śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ |
1st Caitra, Wednesday—1334
[March 13, 1928]
Kṛṣṇa Darśana
The other day, a gentleman was having darśana of Śrī Śrī Rādhā Govinda’s śrī vigraha and suddenly began shouting like a madman, saying, “Alas! What have I seen? What have I seen?” He ended up falling at the feet of one mahāpuruṣa sitting in a room a short distance from the temple, saying, “Oh, that was Rādhā Govinda face-to-face. After so long, I have seen them face-to-face. I will not forget it again, Lord. You stayed hidden for so long. Today my heart is overwhelmed and I will not be able to steady myself.” He began confessing varieties of anguish in this manner. We could not keep a hold of him. He began throwing his arms and legs in all directions like a madman and as we tried to restrain him we kept getting hit somehow or other. The more we said, “Sir, please don’t disturb this mahāpuruṣa’s bhajana. Come to the temple and take darśana of the śrī vigraha. You are a very fortunate person,” the more he said, “I will not see that face again. I will not be able to. It is directly that transcendental reality, etc., etc.”
Somehow we managed to get him out of the room and into the open air. After some moments, he calmed down. I have seen him here after that several times, but I have not noticed him displaying that crazed mood, that intense anguish.
We do not need to proffer our opinions about that incident. But one of our best well-wishers and friends has instructed us in accordance with śāstra to be careful of false displays of spiritual emotion. That I have published here for that benefit of everyone in general.
Our most excellent friend said, “Look, gaining the darśana of Kṛṣṇa is not a very common fortune. Our eyes are so covered by the delusions wrought by material forms that it is never possible for us to have darśana of Svayaṁ-rūpa Bhagavān’s transcendental form via them. Kṛṣṇa performs His pastimes in infinite Vaikuṇṭhas in His svāṁśa Viṣṇu forms (the Catur-vyūha and various avatāras) and in infinite material universes in the form of His vibhinnāṁśa manifestations as the jīvas. The śvāṁśa Viṣṇus are śaktimat-tattva (possessors of potency) and the vibhinnāṁśa-jīvas are śakti-tattva. These vibhinnāṁśa-jīvas are of two types: eternally liberated and eternally embondaged. The eternally liberated jīvas understand their acintya-bhedābheda relationship with Kṛṣṇa and, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, have never tasted the relationship with Māyā. In Kṛṣṇa’s eternal abode, forever focused on the feet of Kṛṣṇa, they behold Kṛṣṇa’s form for eternity and enjoy the pleasures of serving Kṛṣṇa. They are Kṛṣṇa’s associates. On the other hand, the eternally embondaged souls have been forever averse to Kṛṣṇa, deprived of Kṛṣṇa’s darśana for an eternity, tasting the joys and sorrows of heaven, hell, and whatnot in saṁsāra. If, at some point, by great fortune, while wandering up and down like this, the conditioned soul obtains shelter at the lotus feet of a bona fide guru, then and only then can he become free from the snare of Māyā on the strength of sincere guru-sevā and kṛṣṇa-bhajana and obtain the fortune of beholding Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. This darśana has five states: śravaṇa, varaṇa, smaraṇa, bhāvāpana, or the state of svarūpa-siddhi, and sampatti-daśā, or the state of vastu-siddhi. Even till the stage of smaraṇa, the wicked material mentality is still present. When that wicked mentality is competely gone, then the stage of bhāvāpana-daśā appears. The more the soul as a seer is purified by hearing, chanting, and remembering Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities, pastimes and holy abode, the more he catches sight of the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, the way a medicinal salve applied to eyes gradually increases the quality of vision. In that state, with eyes of bhakti adorned with the salve of prema, the devotee beholds in his heart Śyāmasundara Kṛṣṇa, who is endowed with infinite qualities. But until he attains the state of sampatti-daśā, wherein his gross and subtle bodies are destroyed, there is no continuity to his darśana of Kṛṣṇa. Till now we have not even reached the stage of śravaṇa-daśā. In other words, we have not even approached the lotus feet of a bona fide guru and heard kṛṣṇa-kathā from his lotus mouth with total surrender, genuine inquiry, and service. Our auditory faculty and minds have remained attracted to the topics of this world. In this kind of condition, is it not some kind of insanity for us to try to have the darśana that occurs in the stage of svarūpa-siddhi? Can darśana of Kṛṣṇa ever occur in the eyes of one who is incessantly attracted to the external world? “You want to get the fruit without climbing the tree. You are just trying to shake the fruit down.” [Kalyāṇa-kalpataru, Upadeśa, Song 18, verse 4] Rather adopting this sort of logic, we need to be satisfied with the darśana we have at our current level of adhikāra (eligibility) and do bhajana. As our adhikāra is gradually elevated, we will have better darśana. The kṛṣṇa-darśana that is imagined by material seers is a deception of Māyā, a material phenomenon. That kind of darśana is not the same as darśana at the svarūpa-siddha level. It is best to give up deceit and search for Kṛṣṇa along the path instructed by guru. Why? Because:
manera kathā gorā jāne phā̃ki
kemone dibe |
sarala ha’le gorāra śikṣā
bujhiyā laibe?
