śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
22nd Phālguna, 1334, Tuesday
Gaura Pūrṇimā Praśasti | Praise of Gaura Pūrṇimā
(1)
vandi tomāya sakala śubhada vāsantī-pūrṇimā tithi go āja |
akalaṅka cā̃nda śrī gaurasundare prakaṭa karile nadīyā-mājha ||
I venerate you, this day of the Spring full moon, which brings all auspiciousness;
you have manifested the unblemished moon Śrī Gaurasundara within Nadīyā.
bhāgya mānila dharaṇī jā̃hara caraṇa-dvandva dhariyā vakṣe |
gāhila ucce mahā jaya-gāna harṣa-pūrita sajala cakṣe ||
The Earth considered it her fortune to hold His two feet upon her breast;
she sang His glories loudly, flooded with joy, tears in her eyes.
dhanya haila kali-yuga āji ghṛṇya alaṅghya pātaka-bharā |
gaurave tava āsana tāhāra haila sakala yugera sera ||
Today, Kali-yuga, however detestable, insurmountable, and filled with sinners, is blessed;
with the glory of being Your seat, it is now the best of yugas.
(2)
kalaṅkī śaśāṅke rāhu garāsila hari-dhvani uṭhe bhuvana maya |
śaṅkha ghaṇṭā mṛdaṅgera role stabdha pāpa-vāsanā caya ||
Rāhu swallowed the blemished moon and the call of Hari rose through the world;
the sound of conchs, gongs, and drums stunned the multitudes of sinful desires.
mleccha-yavana parihāsa chale bole ‘hari hari’ gabhīra ucca |
aparādha-hīna nāmābhāse haya saṁsāra-sāgara tādero tuccha ||
The Mlecchas and Yavanas sang “Hari, Hari” in jest, singing high and low;
by this offenseless nāmābhāsa, the ocean of material existence became insignificant to them.
dhanya haila kali-yuga āji ghṛṇya aśeṣa pāpete bharā |
bhakta samāje āsana tāhāra haila sakala yugera serā ||
Today Kali-yuga became blessed, despite being detestable and filled with endless sinners;
in the devotee community, it took the seat of the best of yugas.
(3)
ānande bharila nadīyā nagarī miśrabhavane vipula melā |
śacī-mātāra aṅka ujali—bhuvana vijayī rūpera khelā ||
The town of Nadīya filled with bliss and there was a huge festival at the Miśra home;
Śacī Mātā’s lap shone with the play of a beauty that conquered the world
lakṣa lakṣa pura-nara-nārī jāhnavī-salile kariyā snāna |
dale dale āsi śiśure nirakhi nānā upahāra karila dāna ||
Thousands and thousands of townsmen and women bathed in the waters of the Jāhnavī and came in groups to see the child, donating varieties of gifts.
dhanya haila kali-yuga āji ghṛṇita pāpa-pravṛtti bharā |
śiṣṭa samāje āsana tāhāra haila sakala yugera serā ||
Blessed became Kali-yuga today, despite being filled with hateful, sinful tendencies;
in cultured society, it took the seat of the best of yugas.
(4)
tridiva haite deva devī jata dhariyā nadīyā-vāsīra sajjā |
pūjila āsiyā śiśura caraṇa sukhera svarage dāniyā lajjā ||
For three days, all the gods and goddesses disguised themselves as residents of Nadīyā;
they came to worship the child’s feet, putting to shame the pleasures of heaven.
deva-nara mili kare saṅkīrtana hari hari boli vipula harṣe |
nadīyā haila madhupurī sama vidhātṛ-caraṇa-kamala sparśe ||
Gods and men mingled in saṅkīrtana, chanting “Hari, Hari!” with profuse joy;
Nadīya became like Mathurā by the touch of the Creator’s lotus feet.
dhanya haila chāra kali-yuga ghṛṇya jaghanya pāpete bharā |
caturmukhe-o praśaṁsila tāya mānila sakala yugera serā ||
Blessed became the reject Kali-yuga that is filled with vile, abominable sins;
it is now praised even by Brahmā, who has deemed it the best of all yugas.
