(5/9) Illustrious and Loving Service

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, evening class
2 January 2021, part 5, translated from Bengali

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur would often walk to Mayapur. Everybody used to think that Mahaprabhu’s birthplace had been taken away by the Ganges. (It is true that the Ganges can take it, but the Ganges can also return it.) It was Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur’s exclusive, one-pointed desire and prayer, ‘Prabhu, please mercifully allow me to see Your birthplace. Please show this place to me.’ He started chanting the Holy Name very intently. One day, when he was chanting the Holy Name on the roof of his house in Svananda Sukhada Kunja, he saw some transcendental light. In the morning, he took a horse and some men and went to the place where he had seen that light. The local people were surprised, ‘Why are there so many people suddenly?’ Mostly Muslim people lived there. When Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur asked somebody what that place was, he was told that it was Miyapur (Mayapur was previously called ‘Miyapur’ by the villagers). Seeing a vast Tulasi garden in that place, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur asked them why there were so many Tulasi trees, and he was told that no matter what people had tried to plant there, nothing grew in that place – only Tulasi trees grew! Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur thought, ‘What is this? So many Tulasis, and I saw this place radiating divine light at night… Can this be Mahaprabhu’s birthplace?’ After that, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur went to Nabadwip and brought Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj to that place. When Bihari Das, Srila Babaji Maharaj’s servant, brought him there in a basket (Srila Babaji Maharaj was 137 years old at that time!), Srila Babaji Maharaj jumped out of the basket and started dancing! He cried, ‘This is Prabhu’s birthplace! I have found it! Hari bol! Hari bol!’ This is how Mayapur was discovered. Later, babajis filed a court case claiming that another place was Mahaprabhu’s birthplace, but it was dismissed by the court. It is clearly written in the scriptures, in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita and other holy books, that Mahaprabhu’s birthplace is in Mayapur.

Param Guru Maharaj wrote a very beautiful kirtan in glorification of Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. We sing it every day, and also all other Gaudiya temples sing it:

সুজনার্ব্বুদরাধিতপাদযুগং
যুগধর্ম্মধুরন্ধর-পাত্রবরম্ ।
বরদাভয়দায়ক-পূজ্যপদং
প্রণমামি সদা প্রভুপাদপদম্ ॥

sujanarvuda-radhita-pada-yugam
yuga-dharma-dhurandhara-patra-varam
varadabhaya-dayaka-pujya-padam
pranamami sada prabhupada-padam

‘I am offering obeisance to Prabhupad (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur), whose holy lotus feet are worshipped by millions of pious souls, who is the establisher of the religion of the age (Krishna-sankirtan), who is the presiding divine successor (at the Visva-Vaishnava-Raja Sabha, the Universal Assembly of Vaishnavs), and who fulfils the desires of the dispellers of all fears – I offer obeisance at his holy lotus feet. I eternally offer obeisance to the radiance emanating from the toenails of my master.’

(‘Sri Sri Prabhupadapadma Stavakah’, Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

One time, Srila Sridhar Maharaj asked Gurudev, ‘Which verse do you like the most in this poem?’ and Gurudev replied:

কৃপয়া হরিকীর্ত্তনমূর্ত্তিধরং
ধরণীভরহারক-গৌরজনম্ ।
জনকাধিকবৎসলস্নিগ্ধপদং
প্রণমামি সদা প্রভুপাদপদম্ ॥

krpaya hari-kirtana-murti-dharam
dharani-bhara-haraka-gaura-janam
janakadhika-vatsala-snigdha-padam
pranamami sada prabhupada-padam

‘Bestowing mercy upon jiva souls, he is manifest as a worshippable deity of Hari-kirtan personified. He is an associate of Sri Gaura who removes the burden of offences from Mother Earth. I offer obeisance to this very gentle fountainhead of greater parental affection towards jiva souls than even that of a father. I eternally offer obeisance to the radiance emanating from the toenails of my master.’

(‘Sri Sri Prabhupadapadma Stavakah’, Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

Gurudev said that he liked this verse the most, and I also like it the most. ‘Krpaya hari-kirtana-murti-dharam.’ Srila Prabhupad is a holy embodiment of kirtan, but he did not chant kirtan so much himself in the sense that he did not like songs, tunes, melodies or anything like that; his kirtan was through Hari-katha. So, kirtan here is not what is sung with drums and karatals; Srila Prabhupad is the embodiment of Hari-kirtan: Hari-katha…

‘Dharani-bhara-haraka-gaura-janam.’ He removes the burden of the entire earth. ‘Janakadhika-vatsala-snigdha-padam.’ His love is stronger than even that of a father. Our Gurudev is also like that. He chastised me a lot, but he also loved me a lot. Do you see me ever making a festival for my father’s birthday? No, but I make a festival and celebrate my Gurudev’s birthday. Because we love Gurudev, we make a grand festival for him. When it comes to my birthday, I always say that if you do not make anything, it is all right, but I have shown my disciples how one must do guru-seva, vaishnav-seva. You know, this time, I searched all Krishnanagar but could not find banana-leaf plates, so I sent somebody to find banana trees in the area and cut some leaves to use them as plates for the sadhus…

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 27 Mb
Length: 55 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Advent of Srila Prabhupad
2) Rescuing Mahaprabhu's Line
3) Acharyas' Arrival in Nabadwip
4) Srila Prabhupad's Initiation
5) Illustrious and Loving Service
6) Srila Sridhar Maharaj's Kirtan
7) Advent of Gaura-Saraswati
8) Step Towards Lord, Not Maya
9) Be Kind to Yourself and Others