āner mana rākhite giyā āpanāke
dibe phā̃ki |
manera kathā jāne gorā kemone
hṛdaya ḍāki ||
[Gorā knows what is on your mind; how will you cheat Him? Will you become simple and understand Gorā’s teachings? If you are concerned with what other people think, you will cheat yourself. Gorā knows what is on your mind; how will you cover your heart from Him?]
We will gradually try to discuss the process of bhajana.
Vastu-dharma and Manodharma
Often people just end up spending their words in vain trying to instruct others. No one listens to that kind of ranting and raving. But if someone develops his conduct, we see that many have a desire to follow his example. Many individuals, rather than following an exemplary person, try to imitate him, thus displaying the destructive tāṇḍava dance of the apadharma [an activity permissible only in times of distress] referred to as spontaneous jealousy, or hankering for another’s achievements. Vaiṣṇava Sārvabhauma Śrīla Jagannātha Dāsa definitively designated the place of Śrī Gaurahari’s birth, knowing that this was of crucial interest to the servants of Śrī Caitanya. Śrīmad Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Mahāśaya followed in the footsteps of the śrī mahājanas and established the birthplace of Śrī Caitanya. Several individuals are attempting a twisted imitation of these two exalted personalities who practiced what they preached. Everything these imitators are doing is not bringing any good to the world. Far from it, they are only causing the seeds of offenses to these exalted personalities to sprout. It is necessary to follow proper conduct. There is no fruit to imitation. Though the inhabitants of Kuliyā town boast that they are traditional followers of Caitanya, they have provided numerous opportunities to thoroughly showcase that they are in fact a group that is antagonizing Śrī Caitanya Deva. When Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda went from door to door in Kuliyā, asking the locals to show him the ancient location of Navadvīpa, everyone said that Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s birthplace was on the other side of the Bhāgīrathī. Author of Vaiṣṇavācāra-darpaṇa, the dearly departed Navadvīpa-candra Gosvāmī also held this view and wrote about it. But Kali has such a wondrous stride that some time after Śrīvāsa Aṅgana shifted to the municipal town, due to the tuberculosis spreading in Rādhī Colony, because he was the owner of this establishment, his unbiased perspective was hindered. After the late Hooghly attorney Rāḍhī Bābu, in his earlier book, had written accurately of ancient Navadvīpa’s location, on the persuasion of one Gosvāmī-name-bearing individual who is opposed to pure bhakti and compelled by other abberant motives, Rāḍhī Bābu changed his position. When man is impelled by violence and envy and ready to ignore the truth, there is no unjust act he cannot execute! It is not as if the restless-minded cut only the branches they sit on; their violence and animalistic behaviour gets passed on to the next generation. When, compelled by selfishness, man loses his sense of direction, there is no crime he will not condone. Then he is ready to promote misconduct as proper behaviour, and those like him applaud him. A campaign against truth can only be honored in a society that is fond of carelessness, not elsewhere.
