Planet ISKCON

On the auspicious day of Jagannatha Ratha-yatra in Puri, two of Lord Chaitanya’s most confidential associates, Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Srila Sivananda Sena, left this world to return to the supreme abode.

The inner moods of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, especially in Puri, were not easy to understand, and they were unknown to most devotees. Only Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who was the most intimate associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri, could really understand them, and by his grace we have been given the chance to understand them, too.

svarupa-gosani-prabhura ati antaranga
tahate janena prabhura e-saba prasanga

“Svarupa Gosani is the most intimate associate of the Lord. He therefore knows all these topics well.” (Cc Adi 4.105)

In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada tells us about Svarupa Damodara’s historyand identity: “Prior to the Lord’s acceptance of the renounced order, Purusottama Bhattacarya, a resident of Navadvipa, desired to enter the renounced order of life. Therefore he left home and went to Benares, where he accepted the position of brahmacarya from a Mayavadi sannyasi. When he became a brahmacari, he was given the name Sri Damodara Svarupa. He left Benares shortly thereafter, without taking sannyasa, and he came to Nilacala, Jagannatha Puri, where Lord Caitanya was staying. He met Caitanya Mahaprabhu there and dedicated his life for the service of the Lord. He became Lord Caitanya’s secretary and constant companion. He used to enhance the pleasure potency of the Lord by singing appropriate songs, which were very much appreciated.”

In the context of Lord Chaitanya’s experience of the Ratha-yatra in Puri, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 13.168) confirms:

prabhura bhavanurupa svarupera gana
yabe yei rasa taha kare murtiman

“Svarupa Damodara used to sing exactly according to the ecstatic emotion of the Lord. Whenever a particular mellow was being tasted by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Svarupa Damodara would personify it by singing.”

Srila Prabhupada’s purport continues: “Svarupa Damodara could understand the secret mission of Lord Caitanya, and it was by his grace only that all the devotees of Lord Caitanya could know the real purpose of the Lord.

“Svarupa Damodara has been identified as Lalita-devi, the second expansion of Radharani. However, text 160 of Kavi-karnapura’s authoritative Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika describes Svarupa Damodara as the same Visakha-devi who serves the Lord in Goloka Vrndavana. Therefore it is to be understood that Sri Svarupa Damodara is a direct expansion of Radharani who helps the Lord experience the attitude of Radharani.”

Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami ki jaya!

Sivananda Sena is another confidential associate of the Lord who also assisted Him in His pastimes, especially at the time of the Puri Ratha-yatra. He is one of the important branches of the Chaitanya tree.

sivananda sena-prabhura bhrtya antaranga
prabhu-sthane yaite sabe layena yanra sanga

“Sivananda Sena, the twenty-fourth branch of the tree, was an extremely confidential servant of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Everyone who went to Jagannatha Puri to visit Lord Caitanya took shelter and guidance from Sri Sivananda Sena.

rativarse prabhu-gana sangete la-iya
nilacale calena pathe palana kariya

“Every year he took a party of devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri to visit Lord Caitanya. He maintained the entire party as they journeyed on the road.” (Cc Adi 10.54–55)

In a purport in the same part of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 10.60), which describes Sivananda Sena, Srila Prabhupada writes, “Srila Sivananda Sena has been described by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja as follows: ‘Sivananda Sena was a resident of Kumarahatta, which is also known as Halisahara, and was a great devotee of the Lord. About one and a half miles from Kumarahatta is another village, known as Kancadapada, in which there are Gaura-Gopala Deities installed by Sivananda Sena, who also established a temple of Krsnaraya that is still existing. Sivananda Sena was the father of Paramananda Sena, who was also known as Puri dasa or Kavi-karnapura. Paramananda Sena wrote in his Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (176) that two of the gopis of Vrndavana, whose former names were Vira and Duti, combined to become his father. Srila Sivananda Sena guided all the devotees of Lord Caitanya who went from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri, and he personally bore all the expenses for their journey. This is described in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter Sixteen, verses 19 through 27. Srila Sivananda Sena had three sons, named Caitanya dasa, Ramadasa, and Paramananda. As mentioned above, this last son later became Kavi-karnapura and wrote the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika. His spiritual master was Srinatha Pandita, who was Sivananda Sena’s priest. Due to Vasudeva Datta’s lavish spending, Sivananda Sena was engaged to supervise his expenditures.’

“Sri Sivananda Sena actually experienced Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s features of saksat, avesa, and avirbhava. He once took along a dog while on his way to Jagannatha Puri, and it is described in the Antya-lila, First Chapter, that this dog later attained salvation by his association. When Srila Raghunatha dasa, who later became Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, fled his paternal home to join Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, his father wrote a letter to Sivananda Sena to get information about him. Sivananda Sena supplied him the details for which he asked, and later Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s father sent some servants and money to Sivananda Sena to take care of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Once, Sri Sivananda Sena invited Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to his home and fed Him so sumptuously that the Lord felt indigestion and was somewhat sick. This became known to Sivananda Sena’s eldest son, Caitanya dasa, who gave the Lord the kinds of food that would help His digestion, and thus Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very pleased. This is described in Antya-lila, Tenth Chapter, verses 142 through 151.

