All Glory to Sri Sri Guru Gauranga

GUIDANCE

Issue #25

A compilation of holy discourses emanating

from the holy lotus mouth of

His Divine Grace

Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru

Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj

published from Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

at SCSMathInternational.com during October-December 2020

CONTENT

Bhakta-Bhav

"My Nature"

Good News

Father-Son Pastime

"Try Your Best"

Surrendered Soul's Solace

Approaching Bhagavatam

Disciples' Dedication

Restaurant Devotion vs Pure Devotion

Unimaginable

Loving Care and Service

"Please Be Careful"

Sincere Chanting

Parts of Service Life

Cruelty-Free Service Life

Service Aspiration

"Inconceivable, Unbelievable, and Unimaginable"

Clearing Contradictions

A Very Busy Day

Service with Full Enthusiasm

My Fortune and My Promise

Rare Jewels

Root of Devotion

Remembering Right Things

Shifting Priorities

Loving Service

Do Not Jump Into Maya

Srila Lochan Das Thakur Mahasay

About Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar

Fundamental Mood of Kirtan

Sincere Ego-Free Relationship

Nonsense Sacrifice

Our Main Problem

Search for Original Source

Vyasadev's Gift (1)

Vyasadev's Gift (2)

Leave Questioning Mood

Fancy Living, Shallow Thinking

Service Hankering

Our Great Fortune

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Appearance and Early Days

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Powerful Preaching

"Service Is My Vow"

Forgetting Yourself

Joy of Good Association

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Expanding Gaudiya Math

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Scriptural Expertise

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Emporium of Greatness

Sri Vraja-Mandal Tattva

Appearance of Sri Giriraj Govardhan

Sri Govardhan Puja

Do Not Play With Fire

Gupta Govardhan and Other Esoteric Pastimes

Internal and External Evolution

Core of Life

Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami

Appearance of Acharya Srinivas

Acharya Srinivas: Collecting Mercy

Acharya Srinivas: Rescuing Scriptures

Take Care of Yourself

Ongoing Agenda

Sober Householder Life

Learn, Practise, and Preach

Duare Duare Prachar

Superficial Speculation

Cow's Milk

Danger of Deviation

My Solace

Soul's Ultimate Happiness

Burning One's Own Fortune

Dhenukasur's Fate

Internal Purity

Stay In Gurudev's Heart

Do Away With Gossiping

Be Part of Krishna Consciousness Movement

Humility—Not To Misconceptions

Initiation: Beyond Formality

Fight Your Ego

Sober Interaction

'You Are My All-In-All'

Perfect Time for Preaching

Preaching Plan and Programme

Keep Yourself Busy With Service

Practical Choice

Embody Proper Conception

Real Relationship

Try to Forget

Bound by Loving Service

Deep Service Mood

Ideal of Surrender

Spiritual Chastity

Bhakta-Bhav

Kolkata—Worldwide, 27 September 2020, part 1

Haribol.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Jay saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay
Sri Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
All the assembled sannyasi-vrinda ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar ki jay
Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura prema-anande Hari Hari bol

I am offering my humble obeisance to all the devotees, all the sannyasis, brahmacharis. I am giving my full obeisance to you all, please accept my humble obeisance.

Today is an ekadasi day—it is Hari-vasar tithi, Padmini Ekadasi. It is a very good day. This year, we have Purushottam month and therefore this one extra ekadasi. The presiding Deity (adi-devata) of the supreme month (adi-mas) is Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna Himself. The extra ekadasi in Purushottam month is called Padmini ekadasi. It is a very auspicious day. We should always think about Krishna, always offer worship to Krishna during this time. Some vidhi-marga is there and is necessary to practise. I will tell later about the glory of this Padmini ekadasi—there is some story that happened between Nanda Maharaj and Lord Krishna, how Krishna rescued Nanda Maharaj on the next day (dvadasi day) after Padmini ekadasi. There are so many kinds of pastimes of Krishna in His Vraja-lila, and one of His pastimes is related to this day.

Anyhow, I can see all the devotees, and it is very nice to see you all. Actually, I heard yesterday that one of our devotees had passed away... Devotees always come and when their work is finished, Krishna takes them... What more can I say? Devotees always serve, and if Krishna needs their service in some other part, in some other way, He engages them in the way He likes to. It depends upon the will of Krishna. Hearing that devotee had passed away yesterday, I am very sad. Mahaprabhu says, "Krishna-bhakta-viraha vina duhkha nahi dekhi para: I cannot see any other sorrow except that of separation from a devotee of Krishna." Separation from devotees is very painful. Sriman Mahaprabhu also showed us what that separation is like when He was in Gambhira. He showed separation (viraha) and mood of devotion (bhakta-bhav). Coming as a devotee in this audarya-lila in Kali-yuga, Krishna Himself shows what is the mood of devotion. Embracing bhakta-bhav, He appeared as a devotee. As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He shows what is the mood of a devotee, how a devotee must not only act, but what kind of behaviour and mood a devotee must have. He taught this. We can see the teachings of Mahaprabhu and we can realise what is necessary to have if we want to have the mood of a devotee, what the mood of devotion is. Mahaprabhu Himself shows all this in His audarya-lila.

Krishna's lila is madhurya-lila (sweet amorous pastimes), and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's lila is audarya-lila (magnanimous pastimes). He shows His magnanimity, devotional mood, and He also shows separation (the mood of Srimati Radharani—what sort of separation from the Lord She experiences).

So, we must always feel very sad when we face separation from devotees. When the disappearance day of some devotee comes, we must always remember their good activities, their service, their service mood. We should always remember devotees' service mood.

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

('Jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa mahasaya')

"If you remember the glories of Vaishnavs, if you speak about the glories of Vaishnavs, devotees can rescue you from all kinds of bondage (jivera trana). All sadhus, gurus, Vaishnavs always say this."

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

('Jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa mahasaya')

By the mercy of Gurudev, we are all trying to serve Gurudev's misison. Everybody, in every corner of the world, is trying to serve the Mission of Srila Guru Maharaj, the Mission of Srila Gurudev through their heart, through their mind, and through their activities. This mission Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math was founded by our Founder Acharya Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and it was given a proper form and expanded by the main personality in our life—our beloved Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He gave so much love and affection to you all, all over the world, he gave his very life for you all and for myself also—he gave his life to make me a good boy. I am also always trying to satisfy him. I do not know how much I can do, or how much I have been able to do, but I am still trying to satisfy him and satisfy his devotees.

In His audarya-lila, Sriman Mahaprabhu teaches us devotional mood. In Sri Krishna's pastimes, there is santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhura-rasa (relationship of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood, and consorthood), and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed only santa, dasya, sakhya, and vatsalya (relationship of neutrality, servitude, friendship, and parenthood). He did not enter so much into madhura-rasa, He mostly spread santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya-rasa, and He appeared in this world as Pancha-Tattva (He Himself, Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acharya, Sri Gadadhar Pandit, and Srivas Pandit). Nityananda Prabhu is actually non-different from Him (dui dehe eka rupa—Gaura and Nitai are one, but appear in two forms). To perform His lila, the Lord Himself appears in two forms, as Gauranga and Nitai, just as Krishna appears in Dvapar-yuga as Krishna and Balaram. In Dvapar-yuga, it is Krishna and Balaram, and here in Kali-yuga They are Gauranga and Nitai. In this way, akhilarasamrita sindhu Lord Sri Krishna (emporium of all rasas) manifested Himself as Gauranga Mahaprabhu. I want to remember this today.

[His Divine Grace then reads Chapter 'Devotional Mood (Bhakta-Bhav)' from Guidance 3.]

There are many examples of temporary mood in this material world, but the eternal nitya-siddha mood is manifest within the servitors in the transcendental domain. The mood that comes from the side of servitors is bhakta-bhav, and the nitya-siddha mood of the service-accepting object of service is called bhagavad-bhav.

Accepting the mood of a devotee in His audarya-lila, Sri Krishna-chandra taught about service to the Lord: He manifest Himself as Gaura, magnanimity incarnate, and within the Pancha-tattva and personally explained to different devotees how to serve Sri Krishna, the emporium of all rasas, in four types of mood (dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhura). His prakasa-tattva Sri Nityananda Prabhu helped Him by teaching His followers about the brilliance of the eternal state of perfection (nitya-siddha-bhav) in the vatsalya-, dasya- and sakhya-rasas. Sri Gaurasundar is the source of all incarnations and Sri Advaita Prabhu is His devotee incarnation (bhaktavatar)—he taught his followers the moods of dasya and sakhya. Srivas and other pure devotees, as well as Sri Gadadhar Pandit and other intimate devotees, served Lord Krishna in their own singular peculiar mood. Therefore, manifesting the pastime of a devotee, Sriman Mahapabhu Himself taught four types of devotion, namely dasya, sakya, vatsalya, and madhura; His very own manifestation (prakasa-tattva) Sri Nityananda Prabhu taught devotion in the moods of dasya, sakhya and vatsalya; and His devotee incarnation (bhaktavatar) Sri Advaita Acharya Prabhu taught devotion in the mood of dasya and sakhya. These three are bhagavad-vastu (parts and parcels of the Lord), but they accepted the mood of devotees. Among them, Sri Gaurasundar (Mahaprabhu) is the Lord's original form (svayam-rupa), Nityananda Prabhu is His immediate personal expansion (svayam-prakasa) and Sri Advaita Prabhu is His direct expansion (svamsa) Mahavisnu.

Some of the Pancha-tattva represent an energy or a devotee of the Lord (sakti-tattva or bhakta-tattva), they do not come from the Lord or the Lord's potency directly—they are asraya-tattva (they give shelter). Sri Gadadhar Pandit, Sri Svarupa Damodar, Sri Ramananda, Sri Rupa and other are sakti-tattva and they serve Krishna in madhura-rasa. Each of them has their own mood (rasa), they do not manifest several moods like Mahaprabhu or His tattva. Pure devotees like Srivas Pandit represent only dasya-rasa, they also do not manifest several moods.

When we say pure devotees and intimate devotees, we must not think that devotees like Srivas Pandit are external devotees. Internal original energy (antaranga svarupa-sakti) of the Lord is the embodiment of madhura-rasa, Srimati Radhika. Gadadhar, Svarup, Ramananda, Sri Rupa and others are followers of Sri Radhika and they situated within eternal perfection (nitya-siddha-bhav) in madhura-rasa, that is why they are considered intimate devotees (antaranga-bhakta) whereas devotees like Srivas Pandit are situated within pure dasya-rasa, therefore they are considered examples of pure devotees (suddha-bhakta).

Although Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are visaya-tattva (They are the Lord or the Lord's direct potency), They show four, three and two devotional moods. In audarya-lila, devotees of the Lord do not manifest the mood of the Lord in which He relishes devotional mellows (sweet amorous pastimes of Lord Krishna)—such enjoyment and turning Mahaprabhu into a gaura-nagari enjoyer is refrained from. The writer of Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata described the pastimes of Sri Chaitanyadev in the mood of a devotee, and mentioned in some places that Mahaprabhu reclined like Visnu, that He manifested the forms of Lord Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha. Therefore, rasa-lila, parakiya-rasa, etc. (intimate loving pastimes, pastimes of paramour love) relished by the source of all avatars, the original form of the Lord, is not manifest in His audarya pastimes in Gaura-lila because they are peculiar to Krishna-lila. In this regard, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami Prabhu wrote:

yasoda-nandana haila sachira nandana
chatur-vidha bhakta-bhava kare asvadana

"The same Supreme Personality of Godhead who appeared as the son of mother Yasoda has now appeared as the son of mother Sachi, relishing four kinds of devotional moods."

vatsalya, dasya, sakhya—tina bhava-maya
sei nityananda—krsna-chaitanya-sahaya

"Sri Nityananda Prabhu always assists Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in vatsalya, dasya, and sakhya moods."

advaita-acharya-gosani bhakta-avatara
krsna avatariya kaila bhaktira prachara
sakhya, dasya,—dui bhava sahaja tanhara
kabhu prabhu karena tanre guru-vyavahara

"Srila Advaita Acharya Prabhu is an incarnation of a devotee. He is in the category of Krishna, but He descended to preach about devotional service. His mood is sakhya and dasya, but the Lord sometimes treated Him as His spiritual master."

srivasadi yata mahaprabhura bhakta-gana
nija nija bhave karena chaitanya-sevana

"All the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, headed by Srivasa Thakura, have their own devotional moods in which they serve Him."

pandita-gosani adi yanra yei rasa
sei sei rase prabhu hana tanra vasa

"Personal associates like Gadadhara are are all situated in their respective transcendental moods. Thus the Lord submits to various mellows according to the transcendental mellow of His devotee."

tinha syama,—vamsi-mukha, gopa-vilasi
inha gaura—kabhu dvija, kabhu ta' sannyasi

"In Krishna-lila the Lord's complexion is blackish. Holding a flute to His mouth, He enjoys as a cowherd boy. Now the selfsame person has appeared with a fair complexion, sometimes acting as a brahman and sometimes accepting the renounced order of life."

ataeva apane prabhu gopi-bhava dhari'
vrajendra-nandane kahe 'prana-natha' kari'

"Therefore the Lord Himself, accepting the mood of the gopis, now addresses the son of Nanda Maharaj, 'O master of My life! O My dear husband!'"

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta, 1.17.275, 296, 298-303)

Sri Gaurasundar is not Syamasundar, maintainer of cowherd boys and inciter of amorous pastimes, He is not the Flute-Holder, nor the Chief Enjoyer. Moreover, He is a non-different form of Sri Radhika, the main asraya-vigraha in transcendental loving pastimes—renouncing all kinds of enjoyment He takes on the form of a brahman and a sannyasi. Attempting to destroy the characteristic peculiarity of Mahaprabhu's eternal form and eternal mood, people have come up with an unsanctioned by the scriptures idea of "Gaura-nagari" (considering Gaura-Krishna as an enjoyer).

Sri Krishna Chaitanyadev, Sri Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Advaita Prabhu are Supreme Lord and visaya-tattva (worshippable Deity, Lord), therefore more than one devotional moods can be discerned within Them. However, it is impossible for the sakti-tattva (energies of the Lord) or asraya-tattva (the worshipper, shelter) to simultaneously be within several moods.

Because asraya-tattva devotees' mood is complete and exclusive, they always serve Krishna in the shelter of their mood. Because Sri Krishna Chaitanyadev shows four devotional mellows, His devotees—His devotees have four types of eternal devotional mood of service. Srivas Pandit, et al. show dasya-bhav; Sri Nityananda Prabhu et al. sakhya-bhav; Puri Goswami et al. vatsalya-bhav; Gadadhar Pandit, Svarup, Ramananda et al. madhura-bhav. Because Sri Nityananda Prabhu shows three moods, His followers show service in these three moods as well (dasya, sakhya, vatsalya).

Sri Advaita Acharya's followers are dasya and sakhya-rasa devotees. If one enters the branches of Sri Achyutananda, Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami Prabhu, one will see that the service to Krishna is manifest there in eternal madhura-rasa mood.

Sri Gaudi Das Pandit is one of the twelve cowherd friends (dvadasa-gopalas) in Vrndavan, and his disciple Syamananda Prabhu followed his Guru in the sakhya-bhav and simultaneously exhibited madhura-bhav entering the association of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, a follower of Sri Rupa Goswami. Sri Syamananda Prabhu is considered to be an avatar (isvarakoti). Therefore, it is not impossible for him to exhibit more than one devotional mood.

The detachment from the material world that is seen within the santa-bhav (neutral, detached mood) of the nirvisesvadis, or the stone-like unconscious state of the offenders of the Lord, demons, etc. is not the santa-bhav of devotees. The former are antagonistic to the pastimes of the Lord, but the latter (devotees filled with neutral devotion for the Lord) assist the pastimes. If one thinks that the neutral mood of devotees is the same as the state attained in Buddhism and other impersonalist doctrines (chinmatravad, mayavad, achinmatravad), then they will have to fall down due to the grave offence—they neither know proper conception, nor think rationally. The waters of the Yamuna, the sand of Yamuna, the bamboo stick in the hands of Lord Krishna, the bugle of Lord Baladev, etc. are not material things or unconscious matter—they are conscious and contribute to the service for satisfaction of Krishna's senses. The affection that is present in dasya-rasa is not fully bloomed in santa-rasa, it is present there partially. However, even though affection is not fully manifest, they always, at every moment contribute to Krishna's service, and their identity is so exalted that so many devotees, including Brahma and Uddhav Maharaj aspire to be born in that Vraja Dham as blades of grass, bushes, creepers.

asam aho charana-renu-jusam aham syam
vrndavane kim api gulma-latau-sadhinam
ya dustyajam svajanam arya patham cha hitva
bhejur mukundapadavim srutibhir vimrgyam

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.47.61)

The gopis have completely left behind their beloved husbands, sons, and other family members, as well as social rules, and have sought out the lotus feet of Sri Krishna whom all the Vedas are looking for—O, will I ever be born in any form as some creeper in Vrndavan so that the dust from the holy feet of these gopis may fall on my head? Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu said in his Vraja-vilasa-stava (102):

yat kinchit trna-gulma-kikata-mukham gosthe samastam hi tat
sarvananda-mayam mukunda-dayitam lilanukulam param
sastrair eva muhur muhuh sphutam idam nistankitam yachnya
brahmader api sa-sprhena tad idam sarvam maya vandyate

"The grass, shrubs, insects, and other creatures in Vraja—everything there—are all-joyful, dear to Mukunda, and make a special contribution to His Pastimes. Bhagavatam and other scriptures, even Brahma, Uddhava, and other great souls constantly and openly worship them. I bow down and pray to all this paraphernalia."

There are five devotional mellows, or moods, in Goloka: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhura; and in Vaikuntha there are three and a half: santa, dasya and formal sakhya. There are two types of sakya-bhav—one is formal sakhya and the other one is informal. In formal sakhya-rasa, devotees cannot climb on the Lord's shoulder or offer Him their food remnants; they maintain a sober composure. That is why the higher part of sakhya-rasa is present in Goloka or Vraja, but not in Vaikuntha. When Arjuna saw the universal form of Lord Sri Krishna, he thought that he had committed an offence of calling Krishna his friend, engaging Him as his chariot-driver, etc. but in Vraja, the friends of Krishna do not treat Him so formally. Even the santa and dasya rasas in Vraja are different from those in Vaikuntha. In Vraja, santa and dasya rasas are stunningly beautiful and devoid of grandeur and opulence. Seeing the great opulence of Narayan, Vaikuntha servants are attracted to the servitude to Narayan; but the servants of Krishna who live in Vraja (Raktaka, Patraka, Chitraka, and others) are naturally drawn to being Krishna's servants and assisting Him in His various duties, whether it is Gopendra-nandan Sri Krishna's service at Govardhan or any other non-opulent service. They are attracted by the sweet and simple personality of Lord Sri Krishna, nothing else.

The diversity and individually that is found in Vaikuntha and Goloka or in the various devotional mellows of Vraja is fully present within the corresponding relishers of these mellows (devotees). Only if we judge from an impartial point of view (if we assume the position of a third party, so to say), then we can see that there are higher and lower moods. In Vaikuntha, devotees use only the middle part of their transcendental bodies to serve Narayan (from navel up to the upper limbs), and in Vraja devotees serve with the lower parts of their transcendental bodies as well. However, if devotees serve Krishna with all their transcendental body, from head to toes, it does not mean that servitors in Vaikuntha use their lower part of body (from navel to lower limbs) for their own service and activities. There is no question of enjoyment in the place where all hesitation or limitations (kuntha) are left behind, however the servitors in Vaikuntha do not show the use of their lower body in service out of respect. Vaikuntha servitors consider using the lower part of the body or the whole body to be an example of the limited world—applicable to the souls that are bound by material illusion and subject to the results of their karma. Those who do not know their true identity and have no idea about the world of Goloka, always use their entire body for the illusory mundane works.

* * *

"My Nature"

Kolkata—Worldwide, 27 September 2020, part 2

Has anyone read this part [Chapter 'Devotional Mood (Bhakta-Bhav)' from Guidance 3] before?

Devotee: Guidance 1 and 2 are very easy, but Guidance 3 and 4 are very difficult to understand...

[His Divine Grace laughs.] I have to tell these things because these are Radha-Krishna's pastimes and they think it is a cheap thing. Who can understand it? I have told you that those who are enjoying with the material world cannot understand, cannot realise these things; those who have entered practising life, devotional life, who are practising eternally, who always serve their guru and always understand what is service mood, devotional mood—they can realise it.

I also read sometimes—whenever I get time, I like to read books. This year, Sripad Jayapataka Swami Maharaj from ISKCON sent me Bengali Srimad Bhagavatam set composed by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Srila Prabhupad. I kept the books in Nrisingha Palli, and when I go there I sometimes read those books. These books are very easy to understand because Srila Swami Maharaj's writing is very easy. He composed the English translation at the Radha Damodar Temple before going to abroad, and now they have also made the Bengali copy. When I was in Nrisingha Palli last time, Sripad Jayapataka Maharaj's servitor came to me and said that Sripad Jayapataka Maharaj had sent a full set for me and gave me the books. I read them.

To this day, I still like reading. I have a habit to always read. Whenever some new books come out, I read it. Sometimes, I also read the life history of great sadhus. The other day I was reading Srila Sridhar Maharaj's biography. You know, they cook for me so much tasty food, so much opulent prasadam, and when they serve it to me, I remember Param Gurudev Srila Sridhar Maharaj—when his mother served food to him, she would cry because she would make so many things for her son, Srila Sridhar Maharaj (Ramendra Bhattacharya, at the time), he would not take anything—he would take only some rice with boiled neem leaves. How much he punished his tongue! We always going here and there for jihva-lalasa (for the enjoyment of the tongue), but our Param Gurudev Srila Sridhar Maharaj would take only some rice with boiled neem leaves! I am very surprised to hear it. When prasadam comes to me and there is something bitter on the plate, I always try to avoid it, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj only took that [His Divine Grace chuckles]. Now, whenever I get anything bitter, I remember him... Sometimes, I also take neem begun [eggplant with neem leaves]—Gurudev likes it, so I also take it.

Our Guru-varga are all renounced persons—they give up everything and do bhajan on the bank of the Ganges... Srila Sridhar Maharaj never went out of India, he never even stayed outside Nabadwip so much, but all great personalities of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur would come to see him and hear his Hari-katha. You know, Sripad Bon Maharaj, a senior sannyasi of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, who was a very learned person, also said, "If you want to hear Hari-katha, if you want to hear the Hari-katha that Srila Prabhupad spoke, you should go to Srila Sridhar Maharaj."

This Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave everything to my Gurudev, and whenever Srila Gurudev spoke about anything, whatever he said, sounded very sweet. I have got an opportunity to listen to his Hari-katha... Even his chastisement was also sweet. Who can chastise me now? I have no one now who could chastise me. This is now a pastime, it is in the past—no one chastises me now. There is only one person in this world who could chastise me, and that person is my Guru. When I joined Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, I did not know anything about temple life or anything also, but Gurudev taught me with heart and soul and I am trying to learn that. I am still learning. Actually, I do not want to teach anybody, I want to learn myself more and more. That is my nature. "Sarvada-i sisya thakibo"—I will always remain a disciple. That is my will and wish. That is the main thing...

* * *

Good News

Kolkata—Worldwide, 27 September 2020, part 3

I have got some good news today, not everybody may have heard it, so I want to tell you about it. A while ago, our prime minister inaugurated a temple of Lord Rama in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama. [Background: In 16th century, a muslim king broke the original temple on the site and built there a mosque. The mosque was then demolished about thirty years ago, and following decades of fights over the land, the site was again legally restored as Lord Rama's birthplace and turned into a temple of Lord Rama.] So, the latest news is about another mosque near Adi-Keshav's temple in Mathura (those of you who have been to Vrindavan parikrama have seen it). Two people have filed a court case in Allahabad Court saying that the Muslim people had taken the place forcefully, but as this is Krishna's birthplace and the land is registered in the name of Adi Keshava, therefore the mosque that the Muslim king had built is unauthorised. So, Krishna's Birthplace Committee has now filed a court case with the Allahabad Court—they want to again take possession of that land in Krishna's birthplace. It is good news because there is always so much security there—they check everyone and do not allow any mobile phones or electronic devices, you cannot take a camera with you, even mridangas, karatalas, conches, etc. are not allowed because of the mosque! It is very painful that we cannot take a mridanga, karatals with us because of a mosque! What is this? I have been praying to Krishna for that—and now they have filed a case, I am sure one day justice will happen.

Does anyone have any questions today?

Question: Is it true that you cannot sleep at night or take a nap on ekadasi because if you do, you will lose your fast?

No! No, no, no. You can sleep, it is not a problem. Sleeping, resting is also a part of service. If you do not sleep, if you do not take rest, then how will you serve? Your health will be damaged.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj wrote in Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's pranam mantra,

nikhila-bhuvana-maya-chhinna-vichchhinna-kartri
vibudha-bahula-mrgya-mukti-mohanta-datri
sithilita-vidhi-raga-aradhya-radhesa-dhani
vilasati hrdi nityam bhakti-siddhanta-vani

"With his first step, he vigorously cut asunder the whole plane of exploitation, and with his second, he put a stop to all the calculations of the different scholars with their different conceptions of liberation. With his third step, he eased the hard rules and regulations by a touch of the Divine Love: he gave us the worship of Sri Sri Radha and Govinda. The real existence of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad is in his divine teachings. May those teachings dance eternally within the core of your heart."

Srila Bhakti Sriddhanta Saraswati Thakur reduced so many rules and regulations (sithilita-vidhi-raga-aradhya-radhesa-dhani). He reduced the rules and regulations for the benefit of devotees. So, you can sleep, you can take rest. Otherwise, if you give many rules and regulations, no one will follow ekadasi! You know, we are supposed to take anu-kalpa (a little bit food) on ekadasi, but we always take brihat-kalpa (enormous meal). There is always opulent prasadam coming on ekadasi. You worry how to fast without rice, flour, dal, etc., but Krishna has arranged everything for us to be able to follow ekadasi—there are so many kinds of fruit, you can take as much potato as you want, you can take original tapioca. So many things are there that can be taken.

So, when people say that you cannot sleep, that you must chant the whole night, it is a misconception, it is not a good idea. You can sleep, you can take rest as required, it is not a problem.

Are there any other questions?

Question: What is the proper way to chant the Holy Name and chant bhajans?

It is depends on you. You can chant loudly, you can chant not loudly, but chanting loudly is better. Haridas Thakur chanted loudly. If you chant silently, then so many things, so many problems will be coming to your mind—you cannot control your senses. So, if you chant loudly, it is the best. This is so also because all the birds, beasts, trees, etc. cannot chant the Holy Name themselves, but if you chant loudly, they can hear the sound vibration from you and they can get purified, they can get benefitted through you. That is why chanting loudly is good. As I have just said, Srila Haridas Thakur, who is Namacharya, always chanted loudly. Also, different types of chanting produce different types of result. If you chant silently or quietly, it produces one type of result, and if you chant loudly, it produces another type of result. If you chant and dance, it is also another result. Chanting loudly is good—when we do arati and sing at the arati, we dance and chant, and it brings a good result.

* * *

Father-Son Pastime

Kolkata—Worldwide, 27 September 2020, part 4

I will explain some glory of today's ekadasi. I usually do not explain so much about different ekadasis, but this ekadasi is exceptional because it is Adi-mas (Purushottam month) now, so today's ekadasi (Padmini Ekadasi) is an extra ekadasi, it does not come every year. Therefore, this ekadasi is very auspicious. We should spend this day remembering Lord Sri Krishnachandra, Govinda. What I am going to say comes from Gopal-champu, a book composed by Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu. I do not think that this book has been translated and published in English, but I was reading it [in Bengali]. As I said, this ekadasi does not come every year, it only occurs during Purushottam month. This year also is the year when Jagannathdev accepts Nagarjun Vesh in Sri Puri Dham, it will take place shortly after Purushottam month. [Nagarjuna Vesh is an attire of a warrior commemorating Arjuna's victory over his son Nagarjuna; this year, this ceremony is held at the end of Kartik month after twenty-six years.]

This ekadasi vrata is observed by worshipping Sri Govindadev with the mantra (om namo bhagavate vasudevaya) and different items (upachar)—asan (seat), padya (water for washing feet), arghya (water for washing hands), achaman (water for washing mouth), vasan (cloth), abharan (ornaments), yajna-pavit (poita, brahmin thread), gandha (sandalwood paste), puspa (flowers), dhup (incense), dipa (lamp), naivedya (foodstuffs), tambul (betel), malya (garland). The Lord is also bathed on this day with milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, sugar and mantra is,

om sahasrasirsa purusah sahasraksah sahasrapat
sa bhumim visvato vrtva'tyatistaddasagulam

This is Govindadev's pranam mantra. On this day, you should offer special bhog for the Lord (you should offer both ekadasi and non-ekadasi bhog for the Lord)—some sweet rice, kheer, vyanjan (vegetables), ghee, various pita (sweet cakes), rasakheli, sandesh, laddu, etc. On this day, you should listen to narrations about the pastimes of the Lord in good association (this is why I am telling some things about the pastimes of the Lord today).

It is stated in Sri Hari-bhakti-vilas that those who observe this ekadasi attain a liberated form upon leaving their body. I will be reading about a pastime of Sri Govinda from Gopal-champu that is composed by Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, as I have already said. Listen to it properly. This is a pastime of Nanda Maharaj and Lord Krishna, and it happened tomorrow, the day after ekadasi, i.e. on the dvadasi day. It is a pita-putra pastimes (a pastime between a father and a son).

Nanda Maharaj, along with his four brothers (Upananda, Abhinanda, Sunanda and Nandan) always observed ekadasi. How did he follow it? As I have just said, he would offer many items to the Lord, Mother Yasoda would cook many things and Nanda Maharaj would help her, do the offering, etc. All Vraja gopas and Vraja gopis fasted on ekadasi days and listened to Hari-katha, Hari-sankirtan, lila-katha, lila-abhinay—they remembered the pastimes of the Lord. So, that particular day, following this Padmini Ekadasi, Nanda Maharaj went to bathe in the Yamuna along with all the Vraja gopas. Before entering the river, he started meditating. In the meantime, some spies of Varunadev (like Lord Yamaraj, Varunadev also has some spies in this world) came to the bank of the Yamuna and, when they saw Nanda Maharaj meditating, they quickly took him away from there.

So many things happened after that. The news of Nanda Maharaj's disappearance spread instantly all over Vraja.

(Gopal-champu is a drama, so there followed a conversation between Madhukanta and Snigdhakanta.)

Madhukanta asked, "Who has taken Nanda Baba?!"

Snigdhakanta replied, "O brother! When Nanda Baba was bathing this morning, Varundev's people came and took him away!"

Madhukanta asked, "What happened after that?!"

Snigdhakanta said, "Listen to what I am about to say." And he told Madhukanta what happened next.

Then, the news that Nanda Maharaj had drowned in the Yamuna spread immediately in all four directions. Having heard about it, everybody started crying, "What has happened to Nanda Maharaj?" His brothers Upananda, Abhinanda, Sunanda, and Nandan also came there and started searching for Nanda Maharaj in the Yamuna, "Where is our brother? Where did he go?" They searched and searched but could not find him. When Yasoda Ma heard about this, she became senseless. Regaining consciousness, she started praying to Krishna and the Lord, "He Ram!" Hearing her shout and cry, Krishna and Balaram, who were sleeping at that time, immediately woke up. Mother Yasoda told them, "Have You heard that Your father has drowned in the Yamuna?" Then, the two brothers ran to the bank of the Yamuna. Krishna told Balaram, "Take care of mom and all the gopis, I will search for dad." And Krishna jumped into the Yamuna...

It is very difficult to understand the inconceivable energy and pastimes of the Lord. When Krishna jumped into the Yamuna, He at once came to the gate of Varundev's palace. When Varundev understood that it is Lord Sri Krishna Himself had come, he paid a full obeisance to Lord Krishna and said, "My men are ignorant, not knowing anything they brought Your father to me. I am begging You for forgiveness." After that, Sri Krishna beheld the numerous treasures in Varundev's astonishing city and then, amidst all that, He saw Nanda Maharaj sitting and meditating. Sri Krishna pulled His father's uttariya and said, "Father, father! Come with Me!" Nanda Maharaj opened his eyes and asked Krishna, "O son, where am I?" Krishna replied quickly, "Wherever you are, it is not necessary to ask anything, come with Me quickly!" (Krishna did not let Nanda Maharaj see Varundev's opulence.)

When Nanda Maharaj came back and all the Vraja gopas and Vraja gopis saw him, they became very happy.

Such is the glory of Padmini Ekadasi and Lord Govinda. This is what Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu described in his Gopal-champu.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

[His Divine Grace then chants 'Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu', 'Jaya Radhe Jaya Krsna', and 'Hari haraye Nama Krsna' and ends the class.]

* * *

"Try Your Best"

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 1

Hari bol. Hare Krishna.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Om Vishnupad Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj ki jay
Sachchidananda Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur ki jay
Sarvabhauma Sri Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi Tulasi Devi Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda Radha Kunda Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham Sri Nabadwip Dham Sri Vrindavan Mathura ki jay
Sri Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev Subhadra Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math ki jay
Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I am very happy to see you all. I can see all the devotees, their faces, and it gives me enthusiasm. Amidst this pandemic situation, everybody is practising, and everybody is practising properly by the mercy of Gurudev. Due to this situation, we cannot meet all together, but at least we can meet every week in this 'Zoom' class...

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur says that if you send a letter to the Lord, you will not get any answer, but if you send your letter to your Guru—if you tell or ask your Guru something concerning spiritual matters, then you will definitely get an answer. That is why, it is necessary for us to have a proper connection with our Guru through service. Proper connection with your Guru comes through service mood. Always try your best. Give as much as you can to your Guru, that is the main thing in our life, and that is the proper line. Everyone has some natural capacity, but you must try to give even more than that because the Guru is the centre of a disciple's heart.

If a disciple does some service but does not fulfil the desire of his or her guru, then the result will not come. My Gurudev (Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) fulfilled the most cherished desires of his Guru Maharaj, that is why Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj wrote about him, "Gurvvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam. He perfectly fulfils his Gurudev's most cherished desires and is fully adorned with the blessings of his Gurudev's associates." Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave so much blessing to my Gurudev. Gurudev always said, "I have nothing—whatever I have, whatever I am giving you comes from my Guru." I also say the same thing, "I have nothing, actually. I am merely giving you what my Gurudev says." Even Sri Raya Ramananda said, "I am not speaking, actually. You can see my mouth speaking, but it is actually Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself speaking." These are Sri Raya Ramananda Prabhu's words. Mahaprabhu would ask questions and Mahaprabhu would answer them also, and Ramananda Ray says, "He answers His own question through my mouth, through my tongue."

So, in this current situation, you must depend upon Gurudev in everything—give everything to your Guru. All Vraja gopis gave everything, their deha (body) and dehi (that which dwells within the body; the very soul), just to fulfil the desire of Lord Krishna. They did that. The associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the associates of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, all our guru-varga are not ordinary persons—they are all associates of Srimati Radharani. Srimati Radharani Herself has brought them from Goloka Vrindavan to fulfil the pastimes of the Lord, to spread Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's vani.

In his old age, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj lived in Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and so many scholars would come to hear his Hari-katha—he would be lying down, others would come, ask some questions, and he would give them answers, he would give them Chaitanya-vani. In this way, he spread the message, advice, or teachings, of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. After that, our Gurudev carried that message to every country of the world and bestowed his mercy all over the world—he threw the seeds of the Holy Name, the seeds of devotion all over the world; and we can see now that so many big trees have grown from those seeds and these trees now bear fruit all over the world. I can see it, and I have no doubt about it.

I am sure that those who follow my Gurudev, who have taken shelter at the lotus feet of my Gurudev, will reach their destination. Gurudev himself said about such devotees, "I am going to my home now, but I will keep rooms for them there—they can come and stay with me." You must keep a strongest faith in what Gurudev said—we must believe it. This is the main thing.

* * *

Surrendered Soul's Solace

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 2

Wherever you are preaching, it is first necessary to practise properly yourself, then you can preach. Practise and preach. Preach and practise. You should do both. We must follow Mahaprabhu's teachings,

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

Be humble, be tolerant, and give honour to others. We have no qualification,

yogyata vichare kichhu nahi pai
tomara karuna sara

"I get nothing based on my qualification, your mercy is the main thing."

Through our qualification, we neither get anything, nor will we get anything, but we can get everything by the mercy of the Guru—it is possible to get everything by the mercy of Gurudev. Therefore, Gurudev's mercy is the most important thing in our life.

I always say that sometimes you practise but at the same time you also gossip, you speak gramya-katha, gramya-varta ("village talks," "village news")—you talk about the things that are not necessary to talk about, you discuss such things, you talk among each other about family matters, material things, consulting among each other about such things... What is necessary? We are supposed to be surrendered souls—if you are a surrendered soul, then what should be your thoughts? You must always think about your service mood, about your service carrier—you must always think how to increase your service carrier and service mood. This is what you are supposed to think about.

We have thrown ourselves at the lotus feet of Gurudev, and Gurudev will hijack us from this material world and take us to the spiritual world to do some service. If you can do this service and you can fulfil Gurudev's desire, then you must succeed in your spiritual life. There is no doubt about that. Yet, the problem is that some material things always come to our life—we sometimes cannot control our anger, cannot control our ego, cannot control our lust, cannot control our material attachments, we are always jealous. There are so many bad elements in our heart. It is necessary to hear Srimad Bhagavatam under the proper guidance of a bone fide Guru. Proper guidance is necessary.

* * *

Approaching Bhagavatam

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 3

I was reading Srimad Bhagavatam yesterday and saw one peculiar thing there.

Sukadev Goswami was like a child—even when he was a young boy of sixteen years old, he still lived stark naked. One time, Sukadev Goswami was walking first and his father Vyasadev was walking behind him. On the way, they saw some young devanganas (celestial daughters of demigods) who were also all naked. You know, when children are small (eight-five years old), they are like babies—they play and do not think whether they are naked or whether it is necessary to put on some clothes, they are not conscious of it. Sukadev Goswami was also like that. So, when the daughters of demigods saw Sukadev Goswami, they did not think anything, but when they saw Vyasadev walking behind him (Vyasadev was fully dressed), they quickly put on some clothes. Vyasadev asked them, "Why did you not put on clothes when you saw my son?" The girls replied, "Because when we saw your son Sukadev Goswami, we did not see any feeling in him—we did not see any sign of differentiation between men and women. So, we remained unconscious of it." Vyasadev was very happy to hear that.

That is why it is said that one must not read Bhagavatam or give Bhagavatam class for money—do not read Bhagavatam to earn money, wealth, property, pratistha, etc. Gurudev never liked it when people did "Bhagavat Sapta"—when somebody would arrange a seven-day reading of Bhagavatam. You must listen to Srimad Bhagavatam from a pure Vaishnav who knows Bhagavatam and who knows the meaning of Bhagavatam. This is very important to understand this.

Sivji Maharaj said, "Aham vetti, Suka vetti, Vyasa vetti na vetti va. I know it, Sukadev Goswami knows it, but I do not know whether Vyasadev knows it or not." Our Param Guru Maharaj (Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj) recognised our Gurudev (Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) as a proper guru, so we should not have any more doubts—Guru Maharaj chose his closest friend as the next successor. We should not doubt this any more.

Those who doubt, who create problems, are inevitably going to fall down. They are in for it. So many problems will come to their life. Gurudev can see everything and Gurudev has told everything. Yet, we still have ego, we still have problems because of our own disease, our own problems. We should truly understand what Gurudev wanted to say. It is very important.

* * *

Disciples' Dedication

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 4

My duty is this: "Sisya-i thakibo sarvada. I will always be a disciple." I always want to be a disciple, I always want to serve devotees—to give devotees some nourishment, some proper affection, some proper respect, proper honour...

Devotees always want to learn—they want to know more. It is necessary to have desire to learn, to practise more and more; it will be good for us all. Always remember,

dainya, daya anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

"Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up prestige—become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Name."

(Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Sri Siksastakam Giti)

Always be humble (dainya), alway show kindness (daya), respect others, give honour to others, and always avoid name and fame. It is necessary to develop these qualities.

dainya, daya anye mana, pratistha-varjana
chari gune guni hai karaha kirtana

"Humility, compassion, honouring others, and giving up prestige—become qualified with these four qualities and chant the Name."

(Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Sri Siksastakam Giti)

A proper Vaishnav will never say, "I know everything. I have some qualification!" Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu did not teach us that we must pose as big pandits. Srila Sanatan Goswami, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu know everything. Srila Sukadev Goswami also knows everything—he is a small boy, but he taught Srimad Bhagavatam! This is mercy coming from Sri Vaysadev. Sukadev Goswami got all power. Sri Suta Goswami also got such power.

krsna haite chatur-mukha hana krsna-sevonmukha
brahma haite naradera mati

By Krishna's association, Brahma became devoted to Krishna's service. By Brahma's association, Narad Muni became devoted.

Mercy, or blessing, comes to this world through a guru-parampara—from Krishna to Brahma, from Brahma to Narada, from Narada to Vyasadev, and so on. Ultimately, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself comes as a devotee and shows us what is necessary and how we must be practising. He is an example for us all. The Lord Himself came as a devotee and gave living evidence, gave example for everybody. If we learn His teachings properly—if we read His Siksastakam properly, if we read the books that He recommends (Krishna-karnamrita, Brahma-samhita, etc.) properly—we will get so much benefit through that.

Are there any questions from any of you today?

[A devotee asks a question.]

You can take care of your mother, it is not a problem. After that, if you want to come to India, there are many centres here, Gurudev has made many temples—you can stay here if you want, and do some service. If you are strict, if you have a firm determination and intention to keep brahmachari life, it is good for you—then you can do service in any of our centres here in India. It will be good for you. Otherwise, you can preach and through preaching make a centre in your place. It is also possible, but I know that it is very difficult for everybody to make a temple or a centre, so if it is not possible, you can come to India, stay in any branch of our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math mission and happily serve here. First take care of your mother. If you have a brother or a sister and they can do some service to your mother, then it is not a problem, you can come to India soon; if there is nobody to take care of your mother, then first you should take care of your mother. But you must remember—Gurudev has given you saffron cloth, so you must try to maintain this saffron cloth. It is will be good for you.

* * *

Restaurant Devotion vs Pure Devotion

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 5

Question: If I buy some food made by a karmi but offer it to Gurudev, will I then not receive the material desires of that karmi?

Actually, if any karmi wants to offer some food, they must first have a heart. They must make themselves qualified first. They must hanker for the right to offer prasadam to Gurudev.

It can be sometimes very difficult—when we go for preaching in the West or even here in Bengal, we sometimes have to take prasad from non-devotees who are not initiated, who are not qualified and who do not have the right to do it. Sometimes we have to take such prasadam for preaching purpose. Our Param Gurudev, Srila Prabhupad had to tolerate this too. Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj and our Gurudev went to many countries all over the world many times, I have been to many countries too and I also sometimes preach here in India as well—we always try to maintain our status, but sometimes it is not possible. Sometimes, some householder people who are not initiated cook, give the food to us, and then we offer it and take it. What can we do? For preaching, we have to tolerate everything and we have to accept everything. So, if it is for preaching purposes, it is not a problem, but if it is for enjoyment purposes, for material purposes, then it is a problem. Sriman Mahaprabhu says,

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile, nahe krsna-nama grahana

"If you take food that comes from materialistic people, your mind becomes contaminated. When your mind is contaminated, you cannot chant the Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.278)

Those who cook or offer food have some material desires, and this creates some problem. Sometimes, the husband is initiated, and the wife is not—the wife cooks in the family, and the husband takes that food, but then there is a problem. It often happens that when the husband takes food like this every day for many years, his mind eventually changes and he leaves his practising life. I have seen so many examples of this. Such devotees gradually become materialists; they may have taken a mala from Gurudev, but then they stop chanting, they become non-vegetarian, etc. We should be always careful with this. We must always take pure prasadam.

Sometimes, we work outside, we do not cook and take some food in a hotel (shop, cafe, restaurant) where they mix veg and non-veg food. It is a problem. It is possible to do this for one day or two days as an exception, but if you take such food every day and do not offer bhog, if you are habituated to eat outside food saying, "Oh, I have no energy to cook!" This is wrong. If you take prasad, your diseases will be removed, but if you do not take prasadam, how will you then recover from your diseases?

So, you are asking about bhog offered by non-devotees—yes, their material desires will still be there. In some cases, their desires can be removed by Gurudev's mercy, but that depends upon the devotee. We cannot give permission, "OK, you can take food anywhere", "You can go everywhere", etc. I do not teach you such things. Again, for preaching we sometimes digest such things, we tolerate it, but we must not do this on a daily basis and make it our habit. You live in a temple or in your house, and you bring food from a hotel or restaurant, where they mix veg and non-veg food, every day—this is not good. It is better if you cook and do the offering, then it will be pure devotion.

* * *

Unimaginable

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 6

Question: We are reading Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita sometimes...

Good, but not 'sometimes'—you must read it every day. It is Purushottam month now, so you should read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita continuously from beginning to end (do 'parayan') every day.

Question (continuation): Mahaprabhu was telling Svarup Damodar and Ramananda Ray about His mental anguish from separation, and He said that His mind was baula...

Yes, 'baul' means crazy. It is true. Separation is a very high thing, you cannot imagine it...

When Uddhav Maharaj went to Vraja to give some nourishment to all the gopis, he came to Nandagram and asked someone, "Can you tell me the way to Nanda Maharaj's house?" That Vraja-basi replied, "Can you see a drain coming down the hill, with water running down it? Walk up this drain—the place where it comes from is the house of Nanda Maharaj. This drain water is not some bathroom water—this water is the tears of Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasoda..." When Uddhav Maharaj heard this, he was astounded. He thought, "How is it possible? I have come to give nourishment to Nanda Maharaj and Yasoda Mother, but how much devotion, how much love and affection they have for Krishna! I can see that everything here is 1000% or 2000% more qualified than me—I have absolutely no quality, I cannot even compare myself to a particle of dust here! I thought I was the closest person to Lord Sri Krishna, I was proud to be His minister, but I am nothing in front of them!"

What sort of separation is there in Vrindavan? They had actually received such a deep shock that they did not want Krishna! All the Vraja-gopis told Uddhav Maharaj, "We do not want to see Him! We do not want Krishna! We do not want to see Him! He has left us! He has left us—we do not want to see His face!" How much shock the Vraja-gopis had got!

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed this separation mood in Gambhira. He came to this world as an incarnation of Srimati Radharani—He is non-different from Radha-Krishna, He is Radha-Krishna's combined form. So many things happened when He stayed in Gambhira in His later years. At night, all doors would be closed—everybody saw that all doors, inside and outside, were closed, but still Mahaprabhu would come out and get away. Once, they saw Him lying down beside a cow and His body was like a tortoise. These things happened...

So, this separation is an extremely high thing, Prabhu. If you read, read, read and try to understand, then you can understand what is called separation. This mood of separation is not a simple matter, it is a very, very high matter. Mahaprabhu would always cry and shout, "Where shall I go to get Kana? Where shall I go to find Krishna? (Kaha gele Kanu pai? Kothay gele Kanu pai? Kaha gele Krishna pai?)"...

Question: We hear that one of the Names of Gauranga Mahaprabhu is Gaura-Narayan. We can understand the Name Gaura-Krishna, but what is the relation between Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Narayan?

Sachi Devi always worshipped Narayan. When Mahaprabhu was there, Jagannath Misra and Sachi Devi always worshipped Lord Narayan, and they considered their son to be non-different from Narayan. Narayan can come from Gauranga—what is the problem? Sachi Devi always worshipped Narayan-sila, and sometimes, when she offered bhog to Narayan, she would see some footprints all around the altar room, and later, when she breast-fed Nimai, she saw that the marks on the soles of her son's feet were non-different from the footprints she had seen. In those days, the floors were not marbled—they had soil floors, so she could see that.

[Addressing a devotee who is going to another country to serve at the temple.] It is good that you are going there, you can help the devotees with puja (Deity worship). Are you going there alone? [The devotee says 'yes.'] Good, and you must remember—you are going there not to get married, you are going there to do puja. OK? Sometimes, a lady will come, some Maya Devi will come and wash your brain, but do not get caught; be very careful there. OK?

* * *

Loving Care and Service

Kolkata—Worldwide, 4 October 2020, part 7

Question: Why is it that only Vaishnavism binds people together with love, and no other religion like Advaitavad, Jainism, etc.?

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says that mayavadis are offenders of the Lord because they do not believe that the Lord has any form. Actually, everything comes from the Lord. It is like, I have no money and I come to some man to borrow money from him, and after that I say, "That man has no money!" In the same way, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says—Krishna has given you legs, hands, eyes, etc.; you have got everything from Krishna, but you are saying that Krishna has no form, no eyes, no legs, no hands, no head, etc. Krishna has given everything to you, but you are saying Krishna has nothing! It is a never-ending misconception. It is a wrong conception. This is what mayavadis are like. In this sense, sahajiyas are actually a little better than mayavadis—at least sahajiyas believe that Krishna has a form.

Yet, there is love and affection in Vaishnavism. Vaishnavs follow a proper practice through love and affection. This is what Mahaprabhu showed by His own example. Mahaprabhu showed proper Vaishnavism. Not only Mahaprabhu Himself shows it, Krishna shows it too—He Himself shows love and affection to Mother Yasoda, Nanda Maharaj, and everybody else. Krishna gave mercy even to those who came to kill Him! He bestowed mercy onto demoness Putana. When Krishna saw her coming dressed as a gopi, He immediately blessed her—He knew she had come to kill Him, but He still gave mercy to her. The Lord is merciful even to those who come to kill Him—this is what true religion is. Even if somebody comes to kill us, we should still treat them with respect—we will not ill-treat anyone (we will not show pratihimsa). This is Mahaprabhu's conception, "Pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana—giving up vengeance, nurture others." This is our main conception.

As for Buddhism, you know their character, I do not want to explain what they do, their yoga, etc. They say, "We will not kill anybody," but at the same time they eat fish, meat, etc. They also smoke, do nonsense, sex. They say, "Buddha says we shall not kill anyone," but then they kill dogs and other animals, and eat them. Mayavadis also propagate, "Jive prema kare yei jana sei jana sevichhe isvara" ("love God by loving others"). They say this with their mouth, but then do the opposite.

You know, one time, in Gurudev's time, when I was leaving Singapore, I saw three Buddhist monks at the airport smoking—as smoking is not allowed at the airport, the police arrested them! I saw that with my own eyes.

That is why, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said that Svami Vivekananda was a big gunda (thug) and his guru Rama Krishna Paramahamsa was a murkha-pujari (foolish priest)—and it was even published in a newspaper at that time! After that, they complained, "Oh, these Gaudiya Vaishnavs are swearing us!" But Srila Prabhupad was not afraid of anybody. These two brought so much mayavad conception to India—Sat-sanga and many other missions sprang up from their preaching.

Then, you should understand that Vaishnavism comes from the original source. There are so many misconceptions in this world—they are all wrong conceptions. The real conception is the conception of Mahaprabhu, the conception of Srimad Bhagavatam. People say that Srimad Bhagavatam comes from Buddha, but it is not true. Srimad Bhagavatam appeared many thousands and thousands years ago. Envious people always say that Srimad Bhagavatam is man-made, but it is not correct. People think also that this age starts from the times of Buddha, but is absolutely wrong. Srimad Bhagavatam is the evidence.

OK, are there any more questions?

Question: Is it right for a devotee to develop attachment to a particular service if there are many other services to do?

