— { SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION, II } —

CHAPTER SEVEN
A HOLY DAY

1. THE APPEARANCE OF SRIMATI VISHNUPRIYA DEVI

Today is the Holy Day of Vasanta-panchami (the fifth day of the light fortnight of the moon), month of Magh, when Krishna is worshipped with the new flowers of spring. On this day, the holy advent of Srimati Vishnupriya Devi occurred. Her father was Sri Sanatan Misra of Nabadwip, who was a Brahmana and great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Srimati Vishnupriya Devi is the Eternal Consort of Sri Gaurasundar in His feature of Gaura-Narayana, and according to Sri-Gauraganoddesa-dipika, she is directly Satyabhama in Krishna’s Dvaraka-lila.

She was the second wife of Sriman Mahaprabhu in the householder period of His Pastimes. From childhood, she was devout in the Divine Service of the Supreme Lord. Kasinath Pandit was the intermediary in Her marriage to Mahaprabhu.

She was the ideal of Divine Self-surrender at the Lotus Feet of Mahaprabhu. When she was only fourteen, Mahaprabhu took sannyas, and after that she lived the rest of her life in penance. From early morning she would take the Holy Name the whole day, and for every Mahamantra that she chanted, she would put one grain of rice into a clay pot. After chanting her quota, she would take that rice, cook it and offer it to the Lord. That was all she would take for her subsistence, so gradually she became emaciated. She passed her days in this way.

Her brother was her guardian after Sachi Devi departed, and ultimately she had a Sri Murti (Deity) of Mahaprabhu, and she would worship Him in that Form. And since the time of Vishnupriya that worship is being continued up to the present in the Temple here in Nabadwip known as ‘Mahaprabhur Bari’ (the Home of Mahaprabhu). So this day of the year is connected with her holy memory, and we may achieve her Grace if we honour this time in her name, discussing her Pastimes. She will be propitiated and Sri Chaitanyadev will also be pleased with us, giving us a step forward in our transcendental march towards Him.

2. THE APPEARANCE OF SRI PUNDARIK VIDYANIDHI

Today is also the appearance day of Sri Pundarik Vidyanidhi. He is considered to be Vrisabhanu Raja of Varsana, Vrindavan, the father of Srimati Radharani. Sri Pundarik Vidyanidhi was born in a Brahmana family at Chattagram, and he bore the title ‘Vidyanidhi’ on account of his scholarship. Apparently he was a man of luxurious habits. In those days, people who could afford it would have a house in Nabadwip on the banks of the holy Ganges river; they would from time to time visit Nabadwip to regularly bathe in the Ganges and remain for some time in this Holy Place, and then return to their homes to continue their livelihood. So, Pundarik Vidyanidhi also had a house in Nabadwip.

Here, in Gaura-lila, Gadadhar Pandit was the representation of Srimati Radharani Herself. At that time Gadadhar Pandit was a young boy. He was younger than Mahaprabhu. Mukunda Datta was a follower and admirer of Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev, and he also came from Chattagrain, the village of Pundarik Vidyanidhi. He knew Pundarik Vidyanidhi to be a man of higher religious type, that is, a Bhagavata type or Krishna-bhakta. But outwardly Pundarik Vidyanidhi lived a life of luxury. He was a well-to-do man, a general zamindar (state landowner). Mukunda Datta naturally knew him when he came to Nabadwip, since he hailed from the same place. Mukunda Datta went to Gadadhar Pandit and asked him, ‘Would you like to have the darshan of a Vaishnav?”

From childhood Gadadhar Pandit was very fond of Vaishnavs and Krishna-nama. He had much fondness for Nimai Pandit, when the Lord returned from Gaya. Previously he was very much afraid of Nimai Pandit, because whenever They met, Nimai Pandit would always tackle him with some apparent quarrel about etymology or something of that nature. So, after returning from Gaya, when Sri Chaitanyadev expressed His Devotional Aspect, He said one day, “Gadadhar, from your very childhood you are a devotee of Krishna, and My days have been wasted discussing grammar and mundane literature. But you, Gadadhar, My friend—your life is very successful. You have fulfilment of life. From the beginning you are fond of Krishna-nama.” So, from the beginning Gadadhar Pandit’s heart was towards Krishna. Therefore when Mukunda Datta asked him, “Would you like to see a Vaishnav who has come from afar?” the reply came, “Yes, yes, I shall go; take me there.”