“Once, while going to Jagannatha Puri, all the devotees had to stay underneath a tree, without the shelter of a house or even a shed, and Nityananda Prabhu became very angry, as if He were greatly disturbed by hunger. Thus He cursed Sivananda’s sons to die. Sivananda’s wife was very much aggrieved at this, and she began to cry. She very seriously thought that since her sons had been cursed by Nityananda Prabhu, certainly they would die. When Sivananda later returned and saw his wife crying, he said, ‘Why are you crying? Let us all die if Sri Nityananda Prabhu desires.’ When Sivananda Sena returned and Srila Nityananda Prabhu saw him, the Lord kicked him severely, complaining that He was very hungry, and asked why he had not arranged for His food. Such is the behavior of the Lord with His devotees. Srila Nityananda Prabhu behaved like an ordinary hungry man, as if completely dependent on the arrangements of Sivananda Sena.

“A nephew of Sivananda Sena’s named Srikanta left the company in protest of Nityananda Prabhu’s curse and went directly to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Jagannatha Puri, where the Lord pacified him. On that occasion, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu allowed His toe to be sucked by Puri dasa, who was then a child. It is by the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that he could immediately compose Sanskrit verses. During the misunderstanding with Sivananda’s family, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered His personal attendant, Govinda, to give them all the remnants of His food. This is described in Antya-lila, Chapter Twelve, verse 53.”

As Svarupa Damodara Gosvami is considered to be the incarnation of Lalita-devi, the direct expansion of Srimati Radharani and one of Her most confidential gopi friends, Sivananda Sena is considered to be the incarnation of two gopis of Vrindavan in krsna-lila. In Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes, Sivananda Sena played the part of a householder. He was very concerned for the welfare of all the devotees, and every year he would make the arrangements for the devotees to travel from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri during the rainy season to meet Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He took care of them in every respect. He would arrange for their transportation, accommodations, and prasada. Although they mainly walked, when they came to rivers that they had to cross by boat, he would pay the tolls and taxes. From his example we can understand the importance of service to the Vaishnavas. Sivananda Sena pleased Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the greatest extent just by being a humble servant of the Vaishnavas—not only by being a humble servant, but by being expert in his service of taking care of them and pleasing them.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter One begins by describing how all the devotees departed together for Jagannatha Puri. They assembled in Navadvipa, offered respects to Sachimata, and then prepared to leave.

TEXT 16

sivananda kare sabara ghati samadhana
sabare palana kare, deya vasa-sthana

TRANSLATION

Sivananda Sena arranged for the journey. He maintained everyone and provided residential quarters.

TEXT 17

eka kukkura cale sivananda-sane
bhaksya diya lana cale kariya palane

TRANSLATION

While going to Jagannatha Puri, Sivananda Sena allowed a dog to go with him. He supplied it food to eat and maintained it.

TEXT 18

eka-dina eka-sthane nadi para haite
udiya navika kukkura na cadaya naukate

TRANSLATION

One day, when they needed to cross a river, an Orissan boatman would not allow the dog to get in the boat.

TEXT 19

kukkura rahila,-sivananda duhkhi haila
dasa pana kadi diya kukkure para kaila

TRANSLATION

Sivananda Sena, unhappy that the dog had to stay behind, paid the boatman ten pana of conch shells to take the dog across the river.

PURPORT

One pana is eighty kadis, or small conch shells. Formerly, even fifty or sixty years ago, there was no paper currency in India. Coins were generally made not of base metal but of gold, silver, and copper. In other words, the medium of exchange was really something valuable. Four pieces of kadi made one ganda, and twenty such gandas equaled one pana. This kadi was also used as a medium of exchange; therefore Sivananda Sena paid for the dog with dasa pana, or eighty times ten pieces of kadi. In those days one paisa was also subdivided into small conch shells, but at the present moment the prices for commodities have gone so high that there is nothing one can get in exchange for only one paisa. With one paisa in those days, however, one could purchase sufficient vegetables to provide for a whole family. Even thirty years ago, vegetables were occasionally so inexpensive that one paisa’s worth could provide for a whole family for a day.

TEXT 20

eka-dina sivanande ghatiyale rakhila
kukkurake bhata dite sevaka pasarila

TRANSLATION

One day while Sivananda was detained by a tollman, his servant forgot to give the dog its cooked rice.

TEXT 21

ratre asi’ sivananda bhojanera kale
“kukkura panache bhata?”—sevake puchile

TRANSLATION

At night, when Sivananda Sena returned and was taking his meal, he inquired from the servant whether the dog had gotten its meals.