(5)
vrajendra-nandana śrī kṛṣṇacandra rādhā-bhāva-dyuti variyā aṅge |
āśrayera bhāve āsvādite prema jagat bhāsāla kīrtana-raṅge ||
Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, embodying the mood and complexion of Rādhā
in order to taste prema as the āśraya, flooded the world in the joy of kīrtana.
nija sarva-śakti arpiyā śrī-nāme śauca-kāla-vidhi karila dūra |
pārṣada-gaṇe pāṭhāye agre āpani āsila nadīyā pura ||
Investing all His potency into the holy name, removing all rules of time and cleanliness,
He sent His associates ahead of Him and then came Himself to the town of Nadīya.
dhanya karila kali-yuga—diyā nāme adhikāra śraddadhāne |
‘nāma-nāmī eka’ kariya pracāra dubā’la viśva premera bāne ||
He blessed Kali-yuga, giving eligibility for the holy name to the faithful;
preaching that the name and the named are one, He drowned the world in a flood of prema.
(6)
aprākṛta snehe śacī-jagannātha bhāṇḍāra ujāḍi karila dāna |
advaita śrīvāsa brahma haridāsa prema-pīyūṣa karila pāna ||
In divine love, Śacī and Jagannātha opened their storehouse and gave away in charity as much as their hands could carry. Advaita, Śrīvāsa, and Brahma Haridāsa drank the nectar of love.
hethā nīlāmbara śacīra janaka śiśura lagna kari vicāra |
kahe—viśvambhara brahmāṇḍa-bharttā karibe sarva jagad-uddhāra ||
Here, Nīlāmbara, Śacī’s father, read the child’s astrological chart;
he said, “Viśvambhara, the maintainer of the universe, will deliver the whole world.”
vandi tomāya sakala śubhadā phālgunī pūrṇimā tithi go āja |
patita-pāvana gaurasundara—prakaṭa karile nadīyā mājha ||
I glorify you, the day of Phālgunī Pūrṇimā, the bestower of all auspiciousness, for you manifested the deliverer of the fallen, Śrī Gaurasundara, within Nadīya.
~ Śrī Kiśorī-mohana Adhikārī | Sāhitya-bhūṣaṇa Purāṇa-ratna |
Nāramā, Medinīpura |
Śrī Śrī Gaura Āvirbhāva | The Appearance of Śrī Śrī Gaura
Today, the auspicious day of Phālguna Pūrṇimā, is the holy appearance day of the savior incarnation in the age of Kali, the most magnanimous father of the saṅkīrtana movement, Śrī Śrī Gaurahari. Yesterday, during midday, the devotees arrived at Śrī Yogapīṭha, the courtyard of Śrī Śacī Mātā, after having performed parikramā of the Śrīdhāma’s nine islands, which represent the nine limbs of bhakti, and with great pomp and pageantry, performing kīrtana, celebrated the adhivāsa-mahotsava [“heralding festival”]. When devotees who had been performing parikramā began entering Yogapīṭha—aho, what a wondrous, charming sight that was to behold: a sight to soothe the heart, to which there can be no comparison. There is not a stonehearted person in this whole universe who would not have been moved by that sight. Even animals and birds became stunned and shed tears of joy upon seeing that sweet sight. The devotees had particles of the Śrīdhāma’s dust covering their whole bodies. On top of that, they were engaged in ecstatic dancing kīrtana. Thousands and thousands of voices joined in unison shouting, “Glory to Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga-Gāndharvikā Giridhārī!” causing the atmosphere to tremble in all directions. A great carnival of joy unfolded to the extremely enchanting mingling of the sweet sounds of conchs, bells, khola, and karatālas.