If you are attached to your service, it is not bad, but if many other services come to you, this is Gurudev's mercy coming to you, so it is not a problem if you do other service. If somebody has more service, it means they are getting more mercy. Gurudev always does all services through someone. We do not differentiate in a temple saying, "Oh, this is your service and this is his service." If somebody is not able to do some service and we can do it, then we should do that service, it will be good for us. Srila Gurudev always says, "The ball always comes to the legs of those who want to play football." So, if somebody wants to serve, then service will always come to him or her. We will not think, "This is my service, and that is his service," or, "He is cooking, I am cutting the vegetables and distributing prasadam—why will I do this other service as well? It is not my service!" This is not service mood. I once heard a story from Sripad Bhakti Kumud Shanta Maharaj, I have told it to you many times—one disciple said, "This is not my leg! This is his leg!" and Gurudev replied, "Oh, so it is not my leg? It is his leg? Then I will break this leg!" Service is not like that. "Oh, I am doing this service, why is he not doing his?" If you can, do as much as you can, it will be good for you.

Jay Srila Gurudev.

My dandavat to all the devotees. I am giving my full obeisance to you all and I would like to tell everybody—please engage yourself in service, it will be good, and please keep yourself in good health. Everybody should take care of themselves because the covid is making problems all over the world now. Always use a mask and sanitise your hands. Try to do it. Try to maintain your health properly. Health is necessary for service because Krishna has given you this body for service and if you do not take care of your health, then you may sometimes get sick and it will be a problem, you will not be able to do your service properly. So, everybody should take care of their health, it will be good for you. I am giving my full obeisance to you all, please forgive my offence.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay

* * *

"Please Be Careful"

Kolkata—Worldwide, 11 October 2020, part 1

Haribol. Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi Tulasi Devi Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda Radha Kunda Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham, Sri Nabadwip Dham, Sri Vrindavan, Mathura ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I am very happy to see all the devotees' faces. Please be careful. I am concerned about you all because if your health is good, then you can do more and more service. That is why, sometimes you must take care of your health also, it is necessary, otherwise, if you become sick, you cannot do more service. We have this body and disease will come, but the problem is that we must not 'invite' disease ourselves.

Next week, you can make guru-puja, but do not make any festival. That is my advice for everybody. You can make guru-puja (offer worship), it is not problem, but please do not make any festival because if you make a festival, there will be a large gathering. Be very careful with this festival. I am very concerned about it. Here also, there are many branches making a festival next week and they are inviting me, but I will not go—I am not making any big festival this year because of the covid pandemic situation. I can meet and talk with you all on that day by skype, by zoom, we can have a virtual meeting, it will be good in this way. Do not worry, you have time to make a festival next year, but in this pandemic situation it is not necessary to make a big festival. This is my request for everybody. It will be good for you.

When Gurudev was very sick in 2009-2010, he asked me, "Will you manage the Gaura Purnima festival? If you can manage without me, then it is not a problem, you can do it, otherwise you can stop the parikrama for one year." At that time, Srila Gurudev told me (I did not see it because I had not joined the temple at that time) that in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's time he also had to stop Gaura Purnima parikrama because Srila Sridhar Maharaj was very sick.

Therefore, I am requesting you all not to arrange a big festival, a big gathering for this festival. This situation will not last many years, it will finish soon—the vaccine will probably come out in 2021, and then, perhaps, at Gaura Purnima time everybody can celebrate freely. We also pray that perhaps we can make Srila Gurudev's Vyasa Puja properly in early January next year. For now, please do not make large festival. This is my request for everybody. If you can do what I am saying, I will be very happy.

* * *

Sincere Chanting

Kolkata—Worldwide, 11 October 2020, part 2

Question: How can I chant my japa properly?

Always chant the Holy Name. Even when you have some service, when you are doing some service, you can also chant the Holy Name at that time. We are told, "Sevonmukhe kaha Krsna Nam. Chant the Holy Name with service mood." But we sometimes evade service on pretext of chanting the Holy Name. For example, some devotee comes to the temple always showing their japa beads in their hand and chanting, and if somebody asks them, "Oh, Prabhu, do you have service? We need help..." they quickly say, "No, no, I am busy doing japa!" Suppose, Gurudev tells you, "Please give me a glass of water," and you say, "Gurudev, I am very busy chanting japa right now." We see this sometimes—such behaviour, or mood, is not good. Therefore, "Sevonmukhe kaha Krsna Nam"—when you are doing some service, chant the Holy Name with your mouth at that time. If you always show people that you are chanting japa, but your mind always goes to bad elements—your heart is covered by bad elements—that is not good.

eka-bara krishna-name yata papa hare
patakira sadhya nahi tata papa kare

"A sinner cannot commit more sin than once chanting Krishna's Name can remove."

Scriptures say that if you chant the Holy Name even once, all sins will be removed, but we chant millions of millions of Names and do not get this result. One time, somebody told Gurudev, "I chant one lakh (100,000) Names every day!" And Gurudev said, "Oh. And I can hardly finish four rounds—when I am trying to finish four rounds, I feel it is too much, I sweat so much to finish it, and you say you chant one lakh Holy Names!"

So, this Hare Krishna maha-mantra is not just alphabet letters—it is the pure Name. So, it must be chanted with service mood (sevonmukhe). Gurudev has planted the Holy Name in your heart and it will spout and jump onto your tongue. That is the main thing. Chanting the Holy Name is not just some finger exercise.

* * *

Parts of Service Life

Kolkata—Worldwide, 11 October 2020, part 3

Question: In the ekadasi calendar, most of the times it says, "Tomorrow is Ekadasi, but no fast because of dasami-viddha at dawn"...

Yes, sometimes it is viddha. Mahaprabhu said, "Aviddha karan. Follow pure ekadasi." If it is ekadasi, but the next day touches it in the first one hour thirty-six minutes of the day, the ekadasi day becomes viddha—therefore, it is an ekadasi, but there is no fast on this day. This is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's conception.

Question: We hear that the only anartha that we cannot dedicate in service is jealousy, that there is no place given for it, but what about Chandavali? I know we are not in her line, but she serves Krishna and she is jealous...

Yes, she is jealous, that is why we do not follow her. One time, Gurudev asked me, "Do you want to stay in Chandravali's house or do you want to stay in Radharani's house?" You can remember also Srila Raghunath Das Goswami who threw away his buttermilk because the bowl had been brought from a place near Chandravali's Kunda. One Vraja-basi would bring some buttermilk for Srila Raghunath Das Goswami in a bowl made of leaves, but when he brought it that day, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami immediately noticed that the leaves that the bowl was made from were not from Radha Kunda—he understood that it had been brought from some other place. So, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami asked the Vraja-basi, "Where did you bring this bowl from?" The Vraja-basi replied, "I brought it from Chandravali's Kunda today." Having heard this, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami threw the bowl with the butter milk away and said, "I will not take any food today!"

Do you understand this? Someone will say that this is too much, but this is what real chastity is. This is what is called chastity. People will say this is being fanatic, but it is not so. Can you call Srila Raghunath Das Goswami fanatic?! Srila Raghunath Das Goswami did not even touch that bowl or buttermilk when he heard where it had come from. Will you say this is being fanatic?

Are there any other questions?

Question: You told us that we have many negative elements in our heart—what are these elements and how can we remove them?

There are many bad elements. Kama, krodha, lobha, maha, mada, matsarya—lust, anger, greed, attachment to material things, madness, jealousy. You have all these things in you, but if you surrender properly, you can transform everything into service.

krsna-seva kamarpane, krodha bhakta-dvesi-jane
lobha sadhu-sange hari-katha
moha ista-labha bine, mada krsna-guna-gane,
niyukta kariba yatha tatha

"I will engage lust by offering it in Krishna's service. I will engage anger towards those who are envious of the devotees. I will be greedy to hear the topics of Hari in the association of devotees. I will feel illusioned without achieving my worshipable Lord. I will be maddened while singing the glories of Krishna. In this way I will engage these enemies in their proper places."

(Sri Sri Prema-bhakti-chandrika, 22, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

For example, you work in an office or in some other place, but you can transform this work into service to Krishna. You have greed, but this greed should be for Hari-katha and Krishna-prasad, for nothing else. You have an ego, but you must not be proud. I just told you a few minutes ago that even if you leave everything, you can still be proud of yourself—proud that you have left everything. You must think that you are a servant of the Lord, a servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

There is also rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa—enjoyment with beauty, taste, smell, sound, touch. Everything can be good if it is used for the service of the Lord. For example, a girl goes to a beauty parlour to become beautiful to please her husband, but a devotee can go to a beauty parlour and dress well to make Lord Krishna happy. Whatever you do, you must do everything for the pleasure of the Lord, then it will be good.

* * *

Cruelty-Free Service Life

Kolkata—Worldwide, 11 October 2020, part 4

Question: Why are there animals in this world that suffer so much and die because of humans? Is it due to their karma that they must suffer in that animal form or is it due to the bad mentality and actions of people? What should be our attitude to the things happening in the world?

You can learn from this.

We have had a pig's body, a dog's body, a cat's body too, but after that we have got this human body. If we live like animals (if we only eat, sleep, dance and enjoy), then we will again get an animal body. You have got this human body to serve the Lord, but if you do not dedicate yourself to the service of the Lord, if you do not surrender to your Guru and the Lord, if you do not take advantage of the opportunity that you have got now in this human body, then you will again degrade according to your karma. As you sow, so you reap. You will get the result according to your actions (karma). So, if you do not utilise your human body for the service of the Lord, then you will again go down, you will again go back to another pig's body, cow's body, etc. You must learn something from this.

You can see how much street dogs suffer, how much cats, cows, buffaloes, etc. suffer. You can see how much pigs suffer—they eat stool! You can observe it and learn something from their example. You should utilise every element, every part and parcel of your body for the service of the Lord.

Srimad Bhagavatam says that you have got this human body having traversed 8,400,000 species of life. So, we have got this human body after 8,400,000 births, but our bad fortune and our problem is that we still cannot understand it. We have met a bona fide sadhu, he has taught us everything, he has told us everything, but we still cannot hear it. Sometimes, some people do not even get that kind of great fortune, great luck to meet a sadhu. Such is our bad fortune. And even if we do meet a good sadhu, we still avoid that sadhu, avoid his advice—we always do our own karma, we always enjoy. All this enjoyment is temporary. You can do it one day, two days, but sooner or later you will get tired of it. However, if you serve the Lord, that becomes your deposit (it does not pass or disappear). Just as you deposit money in a bank, your service is also like a deposit in your spiritual bank.

You are also asking what should be our attitude to the birds and beasts' suffering. We must give love and affection to everybody. "Krishna is present in every jiva soul—sarva-jive Krishna-adhisthan (সর্ব্ব-জীবে কৃষ্ণ-অধিষ্ঠান)." There is a soul existing in the body of every bird, beast or any other living entity, and therefore Krishna is also present there. If you take care of a dog, you must not treat it bad. We do not behave cruel towards any living entity. This is our Vaishnavism, or sanatan-dharma (Vaishnav religion); this is Mahaprabhu's conception. We do not eat any animals—we do not eat fish, meat, etc. We do not kill even ants.

Devotee: You have also protested against a slaughterhouse in Nabadwip and had to face so much difficulty because of that...

I am OK with it. This is the will of Krishna, and it is ultimately good. If I had spent more time in Nabadwip, I would not have been able to take it. When I stayed there, I always face so many court cases, so many problems and dangers, I was getting sick and crazy. Krishna has taken me out of there, and it is good for me. I do not have any problem with that. I always stay where devotees stay. A math, a mandir, a temple is only building. If you paint a house nicely, if you marble the floors, put nice tiles, etc., but people do not live there, how can you call this place a house? How can you call such a place a math? I was passing Sri Chiatanya Saraswat Math yesterday and I saw that there are big, big buildings there, but I did not see even a dog living there. Even birds and beasts do not live there any more. There are big, big buildings there, but these buildings have no life—like a dead body...

* * *

Service Aspiration

Kolkata—Worldwide, 11 October 2020, part 6

Question: Can one go to the spiritual world by serving you, Srila Acharya Maharaj?

Serving your Guru, serving the Lord is the main thing. I have already shown you how you can go there. Look around and you can understand how far, how many more kilometres you still have to go to get to Goloka Vrindavan or Vaikuntha. You can judge this by your service.

When Pariksit Maharaj was cursed and had only seven days to live, he listened to Srimad Bhagavatam from Sri Sukadev Goswami and he got everything through that. Khatvanga Maharaj also had just forty-eight minutes of life and he also made it to the spiritual world. So, whether you get there or not does not depend upon your age or life duration—it only depends on your service, it depends on your heart.

You know, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would sometimes come to rest at the house of 'Kalovecha' Sridhar, an old brahman-seller of banana leaves and banana flowers. Sridhar was old and poor, but he got the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

So, if you can serve properly, if you can follow your Guru's advice, your Guru's instruction, then you will be able to tell through your service how many kilometres you still have to go. It is necessary to have a strongest faith. "Avasya raksibe Krsna visvasa palana—we must keep faith that Krishna will certainly protect us." This is saranagati, surrender. We must have faith that Krishna will protect us. Gurudev said, "If you serve the Lord without deceit, you will get a great benefit and you will come to your real home, back to God, back to home." This is what the scriptures say, and we must believe it. There must be no question about that.

Question: Is it not considered a material desire to have some aspiration for a certain result, like wanting to go back to the spiritual world by doing service?

Srila Narottam Das Thakur writes,

tandera charana sevi bhakta sane vasa
janame janame mora ei abhilasa

"I hanker to birth after birth live with the devotees who serve the holy feet of the goswamis."

We always want to stay with devotees, it is a good desire. "Vaisnava sangete mana anandita anuksana": "In the association of Vaishnavs, my mind is always joyful." We always aspire to be able to stay in devotees' association (bhakta-sange). Liberation (mukti), on the other hand, is another thing. When you achieve liberation, you will be not able to see any form there. We do not want any kind of liberation (sayujya, merging with Brahman; sarupya, having the same body as the Lord; salokya, residing at the same planet as the Lord; samipya, being an associate of the Lord; sarsti, having the same opulences as the Lord).

I have told you the story illustrating liberation many times. Suppose some straw is floating down the Ganges or in the ocean, at night, a drop of dew formed on the straw. Seeing the vast ocean around, the drop thought, "I am so tiny! I wish I could become as big as the ocean!" Then, the drop of dew grew heavier and heavier and it finally fell into the water. Where is that drop now? Once it appeared in the water of the ocean, the drop could no longer find itself there. Mukti (liberation) is also like that. When you attain liberation, you will have no form. Devotees never want that. Wherever they may be, devotees always want to stay in devotees' association, they always want to serve.

kita janma hau yatha tuya dasa,
bahir-mukha brahma-janma nahi asa

"I do not want to be Brahma or Indra, I do not mind being born as an insect as long as I can be your servant, Prabhu."

(Saranagati, 11)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur writes, "Even if I get an insect's body, it is good as long as I can be a servant of the Lord." Such aspiration is good for us.

Question: You were reading today about pratistha and mentioned bhajan in the Vaishnav pratistha. How does one practise that?

Pratistha of a Vaishnav is good—if some Vaishnav becomes famous, if some Vaishnav chants the Holy Name, etc. you must not get jealous. Somebody becomes a guru, and you must not feel jealous. Suppose somebody has got a good result through their practice, somebody has become a great Vaishnav and everybody knows them, the person becomes famous, etc.—why will you not respect that? You must respect this. Do not be jealous. First of all, it is not our business to see who does what, and second even if somebody is doing good, if somebody does get famous due to their spiritual achievement, it is good.

Another thing is that when you want to be famous and you become a terrorist! For example, somebody blasted a bomb in a street in France, a hundred people died, and the person rejoices that he is now famous. Somebody thinks, "I will revolt against the government, I will go to jail and my name will be in all newspapers!" This is mundane pratistha, mundane name and fame. Somebody wants to become a political leader, somebody wants to become Mr. Trump, somebody wants to become Modi, etc.

Anyhow, I am giving my full obeisance to you all. I was very happy to see everybody, to see all my well-wishers, all my great friends all over the world, to see all my guru-varga (Srila Janardan Maharaj, Srila Ashram Maharaj), as well as the senior devotees. I am giving my full humble obeisance to you all. Please forgive my offence and I am praying to you all—please accept me as your servitor.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay

You know, Sripad Sajjan Maharaj is doing a great service here. Every day, he does mangal arati, puja, noon time bhoga arati, and then after prasadam he goes to distribute books every day. He distributes Srila Gurudev's small booklet called In Search of Original Source. I reprinted it a few months ago and he has already finished distributing 5,000 copes, within just a few months! I was surprised to hear that. So, two-three days ago I printed another 10,000 copies of this booklet.

* * *

"Inconceivable, Unbelievable, and Unimaginable"

Divine Appearance Day, Sri Vyasa Puja
Kolkata—Worldwide, 17 October 2020, part 1

Everybody is giving their love and affection and all together making this day for me... Actually, I am getting shy to make my birthday festival, but devotees are always enthusiastic to make this festival, even in this pandemic situation. Last week I declared, "I know you will not listen, so you can make guru-puja, but do not make any festival on this day," but in many places devotees have still arranged large festivals, they have still gathered so many people. Devotees' enthusiasm, devotees' love and affection to me is inconceivable—it is unbelievable, unimaginable, astonishing, and surprising for me. I have no quality to deserve it.

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says, "Tumi ta' thakura, tomara kukura." These words are very perfect—"You are my worshippable Deity, and I am always your dog." I have always, since the very beginning of my life in the temple, been trying to serve my guru as a dog—I always did what I was told to do; and I never thought that I would become an acharya, that I would become a guru or the next successor. I never thought like this, but such is Gurudev's mercy and desire. I cannot reject his word, I cannot reject his order, that is why I had to take this position.

All the devotees all over the world have so much love and affection for Gurudev, and this love and affection is now coming to me; almost all of the devotees who serve me are not my disciples, but they are all my well-wishers and my godbrothers and godsisters, and even those who are senior to me also give me the respect and the position of a guru in their heart—that is what I find astonishing.

Almost all of you know where I was born. I was not born in a highest family—it is a lower caste family. I was born in a village where people live simple life. No cars go to that village—all people there are used to going everywhere on foot. Sometimes, people get there by boat also. Now I heard they have made some mud road and some vehicles can come through (some places a little far from the village have now established some communication, so people can go there), etc., but before that not even bicycles would go there—people did not even know how to ride a bicycle. This is the kind of village I was born in. There was actually no tradition in my family to celebrate birthdays. When a baby is born, they make Shashthi (name giving ceremony) six days later and give a name to the girl or boy who was born, and after that they never do any ceremony or any celebration on their birthday.

I understood what is the position of the Guru only when I joined Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. I came to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math as a young boy almost thirty years ago. At that time, Gurudev gave me the name Vinod Ranjan Brahmachari. All of the Gurudev's godbrothers and sannyasi friends from Mayapur would say about me, "Oh, another Bhaktivinod has come!" because Vinod is Bhaktivinod Thakur's name. I would get shy to hear this. Sripad Parivrajak Maharaj (from Mayapur), Sripad Praphulla Maharaj would always say this in the big-big meetings, but I would always get shy because where am I and where is Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur! This is like comparing hell and heaven, it is impossible to compare me to Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. He is the seventh goswami and I am a fallen soul like a dog! But they say like this about me, and that is also at big-big public programmes...

* * *

Clearing Contradictions

Divine Appearance Day, Sri Vyasa Puja
Kolkata—Worldwide, 17 October 2020, part 2

Srila Gurudev gave me this position in December 2009, but even before that I had always been trying to fulfil Gurudev's desire. For example, I have been making Srila Gurudev's appearance day festival for many years.

When I joined the mission, I saw one old invitation letter—Srila Gurudev's godbrothers made Srila Gurudev's appearance festival (the letter was dated 1989; I had not joined Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math yet at that time), but they wrote "Acharya Abhivandan Mahotsav." It means "paying respect to the Acharya of the temple." Later, I saw many letters coming from Mayapur where different temples invited us to their festivals, and I noticed that they wrote their invitation letters in a different way—they wrote "Sri Sri Vyasa Puja Maha-Mahotsav" or "Sri Guru-Puja Maha-Mahotsav." Later on, I read and learned what is called a vyasa-puja, what is called a guru-puja maha-mahotsav, I learned the meaning of Gurudev's appearance day. So, next year I printed the invitation letter for Gurudev's appearance day myself. First, I gave a copy of the letter to Gurudev—there was some small mistake in it and Gurudev corrected it; but I was very happy because at that time I did not know how to write such letters, I did not know so much Vaishnaviya language, and Gurudev corrected only one thing. Since that time, I have been sending the invitation letters for Gurudev's appearance day every year.

The first year when I made the festival, I arranged so much decoration, lights, etc. at the temple of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip.

You know, all devotees are not equal, not the same. Even the five fingers on one hand are not the same. Sometimes, one hand can be even beating the other hand. Such is our culture, such is our background and nature. It is also like that at the temple. Not all disciples have the same, equal faith (sraddha). The quality of devotion depends upon one's faith. Another thing is that we all know that a jiva soul lives in our body, and this jiva soul is a part of the Lord, so we think, "We (should) see Krishna in all jiva souls (samasta jiver Krsna darasan)." However, if we analyse ourselves, we will see that there are good things in our heart and there are also bad things in our heart. There are good things (sura, demigods, representing piety, goodness) living in our heart, and there is enemy (asura, demon) also living in our heart. One man can have two natures (surasur)—sometimes, you look like a man, you put on tilaks, etc., but at other times, you deal or talk with others like a demon (asura). I understand that we think, "Sarva jive Krsna adhisthan. Krishna lives in all living entities (jiva souls)." However, we sometimes see that there is also an asura (demon) living in the heart of the jiva soul—there is some envy, some other things living in their heart. I see that. There are different sides of one's nature.

So, much depends upon the devotee. Some devotees see Gurudev as the dearmost of Srimati Radharani or Lord Krishna. Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur says,

saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all the scriptures to be the Lord Himself, and considered to be so by the sadhus, yet is also the Lord's beloved devotee."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 7)

Gurudev is the dearmost (atyanta priya) of the Lord. Sometimes, some devotees also can see Gurudev as the Lord Himself. At the same time, there are also some who say that Gurudev is a human being like them—they see Gurudev goes to the toilet, Gurudev going to the bathroom, he eats, sleeps, etc. Sometimes, people start thinking like this and they make an offence through that.

So, everything depends upon one's faith, upon one's affinity. Somebody can see the Lord's Deity is made of marble, stone or brass, and somebody will see Lord Nitai and Lord Gaura, somebody will see Lord Krishna, Radharani in the Deity. Everybody's vision (darshan) is not the same, everybody's feelings are not the same. Therefore, there are some pious activities existing in our body, and there is also some demoniac qualities existing in our body.

It was like that in Gurudev's time also. I do not know if you can remember it or not, but I can remember it clearly. It was adhivas, the day before Gurudev's festival. Gurudev heard that I had painted his building (Acharya Bhavan), cleaned everything, decorated everything and put lights everywhere. Everything was arranged very nicely, and in the afternoon time, before the evening, Gurudev went around the temple premises, he went to the goshala, he saw all the lights go on and the temple was very beautiful in the dark. He smiled and was very happy. After that, I went to the evening arati and after the arati came to pay dandavat to Gurudev. Seeing me Gurudev said suddenly, "Why have you spent so much money?! Why have you painted my building white?! Why did you not paint it with black japan [intensely black varnish used for industrial purposes]?!" I was surprised, "What has happened? Why Gurudev is saying like that?" Later, I heard that one of Gurudev's godbrothers had given some pain to Gurudev—he had come to Gurudev and complained, "Oh, Vinod is spending so much money on this festival! He has arranged the lights and everything else—what is all this for?! Why was it necessary to paint your building? It was already painted, they had painted it just one-two years ago, why was it necessary to paint it again?!" and so on. Gurudev understood everything, and he chastised me, but why did he chastise me? It was not chastisement, actually. This is how he showed his love and affection to me. He chastised me because he felt pain that his godbrother would say all this. That godbrother was actually foolish—he was envious and foolish. He did not like it that I had made a big festival for Gurudev, that I controlled everything—that I started writing the invitation letter (changing it and starting to write Vyasa Puja Maha-Mahotsav and Guru Puja Maha-Mahotsav), that I made the festival, invited many people, made a big gathering, wrote so many letters so Gurudev's and Srila Sridhar Maharaj's disciples—they all came and there was a very big crowd at the temple. At that time, there were not so many buildings—there was perhaps only one-two floors of the centenary building completed. It was very difficult to manage at that time—we had to make a pandal, etc.

This is how I started making Srila Gurudev's appearance day, and I have never stopped it since then. Even when Gurudev was not here for his Vyasa Puja in 1996 (he was in Australia, in Govinda Dham, at that time), I still made the festival—invited all Mayapur devotees, all Bengali devotees, and made a big festival. It continues in this way every year to this day.

* * *

A Very Busy Day

Divine Appearance Day, Sri Vyasa Puja
Kolkata—Worldwide, 17 October 2020, part 3

I see that phone calls have been coming today from all over the world starting from 3:30-4 o'clock in the morning. Everyone is calling me continuously, I have three-four phones and sometimes I have to hold two phones to both of my ears and try to give attention to what they are saying. It is very difficult for me. I am very busy today. Bengali devotees started calling me from early morning. I hear that not only in foreign countries they are making big festivals today, but also all the temples, centres here in India are also making big festivals today...

I am very happy with the devotees' mood. When they do this festival I think that I become like a baby in my old age now. Talking, talking, and now almost sixty-two years have passed in my life. They demand so many things when it comes to my birthday celebration. Gurudev gave this position to me and all devotees, all my godbrothers, well-wishers and friends will not listen to me—they still make this festival.

Some devotees from Mayapur called Sripad Niriha Maharaj saying, "We want to come on Acharya Maharaj's appearance day," and I told Sripad Niriha Maharaj, "If devotees want to come, then you can make a festival, what can I do? If somebody wants to come, we want to serve them." So, Sripad Niriha Maharaj and Sripad Vishnu Maharaj invited everybody from Mayapur, Svarupganj and Godrumdwip and made a festival in Nrisingha Palli. They have also made a festival in Ekachakra. There is a small temple in Mahadiya, and even there they said they had arranged a festival for four hundred people! Such a small temple, but they do so much! They arranged a festival in Tarakeshwar also, three-four hundred people came. Uluberia also made a festival, four-five hundred people came. They are making this festival everywhere despite this pandemic situation. I got phone calls from Vrindavan, Govardhan. Every temple is arranging a festival today. And everybody invites me to come...

I am very surprised and very happy with the devotees—they are giving so much love and affection to me, they are giving so much respect to me although I cannot serve the devotees properly. I was born in a simple, lower-class family, but they are giving me so much respect. I am very grateful to them. What more can I say to the devotees?

In this way, devotees' service mood is always expanding day by day, and I am praying to Gurudev, praying to the Lord that their desire, their strongest desire is fulfilled. Even though I had to leave the head branch of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, all the devotees all over the world are still with me and when they say, "Maharaj, wherever you are, that is Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math," it gives me so much enthusiasm, so much happiness. This is the main thing for me.

So many things are still carrying on and happening now all over the world and in so many branches all over India...

* * *

Service with Full Enthusiasm

Divine Appearance Day, Sri Vyasa Puja
Kolkata—Worldwide, 17 October 2020, part 4

Actually, when I joined the temple, I gave everything—my heart, mind, etc.—to my Gurudev. Now I see devotees are giving everything to me... So many foreign devotees have called me today. Actually, devotees all over the world are giving so much mercy to me, they also give their blessing to me. You know that my health was very bad some time ago, but by the mercy of Gurudev and by the mercy of devotees, owing to their love and affection, I have recovered and my enthusiasm to do my service is now as full as it was before, when I had just joined the temple. I am doing my service with that full enthusiasm—I am making temples and branches everywhere, I am trying to expand Gurudev's Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Mission. It has already expanded so much. I have no quality, no qualification, but all I have is mercy from Gurudev, and through that medium, through that mercy I am carrying on and able to do so many things. I can understand what is real mercy—what Gurudev has given me.

You know, even those who criticise me, even those who do not like me, called me today! Some devotees from the Indian side called me today and prayed, "Maharaj, come back to the main headquarters of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math (Nabadwip) and take the chair, take the acharyaship. It is impossible to run the temple without an acharya!"

I am very proud and very happy with that. Gurudev is giving me so much energy to build Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in another way now. I remember when Gurudev had declared me as his successor, some problems happened and Gurudev said at that time, "OK, if they do not like Acharya Maharaj, I will take Acharya Maharaj to another place and he will make another Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math! If you do not like him, you can stay here, but I like him. You refuse to follow my order, there is no more anugatya in this world. I will take him and you can see if he can make another Chaitanya Saraswat Math or not!" I remember Gurudev said it when he felt much pain because of what was happening at that time. Gurudev said that, and you can see that it is actually happening now. This is Gurudev's inner wish.

I was very happy to hear that, and I can see that Gurudev is always with me, he always helps me in everything. Through that, all the devotees all over the world also show their support. In one of the countries, there was a part of the country who was against me, but even they also called me yesterday and they were very happy with me. Before, they used to be unhappy with me, but later on they came and joined me again. They realised, "It was our mistake." So, everyone gradually realises their mistake. As I have told you today, people may have some good things in their heart and may also have some asura things in their heart. There are sometimes two sides of one's nature. When one shows their good side, they do something good, and when they show their asura (demon) side, they do bad things. When one does something good, it is very nice—when an asura becomes a devotee, they can pay dandavat (bow down) and get mercy, like it happened in the case of Jagai and Madhai.

For example, Hiranyakasipu gave so much austerity to Prahlad Maharaj. How much his father Hiranyakasipu tortured him! Compared to Prahlad Maharaj, our difficulties are nothing. How much are we suffering and how much did Prahlad Maharaj suffer because of his father? His father threw him under an elephant, he threw him from a mountain, he threw him into fire, etc. How much his father tortured him! Compared to Prahlad Maharaj, we have no austerity at all in our lives.

Gurduev said, "You will not listen to me, you will not follow what I say—OK, I will take Acharya Maharaj and make another Chaitanya Saraswat Math!" Gurudev said that and you can understand now that this is what is happening—Nrisingha Palli is now becoming like the main temple of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, there is a big temple, and a big guesthouse construction is going on.

The most important thing is that all the devotees are with me. If there is a house but there is no life in that house, then nobody will stay there. There can be a temple, but if no devotees stay there, then it cannot be called a temple. At the headquarters of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, there are only buildings standing now, there is no life there—there is no Vaishnav, no devotees living there. What is called a Math? Even all the Mayapur devotees do not go there...

Now is the pandemic time, but even in this situation they are making festivals in all the temples—in Tarakeshwar, Nrisingha Palli, Ekachakra, Ganga Sangar, Bankura, Mahadiya, Uluberia, etc. Everybody calls me and says, "Maharaj, come to us, come to us." I said I would not go anywhere in this situation, that I would stay here in Kolkata. If I went to Uluberia, then Tarakeshwar would be unhappy; if I went to Tarakeshwar, then Uluberia would be dissatisfied; if I went to Bankura, then Birbhum devotees would be unappy; if I went to Nrisingha Palli, then some other region would be unhappy, and so on. That is why, I decided that I would stay here, and I told everyone, "You can do guru-puja, but do not try to make a festival," but now I am getting the news they have still made festivals everywhere. All the devotees call me and tell me the news.

So, by the mercy of Gurudev, everything is going on properly. Many countries all over the world are holding this festival, all temples are making guru-puja today. I am very happy with them. I am only a dog, but they love this dog, they lovingly take this dog on their lap and say, "Maharaj, where you are, that is Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math—and we will go wherever you are!" When I hear devotees say this, my heart overflows. I am very happy to hear that. I told everyone that it was not necessary for anyone to come here to Kolkata today, I have only invited one-two devotees who were very dear to Gurudev.

So, I am giving my full obeisance to all the Vaishnavs, all the devotees all over the world. I am giving my full obeisance to your service and praying to my Gurudev for you. You have already got a place at Gurudev's lotus feet through your service—you have already got shelter at the lotus feet of Gurudev, and that is my happiness. What makes me happy? When you do not think about material things (visaya) and always give yourself, give all your best things, to the service of your Gurudev. Give your everything for the service to your Guru. I can see that you have already got the shelter of the lotus feet of Gurudev, and that is my happiness.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the sannyasi-vrinda ki jay
All the worldwide devotees k jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

* * *

My Fortune and My Promise

Kolkata—Worldwide, 18 October 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi Tulasi Devi Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda Radha Kunda Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham Sri Nabadwip Dham Sri Vrindavan Mathura ki jay
Sri Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev Subhadra Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Tandiya sakha Math samuha ki jay
Sri Mather sevak vrinda bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Ananta-koti Vaishnav vrinda ki jay
Sri Gaudiya Acharya vrinda ki jay
Tridandi-pad-gan ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I am very happy to see you all today again. I can see all the devotees are here. My health is good, but I talked too much yesterday—there were too many programmes, meetings, and phone calls from all over the world. All the devotees wanted to reach me yesterday, even Indian devotees called me from early morning until midnight. This is devotees' love and affection. It gives me inspiration.

Actually, I am very fortunate—Gurudev has chosen me (this dog) for his service. I was born in a rural village surrounded by many rivers, and there was not even any tradition to make any birthday ceremonies. They only make a festival six days after a baby is born, and after that not; but now, in my old age, they are making birthday festivals for me—I am getting really shy.

All the senior devotees always give their love and affection to me, and I am also trying to keep them in my heart—I know Gurudev gave so much nourishment to foreign devotees. After 2010, there have been so many problems at the temple, but now I have distanced myself a little from the problems. Despite the pandemic situation now, I can still reach almost all devotees all over the world, I can talk with you every Sunday, and it is very nice for me, it gives me much inspiration. This Sunday, I also did not stay out—I came to Kolkata because the network signal is good here, and stayed here. I am happy with that. So many places are making festivals today and they invited me to join them. Every place has gathered four-five hundred people. I had told them not to make a festival (I told them that I could not stop their guru-puja, but I told them not to try to make a festival), but they still made festivals—they spoke Hari-katha and distributed prasadam to three-five hundred people. I did not join any temple's festival, I chose to join virtual programmes through technical tools (skype, zoom, mobile phone). I have joined almost all places and have seen how devotees have made festivals. I am getting the news today. I have also been reading little by little the messages that devotees have sent through the Internet (Sri Vyasa Puja Offerings). I see how much love and affection devotees give to Gurudev, and that love and affection is coming to me.

I must have done something before—I have got some sukriti—that is why I have got now this opportunity to serve my Gurudev, to try to serve him. That is my happiness. At least I can try to be all devotees' servitor—they engage me in their service... I have promised to my Gurudev, "Until there is even one drop of blood in this body, I will serve your mission, I will serve your devotees," and I am trying to do it to the best of my ability.

I have not had any connection with the place where my father, brother live, I have not seen them for more than thirty years, but I have got a big family all over the world, and that is more important for me. Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is my real family. I am very fortunate, very lucky and very grateful. I am pleased with everyone's effort to serve their Gurudev's mission. It gives me energy to continue my service. I will try to serve all the devotees to the best of my ability until my death, until the moment I leave this body. That is my promise.

* * *

Rare Jewels

Kolkata—Worldwide, 18 October 2020, part 2

Since this pandemic situation started, I have been teaching you so many things. I can see that Coronasur (Corona Asur—Demon Corona) cannot stop the chanting of the Holy Name, it cannot stop our festivals. I can see that all the devotees all over the world are eager to hear from me, are eager to hear about the good times with Gurudev.

Actually, I have seen how much Gurudev loved his godbrothers, how much love and affection he gave to everyone—Gurudev gave love and affection even to those who were envious of him. You know, in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's time, there was a group headed by Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj who would often come to Srila Sridhar Maharaj. One time, Param Guru Maharaj asked him, "Maharaj, you are in an opposition group, why do you come to me?" Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj replied, "Maharaj, we come to hear from you because you have a strong common sense and because of your perfect, disinterested (impartial) vision. Your neutral position gives us much inspiration, that is why, even though we stay in the opposition group, we still come to hear your Hari-katha."

...I was very happy to see yesterday that so many sannyasis, brahmacharis had come to Nrisingha Palli from Mayapur. Actually, I did not think they would come, that they would be so eager to come and join the festival in Nrisingha Palli, but later I told Sripad Niriha Maharaj, "You can go and invite them." In the end, so many devotees, brahmacharis and sannyasis, came from Mayapur yesterday. I heard their lecture, heard their Hari-katha through skype. Not only that, all over the world devotees give me so much love and affection although I cannot give anything much to them—devotees always give to me, but I cannot serve them properly.

When devotees chant, when devotees serve and proceed with their service with the mood of a sincere seeker, I become very happy. Also, I always remember so many great souls who are not with us anymore—who have left for their nitya-loka, already entered their nitya-lila—like Srutosrava Prabhu (Sripad Vaishnav Maharaj), Sripad Parvat Maharaj, Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj (Chidananda Prabhu). I am remembering their service. I also remember Yudhamanyu Prabhu, how much he served Soquel, how much Gurudev trusted him—Gurudev placed him in charge of the mission in China and gave him permission to give first initiation into the Holy Name. Here also, Sripad Damodar Maharaj, Sripad Aranya Maharaj served Gurudev. They have left too. There was also another devotee in Nabadwip serving Gurudev—I lived with him in the same building and later in the same room. It is Rishabdev Prabhu from the USA. Gurudev told me, "When I went to his house, I slept in his room, but when I opened the door at night, I saw that he was sleeping in the corridor!" So many householder devotees have made this kind of sacrifice—actually, they look like householders, but their mind, heart, their everything is more than a sannyasi. I have seen Rishabdev Prabhu. The doctors told him that he had very little time left to live and he came to Nabadwip to meet with Gurudev and die at his lotus feet. His wish was, "If I am to die, I will die beside Gurudev." Krishna fulfilled his desire, and I saw how He fulfilled his desire—remembering how he left his body, I remember Srila Haridas Thakur's niryan (withdrawal). We all will leave this world one day, but the main thing is what we do in this world.

Gurudev told me once, "Acharya Maharaj, you have been going village to village and you have brought so many people to me to take initiation—so many have taken initiation from me, but I do not know how many disciples I have made." It is very rare to find a disciple. Many can take initiation, but it is very rare to find a disciple. There are only few people who have become disciples, you can count them on your hands, but so many people have taken initiation. That is the main thing.

So, I want to speak a little about the relationship between the guru and the disciple today. You all have Guidance 4, it is available at the website also. This relationship between the guru and the disciple should be eternal and sweet. I gave the heading to one of the chapters in this book, "Eternal Sweet Relationship between Guru and Disciple."

Eternal sweet relationship between guru and disciple

You should follow the etiquette appropriate for your qualification or right. Every practitioner of devotion should have a sense of etiquette. Those who have stronger devotion, stronger service and stronger love are the best practitioners. When the guru and Vaisnavs see somebody takes responsibility for service, they become very happy. In the domain of devotion, everything is not the same. Sri Sri Radharani is this, and another person is the same—this is not so. In the material world, the older you are, the higher position you have; the more money you have, the higher your position is; but the position of these things in the domain of devotion is not like this. There, it is necessary to be enriched with love and devotion.

Many want devotion from Gurudev—they write about it in their letters, they say about it in front of him also; but if you tell them to do something, they immediately pay obeisance and go away. There should be a relationship between the guru and the disciple.

Just as there is a relationship between a father and a son, between a husband and a wife, there is also a relationship between a guru and a disciple; but it is not the same relationship as between a shopkeeper and a customer. "Take anything you want—as long as you pay for it"—this is between a creditor and a borrower. A schoolmaster teaches students—he charges a fee and then teaches them. There is no relationship between such people, but there is a relationship between a father and a son. How many wrong things the son does, how much problem he causes, but the father still saves some land and money for him. The relationship between a husband and a wife is the same—a husband does not give food to his wife, but she still never stops serving him; he does not give her good clothes and jewellery, but she does not say anything because there is love—another wife will say, "I have not got anything to eat! I do not have anything to wear!" and leave the house. Relationship comes from love. Love does not come from selfish interests. If there are selfish interests in any relationship, then this is a shopkeeper’s transaction. There is love in the relationship between a guru and a disciple—this is where the supreme benefit (divine love) comes from. I have taken a guru—he has given me a mantra, I have given him some donation. What other relationship is there? This is a shopkeeper’s transaction; but there is spiritual benefit in the relationship between a guru and a disciple—this relationship is based on love or service. If there is no love, there is no service either—neither is there a relationship. Therefore, even if there is an exchange of mantra, it does not create a relationship—but when you take the mantra from your guru, the possibility for this relationship to come is there. If you have such kind of a loving relationship, you must certainly be successful in your spiritual life. Just as there is a certain relationship between a father and a son, a certain relationship between a husband and a wife, there is also a certain relationship between a guru and a disciple. There are many gurus in this world. They give mantras, they take donations—such gurus open their ‘shop’ (Math, temple, ashram, etc.) and sit there. You will come to them and they will not let you go back. There are many gurus in this world, but the number of disciples is very small. Some may say, "You have many disciples here." They may have taken the mantra, but they are not disciples. You can see many Maths, temples, ashrams, etc.), but there are very few disciples in this world. Who is a disciple (sisya)? It is the one who accepts disciplining (sasan). ‘Disciplining’ means flogging, lashing, or scolding, but the real meaning of the word ‘discipline’ means not beating, but correction, uplifting, giving benefit; it means picking up and uplifting the disciple from whatever position he or she may be in. Those who are fit for being disciplined are called disciples. Those who are regulated, guided, and taken care of are called disciples. "Gurudev can do anything he wants with me, I am ready to take his disciplining, rules, guidance on my head"—such disciples are very rare. There are thousands and thousands of disciples who just take the mantra, but in most cases, that guru-disciple relationship does not come because those who do become real disciples will want to be guided by Gurudev, but most people do not want to accept chastisement—very few people will want to be chastised. On the other hand, those who want to be chastised, do not cross Gurudev’s instruction all the time—at first, because of the result of your karma, you are not able to follow Gurudev’s order properly, but you think, "I will live following the guidance of Gurudev"—when you take on this resolve, then you will get the right to be called a disciple. And those who want to be chastised and who are able to take it, are extremely fortunate. When a disciple wants to be chastised by Gurudev and is chastised, then this is a proper disciple. It is worth noting that there are three categories or classes of disciples. (1) There is a class of disciples who neither want to be disciplined, nor do they get any disciplining; most people are in this category. (2) There is another class of disciples who want to be disciplined but they cannot follow that disciplining. There are some such people. They get disciplined, but they cannot follow it; even if they say they will follow it, they do not—this is still better than the first category. (3) The third class are the disciples who want to be disciplined, want to live following rules, want guidance, and when they get disciplined by Gurudev, they follow his order. They want to be chastised, they get chastised—such disciples become gurus. If somebody wants to be chastised, has been chastised, and if Gurudev has made and is making a disciple from them, then such a disciple has the qualities of a guru.

Many have this misconception that if you take a mantra, you become a disciple. In fact, taking a mantra means there is a possibility that you will become a disciple. Those who can digest and follow chastisement have the right to become a disciple. If you want to be chastised, you will be chastised—if you are a proper disciple. Guru-varga give them an indication how to follow the rules, guidance and spiritual path. "Do not go this way, go this way!" A guru is a disciple who goes down the right path following the set rules.

Many disciples take the mantra and come saying, "Prabhu, please give me your mercy, please give me your blessing." Why do they pray like this? They submit such prayers to get protection from some problems in their material life. They do not pray to get spiritual benefit. "Make anything you want from me"—I am a piece of clay, you can make a water pot, or a cooking pot from me, whatever you want. If the disciple is serious, then there will be built a guru-disciple relationship. If this relationship is established in your life, you can get the supreme benefit (pure loving devotion).

The relationship between a guru and a disciple is just like the relationship between a husband and a wife. Gurudev will do with the disciple whatever he wants. If you are scolded and kicked, you are a disciple. If Gurudev does not scold you, does not kick you and cannot beat you, then you are not a disciple. If I cannot discipline, guide or order someone, then they are not my disciple. If the guru is a proper guru and there is this relationship or love between the guru and the disciple, then the result will be great. There are very few such disciples. You should try to become proper disciples.

"I want to be chastised by Gurudev—I will follow his order to a T." This should not be merely lip-deep, you must want it in writing, in your heart, and in your mind—I must hanker to be disciplined with my entire being. If you can imbibe such mood, you must certainly get benefit. If you have such mood, it will not take you long to get the result. There is no lack of obeisances (pranam) and donations (pranami). There are many disciples who offer flowers to a picture, but there are very few people who would want to accept disciplining properly and change their life according to it. If you have got the mantra and want to become a disciple, you must practise Kṛṣna consciousness. Just as there are very few disciples, there are also very few gurus. Just as there is only one Supreme Lord, the guru is also one. There are not many of them, but that is another subject.

Practising parikrama (one of the devotional practices) is called service to the holy feet (pada-sevanam).

A holy temple is adorned by Tulasi, therefore we become reminded of Sri Vrindavan. If you decorate it with lights and crotons, this beauty would not be there. Those who have the eyes can see and feel this supra-mundane beauty. I always observe those who practise devotional practices. I am interested in every single matter. Perhaps, I do not join all devotional practices, but I become very happy to see others try hard to follow them.

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Root of Devotion

Kolkata—Worldwide, 18 October 2020, part 3

Question: Srila Sridhar Maharaj told Srila Govinda Maharaj that he would live until eighty-two years old, and he did. How many years did your Gurudev, Srila Govinda Maharaj, tell you that you would live?

Gurudev did not tell me that. Gurudev only said, "Krishna will save you." I never asked Gurudev, "How many years will I live?" Srila Gurudev told Srila Guru Maharaj, "You are giving me this position, but my horoscope says I will not live more than fifty or fifty-five," and Srila Sridhar Maharaj said to Gurudev, "Throw your horoscope away! I am giving you eighty-two years of life!" Gurudev saw my hand, but I never asked him how many years I would live. One day, he told me, "Bring your hands here." When I showed him my hands, he said, "Oh! Brihaspati is tunge." I asked him, "What does Brihaspati mean?" He said, "It means guru-kripa. Guru-kripa is very powerful [tunge—at its peak] in your life." After that, he told me, "Krishna will protect you, Guru Maharaj will protect you." He did not tell me how many years I would live and I never asked it either. I always think that it does not matter how many years I will live, it is not a question, the main question for me is how much service I can do for my Guru. I do not want to live two hundred years, all I want is to serve my Guru for as long as I am alive, until my death. This is the main thing for me.

Question: I have accidentally got Srila Prabhupad's book wet. What should I do with the book?

You must dry the book and keep it safe! These books are grantha, they are non-different from the Lord. We must always keep properly and give respect to the books written, composed by our guru-varga. These are not ordinary books. They are grantha. Always make a good place to keep them and keep them well, protect them. It will be good for you. Give proper respect to grantha. There is grantha-bhagavat and there is vaishnav-bhagavat—Bhagavatam manifests itself in a book form and as a Vaishnav, they are non-different.

Question: How can we recognise our anarthas?

It is easy to recognise it. Always see your own fault, stop seeing others' faults, then you will recognise your anarthas. I told you yesterday that Krishna lives in every living entity (sarva jive Krishna adhisthan), but along with that there can also be some demoniac propensity (asurik pravritti) in the living being. It is easy to recognise your anarthas. Ask yourself, "Are any material desires coming to you or not? Does your heart or mind always want to chant the Holy Name or not? Do you always remember Krishna or not? Do you always remember your family or Krishna's family? Do you remember devotees' circle much or do you have much affection for your parents, family, etc.?" Ask yourself and you can easily understand it. Also, Gurudev says that as soon as you see some little anartha is coming, you must finish it at the root (nip it in the bud). It is very important. You must finish anarthas at the root. The main thing here is guru-kripa and vaishnav-kripa. It is necessary to have guru-kripa and vaishnav-kripa (mercy of your Gurudev and mercy of Vaishnavs).

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhu-gurur krpa vina na dekhi upaya

"It is not possible to conquer maya by engaging in maya. I see no other way to get relief except for the mercy of sadhus."

('Ki rupe paibe seva', Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

If you want to conquer illusory environment, it is necessary to have the mercy of Guru and Vaishnavs, sadhus and Vaishnavs. For example, if you damage the root of a tree, the tree will slowly dry. In the same way, if you have no guru-kripa, your bhakti-lata-bij (seed of the creeper of devotion) will slowly dry up. Guru-kripa is the root of your bhakti-lata-bij (your creeper of devotion). If you cut your creeper at the root, your devotion, your practice will dry just like a tree dries up when uprooted.

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Remembering Right Things

Kolkata—Worldwide, 18 October 2020, part 4

Question: Do you have a favourite pastime of Krishna? Could you tell us that pastime?

Krishna has so many pastimes. You can remember the pastimes when Krishna bestowed His mercy on Kaliya-nag. Kaliya-nag means false ego (Kaliya-nag had so much ego)—in this pastimes, Krishna demolished this ego.

It happened so that Kaliya-nag came to live in a place near the bank of the Yaamuna, and while he was there, there were so many problems because of him—he spread so much poison all over Vrindavan and many birds, cows, etc. could not come close to the Yamuna; so many birds had died because of his poison.

In the meantime, Krishna had performed so many pastimes with His friends (He had killed Aghasur, Bakasur, etc.) so many things had happened in Vrindavan, and all Krishna's friends (Sridam, Sudam, Vasudam, Madhumangal, Subal, and others) would come home and tell their mothers, "Mother, Krishna did this today!", "Mother, Krishna did that today!" They told so many things to their mothers, but their mothers simply said, "You are telling us all this, but we cannot believe it. Tell Krishna to show us one of His pastimes, then we can believe it." So, Krishna decided to do just that.

One day, Krishna went to graze the cows alone (Balaram did not come with Him), and that was the day when this Kaliya-daman lila happened. Before Krishna reached the place where Kaliya-nag lived, first Krishna's friends went there and they all fell down dead. Krishna came there and rescued them all, gave them life. Then, He decided to do away with Kaliya-nag. But how was it possible?

Krishna jumped into the water and started splashing forcefully creating a lot of disturbance for Kaliya-nag. Kaliya-nag thought, "I am living quietly in a corner of the Yamuna, not disturbing anyone—who is disturbing me?" He saw a little boy splashing in the water, and he could not recognise who this boy was. What did Kaliya-nag do then? He coiled his tail around Krishna—he gripped Krishna so tight that Krishna showed that He had lost His senses. He was floating in the water and suddenly, although the sky was clear, so many clouds came, there was lightning, thunderbolt, etc. So many things started happening.

Then, everybody heard that Krishna seemed to have died, and so many Vraja gopis, Vraja gopas, Mother Yasoda, Nanda Maharaj—they all came there and were about to jump into the Yamuna, but Balaram stopped them. Balaram knew everything, so He protected everybody saying, "Do not jump! Do not jump! Krishna will wake up! He will come out just now." They waited, waited, and finally Krishna started expanding His body until He got free from the bondage of Kaliya-nag's tail. Then, Krishna at once jumped onto one of the trees and then on the head of Kaliya-nag—He started smashing Kaliya-nag's head with His feet until Kaliya-nag began to vomit blood. Seeing that Kaliya-nag was about to die, Kaliya-nag's wives came out and prayed to Lord Krishna not to kill him. They begged, "Prabhu, what You did is very good. You have smashed his ego, it has taught him a good lesson, and it was necessary, but we request You to please not kill him completely otherwise we will become widows." Krishna listened to their prayer, "All right, I will not kill him, but I have a condition." What condition is it? "He has to leave this place because all the Yamuna, all the Vraja basis (all Vrindavan residents) are very disturbed by him. He has to go to Ramanak-dwip [an island near Fiji]." Kaliya-nag said, "How will I go there? Garuda lives there, he will eat me!" Krishna said, "Do not worry. He will not touch you. Garuda is My devotee. Show him your head—I have left My footprints on your head—and he will not eat you. You can stay there safely."

