(3/5) Srila Prabhupad's Mission

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's disappearance
Nrisingha Palli, 3 January 2021, part 3

When Mahaprabhu finished His pastimes, Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami and others stayed in this world and preached Mahaprabhu’s conception. After them, there was Srila Narottam Das Thakur, Srila Srinivas Acharya, Srila Shyamananda Prabhu, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu – they preached and distributed Mahaprabhu’s conception in a proper and pure way. However, when Mahaprabhu left, when Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami left, when Srila Narottam Das Thakur, Srila Srinivas Acharya, Srila Shyamananda Prabhu and others left, too, then so much misconception came to this world and spread everywhere. There appeared various bogus sampradayas (aul, baul, kartabhaja, nera, darvesh, saki, sahajiya, sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani, atibari, chudadhari, gauranga-nagari), and as the result of their wrong preaching, the whole of Bengal started to hate the Vaishnav society.

Many years later, in 1838, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur was born in Nadia district near Krishnanagar. I do not want to describe his life history in great detail now, but Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur was a magistrate in Krishnanagar, and during that time he collected many books, many scriptures about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Reading those books, he saw what Mahaprabhu wanted to distribute in this world, and he understood that what the people who claimed to be His followers were doing was all absolutely wrong, it was all misconception. Then, at some point, when Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur was staying in Puri Dham, he prayed to Bimala Devi and Lord Jagannath, ‘Please send someone who can preach the pure conception!’

After that, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur got the mercy (prasad) of Bimala Devi – Srila Prabhupad was born in this world. Srila Prabhupad and Lord Jagannath have an intimate relation: this is bhakta and Bhagavan (the Lord’s devotee and the Lord)…

Later, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur came to Godrumdwip, taking Bimala Prasad (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur) with him. They stayed in a small house that is now called Svananda Sukhada Kunja. Some time later, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur took a vow to chant one billion (a hundred crores) Holy Names, and upon the completion of this vow, so many scholars and associates of Srimati Radharani started coming to this world. Our entire guru-varga (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and all the other acharyas) came to this world. I do not want to repeat all the names again, I have already mentioned many of them today. All these great souls started preaching for Mahaprabhu and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, and we see that this preaching is still going on in this world.

স্থানে স্থানে কত মঠ, স্থাপিয়াছ নিষ্কপট,
প্রমসেবা শিখাইতে জীবে ।
মঠের বৈষ্ণবগণ, করে সদা বিতরণ,
হরিগুণ-কথামৃত ভবে ॥

sthane sthane kata matha, sthapiyachha niskapata,
prema-seva sikhaite jive
mathera vaisnava-gana, kare sada vitarana,
hari-guna-kathamrta bhave

‘You have established temples in many places to teach the souls sincere loving service to the Lord. The Vaishnav residents of these temples always spread the nectar of the glories of the Lord.’

(Acharya Vandana)

Srila Prabhupad taught everyone what pure service is – he taught that everything could be used, and is meant to be used, for the service of the Lord. He established sixty-four temples, and all the brahmacharis, sannyasis of these temples preached house to house and distributed Hari-katha. Srila Prabhupad told, ‘Uthare uthare bhai ara ta samaya nai: wake up, you have no time in your hand! Wake up, do not sleep in the lap of Maya! Chant the Holy Name, worship the Holy Name in this age!’

Srila Prabhupad proclaimed Mahaprabhu’s conception:

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।
অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

‘One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree and who gives honour to others without desiring it for themselves is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna.’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

‘Humility, tolerance, giving honour to others.’ Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was beaten, they tried to kill him in Kulia (Nabadwip), but he proclaimed, ‘They can beat me, but my declaration to those who come to torture me is taror iva sahisnuna – tolerance!’ Such is his glory.

কুলিয়াতে পাষণ্ডীরা, অত্যাচার কৈল যা’রা,
তা সবার দোষ ক্ষমা করি’ ।
জগতে কৈলে ঘোষণা, ‘তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা’,
হন ‘কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ’ ॥

kuliyate pasandira, atyachara kaila ya’ra,
ta sabara dosa ksama kari’
jagate kaile ghosana, ‘taroriva sahisnuna’,
hana ‘kirtaniyah sada harih’

‘You [Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad] have forgiven the atheists from the Kulia village despite their atrocities and proclaimed to the whole world: one who is as tolerant as a tree can always chant the glories of the Lord.’

(Acharya Vandana)

This is such a beautiful expression. Our Srila Param Gurudev also wrote a very beautiful song (we sing it every day), where he says:

জয়রে জয়রে জয় গৌর-সরস্বতী ।
ভকতিবিনোদান্বয় করুণামুরতি ॥

jayare jayare jaya gaura-sarasvati
bhakativinodanvaya karuna murati

‘Glory, glory to Sri Gaura–Saraswati, the holy embodiment of mercy in the line of Sri Bhaktivinod Thakur.’

প্রকাশিলে গৌরসেবা ভূবনমঙ্গল ।
ভখতিসিদ্ধান্ত শুদ্ধ প্রজ্ঞান উজ্জ্বল ॥

prakasile gaura-seva bhuvana mangala
bhakati-siddhanta suddha prajnana ujjvala

‘Revealing service to Sri Gaura, which spreads auspiciousness in this world, you presented devotional teachings (bhakti-siddhanta) that radiate self-effulgent pure transcendental knowledge.’

(‘Sri Saraswat Arati’, Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

Some Gaudiya acharyas tried to object once, but our Gurudev said, ‘No, what Srila Sridhar Maharaj said is right. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur is not an ordinary person. He is Bhagavan Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He is the Lord Himself!’

In the end, when Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was at Bagh Bazar Gaudiya Math, Srila Prabhupad was a little sick (he showed his pastime of sickness), and in his last moments, he wanted to hear the viraha (separation) song ‘Sri Rupa-manjari pada’, and he wanted to hear it from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Devotees called Srila Sridhar Maharaj, but because he came a little late, somebody had ordered another person to sing it. Srila Prabhupad became excited and shouted, ‘Stop it! I do not want to hear the tune. I want to hear the song, and only Srila Sridhar Maharaj is to sing it.’ Then, Srila Sridhar Maharaj came and sang it. Less than twenty-four hours later, on 1 January 1937, Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur left this world…

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Illustrious Acharya
2) Advent of Hari-Kirtan Murti
3) Srila Prabhupad's Mission
4) Srila Prabhupad's Teachings
5) Unimaginable Service