TEXT 22

kukkura nahi paya bhata suni’ duhkhi haila
kukkura cahite dasa-manusya pathaila

TRANSLATION

When he learned that the dog had not been supplied food in his absence, he was very unhappy. He then immediately sent ten men to find the dog.

TEXT 23

cahiya na paila kukkura, loka saba aila
duhkhi hana sivananda upavasa kaila

TRANSLATION

When the men returned without success, Sivananda Sena became very unhappy and fasted for the night.

TEXT 24

prabhate kukkura cahi’ kanha na paila
sakala vaisnavera mane camatkara haila

TRANSLATION

In the morning they looked for the dog, but it could not be found anywhere. All the Vaisnavas were astonished.

PURPORT

Sivananda Sena’s attachment to the dog was a great boon for that animal. The dog appears to have been a street dog. Since it naturally began to follow Sivananda Sena while he was going to Jagannatha Puri with his party, he accepted it into his party and maintained it the same way he was maintaining the other devotees. It appears that although on one occasion the dog was not allowed aboard a boat, Sivananda did not leave the dog behind but paid more money just to induce the boatman to take the dog across the river. Then when the servant forgot to feed the dog and the dog disappeared, Sivananda, being very anxious, sent ten men to find it. When they could not find it, Sivananda observed a fast. Thus it appears that somehow or other Sivananda had become attached to the dog.

COMMENT

We find in the case of Raghunatha Bhatta that Lord Chaitanya instructed him to serve his parents in Varanasi until they passed away, and then to join Him at Jagannatha Puri. In the purport Srila Prabhupada remarks that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would never have advised Raghunatha Bhatta to serve ordinary parents, but because they were devotees, the Lord instructed him to serve them.

In this case, Sivananda Sena extended his mercy even to a dog, just because it had followed the devotees. By the mercy of a Vaishnava, even a dog can be elevated and ultimately delivered.

PURPORT (concluded)

As will be evident from the following verses, the dog got the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and was immediately promoted to Vaikuntha to become an eternal devotee. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has therefore sung, tumi ta’ thakura, tomara kukkura, baliya janaha more (Saranagati 19). He thus offers to become the dog of a Vaisnava. There are many other instances in which the pet animal of a Vaisnava was delivered back home to Vaikunthaloka, back to Godhead. Such is the benefit of somehow or other becoming the favorite of a Vaisnava. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has also sung, kita-janma ha-u yatha tuya dasa (Saranagati 11). There is no harm in taking birth again and again. Our only desire should be to take birth under the care of a Vaisnava. Fortunately we had the opportunity to be born of a Vaisnava father who took care of us very nicely. He prayed to Srimati Radharani that in the future we would become a servant of the eternal consort of Sri Krsna. Thus somehow or other we are now engaged in that service. We may conclude that even as dogs we must take shelter of a Vaisnava. The benefit will be the same as that which accrues to an advanced devotee under a Vaisnava’s care.

COMMENT

Anyone in any condition of life who takes shelter of a Vaishnava can be purified and attain the highest destination. Sometimes people find fault with some of the devotees of Srila Prabhupada because of their birth, and they even suggest that because of their birth they cannot become pure devotees. But here we see that even a dog who takes shelter of a Vaishnava like Sivananda Sena can be purified and delivered, so why not living entities in various human bodies who take shelter of such an empowered Vaishnava as Srila Prabhupada? Why can’t they be purified, delivered?

TEXT 25

utkanthaya cali’ sabe aila nilacale
purvavat mahaprabhu milila sakale

TRANSLATION

Thus in great anxiety they all walked to Jagannatha Puri, where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu met them as usual.

TEXT 26

saba lana kaila jagannatha darasana
saba lana mahaprabhu karena bhojana

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went with them to see the Lord in the temple, and on that day He also took lunch in the company of all those devotees.

TEXT 27

purvavat sabare prabhu pathaila vasa-sthane
prabhu-thani pratah-kale aila ara dine

TRANSLATION

As previously, the Lord provided them all with residential quarters. And the next morning all the devotees came to see the Lord.

TEXT 28

asiya dekhila sabe sei ta kukkure
prabhu-pase vasiyache kichu alpa-dure

TRANSLATION

When all the devotees came to the place of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they saw the same dog sitting a little apart from the Lord.

COMMENT

The dog had disappeared, so the devotees were astonished to see the very same dog in the presence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 29

prasada narikela-sasya dena phelana
“rama” “krsna” “hari” kaha”—balena hasiya

TRANSLATION

Furthermore, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was throwing remnants of green coconut pulp to the dog. Smiling in His own way, He was saying to the dog, “Chant the holy names ‘Rama,’ ‘Krsna,’ and ‘Hari.’ ”

TEXT 30

sasya khaya kukkura, ‘krsna’ kahe bara bara
dekhiya lokera mane haila camatkara

TRANSLATION

Seeing the dog eating the green coconut pulp and chanting “Krsna, Krsna” again and again, all the devotees present were very surprised.