So Mukunda Datta took Gadadhar Pandit to Pundarik Vidyanidhi. And what kind of Vaishnav was Pundarik Vidyanidhi? He was sitting on a luxurious bedstead, smoking a very ornate and valuable pipe. His head was adorned with beautiful oiled curly locks, and many valuable pastes were anointed on his body. Two attendants fanned him on either side.

Gadadhar Pandit thought, “Mukunda has brought me to this luxury-loving man sitting on the bedstead and smoking? What type of Vaishnav has he brought me to see?” He was disappointed at heart, and Mukunda could guess it. Mukunda Datta was a very good singer, and in a very sweet tone he sang this sloka of Bhagavatam:

aho baki yam stana-kala-kutam
jighamsayapayayad apy asadhvi
lebhe gatim dhatry uchitam tato ‘nyam
kam va dayalum saranam vrajema

This sloka was chanted by Mukunda in a very sweet tone, and this created a wonderful effect in Pundarik Vidyanidhi. The Bhagavatam says, “Who else but Krishna should we approach? Who can be so kind, so gracious? There is limitless Grace in Him. Why? Baki—Putana, came to kill Him in a treacherous way, taking the garb of dhatri, a motherly garb. In this way she came to try and kill Him; yet Krishna gave her a position as a nursemaid in His group of assisting mothers. So gracious is the Lord. Who else can we approach for our good?”

This is the meaning of the verse. “She painted deadly poison on her breast, and came to suckle the boy Krishna. So treacherous was her action. In the garb of motherly affection she tried to murder the boy, and she was given such a high position as an attendant of His mother. She was elevated to the motherly group. Such Grace, such Mercy He showed, without considering or passing judgement on the worth of that action. So other than that kindhearted and gracious Krishna, where else should we go for shelter?”

This entered the heart of Pundarik Vidyanidhi and began to vibrate, and produced such force that he was stunned; then shivering began, and madly gesticulating, he began to pull his hair and tear his silken dress, kicking over the tobacco and pipe. His rich bedding and dress were ruined, and he began to roll on the ground and cry, kam va dayalum saranam vrajema—“In whom shall we take shelter other than Him?”

Then Gadadhar Pandit thought, “Oh, I have committed a great offence in my mind, thinking that he was not a Vaishnav, because of his fashionable dress and style. Really, how great a Vaishnav he is—what a wonderful effect the memory of Krishna caused in him!”

Then Gadadhara Pandit revealed his mind.

“Mukunda, I have committed offence against this great Vaishnav. What will be my fate? When I first saw him, I shunned him; I committed offence. I think that if I take mantra from him—become his disciple—then he may forgive all my offences. There is no other way to be absolved from this Vaishnav-aparadha. I shall have to inform my Lord Gaurachandra, Nimai Pandit, about this.”

So they left the place of Pundarik Vidyanidhi, and Gadadhar went to take Nimai Pandit’s permission to become the disciple of Pundarik Vidyanidhi.

Before anyone knew that Pundarik had come from Chattagram to Nabadwip, and even before Mahaprabhu had met him, Mahaprabhu was seen to suddenly cry, “Bapa Pundarik! Bapa Pundarik!” In the mood of Srimati Radharani, Nimai was taking his name. Bapa means ‘father.’ So He was calling, “Father Pundarik! Father Pundarik!” Nimai Pandit was chanting like this, in the mood of Radharani.

When Gadadhar made his proposal to Mahaprabhu, the Lord immediately replied, “Yes, very good proposal. Go and accept him at once.” Gadadhar Pandit represents Radharani in Gaura-lila, and Pundarik is Radharani’s father in Krishna-lila: the Guru is like the father, and the disciple is like the child. So Mahaprabhu at once approved and Gadadhar took initiation from Pundarik Vidyanidhi. He was none other than Vrisabhanu Raja, and Gadadhar was the incarnation of Radharani in Gaura-lila.

