Planet ISKCON

Sri Gadadhara Pandit reading from Bhagavatam

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

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

From his early childhood, Gadadhara was very serene, patient, calm, quiet, fond of solitude and very renounced. 

Later on, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu moved to Jagannatha Puri, Gadadhara accompanied some devotees from Navadwip to visit Him. 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 topics of Krishna, Nimai decided to bestow his special grace on Gadadhara. He told Gadadhara to dig in a particular spot. After digging for some time, 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. 

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

The material world is an overrated, disappointing place where anything bad can happen .You may hope for the best , but expect the worst And the worst is always worst than you expect.

Where as Srila Prabhupada gave us the Spiritual World, Krishna Consciousness. Where we are never the looser, and we are always in bliss connected to the Supreme, ( terms and conditions apply, always read the small print……).

Even a devotee, or especially a devotee may face challenges, some serious pot holes on the Royal road. It is the association of devotees that is our saving grace, sadhu sanga. Krishna is know as Bhakta Vatsala , for Krishna the devotees are very precious. Thus hats off to the devotees around the world who care for elderly and dying devotees.

It is very easy to loose your health, can’t pay the rent and end up on the streets homeless, and alone. We all know some devotee who had fallen into this situation. Even Srila Prabhupada had a son who became homeless, living on the streets. He would sometimes ask his disciples from Calcutta if they had seen him, Prayag.

Here is a link to a TV show, that I helped put together, about a young billionaire boy who takes a challenge of being homeless on the streets and pulling himself out of the gutter.

Two links here to the same movie

https://we.tl/t-4AMb7wtHGU
This link ,you download, then goes on to a test screen for 20 seconds then bingo. 

Or
https://www.my5.tv/rich-kids-go-homeless/season-1/episode-2-2-2-2-2
This link you press then you down load an app

He fails badly to get his life together but there is a happy ending. He eats Krishna Prasad and in the end, the conclusion, the Vedanta, he declares to the world that he will donate funds to the “Hare Krishna Kitchen “,  hip hip hooray!

Your servant 

Parasuram das 

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So this Narayani is the mother of Vrindavan das Thakur. It is said that Srivas Thakurs elder brother Sri Nalina Pandit. And his wife gave birth to Narayani. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu would regularly give her the remnants of His food. Sometimes, Lord Caitanya would personally with His own hand feeds this little girl the food that he had eaten. And therefore, a little Narayani became famous throughout the entire Vaishnava society as she who receives the remnants of Lord Caitanya. When she was young, she was married to a great brahmin who came from Srihatta or Silet, his name was Vaikunthanath. She became pregnant. While she was carrying her child, her husband passed away. She was a widow. And the child was born. That illustrious child is Vrindavan das Thakur. Some say he was born in Mamgachi. Some say he was born in Kumar Hatta. Narayani, who was only about fifteen-year-old at the time, she was a young girl and a widow. But in Mamgachi she was given shelter by most compassionate devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Vasudev Datta. She would take care of Vasudev Datta’s, help him with his deity worship and performed so many nice chores for him. And Vasudev Datta protected and cared for Narayani and especially helped to raised little Vrindavan das.
So Vrindavan das Thakur was in that environment of Srivas Thakur, of Vasudev Datta and all the Vaishnavas. This was the association he was raised in. And it is said that he was the last disciple, was initiated by Nityananda Prabhu. Personal associate of Nityananda Prabhu. And Lord Nityananda prabhu ordered his disciple Vrindavan das Thakur to write the life story of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, he took that order as his very life and soul. According to historians, Vaishnavas, Vrindavan das Thakur took birth, I believe it was about four years after Lord Caitanya had already taken Sanyas. And as a young man taking the order of Lord Nityananda prabhu on his head, he went to a place called Dhenur. Dhenur is not very far from Katwa, where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took Sanyas and there he made his Bhajan kutir, his home. And it was there in Dhenur that Vrindavan das Thakur wrote Sri Caitanya Bhagavat.
Watch it here: https://is.gd/O2EvvP

Today is Srila Vrindavan dasa Thakura’s appearance day. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 11.55) states, “Srila Vyasadeva described the pastimes of Krsna in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Vyasa of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Vrndavana dasa.” In his purport, Srila Prabhupada elaborates, “Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura was an incarnation of Vedavyasa and also a friendly cowherd boy named Kusumapida in krsna-lila. In other words, the author of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura, the son of Srivasa Thakura’s niece Narayani, was a combined incarnation of Vedavyasa and the cowherd boy Kusumapida.” Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura was the last disciple initiated by Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 8.33–40, 42, 44), Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami glorifies Srila Vrindavan dasa Thakura and his book Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (then called Sri Caitanya-mangala):

“O fools, just read Sri Caitanya-mangala! By reading this book you can understand all the glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thakura Vrndavana dasa has composed Sri Caitanya-mangala. Hearing this book annihilates all misfortune. By reading Sri Caitanya-mangala one can understand all the glories and truths of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda and come to the ultimate conclusion of devotional service to Lord Krsna. In Sri Caitanya-mangala [later known as Sri Caitanya-bhagavata] Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has given the conclusion and essence of devotional service by quoting the authoritative statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam. If even a great atheist hears Sri Caitanya-mangala, he immediately becomes a great devotee. The subject matter of this book is so sublime that it appears that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has personally spoken through the writings of Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura. I offer millions of obeisances unto the lotus feet of Vrndavana dasa Thakura. No one else could write such a wonderful book for the deliverance of all fallen souls. What a wonderful description he has given of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya! Anyone in the three worlds who hears it is purified. Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has written Sri Caitanya-mangala and therein described in all respects the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.”

In his purport to text 45, Srila Prabhupada writes, “Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura’s Sri Caitanya-bhagavata was originally entitled Sri Caitanya-mangala, but when Srila Locana dasa Thakura later wrote another book named Sri Caitanya-mangala, Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura changed the name of his own book, which is now therefore known as Sri Caitanya-bhagavata. The life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very elaborately described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, and Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has already informed us that in his Sri Caitanya-caritamrta he has described whatever Vrndavana dasa Thakura has not mentioned. This acceptance of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata by Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami indicates his acceptance of the disciplic succession. A writer of transcendental literature never tries to surpass the previous acaryas.”

And in his purport to text 48—“The subject matter of this book is so sublime that it appears that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has personally spoken through the writings of Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura”—Srila Prabhupada explains, “The secret in a devotee’s writing is that when he writes about the pastimes of the Lord, the Lord helps him; he does not write himself. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (10.10), dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te. Since a devotee writes in service to the Lord, the Lord from within gives him so much intelligence that he sits down near the Lord and goes on writing books. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami confirms that what Vrndavana dasa Thakura wrote was actually spoken by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and that Vrndavana dasa simply repeated it.”

How blessed we are to receive knowledge of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through our glorious parampara—and to be engaged in their service.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

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