. As Krishna dances in his heart, so Vakresvara Pandit himself dances. Whatever place Vakresvara Pandit blesses with his association becomes a holy place of pilgrimage more sacred than all the holy places.”

Vakresvara Pandit established Deities of Sri-Sri Radha-Kantha in Kashi Mishra’s house next to the Gambhira in Jagannatha Puri. Kavi Karnapura says Vakresvara Pandit is an incarnation of Aniruddha of catur-vyuha.

Vakresvara Pandit initiated Gopala Guru Goswami and many others in Orissa. Dhyan Candra, a disciple of Gopala Guru Goswami, says in his books that Vakresvara Pandit is an incarnation of Tungavidya-sakhi, an expert singer and dancer serving as one of Srimati Radharani’s asta-sakhis .

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) MCI Team (Marketing, Communications, and Innovation), under the leadership of Vaisesika Dasa, has announced the target for its 2026 Bhadra campaign as 100,008 sets of Srimad Bhagavatam distributed. The goal for the 2024 Bhadra campaign (September 17-18th, depending on the country location) is 68,000 sets, incrementally working to the 100,008 goal […]

The post BBT Sets Ambitious Target for 2026 Bhadra Campaign and Surges Towards 2024 Goal appeared first on ISKCON News.

In his book The Divine Love Memoir: How I Discovered the Most Secret of All Secrets, Sankarshan Das vividly recounts his spiritual journey from a young all-American boy to an insightful and questioning teen to a skillful song crafter and beyond. Sankarshan Das elucidates not just what he did and where he did it but […]

The post Sankarshan Das Shares the Beginnings of His Spiritual Journey in New Memoir appeared first on ISKCON News.

Giriraj Swami’s Talk at the Santa Barbara Ratha-yatra.

The Snana yatra bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannatha has become one of the most popular festivals on the Iskcon calendar over the years since His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada introduced it to the world outside of India.

Traditionally, this festival has been going on since the time of the carving of the ‘Dharu-brahman’ Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balarama, and Lady Subhadra in Sri Purushottama Kshetra (Jagannatha Puri) thousands of years ago, commemorating Their sacred appearance for Their devotees – primarily the saintly King Maharaj Indradyumna.


Many of you would know that after the bathing ceremony the Lordships catch a transcendental chill, are fed sweet foods and drinks to break Their fever, and then retire for Their ‘Anavasara kala’ – recuperation period. After a few weeks Their Lordships come out for the Rathayatra parade.

The Snana Yatra festival was observed in all our temples in Bali and I attended two of them.