After Kaliya-nag left, Mother Yasoda took Krishna on her lap (Krishna was shaking having spent so many hours in the cold water of the Yamuna) and carried Him to the highest place in Vrindavan, Dvadasatila Hill. (Later, Madan Mohan's temple was established there, and the Deity of Madan Mohan was worshipped by Srila Sanatan Goswami.) Mother Yasoda thought that since it was the highest place, the sun would heat there more, but when she brought Krishna there, the sun became so strong, twelve times stronger, to warm Lord Krishna that all Vrindavan basis could not tolerate the heat. There started a wild forest fire. Seeing that all the Vraja basis were suffering too much from the fire, do you know what Krishna did? He ate all fire! After that, overwhlemed by vatsalya-rasa, Mother Yasoda brought some hot milk for Lord Krishna, for her son, and when Krishna took a sip, He said, "Ugh! It is very hot! I cannot drink it!" Mother Yasoda was amazed, "I saw just a few minutes ago how You ate all fire, and now You are saying You cannot tolerate that the milk is hot?!" Krishna said, "Have you seen that, mom? Do not tell anybody!"

Such was the pastime...

Question: I have seen that the Deity of Radha-Raman in Vrindavan does not have the flute, is there a pastime about it? Why is it so?

Yes, there is a pastime, but it is extremely high things. How am I to discuss such things in public? Radha-Raman is the highest and very sweet name and His pastimes have to do with the highest things. It is conjugal love, paramour love, it is too high. Radha-Raman is Krishna who always pleases Srimati Radharani—when He is busy pleasing Srimati Radharani, how will He play the flute? But we should not listen to this because our mind, our body are always involved with lust, involved with so much lust, anger, greed, ego, etc. How will we be able to digest such pastimes? It is very difficult to digest. When you see a girl, you cannot see she is your mother—when you see a beautiful girl, you always think, "Oh, I can make her my girlfriend!" Then, how can we listen to such things? Even Lord Siva cannot control himself...

I also want to say that devotees always want to come and participate in the kirtans. You can practise kirtans, play the mridanga, but you finish the evening arati in the evening and close the door. This is not a temple life. You cannot stay in the temple like rats and cockroaches—always staying in your room and coming out only to take prasadam. Gurudev did not go there to make the temple, but he instructed me to make it there, and there is a good number of devotees living there, but now they are not getting a chance to chant the Holy Name, they are not getting a chance to sing kirtans. Not only that, you always offer the bhog at 10:30 a.m., but it is necessary to offer bhog at 12-12:30, then put the Deities to rest and wake Them up again at 4 p.m., open the temple. It is necessary to keep proper times. Devotees can come, they can chant, pay obeisance. Give chance to devotees.

First practise chanting the Holy Name, concentrate your mind on service, and when you come to the highest position in your worship (bhajan), then you can ask such questions. Do you understand? I do not want to answer such questions. Gurudev did not speak about such things. These are sweet, intimate pastimes of Srimati Radharani and Krishna, they are not for everybody. Mahaprabhu had three and a half devotees who were qualified to hear such things. Mahaprabhu did not express everything in front of everyone—not even in front of Haridas Thakur, Advaita Prabhu or Nityananda Prabhu. He expressed deepest separation only with three devotees (Svarup Damodar, Ray Ramananda, Sikhi Mahiti) and a half (Sikhi Mahiti's sister, Srimati Madhavi Devi).

So, we must first practise Krishna consciousness, practise properly, chant the Holy Name, because our heart, our mind is always busy with nonsense things.

* * *

Shifting Priorities

Kolkata—Worldwide, 18 October 2020, part 5

Question: Some religious friends of mine were expecting a baby, but the baby died in the mother's womb at seven months of pregnancy. Why did this jiva soul leave the body inside the womb when it could have already survived? Where does that soul go—does it go back to God or does it get another body?

How will it happen that it will go back to God? There is some scientific process...

I saw that Gurudev did not like to name any children before they were born. So, sometimes (at earlier stages of pregnancy), before the body is born, we are not sure if the jiva soul exists in the body or not. I cannot say that. However, one thing I am sure about is that if a jiva soul gets a body and leaves it in the womb of the mother, it is not so that this jiva soul goes to the Lord. It will get another body. This is the rule.

The answer is this, but another thing is if you lose your baby, why should you be unhappy? It is not necessary to be unhappy. It is maya (illusory environment) that always makes us unhappy. When we lose our baby, we sometimes feel unhappy, but why do we not feel so unhappy because of the separation from the Lord? Krishna has given you a chance and the baby does not get born, it dies, but if it had been born and died in one-two years, you would feel even more sadness. Krishna has actually given you less pain, you can thank Him for that. Why is it necessary to be sad? Everything that happens is the 'factory' of Lord Krishna—everything happens by His desire, and we should not be unhappy about it. Whatever happens is good—some good things are coming to you, you must wait and see. Continue your service, it will be better for you. Do not think about the past, do not worry that you have lost your baby. Instead, serve Lord Krishna and the Lord Himself (Krishna Himself) can be born in your womb through your service. Why is it necessary to be sad?

"Sukhe duhkhe bhule nako vadane Harinam koro re (সুখে দুঃখে ভুলো নাক, বদনে হরিনাম কর রে ): in happiness or sadness, never forget it, always chant the Holy Name." Whether you are happy or unhappy, always remember Lord Krishna. That is the ultimate advice. Always chant the Holy Name, never forget the Lord—not even when you are happy, not even when you are sad.

Another thing we can say is that if the mother is a devotee and she loses her baby, then the souls of that baby can get some benefit through her spiritual practice. Gurudev says that if a family member becomes a proper sannyasi, then twenty-one generations become released from bondage. So, in this situation, if a mother loses her baby, but if she chants the Holy Name, if she becomes a proper devotee and has a proper consciousness, then sometimes it can happen that the baby will get benefit through that mother.

All right, I was very happy to see you all today, to see all the devotees. We will meet next week again. I am going to conclude here for today. Everything is going on properly here, it has been very nice to have this discussion.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay

* * *

Loving Service

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 1

Hari bol.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi Tulasi Devi Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda Radha Kunda Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham Sri Nabadwip Dham Sri Vrindavan Mathura ki jay
Sri Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev Subhadra Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math ki jay
Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Tandiya sakha Math samuha ki jay
Sri Mather sevak vrinda bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Ananta-koti Vaishnav vrinda ki jay
Sri Gaudiya Acharya vrinda ki jay
Tridandi-pad-gan ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
All the sannyasi-vrinda, brahmachari-vrinda, bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

By the mercy of Gurudev, we are here today again. We meet all together every Sunday. By the mercy of Gurudev, we can see everybody's loving face and happy mood in the service to Guru and Vaishnavs.

You are all liberated souls, you are trying to make your Guru happy—you are giving everything for the service of your Guru. You are giving so much for the service to your Guru, to Vaishnavs, and Bhagavan. You are doing this and getting taste.

Actually, conditioned souls always suffer in this world, but if they wish and try to get love, affection, Krishna-prem, etc., they can come out of this illusory world. It is necessary to surrender and to have sraddha (proper, strongest faith). If you surrender yourselves through your faith to the guidance of Guru, to the guidance of a great soul, then you also can go to your own home—you can come to the eternal place where is Krishna's movement is going on and stay there.

Gurudev says that there are bhakti-kalpa-vriksa in that world (wish-fulfilling trees). Suppose there is a papaya tree—if you want a banana from that tree, you can get a banana from it. Suppose there is a banyan tree—if you want a banana from that banyan tree, you will get a banana from the banyan tree. Such is the nature's movement in Krishna's place. This is Goloka Vrindavan, and you can enter this place through your service, through your service mood.

Therefore, I am praying to the Lord for you all. You all do so much, you do so much service to make your Guru happy, and that is the main thing for your spiritual life.

* * *

Do Not Jump Into Maya

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 2

Tomorrow is the disappearance day of Sripad Shanta Maharaj's Harinam-guru—Pujyapad Srila Bhakti Svarup Damodar Goswami Maharaj. We can give some lecture in his remembrance. He is our Gurudev's good friend and he was a very nice super-personality, a liberated soul, and a disciple of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad. He gave all his life for the service of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and for distributing His message. All the Vaishnavs, all the great soul come to this world on the order of the Lord to distribute the message of the Lord...

If you send a letter to the Lord, you will not get any answer, but if you send a letter to your Guru, you will immediately get an answer and the news from the Lord because Gurudev is the closest, dearmost friend of the Lord. So, if we can say, tell or present something to our Gurudev, Gurudev will send our message on to the Lord, and the Lord can give an answer to our questions through our Gurudev. We must proceed in our spiritual life following this process.

Now, there is Durga-puja going on in Bengal. Durgati-nasini Durga Devi, and incarnation of Parvati—sometimes, she is called Mother Kali, sometimes Annapurna, sometimes Durga Devi. Durga-puja is the main festival here in Bengal, and Durga-puja lasts many days. This year, it is a little less crowded because of the covid situation. There is a strict order from the High Court of Kolkata, so everybody is very careful about their health and the government is also being a little strict because they have to follow the order of the High Court.

** came here the other day, and I thought he would stay with me for a few days, that we would go to some places together, he could see something, but he had already bought his ticket to again jump into Maya... I know he works as a teacher, so he cannot leave his students otherwise they will disturb and go to another place. This job involves much responsibility—if you do not give proper attention to the students, they will find another teacher. I know it, I practised teaching before...

Also, I want to say to *** Prabhu that it is necessary to harmonise a little with ***. I know he is a little angry man, but there are different kinds of people in this world and in this family, so we should harmonise with both bad and good. Gurudev always said: anyone can stay with a sadhu, but everybody should be able to stay with a thief also. Everybody can stay with good people, but everybody should try to stay with some bad people also. It is necessary for this world. Sometimes, people are cool-minded, and *** is always a little angry, but he has a good mind, a good heart. He may be angry sometimes, but we must harmonise with everybody. We do not want to divide the mission. There can be many branches, but everyone should give respect to each other, it is necessary to be humble, tolerant. It is necessary for everybody. You must be humble yourself, then others will learn from you.

You know, one time, I asked Gurudev, "There are so many godbrothers staying at the temple, and some of them criticise you. Why are you keeping them in the temple?" Gurudev said, "If I oust them from the temple, then who will criticise me? It is necessary to keep somebody for criticising me!" I was surprised to hear it. I had just come to the temple at that time, but Gurudev said this...

* * *

Srila Lochan Das Thakur Mahasay

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 3

lochan bale hena nitai yeba na bhajila
janiya suniya sei atma-ghati haila

Lochan Das says, "Anyone who did not serve Nitai knowingly committed suicide."

Srila Lochan Das Thakur is a devotee, a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu—he belonged to His line.

Actually, Srila Lochan Das Thakur, like our Gurudev and Srila Guru Maharaj, was born in Burdwan district and was a disciple of Sri Narahari Thakur (Sri Narahari Thakur's birthplace and house is in Srikhanda, near Katwa, where Mahaprabhu took sannyas). The name of Srila Lochan Das Thakur's father is Sri Kamalakar Das, and his mother's name is Sri Sadanandi. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was the only son of his father, so he was the darling of his parents, the apple of their eyes. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was married at a very young age, but he was attached and devoted to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu since his childhood, so from a very young age he was annoyed by all material things, and even though he was married, he did not stay in his own house so much; mostly he stayed away from his wife—from his youth, he lived in the house of his Gurudev (Sri Narahari Thakur) in Srikhanda.

Originally, before Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Murari Gupta composed Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, and Srila Lochan Das Thakur read that book and composed his Sri Chaitanya-mangal based on it. In Sri Chaitanya-mangal, he prays to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur,

vrindavana dasa vandiba eka-chite
jagata mohita yanra bhagavata gite

"I am offering my whole-hearted obeisance to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, whose 'Bhagavat-gita' [lit. the song of 'Bhagavata', ref. to 'Chaitanya-bhagavata'] has captivated the whole world."

(Sri Chaitanya-mangal, Sutra-khanda)

When Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur composed his Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, he originally named it Sri Chaitanya-mangal, but Srila Lochan Das Thakur and Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami called his book Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat later on. In his Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami also writes,

krsna-lila bhagavate kahe vedavyasa
chaitanya lilara vyasa vrndavana dasa

"Vedavyas describes the pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna in Srimad Bhagavatam, and Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur is the Vyasa of the pastimes of Lord Sri Chaitanya."

Another thing is that Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur did not write in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata very clearly or broadly about the time prior to Sriman Mahaprabhu's taking sannyas, but in his Sri Chaitanya-mangal, Srila Lochan Das Thakur, for example, gives an extensive explanation of the talk between Sriman Mahaprabhu and Vishnupriya Devi. He writes,

prabhura vyagrata dekhi, visnupriya chandra-mukhi,
kahe kichhu gad-gad svare
kaha kaha prananatha, mora sire diya hata,
sannyasa karibe naki tumi

"Seeing some perturbed eagerness in the Lord, moon-faced Vishnupriya Devi spoke in a little trembling voice, 'Tell me, tell me, Prananath. Put Your hand on my head and tell me—are You going to take sannyas?'"

loka mukhe suni iha, vidarite chahe hiya,
agunite pravesiba ami
to lagi jivana-dhana, rupa nava yauvana,
vesa vilasa bhava-kala

"'I hear people talk. You want to tear my heart apart—I will enter fire! You are the treasure of my life. This time of life is filled with beauty, fresh youth, it is the time when You dress well, live well, and love.'"

tumi yabe chhadi yabe, ki kaja e chhara jive,
hiya pore yena visa jvala

"'When You leave me, what will this wretched soul live for? My heart is burning in the agony as if I have taken poison...'"

Vishnupriya Devi had noticed that Sri Gaurasundar had become very perturbed, and she could understand, "He will leave me and go to take sannyas..." So, she confronted Mahaprabhu saying, "Tell me, Prananath [the Lord of my life], keep Your hand on my head and tell me the truth—will You leave to take sannyas? I suspect that You will leave me and go away from home. I also hear rumours about it among people..." She expresses so much pain of separation. Srila Lochan Das Thakur describes it very beautifully. After that, when Vishnupriya Devi confronted Him, Sri Gaurasundar said,

e bola suniya panhu, muchaki hasiya lahu,
kahe suna mora pranapriya
kichhu na kariha chite, ye kahiye tora hite
sabadhane suna mana diya

"Hearing these words, the Lord said with a slight, gentle smile on His face, 'Listen to Me, dear. Do not stir your heart, what I am saying to you is for your benefit. Listen to Me carefully and attentively.'"

jagate yateka dekha, michha kari saba lekha,
satya eka sabe bhagavan
satya ara vaisnava, ta vine yateka saba,
michha kari karaha geyana

"'Everything you see in this world is false. The only truth is the Supreme Lord. Devotees of the Lord are also truth; know that other than, everything is false.'"

Mahaprabhu tried to give some nourishment to Vishnupriya Devi. He said, "Everything in this world is nothing. This relationship with our father, mother, wife, husband, everything is very temporary. Once the jiva soul comes out of the body, it cannot enter it again, and this body will rot within a few days."

michha suta pati nari, pita-mata adi kari,
pariname keba na kahara
sri-krsna charana bahi, ara ta kutumba nahi
yata dekha saba maya tanra

"'Sons, husbands, women, parents, etc. are all false. Ultimately, nobody belongs to anyone. Except for Sri Krishna's lotus feet, there is no kin. Everything you see here is His illusion.'"

"Who is your own? Who should you have a relationship with? With the Lord. All other relationships are material and a part of illusory environment. Your parents, all your friends' and relatives' circle, everything in this world is illusion, it is illusory environment."

ki nari purusa dekha, atma se sabara eka,
michha maya-bandhe bhave dui
sri-krsna sabara pati, ara saba prakrti,
e katha na bujhaye koi

"'Whether it is a man or a woman, everyone's souls is the same. Only those who are situated in illusory bondage see them as two different entities. Sri Krishna is everyone's husband, and all souls are female. Can you not understand it?'"

raktareta sammilane, janma vistha mutra sthane,
bhume padi haya ageyana
bala yuba vrdda haiya, nana duhkha kasta paiya,
dehe-gehe kare abhimana

"'When some blood and semen is combined, one is born from the same place where urine and stool come out. It all later falls unconscious on the ground. Going through childhood, youth, old age, souls suffer so many austerities and become proud of their body and house.'"

bandhu kari yare pali, tara sabe dei gali,
abhimane vrddhatra kala vanche
sravana nayana andhe, visada bhariya kande,
tabu nahi bhajaye govinde

"'When all their friends have run away, everyone will swear them, and they will be cheated in their old age because of their pride. Deaf and blind, filled with sorrow, they will weep, but even then they will not worship Govinda.'"

Mahaprabhu Sri Gaurasundar advised Sri Vishnupriya Devi then,

krsna bhajibara tare, deha dhari e samsare,
maya bandhe pasari apana
ahankare matta haiya, nija prabhu pasariya,
sese paya naraka-yantrana

"'They have got a body in this world and if they use it to worship Krishna, they will automatically leave all illusory bondage. However, those who lose their mind because of pride forget their own Master and in the end they undergo hellish sufferings.'"

"We have got this human body to worship the Lord, not for others! Because of our ego, we think, 'He is my husband,' 'He is my son,' 'She is my wife,' etc., but we forget our Master! In the end, we will get hellish austerities."

tora nama visnupriya, sarthaka karaha iha,
michha soka na karaha chite
e tora kahilum katha, dura kara ana chinta
mana deha krsnera charite

"'Your name is Vishnupriya [who is dear to Lord Vishnu], so fulfil its meaning. There is no need for all this false grief in your heart.' I have told you all this, so do away with all worries and dedicate your mind and body to Krishna consciousness."

"Do not lament so much," Mahaprabhu said.

apane isvara haiya, dura kare nija maya,
visnupriya parasanna chita
dure gele duhkha-soka, anande bharila buka,
chatur-bhuja dekhe achambita

"He is independent Lord, so He removed His own illusion. Vishnupriya felt pleased at heart—her sadness and grief had gone and her heart became filled with joy. She was then greatly surprised to see the Lord's four-armed form."

Then, Mahaprabhu showed His chatur-bhuj murti to Vishnupriya Devi. He showed that He was not only her husband, but He was the Lord Himself (He showed His four-armed form, holding a conch, disc, club, and a lotus), but despite all advice, despite even the chatur-bhuja, Vishnupriya Devi still thought, "Gaurasundar is my husband."

tabe devi visnupriya, chatur-bhuja dekhiya,
pati budhhi nahi chhade tabu
padiya charana tale, kakuti minati kare,
eka nivedana suna prabhu

"Yet, even seeing the four-armed form of the Lord, Vishnupriya Devi could not give up her perception of the Lord as her husband. She fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly, 'Prabhu, please hear my one prayer.'"

mo ati adhama chhara, janamila e samsara,
tumi mora priya prana-pati
e hena sampada mora, dasi haiyachilum tora,
ki lagiya bhela adhogati

"'I am a very fallen wretched soul, I was born in this material world, but You are the dearmost lord of my heart, You are my all in all. Such is my wealth, I have become Your maidservant. Why am I so unfortunate?'"

iha bali visnupriya, kande utaroli haiya
adhika badila paramada
priya-jane artti dekhi, chhala chhala kare ankhi,
kole kari karila prasada

"Saying this, Vishnupriya Devi broke down and began to sob. Her plight became even worse. Seeing the grief of His beloved, with His eyes filled with tears, He took her on His lap and spoke mercifully:"

suna devi visnupriya, tomare kahila iha,
yakhane ye tumi mane kara
ami yatra tatha yai, achhiye tomara thani
ei satya kahilama dara

"'Listen, Vishnupriya Devi. I have told you that whenever you think of Me, I am always in your room, wherever I may be at that time. I assure you this is the truth.'"

prabhu ajna vani suni, visnupriya mana guni,
svatantra isvara ei prabhu
nija sukhe kara kaja, ke dibe tahate badha,
pratyuttara na dilena tabu

"Hearing Prabhu's advice and order, Vishnupriya composed herself thinking, 'This Prabhu is independent Supreme Lord. He does what pleases Him, what use is it trying to stop Him?' So, she said nothing in reply."

visnupriya heta mukhi, chhala chhala kare ankhi
dekhi prabhu sarasa sambhase
prabhura acharana katha sunite lagiye vyatha
guna gaya e lochana dase

"Vishnupriya Devi listened to the Lord's sweet words with her face lowered and eyes filled with tears... As Lochan Das relates these pastimes of the Lord, it gives him pain to hear about this behaviour of the Lord."

Srila Lochan Das Thakur wrote so many things there...

We all know that Srila Lochan Das Thakur composed Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's songs, such as "Parama karuna pahu dui jana," "Nitai-guna-mani amara," "Akrodha-paramananda Nityananda Raya," and others, but he also wrote a song about the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. We do not sing this song, but we can recite it now.

are nikunja vane, syamera sane,
ki-rupa dekhilum rai
kemana vidhata, gadala murati,
lakhai nahika yai

"O what sort of form have I seen of Rai next to Shyam in Their Nikunja grove! It is inconceivable that the Creator can produce such a form!"

sajala jalada, kanura varana,
champa varani rai
mani marakata, kanchane jadita,
aichhana rahala thai

"There I beheld Kanu's body is the blue emerald colour of a water-bearing cloud, and Rai's golden colour is like that of a champa flower!"

kiye aparupa, rasa mandala,
ramani mandala ghata
mana-matha mana, paila achetana,
dekhiya o anga chhata

"What a superb form! He enjoys amorous pastimes with young ladies! Seeing His lustrous form, my mind swooned and I fell unconscious."

vadane madhura, hasa adhare,
hrdaye hrdaye sanga
kona rasavati, rasera avese
kusuma sayane anga

"He is lying on a bed of kusum flowers, His face emanating sweetness, His smile most affectionate, He is filled with joy and overcome with amorous ecstasy."

navina meghera, nivida abha,
tahe vijuri ujoi
dasa lochanera, rai saravasa
o-rasa avese so-i

"There is a lightning striking through the dense glow of this fresh rain-cloud. Rai is all in all for Lochan Das who is overwhelmed by these pastimes."

...Srila Lochan Das Thakur stayed in this world for eighty-five years. He left this world in 1530 (Gregorian calendar—1609). The main scripture he composed is Sri Chaitanya-mangal, and there is one more scripture composed by him called Durlabha-sara.

Jay Srila Lochan Das Thakur ki jay!

* * *

About Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 4

Question: In Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, when Pancha-tattva is described, it is said that Mahaprabhu is Lord Krishna Himself, Nityananda Prabhu is an expansion of the Lord and Advaita Acharya is an incarnation of a devotee (bhakta-avatara). However, I do not understand the position of Gadadhar Pandit. Could you please explain it?

Sri Gadadhar Pandit is an incarnation of Srimati Radharani. Actually, Krishna took Radharani's heart and halo and became Gauranga, and whatever remained from Radharani became Sri Gadadhar Pandit. When Mahaprabhu came to Sri Puri Dham, He kept Sri Gadadhar Pandit in Puri and gave him there a beautiful service of Tota Gopinath. There, Sri Gadadhar Pandit would read Srimad Bhagavatam and Mahaprabhu would listen to it from him. Also, Sri Gadadhar Pandit could cook very nicely, especially a particular type of spinach (apana sak) that grows in the garden on its own and that Mahaprabhu liked very much. One day, Sri Gadadhar Pandit thought, "If Mahaprabhu loves me and if He knows my heart, He will come even if I do not invite Him. Let me see whether He will know it when to come or not." He prepared the bhog and suddenly Mahaprabhu came there saying, "Oh! You are cooking for Me, and you are not inviting Me! But I know you want Me to come! That is why I have come." Such is the relationship between Sri Gadadhar Pandit and Sriman Mahaprabhu.

As for Pancha-tattva, there is Mahaprabhu, Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhar, and Srivas Pandit. They are the Pancha-tattva. Sri Gadadhar is a part of Pancha-tattva. We can also say that Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur always worshipped, prayed to Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar and also established Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar Deities. Another Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar Deity is established by Dvija Vaninath. Other than this explanation, I do not understand what you want to know.

There are people who say many esoteric, confidential things, but these are sahajiya, aul people. You know, there is one disciple (and a relative) of Srila Sridhar Maharaj. He is a school teacher from Hapaniya. Actually, Srila Sridhar Maharaj did not accept him as his disciple although he had taken diksa from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. He is still alive, but he is staying in some other temple. He used to always come to our temple from time to time, I saw him in Gurudev's time; we would always give him as much respect as possible. Yet, one time he came to the temple at the time of some festival. I do not remember what festival day it was, perhaps Srila Guru Maharaj's appearance day, but I remember it was a festival because Gurudev heard him from his house, so it means there was a loud speaker running. Actually, at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, there are no loud speakers used except on festival days because Srila Guru Maharaj did not like any loud speakers in his temple and in his time no loud speakers were allowed. Now, during festival time, so many people come, and it has become necessary to use loud speakers, so Gurudev allowed to use them, but only during festival time. So, that time, that man was singing at the evening arati, and suddenly he started singing, "Mala jhanmal jhanmal kare," and when Gurudev heard him sing, "Gadadharer gatha mala," Gurudev became very disturbed and shouted, "STOP IT! STOP IT!! Who is this sahajiya coming and saying this?! STOP IT!!" Gurudev told to never chant "Gadadharer mala"—we must chant, "Bhakta-ganer ghata mala jhanmal jhanmal kare." We are not to speak about "Gadadharer gatha mala." Do you understand how extremely deep these things are?

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur says, "Srila Narottam Das Thakur can sing, 'Vrndavane chabutara tahe mora mano-ghera—My entire mind dwells within the courtyard of Vrindavan.' But we know very clearly whether our mind is in Vrindavan's courtyard or in some other place." So, you must serve within your adhikar (right). Know your place when you serve, do not cross the line. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur also said, "I have read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita sixty times, but I still cannot understand it clearly."

Question: I have heard that there are no Gaura-Gadadhar Deities in Jagannath Puri. Why is it so?

These are very high things. Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar are extremely high Deities. The relationship between Sri Gaura and Sri Gadadhar is the highest relation, that is why I think many temples avoid installing Their Deities. We see that mainly only Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur and Dvija Vaninath worship Sri Gaura-Gadadhar. So, not only in Jagannath Puri, I have not seen so many places in Bengal or India where Gaura-Gadadhar are worshipped. This relationship is very high. We do not have that kind of qualification to worship the Deities of Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar. We see that even all the Gaudiya-acharya-varga (even Srila Sridhar Maharaj, or any other Gaudiya Acharya), do not give priority to establishing Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar. Only in very rare places Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar are worshipped, that is because the relationship between Sri Gaura and Sri Gadai is a very confidential, very high. They are worshipped through kirtan-marga, so we see They are worshipped in the island of kirtan (kirtanakhya-dvip) in Svarupganj, that is Godrumdwip. Another highest place is Champahati, where Jayadev Goswami lived. It is possible to see the Deities of Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar in this kind of places. Other than that, our entire Gaudiya-acharya-varga always keep distance from these things. This is what I think. I have never asked Gurudev about such things, neither has it even ever come to my mind.

I remember one time when I was in Russia there was a big gathering. Srila Janardan Maharaj and Srila Ashram Maharaj were also there. That day, I gave a class in the morning and mentioned that there were three and a half closest servitors of Mahaprabhu—Svarup Damodar, Ray Ramananda, Sikhi-kanta Mahiti are three, and Sikhi-kanta Mahiti Mahiti's sister Madhavi Devi is the half. Later, in the evening, there was a huge gathering—so many new people, so many devotees came, so many services were going on; and everybody on the stage had a microphone. Srila Gurudev gave a lecture at that gathering, and, having finished his lecture, he left the place. After that, everybody got a chance to ask questions. Suddenly, one lady got up and said directly to me, "Acharya Maharaj said in the morning that there were three and a half closest servitors of Mahaprabhu—why is Madhavi Devi only a half? Is it because we are ladies that we are considered a half only?!" And I in particular was supposed to answer this question. I did not know the proper answer, so I prayed to Gurudev, "Gurudev, please give some answer to my mind, my heart!" Anyhow, I answered her question at that time, and later I asked Gurudev if it was a correct answer or not, and Gurudev said, "Yes, you gave the right answer." The answer I gave is this. Actually, we do not think somebody is a lady, somebody is a man—this is illusion; but the thing is that Mahaprabhu always avoided women, He did not want to receive prasadam or anything from any woman. So, Madhavi Devi cooked and served Mahaprabhu, but she could only do it from far—she could see Mahaprabhu from far, but she could not come close to Him. That is why, she could not do full service and that is why she is only a half.

Question: Also, we see that all devotees either went to Vrindavan with Mahaprabhu or Mahaprabhu allowed them to go on their own, but Mahaprabhu never allowed Gadadhar Pandit to go there...

Yes... One time, when Sri Gadadhar Pandit tried to leave with Mahaprabhu and Mahaprabhu did not allow him to go, Sri Gadadhar Pandit showed ego saying, "I am not going with You! I am going to see Ai [Sachi Mata, Mahaprabhu's mother]!" So, we see that Mahaprabhu had sent some sari, some prasad for His mother with Jagadananda Pandit on another occasion, but Mahaprabhu did not allow Gadadhar Pandit to visit her. Externally, Mahaprabhu always kept some distance because people could start saying so many things, people could start criticising, and if they criticised Mahaprabhu, they would make an offence and become offenders. That is why Mahaprabhu avoided it in every possible way.

* * *

Fundamental Mood of Kirtan

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 5

Question: What is the best mood to perform Sri Harinam-sankirtan on the street?

The perfect mood is humility, tolerance and giving honour to others. This is the perfect mood. Srila Gurudev says this is the best. You know that through ether, you can talk with us or with anyone all over the world using the internet, scientists have discovered this, so there is some movement going on on the sound level.

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

"Only chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name—there is no other way, no other way, no other way."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 7.76)

That is also the real mood. Gurudev says [in the book In Search of the Original Source],

It is not necessary to collect an ocean of knowledge from the scriptures. The only necessity is your chastity and faith in the divine Name of the Lord. Why? Some reasons have been given that we can easily understand. In this world, so many scientists have invented many things. How are we getting email, telephone, and television? Through sound. In this material world it is possible, so why is it not possible to connect with the transcendental world through sound? It can come down into this material world. We can see that ray, and through that ray we can go there. Here we are getting connection everywhere through ether. If we can go a little further, we can connect with the transcendental divine form of the Lord, which is His Name. If it is transcendental, if it is divine, it must have the full power to give us this knowledge, and that Name can enter anywhere. The telephone calls are coming here without a problem; why can't that transcendental knowledge come into my heart? Why can't that transcendental knowledge live there? We must believe it. Try to research and try to understand which way it is possible. Mahaprabhu Chaitanyadev said the transcendental vibration form of our Lord is Harinam. It will be revealed in your heart.

cheto-darpana-marjanam bhava-mahadavagni-nirvapanam
sreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam

"Sri Krishna-sankirtan cleanses the mirror of consciousness, extinguishes the raging forest fire of material existence, shines moonlight on the evening lotus of good fortune, is the life of the divine knowledge—the life of souls enlightened with paramour love for the Lord, expands the ocean of ecstasy, is the taste of full nectar at every moment, and soothes the entire self. May Sri Krishna-sankirtan be supremely victorious!"

Mahaprabhu also described the process:

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

Be humble, be tolerant, give honour to others, make everyone your friend. Try to get a connection with the transcendental abode through Harinam, the Lord's Name. Practise your spiritual life and see the result. It is not dead matter. If you eat, does it mean that other will be fulfilled? It is not a fact. When you eat you will feel, "My belly is becoming full, my mind is becoming satisfied, and my hunger is going away." These feelings naturally will come to you.

How will I go back to the hotel? My driver knows, "This is the way." He will not miss the way. So, we must search, but with proper guidance. If you want Newcastle coal, you must go to Newcastle. If you want Ganges water, go to the Ganges. If you want Thames water, go to the Thames. If you want something, go to the source. In this way your searching will take you there.

Question: [from a non-initiated person]: How can we achieve spiritual elevation through chanting japa?

You can chant the Holy Name without offence and try to engage yourself in the service of the mission, in the service of your guru. Chant without offence, serve without offence, and you will succeed in your spiritual life. Sometimes, so many kinds of bondage will come to you in this world—it is maya (illusory environment), but if you surrender properly, if you have proper faith and chastity, you will get the result quickly.

Srila Janardan Maharaj: I have one question—how can people be chanting japa without having received Harinam-diksa [initiation]?

Oh, has he not taken initiation? Then, he must surrender to some great personality. He has to receive the Holy Name first and chant on proper beads.

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana

Having travelled throughout the universe and got the mercy of Guru, Krishna, a fortunate soul receives a seed of the devotional creeper. As a gardener, they must plant that seed and water it with practising: hearing and chanting.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.151-152)

When the jiva-souls have unfortunately come into this material environment, which is not their real home, naturally they will try to return to their permanent home. Sometimes when they do not get the proper direction, still they try to go somewhere. They are always feeling like refugees who have come out of their own country, lived many years in another country, but cannot forget their own country. That is their situation.

The Lord has all power. Without power, creation is not possible, and without the Powerful, creation is also not possible. We can search in many ways, but finally we must go to the Powerful, otherwise success is not possible. And the rsis have searched in that way, to find that power and the Powerful. Through mundane knowledge it is not possible to get it. When they understood this, they tried to get it from the higher level, and they searched for the way in which it would be possible to get it. That transcendental knowledge has been given in Srimad Bhagavad-gita (7.14) by Sri Krsna.

daivi hy esa gunamayi, mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante, mayam etam taranti te

"My alluring, 'trimodal,' illusory potency is practically insurmountable. However, those who take shelter in Me can overcome this powerful obstacle."

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 7.14)

"O My dear Arjuna, fortunately, if anyone will take shelter of Me, I will relieve him from the illusory environment. Otherwise, to get relief from this illusory environment is not so easy because maya is so powerful.”

* * *

Sincere Ego-Free Relationship

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 6

Question: It is said in Srimad Bhagavad-gita that when one makes even the slightest advancement on this path, there is no loss or harm for them, but what becomes of those who practise and commit some Vaishnav-aparadha? Does that deprive them from the progress they have made?

If you commit a Vaishnav aparadh, you cannot progress in your spiritual life. But you must always avoid Vaishnav aparadh. If you make some offence, you must try to ask that Vaishnav for forgiveness. That is humility and giving honour to others. This is Mahaprabhu's teachings. Vaishnav aparadh is an obstacle, it is not good. It will be better for you if you ask for forgiveness. Whether your accumulated benefit is destroyed or what happens with you later, it is not the time to say anything about it. However, we can say that we have seen many offenders (Vaishnav-aparadhi) who have eventually left Krishna consciousness—their life went to hell. I have personally seen so many Vaishnav-aparadhi in my life. You can see in the scriptures also—there are many offenders' examples given there. For example, we have heard about Ramachandra Puri, we have heard about Chapal Gopal who had made an offence to Srivas Pandit but later got a relief from his offences; there is also Devananda Pandit who had also committed an offence to Srivas Pandit but later asked Srivas Pandit for forgiveness. So, we see in the scriptures that if some Vaishnav aparadh happened, it is better for us if we ask forgiveness. That is the best solution.

It is not that the progress of the jiva soul will finish by an offence, but because of the offence it will simply not develop. We see also in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita that Nama aparadha (for example, making an offence to your guru) uproots the tree of your devotion—it cuts it at the root; as a result, your devotional tree will dry up. This is the effect of Vaishnav apradha.

yadi vaisnava-aparadha uthe hati mata
upade va chinde, tara sukhi' yaya pata

"Offences to Vaishnavs bring about a mad elephant that uproots or breaks everything. It makes the leaves of the creeper of devotion dry up."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 19.156)

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami mentions this in his Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. So, the amount of progress one has achieved will not be lost, it is true, but the jiva soul will just not be able to progress any further in the future—some obstacles can come in their spiritual life.

Question: Is there any rectification for such a devotee?

Yes. It is possible to rectify yourself if you ask for forgiveness. Sometimes, it happens so that we have made some offence to a devotee and that devotee has already died, so how will we ask them for forgiveness now? In such cases, you should earnestly ask them for forgiveness from within your heart.

Question: What should we do if see a devotee committing an offence against another devotee?

You can advise them not to make that offence. At the same time, it is said in scriptures that you are not to listen to any criticism about your guru—do not tolerate such things, you must leave that place.

vaisnava-charitra sarvada pavitra
yei ninde himsa kari'
bhaktivinoda na sambhase tan're
thake sada mauna dhari'

"The character of Vaishnavs is always pure. Bhaktivinod keeps quiet and does not associate with those who are envious of Vaishnavs and who criticise Vaishnavs."

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru)

"If somebody criticises a Vaishnav, Bhaktivinod does not say anything, he always checks his mouth." So, if it is within your power, you can tell them not to do that (not to make that offence, not to create such a situation), but if they do not listen to it, then leave that place without any comments. That is better.

Question: Is there anything else we can do to have more respect among each other and to love every devotee like our own family member?

It is necessary to love devotees like your own family. This is the main thing in our spiritual practice. Everybody must give respect to each other. When you wake up early in the morning and see each other, you should greet each other—say, "Hari bol," pay obeisance to each other. This is the etiquette of the temple. Always address each other "Prabhu" and "Didi." Always talk to each other nicely, do not be rude to each other. You treat your parents and children with affection, and you must treat your godbrothers and godsisters with the same kind of affection. Always be humble, always follow your Guru's teachings. This is how you can teach others by your example, otherwise how will children learn? What will they learn from us?

"Pratihimsa tyaji' anye karabi palana. Do not ill-treat others; care for each other." If somebody says something bad to you or swears you, you must not say anything bad in return. It is not good to be vindictive. If somebody says something bad, we will tolerate it and always remain humble. It is necessary to teach each other. Such should be the relationship among ourselves. Such a relationship should come.

Another thing is that everybody's focus must be one—everybody must think that we are all godbrothers and godsisters, and our main goal is to serve our Guru, to please our Guru. This is not a competition. This is not some fight. You must not think, "Oh, he is taking my service!" and get very angry. It is not good. Everybody must be given a chance. Do not become jealous thinking, "Oh, she/he has become a manager! Why not me?!" Do not think like this. Managers also should have a proper attitude. Such should be the relationship.

I was doing some correction of the Bengali translation of the book Original Source today, and it is also written there what this relationship is like. It is called Eternal Play, or nitya-lila. It is necessary to have natural feelings.

...All the feelings are natural, a natural flow is there. Krishna does not think, "I am God," and the friends of Krishna also do not think, "Krishna is my Lord!" Not that way. "He is my bosom friend!", their feelings come in this way.

I was very happy to read this.

Consorthood, paramour love, so many things are there that here sometimes give us so much pain. There they give only happiness. There is no place for pain there—only when the Play of the Lord necessitates it some deficiency may come, but that is only existing within the Play.

Actually, if envy, or jealousy, comes to your heart, it is a very big problem. If envy comes to you, then you yourself will be getting pain from that—you yourself will be losing. We must be careful. Somebody lives in the temple, somebody becomes the manger, but the manager must not think, "I am the boss here! I will control everything!" The only boss is the Lord. It is necessary to realise this. You are not the controller. Krishna is always the controller, but He has given some responsibility to you and Krishna can take it away from you also. Not only that, Krishna can also take you away from spiritual life. You must be always careful with this.

* * *

Nonsense Sacrifice

Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 7

Question: Was it possible for the people in the ages of Satya-, Treta-, and Dvapara-yuga to attain Krishna-prema?

It was possible, but the method was very hard. Satya-yuga people are very truthful, they did not fight like Kali-yuga people (Kali-yuga people always fight), and in Satya-yuga they worshipped Narayan. There were mantras ("Narayana para Veda," etc.) and they would practise yoga during many thousands of years. In Treta-yuga, people's lifetime is ten thousand years, and people did huge fire sacrifices.

I saw today on television how people do Durga-puja. You know, five hundred years ago, when people did puja, they used to kill people and offer one man to Durga! Nonsense things. They used to cut people's necks, and now in lieu of that, since it is not possible to kill people, they kill a buffalo. I asked one of my friends (a very educated person but not a devotee), "Hindu people do not eat cows, but how do they eat buffalo's meat? What is the difference between cows and buffalos?" He told me, "No, no, no. Buffalo is like a goat." I said, "Oh really? Very nice!" This is the kind of answer they give me. I saw yesterday that they were cutting a buffalo at one temple at a zamindar's house in Koch Behar (near Siliguri)—and they showed it on television. They kill a big buffalo, offer it to Mother Durga, and then eat it themselves. They will suffer in the age of Kali! They were asked what bhog they were offering that day, and they said they were offering only some dry food (some chanachur, some sweets, etc.) and distributed it to people. They did not even cook that buffalo for Durga—they only cut it for their own enjoyment.

People cannot control their material desires, they cannot control their anger, and many other bad elements within. Instead, they cut a buffalo saying, "Oh, there is a demon in this buffalo, and I am cutting that demon!" Yes, they cut a 'demon' and then eat that demon's meat and enjoy! People do so much nonsense in the Hindu religion. That is why we are not Hindu. It is good for us.

One time, on the way to Bamunpara, Gurudev went to Jamalpur. You know that Gurudev is a son of Lord Siva, so he always had special regard to Lord Siva. One day, the day after celebrating Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance day in Hapaniya, Gurudev asked me, "Can we go to Jamalpur tomorrow?" I said, "Yes, Gurudev," and arranged for some devotees to go there. At that time, Gurudev told us that when they do Jamalpur mela (fair) there, they kill thousands and thousands of goats in front of Lord Siva, and Gurudev said: when people kill goats and eat goat's meat outside, they get some reaction for that and the goat does not get any relief from its birth; but if they offer goat's meat to Lord Siva (not Vaishnav Siva—Lord Siva is a Vaishnav, so he does not take any meat or anything like this; they worship Sakta-Siva), then the goat's soul gets some relief from the goat's birth and because the meat is offered to Lord Siva, the soul of the goat also gets some sukriti from Lord Siva.

Devotee: I remember when we went to Jamalpur, there is some wooden place there where they cut the necks of the goats, and I saw many people come to that place, take some blood-stained soil from there and tie it in their handkerchiefs to take it home...

Yes, they do this because they have some material desires. For example, some accident happens and they take that soil thinking, "If I keep this soil in my house, then my husband (wife, daughter, etc.) will not bleed any more." This is kusamaskar (superstition). It is all nonsense, actually. When you go to Nrisingha Palli, you can also see there a tree—people come and tie a stone to that tree. If you go to the place of Chand Kazi, I have seen even our devotees come and tie some stones to the tree's branch there. It means they have some material desire, "Oh, my son's wife cannot have a baby. I am giving a promise and keeping this stone here as a witness that if my daughter-in-law had a baby, I will come back and offer some worship." They do this in Nrisingha Palli all the time. They use Lord Nrisinghadev for their own material purpose...

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay!

* * *

Our Main Problem

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 1

I am very happy to see you all by the mercy of Gurudev. You have assembled here again after seven days, I am very pleased and very happy to see you all. I can see so many devotees have assembled today...

Actually, I have heard that they are starting lockdown again in many countries because of the corona virus. The numbers are a little less now here in India, although it is a little increasing in Bengal because it is a festival period here and many people gather on the trains, buses, etc. I have heard that the local trains will start running again in a few days here in Bengal. We must be always careful about this virus until the proper vaccine is discovered or invented. A vaccine is necessary...

Anyhow, this is all temporary. No lack of vaccine, nothing can stop our death. One day we will all have to leave this body, we should not think about ourselves. Our main problem is that we are always busy with our body. Almost the entire world is always thinking about their temporary bodies, "How do I keep myself well? How do I keep my family well? How do I maintain my family? How shall I take good care of my parents?" and so on. Such is our situation. Almost everybody here is very much attached to their body. We are very unfortunate—we have no time to think about Lord Sri Krishna!

Gurudev says,"I may be a fallen soul, but I cannot ignore what my Guru Maharaj has given me, I cannot ignore the mercy I have got from Krishna and my Guru Maharaj. How can we ignore that which is coming from our Gurudev? How can I ignore what I have got by the mercy of Guru Maharaj, by the mercy of Lord Krishna?" Gurudev also said, "According to my horoscope, my lifespan was very short. I told my Guru Maharaj, 'You are making me the acharya, giving me this position, but my lifespan is very short,' and Srila Guru Maharaj said, 'Throw your horoscope away! I am giving you life! I am giving you a long life!' Therefore, I have got this life by the mercy of my Gurudev—I have got an extension of the life time in this human body by the mercy of Gurudev, so I cannot use this body for myself. I must use this body to serve all jiva souls. That is why I am coming from the east to distribute Indian wealth, Mahaprabhu's message to you all." These are Gurudev's words, and I want to tell you the same thing. This is the real state of affairs. However, as I have already said, we are very unfortunate because we have not made a relationship with the Lord and we have no time to think about spiritual life.

* * *

Search for Original Source

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 2

We always want pleasure, happiness; we always want love and affection, but we will never get it from this material body or in this material world. It is not possible to get it in our current position. Gurudev gives one example. Suppose you are staying in some home, but it is not a permanent place—you rent some place and have to change it every six months, every three months, etc. One day, you will finally think, "Oh, I must buy some land and settle in some place. It will be better." In the same way, we think now that we are Venezuelan, Mexican, American, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, but where we live now is actually not our own country—we are living in another country, another house. This is not a happy situation. We want to settle. We should have a place that we can call our own. If you stay in this city today, in another city tomorrow, and another day change it to yet another city, you will not feel so happy. We must search for our real home—we must search out for transcendental world, for Goloka Vrindavan. This is what Gurudev comes to tell us. Search for the Original Source.

If you are to reach that Original Source, you need proper guidance. When you have a driver, you only need to tell him that you want to go to a certain place—the driver will know which way he will go there and he will take you there. So, in the spiritual world also, it is necessary to have the strongest faith. Gurudev says that not only Srimad Bhagavatam, but even Christianity, even the Bible, etc.—all religions say that it is necessary to have faith. Faith is the foundation.

When a mother says to her child, "This is your father," everybody believes it, even the government gives recognition to that, "Yes, this is your father, so you are the heir and have the right to inherit his property." We believe what our mothers tell us. In the same way, there are so many rishis, munis, so many scriptures, so many great personalities and scholars who come to this world from the transcendental world, who have come to India in particular to have told us what is the real position of things in our life. Sri Vyasadev, Sri Sukadev, Narad Goswami, and our Gurudev also come to this world to tell us about it. Our Gurudev has told us very clearly how we must practise, how we can attain our destination, where the source is and how to reach that kind of source.

You must search out the original source. How do you find it? Srimad Bhagavatam has told it—Sri Sukadev Goswami told us everything in Srimad Bhagavatam. Although he spoke to Pariksit Maharaj, what he said is the instruction (and a very clear instruction) for us all.

All great souls, all great scriptures declare—that place, that original source is in Goloka Vrindavan, and that place is transcendental, very beautiful and very affectionate. This is the place where we should go. Srimad Bhagavad-gita also says (15.6), "Yad gatva na nivartante, tad dhama paramam mama. If you enter that place, you will not have to ever come back from there. You will be very pleased to be there." It is necessary to have faith in this. We say, "In God we trust." It means that we must have faith, we must trust these things.

"Srnvantu visve amrtasya putra. You are all sons of nectar!" If you can enter that place, you can get five kinds of relationship with the Lord there—santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhura rasa (relationship of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood, and consorthood).

Gurudev also said one more very nice thing. You know, everybody gets some holiday, some vacation (like a Christmas vacation or a puja vacation, Diwali vacation here in India), but Gurudev said, "I have no vacation. My only vacation is when I can speak some Krishna-katha."

Srimad Bhagavad-gita says also (2.14),

matra-sparsas tu kaunteya, sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino 'nityas, tams titiksasva bharata

O son of Kunti, the engagement of the senses with their objects produces the sensations of cold, heat, pleasure and pain. But these effects are temporary—they come and go. Therefore, O Bharata, you must endure them.

Here you have happiness, you have sadness, you have disease, you have some beauty, you have everything, but everything you find here is not eternal—it is all temporary. However, the Lord is not temporary. 5,000 years ago research scholars told us that Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the Lord, is sat-chit-ananda vigraha (embodiment of eternity, consciousness, and bliss)—He is the creator of all creation. We can see this in Sri Brahma-samhita. The Lord has a face, He has a brain—He has everything. He is Lord, He is Krishna, and He always attracts us. He is not only our master—we can actually be friends with Him. As Gurudev says, you can even play football with God! This is very sweet and very tasteful, you will feel it. You will understand these things very clearly.

Then, we should understand what is necessary for our spiritual life. We must enter that plane—we must search for spiritual life. Surrender to a proper guru, and proceed with the proper guidance of the proper guru. Those who can give proper attention to this, must succeed.

* * *

Vyasadev's Gift (1)

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 3

When Gurudev was in Australia in 1992, he gave one lecture. I have got the Bengali translation of that lecture and was proof reading it today. It is a very nice lecture, I want to tell you about it.

One day, Narad Goswami came to Vyasadev and chastised him, "What you have given is not sufficient! You have distributed so many things, but you have mixed everything like kichuri. You must give bhakti-yoga properly!" Vedavyas said, "But I have given bhakti-yoga in Srimad Bhagavad-gita, in Garud Puran, Agni Purana, Padma Purana, Mahabharata, etc. I have already explained everything." Narad Goswami said, "Yes, you have given everything, but you have made a kichuri or hodge-podge of it—you have mixed everything together. Nobody can understand the taste of each item." Then, Vedavyas became shy, "What should I do now, Prabhu?" And Narad Goswami told him four slokas from which the whole of Srimad Bhagavatam evolved. When Vedavyas wrote Srimad Bhagavatam, he was very pleased with it.

Then, Vedavyas thought, "Who can distribute these things to the world? I have already explained everything about jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga, karma-yoga, etc., so if I give exclusive bhakti-yoga now, nobody will believe me. I must find a person who will be able to distribute it properly."

(Aham vetti, Suka vetti, Vyasa vetti na vetti va. Lord Siva said, "I know it, Sukadev knows it, and Vyasa may or may not know it." You have heard this quote many times.)

So, Vedavyas started searching who can distribute Srimad Bhagavatam. In the end, he remembered Sukadev Goswami, "Yes! He is the best, the perfect person! He can distribute exclusive devotion without any karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, etc." For example, there are many conceptions presented in Srimad Bhagavad-gita—there is devotion mixed with jnana-yoga, karma-yoga, sankhya-yoga, etc.; and Vyasadev wanted Sukadev to give pure devotion to this mundane world. Sukadev was the right person for this—his position was very high.

You know, Sukadev Goswami stayed in his mother's womb for twelve years and did not want to come out. He was a perfect siddha-mahapurush and has full knowledge of all Vedas. Everybody saw that he was not coming out from his mother's womb, and everybody, including Vyasadev, was amazed. One day, Vyasadev asked the child in the mother's womb,

"Why are you not coming out of your mother's womb? Come out! Come out!"

The child said from the womb, "No, I will not! I will not come out, I will stay here."

"Why are you not coming out?"

"Because I know if I come out, then illusory environment will attack me. I know maya is very powerful, she attacks so many jiva souls. So, I will not come out."

Then, some great scholars came there and suggested, "Vyasadev, you have the power to stop maya's work for five minutes. Why do you not try it?" Then, they asked Sukadev, "Listen, if we stop maya's work for five minutes, is it sufficient for you to come out? Will you come out then?" Sukadev replied, "Yes! If you do it, I will come out." Then, Vyasadev agreed and did that. As soon as Sukadev Goswami came out of his mother's womb, he ran away! Have you ever seen anything like this? Your baby comes out from your womb and flees!

Sukadev Goswami ran away to the forest. His father went after him, he kept calling out to him, "Wait! Wait! Please wait!" But Sukadev had no attachment to his parents or anybody else in this world—he had no attachment to the illusory environment. At that time, Sukadev Goswami was twelve years old.