Nṛsiṁha Deva
Bhagavān’s potency is unlimited! Amidst His infinite potencies, three are predominant: cit-śakti, jīva-śakti, and māyā-śakti. Bhagavān situates Himself in these three types of śaktis and performs various pastimes. Situated in cit-śakti, Bhagavān manifests pastimes that are mādhurya-mayī (sweet), aiśvarya-mayī (opulence), audārya-mayī (magnanimous), and aiśvarya-pradhāna mādhurya-mayī (sweet, but opulence-predominated). Situated in māyā-śakti, He manifests the three Puruṣāvatāras and conducts the external (bahiraṅgā) energy, and when He is situated in jīva-śakti, He manifests the various līlāvatāras. All these līlāvatāras are also known as aṁśāvatāras. Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva is one of these līlāvatāras, or svāṁśāvatāras.
The jīvas are eternal companions to Bhagavān in His pastimes. Dāsya (servitude) to Bhagavān is eternally present in their svarūpa. In the conditioned state, this constitutional dāsya is observed in a corrupted form. At that time, the conditioned soul, instead of recognizing himself as the servant of Bhagavān, wants to introduce himself as a karmī. Roaming the path of karma, the jīva ends up in numerous states of being. The in-dwelling witness of the jīva, Paramātmā, then manifests numerous forms and performs pastimes in that way. When, despite taking birth in human form, the jīva is still forgetful of Bhagavān’s eternal servitude and remains preoccupied with eating, sleeping, mating, and defending like an animal and completely destroys his servitude to Bhagavān by revering sense gratification above all else, then Bhagavān manifests His Nṛsiṁha-mūrti and destroys that animalistic human to protect the path of bhakti. Nṛsiṁhadeva is the sole protector of the path of bhakti. The dacoits of lust, anger, etc., appear in the heart of the person traversing the path of bhakti and oppress him. Nṛsiṁhadeva then manifests His fearsome form and destroys all these dacoits. Of all these dacoits, the chief is Hiraṇyakaśipu. When, in Satya-yuga, the personified obstruction to the path of bhakti, Hiraṇyakaśipu (Hiraṇya = gold, wealth; kaśipu = fine bed), tried to destroy Prahlāda, then Bhagavān Nṛsiṁhadeva manifested His form, killing Hiraṇyakaśipu and saving Prahlāda. Like Nṛsiṁhadeva, His devotees are also capable of protecting the path of bhakti by His mercy. In the age of Kali, when the whole world began to be overrun by the flood of Buddhism, Śrī Viṣṇusvāmī, who was the son of Deveśvara, the priest of the Pāṇḍya king, took shelter of Nṛsiṁhadeva and preached the doctrine of Śuddhādvaita, thereby protecting the path of bhakti. At that time, he initiated seven hundred main sannyāsīs into the nṛsiṁha-mantra and preached bhakti. His spiritual descendant is Śrīdhara Svāmī, author of the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He too was a worshipper of Nṛsiṁhadeva. At the beginning of his commentary on Bhāgavatam, Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Svāmī describes Nṛsiṁhadeva’s form and nature as follows:
vāgīśā yasya vadane
lakṣmīr yasya ca vakṣasi |
yasyāste hṛdaye samvit
taṁ nṛsiṁham ahaṁ bhaje ||
In other words, Vāg-devī Sarasvatī resides in His mouth, Lakṣmī resides on His chest, and samvit (knowledge) dwells in His heart; I worship that Nṛsiṁhadeva.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu gave Śrīdhara Svāmī the position of jagad-guru (world teacher) because he was a devotee of Nṛsiṁhadeva and was singlehandedly protecting bhakti.
Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva is the sole protector of devotees who preach pure devotion. By the grace of Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva, the devotees are capable of conquering all groups that are antagonistic to bhakti. All of Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva’s worshippers are preachers. This is why devotees of Śrī Nṛsiṁha are very dear to Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrīman Mahāprabhu personally worshipped Śrī Nṛsiṁha and showed that it is important for every devotee to worship Nṛsiṁha.
bāisa pahāca pāche upara dakṣiṇe |
eka nṛsiṁha-mūrti āchena
uṭhite bāma-bhāge ||
[On the southern side, behind and above the twenty-two steps, is a deity of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. It is on the left as one goes up the steps toward the temple.]
pratidina tā̃re prabhu karena namaskāra |
namaskari ei śloka paḍe bāra bāra ||
[Every day the Lord offered obeisance to this deity and would recite the following verse again and again.]
ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho
yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ
bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁho
nṛsiṁham ādiṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye
Nṛsiṁha is here, Nṛsiṁha is there. Wherever I go, Nṛsiṁha is there. Nṛsiṁha is outside, Nṛsiṁha is in my heart. In this way, I have surrendered unto the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.