Pundarik Vidyanidhi would not take bath in the Ganges because he could not tolerate that his feet would touch the holy Ganges river. Before daybreak, he would go to the Ganges and take some of the water on his head. He did not go to the Ganges by day, because he could not tolerate to see persons who would dive into the water or spit there and contaminate the pure, holy water by misusing it. Before worship, prayer, etc., the general pandit section may bathe in the Ganges and fast to purify their bodies of sin. But Pundarik Vidyanidhi would rather drink some Ganges water prior to his daily worship and duties, thereby teaching us the proper worshipful respect due to the Ganga.

In Puri, his dearmost friend and associate was Sri Svarup Damodar. When he went to Puri, he felt some pain in his heart that the priestly servants of Lord Jagannath dressed the Lord in starched cloth, which is generally considered impure. When cloth is manufactured by handloom, the thread is soaked in boiled rice water which acts as a paste to hold it firm in the loom. That cloth is considered impure, and must first be rinsed in water before offering it to the Deity. But in Puri, that was not the practice. They directly used starched cloth for dressing Lord Jagannath, and Pundarik Vidyanidhi could not accommodate this.

That night, he dreamt that both Jagannath and Balaram came to him and dealt slaps to his cheeks, saying, “You have come here to point out the defects in My servitors? What is this!”

They both began to slap him, and the dream was so tense that when he rose in the morning he found that both his cheeks were inflamed. He expressed to his most intimate friend, Svarup Damodar: “My dear friend, Svarup Damodar, such is my position. I had this objectionable feeling my heart towards these servitors, so Jagannath and Balaram have punished me in this way. See the swelling on my both cheeks!”

Such was the nature of Pundarik Vidyanidhi. In essence, we are told that he is the father of Srimati Radharani, incarnated here as Pundarik Vidyanidhi. A slight holy association of this day, his appearance day, will help us a great deal in our advancement of spiritual life.

3. THE APPEARANCE OF SRI RAGHUNANDAN THAKUR

Thirdly, this is also the birthday of Raghunandan Thakur. He was born in a place named Srikhanda, near Katwa, in a Kaviraj family, a lineage of Ayurvedic doctors. Raghunandan was the son of Mukunda Kaviraj, who was such a notable doctor that even kings called for him for treatment. Raghunandan was a bachelor his whole life. His figure was extraordinarily beautiful, and he was very fond of dancing. From the beginning he was, of course, a natural devotee.

The family of Mukunda Thakur worshipped their ancestral Deity at home. Once, when Raghunandan was a growing boy, who had perhaps only recently received the sacred thread and admission to worship, his father asked him, “I’m going out and won’t return in time. You please worship the Deity and feed Him—offer bhog for His food.” His expression was, “Please try to feed my Deity.”

When he was away, Raghunandan’s mother cooked many items and brought them to the temple, and asked Raghunandan to offer them to the Deity. Generally the doors are kept closed during worship, so behind the closed doors Raghunandan offered and prayed to the Lord,

“Please take these dishes I am offering You—please eat.”

But the Sri Murti did not answer or come forward to eat. Raghunandan began to cry.

“My father will rebuke me! He has requested me to feed You, and You are not eating. I’ll be punished. You have to take this food!”

The sincere boy began to cry in such a way that Krishna had to eat. Raghunandan was satisfied, and came out from the Deity room.

His mother came to remove the prasadam. ‘What is this? All the plates are empty!” Raghunandan replied,

“You asked me to feed the Deity. He has taken.”

His mother said angrily,

“You, boy, you have eaten it! The Deity doesn’t eat. We offer, everything remains, and afterwards we take the prasadam. You wicked boy, you have turned out to be such a rogue—you have eaten everything.”

“No, no, I did not eat, the Deity ate everything.”