TEXT 31

sivananda kukkura dekhi’ dandavat kaila
dainya kari’ nija aparadha ksamaila

TRANSLATION

When he saw the dog sitting in that way and chanting the name of Krsna, Sivananda, because of his natural humility, immediately offered his obeisances to the dog just to counteract his offenses to it.

COMMENT

This is the humility of a Vaishnava. He saw that the dog had received the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he, Sivananda Sena, felt guilty because he had not served the dog properly. So to get relief from his feeling of offense, he offered obeisances.

TEXT 32

ara dina keha tara dekha na paila
siddha-deha pana kukkura vaikunthete gela

TRANSLATION

The next day, no one saw that dog, for it had obtained its spiritual body and departed for Vaikuntha, the spiritual kingdom.

PURPORT

This is the result of sadhu-sanga—consequent association with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and promotion back home, back to Godhead. This result is possible even for a dog, by the mercy of the Vaisnava. Therefore, everyone in the human form of life should be induced to associate with devotees.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada says that the effect of associating with a Vaishnava is that one gets the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and goes back home, back to Godhead. Devotees in ISKCON are getting the association of a Vaishnava—of an empowered Vaishnava such as Srila Prabhupada—by hearing from him through his books and by serving him through his mission and devoted servants. And the result will be that they will get the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and be promoted back home, back to Godhead.

PURPORT (continued)

By rendering a little service, even by eating prasada, not to speak of chanting and dancing, everyone could be promoted to Vaikunthaloka. It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community become pure Vaisnavas . . .

COMMENT

Did you hear? “It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community”—not just in the temple but in the ISKCON community.

PURPORT (concluded)

It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community become pure Vaisnavas, so that by their mercy all the people of the world will be transferred to Vaikunthaloka, even without their knowledge. Everyone should be given a chance to take prasada and thus be induced to chant the holy names Hare Krsna and also dance in ecstasy. By these three processes, although performed without knowledge or education, even an animal went back to Godhead.

Devotee: Even without their knowledge?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Srila Prabhupada often said that Krishna consciousness consists of four elements—chanting, dancing, feasting, and philosophy. But here in the purport Srila Prabhupada says that just by chanting, dancing, and taking prasada, one can go back to Godhead—in other words, even without being educated in the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Of course, one has to be fortunate enough to be spontaneously attracted to chanting, dancing, and taking prasada in order to continue the process without knowledge of the benefits. Generally, because of material contamination, conditioned souls are not so attracted to chanting, dancing, and taking prasada. They are more attracted to material enjoyment and sinful activities. Therefore we preach the message of the Bhagavad-gita, the message of Lord Chaitanya, to convince them of the value of Krishna consciousness, the value of austerity, the value of chanting, so that they will do it even if they do not feel like it. But if someone is prepared to chant and dance and take prasada and refrain from sinful activities, then even without knowledge of the science, just by the potency of the process, he can be delivered. But actually, we do need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. We do need to attend Srimad-Bhagavatam class to remind ourselves of the importance of Krishna consciousness and the necessity of pure habits. Otherwise, we can very easily degenerate into animal life.

Sometimes in India we would go to a new place and some gentleman would become very enthusiastic about the devotees. He would receive the devotees, host them, and serve them day and night. He would arrange programs for them and invite people to meet them. He would take them to meet other gentlemen, and in general he would seem more enthusiastic than even the devotees themselves. Similarly, sometimes in South Africa we would do hari-nama–sankirtana in the townships and homelands and the Africans would seem more eager to chant and dance than the devotees in the party. We would become tired and want to return to the temple, but they would want to continue chanting and dancing.

Srila Prabhupada has explained that someone may spontaneously become attracted to chanting and dancing or to serving the devotees who are spreading Krishna consciousness. Citing the example of some of our hosts in India, Srila Prabhupada said that as karma-yogis working for the sake of Krishna with great enthusiasm, they were actually acting on a more advanced level than the devotees following vaidhi-bhakti without much taste or enthusiasm. But Srila Prabhupada said that the difficulty with such spontaneous service is that the service may end. After some time, these people may lose interest and start thinking of their wives and children and businesses. The enthusiasm they initially exhibited may wane and even disappear, whereas even if the devotees do not have so much taste or enthusiasm, if they follow the rules and regulations as a matter of duty, in pursuance of the orders of the spiritual master and the scriptures, they will continue to make progress gradually and eventually come to spontaneous devotional service—the purest love of Godhead.