There is an ancient history about Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva protecting the devotees. One devotee brāhmaṇa from South India was travelling the holy places when he met a prince. Their friendship grew, and the prince was also very religious. He was a worshipper of Śiva and every night he would worship Śiva four times per night. One day, suddenly, the prince had a fever. He was not able to do his śiva-pūjā that night, so he asked his friend to do it for him. His friend, however, was a one-pointed devotee of Bhagavān. He did not want to worship any god besides Bhagavān. So, despite his friend the prince’s requests, he did not agree to perform the śiva-pūjā. The prince was infuriated by this and ready to kill the brāhmaṇa. Unwilling to die at the hands of the prince, the brāhmaṇa outwardly agreed to the prince’s request. Meditating constantly on his worshipful Lord, he arrived at the pūjā place with the prince and offered arghya on the head of Śiva while uttering a nṛsiṁha-mantra. When he did this, the prince became angry and grabbed his sword to kill the devotee brāhmaṇa. In that moment, Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva burst from the Śiva-liṅga and appeared, killing the prince and protecting His devotee. To this day, the deity of Liṅga-sphoṭa Nṛsiṁha presides at that place.
“śrī nṛsiṁha, jaya nṛsiṁha, jaya jaya nṛsiṁha | prahlādeśa jaya padma-mukha padma-bhṛṅga ||”
Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa
Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā
Thirty-fourth Annual Conference
(continued from last issue)
After this, Śrīpāda Aprākṛta Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Prabhu, in the context of glorifying the exemplary service endeavours of another brahmacārī who is of exemplary dedication to Guru-Gaurāṅga, said: “One of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha’s sevakas, Śrīpāda Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī Prabhu has protected the interests of Śrī Śrī Caitanya Maṭha and Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Maṭha via court case proceedings and has thus taught us that there are many ways in which one can serve Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga. Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā extends its heartfelt gratitude to him for this.”
After this, Śrīpāda Ananta Vāsudeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa B.A. Mahāśaya expressed sadness over the departure of Dhanbad resident Parama-bhāgavata Baṭu-bilāsa Caṭṭopādhyāya Mahāśaya, commenting that the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā had lost a leading literary contributor. He proposed that the sabhā extend its condolences to the mourning family members, a gesture that was accepted unanimously. Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda B.A. Mahāśaya conveyed grief on behalf of Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī for the passing of Murshibad Kadi’s former zamindar princess, Śrīmatī Kṛṣṇa-kāminī Ghoṣa Mahāśaya. She was a highly scholarly lady and had written and published many Vaiṣṇava texts. She demonstrated profuse enthusiasm in preaching pure Vaiṣnava-dharma. In her absence, the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā has lost a distinguished contributor. Tridaṇḍisvāmī Śrīpāda Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Mahārāja expressed the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā’s acute grief over the passing of one of its members, Calcutta resident Śrīyūta Maṇīndra Nātha Ghoṣa Mahāśaya. He had boundless attachment to performing kīrtana of śuddha-nāma and preaching Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s message.