“This is impossible, you foolish boy! Do you want to make a fool of me? This can never happen!”

He began to cry.

“No, I’m speaking the truth.”

“All right, let your father come, and I shall ask him to punish you.”

Mukunda returned, and Raghunandan’s mother complained,

“Your boy has grown to be such a rogue! He says the Deity has eaten.”

Raghunandan also petitioned his father,

“Yes, the Deity has eaten. He would not take in the beginning, but I began to cry, and then He ate.”

“Is this true?”

“Yes, it is true, my father, I am not lying.”

“Can you show me?”

“I shall try.”

So he was given another chance to worship, and from a hidden place his father could see that the Deity had actually taken the food.

Such a devotee was Raghunandan Thakur. When he danced in Sankirtana, it was such a charming scene that even Mahaprabhu was attracted. During the Jagannath Ratha-yatra seven special groups would chant and dance, and in the party from Srikhanda we find that Raghunandan was the dancer.

So today is the day connected with the memory of Sri Raghunandan Thakur, who is considered to be Pradyumna Avatar. Many more incidents occur in his pastimes—I have only touched on them. It is also said that near the banks of the lake Madhu-puskarini there is a Jambu tree, and according to his wish two Kadamba flowers bloom on that tree every day for the worship of his Deity. Many miracles are found in his pastimes.

4. THE APPEARANCE OF SRI RAGHUNATH DAS GOSWAMI

Then, the fourth personality is Sri Raghunath Das Goswami. He was born nearly five hundred years ago in Krishnapur village, Hooghly District. He came in the Kayastha caste. His father, Hiranya Majumdar, was a very rich man. His father had one brother, Govardhan, but Raghunath was the only child. His father and uncle were state landowners. At that time, they collected 20 lakhs (2,000,000) rupees in taxes. 12 lakhs was to be paid to the king, and their net income was 8 lakhs.

Raghunath heard about Mahaprabhu after His sannyas. Hiranya and Govardhan had association with Advaita Acharya, and they used to make an annual contribution to all the superior Sanskrit scholars and their schools, in Bengal, of the time.

When Mahaprabhu went back to Sri Advaita Acharya’s house (Advaita-bhavan) after His sannyas, Raghunath Das came and saw Him, and became mad with Love of Krishna. His heart was completely melted by Mahaprabhu’s beauty and charming Personality, His Devotion and His Teachings of Devotion for Krishna. Mahaprabhu Himself was also aware of this. Raghunath would not leave Mahaprabhu, but the Lord told him, “Go home. Don’t be over-enthusiastic; control yourself. Keep your Divine Love for Krishna within your heart, and don’t express it outwardly. Don’t advertise it. Very soon the time will come when Krishna will guide you. He will make a way for you. Don’t allow any external show but keep it within your heart.”

sthira hanya ghare yao, na hao batula
krame krame paya loka bhava-sindhu-kula

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 16.237)

“Compose yourself and go home—don’t be a madman. One reaches the shore of the material ocean gradually.”

Then, he later came into the association of Nityananda Prabhu in Panihati. Nityananda Prabhu said to him, “Give a feast here for My followers. You are the son of a rich man, so manage to give a feast here for My followers.”

Raghunath did so, and Nityananda Prabhu was very satisfied. He also blessed him, saying, “Very soon your bright day will come.” And He addressed His devotees, “See this young boy—he has immense wealth; in abundance he has everything required for a young man’s enjoyment, but he does not care for it. Krishna’s Grace has come down into his heart, so he does not care for anything of this world; but he’s mad to leave his home of material grandeur and become a street beggar. He has become mad for Krishna. Just see this high ideal—devotion, attraction. Love of Krishna has made him mad. He is very, very fortunate. This royal dignity and prosperity cannot please him.”

Anyway, he returned home. But one day Hiranya and the others noticed that he no longer entered the inner section of the house. He began to stay in the outer section only. His father and other guardians thought that his condition had become very grave, so ten men were engaged to keep guard that he may not leave.

