14 FEBRUARY 2021 [SINGUR | NOON | PART 2]

Deserve, Then Desire
"You cannot serve Vaishnavs without first become a Vaishnav yourself. So, first become a Vaishnav, then you can serve Vaishnavs. And if somebody thinks, ‘I have become a Vaishnav!’ they must not do vaishnav-seva – their service will be faulty, it will be a mistake. How can you get the right to do service? The answer is here."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

IN PRAISE OF SRILA NAROTTAM DAS THAKUR
'Today is the Disappearance Day of Srila Narottam Thakur, so I would like to say a few words to glorify him. Although he wrote many beautiful songs of devotion, Narottam Das Thakur was not just a song writer, he was a great pandit and, more than that, he was a devotee of Sri Chaitanyadev.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Dasavatara Stotram
‘I offer my obeisance to Lord Sri Krishna, who assumes ten forms and rescues the Vedas, upholds Mount Mandara, uplifts the earth, rips apart demons, tricks Bali Maharaj, kills ksatriyas, emerges victorious over demons, carries a plough, shows kindness and annihilates the degraded.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

In honour of Sri Chaitanya-Vyas Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur:

~ Pranam-mantra ~ dasa-vrndavanam vande krsna-dasa-prabhum tatha chhannavatara-chaitanya-lila-vistara-karinau dvau nityananda-padabja-karuna-renu-bhusitau vyakta-chchhannau budhachintyau vavande vyasa-rupinau sri-guru-gaura-gandharva-govindas cha ganaih saha jayanti pathakas chatra sarvesam karunarthinah "I offer my obeisances to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur and Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, who made public the pastimes of the hidden avatar, Sri Chaitanya. They were both adorned with the mercy-dust of the lotus feet of Nityananda. I offer my obeisances to these two inconceivable sages who assumed the form of Vyasadeva, one—explicitly (Vrindavan Das Thakur), another—hiddenly (Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami). Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda and Their associates are ever victorious and we, the students, pray for Their mercy." (Composed by Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur
His holy birthplace (Mamgachhi), his holy Deities (Sri Sri Gaura Nitai), his holy pastimes place (haritaki tree), and his holy samadhi (Denur)...

Land of Childhood Pastimes of Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur
[From Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-Mukta-Mala]
An extensive chapter about the pastimes and glory of Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur and two special profound dedicated articles presented in the book from the previous publications of our Math.

Under a Haritaki Tree
"Vrindavan Das Thakur's mother's name is Narayani, and she was a niece of Srivas Pandit. Mahaprabhu always held kirtans in the house of Srivas Pandit, and Narayani lived in that same house. When she was very little, she got Mahaprabhu's mercy..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.6 Mb, 8 min | 31 December 2012)

Clasping Nityananda Prabhu's Feet
"Nityananda is nondifferent from Guru-tattva: without mercy of the Guru you cannot get the mercy of Krishna. When will Nityananda Prabhu give me some mercy? When will He be compassionate to me and relieve me from the mundane illusion?"
• Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 6 min | 20 October 2015)

Vrindavan Das Thakur: A Life of Chastity
"Vrindavan Das Thakur is a disciple of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu and is the main servitor of Nityananda Prabhu. He has so much chastity for Him..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 5 min | 18 May 2015)

Composed by Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur:

Nitai mora jivana dhana
'Nitai is my life, my treasure. Nitai is my family. I do not know anything except Nitai (He is my sole refuge). I will throw ash into the face of material happiness and, chanting Nitai’s Name, will live on whatever I get by begging in town.'

Bimala hema-jini
‘His figure defeats pure gold! Various flower garlands adorn Him, highlighting His beauty, and in His ecstatic thrill, the hairs on His body standing erect defeat the beautiful stamens of kadamba flowers! His body is covered with drops of perspiration.’

14 FEBRUARY 2021 [SINGUR | NOON | PART 1]

Sincere Surrender
"Many say, ‘I call the Lord, but He does not hear me.’ People blame the Lord, but what do the scriptures say? We always think about ourselves. What does the Lord say? Do we ever listen to what the Lord says?"

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

THE FLOW OF MAHAPRABHU'S LINE
'We learn through Kavi Karnapur and other devotees, such as Svarup Damodar, Raghunath Das and Srila Jiva Goswami, that Mahaprabhu Himself gave the power of His sampradaya to Srila Rupa Goswami. Rupa Goswami is the supreme personality in Mahaprabhu Chaitanyadev’s sampradaya, and he carries the preceptorial line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the history, a very serious subject matter. I think you may understand what I have tried to express.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Radha-krsna bal bal balare sabai
‘Brother, you are swimming in maya (wasting your time), sometimes coming up to the surface, sometimes choking and struggling. You are a soul, a servant of Krishna! If you believe it, there will not be any sadness left then.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

SRI EKADASI GUIDANCE

Sri Ekadasi Guidance
Guidelines on how to observe and honour this holy day: Ekadasi takes an indispensible part in the life of a sincere practitioner. At Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Ekadasi and paran are observed with affection and without fail according to the dates given in the Calendar.