After this, the chairman, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja (1) glorified the many virtues of Cuttack Ravenshaw College’s senior professor, Śrīyukta Niśikānta Sānyāla M.A. Mahāśaya, describing how he is utilizing his valuable time and intellect tirelessly in the service of Śrī Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas by publishing articles and essays in the English language to spread the glories of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mercy all over the non-Bengali-speaking world and translating Śrī Harināma-cintāmaṇi and other texts into English. When the revered chairman proposed that the Śrī Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā confer upon him the devotional title of ‘Bhakti-sudhākara’, the proposal was accepted to profuse shouts of jaya-dhvani. (2) Next he described the ways in which the peerless scholar of Madhva scripture, Śrīmad Adamāra Viṭṭhalācārya Dvaita-vedānta-vidvāna Mahāśaya, who hails from Śrīman Madhvācārya’s birthplace of Uḍupī, which is in Śrī Paraśurāma Kṣetra in the southern Kānāḍā region, has been devoting his heart and soul to preaching pure devotion by retrieving and publishing nearly lost ancient texts on the pure conclusions of bhakti and dwelling in the various maṭhas in this region. As per the insistent requests of the Śuddha Vedānta Pracāriṇī branch of Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā, he proposed the conferral of the ‘Vedānta-vācaspati’—to which everyone agreed with profuse, excited shouts of “Jaya!” In response, Śrīmad Adamāra Viṭṭhalācārya Mahodaya, speaking in clear, pure Sanskrit, expressed profuse humility, saying, “The title ‘Vācaspati’ refers to Nārāyaṇa, the husband of Sarasvatī. I have no real qualification to accept this sort of title.” In this context, he narrated a story from the Mahābhārata: “One day, Bhagavān’s śaktyāveśa-avatāra Mahā-muni Veda-vyāsa placed a small insect on a throne and made him the monarch of a huge kingdom. This incident did not speak to any qualification the insect had, but to the glory of Vyāsadeva. Likewise, this title signifying great honor that has been showered on me today, upon the smallest of small insects, will only serve to glorify this assembly and the chairman himself, Parama-pūjya Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Mahārāja, who is nondifferent from Bhagavān. I am repeatedly conveying my unworthiness in this regard. May this title that has been placed upon my head today be offered at the feet of the foremost of the followers of Śrī Bhagavat Pūrṇaprajña Madhvācārya, the foremost of sampradāya-ācāryas.” After this, Śrīla Prabhupāda proposed that the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā confer the title ‘Bhakti-vigraha’ unto (3) Śrī Dhāma resident Śrīyuta Īśāna Candra Dāsādhikarī Mahāśaya for his wholehearted and constant service to Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas. This was accepted by all with loud, unanimous jaya-dhvani for Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī.
After that, Śrīyuta Atīndra Nātha Bandyopādhyāya, Śrīpāda Ananta Vāsudeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa B.A., Śrī Praṇavānanda Brahmacārī, Śrīpāda Jagadānanda Brahmacārī, Śrīpāda Rādhācaraṇa Gosvāmī Bhakti-ratna, Śrīpāda Divyasūri Dāsādhikārī, and other leading singers performed beautiful, melodious kīrtana, alleviating all the troubles on the hearts and minds of the listeners. Then, to profuse cries of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga jaya-dhvani, the assembly concluded just before midnight.
(to be continued)
Śrī Māyāpura-Pūrṇa-Candrodaya
(continued from last issue)
One day, Mahāprabhu was performing saṅkīrtana at a far-off spot when a large cluster of dark rainclouds gathered in the sky; as soon as the Lord ordered the clouds to disperse, they instantly disappeared. This is why people call that tract of land along the Gaṅgā ‘Meghār Cara”. One day, Mahāprabhu was absorbed in the mood of Baladeva and manifested the pastime of dragging Yamunā and began calling out, “Bring me honey liquor, bring me honey liquor.” At that time, Candraśekhara Ācārya, Vanamāli Ācārya and other devotees saw a golden mace in the Lord’s hands.
When Mahāprabhu was preaching the holy name, He first ordered the inhabitants of the town who lived near Śrīvāsa Aṅgana to chant harināma to the accompaniment of clapping. Gradually the practice of performing saṅkīrtana with mṛdaṅga and karatālas was preached from door to door throughout Navadvīpa. After the coming of Bakhtiar Khiliji till the time of the military judge Cāñda Kājī, who was governor of Navadvīpa, Hindu culture in Navadvīpa had been extremely supressed. The Hindus never had the courage to chant Bhagavān’s name loudly. However, after the appearance of Mahāprabhu, when, on His order, loud harināma-kīrtana began to be performed to the accompaniment of mṛdaṅga and karatālas, then one day, the governor of Navadvīpa at that time, Cā̃nda Kājī, arrived at Śrī Māyāpura in the evening time, at the house of someone