One day in the early morning before sunrise, the family Guru, Yadunandan Acharya, suddenly entered the house. Finding Raghunath in the outer section of the house, he met him and requested him, “I am going out for some important business, but there is no one to worship my Deity. So please ask one brahmana disciple in my name to serve the Deity for a day or two during my absence.” As Yadunandan Acharya left, Raghunath went with him. The guards saw him going with the family Guru, so they did not interfere. On the way, Raghunath requested the Guru, “You may go ahead with your business, and I shall request the gentleman to do the worship in your absence.”

The Guru left. Raghunath took advantage of the situation. Perhaps he requested that man to do the service, but he started off in the direction away from Puri. He knew that as soon as they realised at home that he wasn’t returning, they would send men to search for him on the way to Puri. So for the whole day he walked in the opposite direction. In the evening he stopped at a cowherd man’s house, took a little milk from him and passed the night in the cowshed. Then in the morning he started for Puri.

When his guardians found that Raghunath had not returned home, they heard from the guards that he had gone with the family Guru. They went to the Guru’s house, but Raghunath was not to be found. Then they thought that he must have left for Puri, and they sent ten men to that side. They returned without finding him. In this way, Raghunath cleverly managed to escape. For twelve days he walked to Puri, taking food here and there for only three of those days. On the other days no food was necessary. He was helped by Divine Love, surcharged.

He had already heard that Mahaprabhu was at the Gambhira, the Kasi Misra Bhavan. He went there, and in the courtyard fell flat in obeisance unto Mahaprabhu.

Mukunda Datta announced to the Lord, “Raghunath has come.”

Mahaprabhu said,

“Yes, look after him. He has come with great difficulty, walking and walking without food. Take care of him for a few days. Then, he will manage for himself”

That was the direction of Mahaprabhu. For a few days Raghunath took prasadam there. After that he began to beg at the gate of the Jagannath Temple.

The parents now thought it was impossible to bring him back, and they did not make any further attempt. But they sent some money with one brahmana and two servants, instructing them to hire a house and offer Raghunath a place to stay, and see that their son may not die without food. They tried their best, but Raghunath continued to subsist on alms. Over a period of two years, Raghunath invited Mahaprabhu to take prasadam at that house, and the Lord did so for his satisfaction. After that, Raghunath left that idea, thinking, “This is only to produce some name and fame for me. Mahaprabhu is not pleased with such prasadam.”

Svarup Damodar was the dearmost Attendant of Mahaprabhu, and a very good scholar as well. Raghunath was also a scholar—we find that later he left the world beautiful poetry in Sanskrit. Mahaprabhu gave Raghunath over to the charge of Svarup Damodar, saying, “I request Svarup Damodar to take your charge, and he will advise you what will be necessary for your devotional life.”

But suddenly one day, Raghunath approached Mahaprabhu:

“Why have You managed to take me out of my house, and what is my best benefit? If You please tell me in Your own words, my heart will be satisfied.”

Mahaprabhu said,

“I have given you over to the charge of Svarup Damodar. He is more qualified than even Myself Still, if you want to hear something directly from Me, then I say in brief:

gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe
bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
amani manada hanya krsna-nama sada la’be
vraje radha-krsna seva manase karibe

“Don’t indulge in worldly talk, don’t hear worldly talk. Try your best to avoid mundane matters. Don’t eat delicious dishes, but take whatever ordinary food may come of its own accord; and don’t dress luxuriously. Always try to take the Name of Krishna with the attitude of giving respect to others, without expecting respect from anyone. Be humble, but never aspire after respectful dealings from others. In this way, try to take the Name of Krishna constantly. And within, try to serve Sri Sri Radha-Krishna in Vrindavan. Mentally, be in Vrindavan rendering Service to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna-lila.”

Mahaprabhu told Raghunath that this was the essence of His advice to him. Then, He again took Raghunath’s hand and offered it to the hand of Svarup Damodar. He said, “I am giving you to the charge of Svarup Damodar. He is the best Spiritual Teacher. He will take care of you.”