So, when Vyasadev decided that this Sukadev was the fittest person to distribute Bhagavatam, he began searching for him. He would sometimes see him walking ahead and hurry up to catch up with him. Sometimes, they would pass some place where ladies bathed. This took place in the Himalayas, and because it often rained there and it was hard to dry clothes, the ladies would keep their clothes under a tree and bathe naked in some secluded place. Once, Sukadev Goswami and Vyasadev were passing one such place. When the ladies saw Sukadev Goswami, they did not get shy because, although he was a young boy, they saw he had no sense—he did not see anything in this world. Sukadev simply walked wherever Krishna took him. Such was his character. He did not see who is male, who is female, he had no eyes to see anything mundane. However, when these same ladies saw Vyasadev (who was an old man with a twelve-foot-long beard), they immediately got shy and covered their bodies with some clothes.

Vyasadev understood that he could find Sukadev, but Sukadev would not agree to listen to him. So, he decided to trick Sukadev Goswami. He found some woodcutter boys and taught them some slokas from Srimad Bhagavatam, such as:

nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad
bhavausadhach chhrotra-mano-'bhiramat
ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat
puman virajyeta vina pasughnat

"Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampara system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?"

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.1.4)

He taught them three-four slokas like this. Then, the woodcutter boys told those slokas to Sukadev Goswami, and Sukadev Goswami was very impressed, "I have never heard such slokas before!" He asked the boys, "Where have you got these slokas from? Who told you them?" The boys explained, "We have got them from Srila Vyasadev." "Where is he?" They told Sukadev that Vyasadev lived in his Badarikashram on the bank of the Saraswati River, and Sukadev Goswami at once went there.

Sukadev came to Vyasadev and said, "I have got to hear this sloka from one woodcutter boy. Please give me this kind of knowledge. I feel much attraction to hear this sloka."

That is how Vyasadev got what he wanted—it was his desire to teach his son, and now he could do that. So, Vyasadev taught everything to Sukadev Goswami, and Sukadev Goswami was very pleased. After that, Vyasadev started waiting again, "Only Sukadev Goswami can distribute this Srimad Bhagavatam, nobody else except him can do it. But how will he do it?..."

* * *

Vyasadev's Gift (2)

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 4

...You know what happened after that. One day, Pariksit Maharaj was cursed by a brahman boy to die. He received a seven-day's notice (the brahman said he would die within seven days), but remember that you will not get this notice—we are not as fortunate souls as Pariksit Maharaj to get such a notice. Now, Pariksit Maharaj was a very big king, you know that, and he was also a good devotee of the Lord—although he was the king, he always treated all his subjects and citizens who lived in his kingdom with respect. When Pariksit Maharaj was cursed, he arranged a large assembly and so many scholars, rishis, munis came there to give him advice. The heads of all sampradayas on earth assembled at that meeting of Pariksit Maharaj.

In the meantime, by the will of Lord Krishna, Sukadev Goswami came to that meeting of Pariksit Maharaj. Sukadev Goswami's character was astonishing and strange—he did not see anything, he came there but did not give respect to anyone. He did not come to Pariksit Maharaj's meeting by his will—he came there by the will of Lord Krishna. Moreover, Sukadev Goswami had no dress—he always walked naked and like a crazy boy. When he appeared at Pariksit Maharaj's assembly, some young boys were following him, teasing and bullying him, but Sukadev Goswami did not see, did not feel anything. He had no sense of what was going on externally. He only went wherever Krishna guided him to go.

So, when this Sukadev Goswami entered Pariksit Maharajs' meeting and all the scholars, all the maha-rishis, maha-munis saw him, they understood who this boy was. Some of them were present at the time when Sukadev Goswami came out of his mother's womb, so they could recognise him as the son of Vyasadev (also, seeing his face, they noticed it looked like Vyasadev's face). However, Sukadev Goswami did not give any obeisance, any dandavat pranam to anyone because he had no external consciousness or feelings to see anyone to give obeisance to. There were so many scholars assembled there—Artri, Vaisistha, Chyavan, Saradvan, Aristanemi, Bhrigu, Angira, Parasurama, Visvamitra, Parasuram, Indrapramad, Devala, Aristisena, Bharadvaj, Dvaipayana Vedavyas, even Bhagavan Narad Muni himself was there. Sukadev Goswami's father (Vyasadev), grandfather (Parasurama) were there. They were all great, principal scholars. Some of the rishis had five-foot beards, somebody six-foot, ten-foot, eight-foot beards, etc. And Sukadev was a sixteen-year-old naked boy who did not see anything in this mundane world.

The rishis told Pariksit Maharaj, "You are a very fortunate soul! The son of Vyasadev, Sukadev Goswami, has come here. He can give you the proper answer. Only he can do it. We will all respect and follow whatever he says." Then, Pariksit Maharaj gave an asan (seat) to Sukadev Goswami, and Sukadev Goswami, without giving any respect to anybody, sat there in front of Pariksit Maharaj. He did not see anyone else—there were so many rishis there besides him, but he saw and recognised them (his father, grandfather, Narad Goswami, et.al.) only later. After that, Pariksit Maharaj offered worship to Sukadev Goswami and then asked him, "Please bestow some mercy upon me. Please tell me how can I get happiness? How can I overcome this mundane existence? What is good for me? Everybody respects you, so please tell me what is the ultimate goal of life (sadhya-vastu)." Hearing this, Sukadev Goswami spoke, "You are a very good searcher. I am very pleased to hear your question. It is not necessary to ask so many questions and it is not necessary to give so many answers—there is only one question and there is only one answer." We see that there are so many questions in the mundane world: people ask all sorts of questions because they are attached with the material world, they always think about their bodies; and Sukadev Goswami said, "You asked me only one question, and that is a perfect question." Pariksit Maharaj asked Sukadev Goswami to instruct him about the ultimate goal of life, and Sukadev Goswami then spoke what later became Srimad Bhagavatam.

srotavyadini rajendra
nrnam santi sahasrasah
apasyatam atma-tattvam
grhesu grha-medhinam

"Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.2)

Who we are? What must we do? What awaits us in the future? How can we get relief from our suffering? This is all related to the transcendental knowledge of atma-tattva. Those who do not see anything (who have no real, transcendental vision) ask so many questions, "How can I earn money? How can I maintain my family?" and so on. People do so many things, but we must understand what is main the purpose of this life. If you read Srimad Bhagavatam, you will understand it.

nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam
suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

"O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Goswami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.3)

This is the main thing.

atmaramas cha munayo
nirgrantha apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukam bhaktim
ittham-bhuta-guno harih

"All different varieties of atmaramas [those who take pleasure in atma, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.7.10)

These things are very interesting. Our Param Guru Maharaj Srila Sridhar Maharaj explained the meaning of Gayatri mantra and he said, "Gayatri muralista-kirtana-dhanam Radha-padam dhimahi." Radha-padam dhimahi means the flute of Sri Krishna does not say anything else except for glorification of Srimati Radhika. Who should we worship? Power or the Powerful? Krishna is Powerful and Radharani is Power, or Energy. Our Param Guru Maharaj explains everything very nicely.

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

"The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.6)

These are the words of Srimad Bhagavatam. These are very beautiful things. I am telling this all very shortly now, you can find it in Gurudev's lecture. This lecture was translated from English into Bengali and I was proof-reading it today. It is very nice.

* * *

Leave Questioning Mood

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 5

OK. Are there any questions? I am asking now for questions. What are your many questions?

I have told you—there is only one question, and the answer is also only one. [His Divine Grace chuckles.] Surrender to the Lord. Have full faith. You must surrender and give everything—your shyness, shame, fear, everything—keep everything at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, Srimati Radharani, or Gurudev. Give your everything, cent per cent.

All right, who has any questions?

Question: Is there a difference between Gaura-Nityananda Deities in Ekachakra, Colombia and Venezuela?

No, no! You must not see any difference in any Deities. Do not see any difference. The Lord is everywhere, do not differentiate between Deities. Do not see any difference. Such must be our feeling. We always see Gauranga's mood, Nityananda Prabhu's mood, Krishna's mood and we see that Krishna comes in many ways to this world—everything comes from Lord Krishna. This is our vision. Do not see any difference. OK?

It is true in everything—do not see things in the mundane, material way. You must see everything in the transcendental way. You must adopt such vision.

You know, when Srila Sanatan Goswami became very old and could not longer do the parikrama of Sri Giri Govardhan, Giriraj, then Srila Rupa Goswami brought him a piece of Giriraj. Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu kept that Giriraj-sila in front of Srila Sanatan Goswami and said, "You can do the parikrama as many times as you want here in your room, in your house how." This is the same.

Do not see any difference. When Gurudev is in America, he is Gurudev; when Gurudev is in Brazil, he is Gurudev; and when he is in India, he is also Gurudev. You must not see any difference. Sometimes, Gurudev is not in India, suppose he is in Mexico, Venezuela or Colombia—there he gets so much arepa, but this is the same Gurudev. Sometimes, Gurudev does not always get rice in Venezuela, but he is happy there, and here in Ekachakra Nityananda Prabhu always gets rice, and He is happy here too. Do you understand what I am saying? You must see it in this way. "Gaura-Krishne bheda nahi haya." There is not any difference between Gaura and Krishna. Do not see any difference, it will be offensive.

— : • : —

"If you want to be clever in your practising life, you should pay attention to this, it will be good for you. Wherever Gurudev keeps one, everyone must accept and follow it. This applies to every single practitioner. 'Guru krpa hi kevalam'—the mercy of Gurudev is all in all; but those who are clever at their practising life and service life, want to bring satisfaction and happiness to Gurudev. It is necessary to always be conscious, 'What is favourite to Gurudev?' For example, puspanna, khichudi and paramanna—these three offerings are given to the Lord. But what does my Lord love? What does He really like? If you know it and can arrange for such things, it is good. Those who are very observant in their service life, must always be alert towards such things. Which holy dham is my Gurudev's favourite? If you direct your effort, vision and attention towards that dham, then your progress will be very quick."

(Guidance 4, 'Gradation of devotional practice')

* * *

Fancy Living, Shallow Thinking

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 6

Question: How should we understand why this covid-19 is happening?

This is the age of Kali, and such disturbances happen from time to time, every hundred years or so. In fact, the scriptures have told that so much disturbance, so many things will come in this age, so, anyhow, there are so many bad things happening in this world.

Krishna wants to teach something to those who do not follow proper Krishna consciousness. People live like cats and dogs—they use their life for animal enjoyment and have no appreciation, no time to respect sadhus and to follow Krishna consciousness. They do not have any deep feeling for such things.

All the great scholars, all the great rishis, sadhus, all the Vedas, Vedanta, and all other scriptures including Srimad Bhagavatam tell us about devotion to Lord Krishna and how to attain it. Yet, we have no faith in that. We have no time to read about it—we always think about our body and everything related to this body. Now Krishna is showing that to us. Many great doctors, many great personalities of this mundane world who are very proud of their education have died. A small virus can demolish all ego. It is time people understand this.

People must awaken deep appreciation for Krishna consciousness. It is necessary to realise this deeply. We should understand that people have so much ego—people are proud of their money, cars, home, wife, husband, parents, children, and so on. It is very difficult for them to come to Krishna consciousness. How many per cent of people come to Krishna consciousness? Very few. Not even 0.00001% of this world come to Krishna consciousness, and they do not think about the highest things, they do not think what is the Original Source, what is their own things, what is their real wealth.

Foolish people who were born in India want to go abroad for the sake of some dollars—people roam around foreign countries searching for dollars; whereas some good scholars, some highly qualified Vaishnavs, like our Gurudev and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Srila Prabhupad, go door to door distributing Indian wealth all over the world. If people get taste of that, if they feel and appreciate this taste, then they will leave their ego, they will leave their pride, etc. and surrender properly to the Lord. The problem is that people do not have such appreciation. That is why, by the will of Lord Krishna, some pandemic situation has come and because of the lockdown everything automatically stopped, everything closed.

If you read and understand Srimad Bhagavatam, you will get real happiness and your hunger will be satiated. If you get proper taste through reading Srimad Bhagavatam and through the lectures of Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Gurudev, if you understand what they are telling, then all your hunger, all your material feelings, all kinds of bad material elements will be removed from you.

We always want mercy, mercy, mercy, but we have no place to keep that mercy. We should keep some place for the Lord. Our hearts, our minds are always full of material desires for kanak (wealth), kamini (ladies), pratistha (name and fame). We do not keep even some small place for our Gurudev, we do not keep any place for the Lord who has given me this birth. Who am I? I am a part and parcel of the Absolute, but this feeling does not come to us. We think we are the body, this is our feeling.

Then, this pandemic situation makes us remember many things. When we are getting much austerity, as in this situation, then we think, "O Krishna!", "O Lord!", "O Jesus!", "Why are we suffering?", "When will all this finish?" etc. It is necessary to be conscious of all this.

* * *

Service Hankering

Kolkata—Worldwide, 1 November 2020, part 7

Question: What are the rules for wearing Tulasi kanthi-mala?

Anyone can wear Tulasi mala.

Devotee: Even those who are not initiated?

Yes, it is not a problem. Non-devotees can always wear it. Anyone can wear Tulasi mala, it will be good for them.

Devotee: Even if they commit offences or eat meat?

Well, if they eat meat is another thing, but sometimes they will wear Tulasi mala and their offence will be a little less because they will be conscious that they are wearing Tulasi mala and they will be a little afraid to commit offences, etc. Here in India, so many people wear Tulasi mala, even those who are not initiated.

Question: On the one hand, Vaishnav-pratistha is the fame that comes to a devotee due to their practice, and on the other hand, pratistha is a desire in one's heart for fame. How can we use this desire for fame in service?

If somebody has got Vaishnava-pratistha, you must respect that. Do not become jealous. On the other hand, if pratishta comes to you, you must always keep that pratistha at the lotus feet of your Guru. For example, when somebody gives you a garland, you must think, "Oh, jay Gurudev! I am giving this garland to your lotus feet." You must remember you Guru at this time. If you do not do this, if you think you are getting pratistha and enjoy with that, then you will become very fat and heavy and your boat can sink. "Vaisnavi pratistha tate kara nistha. Firmly establish yourself as a servant of the Lord." Always be very cautious when pratistha comes to you. Pratistha is also called acharya-abhiman, and you must always avoid this.

Question: What are main aspects on the path of devotional service to Srila Gurudev?

Actually, Gurudev always instructs everybody to engage in sankirtan-yajna. Besides sankirtan, there are also other services that you should engage in when it is appropriate. Gurudev gave me one example once. Suppose, there is some light bulb not working in Gurudev's room and Gurudev tells you, "This bulb is not working, check it, maybe it broken and should be replaced." As you are about to leave to get a new bulb (to carry out Gurudev's order), Gurudev suddenly tells you, "Oh, give me a glass of water, I am very thirsty." You must think yourself what is necessary. What is more important, to put a new bulb or to give a glass of water first? You must consider and understand this yourself. First give a glass of water, and a bulb can be installed later also. This is how you can harmonise different situations.

In Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's service, sankirtan-yajna is very important. You can serve your Gurudev through sankritan, through glorification of your Guru and guru-varga. This is good. Actually, you can make your Guru happy even through some small service. The most important thing is that whatever service you do, you must do it with your heart. Do everything with heart and soul, this is good for you. Whatever you do, do it properly. If you distribute prasadam, distribute it properly; if you sing kirtans, you must learn the meaning of the kirtans, then you will understand the meaning and get taste through that. This is how you can make your Guru happy with your service.

Whatever service you do, remember that Gurudev is watching you—Gurudev always thinks about you, thinks how to make you a good personality, how to make you a fit person for service. You must be like a chatak bird. As a chatak bird always waits for rain drops to come from the sky, you must also always wait for an instruction to do some service to come. It is necessary to have such hankering.

...Damodar month has started, and Gurudev told that we must follow a particular routine for three days. We take khoi in the morning; rice and dalma (dal boiled with pumpkin) at noon; and some chapati in the evening. In some places, they do this for the entire month, but we know that many foreign devotees are not habituated to take only one thing (only dalma and rice) every day—no milk, no yoghurt, etc. in the morning—only khoi or chapati... Khoi is not the same as muri. Muri is made from boiled rice, but khoi is made from raw rice paddy, it is similar to pop corn. I took that yesterday and today also. You can take khoi with some molasses, but I cannot take molasses. Moa (sweet puff rice balls) is made from muri (puffed rice) and molasses, but you can make some naru (balls) from khoi ('pop rice') and molasses (gur).

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

* * *

Our Great Fortune

Adhivas of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance
Kolkata—Worldwide, 8 November 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
His appearance day adhivas maha-mahotsav ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Tandiya sakha Math samuha ki jay
Sri Mather sevak vrinda bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Ananta-koti Vaishnav vrinda ki jay
Sri Gaudiya Acharya vrinda ki jay
Tridandi-pad-gan ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhakti-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
All the assembled sannyasi-vrinda ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

Today is a very auspicious day because tomorrow is the appearance day of our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math's Founder Acharya—our Param Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. It is on the day of Krishna-navami tithi in the month of Kartika and Damodar, the favourite month of Lord Krishna. Tomorrow is also the appearance day of Lord Nityananda Prabhu's sakti, Sri Virachandra Prabhu (materially, Virachandra Prabhu is Lord Nityananda Prabhu's son, but he is actually His non-different energy). We can also say that our Param Gurudev Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's appearance day is non-different from Sri Virachandra Prabhu's. Today is the auspicious adhivas (eve) of this great day.

I am giving my full humble obeisance at the lotus feet of my beloved Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and at the lotus feet of our Param Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. They preach in this world for us, they gave their entire life for the devotees.

ISKCON Founder Acharya, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Srila Prabhupad, also said that, although he had taken initiation from Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad, he had spend only, perhaps, ten days in the association of his guru, but when he met Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, when he got his association, he thought that he was getting the association of his Guru (Srila Saraswati Thakur)—he felt it was the same experience. These are Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Srila Prabhupad's words. He also said he was very happy because Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, his Gurudev, had given us Srila Sridhar Maharaj for our real benefit. Even a great world guru like Srila Swami Maharaj Prabhupad admitted that. Moreover, he said, "I see Srila Sridhar Maharaj as Srila Prabhupad's murtta-vigraha [embodiment]. When he gives lectures, I feel that my Gurudev, Srila Prabhupad, himself is giving lecture, speaking Hari-katha." Even senior godbrothers (Srila Madhav Maharaj, Srila Bon Maharaj and others) also said that they appreciated and respected Srila Sridhar Maharaj very much because Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, their Gurudev, had given him the power to preach about Sri Rupa-Raghunath line through the song Sri Rupa Manjari-pada.

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to hear this song from Srila Sridhar Maharaj prior to his departure, and through that song he transmitted his internal power and bestowed much mercy to his disciple Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj for preaching Krishna consciousness. He thought, "I am very pleased and I am very peaceful now that I know that I have left at least one person (Srila Sridhar Maharaj) in this world who can serve and look after all my followers after me—who can carry the flag of Krishna consciousness movement, Sri Chaitanya Mahapabhu's movement and the movement of proper Vedic knowledge, who can carry on this movement after me." Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said this about Srila Sridhar Maharaj in his lifetime.

Therefore, we are also very fortunate because Srila Sridhar Maharaj also left our Gurudev for us—to rescue such fallen souls like us, to rescue us all from this material world and to take care of all the Eastern and Western devotees. Srila Sridhar Maharaj left for us Srila Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. This is our great fortune.

* * *

 Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Appearance and Early Days

Adhivas of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance
Kolkata—Worldwide, 8 November 2020, part 2

Srila Sridhar Maharaj himself told some of his autobiography, you have it in English. He told there everything very nicely.

When he was a student at a college in Baharampur and was graduating, he always thought about Krishna consciousness and got no time to study. At that time, only 5% of students passed the final exam. All his roommates at the hostel failed the exam, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj passed it. Everyone was very surprised, "Ramendra never reads the textbooks, how did he pass the exam?" After that, they said, "He only says, 'Krishna', 'Krishna,' so Krishna must have given him a good result!" Srila Sridhar Maharaj told it himself later.

The name of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's father is Upendra Chandra Bhattacharya. As you all know, his birthpalce is in Hapaniya. His mother's name was Sri Gauri Devi. By the will of the Lord, Upendra Chandra Bhattacharya and Sri Gauri Devi lost their first child, so, when Srila Sridhar Maharaj appeared, he was the eldest son.

How did his parents get this kind of son? There is some history behind it. I read it in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's autobioraphy.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj's previous name is Ramendra Bhattacharya. His aunt named Kumud Kamini (the wife of the elder brother of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's father; she is called jethi-ma in Bengali) was not initiated, but she is a very pious lady and liked to visit many holy places. One time, when she was visiting Vrindavan, Haridwar, Benares, and many other holy places, she went into some temple, perhaps in Vrindavan, and saw some Deities. Later that day, she got a dream at night in which that Deity presented her with a good baby. At that time, Gauri Devi had lost her baby and did not have any children, so that aunty gave that baby to Gauri Devi in the dream. When she came back home to Hapaniya, she told Gauri Devi, "I have got a son from a Deity! He looked very beautiful, with a shaven head, etc. I gave that child to you in that dream." After a short time, Gauri Devi got a baby, a beautiful son whom they called Ramendra Bhattacharya. This is how Srila Sridhar Maharaj appeared.

His aunt never forgot what she saw in the dream, so when she saw Gauri Devi's baby a few months later, she saw that the baby looked just like the baby she had seen in her dream. She was very pleased. She took care of Ramendra Bhattacharya when he was a baby.

After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj did not stay in his father's house—he went to live with his mother's family because he had to go to a primary school. He was very intelligent and very scholarly from his childhood. Srila Sridhar Maharaj said that he had twice got double promotion at school. It means for example you are studying in the first grade, but you get a double promotion and go to the third grade. The teachers say, "This boy is perfect for the third grade." From his childhood, Srila Sridhar Maharaj was also expect in Sanskrit language. When he grew up a little, he started going to Okarsa High School, situated about two kilometres from Hapaniya.

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj was a young boy, his mother would cook many nice subjis for him, but when Srila Sridhar Maharaj was served his meals, he thought, "I am offering this to my Lord," so he would take it as prasadam and took only the serving he was given, he never took a second helping of rice. Moreover, when his mother served him his meals, she would cry because she cooked so many things, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj always liked to take rice with neem ras (boiled bitter neem leaves) only.

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj was a young boy, he would go to bathe in the Ganges every single day without missing even one day. He would wake up before sunrise and walk three miles (almost five kilometres) to the Ganges and three miles (five kilometres) back. He would bring a lotus flower from a pond and every day offer some Ganges water and a lotus flower to Lord Siva. One time, when Srila Sridhar Maharaj came to Jamalpur (the same place where our Gurudev's mother, Tarangini Devi, offered her son to Lord Siva; we have been to that place many times, there is a Buroraj Deity of Lord Siva there), he came to offer the Ganges water and a lotus flower, and he suddenly saw the Vishva-rupa there (universal form of the Lord).

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj went to Baharampur college, once an astrologer came to see him and he said that Guru Maharaj would be atma-tattva-vit (self-realised), he would be a great preacher of Hari-katha, and he would live in this world for ninety-three years. The astrologer (jyotishi) told these three things, and all three came true.

* * *

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Powerful Preaching

Adhivas of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance
Kolkata—Worldwide, 8 November 2020, part 3

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj studied in the college, he did not study properly, with attention—he only studied attentively Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita and Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat. After he passed the exams and graduated, he came to Kolkata to study law. During this time, he met Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad at the Ultadanga Gaudiya Math Temple. Srila Sridhar Maharaj was connected with Gaudiya Math in 1926.

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj left his house and joined Gaudiya Mission (Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math Mission), Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur was very pleased, "This boy has finally left his parents and everybody else and has finally joined the mission." At that time, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur recited a sloka from Srimad Bhagavad-gita (3.21),

yad yad acharati sresthas, tat tad evetaro janah
sa yat pramanam kurute, lokas tad anuvartate

"The masses follow the ways of great men, following the standards they set."

It means, "Simple people always follow great personalities because they think that whatever great personalities do is always perfect." Similarly, Srila Sridhar Maharaj also thought that Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur was a great personality and what he did was ultimately perfect, so he felt he had to follow him.

Even before taking sannyas, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was a great preacher. He was always very enthusiastic to preach. That is why Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave him sannyas and the name 'Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar' which means 'an illustrious guardian of devotion.' Srila Sridhar Maharaj could explain slokas in many different ways and he could extract very deep meanings. He was expert at English, Bengali, Hindi, and Sanskrit, and his English lectures were very sweet. Those who heard them, can understand it easily.

One time, Srila Sridhar Maharaj went to preach in Giridi, Bihar, and was giving a lecture at a forum in the Barrister Library (at an assembly of prominent barristers). Having heard his lecture, one barrister cried and said, "We used to think that our forefathers were very foolish and that we had become quite civilised in the association of the British, but today I have understood, Maharaj, when I listened to your lecture, how great we used to be before and how low we have fallen now. Our forefathers, our previous generation are so great, and now we have fallen into such filthy garbage! We have degraded to such a dirty level."

On another occasion, Srila Sridhar Maharaj was giving a lecture that was attended by a very intelligent scholar named Mr.Basak. This Mr. Basak said, "We used to think that Vaishnavism was a part, or a branch, of Hindu religion, but today I have understood that Vaishnav-dharma is the root of the all religions! Jaiva-dharma is the religion of the soul, and everything else is only misconception."

In Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's own words, "The Vaishnav-dharma that was given to us by Mahaprabhu is the proper Vedic dharma, Vedic religion. What Srila Ramanuja Acharya and Srila Madhva Acharya gave has completely merged into the Line of Mahaprabhu. And what Lord Sankar, Lord Buddha, and other mission have given is all hodgepodge. Those who can understand this will be very benefitted. First comes sambandha-jnana, which is a great thing, then there is abhidheya, and then prayojan."

One time, Srila Sridhar Maharaj was giving a lecture in Mumbai. The subject of that lecture was the proper conception, or teachings, of Sri Chaitnayadev. The president of that meeting said, "All religions are one and the same." When it was Srila Sridhar Maharaj's turn to speak, he said, "It is a very regrettable that I must first, in order to speak on my subject, announce that I completely disagree with the president. Because to even enter into my subject, the prerequisite is the comparative study in theology. I have come to speak on not only the excellence, but the superexcellence of the Teachings of Sri Chaitanya. Therefore, I am bound to show the subject of my delivery by surpassing all the lower stages of soil. So, in order to have your attention, I am bound to first point out the president's gulf of difference in his opinion with me."

Then, Srila Sridhar Maharaj spoke first about the sambandha, then abhidheya and prayojan,

"Sambandha, abhidheya and prayojan—first we shall make these three divisions. Sambandha (relationship) will mean to first separate all other religious conceptions except for the Vaisnava-Dharma as given by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—Krishna conception, the others all being concerned only with Brahma conception, Paramatma conception, etc. Abhidheya is the means to the end; that we can hear from Sriman Mahaprabhu to be jnana-sunya bhakti (devotion without intellectual pursuits), or suddha-bhakti (pure devotion)—it is that which is attained in sadhu-sanga (association of the true devotee). And prayojana, or the goal, is Prema; it can never be mukti (liberation). Dharmma-artha-kama-moksa (religiosity, economy, material desire and liberation) can never be the goal. Only Prema-Seva, Loving Service to Krishna, is the supreme goal."

After that, you know that, through the kirtan Rupa-manjari-pada, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur selected Srila Sridhar Maharaj as his Chief Successor Preceptor and Representative of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhupad, who is the Foremost Preceptorial Apostle of Sri Chaitanyadev. After Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's demise, Srila Sridhar Maharaj established Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in 1941. He made a thatched house and composed a great sloka,

srimach-chaitanya-sarasvata-mathavara-udgita-kirtir jaya-srim
bibhrat sambhati ganga-tata-nikata-nabadwipa-koladri-raje
yatra sri-gaura-sarasvata-mata-nirata-gaura-gatha grnanti
nityam rupanuga sri-krtamati-guru-gauranga-radha-jitasa

"In the Holy Abode of Transcendental Touchstone Sri Nabadwip Dham—the selfsame Sri Vrindavan, in the land of Koladwip, whose inner identity is the King of mountains Sri Govardhan, near the charming shores of the Holy River Bhagirathi who delivers all the fallen souls, stands that grand and glorious King of all Temples—Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. In that beautiful retreat, the surrendered devotees whose lives are the Message of Sri Gaura, are eternally absorbed in the Loving Service of the Divine Master, the Golden Lord Gauranga and the Loving Lord Sri Govindasundar with His Consort Srimati Gandharva, accompanied by all Their Beloved Associates. With hearts always filled with good hope to attain the Grace of the Lord, following faithfully in the Line of Sri Sri Rupa and Raghunath—the Storekeepers of the Unlimited Treasure of Pure, Sweet Love Divine, those surrendered souls ever sing the unending Glories of the Transcendental Name and Qualities of the Most Magnanimous, Original Supreme Lord Sri Sri Gaurangasundar. Indeed, the hearts of all beings, moving and still, marvel in the Glory of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math as they take shelter in the soothing, affectionate shade of the victory flag that flies aloft and sings wholeheartedly to the world the ever-expanding renown of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math; bearing that banner of all Transcendental Benedictions, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ever shines resplendent in all its Divine Magnificence."

You all know the meaning of this sloka.

After the demise of Srila Prabhupad, Srila Sridhar Maharaj became unanimously honoured as the most exalted representative of the Gaudiya Succession, although he always considered himself as junior. Srila Sridhar Maharaj was always very humble, he never thought he would one day become so great. Moreover, he made many of his godbrothers acharyas of big, great missions—for example, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Prajnan Keshav Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Aloka Paramahamsa Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj, Srila Narasimha Maharaj, Srila Bhagavat Maharaj, Srila Acharya Maharaj, and others. He gave sannyas to so many great personalities.

One time, one such great personality, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj, was present at the festival in honour of the appearance day of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj celebrated in Vrindavan. Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj already had many disciple at that time, and many of his disciples and godbrothers were present that day at the festival, and Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj did a full arati of Srila Sridhar Maharaj with 108 candle-wicks that day.

When Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was eighty years old, so many foregin devotees and so many Indian devotees started coming to him. He stayed in Koladwip, Nabadwip Dham, and distributed Mahaprabhu's conception sitting there. He did not go to so many places, but everybody came to see him—everybody would come to hear his Hari-katha. Moreover, Srila Bon Maharaj and Srila Madhav Goswami Maharaj said, "If you want to hear Hari-katha now, after Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, you must go to Srila Sridhar Maharaj."

After Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, there appeared two groups in Gaudiya Math. Srila Sridhar Maharaj sided with one of the groups, and when somebody from the opposing group came to Srila Sridhar Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Maharaj asked him, "You are supposed to be a member of the oppositionist party to me. Why are you always coming here to see me?" That devotee answered, "I come to see you because of your disinterested nature, super intelligence, and strong common sense. Even though I mix with the opposition group, I come to you."

Also we can remember how Srila Krishnadas Babaji Maharaj always went to Hapaniya and always searched, "Which school did Srila Sridhar Maharaj study at? Which pond did he bathe in?" and so on. Srila Sridhar Maharaj asked him once, "Maharaj, you are my godbrother and you can go there, but why do you go there and look for the pond where I bathed, which school I went to, etc. What is the necessity in it?" Srila Krishnadas Babaji Maharaj replied, "Maharaj, you have composed so many slokas, and I see that Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu himself has written them. I do not see any difference between you and Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu. That is why, remembering Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu, I go to your birthplace and visit so many places. I come to see the places of your pastimes and to take the dust from those places on my head."

* * *

"Service Is My Vow"

Adhivas of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance
Kolkata—Worldwide, 8 November 2020, part 4

namamisvaram sach-chid-ananda rupam
lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam

"To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula...."

ki sayane, ki bhojane, kiba jagarane
aharnisa chinta krsna, balaha vadane

"Whether you are sleeping, eating, or resting, always chant the Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, Madhya-khanda, 28.28)

Even sleeping time is service to the Lord. When you go to the bathroom, you are also doing some service at this time. When you are going to the toilet, when you are going to rest, this is also service. In a devotee's life service is the vow, service is the life force, and service is the duty. That is called niyom-seva. I wrote in Guidance (Volume 4) a chapter called, "In a devotee's life service is the vow, service is life force, and service is the duty." I will read something from there, you can realise it. This is something that is necessary for our spiritual life.

Many people ask me, many people criticise me saying, "Oh, now is Damodar month, why is Maharaj taking sem [green beans vegetable], eggplant, tomatoes, etc.? Why is Maharaj taking everything?" I have no problem with this. I also do not grow beard. You know, I am thinking in Satya-yuga, so many rishis, munis were present at the assembly of Pariksit Maharaj. Sukadev Goswami came there and he had a shaven head, he was clean-faced, no beard, he even came naked, not wearing any clothes, and all the munis and rishis (Parasara, Vasistha Muni, Narad Muni, and many others) there had twelve feet, fifteen feet long beards, somebody had five feet long beards, somebody ten feet long, etc.. Yet, they all selected Sukadev Goswami—they all said, "Whatever Sukadev Goswami decides, that is final." All the rishis agreed on that. So, we see in this world also—for example, I went last week to Mayapur and saw many sadhus there are wearing big turbans, growing long beards, they are not shaving for four months, they are not taking so many things, following so many rules and regulations for this period, but I am a fallen soul, I only know what Gurudev told me—he told me, "Service is the vow, service is the life force, and service is the duty." This is what I am following.

In a devotee's life, service is the vow, service is the life force, service is the duty

Good food, good clothes, good room or any sense- gratification represent desires for enjoyment, or cravings. The desire to enjoy is called a craving (bubhuksa). Those who have all these desires to enjoy engage in fruitive works. Cravings have a very close relationship with fruitive works. To satisfy your own senses, to satiate your thirst for pleasure, you must work, run some business or do farming. All this sense-gratification is unfavourable to devotion. Devotee practitioners know that the desire to enjoy goes against devotion, but many cannot understand, cannot grasp that the thirst for liberation also goes against devotion. This is a very subtle point. Liberation means you become free from bondage. We do not want to suffer from unhappiness, we do not want disturbances, troubles. These are called a thirst for liberation, or a desire for salvation (mumuksa). For a practitioner of pure devotion, this desire for salvation is extremely unfavourable to devotion. Many have this love for peace or luring attraction to peace. "It is not necessary to suffer from any problems," "Everything happens without any struggle"—this is called a thirst for liberation or seductive attraction to peace. Those who want to live in peace become pursuers of knowledge. Because they want peace, they live in a cave in the Himalayas. Those who want to practise devotion have to completely give up all their attraction to peace, love of peace, or dreams about liberation.

To feel lust or pleasure is condemnable for a practitioner of devotion. You can understand this easily. However, many cannot grasp that the love of peace is even more condemnable, it is a subtle obstacle on the path of devotion.

"I will not eat good food, I will not wear good clothes." This is easy to understand. However, if you want to live in peace, if you want to live an untroubled life, if you do not want any anxiety, harassment, struggle—such desires also obstruct the path of devotion. Many cannot understand it. I want to do that which can be done without any struggle, anxiety, harassment, or trouble. Such 'mood' or 'feeling' is typical for most practitioners of devotion. Such mentality is called desire for salvation (mumuksa). This is where the biggest difference between knowledge-seekers and devotees lies. Knowledge-seekers (jnanis) never set their foot in a place or do anything that involves any anxiety, disturbance, or problem. That is why they want to stay alone on the bank of a river, to live in seclusion in some cave in mountains. However, devotees are not afraid of any struggle. Just as they keep away from the thirst for pleasure, in the same way they keep away from easy life, attraction to peace, love of seclusion. Many think that when they stay at the temple they face the same disturbances, the same struggles that they had to suffer from at home. "I have come to the temple, but even here I could not live peacefully. Then what did I come here for? If I am to go to a peaceful, untroubled place, then I agree. I want to live in peace"—such mentality is a symptom of the desire for salvation. However, pure devotees, whose only vow in life, whose only goal, only ideal in life is pure service, do not want to avoid disturbances. Those who want to serve the Lord, continue serving even amidst problems. "My duty is service"—in devotees' life, service is their vow, service is their duty.

I do not want any happiness, I do not want peace, I do not want an easy life, I do not want a break, I only want continuous service. You do service and whatever problem comes, whatever unhappiness comes, whatever struggle comes—you must accept everything. This love of peace lingers in the minds of many practising devotees. Many think, "I had it good at home, but since I have come here, I have had to roam around so much just for the sake of two rupees, I work in the office so much that my pen has gone blunt. I have come here to practise devotion, but why are there so many problems?" Why take so much trouble, suffer so much anxiety for the sake of family life? Anxiety, disturbances, and struggle in the material life is the cause of bondage—it does not bring any benefit to your life. If you can accept all the disturbances, troubles, and misery for the Lord's service, you will get a great benefit—your misery is the price for the Lord's happiness. "Tomara sevaya, duhkha haya yata, seo ta' parama sukha. All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness." (Saranagati, 16.4) Seeing the Lord's happiness, the soul becomes even happier. That is its reward.

* * *

Forgetting Yourself

Adhivas of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance
Kolkata—Worldwide, 8 November 2020, part 5

Question: Can we address someone who is not initiated as "Prabhu" and greet them saying "dandavats"?

sakale sammana karite sakati,
deha natha! yatha yatha

"Gurudev! Please give me such power that I can give appropriate honour to everyone."

Give respect to everybody, according to their qualification. Somebody may be happy if you tell them "Prabhu", and somebody may not understand it—you can tell them "Babu" ("Sir") instead then, they will understand it. If it is a devotee, you can tell them "Prabhu", but if it is somebody who does not know anything about Krishna consciousness and you call them "Prabhu", they may be disturbed or unhappy about that, then it is better to say "Sir", "Babu", etc. Generally, we say "Prabhu" ("Lord", "Master") to devotees who know that they are servants of the Lord, servants of devotees. The Lord Himself says, "You are worshipping Me, but the worship of My dearmost devotees is greater than My worship!" Sri Hari-bhakti-vilas also says that when we celebrate Lord Nrisinghadev's appearance, we recite the prayer that says that Lord Nrisinghadev appeared to remove the sadness of Prahlad Maharaj, "Prahlada-klesa nasaya ya hi punya chaturdasi pujayet tatra yatnenahareh prahladam agratah. It is proper to first worship Prahlad before worshipping Lord Nrisinghadev because the holy fourteenth lunar day of the bright fortnight has appeared in order to remove the distress of Prahlad." So, on Nrisingha-chaturdasi day, we first worship Prahlad Maharaj, then only we worship Lord Nrisinghadev. Also, when Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur composed Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, he started it with this sloka (1.1.10),

eteke karila age bhaktera vandana
ataeva achhe karya siddhira laksana

"I have therefore offered my prayers first to the devotees, as this is the key for attaining perfection."

First we must worship devotees, then we can succeed in whatever we are about to do (in Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur's case it was composing Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata). We must first worship the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Without paying obeisance to devotees, without glorifying devotees, Krishna-kirtan and Krishna-katha will not come to your tongue. First glorify devotees, then Krishna-katha will come to your mouth or tongue. That is main thing. However, the problem is that we hear so many times,

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

We have heard the glorification of Vaishnavs hundreds of times, but we are still unqualified and so unfortunate because we cannot glorify devotees.

Question: You have told many times that when you were taking sannyas Srila Gurudev told you to "Serve my devotees, serve my Mission, serve my Deities." Was this originally instructed by Srila Sridhar Maharaj?

Gurudev may have heard it from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. When Gurudev wanted to give me sannyas, I told him I had no qualification, I did not understand the meaning of sannyas, then how was I to take sannyas? At that time, Gurudev told me that the meaning of sannyas means "you will serve my devotees (followers), serve my Deities, and serve my mission." Gurudev told this directly to me, and there is another thing that Gurudev told everybody.

sri-krsna-kirtane yadi manasa tohara
parama yatane tanhi labha adhikara

"If you are intent on chanting the Name of Krishna, then, with great care, become qualified to do so."

trnadhika hina, dina, akinchana chhara
apane manabi sada chhadi ahankara

"Give up your false ego, and always consider yourself lower than grass, poor, needy, and mean."

vrksa-sama ksama-guna karabi sadhana
pratihimsa tyaji anye karabi palana

"Practise tolerance like a tree. Give up vengeance and nurture others."

jivana-nirvahe ane udvega na dibe
para-upakare nija-sukha pasaribe

"Do not trouble others for your own upkeep, and forget your own happiness in the course of helping others."

Gurudev applied what Mahaprabhu said in His Siksastaka to the meaning of tridandi sannyas.

trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

"One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself, is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 3.6.239)

Be humble, tolerant, and give honour to others. Gurudev applied this to sannyasis, as well as all other devotees.

Basically, tridandi sannyas means to be humble, tolerant, and give honour to others. However, I am bound to say that sometimes they take sannyas or take saffron cloth, and their ego becomes very big, they become proud, and start thinking, "I am a sannyasi! I am the boss! Everybody will serve me!" It is very sad to hear this, but some sannyasis behave like this. They think, "I am a sannyasi, everyone will serve me!" but they forget that when they took sannyas, it means they became captains of this society, so they must go forward and be first to fight against maya. It is necessary to realise this. I see that sometimes after taking sannyas they become very 'fat' (get very much pratistha) and start thinking, "I am the boss, everybody must serve me! I am a sannyasi, and all the householders are second grade. We sannyasis are the first class, brahmacharis are the second class, and grihasthas are the third class of people. The third class people must always serve the first class people!" This is what they think, but it is very sad to hear this. They forget that they must serve more. This is what Mahaprabhu teaches. Mahaprabhu Himself distributed prasadam. Some sannyasis say, "Why should I distribute prasadam? Everybody must give prasadam to me!" But Mahaprabhu showed that He Himself distributed prasadam to all the devotees on the disappearance day of Srila Haridas Thakur, and not only on that day, He did it on many other days as well—many devotees would come at the time of Jagannath Ratha-yatra and take Jagannath prasadam, and Mahaprabhu personally served prasadam to everyone.

This is a very difficult matter. When we take sannyas, we forget that we are servants of devotees—some start thinking, "I am the master of devotees! I am controller, I will control everything!" It makes me very sad.

* * *

Joy of Good Association

Adhivas of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance
Kolkata—Worldwide, 8 November 2020, part 6

Question: Is it correct to have the feeling that I want to leave everything? I want to leave my family, friends, attachments and follow Krishna consciousness.

This is a correct question. There are so many questions in this world, but Srila Sukadev Goswami said that only one question is sufficient and only one answer is sufficient. If you listen to that class of Srila Gurudev, you will find the answer there—you will understand what is the goal, what are the means of attaining the goal, etc.

However, sometimes it happens that somebody leaves their parents, somebody leaves their relatives, and becomes proud of that—they can leave everything, but they cannot leave their pride ("Oh, I have left everything!"). Some do a complete fast on ekadasi, without even drinking any water, and they become proud of it, "I am doing nirjal ekadasi! I am not taking anything!"

Your question is very serious, but your bhakti is karma-misra bhakti (devotion mixed with material pursuits). "Grhe thako, vane thako—sada Hari bole dako. Whether you are in a house or in a forest, always call out to the Lord." You can stay with your family, it is not necessary to leave everything.

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.238)

This is what Mahaprabhu told Srila Raghunath Das Goswami. It is not necessary to show false renunciation. Yukta-vairagya (proper renunciation) is OK, but not phalgu-vairagya (false renunciation). Yukta-vairagya means you can stay with your family and you can still chant the Holy Name. You know, you can be living in South America, in Peru—so many thousands of kilometres away—but I can still connect with you through some electric power, or some sound vibration. If it is possible here, then why cannot we connect with Lord Krishna, with the Absolute, through the sound vibration of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra? This Krishna-nama, the maha-mantra, comes from the Absolute, so why cannot we connect with Him through this sound vibration? That is why I am telling you that you want to leave the connection with your parents, family, etc., go to Himalaya or Rishikesh and stay in a cave, but this is not right. I never advise to do this.

...Now is Damodar month, you know that it is dam (rope) yog (bind) udar (stomach)—Krishna was tied by His mother in this month and He rescued two offenders who were cursed by Narad Goswami and became trees—the twin Yamalarjuna trees. Kuver, the heavenly treasurer, is very rich, and he had two sons, Nalakuvar and Manigriv. One day, they were swimming in a pond naked with some girls, and when Narad Goswami was passing that place and saw them, they did not feel shy, so Narad Goswami cursed them, "You are shameless! You will be born in trees' bodies next life!" Fearful, they apologised to Narad Goswami, and then Narad Goswami said, "All right. In Dvaparu-yuga, Krishna, the Lord Himself, will appear in Vrindavan, Mathura, and come to Gokula. At that time, He will rescue you." It happened in this month.

Satyavrata Muni composed this famous song,

namamisvaram sach-chid-ananda rupam
lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam

"To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula—to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances."

It is a very beautiful song. You can sing it every day during the month of Kartik, it is good for you. This Damodar month is very nice. I went to Uluberia this morning, and from 10:30 I sang the Siksastakam songs, this Namamisvaram song, and Radhe Jaya Jaya Madhava Dayite. We can sing this song only during this month:

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite

"Glory to Radha, the beloved of Madhava! All the young girls of Gokula, beautiful like Laksmi Devi, are charmed to see Your exquisite beauty."

damodara-rati-varddhana-vese
hari-niskuta-vrnda-vipinese

"You are always decorated with many beautiful garments and scented flowers, You are irresistible to Damodar. Your Pastimes with Krishna are going on eternally in the groves of Sri Vrindavan Dham."

It is a very nice song. You can sing all these songs during this month when you get time, and when you sing them, you must see the meaning of the songs, then you will get taste and interest towards the songs.

Devotee: We are missing the Kartik parikrama this year...

Yes, we could not go for the Vrindavan parikrama this year... Everybody keeps calling me and asking, "Maharaj, are you coming? Are you coming?" I can go there with one-two persons, but I always want devotees' association. "Ekaki amara nahi paya bala hari-nama-sankirtane. When I am alone, I get no strength to chant the Holy Name." Devotees' enthusiasm gives me inspiration. I do not want to go preaching alone, when there are only two-three devotees. It is not good. I want to go when devotees can come from abroad or India, and when we all together can do the parikrama of Vrindavan and Govardhan.

I do not know if the planes can come this year at Gaura Purnima or not, if devotees can come this Gaura Purnima or not, but I am praying to the Lord that all devotees can come from abroad. I cannot stop the Gaura Purnima parikrama... Everything depends upon the Lord, upon the will of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. I am thinking this year I want to visit Badarikashram and Kedarnath a month or so after Gaura Purnima. Gurudev took Srila Sridhar Maharaj there, so I want to visit that place just once. I want to go there with devotees. This is my plan. Now almost all places are closed. Badrikashram, Kedarnath Asram, Gangotri, Yamunotri—we want to do parikrama of these four holy places. It was in Badrikasram that Srila Vyasadev got an inspiration from Narad Goswami to write Srimad Bhagavatam. Before that, Vyasadev had written so many books, but he described karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga, sankhya-yoga, and so many other things, so this time he wanted to make just one book that would be about devotion only. This book is Srimad Bhagavatam. This is book comes through Sri Suta Goswami and Sri Sukadev Goswami—this book relates what Sukadev Goswami told Sri Pariksit Maharaj. Remembering all this, we want to visit that place.

Anyhow, there are devotees here, and I get devotees' association every day, I get the association of so many devotees from abroad also—Srila Janardan Maharaj, Srila Ashram Maharaj, and so many devotees from all over the world—from Spain, Venezuela, London, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Russia, Ukraine, America, etc. I am very happy about that.

Tomorrow I will give a live class at 10:30 a.m. I will sing some kirtans and speak something about the glories of Om Vishnupad Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. I do not have any qualification to do it, but I am trying. 'Vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana. Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul.' We have heard the glorification of Vaishnavs a hundred times, but due to our bad luck, bad fortune, our ignorance and a lack of qualification we still are not able to understand the glories of or to glorify Srila Sridhar Maharaj, his pastimes. Still, I can only tell what I have heard from my Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, what I have read other Vaishnavs, godbrothers wrote about Srila Sridhar Maharaj. It is actually possible to say anything about Srila Sridhar Maharaj only by the mercy of devotees, so I pray especially for the mercy of Srila Gurudev and Param Gurudev so that I can say something about Srila Sridhar Maharaj tomorrow.

I am trying to preach... I am going to Nrisingha Palli and Ekachakra next week, the day after tomorrow, then I will come back to Kolkata, and on Friday again go out for preaching. I am doing some small preaching programmes. "Prana achhe yara se hetu prachara: you have life, so you must preach." I have life, so I must preach because when life is gone, I will not be able to do it. We have been sitting in some few places since March, we have not gathered properly, and Indian devotees do not have the facility for this kind of online connection. If they try, they will get it, but they are not trying because most of them are not so expert about all these things. Still, at least you, foreign devotees, are getting connection through the technology, and I am very fortunate that every Sunday I am getting good association of all the senior devotees and all the other devotees. I am very happy about it.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

* * *

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Expanding Gaudiya Math

Srila Sridhar Maharaj's holy appearance day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 9 November 2020, part 1

kanaka-suruchirangam sundaram saumya-murtih
vibudhakula-varenyam sri-gurum siddhipurtim
taruna-tapanabasam bhaktidan-chid-vilasam
bhaja bhaja tu manore! sridharam samvidhanam

"I am always worshipping with great joy within my heart Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, whose limbs are of the radiant golden colour and form is beautiful and moon-like gentle; Sri Guru who excels among the most learned and who is filled with all perfections; who is adorned by the garments the colour of the rising sun and who is engaged in the joyful Pastimes of bestowing bhakti, devotion."

sri-svarupa-raya-rupa-jiva-bhava-sambharam
varna-dharmma-nirvvisesa-sarvvaloka-nistaram
sri-sarasvati-priyam cha bhakti-sundarasrayam
sridharam namami bhakti-raksakam jagad-gurum

"I bow down unto the Guru of the entire world, my Divine Master Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He is the gracious carrier of the Conception of Sri Swarupa, Sri Ramananda, Sri Rupa and Sri Jiva; He is the Saviour of all, regardless of caste or creed; He is the most beloved intimate servitor of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada. He is the Supersubjective Potency (asraya-vigraha) of the Sweetest Transcendental Devotion (Parama Madhuryamaya Bhakti) and the only shelter of Sri Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj."

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
His auspicious holy appearance day ki jay
Krishna-navami tithi ki jay

Today is a very auspicious day—the appearance day of our Temple's Founder-Acharya, Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. This year, because of the pandemic situation there is much restriction for gatherings and also the trains have not started running in Bengal, so we cannot make a big festival. Still, all temples are making a festival today, as much as they can. All branches, all temples of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math are having a festival today.

I was explaining something yesterday about our Param Gurudev, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's glorification. Actually, I am very unfortunate, very unqualified—I do not have any qualification to speak about our Srila Guru Maharaj.

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

Even though I have heard about this a hundred times, it is still my bad fortune—I am a fallen soul—I still have no quality, no qualification to glorify Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Despite this, I will try, by the mercy of Gurudev and by the mercy of devotees, to describe something that I did not mention yesterday.

As I have told you, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj joined Gaudiya Mission in 1926. At first, he came to the temple at Ultadanga Road (there was a rented house at this place). He had already finished college and had been admitted to a law college in Kolkata when he first met with Srila Prabhupad (Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur). When Srila Sridhar Maharaj heard Srila Prabhupad's lecture, he was very charmed—he thought, "I have never before heard this kind of lecture, this kind of topics that Srila Prabhupad is telling!"