Renunciation of Cowards and Misers
[By Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj]
'What we need is yukta-vairagya: we shall take from the store of Krishna to keep ourselves fit and to do service. It is Krishna's account, and if we do not do that, we will be separatists, mayavadis, renunciationists. We must render maximum service to Krishna, so we must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make ourselves fit for the service; otherwise, we shall be punishable.'

"Sri Ekadasi" (Sri Sri Prema Vivarta)
"One day, Gaurahari left the Gundicha Temple and sat in the Jagannath Vallabha garden. It was pure Ekadasi, and the Lord spent the whole day and night chanting the Name of Krishna..."

• SONG: Suddha-bhakata | শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু
"I carefully observe the holy days related to Madhava, they are the mother of devotion."

• SONG: Sri hari-vasare | শ্রীহরি-বাসরে হরি
"On the holy day of Sri Hari, Sriman Mahaprabhu, the life and soul of the universe, began dancing..."

ADDITIONAL READING:

• "Observing Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi Vrata: Make Your Guru Happy"
• "No Other Shelter"
• "Mahadvadasi"
• "Ekadasi and liberation"
• "Ekadasi Tithi: One of the Practices"
• "Yogini Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi: Historical Background"
• "Ekadasi: Main Focus Is Service"
• Ekadasi Struggle?
• "Make the Teachings of Sri Guru Non-Different from Your Heart"
• Ekadasi: Devotional Practice
• Ekadasi Struggle?
• Ekadasi Rules

"You do not need to know the meaning of each ekadasi tithi because if you know it, you will want to get this result, that result, etc."

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

13 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR AREA | EVENING | PART 6]

Joining Lord's Pastimes
"When the call comes, you will have to leave, but how will you leave? To cross the river, you must take a ferry, but how will you cross it if you have not earned the fare? You must acquire the fare, and one does not acquire it with any money or material wealth! One can acquire it only with devotion."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

THE APPEARANCE OF SRI GAURASUNDAR
'May that Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Sachidevi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation ever offered before: the most sublime radiant spiritual conception of the mellow taste of His service.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Virajara pare suddha paravyoma-dhama
‘Crossing Viraja, there is pure Paravyoma Dham, and above it there is Sri Gokula and a place called Vrindavan. Vrindavan is a wish-fulfilling jewel, a transcendental ecstatic gem. If you behold this inconceivable transcendental abode, you will see there an astonishing large black tree resembling a tamal tree.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Five, chanted on Wednesdays)
'He reveals (first, to Sri Sanatan and then to Prakasananda) sixty-two interpretations of the famous verse ‘Atmaramas cha… ittham-bhuta-guno harih’ (‘Even self-realised, self-satisfied souls are moved to worship the Lord’) from Srimad Bhagavatam; interpreting the various lexical meanings of the eleven words of this verse, juxtaposed in different ways, He reveals a treasure-mine of multitudinous meanings of this verse in consonance with the precepts of pure devotional conclusions – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

13 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR AREA | EVENING | PART 5]

Result of Service Mood
"It is necessary to have faith in all this. You cannot get anywhere without faith. There is even a saying in Bengali, ‘Faith brings you close, and argument keeps you far away.’ This is how we must serve the Lord..."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

SRILA MADHAVENDRA PURIPAD—THE SPROUT OF LOVE DIVINE
'He was a very intimate devotee of Krishna and Radharani. Radharani Herself fully bestowed Her mercy upon Srila Madhavendra Puri. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was on His way to Puri Dham, He told the transcendental story of Srila Madhavendra Puri to His associates as they halted at Remuna, Orissa. Mahaprabhu said that He had heard this from Isvara Puri...'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
‘Glory, glory to Sri Radha, the dearmost beloved of Lord Madhav who charms all beautiful young girls of Gokula. Her beautiful garments increase Damodar’s attachment to Her. She always plays with the Lord in the forests, groves and recesses of Vrindavan.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Four, chanted on Tuesdays)
'Overcome with strong bouts of divine love surging through Him and becoming unconscious of the world around Him, He dances madly and chants kirtan; the tears streaming incessantly from His eyes flood His body, the colour of molten gold and tall as the mount Sumeru, His clothes, the colour of the newly risen sun, and the earth in all fourteen directions around Him; He glows as He chants, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’, shouts jumbled up words and relishes various postures and behaviours (roaring with laughter, etc.) under the influence of divine love – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

In honour of Sripad Santosh Krishna Das-Adhikari Prabhu:

"Many do not know about the service of late Sripad Santosh Krishna Prabhu and he himself also during his life often said that he had not been able to become even an insignificant servant of the Math; but seeing how strong was his attachment to the interest of the Math in the many small services he did, it puts us to shame now. He never once even saw the accounts of his material property; neither did he ever try to increase his wealth even by a cent; but it is inconceivable how much this person tried, with heart and soul, to collect and beg for the Math. Nobody ordered him, nobody encouraged him—he took care of the Math's various paraphernalia like an expert householder of his own accord, he would be always seen very busy with all kinds of works of the Math; at the same time, he never once gave anyone even a slightest hint of the service and works he was doing. Some of us help the Math's preaching with some money, etc., give physical labour, but if we do not see any mention about us in a newspaper column, at the preachers' assembly at a holy dham, or in an eulogy written by Sri Guru and Vaishnavs, then we decide, 'There is no use serving the Math. They are prejudiced. They do not praise me, do not give me 'jay', so I better rough it at home than waste time, money and life for the interest of the Math.' However, the great soul who we have mentioned before, gave so much money for the service of 'Jayasri', continuously toiling as a low menial worker—it is impossible to mention everything. However, he never once said anything that would give a slightest hint that he wanted to see his praise in a newspaper column or even more so to see his name included in the Math's Calendar; but we have seen that his effort to look after the interests of the Math was gradually making him great."

(Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj, Guidance, Volume 3)

On passing away of Sripad Santosh Prabhu
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj's written statement addressing the worldwide devotee community in relation to the passing away of Sripad Santosh Krishna Prabhu, written on 2 June 2016.

Photo Album: In Honour of Sripad Santosh Prabhu
(45 photographs, 5.3 Mb)
A dedicated photo album prepared in memory and honour of Sripad Santosh Krishna Prabhu whose glories devotees remember and worship today all over the world.

Gaudiya Darshan: The Wonderful Nature of the Vaisnava
"There is no doubt that our Guru is supreme in our life, but the Vaisnava is also not less than that. The Vaisnava can give us Krsna. Guru always lives on a higher level of honour, but the Vaisnava is the general helper for the conditioned soul. The Vaisnava's position is very merciful for the conditioned soul. The Vaisnavas also very affectionately try to help each other..." >>>

13 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR AREA | EVENING | PART 4]

Jivan Chakravarti's Pastime (2)
"Siva Thakur told Jivan Chakravarti to go to this Sanatan Goswami. In those days, there were no trains, so it took Jivan Chakravarti a long time to walk to Vrindavan. When he arrived, he asked somebody, ‘Where does Sanatan Goswami stay?’ and was told that Sanatan Goswami was staying on the Dvadasatila Hill...."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

THE PLANE OF DEDICATION
'The mind, the consciousness, is being fully cleansed by the performance of Nama-sankirtan. But cleanliness, purity, on its own is not sufficient. When you are cleaning something, all the dirt that will come out as a result, and you will have to do something with that. The dirty things—our mundane wealth, our mundane conceptions, all our evil tendencies—what will we do with them? Bhava-mahadavagni-nirvapanam—you make a fire there, and that fire of Nama-sankirtan will burn all those things to ashes. First you will clean your house and then you will burn all the filth accumulated there. And then in its place you will need to establish something good.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Jaya radha-madhava
‘Glory to Radha-Madhav, the beloved of Srimati Radharani! Glory to Kunja-bihari, the enjoyer of pastimes in the groves of Vraja. Glory to Gopi-jana-vallabha, the dearmost beloved of gopis! Glory to Giribara-dhari, the lifter of great Govardhan Hill!’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Three, chanted on Mondays)
'He ardently preached that service performed in various divine relationships (from dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- to madhura-rasa) and the (paramount) service beauty of Sri Radha’s servitors in the highest paramour madhura-rasa, as well as any transcendental hankering of the self-realised souls in Sri Vraja Dham, can indisputably be realised in Sri Vrajendra-nandan only – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

13 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR AREA | EVENING | PART 3]

Jivan Chakravarti's Pastime (1)
"I have been called to a place called Mankar. It is near Panagar in Bardhaman. A brahman family used to live there, and the name of the head of the family was Jivananda Das. His previous name is Jivan Chakravarti..."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

OUR LORD’S BELOVED POWER
'The Rupanuga sampradaya gives some special, unique appreciation of Srimati Radharani. They feel that without the merciful connection of Srimati Radharani, they cannot approach Krishna at all. Only if the order is coming from Her will they move towards Him. They are extremely fanatical about Srimati Radharani, and that is their foremost qualification. Just as without heat we cannot know the sun, so without Srimati Radharani there is no Krishna; the Powerful is Powerless.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Radha-kunda-tata-kunja-kutira
‘The grove-dwelling on the banks of Radha Kunda, Govardhan Hill, the banks of the Yamuna River. If I were to lose all this, I would have nowhere to go. If I were to lose all this, I would just die.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Two, chanted on Sundays)
'Very tall, beautiful and infused with divine love, His holy form increases gods’ joy; the lustre of His body, which puts millions of golden lotuses to shame, is worshipped by the Moon; and His intrinsic form is a holy abode of divine pastimes manifest as eternal ever-increasing transcendental ecstatic transformations that spring up as He revels dancing in Sri Krishna-sankirtan – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'