After Raghunath’s arrival in Puri, Mahaprabhu stayed there continuously for sixteen years. After that, Mahaprabhu departed from the world. Raghunath left Puri and went to Vrindavan, thinking, “I have what is to be had; now I only want to see Vrindavan Dham once, and then I shall leave this body by jumping from the highest peak of Govardhan.” With this idea he went to Vrindavan, but there he came into contact with Sanatan Goswami and Rupa Goswami—he found the beginning of a new life. He thought, “What is this? Mahaprabhu has not departed—He is living in them.” Mahaprabhu delegated Rupa and Sanatan with the power to preserve the Devotional Current they had received from Him, and to present it in a new light. They were asked to prove by drawing upon different Scriptures that Mahaprabhu’s Teachings are the very gist and purpose of all the Scriptures. As in Bhagavad-gita, vedais cha sarvair aham eva vedyah: “The attempt of every Revealed Scripture is to show Me as the Highest Centre—I am the Absolute.” So Mahaprabhu said, “Krishna is the Absolute. With the help of the different Scriptures and historical reference—by all means possible—try to prove that Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that Vraja-lila, Vrindavana-lila, is the highest achievement.”

The two brothers had already begun that work when Raghunath came into their association, and he found, “Oh! Mahaprabhu is here.” He abandoned the idea of leaving this world, and joined Rupa and Sanatan as their disciple. Mahaprabhu had already ordered Sanatan Goswami, “My followers are very poor and helpless. You’ll have to look after them whenever they come to Vrindavan. You’ll have to be the caretaker of all my disciples that come to Vrindavan.” So Raghunath came to Sanatan Goswami, and Sanatan took care of him. Raghunath was so self-forgetful that one day as he was sitting on the banks of Radha-kunda and taking the Name, a tiger came just beside him to drink water, but Raghunath paid no attention. Suddenly, Sanatan Goswami came upon the scene. He was astonished. Up until then Raghunath had lived under the shade of a tree, but Sanatan said, “Please construct a hut to live in. Don’t disregard my request—I entreat you to do this.” Then from that time he managed to construct a small dwelling and stay there. His abnegation, vairagya, was incomparable. Sanatan, Rupa, and all the goswamis’ indifference to worldly enjoyment was extreme, but Raghunath’s abnegation surpassed all.

When he was in Puri, sometimes he would beg prasadam at the gate of the Jagannath Temple, and sometimes he would take prasadam at a chatram, or free kitchen where rich men distribute prasadam for beggars. But then he thought, “I am taking what is due to others’ karma.”

The unsold Jagannatha prasadam is given to the cows of Jagannath Puri. But when it becomes so stale that it emits a bad odour, even the cows cannot eat it. So now Raghunath would wash that prasadam with sufficient water, and adding a little salt he would eat that. Mahaprabhu heard about this, and one day when Raghunath was taking that prasadam Mahaprabhu approached and suddenly took some and ate it. He said, “Oh! I have tasted many times the prasadam of Jagannath, but such sweet prasadam I have never taken anywhere!”

So, what is the taste in prasadam? It is not mundane. Raghunath had such intense faith in prasadam that he lived on apparently rotten things with a little salt—and he was the son of a family of kingly opulence. So much indifference was in him. And in his last days in Vrindavan, he would pass each day taking only a pot of ghol, buttermilk. This is not possible for a man of flesh and blood. Great souls like the goswamis are really personalities who come down from the other world, and so it was possible for them to show the ideal of abnegation. It is not possible for ordinary humans of flesh and blood to observe such a degree of abnegation without dying. But the goswamis created the standard and ideal by such vairagya. At the same time, Raghunath studied Rupa Goswami’s presentation of the highest type of Rasa or Devotional Sentiment—Madhura-rasa.

