SRI NABADWIP DHAM MAHATMYA-MUKTA-MALA

Koladwip (Pada-sevanam: serving the lotus feet of the Lord)

Sri Buroraj (Vriddha) Siva

Continuing Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, by the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma, we have now come to the lotus feet of Buro Siva at the aparadha-bhanjaner pat in Sri Koladwip.

You may have seen Gopesvar Mahadev in Vrindavan, Chaklesvar Mahadev in Govardhan, Bhutesvar Mahadev in Mathura, Asesvar Mahadev in Nandagram; there is also Ksetrapal Siva in Mayapur and Sada Siva Gangadhar in Koladwip (at our Math in Nabadwip). And this here is Sri Buroraj (or Vriddha) Sivji (‘Old’ Siva). We must always pray to Sivji Maharaj. He is Dhamesvar: he is the guardian of the holy dham, and he protects the entire Nabadwip Dham. Therefore, when we come to Sivji Maharaj, we must always pray to him that we may be able to stay and serve Sri Dham, so that we may again be able to come here.

One time, Asesvar Mahadev came to Mother Yasoda in Gokula and asked her permission to see Gopal. When Mother Yasoda saw him, she said, ‘No, no! If my Gopal sees you, He will become scared! You have enormous dreadlocks, a long beard, and you have come with a snake on your neck! What is all this? Sorry, I will not let Gopal see you.’ Then, Mahadev sat a little far from that place and started meditating, ‘When will I get the darshan of the Lord?’ In the meantime, Gopal (Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Himself) could understand everything and started crying loudly because His devotee, His bosom friend, had went to so much trouble to see Him but had to leave. Gopal said to His mother, ‘Bring Mahadev here, then I will stop crying!’ and pointed in the direction where Mahadev was sitting. Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaj took Gopal to Rasesvar Mahadev, and Gopal stopped crying: as soon as the Lord saw His devotee, He felt at peace…

One day, Parvati Devi asked Sivji Maharaj, ‘Prabhu, whose worship is the highest?’ Sivji Maharaj replied, ‘The worship of Lord Vishnu is the highest of all worship.’ Parvati Devi was upset to hear the answer. She thought, ‘The worship of Krishna, or Vishnu, is the highest, but I worship Lord Siva. What am I to do?’ Seeing Parvati Devi’s troubled face, Sivji Maharaj said then:

aradhananam sarvesam visnor aradhanam param
tasmat parataram devi tadiyanam samarchchanam

‘Why are you upset, Devi? The worship of Lord Vishnu is the highest, but higher than that is the worship of Lord Vishnu’s devotee.’ Then Parvati Devi was relieved.

We must understand that if you are to serve Sivji Maharaj, you must practise what Sivji Maharaj says. The worship of devotees is the highest of all worship.

You have also heard that Sivji Maharaj became a gopi and managed to enter rasa-lila: to this day, even Laksmi Devi has not been able to enter rasa-lila, but Sivji Maharaj did. Such is his glory. Sivji Maharaj is a great Vaishnav. There is no problem if you worship Lord Siva, but you must always remember one thing – when you go to worship Sivji Maharaj, you must not imitate him.

In this world, there are people who instead of worshipping Sivji Maharaj – instead of satisfying and making Sivji Maharaj happy – become Siva(?) themselves. If you dress as a policeman (wear the uniform, the cap, and have a gun swinging on your belt), does it mean that you have become a policeman? It does not. It only means that you have become a make-believe (fake) policeman. Therefore, you can dress as Siva, you can grow dreadlocks or wear a wig, dye your hair, etc., but does pretending to be Sivji Maharaj make you Siva? Many ‘devotees’ of Siva smoke marijuana, but Sivji Maharaj can also drink poison – if they think they can smoke marijuana, then they should take poison as well. Siva can take marijuana, but if you start taking it, then it is very bad. This is not what the worship of Lord Siva is. It is necessary to show devotion for Lord Siva, ‘Dear Sivji Maharaj, you are a bosom friend of Lord Krishna! You are very powerful. O Sivji Maharaj, please give me devotion to Lord Krishna. I am praying at your holy lotus feet that I may have devotion to your holy feet.’ Moreover, this is not a prayer or an obeisance for one or two days only – we must pray to Vaisnav Thakur every day. This is our eternal devotion.

People usually worship Lord Siva to fulfil their desires and interests, but this is not genuine worship. Do not do this. Do not worship Lord Siva out of some selfish interests or hoping to get something – do not turn Lord Siva into your menial servant. People say, ‘Lord Siva, give me this’, ‘Lord Siva, give me that’ – Sivji Maharaj becomes their servant. But our duty is to worship Lord Siva. We will worship him, and whether Lord Siva takes this worship or not, what he will give or not give, that is his matter. It does not matter whether I like something or do not like – if he feels happy to make me struggle, he will arrange that for me; and if he is happy to see me live happily, then he will arrange that for me. My happiness or unhappiness is not a problem at all. We must always remember this.

Sivji Maharaj’s name is Asutosh: it takes very little to make him happy. Therefore, when we come here, we must pray at the holy lotus feet of Lord Sivji Maharaj with all our hearts, ‘Prabhu! You are the supreme Vaishnav, the Lord listens to what you say – please give me the right, the qualification to serve the Lord. O Vaishnav Thakur! Krishna rests in your heart – you can give Krishna to others.’

Jay Sri Buroraj Sivji Maharaj ki jay.
Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama ki jay.
Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

The holy temple of Sri Buroraj Sivji Maharaj, Sri Nabadwip Dham.

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