So, every year, Sivananda Sena would lead the devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri for Ratha-yatra, and it was a major effort. The party, which numbered two or three hundred, went by foot, and he arranged prasada and accommodations for them, and sometimes boats to take them across rivers. One day, when the party was being checked by a toll collector, the other devotees went ahead while Sivananda Sena remained behind to pay the taxes. Because no one else could arrange for their accommodations, the devotees waited beneath a tree. Meanwhile, Nityananda Prabhu, who was with the party that year, became very hungry and upset. And when Sivananda finally arrived, Nityananda stood up and kicked him severely. Of course, Sivananda accepted the kicking as the greatest blessing. After bringing Nityananda Prabhu to His residence, he told Him, “The dust of Your lotus feet is not attainable even by Lord Brahma, yet Your lotus feet have touched my wretched body. Today my birth, my family, and my activities have all become successful.” We read in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Twelve:

TEXT 26

carane dhariya prabhure vasaya lana gela
vasa diya hrsta hana kahite lagila

TRANSLATION

Sivananda Sena touched the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu and led Him to His residence. After giving the Lord His quarters, Sivananda Sena, being very pleased, spoke as follows.

TEXT 27

“aji more bhrtya kari’ angikara kaila
yemana aparadha bhrtyera, yogya phala dila

TRANSLATION

“Today You have accepted me as Your servant and have properly punished me for my offense.

TEXT 28

“‘sasti’-chale krpa kara,—e tomara ‘karuna’
trijagate tomara caritra bujhe kon jana?

TRANSLATION

“My dear Lord, Your chastising me is Your causeless mercy. Who within the three worlds can understand Your real character?

TEXT 29

“brahmara durlabha tomara sri-carana-renu
hena carana-sparsa paila mora adhama tanu

TRANSLATION

“The dust of Your lotus feet is not attainable even by Lord Brahma, yet Your lotus feet have touched my wretched body.

TEXT 30

“aji mora saphala haila janma, kula, karma
aji painu krsna-bhakti, artha, kama, dharma”

TRANSLATION

“Today my birth, my family, and my activities have all become successful. Today I have achieved the fulfillment of religious principles, economic development, satisfaction of the senses and ultimately devotional service to Lord Krsna.”

TEXT 31

suni’ nityananda-prabhura anandita mana
uthi’ sivanande kaila prema-alingana

TRANSLATION

When Lord Nityananda heard this, He was very happy. He rose and embraced Sivananda Sena in great love.

TEXT 32

anandita sivananda kare samadhana
acaryadi-vaisnavere dila vasa-sthana

TRANSLATION

Being very much pleased by Nityananda Prabhu’s behavior, Sivananda Sena began to arrange residential quarters for all the Vaisnavas, headed by Advaita Acarya.

TEXT 33

nityananda-prabhura saba caritra—‘viparita’
kruddha hana lathi mari’ kare tara hita

TRANSLATION

One of Sri Nityananda Prabhu’s characteristics is His contradictory nature. When He becomes angry and kicks someone, it is actually for his benefit.

COMMENT

Sivananda Sena, a pure devotee, understood that Nityananda Prabhu’s kick was for his benefit, but Srikanta, Sivananda’s nephew, who was only a boy, felt offended and left the group. He traveled to Jagannatha Puri on his own to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When Srikanta reached Mahaprabhu’s residence, Lord Chaitanya’s servant told him to remove his coat and shirt, because the rule is that when one comes before the Deity one must remove such garments. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Don’t disturb him. He has come in a distressed state of mind. Let him do as he pleases.” Lord Chaitanya considered the person’s emotional state, the person’s psychology. And when Srikanta heard the Lord say “He is distressed,” he understood that the Lord was omniscient. So when Lord Chaitanya asked him about all the Vaishnavas, the boy did not mention the incident of Lord Nityananda kicking Sivananda Sena.

In the meantime, Sivananda Sena and all the Vaishnavas arrived, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu bestowed extraordinary mercy upon him and his family.

TEXT 44

sivananda tina-putre gosanire milaila
sivananda-sambandhe sabaya bahu-krpa kaila

 TRANSLATION

Sivananda Sena introduced his three sons to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Because they were his sons, the Lord showed the boys great mercy.

TEXT 45

chota-putre dekhi’ prabhu nama puchila
‘paramananda-dasa’-nama sena janaila

TRANSLATION

Lord Caitanya asked the youngest son’s name, and Sivananda Sena informed the Lord that his name was Paramananda dasa.

TEXTS 46–47

purve yabe sivananda prabhu-sthane aila
tabe mahaprabhu tanre kahite lagila

 “e-bara tomara yei ha-ibe kumara
‘puri-dasa’ bali’ nama dhariha tahara”

TRANSLATION

Once before when Sivananda Sena had visited Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at His residence, the Lord had told him, “When this son is born, give him the name Puri dasa.”

TEXT 48

tabe mayera garbhe haya sei ta’ kumara
sivananda ghare gele, janma haila tara

TRANSLATION

The son was in the womb of Sivananda’s wife, and when Sivananda returned home the son was born.