After coming to Gaudiya Math, Srila Sridhar Maharaj had to deal with very much bondage in his family life. He told about this himself in his autobiography. He said that his parents were pressing him very strictly and had a very hard determination that he had to get married. He got married, but kept no connection with his wife, and she died very soon of some illness. When he joined Gaudiya Math in 1926, his mother thought, "If my son becomes a sannyasi, who will make the sraddha ceremony after my death?" Soon after that, his mother died. Srila Sridhar Maharaj finished her sraddha ceremony; in the meantime, his two younger brothers also had finished their studies and started working. At that time, Sripad Bharati Maharaj and other Vaishnavs told Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "Ramendra Sundar Bhattacharya, Krishna has taken your wife and now your mother also. A good opportunity has come to you now! Krishna has arranged what you wanted, He has arranged this opportunity for you—what are you waiting for now? You must come now, join full time. Surrender fully, leave everything. Your mother has left, your wife has left, Krishna has taken them from you. Now is your chance. Do not wait any longer. Come and join Gaudiya Math full time." Then, Srila Sridhar Maharaj came to live in the Mission of Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur full time, along with his two brothers who were living with him in a hostel (when Srila Sridhar Maharaj told them that he had decided to come to the temple and join Krishna consciousness, they came with him). After a few days, Srila Sridhar Maharaj told his brothers, "Go back to work, I will not come back from here. I am staying." His brothers cried and tried to persuade him, but they could not, so they left the temple and went back to work, etc.

After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj stayed in the temple in Kolkata for a rather long time, and because he was an educated person, he was given the service at the printing press (Gaudiya Math had its own printing press for printing book). Srila Sridhar Maharaj said that he was not very happy with that service because he wanted to preach—to hear Hari-katha, to give lectures, speak Hari-katha, or do some kirtan, etc. He liked preaching. He thought, "When somebody goes preaching, I could help them. I want to listen to Hari-katha. I do not like to sit in one place at the printing press. I do not like this kind of work..." Soon after that, Srila Prabhupad started sending brahmacharis for preaching and Srila Sridhar Maharaj was sent to accompany them.

The first place he visited was Dumurkonda temple in Bengal, after that he went to Benares, and then to Vrindavan. After that, there was much sankirtan (preaching) happening in Delhi, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj was taken there. There, devotees told him to start preaching door to door. In this way, Srila Sridhar Maharaj started preaching and distributing books door to door.

After a while, Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur opened a temple in Kuruksetra. (We went to that temple last year when we were visiting Kuruksetra.) Srila Guru Maharaj (Ramendra Bhattacharya at that time) was made the math-in-charge there. It is a very quiet place—only once in several years thousands of people come there at the time of sun eclipse to bathe in the kunda. Srila Sridhar Maharaj stayed there for two-three years and after that he was transferred to Delhi and took charge of the temple there. After that, he went to Simla and many other places.

In this way, Srila Sridhar Maharaj passed his life preaching in various places, and once a year, every August, they would all come back to the temple in Kolkata for a month-long festival.

One time, Sripad Bon Maharaj and Sripad Hayagriv Prabhu (later Sripad Bhakti Dayita Madhav Maharaj) took Srila Sridhar Maharaj to Madras. They wanted to establish there pada-pith, footprints of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When they came back from Madras, the Baghbazar Gaudiya Math was established. Before that, the temple was at Ultadanga Road, nearby, but it was in a rented house. Now they were establishing their own temple and there was a very nice festival held on this occasion, with the Deities being brought to the temple in a chariot, etc.

After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj went again to Madras. This time, they rented a house and started preaching. Sripad Bon Maharaj was the senior manager of their team at that time. Sripad Bon Maharaj always called Srila Sridhar Maharaj 'Sripad Ramendra Sundar Bhattacharya B.A.' because Srila Sridhar Maharaj was a graduate and a bachelor of arts (we usually never use such titles, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj found it somewhat embarrassing to be called so). Sripad Bon Maharaj said also, "Ramendra Sundar is a very nice preacher, rather than a canvasser. He can speak good Hari-katha. He is a perfect person for newcomers. When new people come and want to see the temple, they should be first introduced to Ramendra Sundar Bhattacharya B.A. After he talks to them and gives them primary Hari-katha, they can be taken to a senior sannyasi, and then to Srila Prabhupad or be recommended for initiation." Then, in 1930, Srila Prabhupad gave to Sri Ramendra Sundar Bhattacharya sannyas and the name 'Bhakti Raksak Sridhar.'

Following that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj joined Vrindavan parikrama. Then, Sripad Bon Maharaj went to England, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj became in charge of the Mission in Madras and opened a temple by the mercy of Srila Prabhupad and with the help of many devotees. After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj opened another temple in Mumbai also—one more branch was started there. After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj returned from Mumbai and stayed mostly with Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur...

* * *

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Scriptural Expertise

Srila Sridhar Maharaj's holy appearance day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 9 November 2020, part 2

Before Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur left his body, before his demise, he said he wanted to hear Sri Rupa-manjari-pada kirtan from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. At that time, Sripad Tirtha Maharaj brought a brahmachari who could sing very well and told him to sing. Unhappy, Srila Prabhupad immediately stopped that brahmachari saying, "I do not want to hear the tune! I want to hear Sri Rupa-manjari song, and I want to hear it from Srila Sridhar Maharaj." All main great personalities of the mission were present at that time, and as Srila Sridhar Maharaj said, in this way Srila Prabhupad gave him the service, the recognition and the responsibility of carrying Sri Rupa-Raghunath line.

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj composed Sri Bhaktivinod Viraha Dasakam, he presented it to Srila Prabhupad. When Srila Prabhupad read this sloka,

srigauranumatam svarupaviditam rupagrajenadrtam
rupadyaih parivesitam raghuganairasvaditam sevitam
jivadyair abhiraksitam sukasivabrahmadi sammanitam
sriradhapadasevanamrtam aho tad datum iso bhavan

"What was sanctioned by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by His descent was intimately known only to Sri Svarupa Damodara Goswami. It was adored by Sanatan Goswami and served by Rupa Goswami and his followers. Raghunatha Das Goswami tasted that wonderful thing fully and enhanced it with his own realization. And Jiva Goswami supported and protected it by quoting the scriptures from different places. The taste of that divine truth is aspired for by Brahma, Siva, and Uddhava, who respect it as the supreme goal of life. What is this wonderful truth? Sri radhapadasevana: that the highest nectar of our life is the service of Srimati Radharani. This is most wonderful. O Bhakti Vinoda Thakur, you are our master. It is within your power to allow them to bestow their grace upon us. You are in a position to bestow the highest gift ever known to the world upon us all. It is at your disposal. O Bhaktivinod Thakur, please be kind to us and grant us your mercy."

He said, "This is not written by Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Actually, Srila Sridhar Maharaj only held the pen, but Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur himself wrote it. It is very happy style." Srila Prabhupad was very happy with it.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj wrote many articles, many works in this life. In those days, Sripad Shraman Maharaj (Srila Prabhupad's disciple) was in charge of the printing press in Chaitanya Math and published a monthly newspaper called Nadiya Prakash. Srila Prabhupad told Shraman Maharaj about Srila Sridhar Maharaj's writing, "If you can publish this kind of Hari-katha, this kind of articles in our monthly newspaper, it will increase the value of our publication." The value here means not the price, but the quality of the printed matter. On another occasion, Srila Prabhupad remarked that Srila Sridhar Maharaj was 'sastra-nipun' [expert in scriptures]. Srila Sridhar Maharaj himself remembers in his autobiography,

"In the'Gaudiya', Gaudiya Math's leading weekly paper in Madras, there was published one siddhanta. The birthday of Srimati Visnupriya Devi and the birthday of our Guru Maharaj were mistakenly transposed. Both are panchami [fifth lunar day]. Srimati Visnupriya Devi's is on panchami of the bright moon fort-night, and Prabhupad's is on panchami of the dark moon fortnight. But they were transposed—Prabhupad to the bright fifth and Srimati Visnupriya Devi to the dark fifth. I read it carefully, and I thought the basis of the philosophising was wrong. Why has Krishna-sakti come on the bright moon, and Gaura-sakti on the dark moon? I found it should be just the opposite. I showed it to Sripad Bon Maharaj, considering it a grave error. He suddenly took up the pen and wrote a letter to the effect, 'What is this? We thought that the editors have some touch with the reality and what they write has some real connection with the sentiment, but how can this sort of error be possible from them? Have they no srauta-connection? All concoction!' So it was detected, and an amendment was published in a later issue. When Prabhupad was there, the books 'Ray Ramananda', 'Relative Worlds' and 'Brahma-samhita' were published. On the occasion of his Vyasa-Puja, Prabhupad delivered a written address, and there he mentioned before my name, 'Sastra-nipuna Sridhar Maharaj—he has very deep knowledge in the Scriptures'; that was his consideration."

Srila Sridhar Maharaj wrote many books, composed many slokas, articles, etc. He composed the famous song about Srila Prabhupad,

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

"My master, Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, established the religion of the age, Krishna-sankirtan, and is the chief minister of the universal assembly of leading Vaisnavas. His lotus feet are worshipped by millions of virtuous souls and fulfil the desires of those who dispel souls' fears. Eternally I offer my obeisance to my master's worshippable feet."

All Gaudiya Math temples sing this song. Srila Sridhar Maharaj also composed Sri Gaura Saraswati Arati,

jayare jayare jaya gaura-sarasvati
bhakativinodanvaya karunamurati

"All glory to the voice of Sri Gauranga, the embodiment of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur's mercy, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur!"

prakasile gaura-sevabhuvana mangala
bhakati-siddhanta suddha prajnana ujjvala

"He manifested Sri Gauranga's service for the upliftment of the world. His teaching of devotion is pure, brilliant, and enlightening."

This is a very beautiful, very nice song. Srila Sridhar Maharaj also wrote Sri Gaura Arati (I do not know if Gaudiya Maths sing it or not, but we sing it in every temple),

jaya sachi-nandana sura-muni-vandana
bhava-bhaya-khandana jaya he
jaya hari-kirtana-nartanavartana
kali-mala-kartana jaya he

All glory to Sri Sachi Nandan, who is worshipped by the demigods and sages! All glory to He who destroys all fear of material existence! All glory to the inaugurator of dancing and chanting the Lord's Names! All glory to He who removes the contamination of Kali!

Srila Sridhar Maharaj composed these and many others things—he composed Sri Dayita-Dasa Pranati Panchakam, Sri Dayita-Dasa Dasakam, Sri Bhaktivinod Viraha Dasakam, Srimad Gaura Kishor Namaskar Dasakam, Srimad Rupa Padarajah Prarthana Dasakam, Sriman Nityananda Prabhu Dvadasakam, Sri Srila Prabhupad Pranati, Srila Gadadhar Prarthana, etc. He also presented the explanation of the meaning of Sri Gayatri mantra.

"Gayatri muralista-kirtana-dhanam Radha-padam dhimahi: Krishna's flute does not make any other tune except the glorification of Srimati Radharani, and that is the real meaning and gist of the Gayatri mantra." We want that kind of service deep in our hearts,

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

"From afar we shall worship the raga-path, the path of spontaneous affectionate service, while we ourselves shall live within the Vedic guidelines."

We always pray to Radharani's lotus feet and to the lotus feet of Sri Gaura, Sri Krishna in our hearts—we do not show it; we do not become sahajiyas. We have some limit and we shall not cross that limit (we shall not cross the line). People always want to cross the line and go beyond what is allowed, but we must not cross the line. We must do the service according to our rights. You may be able to catch a small snake, but do not try to catch a cobra. Eat according to your power of digestion, if you eat more than you are able to digest, you will end up in trouble—you will become sahajiya. Srila Param Guru Maharaj warns us against this.

We are fallen souls, we have no quality, so we only worship devotees of Lord Krishna—we worship Srila Sridhar Maharaj, our Srila Gurudev. Even on the day of Sri Nrisingha-chaturdasi, we first worship Prahlad Maharaj ("Prahlada-klesa nasaya ya hi punya chaturdasi pujayet tatra yatnenahareh prahladam agratah. It is proper to first worship Prahlad before worshipping Lord Nrisinghadev because the holy fourteenth lunar day of the bright fortnight has appeared in order to remove the distress of Prahlad.") Moreover, Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur writes in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata (1.1.10),

eteke karila age bhaktera vandana
ataeva achhe karya siddhira laksana

"I have therefore offered my prayers first to the devotees, as this is the key for attaining perfection."

First we worship devotees, then our endeavour or whatever we do will be auspicious. It is necessary to worship devotees. So, the main thing for us in our life is that we must try to do the service according to our capacity, then our life will be perfect.

* * *

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Emporium of Greatness

Srila Sridhar Maharaj's holy appearance day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 9 November 2020, part 3

When Srila Sridhar Maharaj was eighty years old, he would sit in one place (in Sri Gupta Govardhan, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math) and so many foreigners, so many seekers of truth would come to meet with him. Those who wanted to find the original source would all come to Srila Sridhar Maharaj's lotus feet. In his turn, Srila Sridhar Maharaj told our Gurudev (Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj), "I am an old man, I do not know their culture so much, I am not habituated with their culture, so you manage and harmonise with them. You must take care of them." In this way, Srila Sridhar Maharaj placed our Gurudev in charge of the devotees.

Many great senior personalities, like Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj, Srila Keshav Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Alok Paramahamsa Maharaj, Srila Narasimha Maharaj, Srila Acharya Maharaj, Srila Madhusudan Maharaj—they were all disciples of Srila Prabhupad, but they all later took sannyas from Srila Sridhar Maharaj and became great gurus. Srila Sridhar Maharaj did not want to be a big guru, he did not want to be a king, but he made so many kings in his life.

After Srila Prabhupad's disappearance, Srila Sridhar Maharaj did not want to expand his mission, he did not want to preach large-scale. Instead, he made a small thatched house and stayed there, on the bank of the Ganges, thinking, writing, etc. Others see a thatched house, but there was a great personality living there, and his mahima (glories) spread all over the world. How did it happen? It happened through our Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Srila Gurudev spread his Guru Maharaj's glories all over the world. Like, who knew Srila Lokanath Goswami before? Srila Lokanath Goswami made only one disciple, Srila Narottam Das Thakur, but through Srila Narottam Das Thakur's glorification we all know now Srila Lokanath Goswami. Similarly, how do we all know Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's glories now? We know it from our Gurudev and from his Guru-varga (his godbrothers) also. Because they spoke about his glories and spread his glories everywhere, we also know about it.

For example, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj would every year come to the festival in honour of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance day. One time, Srila Sridhar Maharaj's appearance day was celebrated in Vrindavan because everybody had gone there for niyom-seva month, Kartik month parikrama. Many of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's godbrothers were present at that festival, and many of Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj's disciples were there, but Srila Goswami Maharaj declared, "I may be senior to him, but he is my sannyas guru, and I must give him respect! I will do the arati!" And Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj offered a full arati worship to Srila Sridhar Maharaj that day, in presence of many godbrothers and disciples.

This is what happened, and we should know this.

One time, Srila Madhusudan Maharaj asked his audience in his class, "Do you want to hear Hari-katha from Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur?" Everybody said yes, and he said, "Then go to Srila Sridhar Maharaj. He tells it exactly like Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur did." So many scholars, so many godbrothers, Sakhi Charan Prabhu Bhakti Vijay, so many householder devotees, everybody would come to hear Hari-katha from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Even Srila Sridhar Maharaj's godbrothers wanted to hear his Hari-katha because only he could explain Srila Prabhupad's teaching authentically. Srila Sridhar Maharaj distributed only what Srila Prabhupad distributed.

As you know, Sri Vyasadev is a saktya-vesa-avatar of the Lord, he is the mul-guru. Who completes the work of Vyasadev now? Sri Gurudev. Sri Guru always completes the work of Vyasadev to please the Lord and please his own guru.

So, if somebody says they are a disciple of Srila Guru Maharaj (Srila Sridhar Maharaj) but they do not give respect to Srila Gurudev (Srila Govinda Maharaj), how can they be considered Srila Guru Maharaj's disciple then? Srila Guru Maharaj himself said many times, "I reject, I kick out, I drag out those who do not give respect, who do not follow Srila Govinda Maharaj." So, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur considered Srila Sridhar Maharaj a Gaudiya Acharya, a guardian of Sri Rupa-Raghunath-katha, so we have to give respect to Srila Sridhar Maharaj. In the same way, if somebody considers themselves a disciple of Srila Sridhar Maharaj but does not give respect to our Gurudev (Srila Govinda Maharaj), I cannot appreciate that—I cannot consider that this is a disciple of Srila Guru Maharaj.

Sripad Saurindranath Bhakti Varidhi said about Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "I have seen Srila Sridhar Maharaj's mood. He is

krpalu, akrta-droha, satya-sara, sama
nidosa, vadanya, mrdu, suchi, akinchana
sarvopakaraka, santa, krsnaika-sarana
akama, aniha, sthira, vijita-sad-guna
mita-bhuk, apramatta, manada, amani
gambhira, karuna, maitra, kavi, daksa, mauni

"Vaishnavs are merciful, never aggressive, always truthful, equal to everyone, faultless, magnanimous, soft, clean, have no material desires or possessions. They want good for everyone, they are peaceful, exclusively surrendered to Krishna, have no desires, indifferent towards the mundane, composed, control the six bad qualities (lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride, envy), they do not overeat, are never intoxicated, respectful to others, desire no respect for themselves, grave, compassionate, everyone's friends, poets, experts, and silent."

These are the symptoms of a Vaishnav, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj possesses all of them.

Sripad Saurindranath Bhakti Varidhi also refers to the sloka that Mahaprabhu heard from King Prataparudra in Sri Puri Dham,

tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad-atatam
bhuvi grnanti te bhurida janah

"My Dear, bestowing the greatest fortune that is attained after so many births, exalted souls come to this world and live here by singing and spreading Your nectarean glories that are life and soul for those suffering in this material world being devoid of Your divine love; that are the gist of all poets' songs; that are the destroyer of all sins; that benefit anyone who hears them; and that possess universal attraction."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 14.13)

Who is the 'burida', greatest donor, or benefactor? The greatest donor is he who can distribute the Holy Names, who can distribute the message of Mahaprabhu, of the Lord in this world. And Sripad Saurindranath Bhakti Varidhi says, "I see that Srila Sridhar Maharaj is that greatest donor in this world." He also says: just as it says in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (2.12.101),

chaitanyera prema-patra jagadananda dhanya
yare mile sei mane,—'pailun chaitanya'

"All glories to Jagadananda Pandit! He is so favoured by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that anyone who meets him thinks, 'Now I have got the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu directly.'"

We see that when we get the association of Srila Sridhar Maharaj, we think,

prabhupada priyatama pandit sridhara
yare mile sei mane,—'painu prabhu-bara'

"Pandit Sridhar is the dearmost associate of Srila Prabhupad. Anyone who meets him thinks, 'Now I have got the association of Srila Prabhupad directly.'"

At the end of his glorification of Srila Sridhar Maharaj, Sripad Saurindranath Bhakti Varidhi says,

guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane
guru-rupe krsna krpa kare bhagyavane

"The scriptures confirm that Guru is a form of Krishna. In the form of Guru, Krishna bestows His mercy upon the fortunate."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.1.45)

Also, we can remember Srila Gurudev's article submitted at the appearance day of Srila Sridhar Maharaj where he writes,

ki gahiba prabhu mahima tomara
avrta chetana avidya-jale
tomara mahima jane mukta-kula
tava yaso-gana goloka-mandale

"O master! How shall I sing your glories? My consciousness is covered by the net of ignorance. Liberated souls know your glories and sing your praises in the land of Goloka."

(Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

tahara karuna-katha, madhava-bhajana-pratha
tulana nahika tribhuvane
tara sama anya keha, dhariya e nara-deha,
nahi dila krsna-prema-dhane

"There is no comparison within the three worlds to His merciful teachings of the practice of devotion to Krishna. No one has ever assumed a human form and distributed the wealth of Krishna-prema like him."

(Anubhasya on Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta)

Srila Gurudev compares Srila Sridhar Maharaj to Srila Sanatan Goswami quoting a verse in his glorification,

govindabhidham indirasrita-padam hastastha-ratnadivat
tattvam tattvavid-uttamau ksiti-tale yau darsayan chakratu

"Sanatan Goswami shows Krishna to this world the way one takes a jewel in hand and shows its facets to others. When a jeweller shows someone a diamond, they turn it over in their hand to show its top, bottom, front, back, and sides. Similarly, Sanatan Goswami shows us Govinda. Indira, Laksmi Devi, is sheltered at Govinda’s feet and always serves Him. So, Govinda is the proprietor of all wealth, of all jewelry, yet Sanatan, like a jeweller, shows us that proprietor of all jewelry, Govinda, like a jewel in his hand."

antar-bhakti-rasena purna-hrdayo bahye 'vadhutakrtih
saivalaih pihitam maha-sara iva priti-pradas tad-vidam

"Although he externally appeared to be a mendicant who had renounced everything, he was filled with the pleasure of devotional service within his heart. Thus he can be compared to a deep lake covered with moss. He was the object of pleasure for all the devotees who knew the science of devotional service."

uchalila prema-vanya chaudike vedaya
stri, vrddha, balaka, yuva, sabare dubaya

"The flood of love of Godhead swelled in all directions, and thus young men, old men, women and children were all immersed in that inundation."

hena avatare yara rati na janmila
lochan bale sei papi ela ara gela

"Lochan Das says of one who has not developed attachment to this Avatar, 'Such a sinner simply came and went.'"

Srila Gurudev says, "The appearance day of Sri Gurupadpadma Srila Guru Maharaj is a very auspicious tithi, but I have no quality, no qualification to worship this tithi." This is Kali-yuga when all our senses are our enemies (we are suffering from the five diseases, erc.), how can we ever glorify or understand the glory of this day? Our only hope is Gurudev's mercy.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

I am giving now my full obeisance at the lotus feet of my Param Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. On this tithi, on his holy appearance day, I pray—wherever he may be now, may he engage us more and more in the service to Gurudev, his associates, and all his followers, all his well-wishers. I pay my full obeisance to them all and pray that they may engage me as their servitor. I am always at their service, I am always waiting—any time they engage me in some service, I will be very happy. I am giving my full obeisance to my guru-varga and you all. Please forgive my offence.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
His holy appearance day tithi maha-mahotsav ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay
Saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Madan Mohanjiu ki jay
Saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Rasabiharijiu ki jay
Jay saparikara Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparikara Sri Sri Gaurachandra Prabhu ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhakti-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Koladwip ki jay
All the worldwide Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

* * *

Sri Vraja-Mandal Tattva

Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi, Tulasi Devi, Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda, Radha Kunda, Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham, Sri Nabadwip Dham, Sri Vrindavan Mathura ki jay
Sri Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev, Subhadra, Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math ki jay
Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
All the branches of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Krishnanusilana Sangha ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math all Mission ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
Sri Srila Sridhar Seva-Ashram Govardhan ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadharjiu ki jay
Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

Almost every year, at this time of Govardhan Puja, we are in Sri Vrindavan parikrama, but due to the pandemic situation we could not go to Govardhan to arrange the festival this year. Yet, by the mercy of Govardhan, we are doing puja from here, and I think if it is Govardhan's wish, He will receive our puja even if we do it here.

Today, everybody says, "Happy Diwali," "Happy Dipavali." Diwali means a 'festival of lights'. Formally, we are placing some lights in front of the temple and in front of the Deities today, and I am praying to Gurudev, praying to the Lord for everybody so that light may come to our hearts, our minds and all our darkness will be removed from our hearts and minds. We pray to Gurudev, to the Lord, to Govardhan for everybody. People are suffering so much all over the world because of their life in darkness, please remove darkness from their hearts and minds and always keep light in their hearts and minds. This is the main thing today.

Now is also the go-puja, or go-krida, days. Basically, we keep cows in all our temples, wherever it is possible, and we every day worship and try to satisfy cows. And today is a special day for feeding cows, it is also a very auspicious day in general. Anyhow, tomorrow is Sri Govardhan Puja that is arranged by Sri Nanda Maharaj. Actually, it is arranged by Lord Krishna because nothing can happen without the will of Lord Krishna. You know, even if somebody becomes a guru, an acharya or a servant of the Lord in this world, it is also the will of the Lord. Nothing can happen in this world without the will of the Lord.

So, as it is Sri Govardhan Giriraj Puja tomorrow, we want to tell something about Sri Vraja-mandal and Govardhan today.

Sri Vraja-mandal has five hills—(1)Govardhan Hill (Govardhan Parvat), (2) Varshana Hill (where the house of Vrisabhanu, the house of Radharani is), (3) Nandishwar Hill (where the house of Nanda Maharaj is), (4) Big Charan Pahari (Bathain), and (5) Small (Chhota) Charan Pahari. There is also a hill in Uchagaon, but it is not included in the five hills of Sri Vraja-mandal.

You all know something about the history of Sri Giriraj Govardhan, and I would like to tell something about it today. Sri Giriraj Govardhan is non-different from Vrajendra-nandan Sri Krishna (He is Lord Krishna Himself). Giriraj Govardhan spreads His hands and takes all food with His hands. Outwardly, we also see that Sri Krishna Himself worships Govardhan—when Gopal Krishna lifted Govardhan with His little finger, at that time He also paid obeisance to Govardhan. So, Krishna is Govardhan, and Krishna also worships Govardhan—He does the parikrama of Govardhan.

It is said in the scriptures that no one can criticise or say anything bad about Govardhan—if somebody criticises Govardhan, then Giriraj Himself becomes a snake and destroys the offender. It is important to remember this.

If you read the Govardhan-Khanda in Sri Garga-samhita (we have this book published in Bengali), you can see there how Govardhan came to this world, how he got this name 'Giriraj.' Everything is written in Sri Garga-samhita.

So, when Sri Krishna Himself wanted to appear in this world, He appears for several causes,

yada yada hi dharmasya, glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya, tadatmanam srjamy aham

"O Bharata, whenever there is a decline of religion and an uprising of irreligion, I personally make My advent."

Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 4.7

When Krishna wanted to appear in this world, He ordered Srimati Radharani to also come to this world, but Srimati Radharani said, "I cannot come to a place where there is no Vrindavan, no Yamuna, no Giri Govardhan! I cannot." So, to fulfil Her desire, Sri Krishna personally brought some land from His own abode, from Sri Goloka Vrindavan—He brought some land and placed that land as the eighty-four krosh of Vrindavan. In this way, Sri Vraja-mandal—Vrindavan, Govardhan, the Yamuna, etc.—do not come from this mundane world, they are not a part of this world; they are a part of the transcendental world. That is why it is said that Sri Vraja-mandal is non-different from Goloka Vrindavan.

* * *

Appearance of Sri Giriraj Govardhan

Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 2

There is one island province to the west of India called Salmalidvip (an island of Salmali). This is the place where Govardhan appeared as a son of Drona Parvat, Drona Hill. When Govardhan appeared, all demigods became very happy and showered flowers from the sky. All demigods praised Govardhan, "Govardhan is the King of Giri Samaj [Assembly of Hills], the Crown of Goloka, He is like an umbrella. Vrindavan is situated on His lap." That is how Govardhan became known as Giriraj [King of Hills].

One day, a sage called Pulastya Muni was visiting various holy places, when he came to that Salmalidvip. When he saw Dronachal-nandan Giriraj Govardhan, he was astonished and very charmed by its beauty. Pulastya Muni came to Dronachal, and Dronachal worshipped Pulastya Muni, paid obeisance to him, give him all possible respect. Then, Pulastya Muni told that Dronachal, "I live in Kasi where there is Ganga and Mahadev, and it is universally known that if any sinner comes to Kasi, all their sins and offences are removed. It is my desire to bring Govardhan to Kasi. Please give your son to me so that I can take him to Kasi, Benares." Hearing Pulastya Muni's prayer, Dronachal became very sad. He thought, "If I do not give my son to this muni, he can curse me." After much deliberation, Dronachal told his son Govardhan, "You can go with Pulastya Muni..." Now, you know that now Govardhan is seven miles long (eight-four krosh), but originally Govardhan is eight yojanas long (100 km, or 65 miles), five yojanas wide (65 km, or 40 miles), and two yojanas high (25 km, or 15 miles). How will Pulastya Muni take Govardhan from Salmalidvip to Kasi? Hearing his father's order, Govardhan asked Pulastya Muni, "How will you take me there?" Pulastya Muni assured him, "Do not worry, I can do it on the strength of my mystic powers." Then, Govardhan said, "I will go with you, but on one condition. If you cannot carry me all the way continuously—if something happens and you keep me in any place on the way to take rest—then I will stay there, I will not move from there." Pulastya Muni promised, "Yes, I will not put you down anywhere on the way. I will go straight to Kasi." Then, Maha-bala Govardhan offered obeisance to his father Dronachal and Pulastya Muni easily picked him up in his hand and carried away.

They were going slowly to Kasi, but on their way they were passing Vraja-mandal. When they came there and Govardhan saw how beautiful and sweet that place was, when he understood that Sri Krishna's childhood pastimes would take place there, that Yamuna, gopas, gopis, Radhika, all this would appear there, he thought, "I will not go anywhere! I will not leave this place! I will stay here." Then, Govardhan gave so much pressure to Pulastya Muni's hand with his weight that Pulastya Muni could not tolerate it and had to keep Govardhan down. He put Govardhan down at that same very place in Vraja-bhumi where he is now.

After that, Munibara went away for a while, bathed, recited mantras, etc. and when he came back, he said to Govardhan, "All right, let us go to Kasi now." Govardhan said, "I will not go. You have broken your promise!" (It was not even so much because Pulastya Muni had broken his promise—Govardhan himself wanted to stay there.) Then, Munibara tried to again pick Govardhan up in his hand, but he could not do it. He prayed to Govardhan, "Please come with me!" but Govardhan did not agree to go. Then, Pulastya Muni became very angry and cursed Govardhan, "If you do not come with me, if you do not fulfil my desire, then I curse you! Every day you will decrease in size by one sesame seed!"

It is said in the scriptures that for as long as there is Ganga, Yamuna, Govardhan in this world, everything in this world will be going on perfect...

* * *

Sri Govardhan Puja

Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 3

So many things happened at Govardhan in this world... One day, Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaj were arranging Indra puja. At that time, all Vraja-basis did Indra puja every year to please Devaraj Indra (the king of all demigods). Mother Yasoda had arranged some paraphernalia, some fruit, etc. and had cooked many items (laddus and many other sweets). At that time, Gopal was a very little boy, so He came to the place where all sweets were kept and wanted to take one sweet from there.

Gopal's mother (Mother Yasoda) saw it and chastised Him, "Do You not know? Today is Indradev's puja! I have arranged all this for Indra, why are You taking sweets?!"

"What puja did you say it was?" asked Gopal.

"Indra's puja."

"All right, but I see that My mother has made so many laddus and other sweets—Indra's mother did not make these sweets, My mother made them! I will take it! If Indra's mother makes sweets, Indra can take them, but when My mother has made the sweets, why will Indra take them?!"

"Hey, go away from here!" said Mother Yasoda finally getting angry.

Gopal began to cry and went to complain to Nanda Maharaj, "Father, do you see? My mother is not giving Me any sweets! She says she is doing Indra's puja and has arranged everything for Indra. She is not giving anything to Me!"

Nanda Maharaj tried to console his son, and then Gopal said, "Father, you must stop Indradev's puja! Worship Giriraj Govardhan! Giriraj Govardhan is the Lord Himself! Do Govardhan's puja."

In the end, Nanda Maharaj agreed and when Indra saw that all his offerings were being offered to Govardhan instead of to him, he became very angry. Using his powers, Indra sent torrential rain and hailstorm to Vrindavan. Fearful, all the Vraja-basis came to Sri Krishna and prayed to Him, "Look what is happening! Where will our cows stay? Where will they graze? So much rain is falling! Everything will be flood. What are we to do now?" Then, Sri Krishna reassured all Vraja-basis and lifted Govardhan with the little finger of His left hand. All the Vraja-basis, all cows, etc. came under the shelter of Govardhan, and Anantadev made something like a boundary wall around Govardhan so that water could not come inside. In this way, Lord Krishna protected everyone.

When Indradev stopped the rains, he saw that Vrindavan was just like before—that no damage had been done whatsoever, then he understood that he had committed a grave mistake. Indra came to Surabhi cow and with her help asked Lord Krishna for forgiveness of his offence.

Such is the glory of Sri Giriraj Govardhan. Govardhan is the Lord Himself, that is why Gaura Hari Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told everybody not to climb on top of Govardhan Hill to have the darshan of Gopal. Krishna understood the heart of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, so later Gopal Himself came from Annakut village to Ganthuli village where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could see Him. There are so many pastimes that happened at Govardhan.

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu prayed to Govardhan, "Nija-nikata-nivasam dehi Govardhana tvam: please give me a dwelling near you, O Govardhan! I have no capacity to stay on the bank of the Radha Kunda, please keep me near you, O Govardhan"....

We pray to Giriraj for His mercy. We will make the annakut festival tomorrow. 'Anna' means 'rice' and 'kut' means 'a hill' (parvat)—we are going to offer Lord Giriraj bhog in the form of a hill (a big amount of rice). We also do abhisekh of Giriraj tomorrow. It is very special day for us.

Tomorrow is the day when Nanda Maharaj made Govardhan puja, and after that, in Kali-yuga, this annakut utsav was arranged by Sriman Madhavendra Puri. When Madhavendra Puri found Giriraj-Govardhan-dhari Gopal established by Vajranabha (Krishna's great-grandson), he also made an annakut festival. So, Nanda Maharaj made this festival in Dvapar-yuga, and Sripad Madhavendra Puripad made this festival in Kali-yuga.

You know the history how Sri Madhavendra Puripad found Gopal. I do not want to explain it again now in detail. In short, Sripad Madhavendra Puri was ayachita-vritti (he did not ask anyone for anything—if something came to him, he would take it, and if nothing came, he would take nothing and fast), and one day Gopal Himself came to him with some milk. After that, Madhavendra Puri saw a dream where Gopal explained to him, "I am Govardhan-dhari Gopal. Vajranabha estalbished me, but when some mlechhas broke My temple, the pujari hid Me in the forest. Please rescue Me." When Madhavendra Puri woke up after this dream, he was deeply shocked and very shy because Krishna Himself had come to him to give him milk but he could not recognise the Lord, he cried thinking he was very unfortunate and a great sinner. In the morning, he went to that forest with some villagers, found that Gopal and again established His worship. That day, there was a great festival—Annakut Mahotsav. There was Giriraj Govardhan puja on that day again.

So, everybody must worship Govardhan to the best of your capacity.

mayura-mukuta pitambara-dhari
murali-dhara govardhana-dhari

"He wears a peacock feather crown and yellow garments. He holds the flute and lifts the Govardhan Hill!"

sri-radha-vara kunja-vihari
murali-dhara govardhana-dhari

"He is the beloved of Sri Radha and enjoys in the forest groves. He holds the flute and lifts the Govardhan Hill!"

jaya yasoda-nandana krsna murari
murali-dhara govardhana-dhari

"All glory to the son of Yasoda, Krishna, Murari. Glory to He who holds the flute and lifts the Govardhan Hill!"

jaya gopijana-vallabha vamsi-vihari
murali-dhara govardhana-dhari

"All glory to the beloved of the gopis, to He who enjoys playing His vamsi flute. Glory to He who holds the flute and lifts the Govardhan Hill!"

We always sing this song during Vrindavan parikrama and also during the abhisekh of Sri Govardhan. It is a very nice song.

* * *

Do Not Play With Fire

Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 4

Everything that has happened, is happening and will happen in this world, happens by the will of the Lord. I have told you just now that even if somebody becomes an acharya, if somebody becomes a guru, it is also the will of the Lord, the will of Krishna.

I have told you many times—everybody must serve according to their own position, or within their own position. Everybody has some limit, and you must not cross the line otherwise Krishna has given you everything and Krishna can also take everything away from you—if you commit seva-aparadh, dhama-aparadh, Vaishnav-aparadh, you can lose your service through such offences. That is why I am telling everybody: you must control yourself. Give up the ego that, "I am doing everything!", "I am collecting!", "I am maintaining the temple!" and so on. No. Who are you? You think you are managing the temple? Who are you?! You are only a servant of a servant! Have you forgotten your identification that you are a servant of the Lord? It is necessary for everybody to remember this.

There is also another thing I want to say to everybody today.

I remember one day I also came to Gurudev and complained, "Gurudev, they do not recite your pranam mantra at the nat mandir." Do you know what Gurudev said? He said to me, "You are my disciple, so you must recite my pranam mantra, but if my godbrothers and godsisters do not do it, I cannot tell them to do it. It is up to them. They must see what they want to do and what they think—whether they want to keep me in their heart or they want to throw me out of their hearts. It is their choice. However, if it is my disciple, they should worship, recite the pranam mantra or sing the arati of their Guru." So, for a disciple, these things are necessary, but we cannot force anybody! "Oh, you have to sing this!" I do not tell anyone to do this! I never tell even any of my disciples, neither do I ever ask my godbrothers or godsisters to tell my pranam mantra or sing that arati song they made. I do not tell this to anyone. Why are you using my name? I cannot understand it. It makes it very difficult for me. You are using my name and getting me into trouble by doing this! I have not told anyone to do such things. I know I am a very bad person, I have no quality, no qualification, and my heart, my mind is always full of dirt, full of material things, I know I cannot keep Gurudev in my heart; but I have faith—I have got some inspiration from my Gurudev, I have got some instruction, some power from my Gurudev, and this is something that I cannot deny.

One time, Gurudev said, "I have taken everything from Acharya Maharaj, I have taken all power from his hands, but still I cannot stop him from doing service. I can take money away from him, I can take position away from him, but I cannot stop him from serving the temple. I have failed to do that." There is some history behind these words.

Srila Gurudev used to keep money with one grihastha person who lived in Paramatala (he already expired), and at some point Gurudev put *** in charge of money. One time, I told Gurudev, "I always pay obeisance to ***, but he does not accept my dandavat." Gurudev told me, "It is OK, you must still offer him pranam every day." I did that. Many months later, when Gurudev came back to Nabadwip, I paid dandavat to ***, but he ran away without saying a word, and this happened in front of Gurudev's house (near the old raised kitchen—the new prasadam hall was not constructed, not even started, at that time; and there is also a jackfruit tree there). Gurudev saw it and called both of us to his room. Then in front of everybody (there were many people present at that time), Gurudev told directly to me, "You must never pay obeisance to *** again. I have seen what he did. I know you have been following my instruction, you have been paying him obeisance all this time, I have seen that today, and I have seen what he did also. Never pay obeisance to him any more." After that, I would still greet ***, offering him obeisance with just folded palms, but when I did it I always remembered Gurudev's instruction. So, at some point, Gurudev made *** the manager of the temple in Nabadwip Dham. He was formally the manager, but I still did all the services—construction, etc. I did not stop my service, I had service in Puri, Bamunpara, I had service in many places. Who will stop me? Gurudev's desire is Gurudev's desire. Then, in the end, Gurudev said, "Everybody tells me, 'Take all charge from Acharya Maharaj!' I did that, but he is still doing service. I cannot stop it. I tried, but I have failed. What can I do?"

You know that I have left the main temple in Nabadwip, but when Gurudev declared me his successor on 4 December 2009, he said soon after that to those who were making disturbance, "All right, if you do not follow my instruction, I will take Acharya Maharaj with me and make another Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip through him."

Another time, Gurudev was here in Sevak Bhavan in Dum Dum Park, where we are staying now, and there were other devotees present at that time, when Gurudev said very clearly, "I have taken away service and managership from Acharya Maharaj, but I cannot stop him from doing service." Then he said to that devotee ***, "You know Acharya Maharaj has taken sannyas, but you do not give him any respect. I have given him the name 'Acharya Maharaj,' but you always call him Vinod. Let it be, but my point is how many people have you brought from the West or from India through preaching? But Acharya Maharaj is bringing people—he goes house to house, preaches and brings thousands of people to me for initiation. How many people have you brought after you took sannyas?" *** was quiet, he did not say anything.

So I am telling everyone clearly. I have not given any instruction to anyone to recite my pranam mantra. Whenever you chant my glorification, I become very shy. Gurudev himself chanted my glorification, he has given his certificate to me, and this is sufficient for me. I do not expect anybody to give me respect, to recite my pranam mantra, etc. Sripad Srutasrava Prabhu (later he took sannyas and became Sripad Vaishnav Maharaj) published what Srila Gurudev said about me in Gaudiya Darshan. I saw it and read it, but I did not feel proud of that. Gurudev said what he wanted to say, it does not affect me. I know my mind is always dirty, I know I cannot keep Gurudev in my heart, but I have faith that Gurudev kept me in his heart. Of that I am sure.

I have to go through so many problems, I have to tolerate so many things, and I am doing that. Before, I could not tolerate anything, but now I am thinking how much I am able to tolerate, and I am still alive, I am still praying for service, I still want to follow devotees' instruction. Some devotees love me, give me respect, but I know they do it only because of Gurudev. I have no qualities—only because of Gurudev they are giving me respect, honour, etc. This is only because of Gurudev. How many disciples do I have, anyway? Almost everyone is Gurudev's disciples. So, I do not tell anyone, "Please, chant my glorification," "Recite my pranam mantra," etc. It is not necessary. If Gurudev gives inspiration to you, then one day you will understand what is what.

So, please understand. You can preach for Gurudev, you can preach Krishna consciousness—you have so much service in this world! So, I am telling to you all—please do not fight about such things. You have so much service in this world—do your service. I have told you before—do your service within your capacity, do not cross the line. This is very dangerous for your spiritual life.

Gurudev says that if you can please your guru, you will get the mercy of the Lord. There are so many services, and it is necessary to have proper instruction. Even if you are staying in a temple, not everything is service. Sometimes, you do something and it is not service, it is karma. You know that the result of karma is karma-bandhan (material bondage), and the result of this bondage is suffering in hell. You will get that. You think that you do something, you think that you are doing everything, but this is asmita (false identification; one of the five material diseases)—it is a mistake; it is wrong to think like this. If something comes to you, it comes to you by the will of the Lord, by the will of Gurudev—service can come to you and you can also lose your service because of offences (seva-aparadh, Vaishnav-aparadh, dhama-aparadh, Nama-aparadh).

Whatever service you do, do not create any trouble—do not use the Guru's name. You know, Gurudev gave me so many instructions, but I never used Gurudev's name. I can give you one example from Gurudev's times.

There is some background history about another devotee *** and his relationship with Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Gurudev told me many things about it. Gurudev kept *** in the temple for the sake of keeping peace and even gave him some manager's service, but actually Gurudev knew that he did not follow him (Srila Govinda Maharaj) because he thought he had come to the temple at the same time as him, but Srila Govinda Maharaj had gone to grihastha life and Srila Sridhar Maharaj later brought him back again to give him the acharyaship, and *** was a brahmachari from his childhood even though Srila Sridhar Maharaj never gave him sannyas. Also, Gurudev told me about the relationship *** had with Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Srila Sridhar Maharaj left this world on a dark moon day (amavasya) of 12 Sravan/August 1988, during the rainy season. Before that, in his lifetime, Srila Sridhar Maharaj had prohibited *** to come upstairs to him. Everybody could come except ***—he could not even come to pay dandavat to Srila Sridhar Maharaj. So, he never went upstairs. Just before Srila Sridhar Maharaj left his body, Srila Sridhar Maharaj was lying down and *** came and touched his hand; Srila Sridhar Maharaj always had his eyes closed, but he had some other, extra, sense—he understood who had touched him and immediately moved his hand away. Everybody was surprised to see it. After that, when Gurudev kept his hand on Srila Sridhar Maharaj's hand, Srila Sridhar Maharaj took his hand and rubbed it on his chest, as if massaging his chest. This was the difference between *** and Gurudev. I am telling some background history to you now.

And the example I wanted to tell you about is this. *** lived on the ground floor of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's bhajan kutir all his life (that is, many years). Some year, *** was sick and I was going to repair the ground floor veranda of that old building of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's bhajan kutir. Aranya Maharaj lived there too, and he moved to Rama Devi's house, behind the building, and I sent *** to a room on the ground floor of the old Western Devotees' Guesthouse. When moving, *** told me, "I will come back to my room when you finish your renovation." Then, I do not know how, but Gurudev got to know about all this and called me from America (it was 2007, and he was abroad) instructing me, "Are you renovating ***'s room?" (I said, "Yes.") "There is a toilet in his room, lock it up! You will understand later." I did not ask why or anything—it was Gurudev's order and I must follow it, I never asked why. Then, I finished the renovation, locked up the toilet in that room, and made there an office. When Gurudev came back from his tour, *** complained, "Why is he not giving my room back? He must give my room back!" Gurudev said, "Oh, you have so much attachment to this room? But what can I do? Acharya Maharaj has closed the toilet! How will you stay there?" You see? How clever Gurudev is! And I never used Gurudev's name—Gurudev told me to close the toilet and I did it, I never mentioned Gurudev's name.

Gurudev gave all responsibility to my shoulders, and I digested everything—all curses, everything, just to please my Guru. Somebody may have cursed me to death, but if somebody curses me or prays for my death because I please my Gurudev, I have no problem with that. If I can please my Gurudev, that is sufficient for me—this is actually everything to me.

* * *

Gupta Govardhan and Other Esoteric Pastimes

Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 5

Question: Are you going to celebrate Govardhan Puja in Nabadwip or Tarakeshwar tomorrow?

No, no. I am at Dum Dum Park. I have Deities here... I am a fallen soul, I have no quality to worship Govardhan—I always worship Doyal Nitai... "Who does this fallen soul have in this world besides Nityananda Prabhu?"

Question: How should we understand 'Gupta' [hidden] Govardhan? Is it only one place on earth or more than one?

Gupta Govardhan is in many holy places. Our Param Gurudev Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj said that Nabadwip Dham is non-different from Vrindavan Dham. There are nine islands in Nabadwip, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj discovered the aparadh-bhanjan-pat and Gupta Govardhan in Koladwip. It is Govardhan as it is, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj himself identified Sri Govinda Kunda and said that it was Gupta Govardhan. After that, by Srila Gurudev's mercy, owing to the inspiration of Srila Sridhar Maharaj and Srila Gurudev, Govinda Kunda manifested itself very beautifully.

Other than that, there is Gupta Govardhan in many other places. When we visit Nabadwip, we see also two kundas—Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda—in Sri Chaitanya Math. Also we see Shyama Kunda and Radha Kunda in Ritudwip—they are still not properly manifested, but we believe it is Ritudwip according to what the scriptures say and according to what Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said also. When Nityananda Prabhu did Nabadwip Dham parikrama with Srila Jiva Goswami, He came to that place and declared that it was Ritudwip and that Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda were there.

Three days ago I went to Ekachakra (you know that many people visit our Ekachakra temple, especially during the parikrama time). There is also some hidden place in Ekachakra where they say that there is also Govardhan. So, there is Gupta Govardhan even in Nityananda Prabhu's Ekachakra Dham. They actually told me, "Please come and see that place. Do you want to buy that land?" I replied, "I cannot buy the whole world." [His Divine Grace laughs.]

So, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj identified Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math temple as Gupta Govardhan, so we respect that place as Gupta Govardhan. Gurudev made there the temple and called it Gupta Govardhan. This temple is inside Govardhan. Later, Giriraj also came to Govinda Kunda—by His own will, Govardhan came here. Also, in Srila Sridhar Swami Seva Ashram in Govardhan, Gurudev found Giriraj during land cultivation and a panda (priest) recognised it as Giriraj, so Gurudev called the temple "Temple of Anu-Giriraj." The name of the Deity of Giriraj in our Govardhan temple is Anu-Giriraj ('anu' means 'small', therefore 'Small Giriraj').

Also, we hear that Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur called Chatak Parvat in Sri Puri Dham also 'Gupta Govardhan.'

Question: You said earlier that whenever Srimati Radharani wants to appear, She cannot appear without Yamuna, Govardhan, etc. Is that so that wherever Srimati Radharani and Krishna are, there must be also Gupta Govardhan?

There is Yamuna in Nabadwip, there is Radharani also in Nabadwip. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had taken sannyas, He came to the Ganges and, thinking it was the Yamuna, He prayed and recited the pranam mantra of the Yamuna. Then, suddenly He saw Advaita Acharya there. He became disturbed, "Why do I see Advaita Acharya here? How could he have come to Vrindavan so quickly?" Then, Advaita Acharya explained, "Prabhu, wherever You are, that is Vrindavan, that is the Yamuna. Besides, here, the west side of the river is Yamuna, and the east side is the Ganga. So, what is the problem?"

gangaya yamuna vahe hana eka-dhara
paschime yamuna vahe, purve ganga-dhara

"Advaita Acharya then explained that at that spot the Ganges and Yamuna flow together. On the western side was the Yamuna, and on the eastern side was the Ganges."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.3.36)

Also, when Haridas Thakur left his body in Puri Dham and his body was bathed in the ocean, Mahaprabhu declared, "Now this samudra (ocean) is a maha-tirtha!" Maha-tirtha means that all holy places descended there, so the Yamuna, the Ganga, everything is there. You can also see Sveta-Ganga of Sri Ganga Mata Goswamini—Ganga appeared there by the will of Lord Jagannath.

Question: I am also remembering the pastime of Srila Sanatan Goswami and mosquitos...

Yes, that is a pastime related to Chakleshwar Mahadev and it happened on the bank of Manasi Ganga in Govardhan. Krishna personally brought the Ganges to Govardhan, and Chakleshwar Mahadev resides there, on the bank of that Manasi Ganga. Srila Sanatan Goswami was doing his bhajan there, but at some point so many mosquitos started disturbing him that he could not stay there any longer. He prayed to Chakleshwar Mahadev and after that by the mercy of Mahadev all mosquitos were removed from there and Srila Sanatan Goswami happily stayed there doing his bhajan. There are many Mahadevs—this happened with Chakleshwar Mahadev, and there is also Bhuteshwar, Kameshwar, Gopeshwar, Chakleshwar, there is also another Mahadev called 'Asheshwar Mahadev' in Ter-kadamba where Mahadev is waiting to see Gopal...

* * *

Internal and External Evolution

Sri Govardhan Puja Adhivas day
Kolkata—Worldwide, 15 November 2020, part 6

Question: I was reading a book where it is said that sraddha is faith, and nistha is also faith...

No, nistha means sincerity. It means always doing your service—no matter what kind of problems may come, you will not leave your service. Today doing, tomorrow not doing—not like that. You are an eternal servant, you are not a servant for two hours. You must identify yourself as an eternal servant.

Devotee: It is also said there that as a consequence of not chanting with attention, devotees become lazy, lose enthusiasm, and use up the facilities of their devotional life.

Yes, that is correct. It is very easy to understand this. Sometimes, devotees do not feel enthusiasm because not everybody has the same qualities, not everybody has the same enthusiasm. So, sometimes, somebody becomes lazy or late, etc. It happens. I can give you an example. Suppose you must come to the train station to catch an eight o'clock train, but because of your laziness you reach the station fifteen minutes late. The train has already left, and you may have no patience and become angry, "Ugh, I am going back home!" and somebody else may think, "Well, I will wait for the next train. When the next train comes, I can catch it, never mind I am late." So, there are these three kinds of people (who catch the right train, who catch the train but late, and those who have no patience and simply give up). Everybody wants to get to their destination, but some come late or miss their train...

It is said in the scriptures,

jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati
krmayo rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksanam
trimsal-laksani pasavah chatur-laksani manusah

"There are 900,000 species living in the water. There are also 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities, such as trees and plants. There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles, and there are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned, there are 3,000,000 varieties, and there are 400,000 human species."

(Parma Purana)

There are 3,000,000 kinds of beasts and 400,000 kinds of human species. By a great fortune, we not only have got a human body, but we have also got the association of our Gurudev. We may not have been born in India, but we have still got the association of Gurudev and the association of Vaishnavs who are enriched with great qualities. Through this association we can reach our real goal. Where is that place? That place is Goloka Vrindavan. There, you can get anything you ask for. If you ask a banana tree for an apple, you will get it; if you ask a jackfruit tree for a mango, you will get a mango. That place is so sweet—there is happiness, joy, transcendental love and beauty in that place. Everything is there. We always hanker for something in this world, we always hanker for love and affection and we fight so much in this world for love and affection, but we can easily get it all there, in Goloka Vrindavan, if you can reach it.

Devotee: The term that is used in the book is 'taranga-rangini'...