THE ACME OF DIVINE SERVICE

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami appreciated the acme of Divine Service, the culminating point of Divine Service—Radha-dasya, which is Servitude unto Srimati Radharani. Therefore he is called the prayojana-acharya. Srila Sanatan Goswami is generally conceived of by his successors as the Acharya of sambandha-jnana. Sambandha refers to ‘what is what’—‘what is my position in the spiritual hierarchy.’ That was explained most clearly by Srila Sanatan Goswami. And abhidheya—what we should cultivate in order to attain to our objective—was mainly given by Srila Rupa Goswami. He taught us how we can attain fulfilment of our life in the Domain of Love. And what is particularly the highest point of our attainment, or prayojana, was very vividly shown by Srila Raghunath Das Goswami. In his famous sloka he says:

asabharair amrta-sindhumayaih kathanchit
kalo mayatigamita kila sampratam hi
tvan chet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me
pranair vraje na cha baroru bakarinapi

This sloka has given us the highest conception of our attainment in the school of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What is that? Srila Raghunath Goswami is addressing Srimati Radharani: “O Queen of my heart, for a long, long time I am waiting with great patience to have Your Mercy, which is so sweet to me that I cannot avoid it. It is heart-melting, heart-attracting, heart-crushing. It is so deeply touching me—I can’t avoid Your Service Connection. Somehow I have managed to come such a long way, to endure such a long time, but I am impatient now. Be gracious; if You are not gracious upon me, I have got no hope. I will come to the end of my patience.

“My life will end here. So much so, that, what shall I do with this Vrindavan? Vrindavan is of no use to me! What is the utility of living my life? It is useless—it will end with no utility. I can’t love even Vrindavan, which is associated with the Lila of Krishna. To say nothing of Vrindavan, I can’t relish the company of even Krishna, without You. Without You, even Krishna is meaningless to me. I can’t tolerate, I can’t relish either my own life, or this environment, or even Krishna—if He Himself comes to grace me I can’t relish that, without Your connection.

“So please be gracious upon me. You are all-in-all. Without You, Krishna consciousness is not Krishna consciousness. Your position is so great, so beautiful in Krishna-lila—You are the centre of all the Lila of Krishna. Without You I can’t conceive of any life worth living. I utterly surrender unto You, my Queen.”

This is Radha-dasya. Our best fulfilment is in the Service of Sri Radha, because only She can fully attract the Grace of Krishna. She is the other Half who can draw the maximum Rasa, Ecstasy, from Krishna—in quantity as well as in quality. So those who are serving Srimati Radharani get the highest type of qualitative Rasa from Krishna in reciprocation for their Service. That cannot be had through any other channel. Service that comes through Srimati Radharani is of the highest quality, so Her Service should be our summum bonum of life.

This was announced clearly by Srila Raghunath Das Goswami who is considered to be prayojana-acharya, the Guide to show us our highest fulfilment of life. By our association with this day and by our humble attempt to discuss all these matters, we may be benefitted in the achievement of our goal. This is the day of the advent of such great personalities.

5. DEPARTURE OF SRI VISVANATH CHAKRAVARTI THAKUR

Today is also the day that Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur departed from this world. Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur appeared about 180 years after the Advent of Sri Gaurangadev. He composed a commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam and many other books to help the devotees coming later in the Sampradaya. He was such a great Acharya. In his own special way, he has dealt elaborately with many spiritual matters, giving the proper approach. He was the sastric or Scriptural dispensation of Sri Rupa-Sanatan, etc. By his grace, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusan composed the Sri Gaudiya Vaishnav commentary on Vedanta-sutra, Sri Govinda-bhasya. From such great Masters there is much to be read.

Srila Visvanath Chakravarti was born in a brahmana family in Devagram of Murshidabad district. He was a great scholar of Sanskrit. He came in the line of Sri Narottam Thakur. He gave us extensive Scriptural writings to help us very precisely and elaborately to know about the Pastimes of Mahaprabhu and Radha-Krishna, Vrindavan, Nabadwip, and the Guru-parampara. The Gurvastakam we chant daily was written by him, as well as many other important works. Srila Rupa Goswami wrote Sri-Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, ‘The Nectarine Ocean of Devotional Joy,’ and Srila Visvanath wrote Sri-Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu, or ‘a drop of that Ocean’. And from Sri Rupa’s Sri-Ujjvala-nilamani, ‘The Brilliant Jewel of the Supernatural World’ (or Krishna in Madhura-rasa), he gave Ujjvala-nilamani-kirana, or ‘a ray of that Jewel’. In this way, he has given volumes of books and poems. As Sri Rupa Goswami gave the Asta-kaliya-lila of Krishna, or twenty-four-hour Service engagement with Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, he has similarly given in Chaitanya-lila twenty-four hour engagement in the Service of Sriman Mahaprabhu. So he has done great Service to the Sampradaya and profusely bestowed his mercy upon us.