who was doing kīrtana near Śrīvāsa Aṅgana, and broke their mṛdaṅga. Moreover, he declared that if anyone did kīrtana like this in the future, they would be specially punished, their caste ruined, etc. Instilling this fear in everyone, he left. The tract of land where Cā̃nda Kājī broke the townsman’s khola is still famous today in Śrī Māyāpura as Kholabhāñgāra Ḍāñgā. When the distressed people of the town told Mahāprabhu about this incident the next day, Mahāprabhu manifested a pastime of being very angry and ordered everyone to perform saṅkīrtana even more intensely. Knowing that the inhabitants of the town were still fearful of the Kājī, that very day, in the evening, Mahāprabhu got together with Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Prabhu, Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura and other devotees and invited all the townspeople. They created three different kīrtana groups and started performing loud saṅkīrtana throught the town of Navadvīpa and arrived at the Kājī’s doorstep. The Kājī was afraid and was hiding inside his home, so Mahāprabhu had people bring him out and began asking him various questions about the practices of Islamic religion. Upon hearing the Lord’s conclusions, the Kājī was speechless and was bound to accept the incompleteness of his own scriptures. The Kājī told the Lord that the day he had broken the mṛdaṅga and forbidden the townspeople from performing kīrtana, that very night, a man-bodied, lion-faced fearsome figure jumped on his chest and started gnashing its teeth, threatening him, saying that he would rip apart the Kājī’s heart for breaking the mṛdaṅga and destroy him along with his whole family. Having described this, the Kājī showed the scratches still on his chest, proving the reality of what he had seen. The Kājī also said that one of the soldiers he had sent to ban the kīrtanas reported back to the Kājī that a ball of fire had appeared out of nowhere and burnt his beard off, leaving serious burns on his face. The Kājī also related that one of his soldiers had an exchange with one of the Hindus, saying: “You lot say ‘Hari, Hari’ to address someone named ‘Kṛṣṇadāsa’ ‘Rāmadāsa’ or ‘Haridāsa’, but ‘Hari, Hari’ means ‘I steal, I steal’; it sounds like you are saying ‘Hari, Hari’ because you steal a lot of people’s money.’ Since I joked with them like this,” said the solider to the Kājī, “my tongue just says ‘Hari, Hari’ even though I don’t want it to.” The Kājī went on to report that one day after that, several pāṣaṇḍi Hindus brought complaints to him saying, “Nimāi is ruining Hindu-dharma; previously, there were certain religious functions that entailed staying up all night to worship Maṅgala Caṇḍī or Viṣahārī, but since Nimāi came back from Gayā, he has been preaching all kinds of backwards religious ideas.” They explained that there is loud kīrtana with mṛdaṅga and karatālas going on all the time, so much so that they cannot sleep at night and it is disturbing the peace in the town. “Nimāi also changed his name and is now going by ‘Gaurahari’. This is ruining our Hindu religion. Navadvīpa has become depraved. All this has done is increase the audacity of certain lower castes. In Hindu religion, God’s name is to be chanted in the mind, but this Nimāi is preaching the opposite and disturbing the peace in Navadvīpa. Therefore, since you are the enforcer in our village, you should take care of this. Summon Nimāi and expel him from the village.” Hearing the Kājī utter harināma, Mahāprabhu was pleased with him and touched him, telling him that when he uttered ‘Hari’, ‘Kṛṣṇa’, and ‘Nārāyaṇa’, all his inauspiciousness was dispelled. The Kājī also touched Mahāprabhu’s feet and prayed for bhakti. When Mahāprabhu requested that there be no more obstruction of saṅkīrtana in Navadvīpa, the Kājī vowed that no one in his family lineage would ever be able to pose any hindrance to kīrtana. I will make my family swear this solemn vow. Even today, in Śrī Māyāpura-Navadvīpa, the Kājī’s descendants participate in kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana during Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Parikramā. They have not the slightest objection to it.
One night, Mahāprabhu was performing kīrtana at Śrīvāsa Aṅgana when one of Śrīvāsa’s sons died. Not wanting to disrupt Mahāprabhu’s pleasure, or the rasa of the kīrtana, Śrīvāsa vehemently forbade his family members from displaying any sort of grief. Mahāprabhu danced and performed kīrtana till late at night in Śrīvāsa’s house. After the kīrtana had concluded, Mahāprabhu could tell some tragedy had befallen the household. When Mahāprabhu found out what had happened, He was saddened that they had not told Him sooner. He had the child brought before Him and had the dead child speak to Śrīvāsa’s family members, enlightening them on the truth of reality. These valuable instructions, dissipated the family’s grief. The Lord said to Śrīvāsa, “The son you had left you, but I and Nityānanda are your eternal sons. We will never be able to leave you.”