TEXT 49

prabhu-ajnaya dharila nama-‘paramananda-dasa’
‘puri-dasa’ kari’ prabhu karena upahasa

TRANSLATION

The child was named Paramananda dasa in accordance with the Lord’s order, and the Lord jokingly called him Puri dasa.

TEXT 50

sivananda yabe sei balake milaila
mahaprabhu padangustha tara mukhe dila

TRANSLATION

When Sivananda Sena introduced the child to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord put His toe in the child’s mouth.

PURPORT

In this connection one may refer to Antya-lila, Chapter Sixteen, verses 65–75, for information about the later manifestations of the Lord’s mercy on Puri dasa.

TEXT 51

sivanandera bhagya-sindhu ke paibe para?
yanra saba gosthike prabhu kahe ‘apanara’

TRANSLATION

No one can cross over the ocean of Sivananda Sena’s good fortune, for the Lord considered Sivananda’s whole family His own.

COMMENT

From the example of Sivananda Sena, we can see how much mercy one can receive from the Lord by serving the Lord’s devotees. And we can also see how much mercy one can receive from the Lord if one comes under the care of the Lord’s devotee—even if one is a child or a dog.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sivananda Sena’s and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami’s disappearance day, June 25, 1998, Los Angeles]

 

“What are the characteristics of Śrī Jagannātha, Śrī Baladev, and Śrī Subhadra? Jagannāthaa, the emblem of God, has no other form than eyes and hands, which show that God sees, knows, and creates. Balarām is the source of jīva-śakti, Subhadra is māyā-śakti, and Sudarśana is the energy of will”. (Pg. 128, Śrī Bhaktivinoda Vāṇī Vaibhava) […]

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, India]

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Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12 during a Skype call with disciples in Mumbai.

“Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuntha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuntha competition. There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuntha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability.” SB 7.5.12 purport

Skype call with disciples in Mumbai

Escondido Farm Gig June 26, 2019

After 15 days of transcendental sickness, today Lord Jagannath blessed us with His Divine Nava yauvana Darshan! Earlier in the morning, devotees enthusiastically engaged in cleaning Gundicha temple- the entire premises of Jagannath Mandir, after which they are blessed with Sri Jagannath’s Nava yauvana darshan and Mahaprasad!

The post Lord Jagannath’s Nava Yauvana Darshan! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Searching for Internal Spiritual Connection (Album of photos)
Krishna Premarupa Dasa: It’s five o’clock in the morning and the church bell rings. The monks, headed by their abbot, enter the church from a side entrance and then, after showing their respects to God by kneeling down, they take their seats in front of the altar. Beautiful, mystical singing and glorification of God fill the hall. I feel at home, after all, at least in this lifetime, Christianity is my religious background and I still feel a connection to its tradition, especially in the association of sincere seekers of the truth.

“Krishna Forgives Us Life After Life” (4 min. video)
Mahatma Das: Krishna is constantly with us life after life, ready to forgive us for all our past sins and accept us. Isn’t it then strange that in spite of receiving his unlimited forgiveness, we are unwilling to forgive a person who hurt us?

Harinama in Kaduna, Nigeria (Album of photos)
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-western Nigeria.
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Krishna stresses the importance of remembering Him. One‘s memory of Krishna is revived by chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-Gita 8.8 Purport

Iskcon New Govardhana, Australia. The farm, the cows, the gardens - 02 July 2019 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Both for...

Govinda’s Ashrama Kirtan (Album of photos)
Ramai Swami: On another recent visit to Sydney, I led a couple of kirtan nights at Govinda’s Ashrama. As usual, there was a great crowd and everyone was enthusiastic in the chanting.
At the end everyone mingled and relaxed and, of course, there was great prasadam, which was cooked by a few devotees at Govinda’s Restaurant.

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The post Bhagavatam tenth canto study 75 – 10.13.39-49 – The content of metaphors may be opposing, but their intent is concurring appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By David Crick

On Saturday 29th June 2019 a charity walk was performed to raise funds for a new electric free food distribution van for the London Food For Life project. Starting and ending at the present ISKCON-London temple on Soho Street the planned 10 mile route took in traditional London landmarks as well as places associated with the early days of ISKCON in the UK. Sites visited included 22 Betterton Street, where the original devotees first established themselves; 182 Drury Lane, home of the former Arts Lab where the devotees performed; 7 Bury Place, the location of the original Radha Krishna Temple in London and where Sri-Sri Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra were carved and Sri-Sri Radha-Londonisvara installed; Russel Square Gardens and Conway Hall, where Srila Prabhupada went on walks and gave talks; and Trafalgar Square, where the London Ratha Yatra recently celebrated its 51st annual festival. Continue reading "Walk Against Hunger visits historic ISKCON UK locations
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This is the first of many tilak signs that will be embedded onto the main dome.

It stands at about 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and you can see the immense size by comparing it to the workers in the photos. We are very pleased with this temple embellishment and it will add another pleasing element to the temple.