“duḥkha dūre gela, cintā nā rahila
caudike ānanda dekhi ||”
It seemed as if Śacīnandana had appeared once again along with His associates in manifest pastimes, becoming maddened in the performance of mahā-saṅkīrtana with His associates, and that the world was once again afloat in the flood of prema. Gaurasundara was raising His arms once again, spreading fearlessness, saying, “Ore! Wherever you are, drop what you’re doing and come! For you alone I have manifested My pastimes again today. The world will wash away in the flood of prema. No matter who you are, where you are, or how you are—drop everything and come. Join in this mahā-saṅkīrtana.” The devotees began to sing:
“gāya gorācā̃nda jīvera tore,
kalira jīvera daśā malina dekhe
gāya gorācā̃nda madhura svare |
ekabāra bolo rasanā prema-bhare,
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare |
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare ||
As the devotees sang this song, “keho vā nāce – some danced, keho vā kā̃nde – some wept, keho hāse mane mane – others laughed to themselves.” There was harināma in the mouths of the kīrtana singers, harināma in the ears of the listeners, harināma in all directions. Dispelling all the inauspiciousness of the world, today harināma was sung by millions of mouths. Tell me mankind, having seen this sight, do you still aim to rot and die in the stoolpit of sense gratification? Do you still want to remain deluded by the haunted enticements of the witch Māyā? Svayaṁ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the attractor of all, donned a captivating golden complexion and incarnated today as Gaura and is flooding the whole world in mahā-prema-rasa. Do you not want to float away in that flood of prema? Tell me, human, are you worried the flood of prema is going to catch you? Is that why you are trying to run away? No, there is nowhere more to run. The associates of Gaura have put on this enormous function to catch all of you in the flood of prema today.
Seeing such a vast gathering of purehearted devotees, such a large number of pious people from so many different regions and countries who are devoted to truth, attached to dharma, and desirous of beholding the Śrīdhāma, the appearance place of Gaura, even though it is so long after the fact of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s manifest pastimes—this fact infuses our hearts with an unprecedented hope. It feels like the former glory of Śrīdhāma Māyāpura is coming back after 441 years. Once again, the directions are resonating with the sound of loud harināma-saṅkīrtana sung from the mouths of thousands and thousands of assembled devotees. Abandoning the arrogance of birth, wealth, and prestige, thousands and thousands of human beings are drowning in the rasa of gaura-kīrtana. They have understood that there is no better means of deliverance than to take shelter at the lotus feet of Gaurasundara. There is no recourse than to perform harināma-saṅkīrtana in the association of Gaura’s pure devotees. Śrī Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda’s words come into focus once again:
“strī-putrādi-kathāt jahur-viṣayiṇaḥ śāstra-pravādaṁ budhā
yogīndrā vijahur-marun-niyamaja-kleśaṁ tapas-tāpasāḥ |
jñānābhyāsa-vidhiṁ jahuś-ca jatayaś-caitanya-candre parā-
māviṣkurvati bhakti-yoga-padavīṁ naivānya āsīd-rasaḥ ||”
“Now that Śrī Caitanya-candra has inaugurated the platform of parā-bhakti-yoga, people who were immersed in the pleasures of the senses have cast aside worldly topics related to the maintenance of wife and children; the scholars of philosophy, poetry, logic, and whatnot have left their scriptural debates; the greatest of yogis have completely relinquished the pains of striving to withhold their breath; and the ascetics have left their austerities. Now there is no other rasa to be seen in this world besides that of bhakti.”
“abhūd gehe gehe tumula-hari-saṅkīrtana-ravo
babhau dehe dehe vipula-pulakāśru vyatikaraḥ |
api snehe snehe parama-madhurotkarṣa-padavī
davīyasyāmnāyād api jagati gaure’vatarati ||”
“When Śrī Śrī Gaurasundara appeared in this world, the sound of tumultuous hari-saṅkīrtana rose up in every home. People’s bodies blossomed with horripilation and tears, like so many kadamba flowers. As prema-bhakti reached exponentially greater levels of intensity and excellence, the utmost, sweetest, most exalted platform of being, unheard of even in the Vedas, became manifest.”