5, 6. DEPARTURE OF TRIDANDI SWAMIS SRIMAD BHARATI MAHARAJ AND SRIMAD PARVAT MAHARAJ

Today is also the disappearance day of two of our senior Godbrothers, sannyasi disciples of our Guru Maharaj, Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Vivek Bharati Maharaj and Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhakti Svarup Parvat Maharaj. They both preached extensively on the order of Srila Prabhupad. Sri Bharati Maharaj was very popular; his preaching style was very charming and engaging. In the beginning we appreciated his preaching very much.

Sri Parvat Maharaj was also among the earliest disciples of our Guru Maharaj. He was born at Svarup Ganja, on the other side of the Ganges from here (Nabadwip). He was born in the house directly next to Surabhi Kunja where Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur lived for some time. During his childhood, he told me, he saw Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur chanting the Name. In the early morning Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur would chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra just as one calling someone from a distance. A living thing—like one man calling another. In this way, in a living way, he was calling Krishna. He was in his old age, and his body was somewhat attacked with rheumatism. There was a cement chair constructed there; he would stroll about at his sweet will, and when he felt fatigued he would take his seat on that chair. That chair is still there today.

So, at a very early age, Srimad Parvat Maharaj came to Srila Prabhupad and accepted his shelter. For a long period he was posted as the caretaker at Bhakti Kutir, the then ‘head office,’ a small seaside house in Puri owned by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. Then, when Prabhupad began his preaching life, Parvat Maharaj became a sannyasi. During the lifetime of Prabhupad he preached throughout the whole of Bengal and beyond as well. He established a Math in Orissa.

I remember, once, when I was a newcomer in the Math, he was telling one gentleman about how he preached on the East side of Bengal. At that place, some people challenged him,

“Why have you come to preach here? Don’t you know that just nearby on the bank of the river there is a siddha-mahatma? He has attained the highest end of life. Have you seen him?”

He replied to them, “I have seen many siddha, like aloo-siddha, etc.!”

Siddha may mean a ‘perfected soul,’ but another meaning of siddha is ‘boiled.’ So he was saying,

“I’ve seen many siddha—boiled things—boiled potatoes, boiled cabbage, etc. We already have so many boiled things!”

They said,

“What are you saying? You are insulting him.”

He replied,

“This is no insult. Those who are full of all those siddhas—they know nothing. What Mahaprabhu has brought us is the highest. All other proposals are trash and nasty things. We have come from a great Mahatma to carry to you the highest objective, the summum bonum of life—accept Mahaprabhu and Bhagavatam. We hate all those ‘siddha’ imposters who are deceiving the people in the garb of religion.”

Such was the great preaching of Sri Gaudiya Math in those days.

To my best capacity I have tried my best to represent to you my humble knowledge of these Mahatmas, and I pray that they may be propitiated and give us their favour. With this prayer, I end here: vanchha-kalpatarubhyas cha krpa-sindhubhya eva cha, patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah.

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CONTENTS

Foreword

PART ONE
• (1) Invite Vasudeva to the Throne of Your Heart
• (2) The Eye to See the Dham
• (3) Bhajan—Real and Apparent
• (4) Heralding the Twilight
• (5) The Krishna Sun
• (6) Perspectives on the Absolute
• (7) A Holy Day

PART TWO
• (8) Approaching the Higher World
• (9) The Divine Agent
• (10) Supersubjective Reality
• (11) Loving Surrender
• (12) Earnestness

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