(6/8) Forthcoming Festivals

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 7 February 2021, part 6

There is no problem with the accommodation in Sri Nrisingha Palli this year. Everybody will get many rooms now – Krishna has given us an opportunity to make a house this time. We have been doing the parikrama from Sri Nrisingha Palli for many years now, starting from 2017, and there has always been a problem with accommodation. Because the temple accommodation is very small, we had to always rent some houses outside, but the houses were far and often not very good. Accommodation used to be a big problem, but this year, by the mercy of gurudev, by the mercy of all the devotees, by the mercy of Lord Nrisinghadev and Prahlad Maharaj, we have been given some good accommodation. More than one hundred rooms should be ready before this Gaura Purnima.

Next week I am going to do the annual potato collection in the Tarakeshwar area for four–five days, starting from Tuesday. I will leave on Tuesday afternoon and stay in Tarakeshwar for four days. This is my programme. Actually, some devotees are already collecting potato, but all the people want me to come to their houses, they want to see me, that is why I am going there myself. I can still walk, so it is not a problem – when I cannot walk anymore, then I can let others do this. Going door to door is also good preaching for Gaura Purnima. We come and invite everyone to come for Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, and also the potato for the whole year comes in this way.

This year I had to give some potato to Mayapur temples; some, to poor people; and some, to devotees, because there were not so many big festivals this year – Janmastami, Radhastami and even Srila Param Guru Maharaj’s tirobhav festival were not very big because of lockdowns. Festivals actually started from Srila Gurudev’s appearance day in December. We did make all the other festivals in our temples, but only a small number of people could join (perhaps, only one–two hundred people), and only Srila Gurudev’s appearance festival was very big. That is why we had to distribute and also sell some of the collected potato (potato was very expensive this year).

Our Uluberia temple is now almost finished. I think we will inaugurate the temple of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda-sundar soon after the Gaura Purnima festival. This is what I am thinking. Uluberia is part of the Howrah district, and it is a very famous place. There are many devotees in Uluberia, many of whom are Srila Gurudev’s disciples, that is why I chose one place on the bank of the Ganges and made a temple there. I had been offered another land, but that land was not quite suitable because the area was not good, and then one very old devotee gave his land for Srila Gurudev’s Mission, and I chose to build the temple there, on the bank of the Ganges. That devotee is a householder – he took initiation when I had just joined Krishna consciousness.

When I lived in Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip, I sometimes went swimming in the Ganges. One time Gurudev also went swimming in the Ganges and I went with him. I remember when we were swimming in the Ganges, Gurudev lost a stone [from his armlet], but when he came out onto the bank, he saw that the stone had come to his lotus feet. He said, ‘Oh, Mother Ganga Devi has taken it, and Mother Ganga Devi has given it back to me.’ I was swimming in the Ganges with Gurudev that day… After I got diabetes, I first started swimming in the Ganges, but later I had no time to go to the Ganges. Now I see that we have got a land for a temple on the bank of the Ganges, and I was thinking that I could sometimes go swimming in the Ganges. I could bath in the Ganges instead of taking a shower in the bathroom. Anyhow, I chose that land, and now, within almost two years, the temple is finished. Almost everything there is clean now – only painting and the electrical wiring is left to do (there is electricity, but it is necessary to divide it).

Try to come and join Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. You have a great fortune to do it. Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama programme starts from 22 March this year (22 March is the adhivas, and the parikrama starts from 23 March). Come, you will get special benefit. You can come alone or you can come with your friends, relatives, it is not a problem. Everybody will be accommodated. Come for seven–eight days – the parikrama itself is five days, and one day is Gaura Purnima (the main festival), and the next day is the mahotsav. Join, it will be good for you.

Are there any questions today?

[A devotees asks a question about fertilisers] You can use cow dung as fertiliser – if you have cow dung, do not use any chemical fertiliser; if you use only cow dung, it is good. In Nrisingha Palli, Sri Prahlad Maharaj now has so many cows – there are ten or elven cows in Sri Nrisingha Palli now. One cow had a calf there, one cow had a calf in Hapaniya, one more cow had a calf in Bankura, and three(!) cows recently had calves in Ekachakra. We now have so many cows in Ekachakra too (more than fifteen!). Initially, I brought only one cow, Padmavati, but now Padmavati has a very big family. Three of the cows there are giving milk, and the temple is getting much milk. Also, I received a phone call today from Hapaniya – one more calf was born. It is actually a miracle – I do not really like bulls, so it is a miracle that all the cows are giving female calves, not male [His Divine Grace laughs].

The holy appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu is coming soon, and there will be a big festival in Ekachakra on Nityananda Prabhu’s trayodasi tithi. Ekachakra is the birthplace of Nityananda Prabhu, and we have a temple of Sri Sri Guru Gaura Nityananda Prabhu there. This temple was founded on the appearance day of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. We are inviting you all to join this festival – if you cannot come physically, you can join this festival through your hearts, through your minds. I will try to make a live programme from there. If we get a chance and the signal is good, we can try to do that.

‘Nitaiyera karuna habe, vraje radha-krsna pabe, dhara nitaiyera charana duhkhani (নিতাইয়ের করুণা হবে, ব্রজে রাধাকৃষ্ণ পাবে, ধর নিতাইয়ের চরণ দুঃখানি). If you get Nitai’s mercy, you will come to Radha-Krishna in Vraja. O miserable soul, grasp Nitai’s holy feet!’

The festival in Ekachakra will take place on 25 February, this month, so I will go there five–six days before to arrange the grand festival. You know what a great festival takes place there every year. Those who have been there know it and have seen it with their own eyes. Afraid of covid, the government told me not to make it four days – they asked to make it three days only. I agreed, so there will be a small festival on ekadasi, and after that there will be a three-day festival on dvadasi, trayodasi and chaturdasi. I told the officials that 25,000 people would take prasad every day, so it is 75,000 people in total…

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Length: 49 min
Language: English

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) "Guru-mukha-padma-vakya chitete kariya aikya"
2) Internal and Eternal
3) Clearing the Path
4) Cause of All Causes
5) Do Not Be Disheartened
6) Forthcoming Festivals
7) On Importance of Chastity
8) Study and Learn