16 JANUARY 2021 [KOLKATA | PART 6]

Sincere and Deep Prayer
"‘Sincerely’ means to come without wanting to show anything to others or wanting to impress others. It is necessary to feel this and to practise spiritual life very deeply, internally, not for the sake of showing anything to others."

• OCEAN OF NECTAR •

Divine Service
'The only condition is that to have the real thing we must have a proper connection. It must be the Name of Krishna and not an imitation. So, it is said that the physical sound may appear, an imitation, but it is not effective, because that is not Krishna.'

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.'

16 JANUARY 2021 [KOLKATA | PART 5]

Six Limbs of Surrender
"Among the six limbs of surrender, the first one is humility. I must feel that ‘I am poor’, ‘I have no qualification’, ‘I do not know anything’. I must not think, ‘I am a good speaker’, ‘I am good at singing’, ‘I can sing kirtans well’, and so on. No. ‘I am very poor’..."

• OCEAN OF NECTAR •

Primordial Sound
'So Rupa Goswami says that a superficial study of the Vedas will only frustrate us. But if we search with a positive mind, by the grace of the saints, the spiritual masters and the great souls, we will find that the principal sound forms of the revealed truth are leading us towards the conception that the whole object of all the Vedic sounds is that central sound: the Holy Name of Krishna.'

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.'

16 JANUARY 2021 [KOLKATA | PART 4]

Make Yourself Qualified
"Mahaprabhu comes to distribute the rarest form of transcendental love that even Lord Siva and Lord Brahma aspire for and wait to attain, and He comes to give it liberally, going door to door. This is how Mahaprabhu distributed the Holy Name in this world. At the same time, He said, 'Who has the right to chant the Holy Name in this Kali-yuga?'"

• OCEAN OF NECTAR •

The Blind Men & the Elephant
'So, oft in theologic wars the disputants, I ween, rail on in utter ignorance of what the others mean: And prate about an elephant not one of them has seen!'

Higher Satisfaction
'In different planes there are different conceptions of happiness, and a comparison is to be drawn between the qualitative differences in the pleasure derived. We are to conceive different planes of life. The life of higher service is divine life. The Absolute God is there. Everything is for Him. All these things are for His pleasure. But in which way can we attain divine life? What is mundane? What is divine? We are to differentiate between them. We have to examine them in order to accept the divine life.'

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.'

16 JANUARY 2021 [KOLKATA | PART 3]

Coming Out of Maya
"Getting her power from Krishna, Maya Devi removes and keeps us far away from the Lord’s service. As the result, we forget the Lord. We forget the Lord, and as the result, we have to suffer the agony of these threefold miseries. What must you do to get relief from this situation?"

• OCEAN OF NECTAR •

Introduction
'The spirit of this text goes far to honor all great reformers and teachers who lived and will live in other countries. The Vaishnava is ready to honor all great men without distinction of caste, because they are filled with the energy of God. See how universal is the Vaishnava religion! It is not intended for a certain class of Hindus alone, but it is a gift to man at large, in whatever country he is born and in whatever society he is bred.'

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.'

16 JANUARY 2021 [KOLKATA | PART 2]

Mahaprabhu's Advent and Gift
"Sriman Mahaprabhu said that there are four varnas, four ashrams and four yugas. The four yugas, or ages, are Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapar-yuga and Kali-yuga. The Lord comes in each of the four yugas to this pure land of Bharata (India). Why does Lord Sri Krishna come in this Kali-yuga?"

• EXCLUSIVE GUARDIANSHIP •

(4) Focussed to Guru
'We are to have soul’s courage and have the confidence of deep faith. We are to understand the noble character of the faith within us. Our hands and eyes cannot contact there. Faith can connect us with the farthest things. All other methods fail. Faith is substantial, it is not part of an illusion of the mind. The whole mind is a concocted thing: it is a source of forgery. Faith is a function of the soul.'

Epilogue: Last Will and Testament
'I hereby appoint him [Sri Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj] as my Successor Sevaite (Successor Guardian-servitor), Acharya, and President. In compliance with the Rules and Regulations of the aforesaid Deed, all my lawful claims, directorship, and rights will automatically be inherited by him.'

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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.'

16 JANUARY 2021 [KOLKATA | PART 1]

Where Does the Lord Stay?
"The Lord becomes pleased when you listen and speak about Him, and especially when you worship Nitai and Gauranga through sankirtan. Remember this. Gaura and Nitai are worshipped through sankirtan, and this sankirtan must be genuine."