The post First Tilak Sign Mounted appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

By Gauranga Darshan Das

Why should one surrender to someone? Can’t one be independent? It’s within everyone’s experience that there are problems in this world. One tries to solve them by one’s own efforts, and to some extent, one becomes successful too. However, material solutions are temporary. Because the problems arise again and again. To permanently solve them, one needs help from superior powers. So, like Gajendra, one should surrender to God (madrk prapanna). This proposal, or rather this conclusion of all scriptures, doesn’t seem palatable to an average human engrossed in material pursuits. Many people do not even believe or realize that they are unnecessarily undergoing material difficulties! Such people may understand the following Continue reading "Who Is Worthy of Giving Shelter?
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On another recent visit to Sydney, I led a couple of kirtan nights at Govinda’s Ashrama. As usual, there was a great crowd and everyone was enthusiastic in the chanting.

At the end everyone mingled and relaxed and, of course, there was great prasadam, which was cooked by a few devotees at Govinda’s Restaurant.

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The post What is the easiest way to control our emotions? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

“So there is a disciplic succession, and the ācāryas, they’re authorities. Our process of knowledge is very simple: we take it from the authority. We don’t speculate. Speculation will not help us to come to the real knowledge.” (Srila Prabhupada’s lecture given on Sept. 3, 1971 in London) It is the 19th century, the British have […]

The post Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura – The Saviour of the Disciplic Succession appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Purushottama Deva was an emperor of Orissa who ruled from 1467 to 1497 C.E. He was the second ruler of Gajapati Dynasty and was known for his military prowess. Once during his South India tour he went to the kingdom of Kanchi where he met the princess of Kanchi, Padmavati. Her beauty and simplicity won his heart and when the king of Kanchi put a proposal to Purushottam Deva to marry his daughter then Purushottam Deva immediately agreed.

What about some Indian Spicy Tomato Rice (7 min. video)
Internationally renowned vegetarian chef Kurma das prepares South Indian Spicy Tomato Rice in this entertaining and informative how-to sequence from his hit television series Cooking With Kurma - Great Vegetarian Dishes of the World
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 25 June 2019, New York, United States of America, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.20)

Just like Srila Prahbupada comments on the verse.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

In every town and village my name will be heard and sung. It will be chanted. Prabhupada said, “So that means that there will be devotees everywhere.” In other words, the holy name will find the devotees and the devotees will automatically start to take up devotional service. They are like dry grass until they are touched by this transcendental mercy. Oh yes, it is like an immediate recognition. The people will start to realise, “Yes, finally I am alive. All of this time I was just sort of walking through this world estranged and not finding my roots. But now suddenly phew, I’ve got it!” There is a recognition. The devotee, he immediately recognises it.

Of course, in the ultimate sense, all living beings are devotees. In the ultimate sense, nobody is a demon. And of course this movement is founded on that principle as Prabhupada said, “We are turning crows into swans.” This is because many of us grew up like little demons, who lived with demon families and were eating demoniac things, thinking demoniac thoughts and looking at demoniac things and so on. But with the holy name entering our lives, a transformation has taken place!

The article " Turning crows into swans " was published on KKSBlog.

The Ox Training Seminar at New Vraja Dhama, Hungary held April 17-24, involved training oxen by voice commands. Before the seminar, there were a few young oxen who were in the early stages of being trained by voice commands at New Vraja Dhama. Shiva was one of those oxen, and Balabhadra (William E. Dove) showed how to train Shiva to stop and stand. Then seminar attendees took Shiva for a walk to practice Shiva's stopping and standing.

San Antonio (Texas) Mayor endorses 2nd Annual Festival of Chariots (2 min. video)
Mayor Ron Nirenberg invites SATX locals to t...

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[Talk at Perth, Australia]

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[Bhagavatam class on 4.12.24 at ISKCON, Perth, Australia]
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[Bhagavatam class on 4.12.12 at ISKCON, Perth, Australia]
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The post Going back to godhead 1 – Three ways to cultivate spiritual desire – RAP acronym appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post The significance of Baladeva Vidyabhushana’s Govinda Bhaiya – History, Strategy and Legacy appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Hilarious Rathayatra invitation in Spiritually Diverse Ojai (California)!
Diverse Ojai Valley: Ojai is a town with a very diverse spiritual venue. You can find whatever one wants here: atheism, experimentism (science), agnosticism, and a smorgasbord of every flavor of theology one could ask for: Naturalist, intellectualist, sentimentalist, physicist, socialist, neo-advaitist, voidist, impersonalist, partyist, etc. We got tree huggers, star gazers, moon blessers, psychics, hope chasers, light mergers, pot smokers, bliss babies, chakra healers, gong bangers, harmonic balancers, celebrity yogis, candle watchers, kite flyers, evangelists, street painters, noise fighters, bird savers, animal patters and so on. This is pretty typical in a world which now offers more varieties of yoga than Veda Vyasa could have ever imagined! (Gun yoga, chocolate yoga, dog yoga, bootie yoga, laughing yoga, wine yoga etc.)
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Today is the disappearance day of Sri Gadadhara Pandit, one of the five members of Sri Panca tattva.Glories & pastimes of Sri Gadadhara Pandita to meditate upon this special day! In this material world, relationships are short-lived. Growing up many people have said to each other that they will remain together forever, but due to […]

The post Gadai-Gauranga! the Lord Gauranga of Gadai Pandita appeared first on Mayapur.com.