Yes, I always say 'taranga-sraddha.' 'Taranga' means 'a wave'. When there is a festival, like Gaura Purnima, so many people come from all over Bengal, India and the West—so many people come, join and chant, "Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol!" They become engulfed by this wave (taranga) and enjoy with it (rangini), but after the festival finishes, they go back to maya—they become attacked by the illusory environment. This is what is called taranga-sraddha, or taranga-rangini. ('Taranga' means 'a wave,' and 'rangini' means getting much pleasure when a wave comes.)

When we sing, we feel so much pleasure that we forget our house, we forget everything. When we do parikrama, we forget everything at that time. That is why, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says,

ara ye samsara mora nahi lage bhala
kanha yai, krsna heri e chinta visala

And I do not like this material world any more. Where shall I go to see Krishna? This is my biggest concern.

(Sri Siksastakam Giti, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Question: (from a young devotee): Why do animals have to be human to chant Hare Krishna? They can speak their own language and could chant in their own language.

Everybody wants to evolve and develop. An animal's brain is not the same as a human body's brain. If you tell an animal to chant Hare Krishna, it will not be able to chant. Perhaps, there are some birds, like parrots, that can chant Hare Krishna, but as soon as you threat them, they will make a lot of bird's noise. It happens like this even in this human world. Gurudev also says that somebody can be chanting Hare Krishna, but if you give them a slap or punch them into the stomach, they will not chant Hare Krishna—they will cry, "Oh, it hurts!" and call out, "O mother! O father!" However, if somebody has a proper brain, then they will not leave chanting Hare Krishna—no matter what condition comes, they will always chant the Holy Name.

It is said in scriptures (all the rishis and munis say) that one gets a human body after having changed so many other bodies. Moreover, even Lord Krishna Himself says that from all His pastimes, His human body pastimes are His favourite ("Krsnera yateka khela sarvottama nara-lila, nara-vapu tahara svarupa. There are so many pastimes of Lord Krishna, but among all these pastimes, His human pastimes are the highest. His original form is that of a human being.")

Krishna appears as Nrisinghadev, Varahadev, Vamandev, Jagannath, but Krishna says that His pastimes in a human body are His favourite and very dear to Him. Even Krishna Himself prefers a human body.

So, birds, beasts, etc. are evolving, they are developing their brain and knowledge, and after that they may get a human body one day through some sukriti. Even when one gets a human body, one can still go down and get a cat's or a dog's body after that.

When you grow up a little, you will understand it, and you can also gradually read more and more. Actually, you can understand everything by the mercy of Gurudev, it does not depend on your age—it depends on your sukriti, faith, and association. Children can get a great benefit through their parents' association. This is how they will develop a proper mood. You know, Vyasadev's son Sukadev Goswami was sixteen years old and he possessed all knowledge. In Mahaprabhu's time also there was His associate (parsada), Sivananda Sen's son Puri Das—he also got that kind of knowledge and brain, he could at once recite Srimad Bhagavatam slokas in front of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, even thought he was only five or seven years old at that time.

OK, I am finishing here for today. Please accept my obeisance and forgive my offences.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.

* * *

Core of Life

Kolkata—Worldwide, 22 November 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
All the sannyasi-vrinda ki jay
All the brahmachari, all the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

Please accept my humble obeisance. We are meeting with you all today again this week. Today is also some Vaishnavs' disappearance day—today is the disappearance day of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami, Sri Dhananjaya Pandit, and Sri Acharya Srinivas Prabhu. It is a very nice day. We must always remember disappearance and appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life.

I can see that all the devotees are here today. Actually, I have come today from Tarakeshwar. I went to a preaching programme the day before yesterday and stayed in Tarakeshwar temple for two days. I always come to Kolkata on Sunday for this programme (zoom class) with you all so that I can see all the foreign devotees and meet with them. It gives me very much energy and enthusiasm. I feel my practising life becomes very perfect owing to this association of the devotees. We always want good association. We always want the association of the grantha-bhagavat (scriptures embodying Bhagavatam) and Vaishnav-bhagavat (Vaishnavs embodying Bhagavatam)—if we can get this kind of association, it is very good for us.

Today is the disappearance of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami. He is an associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but this is not the same person as Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami who we mention in Pancha-tattva ("Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasadi Gaura bhakta-vrinda"). Sri Gadadhar Das and Sri Gadadhar Pandit are not the same person. Sometimes people make this mistake forgetting and thinking Sri Gadadhar Pandit and Sri Gadadhar Das are perhaps the same person, but it is not so. Sri Gadadhar Pandit is one of the Pancha-tattva and an incarnation of Srimati Radharani; and today is the disappearance of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami, this is another personality. He is also a nice devotee.

Today is also Srila Acharya Srinivas Prabhu's disappearance day. When we go to Ekachakra from Nabadwip, we pass Jajigram on the way—this is the birthplace of Srinivas Acharya. It is near Katwa, where Mahaprabhu took sannyas. We sometimes stop there and come to pay obeisance at his birthplace. So, today is the disappearance day of this Srila Srinivas Acharya Prabhu.

All Vaishnavs, all guru-varga, all associates of Mahaprabhu come to this world to give some nourishment to such fallen souls as myself. Otherwise, if such personalities did not come to this world, what hope would we have? All conditioned jiva souls are always attacked by the illusory environment, and it requires an exalted personality to rescue them from this condition. Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Gurudev also came to this world and gave us very much nourishment—they spread the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the message of Srila Prabhupad all over the world. Who is capable of telling it? Everybody, all guru-varga, said about Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "If you want to hear Hari-katha from Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, you must go to Srila Sridhar Maharaj." So, the Hari-katha that Srila Sridhar Maharaj spoke in this world is meant for the benefit of all jiva souls—he gave us the highest, the most perfect things. We must understand this.

Dandavat, Srila Ashram Maharaj. Please accept my humble obeisance, Maharaj.

Srila Ashram Maharaj: Dandavat, please accept my humble obeisance at your lotus feet. How is your health, Maharaj?

I am OK, just a little tired today because I have just returned from Tarakeshwar—there was a programme nearby on Friday, all the devotees joined it, there were some initiations also. I gave a class on Friday and Saturday evening at the temple. I left Tarakeshwar this morning, after breakfast, visited one devotee's house (the devotee is a little sick, so I met with him) and then came here to Dum Dum Park because today is Sunday and I do not want to miss your association. I have told everybody, "Wherever I am staying, I must come back to Dum Dum Park on Sunday"—it is important for me because I am meeting all the devotees, I see their faces and get their good association, it is good for my practising life.

We are all practitioners. "Sisya thakibo sarvada. We will always be disciples." These are Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's words. We always want to be disciples. This is our mood. We will always be disciples, not masters—we do not want to be masters, we always want to be disciples. This is very important.

I also visit different temples and see that despite the pandemic situation they are getting so much enthusiasm to practise and preach. Almost all temples are now going on parikramas every day. It is Kartik month, Damodar month now, so devotees go on parikrama every day early in the morning. They do this in Nrisingha Palli, Bankura, Tarakeshwar, Ganga Sagar, Midnapore, Siliguri and some villages also. Devotees come together and go on parikrama during this Damodar month. It is also very nice climate now—it is not too hot and not too cold.

So, I try to encourage everyone. It is good to do such parikramas. "Ara kota kal ghumaibe maya-pisachira kole. How much longer are you going to sleep on the lap of this witch Maya?" All the people of this world are sleeping in the lap of Maya, so if they hear some Harinam sankirtan, they can get some benefit through devotees. This is necessary for conditioned souls, otherwise how will they understand in this life what this human body is for, what they have got this human body for? If they do not understand it properly, if they live and use their human life on living like cats and dogs—if they only sleep, enjoy and run behind money, wealth, property, kanak (money), kamini (women), pratistha (fame)—what will become of them? They must understand what they have got this life, this human body for. This body is meant only for the service to the Lord and to the Lord's devotees. This is the main thing they should understand. These conditioned jiva souls, wasted by Kali, are too much engrossed in the material world, they cannot even sacrifice their life for the service of their Lord. That is why we must go and preach more and more, and this is what devotees are doing now in this situation.

* * *

Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami

Expanded based on Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata
Kolkata—Worldwide, 22 November 2020, part 2

Today is Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami's disappearance. As I have already told, Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami and Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami are not the same personality. Our Srila Param Guru Maharaj Srila Sridhar Maharaj wrote an article about Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami, and he expressed there very nice, the highest things about Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami who is an incarnation of Srimati Radharani. I read that yesterday. And today is the disappearance day of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami.

Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami is an eternal associate of Sriman Mahaprabhu and Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. At first, he lived in Katwa (where Mahapabhu took sannyas), and later, after Mahaprabhu's disappearance, he moved to a village on the bank of the Ganges. He had one brahman disciple named Yadunandan Chakravarti. In Sri Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, that is written by Kavi Karnapur (Puri Das, Sivananda Sen's son), he is stated to be the incarnation of bodily beauty of Srimati Radharani. Although he was a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, he did not manifest sakhya-rasa (friendship), instead he manifested the mood of a gopi (madhura-rasa)—sitting on the bank of the Ganges, he would scoop some Ganges water into a pot, put it on his head, and, going village to village, cry out with a laugh, "Who wants to buy some milk?", "Who wants to buy some yoghurt?"

When Sriman Mahaprabhu ordered Sriman Nityananda Prabhu to preach Krishna consciousness in Bengal, He sent Sri Ram-das and Sri Gadadhar-das to Gauda-desh with Sriman Nityananda Prabhu.

Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur tells that "Gadadhar Das's glory is such that Sriman Nityananda Prabhu Himself resides in his body." Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur also describes a pastime in which Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami delivers the Kazi of Endiyadaha who vehemently opposed sankirtan:

One day, overwhelmed by divine love for the Lord, Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami came to the house of Kazi chanting sankirtan and said, "Where is that Kazi? Come, chant the Holy Name at once, otherwise I will cut your neck!" Furious, Kazi came out to him, but seeing the divine form and mood of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami, he became astounded and his anger subsided. Kazi said then,

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak to you," answered Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami.

"What do you want to say?" asked Kazi.

"Gaura-Nityananda have appeared on this earth and are giving the Holy Name to anyone and everyone, but why are you not taking this nectarian Holy Name?"

"Go home, I will take it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why not today? I have come to give you the Holy Name and to rescue you. Take this supremely beneficial Holy Name! It will rescue you from all your sins today!"

Kazi felt embarrassed to refuse him, so he sniggered, "Well, I will say 'Hari' tomorrow."

Then, hearing Kazi say 'Hari', Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami became overwhelmed by divine love and said, "Now why tomorrow? You have just said 'Hari'! All your sins have been removed, you have become supremely pure." Saying this, Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami began to dance.

In this way, Kazi became purified and took shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami. At the end, Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur concludes, "Saintly persons did not want to be touched by the air that touched the Kazi, for they felt that such contact would make them lose their caste. Yet, Gadadhar Das Mahasaya glanced mercifully on that most sinful Kazi, who took away the caste of any Hindu he encountered. When such a person gives up his envious nature, it is to be understood that this is the potency of Krishna consciousness."

This was how Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami delivered many sinners and inauspicious people by bestowing the Holy Name upon them.

Such is Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami's glory.

* * *

Appearance of Acharya Srinivas

Kolkata—Worldwide, 22 November 2020, part 3

Acharya Srinivas's father was a very nice brahman, his name is Gangadhar Bhattacharya. When Mahaprabhu came to Katwa to take sannyas, so many people come at that time to see Mahaprabhu because He was a beautiful young boy, He had long nice hair, etc. and now He was going to be shaven and He would accept the renounced order of life... Every body was broken-hearted and wailed seeing the scene. Somehow, the barber named Srimadhu managed to shave Him—seeing that, Gangadhar Bhattacharya, the father of Acharya Srinivas, fell on the ground senseless. Later, when Keshav Bharati gave Mahaprabhu sannyas and announced His Name, "Sri Krishna Chaitanya," Gangadhar Bhattacharya became crazy and only kept saying all the time, "Sri Krishna Chaitanya! Sri Krishna Chaitanya! Sri Krishna Chaitanya!" This is how, after that, his name became Chaitanya Das.

After accepting sannyas, Mahaprabhu visited Chaitanya Das's house and later, when Mahaprabhu stayed in Puri, Chaitanya Das also came with his wife (Acharya Srinivas's mother) to see Mahaprabhu. When Chaitanya Das came to Mahaprabhu, he began to cry and fell at His feel in obeisance. Mahaprabhu greeted them and said, "Jagannath has brought you here, go now to take the darshan of Jagannath"—and Mahaprabhu sent His servitor Govinda Das with them to take them to the temple of Lord Jagannath. At that time, Acharya Srinivas was not yet born, and Mahaprabhu understood why they had come to Him—Mahaprabhu told Govinda, "Govinda, I know what they have come to Puri for. They came to see Jagannath to ask for a son. I know that." So, later, Mahaprabhu told Chaitanya Das, "Do not worry, you will get a good son, and I can give him the name—his name will be Srinivas." Then, Mahaprabhu added, "I will publish many devotional scriptures through Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatan, but who will distribute those scriptures? Srinivas will do that." In this way, Mahaprabhu predicted the future.

Having received Mahaprabhu's blessing and mercy, Chaitanya Das and his wife returned to their house in Gaura-desh. Their son was born in the month of Vaisakha, on a purnima day, at the auspicious time of Rohini naksatra (constellation). Seeing his beautiful son, Chaitanya Das immediately declared, "I will give this son to the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu for His service."

* * *

Acharya Srinivas: Collecting Mercy

Kolkata—Worldwide, 22 November 2020, part 4

There is a place called Srikhand, which is the place of Sri Narahari Thakur and Govinda Gosh Thakur, and Srinivas Acharya received their mercy from his childhood. Later, when Acharya Srinivas's father left his body, Srinivas and his mother then came to his mother's family house in Jajigram.

Because Acharya Srinivas had got Mahaparbhu's mercy, everybody, all brahmans were charmed to see Acharya Srinivas's erudition and good qualities. When Acharya Srinivas visited Sri Narahari Thakur in Srikhand, Sri Narahari Thakur told him everything about Sriman Mahaprabhu, about His pastimes. Listening to these narrations, Srinivas Acharya would cry.

Some time later, he went with some devotees to Sri Puri Dham. He stayed there in the house of a panda, near the Simhadvar. Gadadhar Pandit Goswami was there at that time—upon meeting him, Acharya Srinivas cried. At that time, many devotees—Sri Ramananda, Sarvabhauma Pandit, Vakreswar Pandit, Paramananda Puri, Sri Sikhi Mahiti, Govinda, Sankar, Gopinath Acharya—would gather at Gadadhar Pandit's house and would discuss Mahaprabhu's message and pastimes, and Srinivas Acharya was present there. Seeing Srinivas Acharya's nature everybody understood that he was Mahaprabhu's associate and in future would distribute Mahaprabhu's scripture all over the world. In this way, Srinivas Acharya stayed in Sri Puri Dham for several days and saw all the places of Mahaprabhu's pastimes. He visited also Ksir-chor Gopinath, Saksi-Gopal, and many other places.

After some time, Srinivas Acharya left Sri Puri Dham and as he travelling from Sri Puri Dham, he got a message that Gadadhar Pandit had left his body. That day, Gadadhar Pandit came to see him at night in a dream. Then, Srinivas Acharya went to Gaura Dham (Sri Nabadwip Dham), and a few days later he received another message that Advaita Acharya and Nityananda Prabhu had also left. Hearing the news, Srinivas Acharya cried so much. Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Acharya came to him in a dream and said, "Do not cry, you have such a great duty to preach Mahaprabhu's message in this world." After that, Srinivas Acharya again came to Srikhanda and met with Raghunandan Thakur. He got Raghunandan Thakur's mercy and then came to Mayapur to see Mahaprabhu's birthplace.

In Mayapur, Vamsivadan Thakur took Srinivas Acharya to the lotus feet of Sri Vishnupriya Devi. When he saw Vishnupriya Devi, he was very charmed. He cried and paid obeisances to her. Vishnupriya Devi bestowed some mercy on him and told him to stay and take prasadam. After that, Srinivas Acharya went to Shantipur. He knew that Advaita Prabhu had left, so he only saw Sita Rani there. Sita Rani cried bitterly from the separation from Gauranga Mahaprabhu and now Sri Advaita Acharya also. Sri Sita Thakurani also gave her blessings and mercy to Srinivas Acharya...

So many things happened in his life. Eventually, he came to Vrindavan where he stayed with Srila Jiva Goswami, where he met Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami. Srila Jiva Goswami told Srinivas Acharya, "You need to read Srimad Bhagavatam," and Srinivas Acharya captured the gist of Srimad Bhagavatam within only a few days. Seeing this, Srila Jiva Goswami said, "You are not only Srinivas. I have seen how much expertise you have in Srimad Bhagavatam. You can actually teach it to others. That is why, I am giving you the name 'Acharya'. From today, you are Srinivas Acharya." Before that, Srinivas was famous throughout the Gaudiya Vaishnav society as Srinivas, but now his name became Srinivas Acharya.

* * *

Acharya Srinivas: Rescuing Scriptures

Kolkata—Worldwide, 22 November 2020, part 5

One day, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu gave an order to Srila Narottam Das Thakur, Srinivas Acharya, Raghav Goswami, and others to visit various forests of Vrindavan to see the places of Krishna's pastimes. (Sri Kavi Karnapur writes that Sri Raghav Goswami is an incarnation of Champakalata, Srimati Radharani's friend.) Sri Narahari Chakravarti describes in Sri Bhakti-ratnakar how Srinivas Acharya, Narottam Das Thakur and Raghav Goswami travelled throughout forty-eight krosh of Vrindavan, what places they visited, etc. So many things are written about Acharya Srinivas.

There is a famous pastime of Srila Srinivas Acharya and Raja Birhambir. Srila Srinivas Acharya, Srila Narottam Das Thakur, and Srila Shyamananda Prabhu were once travelling with all the books of Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami, and others. (At that time, Muslim rules were disturbing very much and destroyed Hindu holy books, so to preserve the scriptures, devotees took them away to a safe place.) Now, King Birhambir had an astrologer who said that some people were travelling nearby and they had very valuable things in their trunk. Raja Birhambir thought that there must have been much money in the truck, so he sent some dacoits to steal that trunk. When the Vaishnavs realised that the trunk had been stolen, they were mortified; they kept searching for it everywhere, but they did not find it. Everybody thought, "What is the will of the Lord? What is going to happen now?" After a while, Srila Narottam Das Thakur went to Khetari Dham (Bengladesh), Srila Shyamananda Prabhu went to Kalna to the house of his Gurudev (Hriday Chaitanya Prabhu), and Srila Srinivas Acharya stayed in the area and kept looking for the lost books. One day, he heard that the king of that village area (King Birhambir), who lived in Vishnupur, was a ring leader of dacoits and somehow it was suggested that the king could have stolen the trunk.

In the meantime, when King Birhambir got the trunk and opened it, he saw that there was no money there, only a great number of books. Just by seeing those books and touching them—just by merely seeing Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu's handwriting—all sins of the king were removed and his heart became pure. Such was the effect of merely touching those books. After that, the king closed the trunk and kept it in some safe place. As his heart had become pure, the king began to worry, "What have I done? I have stolen all these books, I am giving pain to devotees. What will happen now?" Later that day, at night, he saw a dream—an astonishingly beautiful man came to him, his moon-like face was laughing, "Do not worry, I am coming to meet with you. I will be pleased with you internally, and you will be the Lord's eternal servant, birth after birth."

When Srila Srinivas Acharya came to Vishnupur, he met a brahman named Krishna Vallabha Prabhu. Srila Srinivas Acharya was very pleased with him and gave him initiation. He also gave some Bhagavatam class and chanted kirtan in the area, and when the king heard about it, he invited him to give a Bhagavatam class at his house. Srila Srinivas Acharya agreed and came to the house of Birhambir. Birhambir welcomed Srila Srinivas Acharya with a full obeisance, he offered him a good asan and offered some worship, flowers to him. After that, Srila Srinivas Acharya started his class of Srimad Bhgavatam. As he recited the first slokas and started the class, hearing it, Raja Birhambir began to cry. ("Darsane pavitra kara ei tomara guna: you purify souls simply by seeing them, such is your power.") Birhambir's heart melted. When Acharya Srinivas finished the class, he started Nama-sankirtan and began to dance, and King Birhambir offered a full obeisance to Srila Srinivas Acharya and embraced him. After that, he gave all the books back to Srila Srinivas Acharya. This is how Srila Srinivas Acharya rescued all the books.

There are so many things written about Srila Srinivas Acharya—how he met with Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, Ramachandra Kaviraj, and so many other events. We have no time to read all of it right now, but I am telling some of the things about his life.

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

('Jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa mahasaya')

* * *

Take Care of Yourself

Kolkata—Worldwide, 22 November 2020, part 6

Question: I have had many dreams of a devotee who has left her body. In the dreams, she comes and tells me that she is very afraid. What can be done?

Chant the Holy Name more, that will do it. Chanting the Holy Name destroys all obstacles. Chant the Holy Name, that is the main thing. Always chant the Holy Name, and do not think so much about her, it is not necessary. What happened, happened, it is not necessary to dwell on that. Krishna always takes care of His devotees. You must believe this properly, and you must have faith in Gurudev, in Guru-Vaishnav-Bhagavan. Always remember your Guru, Vaishnavs and the Lord, and all obstacles will go away. Sometimes, somebody is on their deathbed and a few days before that they may dream about some things, but you should not take such things very seriously. It is normal.

Question: Some devotees do not want to associate with me because of a mistake I made in the past. How can I rebuild my relationship with the devotees?

If somebody thinks they have made a mistake, then they should ask for forgiveness and all the devotees should give them chance to rectify themselves. It is devotees' duty to do that. Gurudev often said, "If a Vaishnav cannot forgive somebody, then what kind of Vaishnav is it?" So, we always make mistakes, we are human beings, and everybody makes mistakes, but it does not mean you must ostracise the person. If somebody realises they have made a mistake, it is good for them. Everybody can make a mistake and everybody can repent for their mistake, so it is necessary to restore the relationship to what it was before. As for your behaviour, you must do your duty and always be humble—always pay obeisances to devotees, always behave humbly. Other than that, what will you do? It is not necessary to think so much—be good and a good result will come to you.

Are there any other question?

Question: When the soul leaves the body, where does Paramatma go?

Where the soul goes depends on its karma—sometimes it gets another body according to what karma they did, and if they do proper service, then they will not get another body. Gurudev says that if you practise properly in this human body, then you will get to your real home. So, if you try to practise Krishna consciousness properly, if you serve Gurudev, Vaishnavs, and the Lord properly, then your jiva soul will go to its own home—to Goloka Vrindavan, where it has come from.

Devotee: I meant where Paramatma will go...

What does Paramatma have to do with it? I am talking about atma. Paramatma stays closeby. Where would Paramatma go? Atma and Paramatma is not the same—atma is a part of Paramatma. Where would Paramatma go? Paramatma goes to the place of Paramatma, and atma gets another body according to its karma, otherwise it goes to the Lord where it resides with the Lord.

Question: How can I give you some love and affection so that you can tolerate everything that you have to go through because of us?

You are good devotees, you have so much love and affection for me, I am always in your heart, and that is my great fortune. I am also trying to keep you in my heart. Devotees' love and affection always give me enthusiasm.

Always do service, always think about your Guru, think about your spiritual life. This is what I want from you. Devotees go to work, but they must think about their spiritual life—they must set some time for their spiritual life, spiritual benefit. They must think about their spiritual benefit. This a great fortune for them, and this is the main thing in their spiritual life.

Today is a very sad day (disappearance of three great Vaishnavs), and we remember and can try to glorify all acharyas, that is good for our spiritual life. Always remember,

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."

('Jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa mahasaya')

We must earnestly glorify great souls, this is very important.

* * *

Ongoing Agenda

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 1

By the mercy of Gurudev, I am today in Nrisingha Palli. I came here from Kolkata the day before yesterday. I know that it is our zoom programme today, but I also had so much service here at the construction site today and there is still much left to do tomorrow—as Sripad Sadhu Maharaj also came with me (he was driving) and he took his computer with him, I asked him to check if it was possible to get a good signal here, and it turned out that the connection here is very nice. There is no connection in my room (on the second floor), but here, on the top floor, in the newly built rooms, the connection is good. So, I am giving this online class today, there is also some class scheduled tomorrow at six in the evening, tomorrow I will be again busy with the construction service here, after that on the way to Kolkata there is a preaching programme that I will attend, there are also two more programmes on Tuesday and Wednesday, then there is another programme on Friday, and another one in Kakdwip near Ganga Sagar (a new place) on Sunday. So, next week is going to be very busy. I am happy to be able to be here today.

I would like to sing one song from Saranagati first. We always sing 'Gurudev krpa bindu diya' and 'Sri Guru-charana-padma,' but whenever I come to Nrisingha Palli I remember this song written by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, who also stayed in Godrumdwip. We will try to sing that song today. [His Divine Grace then sings,]

gurudeva!
bada krpa kari', gauda-vana-majhe
godrume diyacha sthana
ajna dila more, ei vraje vasi',
harinama kara gana

Gurudev! Bestowing a great mercy on me, you have given me a place in Sri Godrumdwip amidst the forests of Gauda. You ordered me: "Reside in this abode which is non-different from Vraja and chant the Lord's Name."

kintu kabe prabho, yogyata arpibe,
e dasere daya kari'
chitta sthira habe, sakala sahiba,
ekante bhajiba hari [2]

But when, O master, will you mercifully grant this servant the qualification to do this? Then my heart will become steadfast, I will tolerate everything, and I will serve the Lord sincerely.

saisava-yauvane, jada-sukha-sange,
abhyasa ha-ila manda
nija-karma-dose, e deha ha-ila,
bhajanera pratibandha [3]

In my childhood and youth, I always indulged in material happiness and I have become habituated to bad things. Because of my own sins, this body has become an impediment to spiritual practice.

vardhakye ekhana, pancha-roge hata,
kemane bhajiba bala'
kandiya kandiya, tomara charane
padiyachhi suvihvala [4]

Now aged, I am afflicted by five-fold diseases. Tell me, how shall I serve? Crying incessantly, I have fallen at your feet, utterly bewildered.

[In response to some comment:] We cannot conceive that we may have the quality to serve Srimati Radharani. Personally, I do not have any quality of that kind to be a servant of Srimati Radharani. Srimati Radharani is very far. We are trying to be servants of Srimati Radharani's servants—this is the main thing for us. Even then, I do not know if it is possible in this life or not. It is very difficult to attain such service. "Radhara dasira Krsna sarva-vede bole—Krishna is the property of the maidservants of Srimati Radharani. All the Vedas say this." Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur also always prays to Srimati Radharani's kinkarir dasi (servants of Srimati Radharani's maidservants). Our Param Guru Maharaj Srila Sridhar Maharaj told about Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur,

srigauranumatam svarupaviditam rupagrajenadrtam
rupadyaih parivesitam raghuganairasvaditam sevitam
jivadyair abhiraksitam sukasivabrahmadi sammanitam
sriradhapadasevanamrtam aho tad datum iso bhavan

"What was sanctioned by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by His descent was intimately known only to Sri Svarupa Damodara Goswami. It was adored by Sanatan Goswami and served by Rupa Goswami and his followers. Raghunatha Das Goswami tasted that wonderful thing fully and enhanced it with his own realization. And Jiva Goswami supported and protected it by quoting the scriptures from different places. The taste of that divine truth is aspired for by Brahma, Siva, and Uddhava, who respect it as the supreme goal of life. What is this wonderful truth? Sri radhapadasevana: that the highest nectar of our life is the service of Srimati Radharani. This is most wonderful. O Bhakti Vinoda Thakur, you are our master. It is within your power to allow them to bestow their grace upon us. You are in a position to bestow the highest gift ever known to the world upon us all. It is at your disposal. O Bhaktivinod Thakur, please be kind to us and grant us your mercy."

It is a very nice sloka. As you know, it is from Sri Bhaktivinod-viraha-dasakam that was written by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. When Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur saw it, he was very happy. Srila Prabhupad himself said about this poem to Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "This was not written by you—this is written by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur himself. Happy style."

* * *

Sober Householder Life

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 2

Prabhu, you learned so many things when you were in Nabadwip—I know that you practised properly at that time and you were engaged full-time in the service to Gurudev's mission... When people develop too much familiarity, they stop getting time to practise properly and preach, this is how people who stay at the temple sometimes leave and go to family life. What becomes of them after that? They enjoy well for a few days, but after that so much suffering and austerity comes to their life, so in the end they get no time to practise and preach so much.

This is why I am telling to everyone—the minimum requirement for all householders is 50/50. It means you must give 50% of your labour to your family and minimum 50% to your Gurudev, to preaching and practising. You must spend minimum 50% of your time on service and spiritual life. You must follow this.

'samsara' 'samsara' kari' michhe gela kala
labha na ha-ila kichhu, ghatila janjala

"Time has passed as I have been busy in my material life, and I have got nothing—only became burdened."

kisera samsara ei chhayabaji praya
ihate mamata kari vrtha dina yaya

"What sort of world is this? It seems to be just some sort of a magic lantern (deceptive show). While I affectionately take it as my own, days pass by in vain."

dina yaya michha kaje, nisa nidra-vase
nahi bhavi marana nikate achhe vase

"My days are passed in useless work and nights are wasted on sleeping. It never occurs to me that there is death sitting next to me."

It is easy to understand the meaning. If you can understand the meaning of this song, you can easily understand what I am saying. The problem is that although we know it, sometimes through emotion or through the result of our karma, we still plunge into material life and family life. There is one proverb in Bengali that goes, "Janma-mrtyu-biye tin Vidhatar niye." There are three things—janma means birth, mrityu means death, and biye means marriage—and these three things are not in the hand of anybody, they are only in the hands of the Lord, they come through the Lord. People always like to say this in Bengal.

Our Param Gurudev, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, laughed and told also that when he was born an astrologer predicted that he would become a sannyasi, but after that, as you know, it was the will of his mother and father that he would get married—he did not agree to marry, but his parents forced him so much that in the end he was bound to take a wife. Later, Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave him relief because Srila Sridhar Maharaj wanted to join Sri Chaitanya Math (Srila Prabhupad's Gaudiya Mission), but he could not come because his wife was alive at that time (they had no children, but his wife was there). One way or another, by the will of Prabhupad, his wife died. Recalling this, Srila Sridhar Maharaj laughed, "I got married by the will of the Lord, by the will of my parents, but my horoscope said I would be a sannyasi, so how could it be possible?" In the end, by the will of Srila Prabhupad, some disease came and Srila Sridhar Maharaj's wife got sick and left her body within three days. How is it possible? Srila Sridhar Maharaj was in Kolkata at that time when a message came that his wife was sick and his family members requested him to come quickly, and when he started off, on the way from Kolkata, he got another message saying his wife had died.

So, while, yes, these things (birth, death, marriage) are the will of Krishna, we must have a strong desire to preach. Even if you live as a householder, you can still try to preach. It is possible. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's life is an example for us. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur had eleven(!) children, he lived householder life wearing babaji-vesh, but the way he lived was more than even a sannyasi's life. His lifestyle was extremely sober, it was more than a sannyasi's life.

I heard from Gurudev also that Sripad Kunja Babu from Sri Chaitanya Math (later he took sannyas and became Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj) was also a householder, but even though he was a householder, he was the secretary of Sri Chaitanya Math. Not only that, when he would come to Sri Chaitnaya Math, all the sannyasis gave respect to him and paid full dandavats to him. He was a householder, but Srila Prabhupad gave him such a position. There were some devotees and sannyasis who criticised Sripad Kunja Babu, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj was somewhat partial to that group, but Srila Prabhupad told Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "I do not accept it that you would take side of the party who criticises Sripad Kunja Babu." This is the kind of respect Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave to Sripad Kunja Babu, who later took sannyas and became Sripad Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj, the President Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Math (Mayapur).

* * *

Learn, Practise, and Preach

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 3

We can see that most devotees, both here in India and in foreign countries, are householders. I know that in many countries there are not any sannyasis or even brahmacharis, and I know how hard it is to keep brahmachari life and sannyasi life in the western countries—I understood it when I visited South America, Europe, Italy, London, etc. I saw how devotees lived and I saw that it is very difficult to keep a sannyasi life or a brahamchari life there. At the same time, I also see that there are some sannyasis and brahmacharis who try to keep their sannyasi life or brahmachari life.

Actually, the main thing is not who is a sannyasi and who is a brahmachari—we do not discriminate between brahmacharis, sannyasis, and householders; the main thing is practising and preaching. Sometimes, we see that householder devotees actually practise more. Sometimes, we see that a devotee, a brahmachari, lives in the temple, but when he goes for preaching to householder people, this brahmachari cannot wake up for mangal arati, but householder devotees wake up—householder devotees have an altar and they do mangal arati every morning, but our brahmacharis would be still in bed at that time. I have seen it many times when we go for preaching in Bengal. So, sometimes, householder devotees actually practise more and more. I see this both abroad and here in India also, I observe devotees and I see they are practising very nicely.

Householder devotees do not live independently—they live a family life, but they are an example for everyone—they practise properly, they wake up for mangal arati, do mangal arati, cook, offer bhog timely (give a bhog offering in the morning, another offering at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening), and so on. Householder devotees practise in this way as much as they can.

Gurudev also said, "My sons are not very reliable, but I know I have some daughters who I can fully rely on. I am very happy with my daughters—they cook for me properly, they try to help me, and they do so much service for me." Saying this, Gurudev told some particular names. So, I see that householder devotees in foreign countries show a very nice example, they practise properly. Yet, in the meantime, what I want to say is that the younger generation must practise more because this next generation will take over the flag of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and carry it in the future—they must continue practising what Srila Guru Maharaj and Gurudev told, they must know how they practised, what things they have given to us, and they must learn to preach this.

We must preach properly. We must reach everyone, door to door. Practising must be door to door! I like this kind of preaching that was inaugurated by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Prabhupad. Mahaprabhu said, "Preach village to village (prithivite achhe yata nagaradi gram)!" Srila Prabhupad said, "Go door to door!" and our Gurudev and Guru Maharaj said, "Reach to everyone, heart to heart."

Mahaprabhu told to spread the Holy Name to every village, to go village to village, and Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Prabhupad told, "Go to every door, go door to door." Moreover, I have also heard from Gurudev the following. There are some sons who are what is called "bape khadano maye tarano"—they do not get so much love and affection from their parents (sometimes the father drives the son away, sometimes the mother does not love her son and kicks him out), and they come to take shelter at the temple; they start practising and eventually become brahmacharis and sannyasis. (There are four types of people who come to the temple—arthah, artha-arthi, jijnasuh, jnani; those who are suffering, who seek happiness, the inquisitive, and the self-realised.) And Gurudev said, "I am making my party from such sons and turn them into brahmacharis and sannyasis. After that, I again send these brahmacharis and sannyasis back to householder people to preach to them and to tell them about the glories of the Holy Name, about the glories of Sri Guru, Vaishnavs, and Mahaprabhu." Gurudev and Param Guru Maharaj said that we must reach out to everybody's heart—we must go heart to heart and we must deliver the Holy Name of the Lord to every jiva soul's heart. Hridaye hridaye Bhagavaner Nam pauchhe dao: distribute the Holy Name to everybody's heart—not only to every village, not only to every door, but you must distribute the Holy Name to every jiva soul's heart. This is the main thing.

To do that, you must give much labour—you must sacrifice your life. It takes so much blood to make one brahmachari or to make one sannyasi—it is not so easy to even make one devotee, what to speak of a sannyasi or a brahmachari. It is necessary to give your blood to do that. In this age of Kali, people are too much attracted to material life. People are attracted and attached to beauty, to rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa (the eye-pleasure, tongue-pleasure, nose-pleasure, ear-pleasure, skin-pleasure). There are so many elements that people are attracted to. You must come out of this! That is why I am saying that it is necessary to practise and preach properly. That is main thing for our spiritual life.

* * *

Duare Duare Prachar

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 4

[His Divine Grace addresses a brahmachari devotee.] How are you?

Devotee: Please accept my dandavat pranam. I am good, happy to see you.

Do you live alone?

Devotee: Yes, but I always try to be with devotees, I try to attend Nama-hattas.

Nama-hatta is ISKCON. We do not say 'Nama-hatta'. Do you know the name of our Nama-hatta? Sri Chaitanya Saraswata Sankirtan Maha-Mandal. Gurudev gave this name. When I started maha-mandal preaching, I once used this name 'Nama-hatta' in front of Gurudev, and Gurudev told me, "Do not use this name, this is ISKCON name. I will give another." At that time he told this name—Sri Chaitanya Saraswata Sankirtan Maha-Mandal. Actually, this name 'Nama-hatta' was used by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, and later ISKCON 'stole' this name. It is true, everybody knows this. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur first started Nama-hattas in Godrumdwip, and ISKCON started using that name, which means they 'stole' the name. So, Gurudev told me directly not to use the name that ISKCON uses—he told me to use the name 'Sri Chaitanya Saraswata Sankirtan Maha-Mandal'. We print this name in our brochures, and some centres which I started afterwards are also called Sri Chaitanya Saraswata Sankirtan Maha-Mandal.

I want to tell something very important. You may have a small temple, but your preaching style will be like this. You know, sometimes politicians employ the policy of 'duare duare sarkar'—it means that if there is some land reform, if you need to get some official job done, you usually have to go to some government office (a district magistrate office, a government office, a police station, or some government council), but here in some areas in India they say, "No, it is not necessary come to any office—the government will come to your door!" This is what is called 'duare duare sarkar' [lit. 'door to door government']. In the same way, you may have an ashram, you may have a Math, you may have a mission and Deities, and you think, "Oh, I am opening a Mission Centre, everyone must come to me!" It is not so easy for people to come to your temple in this age of Kali! You have to take your temple and go to everyone's door!

I usually do not tell anyone to install Deities in the temple, but you must have Deities, so you can take the Deities' photograph, Gurudev's photograph, and you can go with those photographs door to door and preach. It is necessary to start and maintain this movement. This is very urgent, very earnest—what I am saying is very important. The thing is that we give too much energy to our material life, we waste so much time and energy on maintaining our family, and I know that it has become even more difficult in this pandemic situation. Still, I am telling you—two-three days a week or at least minimum once a week, you must think and reach out to those who do not come. You make regular Sunday feasts, everybody comes to the temple and you distribute prasadam, it is good, but you have to find one more day for those who do not come. Take your party and go to their house, "OK, you are busy, you cannot come, it is fine, no problem—if you cannot come, we will come to your house!" You must preach in this way.

* * *

Superficial Speculation

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 5

Question: If someone thinks they are praying with reverence, how can they know that Krishna hears their prayer?

The scripture tell this:

sad-anga saranagati ha-ibe yahara
tahara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

"Sri Krishna hears the prayers of one who surrenders in this six-fold way."

If somebody can follow the six types of saranagati properly and prays to Lord Krishna, then Lord Krishna will always hear their prayer. This is what Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says. We sing this song every morning,

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
'avasya raksibe krsna'—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara

"Humility, self-submission, taking the Lord as your guardian, keeping the faith that 'Krishna will certainly protect me', engaging only in activities that are favourable to devotion, rejecting everything unfavourable to devotion."

Krishna must hear the prayer of those who have these six types of saranagati—who have a proper faith in what Krishna has told, in what Gurudev has told, who are fully surrendered to Gurudev. Krishna Himself also says in Srimad Bhagavad-gita, "I only know My devotees (sadhus), nothing else; and those who are sadhus (saints), who are My devotees, know only Me—they know nothing else besides Me." This is what is said in Srimad Bhagavad-gita. The Lord Himself says, "They only know Me, and they only want to hear from Me or from My devotees—they do not want to hear anything else except that."

This is what is said in the scriptures. So, if your position is like this or you can bring yourself to this position, or level, then, yes, Krishna will hear your prayer.

Are there any other questions?

Question: Apart from the war at Kuruksetra, when can war be justified?

Kuruksetra war happened by the will of Lord Krishna because there was a necessary of this war. Krishna wanted to show His power and if that war had not happened, how would we have been able to tell apart good from bad? Why was the war necessary? What is the reason for the war? We cannot judge what is necessary and what is not necessary. If something is to happen by the will of Krishna, who can stop it? It does not depend on us or anybody else. Also, when Arjuna became a disciple and fully surrendered to Krishna, he could understand why Krishna told him that war was necessary.

Besides, we suffer from kama, krodha, lobha, maha (lust, anger, greed, illusion), etc.—we always fight against the six enemies within us, we always fight against maya (illusory environment). We are also in a battlefield. When we cannot defeat maya, we also end up in a problem.

It is not necessary to consider all these things externally. In this world, people read Mahabharata and tell so many nonsense things—people think externally, but if you think deeper, you will see there is an internal reason. It is necessary to search for deeper things—it is necessary to search for the Original Source, for the deeper underlying cause why the fighting was necessary. Otherwise, when two brothers fight over some land, you cannot compare such fights with the Kuruksetra war. These are not the same things.

* * *

Cow's Milk

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 6

Question: There are many devotees who become vegan because they think the milk industry in the West is horrible. Can you comment on that?

This will happen in this age of Kali. We must tolerate it. Actually, that is why we do not eat anything except prasadam. Krishna always likes cow's milk, so you should offer cow's milk to Krishna—when you offer the bhog, you need milk to make sweet rice, Krishna also always likes curd, paneer, butter, etc. You can make many things from milk. Why will you shrink from offering it? If you avoid offering milk to the the Deities (Deities are non-different from Krishna Himself, you know that—Krishna's name, beauty, pastimes, His devotees are all non-different from Krishna), what makes you think you can take such a decision not to offer milk to the Lord? I do not support this. You must offer milk to the Deities, and if you personally do not like to take milk, that is your decision. We do not take any food—we take prasadam.

In this age of Kali, there are problems with keeping cows in so many countries. Even here in India, there are Christian and Muslim areas where people kill cows, here in Bengal also Muslim people kill cows, but at the same time we also see that in some areas the government has banned cows' slaughter—if somebody is caught killing a cow there, the punishment is minimum two years in jail. When Bengal government changes, it will happen here too. There are many countries all over the world, Islamic countries or just secular countries, where people kill cows, and I have heard that they give so much austerity to cows in the West. People do not think. Their idea is that all wild animals, all cats, dogs, and cows are on the same level. Those who torture cows are sinners, and they shall get a reaction for that. When you do some action, an opposite reaction will come to you.

For example, in Kolkata we buy milk outside from some shop, and you cannot be sure that this milk is pure or not (actually, you can be more than sure that it is not pure because they mix something in), but we think this is cow's milk, offer it to the Lord and take it as prasadam.

So, somebody may be giving austerity to cows, but Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, why will you shrink from offering milk and milk products to Him?

Nirakarvadis' philosophy is Jainism—they think they do not want to give austerity to any jiva soul, but you can ask them, "Where do you take rice and dal from?" Even plant-based products come from some plants, trees, and to eat it you must cut the plants and trees. Rama Krishna (Murgi) Mission also says this—they say, "Why do you not eat meat? You think fish and animals are jiva souls, but do vegetables not have a soul too? You offer vegetables, then what is the problem offering meat?"

Nanda Priya Devi Dasi (Brazil): Srila Acharya Maharaj, with your permission I would like to say something Srila Gurudev (Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) told us directly. When devotees asked him if they should stop drinking milk because cows suffer, Gurudev said that devotees have a unique opportunity to give milk to Deities and give good fortune to the cows who suffer, so if we stop offering, cows will suffer for nothing, and if offer cow's milk, cows will be benefitted. Also, I have one question—one time we heard Srila Gurudev said if we mix salt with milk then the result is like eating meat. Can you explain how this happens?

Yes, it is not good to mix salt with milk. I have never seen this written anywhere in the scriptures, but I have heard about it from Gurudev, and I never asked him why—I never asked Gurudev so many questions. Gurudev told not to mix salt with milk, and I follow that. I did not ask why.

Another thing is that ayurveda says that milk with tumeric is a good medicine in the pandemic situation—it is good for immune system, protects against covid-19, and it is also good medicine against influenza, cough, cold, mucus, etc. You can take 'dudh-halud' (milk with tumeric powder).

...Try to follow the rules and regulations set by the health commission, and we must preach also—we will try to adjust with everything. By with the will of Krishna, everything will be perfect. We must be very careful this winter season. Always be alert, it will be good for all the devotees.

* * *

Danger of Deviation

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 7

Question: Could you please explain the verse 34 from Chapter 3 of Srimad Bhagavad-gita?

Param Guru Maharaj (Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj) explains the purport of this verse and cites there a sloka from the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam. The meaning of the sloka is that when you submit everything you have (your knowledge, body, mind, ego, intelligence, etc.) to the Lord, it is called bhakti, and that is the religion of the soul—and if you do anything contrary to that, it is dangerous.

Here in this sloka Krishna wants to tell Arjuna, "You are a ksatriya, and your religion is to fight, but as you refuse to fight, it is dangerous for you." This is the first explanation Krishna gives. When Arjuna heard it, he was not happy—he still did not want to fight. Only when Krishna later spoke about bhakti-yoga did Arjuna gradually start to understand it and eventually changed his mind. And here Krishna is telling about karma-yoga. There are four castes in this world—brahman, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra, and as Arjuna was born in a ksatriya family, it was his duty to fight, and it was not good that he refused to fight, it was a dangerous path. So, it is said that it is better to do your own duty even if it is imperfect than to do another's well.

sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah, para-dharmat svanusthitat
sva-dharme nidhanam sreyah, para-dharmo bhayavahah

Even if it is imperfect, it is better to do one's duty according to one's own nature, than to do another's well. Even death in the discharge of one's own duty is better, for to perform another's is dangerous.

Commentary

The eternal, superexcellent, natural function (dharma) of the soul is pure devotion for Adhoksaja, the transcendental Lord. Therefore, even if this function is somewhat imperfectly attempted by one with external malpractices, such an attempt will be superior to the 'good' practices within the material modes of nature and worldly chain of actions and habits foreign to the soul's nature. Even if death occurs during the cultivation of such pure devotion in proper saintly association, it is the bestower of the ultimate good; but in the name of good practices to ignorantly follow 'another's path'—anything other than devotion for the Lord (dvitiyabhinivesa)—is bhayavah, endangering to the spiritual progress of the soul.*

*bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad isad apetasya viparyayo 'smrtih
tan mayayato budha abhajet tam bhaktyaikayesam guru-devatatma

"A person of fine intelligence will serve with single-minded devotion his Lord who is his teacher and dearmost friend. But those who have turned away from the Lord adopt the illusory ego of considering the perishable body to be the self, forgetting their true identities. Their consciousness absorbed in 'secondary pursuits', i.e., mundane objectives, they are always fearful on account of the body and its attachments." (Bhag. 11.2.37)]

This is the commentary to this verse. However, we think in another way. We think that everything in this world (ego, karma, jnana, everything) is meant for the satisfaction of the Lord—our religion is satisfaction of the Lord—and if you do anything other than that, it will be very dangerous.

We also tell sometimes about varnasrama dharma, we explain that it is necessary to be a brahmachari from one to twenty-five years old, then it is necessary to live in the grihastha ashram from twenty-five to fifty years old, etc. At the same time, Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures say that sannyas is prohibited in Kali-yuga, that killing cows is prohibited, etc. There are always people who come and say, "Oh, why do you all take sannyas? It is forbidden in Kali-yuga!" I tell them jokingly, "Yes, it is, but it is also forbidden to kill and eat cows! If they eat cows, then why will we stop giving sannyas? What for?!"

* * *

My Solace

Nrisingha Palli, 29 November 2020, part 8

Srila Janardan Maharaj: I thought the internet connection was not good in Nrisingha Palli?

Now there is good internet here on the top floor. These are new rooms, nobody lives here now, and I came here just to give the class. By Gaura Purnima, total about seventy more rooms will be ready—ten here and about sixty in the new guesthouse.

Sripad Shanta Maharaj: Gurudev said you are ascharya (miraculous)—you have made all the arrangements so fast, even amidst the covid time...

It is happening by the mercy of devotees. Devotees are always with me, that is why I am able to do that. Otherwise, it is very difficult, so many things are going on... All the works are going on by the mercy of Gurudev. Gurudev is always with me... I left Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip empty-handed, I did not take anything with me, and when I came to Kolkata, they attacked me there too. When we went to South India and Puri, they took everything from my room—they stole even my shoes and the dustbin! They took everything from the kitchen, and some of my friends had to send me some food that night. We had been travelling all day that time and when we entered the room, we saw everything was empty, the kitchen was empty too. Several days before that, I had sent a big packet of Jagannath prasadam from Puri (I thought I was going to South India, so why carry it when some devotees were going to Dum Dum Park by car, so I sent all prasadam to Dum Dum Park to distribute it later when I get back). They took even that prasadam. There was no gas cylinder, no stove, no kitchen utensils, not even a pot in the building. They had taken everything. Some family sent prasadam for two-three days, one night we had to get something from a restaurant, and on the fourth day we bought a stove, utensils, etc. again and started cooking. This is what happened, so how is it possible that now so much construction is going on, that a temple is being made, how is it possible to buy the land, etc.? This is possible only because Gurudev is always with me. I understand it. They try to empty me, but they can only make me empty externally—how can they empty me internally? Gurudev is always in my heart, and I think and understand that I am also always in Gurudev's heart, then they can only try to throw me out of the temple, out of a building, out of external things, but they can never throw me out of Gurudev's heart and out of devotees' hearts. That is my solace.

Gurudev also told me personally two examples. First, he said, "If you walk with me and see a snake, you say, 'O Gurudev! A snake! A snake!' but if I tell you it is not a snake, it is a rope, you must believe it." Second, he said, "If I tell you that the sun is rising in the west today, you must believe it, 'Yes, it is correct.'" It is necessary to have this kind of faith. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur was always 100% loyal to his guru Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. Everybody says that Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur is his father, and he may be his biological father, but Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur always saw Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur as his guru, and he said also, "What Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says is the Vedas! What he says is correct—his word is the word of scriptures." Srila Sridhar Maharaj also said, "What Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur says is the right teaching, his word is the word of scriptures—if he says anything, that is Srimad Bhagavad-gita, that is Srimad Bhagavatam." So, when I hear that somebody says, "Oh, what Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said is not correct," how can they claim to be a disciple of Gaudiya sampradaya then? It gives me very much pain to hear such things.

All right, I would like to finish here. I am very happy to see you all and we will try to meet with you all again next Sunday.

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay.

* * *

Soul's Ultimate Happiness

Kolkata, 6 December 2020, part 1

This year, I want to make arrangement to celebrate Srila Gurudev's appearance day in a little bigger festival. His appearance day is on 1 January this year. Actually, Srila Gurudev's appearance day always comes in December, and I have never seen that this day would come in January, but anyhow, this year it is 1 January. On this day, people celebrate their 'Happy New Year', and we will celebrate our Gurudev's appearance day. I am inviting everyone to this festival, we will arrange a nice festival on this day. Many Indian devotees have also been unable to come because of the pandemic situation and lockdown, but now the local trains are running again properly in Bengal, so all devotees want to come and join this festival. I want to arrange this festival nicely.

We all know that we cannot proceed in our spiritual life without Gurudev's mercy. His mercy is always necessary.

sakti-buddhi-hina ami ati dina
kara more atma-satha

"I have no power, no intelligence, I am very poor. Please hijack me."

yogyata vichare kichhu nahi pai
tomara karuna sara

"I get nothing based on my qualification, your mercy is the main thing."

We will not get anything through our qualification—we only need Gurudev's mercy. Mercy is above justice... All the scriptures say (you can read about it in Guidance 4) that the soul can get ultimate happiness through devotion—without devotion, no ultimate happiness is possible for the soul. Srimad Bhagavatam also says,

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

"The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.6)

Sixty thousand rishis gave much respect to Srila Suta Goswami (son of Romaharsan Muni and a disciple of Vedavyas), and this Srila Suta Goswami spoke about bhagavad-dharma and how it is practised. Bhagavad-dharma means devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are so many religions in this world, but the topmost religion is bhagavad-dharma, i.e. devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

You know that when Kali-yuga just started, sixty thousand rishis assembled in Naimisaranya. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur also went to that place and established there a temple. It is in Uttar Pradesh, I have also seen this place—I went there once in Gurudev's time. At that time, it was possible because we went for Vrindavan parikrama directly from Nabadwip by bus (there were not more than a hundred devotees, we went in two buses), and on the way, the bus took us to many places. Now, we always go by train, so we do not get this opportunity to visit so many places any more.