A Muslim tailor who lived near Śrīvāsa’s house used to sow Śrīvāsa’s clothes. When the tailor saw with humble faith Mahāprabhu’s dancing, he became captivated and Mahāprabhu showed that fortunate tailor His svarūpa. The tailor shouted, “I have seen! I have seen!” In this way, he went mad with prema and began dancing.
(to be continued)
Sat Kathā | “True Talk”
The relationship between the fragmented conscious entity, or jīva, and indivisible consciousness, or Bhagavān, is eternal. The commingling of unconscious objects with those that are conscious is temporary. Khaṇḍa-vastu (fragmented objects) are subservient to those that are akhaṇḍa (indivisible), therefore service to the akhaṇḍa-vastu (indivisible reality) is the sole duty of the khaṇḍa-cetana (fragmented consciousness. If every jīva remembers this statement and become avowedly dedicated to the service of Bhagavān, all of their sufferings will go away. Liberated by service to Bhagavān, the jīva becomes satya-kāma and satya-saṅkalpa. Then he no longer has to lament that his desires have not been fulfilled.
A person suffering from malaria takes a variety of medicines to treat his disease, but without quinine, the approved medicine to treat malaria, the affliction will not subside. Likewise, one who has contracted the disease of material existence contrives various means to free himself of his affliction, but none of them are successful. The only medicine for the disease of material existence is harināma. Though quinine is bitter to taste, it is most beneficial. Likewise, harināma and hari-kathā may seem bitter to the materially afflicted, but they are supremely beneficial.
The only medicine to treat the disease of material existence is śrī harināma. It is to be taken in all states of existence: liberated, seeking liberation, and unliberated. When there is an excess of pitta, even miśri (sugar candy) tastes bitter to the tongue, but this miśri is also the patient’s only medicine. The tongue that is scorched by the pitta of ignorance does not like śrī harināma, but harināma is its only medicine. Only if one carefully takes the medicine every day will the pitta subside, and the more the pitta of ignorance subsides, the sweeter [harināma] will seem.
Nānā Kathā
(Local)
The Nadīyā District Board road that is being built from Hulor Ghat, on the other side of the Gaṅgā from Navadvīpa town, up to the Śrī Māyāpura śrī mandira marks where the Gaṅgā used to flow during Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s time. Even today, one can see the ancient womb, or riverbed, of the Gaṅgā. There is a bridge being built there now. During the rainy season, this ancient Gaṅgā riverbed is very difficult for vehicles to cross. One of the Sara Bridge [Hooghly] builders, an expert in the industry, Śrīyukta Manmatha-nātha Mitra Mahāśaya has taken responsibility for this project and is personally overseeing its progress. The work has progressed a great deal.
Most of the pilgrims who came for the festival in Śrī Māyāpura have, one by one, left. Now there are very few pilgrims remaining. This time, with the enormity of the festivals, many had anticipated many health-related issues [like sunstroke, etc.] because of the lack of rain this year. However, by the mercy of Bhagavān, there was no spike in the number of such afflictions.
(Indian)
Last Sunday, the students of City College gathered in an assembly over the conflict that occurred last Sarasvatī Pūjā and decided that they will all, together, leave the college and appeal all together for transfer certificates. Besides this, they will also request the University’s vice-chancellor and the syndicate for fair treatment.
Ramachandra Ghosh, Rostam Ali, and others have been arrested in connection to the theft of insured packages from the Sirajganj Bazar Post Office, because they were found to have been bribed.
In Hili, Bogura, on the 5th and 6th of March, three separate gatherings were held: the Hindu Yuvaka Sammelana, Hindu Maha-sammilanī, and Gaurāṅga Sammelana. Many people were in attendance.
(1) Prayers for the soul of Svāmī Śraddhānanda; (2) prayers for the soul of Keśavānanda; (3) heartfelt thanks to the new converts to Hindu religion; (4) propagation of Hinduism; (5) grief over the death of Lord Singh; (6) entry rights for all classes in Hindu places of worship; (7) reinstatement of fallen women in Hindu society; and (8) discussion on the preservation of customs and traditions in Hinduism. These and other topics were discussed at the assembly that took place in Hili.
Last Saturday, fires broke out in seven places in Kolkata and surrounding areas. Reports of fires have also been received from various places in the surrounding suburbs. Without rain, there is no relief from the fires.
