JOYOUS DAY IN SILIGURI

Deities' Pastimes (3):
"Here I am!"

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, Deity installation anniversary
27 May 2017, translated from Bengali, part 3

Gopal Bhatta Goswami lived and did bhajan in Vrindavan--he worshipped twelve salagram silas. One day, a rich man came to him and gave him Deity ornaments and clothes saying, "Prabhu, please take this for your Lord." Gopal Bhatta Goswami said, "OK, I will give it to the Lord." Later that day, when he put the Lord to sleep in the evening, he thought, "That rich man gave me all these things, but my Lord has no arms, no legs... He is a sila... How will I put these garments on Him? How will I put the ornaments on Him? He has no nose, no hands... I took it but did not even think of it!" He became very sad thinking that he could not use these things in service, and soon he fell asleep...

In the morning, he woke up and went for the mangal arati. When he opened the door of the temple, he saw Radha Raman! He looked at the silas and started counting them—there were only eleven silas. Where did one sila go? Then he saw that sila on Radha Raman—it was in the middle of His back, stuck on His body like a magnet. In this way, Radha Raman appeared from that sila, through the hand of Gopal Bhatta Goswami.

That Deity is still there in Vrindavan. When Muslim rulers were destroying Hindu temples in Vrindavan, most Deities went to Jaipur, but Radha Raman is small, so He could hide Himself away and stay in Vrindavan.

In this way, the Lord arranges His own pastimes Himself, but without the medium of a devotee, the Lord does not come on His own...

By the mercy of Guru Maharaj, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govindasundar manifested here in Siliguri. Also, many of the devotees here did not get the chance to serve Guru Maharaj (Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) personally, so to give the devotees an opportunity to serve him, there was installed his Deity. You all now have this opportunity—the Lord has given you this opportunity. Deity is not made of wood, stone or brass. Assuming the form of a Deity, the Lord gives you an opportunity to serve.

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