So, when all the rishis assembled in Naimisaranya, they asked Srila Suta Goswami a question, "What is ultimately good for a jiva soul? Through what practice or religion can the soul get ultimate happiness?" Then, Srila Suta Goswami said,

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

"The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.6)

And he started explaining this sloka:

No matter how many religious works a jiva soul performs according to its capacity, its main and topmost religion is bhagavat-dharma (devotion unto the Supreme Personality of God). Practising this topmost religion (devotion) brings complete satisfaction to one's soul (atma). In Kali-yuga, jiva souls have a short lifetime, they are unfortunate, disturbed by diseases, and covered by all kinds of unwanted elements....

Everybody knows this. In this world, a fortunate soul is very rare, almost all jiva souls in this world are unfortunate. Almost all souls here are disturbed by disease—it is correct too. You see now that all the scientists are creating so many vaccines, but I have heard some news today that a minister in this country (not in Bengal, in some other province) took the vaccine and fifteen days later was attacked by coronavirus! I have told it many times—scientists may discover and invent so many vaccines, but Lord Yamaraj will create so many more diseases. Rest assured. I told this earlier this year also, during Gaura Purnima. This year it is coronavirus, next year some other virus will come and they will give it another name—this year it is covid-19, next year it will be something-20 or something-21. Wait and see. The main point is that we cannot stop preaching and we cannot stop our service because of this pandemic situation because every moment in our life is crucial, every moment is very important. If we always sit in one place and stop going out to preach and stop practising properly, what will our life come to? Are you afraid of this virus? Then what answer will you give? One day Lord Krishna will ask you, "You said you surrendered to Me, and I have told you many times that I am the creator of all creation—I have created everything, even all this pandemic, even all the viruses, all diseases, etc., but you said you surrendered to Me, then what is this?" This virus is actually also a kind of maya (illusion). We are always disturbed by some disease...

In Kali-yuga, jiva souls have a short lifetime, they are unfortunate, disturbed by diseases, and covered by all kinds of unwanted elements—if these jiva souls practise devotion to the Lord, i.e. if they can practise hearing, chanting, remembering, etc. of the Holy Names of the Lord, narrations about the Lord, and His pastimes and His qualities, they will get spiritual benefit and happiness. If you practise fire sacrifices, austerities, vows, etc.—anything except for devotion to the Supreme Lord Vasudev—the soul will not attain the happiness of the soul. The authors of the scriptures say that this devotion is causeless and irresistible. Selfish undertaking, knowledge-seeking, fire sacrifices, etc. cannot obstruct such pure devotion. Just as the current of the Ganges automatically goes towards the ocean, in the same way, the unrestrained current of the Mandakini river of devotion makes all kinds of happiness besides the happiness of devotion (i.e. the joy of enjoyment, the joy of liberation or the joy of realising the soul, the joy of attaining perfections) insignificant, and brings pure devotion to the heart of the devotees who are intent on attaining divine love. Such devotion is called 'exclusive', 'nirguna', or 'direct' devotion. It is impossible to get such devotion by practising any religion that belongs to the three-modal material world created by Maya (controlled by goodness, passion, ignorance, etc.). There is no cause or effect of devotion. The purpose of getting devotion is devotion itself. Devotion, the Lord, and devotee are all eternal and supra-mundane. However, how does one get devotion? This devotion comes by the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma (the embodiment of shelter, asraya-vigraha) and the Supreme Lord (the object of worship, visaya-vigraha). Through karma and other practices, you can enjoy material world (gratify your material senses), or get even more heavenly happiness, even attain the post of Brahma, but such happiness is transient. The whole universe is destroyed at the time of universal devastation. "Karmanam parinamitvad a-virinchyad amangalam. An intelligent person should see that any material activity is subject to constant transformation and that even on the planet of Lord Brahma there is thus simply unhappiness." (SB, 11.19.18). It is not possible to get uninterrupted happiness or genuine happiness by practising any transient process (karma, etc.)—knowing the result of such practices to be perishable and transitory, knowledgeable persons leave all such practices and strive to become fixed in the plane of soul by practising renunciation, etc. and subsequently getting released from the happiness of material enjoyment. Even if a jiva soul is released from its conditioned state and experiences joy within this plane, it still cannot get eternal happiness and real peace of the soul. As long as an eternal, cognisant and blissful particle does not experience love for the great eternal, cognisant, and blissful Supersoul or the Supreme Lord (i.e. as long as the soul does not become fixed in the plane where the Lord is the object of service and a jiva is His servant and does not practise devotion by serving and worshipping the Lord), there is no way for the jiva soul to get real and eternal peace or happiness.

If you want to bring ultimate happiness to the soul, you should forget all practices like karma, jnana, yoga, etc. and eternally, attentively serve and worship the Lord—practise sravan and kirtan of the Lord's qualities, pastimes, and glories. A spiritual practice accomplished through all senses is called bhagavad-dharma or bhakti-dharma (transcendental religion, or religion of devotion). Devotion can be of two types—one is general devotion, and another is loving devotion. Serving, worshipping the Lord with all one's senses, as well as practising sravan, kirtan, etc. of His qualities and pastimes with the goal of attaining loving devotion is called practising devotion (sadhana-bhakti). Such practice matures into divine love. When practising devotion, practitioners naturally start feeling renunciation or apathy towards lower spiritual things, material things, enjoyment, etc.

There is a prescription found in the scriptures that advises jiva souls to follow varnasrama according to one's nature and qualities. If jiva souls, situated in one of the varnas (brahman, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, etc.), practice the prescribed religion for a particular ashram according to their qualifications (brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha, sannyas, etc.), but do not feel taste for hearing and glorifying the Holy Name and pastimes of the Lord (the true eternal beneficial practices), then following this system of varnasrama will be useless. This truth is extolled in the crest jewel of all the revealed scriptures, Srimad Bhagavatam. "Dharma-mulam hi bhagavan. The root of religion is the Supreme Lord." The true purpose of following any religion is to make the Supreme Lord happy. If you practise religion focusing on the satisfaction of the Lord, you will get taste for Hari-katha. To get this taste for the narrations about the Supreme Lord is the gist of all religious practices. The purpose or result of practising varnasrama dharma is not to become rich. The main purpose of religious practice is to awaken the enquiry about the transcendental truth. The transcendental truth is Brahma, Paramatma and Bhagavan (impersonal universal form of the Lord, the localised all-pervading Supersoul, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead). If jiva souls become eager to serve any of the three aspects of the Lord, they can become free from the bondage of karma and attain the result without any hindrances. Pursuing knowledge allows one to come to the impersonal, non-variegated aspect of the Lord (nirvises Brahma); yoga grants one the darshan of the all-pervading Supersoul—in each of these cases jiva souls become released from the suffering and pain of the material world, from death and birth, from unhappiness and struggle, but even then, liberation is not the highest and ultimate necessity of the jiva soul. The extreme necessity of the jiva soul is divine love for Godhead. By satisfying the Lord or by striving to make the Lord happy through the practice of devotional processes, one reaches the highest spiritual attainment—divine love for the Lord. Practice of devotion is extremely easy and effortless, unlike jnana, yoga, etc., which involve a lot of struggle. The result of practising jnana, yoga, etc. is attainment of liberation, mystic perfections, etc., but this result can be easily attained through practice of devotion.

Practice of devotion means engaging in hearing, chanting, remembering, etc. the Lord's Holy Name, qualities, pastimes, and glories. Great souls who possess divine vision have prescribed to eternally and attentively practise hearing, chanting, etc., the Lord's glories. When practitioners of devotion continuously engage themselves in the worship of the Lord and discussions about the Lord, then hankering for religiosity, material prosperity, other desires, etc. find no place in their hearts. All secondary pursuits (bodily identification, ego, the world of "I" and "mine", etc.) that obstruct service to the Lord are completely removed. The Lord is the only object of service, and a jiva soul is His servant—the sword of such awakened consciousness severs all gross and subtle designations of the jiva soul. The taste for the narrations about the Lord does not come naturally, on its own, to those who are forever unfortunate and covered by unwanted elements. To awaken this taste in such souls, great souls who have divine vision prescribe to serve and worship the lotus feet of Sri Gurudev, who assumes the form of a devotee possessing such taste for Hari-katha. Continuous service to Sri Gurudev, the greatest devotee, awakens faith and taste for the narrations about the Lord. Moreover, continuous hearing, chanting, remembering, etc. the Holy Name, qualities, pastimes of the Lord in strict adherence to Sri Guru removes all desires for selfish happiness, all types of unwanted elements, even desires for gain and fame, etc.—it completely cleanses and purifies one's heart. Such service to Sri Gurupadpadma (the Lord manifest in the form of a devotee), hearing and reading holy Bhagavatam (the Lord manifest in the form of a scripture) along with hearing, chanting the Lord's Holy Name, hearing and glorifying the pastimes of the Lord, etc. arouse eager taste or unflinching devotion to the Lord in the plane free of unwanted elements. At that time, the waves of lust, anger, etc. will not arise in one's heart—pure goodness will appear in one's heart throwing away all accumulated qualities of passion and ignorance. Attaining this state, practising devotees' eagerness to serve the Lord will increase in their pure hearts, enveloped in pure goodness. When practitioners practise Krishna consciousness at every moment in the association of distinctive, kindred devotees, they attain within their spiritual form the transcendental knowledge about the Lord by the influence of samvit (omniscient potency) and Hladini (ecstatic potency). Attaining the state of freedom from all unwanted elements, such souls effortlessly attain steadiness and detachment and practise devotional life with all their senses; as a result of such practice they get the darshan of the Lord. This is the acme of practising life. If you are raised to this level, you will no longer have any trace of hesitation or doubt in your heart about the transcendental plane. Divine love appears within a heart radiating pure goodness. Until and unless divine love is awakened, you can neither see the Lord nor experience the highest devotional mellows—as much as the soul cannot attain supreme peace. If you want to find ultimate happiness or get eternal and real peace, all you need to do is to always practise pure devotion or akinchana-bhakti (materially impoverished devotion) without any deceit—with the intent and eagerness to make the Lord happy.

It is important and necessary for us to hear these things—to hear how we must practise, how we will get our real benefit. These are the main things in our spiritual life.

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Burning One's Own Fortune

Kolkata, 6 December 2020, part 2

Question: Sometimes, people stay at the temple, but then leave and go to material life, and they feel frustrated. I have heard people say, "Oh, I have spent so many years in the temple, now I am in the street, I have nothing, I have wasted my time!"

Actually, in this situation, it depends on how much sukriti they have—as long as they have sukriti they serve at the temple, but when their sukriti finishes they leave their service. Not everybody has such a great fortune. Not everybody has so much tolerance, so much patience. Everybody's quality and mood is not the same. Those who have tolerance can stay longer, can practise more, whereas those who stay at the temple, but think about material things, material enjoyment, leave the temple and go to another life—somebody may continue practising Krishna consciousness, and somebody may leave practising also.

It happened to many devotees, in so many temples. It happened in Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj's time, it happened in Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's time also. So many brahmacharis left and started staying on their own because they wanted to live independently. When you live in a temple, you cannot live independently because you must follow the rules and regulations, you must wake up for the mangal arati, you must practise properly, etc.; and if you live alone, you can do your own things, you can live as you like. That is why, for many people it is very difficult to live in the temple. Gurudev also always said it. One time, I told Gurudev, "Gurudev, a brahmachari has run away from the temple," and Gurudev replied, "Yaowata-i svabhavik, thakata-i asvabhavik (যাওয়াটাই স্বাভাবিক, থাকাটাই অস্বাভাবিক). Leaving is common, staying is rare." So, it is very rare for somebody to stay at the temple because to stay at the temple it is necessary to have a lot of tolerance and a lot of patience. It is not easy to stay at the temple.

Another thing is that if somebody thinks, "Oh, I have left the temple, and I have nothing now"—who told you to get out from the temple? It is Gurudev's temple, and everybody has a right to stay there unless they are big offenders. If I am not a big offender, I have a right to stay in Gurudev's temple.

I heard from Gurudev that when Srila Sridhar Maharaj left Chaitanya Math, he did not leave the temple so easily, they had actually ousted him, and Gurudev told me how they did it. Nobody told him to get out, but they made it so that he was bound to leave. Sometimes, such a situation can be arranged, but if we have proper quality and qualification, then even if we have nothing, so what? We can still preach, we can still practise. Gurudev always says that you have a certain capacity, you have certain qualities—learn how to practise and stay at the temple. You have many good qualities to stay at the temple, and you must use these qualities in the service to your Guru, in the preaching for your Guru. So, if Gurudev's mercy is with you, then you do not need anything! If Gurudev's mercy is with you, you do not need to think about money, temple, house, or anything else—if Gurudev's mercy is with you, that is sufficient. The mercy of the Guru is the main thing. If somebody does not have Gurudev's mercy, then even if they stay at the temple, they cannot do anything—they cannot even practise, they cannot preach because they have other ideas, because they always think about kanak (money), kamini (women), pratistha (fame). If somebody thinks about kanak, kamini, pratistha, they will get it.

krsna yadi chhute bhakte bhukti mukti diya
kabhu prema-bhakti na dena rakhena lukaiya

"If you ask Krishna for anything except devotion, He can give you those things—bhukti, mukti, liberation, and so on—but He will hide devotion from you. You will not get devotion."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, 8.18)

If you ask the Lord, "Give me some bhukti (enjoyment), mukti (liberation), siddhi (perfections), kami (material desires)," if you want enjoyment, if you want this, this, and that, Krishna will give that to you and He will take you away from devotional life. "If you are happy with these things, if you come to Me and ask Me for such material things—if you ask Me for bhukti, mukti, siddhi, kami instead of devotion—you will get what you want and I will remove devotion from you."

So, those who say, "I have nothing, I have wasted my whole life in the temple," this is completely wrong. It is not correct to think like this. I say it is the opposite. It was your great fortune that you got that time and spent it serving the temple, you passed the best time in your life. It is your great fortune because you got to spend some time with Deities and devotees. This is a great fortune, not a bad fortune.

So many kinds of devotees live in the temple... Gurudev told many times also, "Four types of people come and join the temple—arto, artharthi, jijnasur, jnani. Somebody is poor, somebody is miserable, somebody wants to know something, and somebody is just wise." If anyone comes and practises properly, they can become a great devotee. However, if somebody lives in the temple and instead of devotion they run behind money, ladies, and name and fame, then they will suffer—they will get all the things they want.

So, this idea is fully wrong. If somebody thinks they came to the temple and wasted their life there, it means they do not see their own fault—it means they search others' fault. Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, all the scriptures, and Mahaprabhu also tell that you must see your own fault, do not see others' faults. Use your eyes to see your own faults, not others'.

Question: How can we help devotees who have left the temple and avoid devotees' association?

You can try to help them and if it does not work, you can send them to me, ask them to contact me, and I will try to help them—I will give them a high dose of antibiotic. If somebody does not want to contact me because some devotee has offended them, I can ask for forgiveness on their behalf, I do not mind it. If I can ask for forgiveness and lose some of my burden (weight) in this way, it will be good for me. I always remember those who have left, I always pray Krishna may give them a good intelligence so that they may come back one day. I know some devotees thought so many things and left... If they feel a great pain because of my behaviour, I can ask them for forgiveness, I do not mind it. I know I am not a perfect person, I always think I am guilty, so I can ask them for forgiveness for my rough behaviour...

* * *

Dhenukasur's Fate

Kolkata, 6 December 2020, part 3

Question: There are many stories in Krishna Book where Krishna and Balaram fight against various enemies and demons. I wanted to ask if you could tell about Dhenukasura and the meaning of this pastime?

There was one forest called Talvan were so many tal trees grew. One day, Krishna and Baladev went there and started shaking all the trees like mad elephants, as a result of which all the fruits fell down from the trees on the ground. When Dhenukasur, who lived in that forest, saw it, he became very upset—shouting madly, he kicked Baladev in the chest. Then, Baladev caught Dhenukasur's two hind legs with His one hand, swirled him very hard and then smashed him to death against a tree. Dhenukasur represents envy, matsaryata. It is written in Srimad Bhagavatam also that nobody went to that forest because all the trees bore a curse from a previous life (it means, those tree had a human body before, but because they did not use their body for the service of the Lord, they were cursed and born in that forest as trees).

This is an example for all of us. Somebody has a capacity to do arati with ghee, somebody does not have that capacity and uses oil. If you have the means, you must make arati with ghee—if you have the means (the capacity) to spend money for the Lord, you must do it. Otherwise, Srimad Bhagavatam says, you will reap the fate of those trees that were cursed and had to be born in a forest where not even birds or beasts entered, only some demon donkey lived there. When Krishna entered that forest, He rescued those trees by taking their fruit.

...We also make different things from tal (tal bara, etc.), and we have two tal trees in our temple—one in front of the nat mandir, and another one in front of Gurudev's house.

gardabhera mata ami kari parisrama
kara lagi' eta kari, na ghuchila bhrama

I toil laboriously like a donkey. For whom am I doing this? Still my illusion has not been dispelled.

We chant this in one of the songs. It says that we always work for our family, for our children, for our own things, we work the whole day and night, but what for do we need so many things? What for do we do that? Only to eat well, to sleep well—for that? That is why it is said we work like a donkey (gadha), it means a lack of knowledge.

jada-vidya yata, mayara vaibhava,
tomara bhajane badha
moha janamiya, anitya samsare,
jivake karaye gadha

"All mundane learning is an exhibition of maya and an obstacle to Your service. It brings about infatuation for the temporary world and makes an ass of the soul."

(Saranagati, 3.3)

These are Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's words. No matter how much intelligence you may have, if you do not follow Krishna consciousness, then all your education has no value. It is zero value. You can be highly educated, you can be a great scholar, lecturer, teacher, or a professor, but all this has no value if you do not bow down your head at the lotus feet of the Lord or the Lord's devotees. If you do not follow Krishna consciousness, then all your great intelligence, all your great education has no value—you will be like a gadha (donkey). Again, these are Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's words—if I say "gadha" to anybody, they will not accept it. Srila Gurudev said that Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, because he was an old man, he could always say, “Gadha (donkey)! Mudha (fool)!” Srila Prabhupad always used the word "rascal" in front of his disciples ("You are rascals!").

* * *

Internal Purity

Kolkata, 6 December 2020, part 4

Question: How can we become first class devotees? How can we improve our situation?

We can try. It is necessary to try. Mercy is always necessary, and we must always try to be good. We must listen properly from our Guru, we must give ourselves to the service of our Gurudev without any second thoughts ("What will happen?"). Gurudev always says that you must have a good character, you must always tell the truth, and follow his instruction, you must not follow your mind. Gurudev told many things.

I would also like to tell one thing to all my well-wishers and all my disciples. Sometimes, we say something to our disciples and they start arguing with us. This is not a good behaviour with your Gurudev. We never behave like that. We never do that with our Guru. Personally, I have never done this—whatever Gurudev says, I always try to follow his instruction. In Gurudev's time, others would sometimes criticise me, but I did not care about anything because Gurudev gave me a certain service and I did what I was told to do. Even if I am not qualified for some service, but Gurudev gave me this service, I will try to do it. This has always been my mood and my great desire. I always think how to make Gurudev happy.

I remember one time Gurudev sent me to attend a festival in Mayapur. It happened just a month after I had come and joined the temple. When Gurudev sent me there, he told me, "I am not sending you there only to take prasadam. You must go there and tell me who from our temple went to that festival." I told Gurudev that I did not know everybody's name, somebody from outside could also join, but Gurudev said, "You are a very intelligent boy, your brain is very sharp, so I am sure you can go there and you can remember the names." Gurudev understood my character during that one month, and he sent me to that festival. So, I came to that festival before the lectures started, some sannyasis gave lectures, I recognised them and saw who came from our temple. After that, I came back to our temple and went to see Gurudev at his veranda. Gurudev was taking rest at that time, so I decided I would come later when Gurudev woke up. When everybody went to Gurudev after the evening arati to pay obeisance to him, I came too. I offered Gurudev obeisance and gave him eleven rupees. Gurudev asked me, "What is this money for? Is it yours?" I said, "No, Gurudev, this was given to me by that temple where I went, they gave some pranami." Gurudev replied, "Oh, I hear so many devotees went there from our temple, but they gave pranami only to you, and to nobody else?" I understood what Gurudev wanted to see. Then, downstairs, others who did not give pranami to Gurudev said to me, "Oh, you are showing how honest you are! Why did you have to give that money to Gurudev?" They told me so many nonsense things, but I ignored it. I did what I thought was right. This is not my money—they invited the temple to the festival and I went there on behalf of the temple, so this money is not mine, it is the property of the temple, so this money can only go either to the Deities or to Gurudev. I understood it that time, and there have been so many other things. There are so many ways you can act or behave good.

Gurudev also always said, "If somebody could do this service, it would be very good," and when I heard it, I always tried to do it. I try to fulfil his desire. In this way everybody can try to be good...

Another thing you must remember is that Gurudev always wants clean service. We can always make some mistake, and Gurudev takes our offences, there is no doubt about it, but if we know we do wrong and we again and again, again and again continue doing wrong, then one day we will lose our service. We must correct ourselves. We must be honest in our service. Gurudev always wants clean service from us—if you do wrong again and again all the time, it is not good. If you make a mistake today, you must try to correct yourself and not do it again. Suppose you are making chapatis for the Deities—if you burn the chapatis today, it does not mean that you will burn and offer burnt chapatis every day. Even if you burn the chapatis today, tomorrow you will try to make it nicely. You think, "Oh, Gurudev took burnt chapatis today, so it is not a problem, I can do it every day." Gurudev will tolerate it, but he will not tolerate it every day—one day he will tell you and another day he will not take it, and you will lose your service. That is why, we must try to always offer fresh, clean, good service. We will not do dirty things all the time. You must try to understand this. We must try, always try and try, and it will be possible. If you fail one exam, you must study harder and take the exam again—if you study more properly, you will surely pass the exam. So, if you fail one time, do not think, "Oh, I will go for any exams again!" This is not good. You must study more, you must study scriptures more, and one day you will become a very pure devotee.

* * *

Stay In Gurudev's Heart

Kolkata, 6 December 2020, part 5

I remember once a devotee came to the Math with his family. He usually came for Srila Sridhar Maharaj's festival or Gaura Purnima. I remember clearly that one day when he was going back to his country, he came to see Gurudev and to give him some pranami (donation). He had already stayed at the Math for perhaps ten-fifteen days, during which he had been to Mayapur, he had gone here, there, he had visited so many places and spent much money also. So, that day, he finally came to Gurudev to give him some money that remained. I was sitting at Gurudev's veranda at that time, and there were perhaps another one-two devotees there. When that devotee came to say goodbye to Gurudev before leaving (his taxi was already downstairs, and all the luggage was in the car). Gurudev told that time (in Bengali), "You see? There are three kinds of devotees, and this is one of the kinds." (1) Somebody comes to the temple, the secretary gives them a room, arranges accommodation, prasadam, nourishment, etc., and they do not get any time to meet with Gurudev—only when they are leaving, they come to him, pay obeisance, say goodbye, and give some money that is left after all their expenses. (That devotee gave Gurudev Indian rupees, not dollars, and not only that—he gave ten rupee notes so that the bundle looked big. If you give one thousand rupees in ten rupee banknotes, it will be a big bundle, and if you give five thousand rupees, it will be a big packet full of money. In this way some like to show that they give so much money to Gurudev.) (2) Another kind of devotees are those who come to the Math, come to see Gurudev, come to his class, who give some pranami and also keep some money for their own expenses during the parikrama, for their family expenses if they come with their family, and so on. This is second-class devotees. (3) And the third type of devotees is very rare. These are the devotees who come from abroad and come directly to Gurudev in the same clothes that they wore for travelling—they come straight to Gurudev, open their bags, give so many gifts, money, etc. to their Gurudev. They give everything to Gurudev and do not keep even one rupee for their own expenses. One time, a devotee came to Gurudev, and Gurudev said, "Oh, I understand... You have given everything to me, and now you want to go to Kolkata, but you have no money (not even twenty rupees) to buy the ticket." Then, Gurudev told me, "Vinod, give him twenty rupees to buy the ticket." This is another kind of devotees. This is what Gurudev said. You were asking about different classes of devotees, and I remembered what Gurudev said also about three kinds of devotees.

OK, I would like to finish for today. I have many things to do tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow I am going again out for preaching for three-four days. There is also a preaching programme next Sunday, but I will try to connect with you all.

[Somebody mentions the vaccine and opportunity to travel abroad.] Vaccine! We need a proper vaccine from our Gurudev. That is the proper vaccine. What is this material vaccine? I have seen in the news today that some minister had taken this material vaccine fifteen days ago, and now he is attacked by coronavirus. So, we need a proper vaccine from Gurudev, Guru Maharaj, Prabhupad. If the Lord gives us a proper vaccine, that will be efficient. If it is Krishna's will and I am of some use to the Lord and to my Guru, then they will keep me in this world, otherwise they will take me away. I do not mind it either way—I do not think about life, death, etc. I was born one day, and one day I have to die, no one can stop it. It is not in my hands, it is in the hands of the Lord. Anyhow, we are alive in this world now, and we are suffering from so many diseases, we are always suffering from so many elements, so we must always practise Krishna consciousness—we must always remember our Guru and Guru-varga, we must always remember our Gurudev, Guru Maharaj, Prabhupad, as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is our wish, that is our main desire.

You must try to stay in Gurudev's heart. This is the main thing. Try to stay in Gurudev's heart through your service. Gurudev always keeps you in his heart, but you must try to stay there through your good behaviour and good practice. In this situation, I often remember Gurudev's words and I remember some devotees who have left—there is no trace, no news about them, and their entire generation is also not activated now in the service to their Guru. That is why, what Gurudev said is very correct—I remember some things Gurudev said and I feel his words are very powerful. Anyway, try to stay in Gurudev's heart through your love and affection. It is necessary, it is the main thing in our life.

I am again asking you all for forgiveness—sometimes my words are hard, my behaviour is always not good... I always think that I am very guilty, I am not a perfect person, but I always want to correct and purify myself through your good association. Thank you so much, it was very nice to see you all.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay

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Do Away With Gossiping

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay

I was at a programme just now, that is why I am a few minutes late—I am very sorry about that. I offer my humble obeisance to you all.

I left Dum Dum Park today in the morning and came to this area for three-four days to preach. One of the devotees here passed away eleven days ago, and there was her sraddha ceremony today. We came to this village to conduct the Vaishnav-homa ceremony for her and do some preaching (I gave class at noon and now, in the evening, too). I have been coming to this area of Basirhat for more than twenty years, since Gurudev's times. It is not very far from Dum Dum Park (Kolkata)—perhaps, fifty-sixty kilometres.

I spoke to them today about chastity. It is necessary to be chaste to your guru. Chastity is the main thing. I explained to them the example of Ramachandra Puri and how he made offences against Vaishnavs. At first, he made a Vaishnav-aparadh, then his offence came to his guru, Madhavendra Puri, and then his offence came to Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord Himself. So, first you make some offence against a Vaishnav (commit Vaishnav-aparadh), then it is guru-aparadh, and then your offence goes to the Lord.

We do service, we have so many good qualities, we worship the Lord and His devotees, but if we at the same time nurture some bad qualities inside us, this is the main obstacle in our life. We do not want to make any offences, we must be always careful about it. I have told you many times—an idle brain is the devil's workshop. If you have too much time on your hands, if you have no job, you become busy with only para-charcha, para-ninda—you like to criticise and say bad things about other devotees.

Even if what you are saying is true, you must still never speak bad about anybody. It is not necessary to say such things. If you search for others' holes, you may find some five holes in somebody, but maybe one thousand holes will come to you in return. This is how much problem will come to you and your practising life. So, be always careful. Do not discuss others' qualities, even if what you are saying is the truth.

Who am I? Why is it necessary to criticise anyone or say anything about others? We must understand these things and we must have more tolerance. It is necessary to have more tolerance.

I saw in Gurudev's time also. One day, I came to Gurudev, paid my dandavat to him, and Gurudev told me, "OK, sit down here." I sat down. I sat and sat, and Gurudev did not say anything. Half an hour passed, an hour passed, and Gurudev did not say anything. I waited, waited, waited, and I was thinking at that time that Gurudev was testing to see how much tolerance I had. I sat there for one hour, two hours, and Gurudev did not say anything. Anyhow, he told me to sit down, and I sat down.

I observed many things before, and now the time is different... I have told you many times that during his last days Gurudev told me, "You have brought so many people to me for initiation, and I have initiated so many people, but can you tell me how many people have actually become disciples?" It is very rare that a person would become a disciple.

So, what I want to say to everybody is that para-charcha and para-ninda (criticising and discussing others) is very bad. Because of this bad quality, you are getting so much trouble, so much austerity in your spiritual life, and you cannot progress in your spiritual life. If you have this tendency, you must control your urges ("chhaya vega dami"). Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu also writes,

vacho vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

"A sober person who can tolerate (1) the urge to speak, (2) the mind's demands, (3) the actions of anger and the urges of the (4) tongue, (5) belly and (6) genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world."

(Sri Upadesamrta, 1)

I wrote about Siksamrita of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu in Guidance 4 (Chapter 'Srila Rupa Goswami's Siksamrta, Nectar of Instructions'). You can find this chapter and read it today. It is very nice. I am going to read it to you now, please listen.

vacho vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

"A sober person who can tolerate (1) the urge to speak, (2) the mind's demands, (3) the actions of anger and the urges of the (4) tongue, (5) belly and (6) genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world."

(Sri Upadesamrta, 1)

Srila Rupa Goswamipad said, "The urge to speak or to control one's speech is the biggest obstacle on the path of devotional practice." People say whatever comes to their mind; they say whatever they see; they gossip about whatever they have heard—this leads to destruction of devotion. Those who cannot control the urge of speech, the urge of anger, the urge of stomach and the urge of genitals, can never attain success, even if they practise Krishna consciousness. Listening about the Lord, speaking about the Lord, glorifying the Lord, worshipping and paying obeisance to the Lord—these practices bring a certain result. If you follow all these devotional programmes, then firmness, taste, attachment, feelings and love arise, but if you cannot control the urge of speech, the urge of anger, the urge of lust, the urge of stomach, not only will you not get any result—whatever you earn will be all destroyed. If you keep water in a pot that has holes, all water will fall down; in the same way, if you practise Krishna consciousness but have holes, everything you do will fall through those holes. If you have not overcome the six enemies, you have no self-control, then the result of your spiritual practice will fall through these holes. Prajalpa (idle talks, gossiping) is the main thorn on the path of devotion. Everything except Hari-katha is nonsense talk. If you cannot control your urge to speak and insult, criticise and gossip about others, you can never progress on the path of devotion. Those who discuss others' character, will get no spiritual benefit—they will not advance on the path of devotion.

kahare na kare ninda, 'krsna krsna' bale
ajeya chaitanya sei jinibeka hele

"Those who do not offend anyone and always chant the Holy Name of Lord Krishna conquer unconquerable Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.10.312)

If you criticise others, you will not be able to conquer Chaitanya. At the same time, it is easy to get Him. Sri Chaitanya does not give mercy to those who offend others and the universe. You say whatever comes to your mind; you say whatever you have heard; you say whatever you have seen—but you chant the Holy Name. You can chant twenty-five thousand Holy Names, fifty thousand Holy Names, or a hundred thousand Holy Names, but if you criticise somebody with this same tongue, you will not get any result. Criticising others destroys devotion and invites a total ruination of one's devotional life. When you eat rice, your stomach becomes full, your health stays good. In the same way, criticising others may be pleasing to the tongue. You like to hear about others' holes or to see others' holes, but you will never get spiritual benefit because of this. You will only keep going in circles—whatever you get by practising hearing, chanting, etc., will be spoilt. Seeing others' faults destroys everything. Great souls never criticise others, rather they praise Vaisnavs. Great souls never tell Vaisnavs' faults, even if they hear or see some fault, they never speak about it. Those who themselves suffer from lust, are hen-pecked, mix freely with women and extremely uncontrolled, are themselves in a big trouble; they see others' faults and speak out loud about them. Those who cannot see their own innumerable faults, see many holes in others. Camels eat thorns—their tongues bleed, but they do not stop eating. In the same way, people come to practise Krishna consciousness, but cannot stop criticising others, insulting others—they will never get any spiritual benefit. Practitioners must proceed on the path of devotion very carefully. If you cannot heed this warning and roam around criticising others, then you are chopping off your own leg. Hole-searchers and fault-finders happily walk around criticising others left and right. Many say, "We see that he is stealing prasadam. I am telling the truth, what fault is there in saying it?" The fault is in telling this truth—the fault of speech. Who ate it will get the result, but because you go around telling about his fault to everybody, you will be harmed even more. If such fault-finders take shelter of a bona fide guru and keep good association, they will not get the result—they will just go in circles, ending up in the middle of nowhere. They become cheated, deceived in their life. You must not see others' faults, you must not hear about others' faults—and even if you see or hear about somebody's faults, you must not speak about it. Somebody steals food from the storehouse. Are you the controller? "I saw him steal, I have told the truth, what is my fault?" The fault is in telling this truth—this is what leads to ruination and the downfall of the practitioner. Whatever good thing you do, no matter how much you chant the Holy Name with this tongue, you will get no benefit. You will only move forward down the path of inauspiciousness, trouble, and death. Those who do not heed this warning are very unfortunate.

If you take shelter of an ancestral guru or a false guru, then there is nobody who can save you from the hands of inauspiciousness. However, a bona fide guru gives a danger signal—he gives the right advice at the right time. If you listen to the advice or guidance of your guru, you will be benefitted. Those who do not listen to it, fall down. Suppose lust, anger arise in your mind and you become disturbed—no matter how much you practise devotional activities, you will be falling down. You can see how many good qualities one has, how much service one does, but if you criticise others, the result will be your falldown. If you speak about another person's hole, that fault will come to you and it will be a hundred times stronger. Be very careful. Never search for faults in others. Even if somebody does something bad, it is your fault that you see it or speak about it—it brings about ruination. If you do not actually rectify yourself having heard all this caution, you will suffer birth after birth. Many practitioners have good qualities but they cannot progress on the path of devotion. The impression of the actions of those who criticise and abuse others strikes Gurudev's heart heavily. Striking a great soul does not bring any benefit.

What is written here is very nice.

We must be always careful with this. Somebody can do something wrong, but you will not speak about it, even if it is the truth. We will not share such things with anybody, we will not discuss it with anybody (we will not say anything about such matters)—it is bad for your spiritual life. Even if it is the truth, do not go to consult about any such things with others. OK? It is very important.

* * *

Be Part of Krishna Consciousness Movement

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 2

May Krishna always bless you. Gurudev is always with you all. May you all progress in your spiritual life.

It is not important to make a temple in your country or city—you can make a temple in everybody's heart. That is what is necessary.

Devotee: Jay! This is what you told us in Nabadwip last time. You told us not to make a centre, but to make house to house programmes.

Yes, I did. I told you that it is necessary to do house programmes. Set some time on Sunday and make a programme in one house this Sunday, another house next Sunday, and so on. You can arrange additional programmes whenever you have a holiday (a public holiday or a day off at work). Do you understand what I am saying? You must always keep charging yourself and others in this way. You always charge the battery of your phone, and in the same way you must charge your spiritual 'battery'. They will come on every ekadasi day, they will follow ekadasi and practise properly. It is not necessary to make very long programmes, one-two hours is also sufficient. It is necessary to do this in every country. I am telling this to everybody through you. Every country must have programmes in this way.

Sometimes, when there is no temple, devotees show ego, "Oh, I will not go to that house! I will not go to this house!" Such devotees have a big problem. This attitude is harmful for you, it makes you bad, it does not help you. You can be chanting the Holy Name, wearing kanthi-mala (Tulasi beads), putting tilaks, etc., but if you keep dirt in your heart, it is not good. Come and mix with everyone. Gurudev often said, "If they criticise me, it is OK. It is necessary to have somebody to criticise me otherwise who will do it? You must not kick such people out. It is necessary to keep at least one person who will criticise." Gurudev also said that if darkness does not come, how will you understand that the sun has risen? When night comes, the moon rises, darkness come. All this is necessary. In the same way, many things are necessary for practising. Even when you face something unfavourable, you will get more strength from that.

You know, when Gurudev gave me some service (I did a lot of construction service in Gurudev's time and I am still doing it), many criticised me, "Oh, he cannot do it! Gurudev chose him to do the construction, but he cannot do it!" For example, when I was doing the construction of the Govinda Kunda, many gossiped and criticised me, but I never thought, "Oh, they are criticising me, I will stop and leave the work." No! They criticised me, they told me to my face, "Oh, Gurudev chose you, but you are a very wrong person for construction! You cannot do it! You are just a village boy! How will you do it?" I did not care—rather, I heard it and felt more strength to do that service. I know Gurudev's mercy is alway with me. I have no quality, no qualification, but my only happiness and good luck is that I have the mercy of Gurudev. What is not possible can be possible by the mercy of Gurudev. By the mercy of Gurudev everything can be possible. Nothing is impossible when there is Gurudev's mercy. There is no such word as impossible in this life if you have Gurudev's mercy. You must remove this word 'impossible' from your dictionary because everything is possible by the mercy of Gurudev.

Dandavat, Srila Ashram Maharaj. Please accept my humble obeisance, Maharaj. How are you?

Srila Ashram Maharaj: Dandavat, Maharaj. Please accept my humble obeisance at your feet. I am fine, Maharaj. What about yourself? How is everything going there? Where are you now?

I am fine. I am now in Basirhat, Maharaj. I have a three-four day programme here. I do small programmes and visit many villages in the area. I am inviting people to come for Gurudev's appearance day. Because of the lockdown period, coronavirus or something, Bengali devotees have become a little lazy—their battery charge has finished. They do not have so much connection with the internet—those who have smartphones see me in the internet, they see I am giving a lecture in English, and they are happy, but sometimes they think, "Oh, there is no news from Gurudev... When can I come to the temple?" They feel a little anxious and sad, so I have come here for a few days to preach. I am going village to village and inviting Gurudev's disciples saying, "We are still alive, we have not died—please come and join Gurudev's appearance festival." There are two-three programmes every day. This morning, there was a sraddha ceremony (a fire sacrifice, yajna, etc.), then we chanted kirtans, I gave a class; in the evening time, I again gave a lecture, and, when I finished, they started kirtans and I came here to give the class in English for the foreign devotees. I give this class every week and I do not want to miss it.

It is necessary to preach. We must preach until the moment we leave this body, until our very death. Do you understand? Preaching is our life, and that is your bank deposit also. There is a spiritual bank, and a 'deposit' means you can make one person a devotee—you can try to covert at least one person into a devotee of the Lord, try to give back one son to the Lord. We are all sons of nectar (amritasya putra), we are sons of the Lord, but we have lost Him—we are searching for Him, and He is also searching for us. We all want to go back to His real home.

You must be a part of this Krishna consciousness movement—be a part of our Nama-sankritan movement. Everybody must join Krishna-sankirtan movement. I give you a class for one-two hours only, but during this time I am giving you energy. Actually, as long as I am alive, I want to give my entire lifetime to you so that you can preach and have a long life. Generally, it is not necessary to stay in this world for one hundred years. You can live even for ten years—if you chant and practise properly, that is sufficient. What is the use living one hundred and twenty years or one hundred years if you do not practise properly? However, a long life is necessary for those who are preaching Krishna consciousness in this world—they must live a long, long life.

* * *

Humility—Not To Misconceptions

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 3

Question: You were talking about criticism and I am wondering what is the character of a Vaishnav like?

kanaka-kamini, pratistha-baghini,
chhadiyachhe yare sei ta vaisnava

"Those who have given up money, women, and fame, are the true Vaishnavs."

(Vaishnav Ke? 11)

It means having no attachment. Param Gurudev always sang—

visaya chhadiya kabe suddha habe mana,
kabe hama heraba sri-vrindavan

"When will my mind, leaving the material world, become clean? When will I see Sri Vrindavan?"

Materialists are very much attached to their family, but it is necessary to come out from these attachments—

'asakti-rahita,' 'sambandha-sahita,'
visaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'

"When you are free from material attachment and establish relationship with the Lord, then you will see that everything around you is Lord Madhav Himself."

('Vaishnav ke?' verse 12)

We are always attached to kanak (money, property, wealth), kamini (ladies), and pratistha (we always run behind name and fame). Somebody thinks, "Oh, they have not said 'jay' to me!", we get excited, "Oh, they have given me a garland!", "Oh, they must do arati for me." These are all wrong thoughts. Vaishnavs are always humble, they do not take worship from anybody. They always feel, "I do not want any puja, I do not want any glorification for myself. I am a servant of a servant of a servant." This is called humility. The higher one's quality is, the more and more and more humble and tolerant one is. Deep humility is a Vaishnav's main quality. You should understand Vaishnavs' qualities in this way.

Vaishnavs have so many qualities, and everybody's qualities are not the same, but through practising, if you follow the rules and regulations, everybody can become a greatest Vaishnav. Gurudev always gives a signal that some danger is coming, and you must follow it, it is necessary. We must be always alert and aware that any time a signal can come. I have just told you about criticisms and what the bad qualities are—you must always watch out for this.

This is how you can realise all these things.

Question: The expression we heard today about criticism was so nice, but at the same time also we see some acharyas criticise others' conceptions—for example, Sri Madhva Acharya wrote a book on Mayavad-sata-dusani (a hundred defects of mayavad) and Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur wrote a book Prakrita-rasa-sata-dusani (a hundred defects of the sahajiya conception). If the preacher sometimes sees the fault and speak about it, how do we harmonise that?

At that time there were so many apa-sampradaya (aul, baul, kartabhaja, neda, darvesh, sani, sahajiya, sakhibekhi, smarta, jata gosai, ativadi, churadhari, gauranga-nagari). Apa—sampradaya means misconception movements. If Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur had not told about them, if Srila Madhva Acharya had not told about them, then everyone will think their conception is right. It is true, they speak about humility, tolerance and giving honour to others, but these sampradayas spread misconception. How can I not tell people not to take initiation from dishonest gurus and from some business-making gurus? I have to say this. If you can understand these things, you can harmonise it.

For example, I always mention Rama Krishna Mission—I do that because they always tell misconception and if I do not say that what they are saying is wrong, how will people understand that it is all misconception? Rama Krishna Mission urges to make hospitals, they say that it is better to play football instead of reading Bhagavad-gita, and everybody says their conception is right. They say, "As many faiths, so many paths", "Love God by loving others," they say that jiva souls are only men, and all others are not jiva souls. They say so many things and I am bound to say that this is all misconception. This is not criticising, and they are actually not Vaishnavs also.

When I told you not to criticise, I mean not to criticise Vaishnavs and not to gossip so much about others or discuss others—when we read or hear something, we do not discuss it so much, we read what we read, it is not necessary to discuss or gossip about it. We should not discuss others' faults or see others' faults. I have told you the example Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur set—when two brahmacharis fought, he would call them and order both of them to glorify each other for ten minutes.

So, it is necessary to harmonise and understand these things. If we do not expose other conceptions' faults, how will we prove the superiority of our consciousness, how will we present our proper conception to the public? You too attend some science conferences, and if scientists say wrong things, you must tell that what their science says is all false, there is no truth in it.

* * *

Initiation: Beyond Formality

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 4

Question: There is a person who is undecided about what is the best time to receive diksa. Could you please give them your advice?

First choose the guru who will give you initiation, then you can come and ask him, "Gurudev, what time is good for me?" The guru will tell you what is the good time for initiation.

Generally speaking, one can take initiation at any time. Why can you not decide? Do not follow your mind. If your Gurudev says, "You can take initiation now," then you must do that—that is the best time for you.

One time, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Puri Das (Kavi Karnapur) to recite a sloka from Srimad Bhagavatam, and he recited it. After that, Sri Svarup Damodar Prabhu said, "Oh, Prabhu, Puri Das has already become Your disciple!" So, for a disciple, taking a mala, etc. is just a formality. You must understand what for you are taking initiation, what is the meaning of initiation, what is necessary for initiation. These are the main things.

If you only take the initiation and a few days later forget your guru, forget the service of your guru, then how can you be happy through that? If you do not think about all this and just take initiation, what will be the result? You should think only, "How can I please my Guru?" This is the main aspiration.

So, you can take initiation at any time. There are no prohibitions, no rules or regulations concerning the time when to take initiation. What time, which month, which day, etc.—it does not matter; you can take initiation at any time.

* * *

Fight Your Ego

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 5

How many more days will they sleep in the lap of Maya Devi? They must preach! Only working, working, running behing money, running behind ego—it is not good. They must come to the programmes. I am strictly telling them—if this time is bad for them and they are sleeping at this time, OK, I am always here on Sunday, I can give them another time, they must tell what is the proper time. There is nothing for them to worry. They are Gurudev's devotees, they must do something for their practising life. If you always search others' faults—this fault, that fault, etc.—the whole life will finish in this way, and one day death will come and you will not be able to overcome it.

This is necessary. They must listen to Hari-katha. If they think, "We know everything!" then they have a big problem. They can ask me some questions, I can ask them some questions. "I know everything!"—this is not my idea. I do not know anything, but I have got something by the mercy of Gurudev and from all the senior Vaishnavs and leaders. Here is Srila Janardan Maharaj, Srila Ashram Maharaj, they are senior leaders—devotees can listen from them, they can meet with them, and ask them questions. Such communication is necessary for everyone.

Are there any questions from anyone?

Devotee: Jay Nitai, Maharaj!

Jay Nitai?! Do not say this! We say "Nitai Gaura Hari bol." Sahajiya people say "Jay Nitai." It is not your fault—you must have heard it somewhere that they say, "Jay Nitai," but we do not follow sahajiyaism. We do not say, "Radhe Radhe!", "Jay Nitai!" You know, when you go to Vrindavan, you see some come there, put big black tilaks, wear kanthi malas, hang an uttariya on their neck and walk about proudly, "I am a great big Vaishnav/Vaishnavi!" Such people go about saying, "Radhe Radhe!" They think they have come to Vrindavan, so they have got everything—they know more than everyone else...

* * *

Sober Interaction

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 6

Question: How do Vaishnavs treat those who are non-devotees? Should they judge or criticise them or they feel they are superior to them?

No! A real Vaishnav will be very gentle—a real Vaishnav will not act like an asura (demon). Even if somebody is not a devotee, sakale samman karite sakati—you should give respect even to dogs. We must respect everything and everyone. Even if it is a non-devotee, you must not behave like, "Oh, he is not a devotee, get out from here! I hate you! I will not talk with you!" This is all ego. Those who have ego behave like this, but those who are humble always behave gentle with everyone, including non-devotees. It is necessary to behave good.

Question: What do the scriptures say about devotees having 'fun'? We want to be humble and do not want to be enjoyers, but at the same time we want to have a sweet and simple relationship with other devotees. How do we find that balance?

Well, Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Acharya also played sometimes. If you sometimes behave in a light-hearted way among yourselves, what is the problem? But it must be gentle (sober). A brahmachari must never mix with ladies. If there are some ladies, you must see them as your mother. Do not joke with ladies, do not have 'fun' with ladies. There are some rules and regulations pertaining to a temple or ashram. There should be no free mixing; free mixing is not good. You must control your senses. This is how you must see these things.

Devotee: But what about other devotees? What about having fun with other devotees in the mood of having a sweet relation? Not to be an enjoyer, but to have a sweet relationship with other devotees...

Sweet relation? But if you follow Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, if you follow our guru-varga, then 'sweet relationship' means you sometimes talk with others, but you talk for service. You can interact with others for the sake of service, but if you talk with some girl in a hidden place, alone, then it looks very ugly. You cannot do that. You cannot show such behaviour, you cannot talk nonsense with others. I have told you today—except for Krishna-katha, everything else is nonsense talks. So, it will be better if you talk with others only about Krishna-katha. It is necessary to avoid other kinds of relationship. Try to avoid it, it will be good for you, good for everybody also.

I have seen there is so much free mixing in foreign countries. I have seen that people steal each others' wives—one person 'steals' one person's wife, and that person in turn steals somebody else's wife. Their lifestyle is like this. They think so many things, they doubt each other, and so much problem comes to their family relationship. This is not good. People get jealous and fight each other, "Why are you talking with my wife in such a friendly way?!" This can happen, so we must be always careful. We must be always serious in our life.

Gurudev also taught me this. One time, there was a foreign lady from Mexico who lived permanently in Nabadwip, and she got very sick (she had hepatitis B). I was a brahmachari at that time. In those days the temple did not have a car—only Gurudev had a jeep, and we all took rickshaws when we travelled around Nabadwip. So, before going to Gurudev to ask him for permission to take that lady to the doctor, I had arranged two rickshaws, one for myself, one for the lady because if we had gone in one rickshaw, it would not look right. So, I arranged the rickshaws and then came to Gurudev's veranda saying, "Gurudev, this lady is very sick, can I take her to the doctor? She does not know the language..." Gurudev said, "All right, you can go, but do not go in the same rickshaw." I said, "Gurudev, I have already booked two rickshaws." Gurudev replied, "Oh, very nice! I am very happy." This is what I learned from Gurudev. I was the temple supervisor, or manager, at that time, and if I went with a lady in one rickshaw, people would criticise and say, "Oh, he has a bad relation with her!" etc.

So, beware! Be always careful with these things. Why behave in such a way that it gives others chance to criticise and see your fault? Always be careful. Always be alert about this.

* * *

'You Are My All-In-All'

Kolkata, 13 December 2020, part 7

Question: How to become more tolerant?

By practising. It is necessary to practise, and tolerance will come. You can see me also, how much I am tolerating. I used to hit people sometimes, but now I have to forget my stick and I am biting my arms. How much I am tolerating! I cannot beat anyone, instead I am biting my own arms now. It is necessary to tolerate everything.

Are there any other questions?

Question: Why do we put tilak with the ring finger?

[His Divine Grace laughs.] They are asking very interesting questions! Why do we use it? Because all the sastras, all the scriptures say to use this finger, so we use this ring finger. I was doing sraddha ceremony today (fire sacrifice) and I also always used this ring finger, not the middle finger, not the index finger. When you apply tilaks, never use the index finger. When we chastise someone we show this index finger to them saying, "Hey! Do not do that! I will hit you!" Or you can threat somebody to poke their eyes out! So, this index finger is very 'poisonous', do not use to. You can use other fingers, but do not use the index finger.

OK, I am finishing for today. I will answer more questions next week.

I am giving my obeisance to you all. Everybody should remember Gurudev's appearance day, always think about it every day. I am asking forgiveness for my offence. Actually, I have no family in my life—I left my family at a very young age, but I consider you all my family, that is why I can sometimes chastise you, sometimes give love and affection, sometimes even hit you. I can do that only because you are my family; I think that you are my all in all, you are my life, that is why I can share everything with you, and I am always very happy to see you all. Actually, I am very indebted because Gurudev has placed you all in my hand—I am a very fortunate soul because I have got so many friends, so many well-wishers, so many good devotees who served Gurudev in his time also. To be honest, there is only separation from Gurudev left in my life—when Gurudev left this world, I thought my head, shoulders, everything was gone, I was like a doll, or a statue, but when I see you all, I get back my life, my heart and everything else. I am very happy to see you all.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

* * *

Perfect Time for Preaching

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 1

Hare Krishna!