Another 26 committees in Burma’s Khāroyāḍi district have declared the actions of the governor and his associates as not in accordance with the law.
Reports from Rio de Janeiro state that over two hundred people have died in the Santos accident.
At the Indian Administrative Council, Śrīyūta Satyendra Chandra Mitra has asked several questions of the National Secretary about a man named Mr. Akbar, who is accused of conspiracy. The inquiry revealed that the recommendations given by the jail management were rejected, which resulted in adverse consequences for the offender.
Śuddhi [purificatory rites] are becoming the main cause of religious tensions. Because of śuddhi, Hindu society, which was in decline, is increasing in population. This leaves other religious traditions and groups noting a decline in their own population, which they cannot be pleased with.
Miss Miller’s śuddhi, or purification, will happen on the banks of the Godavari near Nashik. Some rituals were performed yesterday. The śuddhi-sabhā, or assembly, will be convened in a huge pavilion in Nashik. Many Europeans have purchased tickets to enter the event. The proceedings are all being filmed.
The Royal Court of Indore has classified the marriage of Miss Miller as a private affair. Fifty thousand people have been invited to this wedding, which will take place in April.
The author of Mother India, Ms. Mayo, has become active in opposition of American immigrant, Yogī Yogānanda. Many are anticipating attacks on Hindu religion in that [her writings].
Last Friday, in the afternoon, a motorcar carrying 17 members of a marriage party collided with a huge tree in Barakpur. The accident left 2 dead and 10 injured.
Two people have been acquited in the Barisole murder case. Five have been sent to the island [Kala Pani prison].
In the Hili religious gathering, Maharaj Shashikant’s statements are not agreeable to us in every aspect. He said that Rāmānuja and other propagators of religion have tried to suppress the thirst for knowledge and the advancement of knowledge. The Rāmānuja philosophy of Viśiṣṭādvaita represents a highly elevated state of knowledge. Nowadays, preachers express various opinions driven by personal beliefs that speak only to their lack of entry into proper understanding.
We cannot agree that Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, through their teachings of sacrifice and service, contributed significantly to the nation’s progress, while during the era of Rāmānuja, a decline began.
In Mirat, the Holi festival was celebrated by collecting a heap of various foreign goods and other items in the ice house and burning them to ashes.
A person named Mahesh Kaha, after receiving punishment 38 times, has been ordered to serve a rigorous imprisonment of 2 years for committing the crime of pickpocketing again.
Outside Lahore Station, a crowd of 5,000 people marched with black flags in hand to boycott the [Simon] Commission. However, inside the station, there were 200 people receiving the members of Simon Commission with garlands, etc.
Mr. S. A. Das will be on a four-month leave, and in his absence, Judge D. F. Molla of the Bombay High Court will handle his duties.
In Patuakhali, the arrests have not yet concluded. The police have detained several young men, and although key figures of the satyāgraha movement are missing, the activism is still ongoing.
Fire Incidents:
Last Saturday in Kolkata, fires broke out in seven different places. A home in Byātarār (Howrah) on Narsingh Dutt Lane caught fire around at 1:19 in the afternoon. The fire brigade quickly subdued that fire.
At half past 2, two haystacks on Salkia Benaras Road caught fire. Two fire brigades were spraying water on it till 6 p.m and were able to put out the fire. The flames of this fire could be seen from very far away. A fire brigade remained stationed there throughout the night.
Just after 4 p.m., another fire broke out in a house on Hazra Road. The fire engines quickly brought it under control. The fire near Dilkhush Road, close to the Park Circus, was also put out easily. There was a fire at the intersection of Sukia Street and Cornwallis Street as well.
In front of the General Post Office, a tram caught fire, and near Victoria Memorial, a motor vehicle also caught fire. Both fires were quickly extinguished.
Afghan Amir in London
Last Tuesday, there was a grand reception in London for the arrival of the Afghan Emir. The Emir and his wife came by sea from Calais to Dover. The King and Queen will be at the Victoria Station in London with other dignitaries to welcome them. The Emir will be felicitated with a civic reception at St. James’ Palace. On March 19, the Emir will travel by motor to Portsmouth from London and then sail to Southampton by submarine!