• EXCLUSIVE GUARDIANSHIP •

(3) Faith and Harmony
'Hindrances come on the path in order to make it more valuable and in order to deceive those of less faith and the unfaithful. Those who are fortunate souls will be able to cross over all these incidents and will be hopelessly attracted by the sweetness of the lila of Krishna. They will be given entrance there.'

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part One, chanted on Saturdays)
'Demigods, perfected souls, liberated souls, yogis and Lord’s devotees always sing His praise; He relieves the world from the blazing forest fire of three-fold miseries (caused by the desire for enjoyment, liberation and perfections) brought about by inauspicious actions (performed in aversion to the Supreme Lord); an ocean of generosity, He bestows His own Name from the nectarean storehouse of Lord Sri Krishna’s Names – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 13]

Insurmountable Devotion
"Everything is possible through devotion. If you want to bind the Lord, you need the rope of devotion. You can get devotion only through the association of devotees – you will not get devotion by associating with non-devotees."

• EXCLUSIVE GUARDIANSHIP •

(2) A Wonderful Touch
'It is so charming and so attractive that it will help you to bid good-bye once and for all to this material charm. If even for a second you can have a touch of that higher substance, the material pleasure will turn into trash. Everything there is wonderful—all dealings and experience.'

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.'

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 12]

Exclusive Zone
"Krishna says about them, ‘You are staying with Me, you are saying that you are My big devotees, but you cannot compare yourselves to those who live in Vrindavan!’ Even somebody like Laksmi Devi cannot enter there because she thinks, ‘I am very beautiful, I will not accept devotion to Radharani, a mere milkmaid.’"

• EXCLUSIVE GUARDIANSHIP •

(1) The Willing and The Able
When we play a recording of our Gurudeva, are these sound vibrations actually transcendental or does the sound have to be heard from the person directly?

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.'

In honour of Srila Sundarananda Thakur:

"It is stated in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata that Sundarananda Prabhu was an ocean of love of Godhead and the chief associate of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (127) he is stated to be Sudama in Krsna-lila. Thus he was one of the twelve cowherd boys who came down with Balarama when He descended as Sri Nityananda Prabhu. The holy place where Sundarananda lived is situated in the village known as Mahespur (Jessore, Bangladesh). Among the relics of this village, only the old residential house of Sundarananda still exists. Sundarananda Prabhu was a naisthika-brahmachari: he never married in his life. Therefore he had no direct descendants except his disciples, but the descendants of his family still reside in the village known as Mangaladihi in the district of Birbhum. In that same village, there is a temple of Balarama, and the Deity there is regularly worshiped. Sundarananda Prabhu is a branch of Sri Nityananda Prabhu; he is Lord Nityananda's most intimate and chief servant. Lord Nityananda Prabhu perceived the life of Vrajabhumi in his company."

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 11]

Guided and Misguided
"There are such people in the world – they do not know the way themselves, but they will still give you advice. If you ask a boy from the Lord’s house where the Lord stays, what the Lord eats, how the Lord lives, he will tell you everything. It is necessary to go to a bona fide person."

• EXCLUSIVE GUARDIANSHIP •

By Way of Introduction
'Srila Guru Maharaj never gave permission to leave the track of the Rupanuga sampradaya to go along any other sampradaya’s track. We are running in the Rupanuga sampradaya, so we are not to leave our track to go to see with any other’s vision.'

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 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 10]

Ultimate Word of Scripture
"If anybody asks you what the gist of Srimad Bhagavad-gita is, you should know that the meaning is this: ‘Leave all religions and surrender to Me, I will save you from all sins.’ This is the last word of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. It is very beautiful."

• EXCLUSIVE GUARDIANSHIP •

Editorial
'I have received glimpses of the overwhelming response of the early days of [Srila Govinda Maharaj's] Tour. Now, feeling greatly his separation, this short publication has come about in order to try to have even some smallest participation in this grand spiritual event of which many of the readers will have had the fortune to participate directly.'

Preface: Wholesale Transfer
From a taped conversation of 29th April 1987 with Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj: 'Wholesale—both property and the function—transferred [to Srila Govinda Maharaj]. If anyone has no recognition of this opinion of mine, I do not want them to live in the Mission. I drag them out.'

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.'

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 9]

Eternal Values
"Your greatest friends are those who can give you attachment to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna – your kin, your own are those who bring you to the Lord, who take you out of this world of Maya and engage you in the service to the holy lotus feet of the Lord."

• THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV (1) •

(6) Sri Dasa-Mula
'Embracing these ten root principles, the soul deals the death blow to the malady of nescience; his devotional heart is nourished and satisfied in the holy association of the devotees. I serve with all my heart the Supreme Lord Sri Gaurachandra, who graciously teaches us these ten fundamental divine principles.'

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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 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 8]

Mano-dharma vs. Bhagavat-dharma
"We must listen to the siddhanta (conclusions) of the scriptures. We must accept and follow the teachings that are given by the Lord Himself. It is not necessary to create any teachings yourself. If a train goes off the track, it falls over. So, we must follow the real path."

• THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV (1) •

(5) Living Faith
'Depend on Him as much as you can. Learn to believe in Him, the Absolute Good. We should not rely on the future. We do not know where we shall be hurled to at any moment, by the course of the different currents of the environment. So act in the living present, believe only the present. Try to make the most of the present. Don’t bother retaining the previous incidents of your life.'

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.'

In honour of Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj:

namo gaurakisoraya bhaktavadhuta murtaye gauranghri padma-bhrngaya radha-bhava-nisevine "I offer my obeisance to Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, who is a worshippable embodiment of an avadhut devotee (who is situated beyond all rules and regulations, and who can rescue the most fallen), who is a bumblebee at the lotus feet of Sri Gaura, relishing the divine mood of Sri Radhika."

Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj's Samadhi Mandir
"Before, I knew that anyone who assumes a human form is as contemptible and vile as myself, but when I observed the character of my Lord [Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj], I could gradually understand that a perfect Vaishnav could exist in this world. Through the words and pastimes of saintly persons such deficient jiva souls as myself can become enriched in many ways. Hearing about the character of saintly persons and their pastimes can cleanse many unsaintly hearts. With this hope I am writing a few words about Paramahamsa Babaji."

Srila Gaurakishoradas Babaji Maharaj
(An article written by Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad and published in the Harmonist in honour of the disappearance day of Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj)
"We cannot be eligible for the discipleship of Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode, whom we may be disposed to honour on account of his display of scientific scholarship, unless we are cured of all our scholastic vanities through the realisation of the knowledge of transcendence by unconditional submission to the feet of Srila Gaurakishoradasa Babaji."

Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj
The transcendental pastimes and character of a great Vaishnav of our sampradaya: "'Why are you staying here in Radha Kunda? You must come to Nabadwip. My lila is not in Vrindavan, now My lila is going on in Nabadwip, so you must come here.' And he came here...."
• Download / listen to the audio (5.1 Mb, 15 min | 17 November 2010)

Sri Srimad Gaura-Kishor-Namaskar Dasakam
"O guru of my guru! My Param Guru, you are worshipped in the foremost society of Sri Gauranga’s devotees. May you be propitiated with this servitor surrendered unto your loving servitor Dayita Das (Srila Prabhupad). O Gaura Kishor, obeisances to you again and again."

Param Gurvastakam
"He is a pure devotee living in the shelter of Gauda Dham; he is a chaste follower of Sri Rupa and is of impeccable character; he is a holy embodiment of the radiant, exalted religion of renunciation – I am offering obeisance to my Lord who is known as Sri Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj."

In honour of Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj:

Reforming Others
Three educational stories from the life of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and his disciple Sripad B.D. Madhav Maharaj.
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 5 min | 12 May 2012)

Guru Consciousness, Service Consciousness
"I heard from Gurudev, one time it was Janmastami, and Madhav Maharaj (his brahmachari name was Hayagriva Prabhu) had some service in Delhi, so he had to travel by train on the Janmastami day...."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 25 December 2010)

Srimad Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj's Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math
"Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Maharaj was a very dear godbrother of the Founder Acharya of our Math, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Before taking sannyas, Srila Madhav Maharaj's name was Sri Hayagriva Brahmachari. We have heard about him from the lotus mouth of our Srila Guru Maharaj..."

Continuous Service
"It happened after Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's time. One time, Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj and one more sannyasi—three disciples of Prabhupad—were sitting in one room..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 5 min | 7 August 2011)

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?

"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)

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part One, chanted on Saturdays)
'Demigods, perfected souls, liberated souls, yogis and Lord’s devotees always sing His praise; He relieves the world from the blazing forest fire of three-fold miseries (caused by the desire for enjoyment, liberation and perfections) brought about by inauspicious actions (performed in aversion to the Supreme Lord); an ocean of generosity, He bestows His own Name from the nectarean storehouse of Lord Sri Krishna’s Names – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'