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay saparikara Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda Sundarjiu ki jay
Jay saparikara Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra Prabhu ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Samagata Sri Gaura bhakta-vrinda ki jay!
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhakti-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
All the assembled devotees ki jay
All the worldwide devotees ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

It is necessary to practise. Practice makes perfect. Always practise Krishna consciousness, always remember the Lord, remember the Absolute. We are dasanudasa—we are servants of the servants of the Lord. We must know and remember our identification. We always forget the Lord by the influence of the illusory environment. Maya Devi is very strong, she can remove us from service. She always waits for a gap to appear in our service and then she immediately takes that opportunity and attackes. "Maya-mugdha jivera nahi Krsna-srti-jnana: charmed by maya, the conditioned soul has no knowledge or remembrance of Krishna." Those who are attacked by the illusory environment always forget the Lord.

...In this world, doctors always treat others, but they do not think about their own treatment. Scientists invent so many vaccines, they think about others, but they do not think about themselves. That is the problem. What is the source of everything? This is the main question. They do not think about it, and that is their main problem. It is necessary to adopt simple living, high thinking. What for have we come to this world? What is the purpose of this body? Our biggest problem is that we do not use this body for the proper purpose.

I know you live quite far from the city, but it is not a problem—village people are always simple-hearted, you can preach to them. The hearts of those who live in cities, surrounded by concrete, become very hard, but village people are soft-hearted, so if you can preach to village people, it is good.

Now is the perfect time for preaching. Day by day we are all becoming old and as you get old you cannot give such a good presentation of Krishna consciousness. The Lord also does not like such things as much as He likes fresh and young presentation. Everything has its proper time and it is necessary to do things in good time. In this world, people say that the young age is for enjoyment, but this is completely incorrect. If you do not try to preach and practise from your young age, what will become of you in your old age? It is like, you can give fresh green vegetables to the Lord and take prasadam—that is very nice; but if you offer fifteen-day-old shrivelled vegetables, it does not look nice. So, young age is the perfect time for preaching. People in this world think they must enjoy when they are young—they must work and settle their own life, but this is not correct.

vardhakye ekhana, pancha-roge hata,
kemane bhajiba bala'

Now aged, I am afflicted by five-fold diseases. Tell me, how shall I serve?

When old age comes, we always suffer from five kinds of diseases—old people do not have so much patience, they cannot tolerate so much austerity, and so many health problems and obstacles come to their life then.

jivana anitya janaha sara
tahe nana-vidha vipada-bhara

"Understand the essence: life is temporary and filled with all sorts of danger."

Life is very short and it is very uncertain—we can lose it at any moment. Moreover, so many dangers, problems and obstacles come in this life, but we must not waste time—we must immediately take shelter of the guidance of the Holy Name.

Make devotees and preach! In this world, not so many people will take to Krishna consciousness, but Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur says that you must not become disheartened—you will try and try, always keep trying to preach. Go door to door. They may kick you out from their doorstep, but it is not a problem for you—if they kick you out, then your tolerance will increase more and more. These are Srila Prabhupad's words.

"Krsna bolo, sange chala, ei matra bhiksa chai. I am begging you only for one thing: come with us and chant 'Krishna'!" We only beg everyone, "Please, just say 'Krishna'! Please, practise Krishna consciousness." This is all we pray to them.

It is necessary to understand this. I am requesting you all, please preach more and more.

* * *

Preaching Plan and Programme

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 2

I have been attending some programmes before Gurudev's appearance day and I will have more programmes after the festival. I want to make an assembly Sri Dham Pracharani Sobha dedicated to the preaching of the glorification of Sri Nabadwip Dham that was started originally by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur and Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Dham Pracharani Sobha is about the holy place of Nabadwip Dham—we want to distribute the glory of Nabadwip Dham, the glory of our guru-varga, as well as the glory and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. I want to spread it throughout many places, that is why I want to visit so many places. This is my view and my idea.

Other than that, everything is going on fine. Devotees make programmes, they gather many people, take prasadam, listen to the class—everything is like before, there is no problem.

I was in Uluberia today and yesterday. The father of one of my disciples died (his mother is Gurudev's disciple). They made a sraddha ceremony on the eleventh day after his demise. I did the fire sacrifice myself, but actually my intention is to teach one of my sannyasis, Sripad Vishnu Maharaj, how to do fire sacrifices.

I read Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami's book Sat-kriya-sat-dipika, and I saw that this book is a little too long, so I compiled a shorter version of this book with the instructions how to do a fire sacrifice for the sraddha ceremony or second initiation. This book is already printed (in Bengali). I want to teach some devotees so that they can easily do fire sacrifice themselves because now the situation is such that those who know how to do a fire sacrifice (yajna) become very proud (they get a big ego) thinking, "Nobody can make a fire sacrifice without me!" That is why, I want to teach many devotees to do fire sacrifice. Even if some foreign devotees want to learn it, I can teach it to them properly. I teach the short way. If somebody has desire to learn how to do fire sacrifice, they can learn easily.

A few days ago I was in Basirhat, a town near Bangladeshi border, and I taught the devotees there also. Sripad Vishnu Maharaj has learned almost everything about fire sacrifices by now. It is not difficult—you read the mantras from the book and do it. It is not a big matter, that is why I want to teach devotees so that they can do it themselves, it will be good for devotees.

It is necessary to have a fire sacrifice when devotees take second initiation. Everyone should know how to do puja, they must learn these things. Actually, it is necessary for everybody in general also, and these are not very high things—if somebody practises gayatri mantra properly, minimum two times every day, and they try to learn how to do puja, how to make the offering, it is easy. This is not something very big. In this way, I want to demolish the ego of those who know how to make fire sacrifice so that they do not show so much ego, "Oh, it is not possible to make it without me!"

One thing you should also know that Gurudev says that when somebody's father or mother dies, a fire sacrifice is an external thing. If you only arrange Vaishnav-seva (Vaishnav festival) and give your attention to that, it is sufficient. The thing is that the brahman culture is very deep-rooted in Indian culture, so devotees feel they must follow it, and they end up hiring some brahman who charge a lot of money—devotees are not very rich, why will they spend money on these nonsense things? That is why, if devotees make Vaishnav-hom and Vaishnav-seva, that is sufficient.

So, with all this in mind, I have compiled a (Bengali) book called 'Vaishnav-hom and Dasa-samskar-viddhi' where I wrote about some viddhi-marga and dasa-samskar. Everyone can learn it themselves.

In some countries also, they do not know how to make fire sacrifices, but if they want to learn, I can teach it to them easily. There are many devotees all over the world who have taken second initiation, but there are not many who know how to make a fire sacrifice. I want to teach devotees. Why will only brahmacharis and sannyasis hold fire sacrifice? Even householder devotees can do it if they have the right qualification. If hired brahmans can do it (and those brahmans are all householders), then why cannot our householder devotees do it? They are actually better than brahmans, they are more than brahmans because at least they are Vaishnavs, but the hired brahmans are not. So, if our householder Vaishnavs learn to do fire sacrifices, it will be good for them.

So, I went to Uluberia yesterday to participate in the ceremony they had arranged. The hosting devotee is very poor, but arranged Vaishnav-seva and about three hundred people took prasadam. More than two hundred initiated devotees, Gurudev's disciples and my disciples, came to take prasadam—they all came and joined the festival yesterday.

Then, there was another programme today. Actually, I was invited to join programmes in many villages on the occasion of Damodar month. During Damodar month many villages and districts did parikramas (street sankirtan) every morning, followed the rules and regulations strictly, etc. and at the end of the month they tried to arrange a big festival (all of our branches also did these parikramas every morning during the month). Sometimes, I could not join, and sometimes I told them the date and tried to come to give them some enthusiasm because when I come there, devotees become very happy. I also think that I can use this opportunity to preach—new devotees, new people come, they can hear some Hari-katha, and they are getting a chance to connect with the Lord. It is necessary for them because they are all lost servants of the Lord, and this is their chance to connect with the Lord. That is why, I try to use this opportunity for preaching purpose. In a few days, it will be Gurudev's appearance day, and I also go door to door and preach to everyone, call everyone, "Please come! Come and join this grand festival!"

Question: If there are no male devotees, are ladies allowed to do fire sacrifice?

For which purpose? If it is a brahman initiation when the brahman thread is given, then it is not possible because ladies do not wear the brahman thread. If it is other things, like a sraddha ceremony, then ladies can do that. Not the brahman initiation. Ladies cannot give brahman thread to men.

Ladies can recite the mantra, they can put ghee into the fire, it is not a problem, but when the brahman thread is given, then it is not good. As I have already said, ladies cannot give the brahman thread to men because ladies do not wear the brahman thread (the brahman thread is not necessary for ladies). Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur also noted that many devotees take second initiation, but they do not use the brahman thread after that (which is very wrong to do). Also, even here in India, general brahmans always wear the thread, but their wives do not. So, all in all, yes, ladies can do a fire sacrifice, but not for the second initiation, they can do it for other purposes, like a sraddha ceremony, in this case it is not a problem.

* * *

Keep Yourself Busy With Service

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 3

Question: Last week you spoke about criticising devotees, about not being drain inspectors. I was thinking about it and want to ask you how to behave in a situation when I see other devotees treat their godbrothers or godsisters, other devotees, in a bad way?

If somebody is criticising others, they as it is will get the result for that ('as you sow so you reap'). If somebody criticises others, they can do as they like, but we will neither do that, nor support that.

Devotee: If I see such a situation, should I speak up or should I not say anything?

It is better not to say anything. If somebody is criticising you, then you must tolerate it, and if somebody is criticising your godbrother, godsister, your guru-varga, then you can try to teach the person—you can say gently, "Please do not do this. It is not good." You can try to explain to them that it is not good to do this. If somebody criticises your guru-varga, who are all liberated souls (mukta-purush) and who are all our gurus, then you can tell the person not to do that, "Please stop it, do not do that. It is not good for your spiritual life! Do not speak bad about others."

Somebody may have made a mistake, it may be the truth, and you tell about it to somebody else, but Gurudev says that even in this case it is not necessary to say anything. What you are saying about somebody may be true, but it is not necessary to speak about it because if you search for faults in somebody else, that fault will come to you as a reaction. Do not criticise others.

So, you can explain all these things to those who speak bad about others.

Srila Prabhupad also gave an example. Suppose you have seen somebody steal some bhoga or prasadam from the kitchen before it was offered. You may have seen it, but it is not necessary to broadcast these things. This is called gramya-katha (village talks) and prajalpa (idle talks). You have seen something and you think it is your duty to go about telling this, this, this, making a whole big story out of it—this is not good for any devotee. Do you understand what I am saying?

Actually, devotees are always busy with their service, when will they get time for all this? It is not necessary to pass your time in this way—do not waste your time on others' faults. We must always see and search our own fault—we should not search others' faults.

Devotee: So, when I see somebody is ill-treating other devotees, I should speak up against that?

You can say, "Didi/Prabhu, it is not good for you. You have some power now, that is why you are treating them like this, but Krishna can remove your power and then you will also be treated by others in this way."

[Addressing another devotee.] Dandavat, Prabhu. I see you have a big moustache—can you not remove it? Does the government give you a tax break for your moustache? Are there some rules and regulations at your workplace that you have to keep that moustache?

Devotee: Yes, it is because of my identity card. My photo in the identity card is with the moustache, so I have to keep it.

You can change your photo or change your ID card! It is not good to keep a moustache. When you drink water, it touches your moustache and it is not good. [On another occasion, His Divine Grace said, "The scriptures say that if your moustache touches the water that you are drinking, then you are taking urine."] Try to remove it. You look like Jagai and Madhai with this moustache. The only thing is that Jagai and Madhai are very powerful—Jagai and Madhai have so much Vaishnav qualities. They have got service from Mahaprabhu! They would clean the Ganges—people passed stool on the bank of the Ganges, and they would clean it. They got this service and mercy from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they are very great Vaishnavs.

Are there any other questions?

Question (from a new person from Caracas): How can I cultivate a relationship with you?

You can listen to Hari-katha, Krishna-katha, read my books, read Gurudev's books. It is all related. Read Srila Sridhar Maharaj's books, Gurudev's books, my books. This is how more and more faith will come to you. When you are ready to receive initiation (when you are ready to follow all the rules and regulations), I can give it to you.

The devotees at Parama Karuna who live there follow Krishna consciousness and all rules and regulations—you can take their association, it will be good for you, and I will also be very happy if you serve the devotees there. Try to serve the mission of Parama Karuna Nitai Gaurachandra there. Serve the Deities and the devotees there, that is my happiness, and if you want to receive initiation, I am always at your service, I am ready to give initiation to you. It is not a problem.

* * *

Practical Choice

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 4

Srila Janardan Maharaj: Here, they have a lockdown because they say many people are dying every day...

Here in India it is not like that. This whole India is a very big country (about 138 crores—1.38 billion—people live here now), but every day only three-four hundred people are dying. Anyway, when somebody's lifetime finishes, they have to die. Nobody can stop death. They can make so many rules and regulation, but Yamaraj is always ready to take you away. Birth and death come for everybody, we cannot stop that. We can neither deny, nor avoid that. Death can come at any time. This year, it is covid-19, next year something-20 will come, another year something-21 will come, another year something-23, and so on. We cannot stop our preaching, we cannot stop our spiritual practice. Otherwise time will pass and our life will finish while we are waiting for all the problems to go away. Why must we stop our preaching?

Question: Could you please tell us about Their Lordships Sri Sri Nitai Chaitanya jiu at Sri Puri Dham? According to the calendar, today is the anniversary of Their installation...

These Deities were installed by Gurudev. Every temple has Radha Krishna and Mahaprabhu, but Gurudev always thinks in a practical way. Sri Puri Dham is famous everywhere for Jagannath, Baladev, and Subhadra, but there are also some pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu that happened in Sri Puri Dham. Nityananda Prabhu broke Mahaprabhu's danda, Nityananda Prabhu always came to Puri with many devotees and Sivananda Sen. There are many pastimes of Nityananda Prabhu and Sriman Mahaprabhu there. Gurudev also said that Sriman Mahaprabhu rejected Nabadwip and accepted Puri. Krishna stole the heart and halo of Srimati Radharani and became Sri Krishna Chaitanya (Gauranga Mahaprabhu). The Lord showed the separation mood of Sri Radha from the Lord (Radha-bhav) in Gambhira and He shared those separation pastimes with Svarup Damodar and Raya Ramananda Prabhu. So, instead of choosing Radha-Krishna (Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharvika Govinda Sundarjiu), Gurudev rather chose Nitai Gaura for the Deities in Sri Puri Dham.

There are many Gaudiya Maths in Puri that were established before our temple, but their Deities are Radha-Krishna and Mahaprabhu, as installed by Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Yet, here Srila Gurudev made it easier for the devotees to serve—the worship of Radha-Krishna is very high, but the worship of Nitai Gaurachandra is simpler. Besides, without the mercy of Nitai-Gaura we cannot reach Srimati Radharani or Krishna. That is why Gurudev chose Nitai Gaurachandra rather than Radha-Krishna and Mahaprabhu. And Gurudev also composed the arati song (Sri Sri Nitai Gaura Arati) for these Deities.

On the installation day of these Deities in our temple in Sri Puri Dham, Gurudev made a very big festival and even King Gajapati (descendant of King Prataparudra) was present there. Actually, it was the desire of Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Everybody knows he did not make so many temples in his life, but he told Gurudev to make at least one temple in Kolkata, as well as in Vrindavan and Puri. Many foreign devotees come to India via Kolkata airport, and Dum Dum Park is near the airport, so they can come and stay there for one-two days and rest before going to Nabadwip. So, Gurudev made Dum Dum Park temple as a transit station for the devotees. He also made another temple in Vrindavan and in Puri. The land was purchased in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's time. Later, Gurudev also made another temple in Govardhan. In this way, Srila Gurudev fulfilled Srila Sridhar Maharaj's desire.

There are not so many pastimes that I know about. I have heard a little bit from Gurudev only. I remember Gurudev always liked to go to Puri by car, and I went with him sometimes also. Gurudev did not like to come to Puri when it was very crowded, so he always preferred to come some time after or before Ratha-yatra. Actually, he did not go to Puri so many times. Most of the time he stayed in Kolkata and Nabadwip. Yet, we have visited Puri many times—we go there almost every year with all the pilgrims. I always take so many devotees to Puri at the time of Ratha-yatra. It is not very far from Kolkata, about five-six hundred kilometres.

We should understand and remember that this is an important place, an important temple of our Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

* * *

Embody Proper Conception

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 5

Question: How to get away from the people who do not follow this path of service? Sometimes they feel they must say hello to us or come to us for a favour...

If somebody is not a devotee, you can preach to them. You can give them humility, tolerance, and honour. Show humility, tolerance and giving honour to others through your activities, deal with others sweetly, show a good mood, talk sweetly. If somebody is a new person, you must talk to them nicely. Such behaviour is good for devotees. We must practise Mahaprabhu's teachings (siksa), we must practise what Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu says,

vacho vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

"A sober person who can tolerate (1) the urge to speak, (2) the mind's demands, (3) the actions of anger and the urges of the (4) tongue, (5) belly and (6) genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world."

(Sri Upadesamrta, 1)

We must deal with others in a very nice way. If somebody is not a devotee, we will not treat them in a haughty way. You can talk to them sweetly, you can invite them to the temple to come and see the Deities, they can pay respect to the Deities, you can talk to them, give them prasadam. This is the basics. Do not tell anyone, "Get out from here!" It is not good.

If you come at the time of Gaura Purnima, you will see that so many people join Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, and not everybody is initiated, but they like to join, and they join year after year, they chant kirtans, mix with devotees, gradually they start to practise, and this is how people come—their hearts become clean and they become pure devotees. Devotees must be always humble, it is necessary for everyone. Learn to be humble, tolerant and to give honour to others from Mahaprabhu and Gurudev. You must apply all these things in your life. These are the main things in one's life.

Question: On the other hand, listening to guru-ninda is a great offence, and, on the other hand, protesting to guru-ninda can be Vaishnav aparadh(?), so how can we tolerate this?

Do not listen to guru-ninda. You can tell the person not to speak like that. I did not tell you to tolerate it. You can say, "Prabhu, do not do that. Do not criticise Gurudev." If you tell the person and they still continue doing it again and again, you can go away from that person and keep some distance from them. It is necessary to understand it.

Question: If possible, could you tell us when and how you started preaching programmes?

When I was a brahmachari (I had not taken sannyas at that time), Gurudev told me, "I have been preaching in many villages of Burdwan district before Gaura Purnima, and now that preaching has become rice collection only. If you can try to preach there, it would be good." So, I started house to house preaching in various villages in Burdwan and Midnapore, started visiting many places. It all started in Gurudev's time.

At that time, devotees would mainly go out to distribute invitations for Gaura Purnima and to collect rice, but I started preaching. I would start early in the morning when everybody was still sleeping—I would wake up early, take my Deities (photographs and the altar), do mangal arati, etc. We did everything in the same way how we do it in the temple—we would turn the house into a temple. Sometimes, I would take along some brahmacharis and some foreign devotees also. Sripad Trivikram Maharaj was not a sannyasi at that time, he also went with me, Bhakta Bandhu Prabhu, Munindra Mohan Prabhu, Sadhu Priya Prabhu, Gaurachandra Prabhu, and many other devotees also went with me. At that time, devotees would come for Gurudev's appearance day, so there were usually a lot of foreign devotees living at the temple.

Before that, those who went to villages did not follow so many things—they would wake up, take some breakfast and then go to collect rice. What for will people give them rice? What for do we go for collection? When I go, I mainly give attention to the preaching programme—more than to the actual rice collection. What for do we come? We do not come just for rice or money. We come to preach. So, I would stay in some devotee's house and from there go on a sankirtan with a megaphone (hand mic) around the whole village announcing and inviting everybody to some programme or to the evening programme. People like it, they become excited, "Oh, Krishna-Name has come to my house!" I would invite everyone, "There is going to be a programme in the evening. Please come, everybody." In the meantime, I would tell the person where I stayed to prepare prasadam for two-three hundred people, and they are usually rich people, so they were happy to feed others. I invited everyone to the programme and for prasadam ("Come to this house tonight, join our programme"), and many people would come just for prasadam, but they joined the programme, listened to my class, and so on. This is how I started preaching. In the evening, most of villagers do not work, they sit and gossip at the tea stall or some village shop—I thought better they instead come to my class and hear some kirtan. In this way, I would give a class, chant kirtans, and the next day I would go for collection and people happily gave much rice because they understood what for they were giving it.

We are not beggars. We are not going house to house asking for some rice. No. We do not come as beggars—we come to give something to them. We are actually donors coming to give them something, we do not come to take anything from them. Those who understood it happily gave very much rice.

This is how I started this preaching and this is how so many people also started coming and joining Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. Gurudev was very happy with that. Over the years, the number of devotees attending the parikrama kept growing—so many people would come, there would be no place to accommodate everyone, we had to make many pandals, make many arrangements, etc. Gurudev was happy to see that. When I joined the Mission (in 1992), there were only about two hundred and fifty people joining Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, but now a few thousand people come to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math for Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. You have seen that.

* * *

Real Relationship

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 6

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay

Everything is going on very nicely, and I am very happy to see you. I think I will be perhaps in Nrisingha Palli next Sunday, so I will talk with you from there (we will try to make a programme there). It was very nice to meet with you all today. Please forgive my offence that I did not really give a lecture on any subject this time.

Actually, I am meeting with you all just to get your association. Everybody must realise that we are all close relatives—we are all sons or daughters of the Lord, therefore we are all brothers and sisters. "Srnvantu visve amrtasya putra. You are all sons of nectar!" We come from the Lord and we must go back to the Lord—back to God, back to home. Back to Godhead. In this way, we are related to each other. This feeling must come to our heart. We are all one family, and this family's guardian is our Gurudev. In a family, all brothers and sisters do not have the same qualities, the same qualifications, but we are still a family—we must have love and affection for each other and for everybody in general. This is very important. Do not enter into any contradiction with anybody, do not fight with anybody. We are all one family—the family who are following Gurudev's instruction, who are following Gurudev's order and request.

It is not necessary to become a great guru—we must become great disciples. "Sisya thakibo sarvada. I will always remain a servant." "Bhajite bhajite abhimana hau dura"—if you worship the Lord realising this relationship (understanding your relationship with the Lord), then your ego will be removed. We must understand our relationship with the Lord—we must understand that we are servants of the servants of the Lord, we are servants of devotees. When this relationship comes, your ego will be removed.

You can read the song "Kripa kara Vaishnav Thakur" and see its meaning. I sang it today in the morning. It is said there, "Sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite abhimana hau dura. Knowing the true relationship I will always worship You and my ego will go far away." We must understand our relationship (sambandha) with the Lord, relationship with the devotees. We are all servants of devotees, we are not masters of devotees. We are servants of the servants of devotees. If we think we are masters of devotees, that is ego. If you understand the true relationship that you are a servant of devotees, then that ego will be removed. It is very important to understand this.

I am giving my full obeisance to you all. Please accept my obeisance. Dandavat.

[A day earlier, in a Bengali class, His Divine Grace spoke about the purport of this song as follows:]

We will sing now a kirtan in glorification of Vaishnavs. Usually, we sing "(Ohe) Vaishnav Thakur" song, but today I will chant a new one.

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

What kind of sambandha (relationship) is this? We have some relationship with our fathers, mothers, friends, brothers, sisters, relatives, uncles, aunts, etc., but this relationship is not real. What is our realtionship with Vaishnavs? "O Vaishnav Thakur, you are my Lord, and I am your servant." This is the true relationship, and this relationship must come to us. "You are my Lord, and I am your servant." Even a father must pay obeisance to his son.

One day, a brahmachari came to Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj. This brahmachari had just got married and gone to his house to live with his family (in other words, he had become a grihastha). He had stayed at home for one-two months cooking and eating separately, when finally he said, "Enough. I cannot do it anymore!" He did not eat what his wife cooked because his wife was not initiated. This is rather common—if the wife is not initiated, then you should not eat from her hands (should not eat what she cooks). Such is the rule. Many get married and eat their wife's cooking, but

visayira anna khaile malina haya mana
malina mana haile, nahe krsna-nama grahana

"If you take food that comes from materialistic people, your mind becomes contaminated. When your mind is contaminated, you cannot chant the Name of Krishna."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila, 6.278)

This is what is said in the scriptures. You should not eat from the hands of materialists. They must get initiated, and to get initiated one must come to a guru. So, that brahmachari came to his guru (Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj) and said,

"Gurudev, please do not take my offence, I have got married..."

Srila Babaji Maharaj said, "You did good. Now she must get initiated, mustn't she?"

"Yes, that is why I have come to you."

"Oh, I understand. Listen, I will give her initiation, but I have one condition."

"Yes, what is it?"

"You must work, earn money and buy all the groceries, etc. Then, your wife will cook and you will offer the bhog—if you do not have time to do it, then your wife will offer the bhog. After offering the bhog, doing arati, etc. after you finish everything, your wife will take prasadam first, and you will take the remnants after her."

Why did Srila Babaji Maharaj say this? You must do this so that you do not think that your wife is an object of your enjoyment. You will think, "My wife is Krishna's maidservant, and I am Krishna's servant. I am my Guru's servant, and my wife is my Guru's maidservant." You must remember this, otherwise if you think, "She is my wife, she will do what I say!" this is not right.

This is what is called relationship (sambandha). It is the realisation that, "I am Your servant."

Also, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj said that the husband must call his wife 'Didi' (sister) and the wife will call her husband 'Prabhu' (Master). You must follow this. This is sambandha. If you follow this, then your ego that "Oh, I have become a Vaishnav!" will go away.

sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

This is what is called real relationship (sambandha).

'ami ta vaisnava' e buddhi haile
amani na ha'ba ami
pratisthasa asi' hrdaya dusibe
haiba nirayagami

"If I think, 'I am a Vaishnav,' then I will never stop expecting honour from others (I will never become void of the desire for honour)—my heart will become polluted by the desire for fame and I will end up in hell."

"I am a Vaishnav!" If this is my idea, then again ego will come to me—I will not be able to give honour to others, I will not be able to free myself from the desire to receive honour. This is how desire for pratistha comes, "I am a great Vaishnav!", "Give me a garland!", "Everybody says 'jay' to me!" and so on. Do you know what Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said? Sometimes you hear people say, "No, no, no, do not give me any garland!" These are only external words, but what is the real meaning? It means they say, "Give it to me, give it to me!" In this way, desire for pratistha comes.

kanaka-kamini, pratistha-baghini,
chhadiyachhe yare sei ta vaisnava

"Those who have given up money, women, and fame, are the true Vaishnavs."

(Vaishnav Ke? 11)

Who is called a Vaishnav? To be a Vaishnav, it is necessary to give up money, women, and fame. "Pratisthasa asi' hrdaya dusibe"—when pratistha comes, it contaminates the heart! What becomes then? You will find yourself in hell (nirayagami).

tomara kinkara apane janiba
'guru'-abhimana tyagi'
tomara uchchhista pada-jala-renu
sada niskapate bhaji

"I will consider myself Your servant and give up the ego of a guru. I will always earnestly take Your remnants, Your foot dust, the water that has washed Your feet."

"I will become your servant." We must give up the ego and never think that we can be or have become a guru. We must always remember, "I am always a disciple."

"Tomara uchchhista pada-jala-renu sada niskapate bhaji." We will always take remnants of the Lord (uchchhista). You know, if you go to Jagannath temple, you will see there is a pot of water at the entrance for washing your feet—first you must wash your feet, then you can go inside. So, when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was in Puri, He would go to Jagannath Temple with Govinda and other devotees and also first wash His feet there. One time, a devotee named Kalidas went there and started taking that water from Mahaprabhu's feet! Govinda shouted at him, "Hey, do not touch the feet! Do not touch the feet!" But Mahaprabhu said, "Do not stop him." Mahaprabhu prohibited everyone to touch His feet, but not Kalidas. Why? What had he done? When all Vaishnavs took prasadam, he would never sit with them—he would stand afar and, later, when everybody finished, he would come to the place where the Vaishnavs threw their plates and take their remnants from there. This is Kalidas who had got the right to touch Mahaprabhu's feet.

nije srestha jani' uchchhistadi dane
habe abhimana-bhara
tai sisya tava thakiya sarvada
na laiba puja ka'ra

"I will become full of pride thinking, 'Your remnants, etc. are the most precious thing for me!' In this way, I will always remain Your disciple, I will take worship from anyone."

People always think about themselves (thinks that they themselves are the dearest). I have told you the story of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj many times. Once, somebody invited Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj to their house to take prasadam. When Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj came and ate everything clean from the plate, the host forced Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj to eat again thinking, "If I do not force him to eat more and if he does not leave anything on the plate, then how we will get his prasadam?" Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj then thought, "I have finished taking prasad, but they are giving me rice and subji again! What is this?" Then, he forced himself to eat everything again and not only that—he also ate the banana plate! This is the truth, this is what actually happened. Seeing this, the person who had invited Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj, began to cry, "I have made a big offence! I have made a big offence!"

So, if you say, "Give me prasadam!" or if you keep pushing others, "Take more!" then you are showing your ego. "Give me more prasad! Give me this prasad, give me that prasad!" This is all ego.

"Na laiba puja ka'ra. I will not take worship from anyone." Many say, "Maharaj, please accept my obeisance." I do not accept anyone's obeisance—all obeisances are at Gurudev's lotus feet. That is why, Srila Prabhupad said, "There are many gurus in this world who will take your obeisances (pranam) and donations (pranami), but it is very rare to find a bona fide guru who will care for your spiritual life."

amani manada haile kirtane
adhikara dibe tumi
tomara charane niskapate ami
kandiya lutiba bhumi

"When I become free from the desire for honour and be able to give honour to others, you will give me the right to chant Your kirtan. I will earnestly roll on the ground and cry at Your holy feet."

* * *

Try to Forget

Kolkata, 20 December 2020, part 7

Question: If somebody has hurt me, how can I forget or overcome this bad feeling?

Through practising... You are a very young girl, and I know it is very difficult for you to forget such things... That is why we also must understand that when young children come to Krishna consciousness, we must not criticise their guru in front of them—they get pain when they hear it. Sometimes, we must think also. It is very bad to criticise the guru in front of the disciple. Sometimes, it happens also that parents may behave bad with their young children. I myself am an example of this.

When I was twelve or eleven years old, my father gave me one rupee and told me to bring him bidi (something like cigarettes, but cheaper). I went to school, but I forgot to bring it for him, and he beat me very much for that. I can still remember that. It may have happened fifty years ago, but I can still remember that day when he beat me. So, how will I tell this girl, "If somebody has hurt you, you must forget it." It happened to me, and even I still cannot forget it—my father beat me fifty years ago, and I cannot forget it because what was my fault? I forgot to bring him cigarettes, and he beat me. And that gentleman is still alive—he is almost ninety years old now (eighty-five or eighty-eight). Now he has given up smoking because he used to be a chain smoker and now he is suffering because of that (too much breathing problem, etc.). They tell me how much he is suffering, but I said that it was his karma-phal (result of his own actions). What did he do before? That gentleman was a chain smoker, that is why he is suffering now.

So, how can I tell you it is easy to forget it? It is not easy. Even I cannot forget it, then how can I tell you that you should forget it? It is not that easy... But at least you can try. OK? We are trying to forget it. I cannot tell you, "You should forget it! You should do this, that!" No. Even I cannot do that, then how will you do it? When somebody hits you, when somebody makes problem for you, when somebody abuses you, it is not something you can forget.

Thank you so much. I am finishing for today. Dandavat. May Krishna bless you all.

* * *

Bound by Loving Service

Nrisingha Palli, 27 December 2020, part 1

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Visva-varenya Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa-kula-churamani Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Om Vishnupad Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
Rupanuga-guru-varga ki jay
Namacharya Haridas Thakur ki jay
Vrinda Devi, Tulasi Devi, Sri Bhakti Devi ki jay
Sri Shyama Kunda, Radha Kunda, Sri Giri Govardhan ki jay
Sri Mayapur Dham, Sri Nabadwip Dham, Sri Vrindavan, Mathura ki jay
Sri Purusottam Ksetra ki jay
Baladev, Subhadra, Jagannathjiu ki jay
Akar Math-raj Sri Chaitanya Math ki jay
Mayapur Yogapith ki jay
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math ki jay
Tandiya sakha Math samuha ki jay
Sri Mather sevak vrinda, bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Ananta-koti Vaishnav vrinda ki jay
Sri Gaudiya Acharya vrinda ki jay
Tridandi-pad-gan ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Nityananda Prabhu ki jay
Saparsada Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jay
Bhakta-prabara Prahlad Maharaj ki jay
Suddha-bhaktir-vighna-vinasankari Bhagavan Nrisinghadev ki jay
Sri Sada-Siva Gangadhar Giriraj Govardhan ki jay
Harinam sankirtan ki jay
Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol

I hope everybody is OK. It is very nice to see all the devotees. I am very happy to see you all. I came to Nrisingha Palli yesterday after many days to arrange the festival of Srila Gurudev's appearance day. We are going to make this festival here, that is why I have come a few days beforehand: it is necessary to arrange everything (to prepare the new buildings, new rooms, etc.)

I am here by the mercy of Gurudev, and I have been remembering today how many years I passed with him and how many pastimes happened with Gurudev... I would like to speak about it in the introduction of this meeting.

I was speaking yesterday to some new devotees and sannyasis here from the Bengali section and I was telling them that it is necessary to understand how one should serve their Guru. You will serve your Guru with priti—with much love and affection.

In Gurudev's time, I was always at his service. I always thought, "When will a phone call come from Gurudev? When will Gurudev give me some service?" When Gurudev was coming back to Nabadwip from Kolkata, he would call me when he was in Krishnanagar (it is about ten-twelve kilometres from Nabadwip, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math) and say, "I am in Krishnanagar," and I would arrange some reception kirtan, programme, etc. I would come to Gurudev, offer him arati, and Gurudev would say a few words to the devotees. It is a very nice relationship with Gurudev. Such relationship is the main thing, actually. Gurudev never said to me, "Oh, I have called you, but I could not reach you!" He never had to complain about this. Rather, I was always alert when his phone call would come. I always thought about it. If I knew Gurudev was coming the next day (I would get a message from Kolkata that he was coming), I would go to the market and get the rice he liked, the vegetables he liked, etc. and fill his kitchen with everything. Gurudev had a separate kitchen, and I knew he would come and his personal servant would immediately start cooking. It never happened that they came and there was nothing in the kitchen. I always made sure the kitchen was full.

Also, there was always load shedding in Nabadwip (the electricity would go out)—sometimes, Gurudev would wake up at midnight, at two o'clock, three o'clock at night and there was no electricity. So, I got a separate generator for Gurudev—I did not allow electricity to go out for even one minute for him. I immediately supplied everything he needed. Even when Gurudev got sick, I would immediately, within a few minutes, bring a doctor to him. This is how Gurudev gradually started to depend on me—when he came to Nabadwip, he would always depend on me in everything, and he said, "I am coming here only because of you—because I know I can come and you will arrange everything, you will take care of everything."

This is how I fulfilled Gurudev's desires. When it came to Gurudev's appearance day, I would also make all the arrangements, and on the adhivas day he would want to walk around, see the lights, see what arrangements had been made, what prasadam was being prepared, etc. He wanted to know everything—what prasadam was being arranged, how I would serve all the Vaishnavs who were coming from various temples, various Gaudiya Maths. Gurudev observed and explained every single thing to me—he guided me in everything.

This is how that service was done... This relationship it is another kind of relationship, it is not an ordinary relationship...

I was telling my disciples yesterday that they do not know how close the relationship between Gurudev and me was. Gurudev's service is my dhyan-jnan! His service is my meditation—I always think, always meditate, "How can I fulfil Gurudev's desire? How can I do what he wants? How can I serve him?" Even when he chastised me, I felt he was giving me his mercy, his blessing (asirbad)—this is how he moulded me and made me fit for service (gave me more and more service qualification). This is the kind of relationship that I had, and Gurudev wanted to share so many confidential things with me. He told me a lot about the previous history of the Mission, what happened before I came to the temple, he told me how close he was with his Guru Maharaj (Srila Sridhar Maharaj), what was his mood, how he served his godbrothers, and so many other things.

Gurudev always told me to come to his veranda at three o'clock. There are not so many devotees at this time as, mostly, devotees would come to Gurudev after the mangal arati, but before the mangal arati there would be no one there, even Gurudev's private servitor (a Bengali devotee) would be sleeping at that time, and Gurudev always chose that time for me—he would tell me, "I want you to come to me from three to four a.m., I want to talk to you privately."

This is what I have been remembering today. This is the kind of relationship there is between Gurudev and myself... These are very important things.

* * *

Deep Service Mood

Nrisingha Palli, 27 December 2020, part 2

When Gurudev left Nabadwip in 2009, he was very said. He said, "Anugatya (devotion, or strict adherence, to the Guru) has already left this world. There is no anugatya left in Gaudiya line... I do not want to stay here any longer. I want to leave Nabadwip as soon as possible." What is 'anugatya' in English? [A devotee suggests: "chastity."] Chastity is a very high thing—you can say 'anugatya' is sincerity.

These are the things Gurudev shared with me...

Now so many disciples get pranami (donation) and keep it in their pocket, but when I went abroad, I gave whatever pranami I got (so many devotees would give pranami, etc.) to Gurudev—I never kept a single coin or a single dollar. When I came back, I would first go straight to Gurudev, give him everything I had in my pocket and bag, and then only went to my room. Later, when I needed money for construction, temple management or to pay some bills, I would come to Gurudev, tell him and he would give me money. Otherwise, how would I make all the construction works and all the other services that Gurudev wanted? That is what guru-seva is.

Chatak bird always thinks, "When will it rain? When will a cloud come?" It always waits for drops of rain, and we too should have this mood (this hankering for service). "When will Gurudev give me service?" When Gurudev gives service, that is his mercy. When service comes, we must be always efficient—we must not let Gurudev down, we must not fail in our service.

Gurudev always tested me. One time, when I was doing Govinda Kunda and the guesthouse building on its bank (not the big five-storey building, the other one), Gurudev told me, "I want to start the construction tomorrow after eight in the morning." I explained to Gurudev, "But I cannot build there anything yet because it is necessary to get the permission from the government first. If we do not get the permission, it is not possible to build anything there." Anyhow, I heard Gurudev wanted to start the works the next day, so the next day, early in the morning, I went to the house of the local government authority. He was asleep, and I spoke to a boy there who always treated me like his teacher (he always showed respect to me). He was, perhaps, thirty years old at that time. I spoke to him and asked how much money was necessary to get that permission. He said two thousand would be sufficient. I gave him that money, and he got the plan signed. It was not even a proper government plan—somebody at the temple made it, showed it to Gurudev, printed from their computer, and I got that plan signed. When I came back to Gurudev, Gurudev was very surprised, "How is it possible? You told me last night that it was not possible to do anything without permission, and now you bring this with the signature and rubber stamp! How is it possible?" I only said, "Everything is possible by the mercy of Gurudev." Without mercy, nothing can be possible.

Another time, we were building the two-storey prasadam hall in Nabadwip. Gurudev knew that the land where it was built was in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's name. Gurudev did not change the proprietor's name for that part of land. So, when Gurudev came to Nabadwip and saw the construction—at that time, the construction was not completed, but the works were going on at the second floor already—he asked me, "How can you be making construction here? Have you got permission to build here? You cannot build without the government's permission—they will break the building!" I told Gurudev, "Gurudev, the plan has already been sanctioned." Gurudev said, "What? The plan is sanctioned? Show me the plan!" I brought the plan of the prasadam hall building and showed it to Gurudev. Gurudev laughed when he saw it. Other devotees (Srutasrava Prabhu, et. al.) were there too, and somebody asked Gurudev, "How is it possible? This land is in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's name, so how can the plan be sanctioned?" Not only that, there was a signature of Srila Sridhar Maharaj on the plan (and Srila Sridhar Maharaj had already left his body at that time)! Then, Gurudev laughed and said, "Well, maybe Srila Sridhar Maharaj came here from Goloka Vrindavan and put his signature, I do not see any other way how it is possible that the plan is sanctioned!" Gurudev joked in this way. You see, local people do not know who is Srila Sridhar Maharaj, who is Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj—they only want a signature and they do not check who put the signature (whether the person is alive or not).

So, sometimes there are so many things that are necessary to do service. I did everything to please Gurudev—anyhow, by hook or by crook, I wanted to please Gurudev, to make him happy. I never want to disturb him—on the contrary, I always give him relief. This is the kind of relationship I have with Gurudev. I was telling devotees about it yesterday.

Now so many disciples come and they become proud, but:

krpa kara vaisnava thakura
sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

"O Vaishnav Thakur! Please be merciful! Knowing the true relationship I will worship You and my ego will go far away."

It is necessary to understand the relationship (sambandha). What is the real relationship? "I am always a servant of servants of Gurudev or Vaishnavs." It is necessary to have this sambandha. "Gurudev is my master, all the Vaishnavs are my masters, and I am their servant." You must realise this relationship yourself, then you will be able to give honour to others, otherwise you will not be able to. It is very important to be able to give honour to others—giving honour to others is one of the main things in our life!

So, how has it all been possible for me? You know, when I finally got sick and had to leave Nabadwip, the doctor said, "Considering the kind of disease you have got, you will not survive. The fact that you are alive is astonishing and very rare because when diabetic patients get such neurological problems, 99% people die." You see how much problem they created for me? It is actually mercy of Gurudev that I am still here, talking with you all. All the devotees helped me, all the devotees are with me—I am alive because of all the devotees' and Gurudev's mercy. Their love and affection keeps me alive, otherwise how could it be possible? I was almost dead, I could not even sit on a bed. Doctors had to give me thirty-two huge injections of saline, and now they say, "The fact that you are still alive and can even walk without a stick or anyone's help is incredible!"

Now many people tell me, "Maharaj, come back to Nabadwip (jal-mandir)." I told them, "I am very happy here. I have no disturbance, no problems, no headache here." They have made and are making so much aparadh (offence) to Gurudev, and now they are suffering very much because of that. They are now divided into two groups, and one of the groups tell me, "Come to Nabadwip!" I can come, OK, but what for? All devotees are here, and I am always with them—this is my great happiness. When this happiness comes to me, it is good for me because I can work the whole day like before, I can go to the market, I can go everywhere, do everything. By the mercy of Gurudev, I am still able to do everything at this age without any problem.

So, what I want to say is that it is necessary to have service mood, and to have service mood you must have love and affection and always engage in sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, archanam, pada-sevanam, vandanam, dasyam, sakhyam, atma-nivedanam (hearing, chanting, remembering, worshipping, serving lotus feet, offering prayers, engaging in service as a servitor, as a friend, and self-submission).

* * *

Ideal of Surrender

Nrisingha Palli, 27 December 2020, part 3

Srila Param Guru Maharaj, Om Vishnupad Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj wrote one very beautiful sloka (1.40) in his book Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam.

sravana-kirtanadinam, bhaktyanganam hi yajane
aksamasyapi sarvaptih, prapattyaiva harav iti

"Everything is accomplished by surrendering unto the lotus feet of Sri Hari, even for one who is unable to execute the integral practices of devotional service based on hearing and chanting."

We must properly surrender at the lotus feet of Sri Hari. Somebody may not be able to understand everything properly, somebody may not be able to do everything properly, somebody may not be able to properly learn and practise sravan, kirtan, etc.—yet if they fully surrender to Sri Hari, they too can get everything. Somebody may not not know how to practise sravan, kirtan, etc. or may not be able to do it perfectly, but if they are surrendered at the lotus feet of Sri Hari, even they can get everything. This is what Srila Param Gurudev writes, it is very beautiful. He also writes here (1.46) that surrender is of three types,

mano-vak-kaya-bhedach cha, tri-vidha saranagatih
tasam sarvanga-sampanna, sighram purna-phala-prada
nyunadhikyena chaitasam, taratamyam phale 'pi cha

"One surrenders by thought, word, and deed. Complete surrender in all these respects promptly affords full success. Otherwise, the fruit attained will be proportionate to the degree of one's surrender."

One can surrender in three ways—by body, speech, and mind. It is necessary to surrender with your body (actions), it is necessary to surrender with your mouth (to speak in a surrendered manner), and it is necessary to surrender mentally too.

I was reading Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam today—I got some time this afternoon after four o'clock, and I was reading it. Here, Srila Param Gurudev also writes (1.50),

srisanatana-jivadi, mahajanasamahrtam
api chen nichasamsprstam, piyusam piyatam budhah

"Even though touched by one as lowly as me, please, O learned devotees, drink this nectar gathered by the great souls headed by Srila Sanatana and Sri Jiva."

O great scholars! I am very unqualified, I come from a low caste, but even though I am nothing, even though I have no quality, please you drink the nectar that Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Jiva Goswami have given us.

yo brahmanam vidadhatipurvam yo brahmavidyam
tasmai gah palayati sma krsnah
tam hi devam atmavrttiprakasam
mumuksur vai saranam amum vrajet

"In the beginning of creation, He who created the universal creator, Brahma, and then imparted to Brahma knowledge of Brahman, the Absolute—He is the selfsame Lord Krishna who tends the cows (or nourishes the Vedas). Those desirous of liberation should surrender unto that Lord, who reveals the innate function of the soul."

(Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam, 2.2)

At the beginning, Lord Brahma created so much knowledge, he presented so many things in this world, and Krishna gave service to everybody, and the truth is that even liberated souls need to surrender. If somebody wants to attain liberation, they too must come to surrender to Lord Krishna.

There is another sloka from Sri Brahma-vivarta here that Srila Param Gurudev quotes,

asitin chaturas chaiva, laksams tan jiva-jatisu
bhramyadbhih purusaih prapya, manusyam janmaparyayat
tad apy aphalatam yatam, tesam atmabhimaninam
varakanam anasritya, govindacharanadvayam

"After wandering throughout 8,400,000 species, the soul eventually takes a human birth. But that human birth is rendered worthless by those miserable fellows who are so proud of their bodies that they refuse to take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Govinda."

(Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam, 2.8-9)

We wander throughout 8,400,000 species, coming and going, coming and going, and after that we have finally got this human body, but our misfortune is that, even though we have got this rare human body, we still do not surrender to the Lord! If a jiva soul gets a human body but does not surrender to the Lord, does not heed this warning—if it thinks, "I am this body," and is proud of this temporary body (deha-abhimani)—then its human body is useless, meaningless.

Tell me, who of you has read Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamritam properly? It is an important book in our line. There are many slolas from Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Brahma-vivarta, and many other books. There are so many highest things written here in a very beautiful way. I read it today again after many years, and I liked it a lot, I am thinking I must read it again and again.

This time I have brought some books from Kolkata and put them on my shelf here. I had so many books, including Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's books and so many Gaudiya magazines, in Nabadwip, but I have lost them now. There were books that Gurudev gave me, there were also books that Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave to Gurudev and Gurudev then gave to me. I could not bring those books from there, and now I do not know what they have done to those books. I left so many things there...

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Spiritual Chastity

Nrisingha Palli, 27 December 2020, part 4

Are there any questions from anyone?

Question: I belong to another mission, but when I preach to some devotees (my godbrothers), they seem confused about what has happened in the mission. How can I encourage them more and help them forget all these things that have happened in the mission?

Actually, Gaudiya mission is very big, and our line is the line of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj—we find all perfection, all fulfilment in this line. You all know what is Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and what is our Guru-parampara.

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur chose Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj to keep the flag of the Rupanuga line. In his last moments, Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to hear the kirtan Sri Rupa-manjari-pada sei mora sampada and through this kirtan he indicated the succession. He did not chose any particular de facto acharya of the mission, but we find that spiritually he chose Srila Sridhar Maharaj to keep this line. Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said about Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "I am glad that there will be at least one person left in this world who can represent and spread the conception of my preaching to others."

Although Srila Sridhar Maharaj did not travel or preach so extensively (he did preach a little in Srila Prabhupad's time, but after he made Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, he did not go out so much any more), so many devotees and so many of his godbrothers came to see him. Even the great international preacher Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, even the leader sannyasis of Gaudiya Math (Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Maharaj and others) said, "If you want to hear Hari-katha of Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, you should go to Srila Sridhar Maharaj."

This Srila Sridhar Maharaj handed this line over to our Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, who continued carrying this flag of Sri Rupanuga-dhara, Sri Bhakti-siddhanta-dhara, Sri Bhaktivinod-dhara. Considering what Srila Madhav Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj and others said about Srila Sridhar Maharaj's Hari-katha, we can remember also that during many years Srila Gurudev published a monthly magazine Gaudiya Darshan where he would always publish lectures of Srila Sridhar Maharaj. The truth is that those lectures were actually written by Srila Gurudev, but he did not put his name—he would put Srila Sridhar Maharaj's name. So, Srila Gurudev could present Srila Sridhar Maharaj's conception that perfectly—he can represent the conception of Sri Rupanuga-dhara, Sri Bhakti-siddhanta-dhara, Sri Bhaktivinod-dhara (the conception that Srila Sridhar Maharaj was expert at) perfectly.

Gurudev also said one thing to me. When *** was going to buy the land behind our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math to build a temple, I asked Gurudev, "Gurudev, I want to buy that land to prevent them from building a temple there!" Gurudev said in reply, "Will you buy the whole Bengal? If they are making a temple behind us, what is your problem? If your pond has good food, all fish will come to eat in your pond." So, if somebody is a sincere seeker, if somebody wants real Krishna consciousness, they will come to Srila Sridhar Maharaj's ashram—they will come to Gurudev, Guru Maharaj, they will come to Srila Guru Maharaj's mission.

So, we sometimes find that devotees make so many missions, open many new branches, this, that, but the main question is where is the origin? Where is the original wealth? If you want to get that, then you must come to Srila Sridhar Maharaj's line. If you come to this line, you will get a proper benefit. There are many devotees from other missions who received sannyas from Srila Sridhar Maharaj, but they were envious of Gurudev and could not tolerate him, so they started making problems and ended up starting their own ashrams. Problems will come—they may not come immediately, but problems will come eventually. That is why, I always tell people—if you want pure things, if you want some good things, then you should come to the mission of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

You can try to explain these things to others, this is how you can help other devotees...

Question: If someone creates a webpage or a group in whatsapp that is supposed to represent the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and that person knows that he should not add any other information or conceptions from other mission, but he still does that, should he be corrected or is it better to keep silent and not participate in that group, as many devotees do?

I spoke about it last time; if you follow what I said, it will be good. I said that if somebody criticises you, you can and you should tolerate that, but if somebody criticises your guru or guru-varga, then you can tell them in a very humble way, "Please do not do it. It is not good for your practising life." This is how you can harmonise this. Do you understand what I am saying? You should not tolerate it if they criticise your guru, it is not good. You must not listen to it. If somebody says something bad about your guru-varga, if somebody says your guru-varga is bad, etc., you can tell them humbly, "Prabhu, it is not good. You are criticising others, and it is not good for you at all."

Question: The question is specifically about someone who has a webpage where he apparently represents Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, but together with that he also gives information and shares conceptions from other missions...

You can tell them not to bring other conceptions, the conceptions of other temples to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. You can try to tell them, "Prabhu, we should be chaste to our Guru. We should try to follow what our Gurudev has told us, it is for our own good." It is not necessary to get very angry and fight—you can tell it in a very humble way. "Prabhu, do not mix with these kind of people." If you can convince them, if you can bring them to our temple, it is good, but the problem is that we are often weak, so if we mix with some bad things, we can be polluted ourselves, then it will be a problem. So, it is better if you try to avoid all this.

Question: Does Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math celebrate Gita-jayanti?

No, no. Sahajiyas do it. I went to Nabadwip today and saw that Rama Krishna Mission, Bharat Seva Ashram—all the sahajiya people—are doing Gita-jayanti festival, that is why I am saying that sahajiyas celebrate it.

Why is it necessary to celebrate Gita-jayanti? Do you know the meaning of Gita-jayanti?

Devotee: It is the day when Krishna spoke Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, so it is the day when we remember that, remember Bhagavad-gita...

The day when we remember that? But we can remember it every day! What is the problem? Why is it necessary to remember it on some particular day? We remember what Krishna told Arjuna every day. Srimad Bhagavad-gita is our primary book, and we always follow Srimad Bhagavad-gita.

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