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. So 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 were sometimes bewildered about how it would be fulfilled. Some of them even thought the prediction was metaphoric or abstract. But Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had faith in the order and 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 too never left India, passed on the same desire to his disciples. In particular, he gave the order to Srila Prabhupada to preach Krishna consciousness in the English language, which even then was the universal language in the West, 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 Sachinandana” 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, mrdangas, and karatalas and raise kirtana through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the fair-skinned men from their side, chanting, ‘Jaya Sachinandana ki jaya,’ will extend their arms and, embracing devotees of our country coming from our side, and 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 used to chant on the 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 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 Caitanya.” (Sri Navadvipa-Mahatmya, Parikrama Khanda, Ch. 4)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is also the one who 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 conceived of the basic design 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 then suggested that we not build the temple in Mayapur, and he 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 then 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 declared, “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”

Devotees: Haribol!

Giriraj Swami: Jaya! So that is Srila Prabhupada’s and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s desire—both of their desires—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 have spouses, children, work, and homes. 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 has set a great example for us all. Although he had so many responsibilities—as a magistrate, as superintendent of the Jagannatha Temple, as a husband, as 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 books. He wrote about 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 overturned and appealed. 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 is Sri Harinama-cintamani. Its subject, as the title suggests, is 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 ourselves 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. So in Harinama-cintamani, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses each of the offenses, one by one, in depth and in detail. First he defines and describes what constitutes each offense; then, once we know what each offense is, he explains how to avoid it; and then he discusses how, if somehow we have fallen into the offense, we can 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. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura deals with the offense of sadhu-ninda in the same way as he deals with all the offenses—describing the offense and then explaining how to avoid it or become free from it. Ninda means to criticize or 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 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 one is lacking in the other qualifications, if one has the single qualification of having taken exclusive shelter of Krishna, he or she is considered a sadhu. On the other hand, if one has the other qualifications but lacks the one qualification of complete surrender to Krishna, the other qualities have no particular value.

Now that we know who a sadhu is, we can avoid criticizing or blaspheming him or her. Still, 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. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that this is not ground for criticizing a sadhu. If someone 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, and he would criticize 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 Janmastami 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 His Divine Grace 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.” 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 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, thinking 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. Basically, Srila Prabhupada began to criticize the person and point out the defects in his philosophy and his procedures. Dr. Patel became incensed—very offended and agitated. 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. They said, “Swamiji is an old man; 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, however, for the first time, Dr. Patel avoided the morning walk 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 Prabhupada replied, “Our business is to point out who is not a saint.”

So that is the mood of the preacher. If the preacher criticizes nondevotees who may be revered as saints, 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.

Then Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “All right, if one has committed the offense, then what does one do? 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 reoccurring diseases. He suffered from rheumatic fever, and he was born in a town that was wiped out by a plague—including his entire family. He went through a lot of traumas in his life, 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 yogi 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 in Vrindavan—but 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.

Also, Bhaktivinoda Thakura attained a very important 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. So 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 for a position. 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.

So, 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]

By Giriraj Swami

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 were sometimes bewildered about how it would be fulfilled. Some of them even thought the prediction was metaphoric or abstract. But Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had faith in the order and 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. Continue reading "Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Disappearance Day
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Tulsi Gabbard: Namaste, Aloha and best wishes to you all! When I saw your conference theme “Love of Neighbor in the Catholic and Hindu Traditions, I smiled, because it reminded me of my upbringing as a child. For those of you who don’t know, I was raised by a Catholic father, and a Vaishnava Hindu mother. So as a family, we studied the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible, side by side.

If we truly want to “love our neighbor” and solve the problems of nationalism, war, and poverty, it’s going to take each of us cultivating our love for God and others, which means surrendering our minds, our hearts, and our love to the transcendental teachings of Lord Jesus Christ and Sri Krishna.

A wonderful Snana Yatra at Iskcon Leicester, UK (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described as ma...

Up And Running (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Our 30th annual summer festival tour along the Baltic Sea in Poland is up and running. We held yesterday’s program in a heatwave that has affected all of Europe. Despite the high temperatures [ 101 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius ] a good crowd attended. ‘Rain or Shine’ the show always goes on! [ All photos by Kartamashi dasa ]