On the occasion of Gaura’s appearance, there are an assortment of festivals going on all over India. But what is the difference between those celebrations and the festival going on in Gaura’s appearance place in Prācīna [ancient] Navadvīpa, Māyāpura Yogapīṭha? Many people do kīrtana, but what is the difference between the kīrtana of pure devotees who are wholly surrendered to śrī nāma and the kīrtana of nāmāparādhī, dhāmāparādhī, vaiṣṇavāparādhī kīrtana businessmen, deity businessmen, and womanizing paid reciters? The difference is one of heaven and hell. Śuddha-bhaktas [pure devotees] do kīrtana of śuddha-nāma [pure name] and obtain the mercy of Gaurasundara, whereas deceitful debauchees who are devotees in name alone do kīrtana of nāmāparādha and thus charge along the path to hell. Śuddha-bhaktas do not do kīrtana for profit, worship, and prestige. Rather, they do kīrtana only to please the kīrtana-vigraha [personification of kīrtana], the father of kīrtana, Gaurasundara. And the nāmāparādhīs do kīrtana of śrī nāma to fulfill the desires of their own senses, thus running down the path to hell. Sādhus, saintly persons, who are endowed with sukṛti, take the fact of this difference to heart and do not run towards impure association, to go and hear the paid kīrtana. Instead, they have all gathered and are gathering in their eternal home, Śrī Māyāpura Dhāma, to convey the anguish of their hearts to the moon of Māyāpura. Thus, they become blessed. They have understood:
“avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam |
śravaṇaṁ naiva karttavyaṁ sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ ||”
Just as there is a risk of death in drinking milk touched by the lips of a serpent, if one hears hari-kathā from the mouth of someone who is not actually a Vaiṣṇava, then what to speak of that sound vibration causing bhakti to flourish, it could destroy bhakti entirely.
Today is the appearance of Gaurasundara. But where is that appearance place? Where there are hankerings for material sense objects and not for Kṛṣṇa? Where people are seeking impersonal Brahman? Where people are engrossed in reaping the fruits of their actions? Where there is just duplicity and womanizing in the name of religion? Is that where the site of Gaura’s appearance is? The answer is no. It is not there. The site of Śrī Bhagavān’s appearance is only within viśuddha-sattva [the immaculate plane of existence] that is utterly devoid of material desires, jñāna, karma, etc. Therefore, only those whose hearts have attained such sanctity can attain the qualification to witness Gaura’s appearance pastime. In order to realize this appearance of Gaura, Śrī Gurudeva, who is nondifferent from Baladeva Nityānanda has taken us on parikramā of the land of ātma-nivedana, Antardvīpa Śrī Māyāpura, and taught us to surrender our very souls. In order to teach us what we must do after this ātma-nivedana, Śrī Guru-pādapadma has taken us on parikramā of the island of hearing, Sīmantadvīpa, and given us instructions on hearing. After this, he has taken us on parikramā of the kīrtana island, Godrumadvīpa, and given us the teachings of kīrtana. In other words, he has taught us that the jīva who has surrendered his soul first develops the qualification to hear and then, if he has heard properly, he obtains the qualification to perform kīrtana. After that, Śrī Gurudeva has orchestrated parikramā of Madhyadvīpa, Koladvīpa, Ṛtudvīpa, Jahnudvīpa, Modadrumadvīpa and Rudradvīpa, imparting instructions on smaraṇa, pāda-sevana, arcana, vandana, dāsya, and sakhya, or the sort of sādhana-bhakti endowed with all these limbs of bhakti. Now he is bringing us back to the site of ātma-nivedana, to the altar of Śrī Gaura’s feet, and granting us the qualification to experience Gaura’s appearance.
Only those who have had the fortune to truly appreciate this greatly, greatly magnanimous pastime of Śrī Gurudeva and to offer their souls at the feet of Śrī Guru and obtain the bhajana-mudrā [process of spiritual practice] as taught by him—only they will be blessed to witness Gaura’s appearance in their pristine hearts.
Gaura-janma-tithi Mahātmya | The Glories of Gaura’s Appearance Day
Today is Phālgunī Pūrṇimā—the day of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s appearance, which is supremely adored by devotees. As on Śrī Kṛṣṇa-janmāṣṭamī, devotees serve this tithi by observing a fast, etc.
caitanyera janma-yātrā phālguna-pūrṇimā |
brahmā ādi e tithira kare ārādhana ||
Caitanya’s birth festival is on Phālguna Pūrṇimā. Brahmā and others worship this sacred day.
parama pavitra tithi bhakti-svarūpiṇī |
yā̃hi avatīrṇa hailena dvija-maṇi ||
It is a supremely sacred day, the embodiment of devotion, whereupon the gem of the twiceborn incarnated.
sarva yātrā-maṅgala ei puṇya-tithi |
sarva śubha-lagna adhiṣṭhāna haya ithi ||
This sacred day is the auspiciousness of all festivals. It is the foundation of all auspicious signs.
eteke ei tithi karile sevana |
kṛṣṇa-bhakti haya khaṇḍe avidyā-bandhana ||
If one serves this sacred day, kṛṣṇa-bhakti develops and one’s bondage of nescience is severed.
~ Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi, 3.43-46 |
Description of Rudradvīpa
Rudrapāḍā, Śaṅkarapura, Idrākapura, and Gañjera Dāñgā come within this island. On this island, the eleven Rudras, headed by the Nīla-lohita Rudra, performed bhajana of Gaura. Kailāsa-dhāma is but the radiance of this Rudradvīpa. Aṣṭāvakra, Dattātreya and other yogis have abandoned their offensive monistic attitudes and become absorbed in meditating on the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. In this place, the guru of Śuddhādvaita-vāda, Śrī Viṣṇusvāmī, obtained the mercy of Rudra and became the leading ācārya of that sampradāya. It was in this place that Śrīdharasvāmī’s heart was secretly infused with Gaura’s mercy. That is why he explained Bhāgavata from the Śuddhādvaita perspective and became the object Śrī Gaurasundara’s affection.
This island is situated on the eastern bank of the Gaṅgā. As stated in Bhakti-ratnākara:
gaṅgāra pūrva-dhāre rādupura grāma haya |
keho keho rādupure rudrapura kaya ||
Parikramā Report
This past 18th of Phālguna, a Friday, on the sixth day of the parikramā, the parikramā went to Ṛtudvīpa. Within this Ṛtudvīpa, in Campahaṭṭa, or Cāmpāhāṭī, preside the Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara deities served by Mahāprabhu’s associate, Dvija Vāṇīnātha, who was supremely dear to Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī Prabhu. They are now being served in a new temple recently constructed by the sevakas of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. Their keen efforts of service have brought a special glow to the worship and service that has been going on here for a very long time. This year, the number of devotees who came on parikramā here was much greater than last year. On Friday morning, the devotees did parikramā of Vidyānagara. Vidyānagara was where Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya had his ṭola, or Sanskrit school. Tridaṇḍisvāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Vijñāna Āśrama Mahārāja gave a speech on the nature of parā [superior] and aparā [inferior] knowledge. In the evening, in the courtyard of Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara’s śrī mandira temple, thousands and thousands of devotees gathered. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī delivered an extremely heart-touching speech before this vast gathering of listeners. The subject of his talk was kapaṭatā [duplicity] and saralatā [simplicity]. In a voice brimming with pathos, he invited everyone to become simplehearted and realize that their duty is to perform hari-bhajana. He also drew from the lives of Mahāprabhu and His devotees to illustrate to the listeners the difference between duplicity and weakness. “Hṛd-daurbalya [weakness of the heart] is dispelled by the mercy of guru and the devotees,” he said, “whereas a duplicitous person never finds any such convenience. The duplicitous person simply cheats himself.”
After Prabhupāda’s speech, Paṇḍita Keśarī Śrīmad Admāra Viṭṭhalācārya, a respected scholar of Dvaita-vedānta, who had come from Śrīman Madhvācārya’s place in Uḍupī-kṣetra, delivered a powerful speech in Sanskrit on the subject of bona fide gurus and bogus gurus. In this context, this Dvaita-vedānta scholar Mahodaya quoted several stories and scriptural statements from Mahābhārata and other scriptures to say that without taking shelter at the feet of a genuine, spiritually realized guru, no one ever attains auspiciousness, nor could they. Those who are indifferent to or become lazy about finding a genuine guru, and instead consider the act of accepting a guru in a social way to be actual acceptance of a guru, fall into the ocean of material existence for all eternity and suffer.
After the Uḍupī Paṇdīta Mahodaya’s speech, Gauḍīya editor Paṇḍita Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda Mahodaya reiterated Prabhupāda Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s speech, explaining again the difference between duplicity and simplicity.
The next day, on Saturday, the parikramā went Jahnudvīpa. In this place, Mahāprabhu’s pastimes were read from ancient texts and kīrtana sung. Tridaṇḍi-gosvāmī Śrīpāda Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Mahārāja gave a speech delivering a variety of hari-kathā and instructions.
On Sunday, the parikramā went to Śrī Modadruma-dvīpa. Readers will find the description of Modadruma-dvīpa elsewhere. The birthplace of Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana, the incarnation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Veda-vyāsa and the Vyāsa of Śrī Caitanya-līlā, is situated in this Modadruma-dvīpa. It was in this very place that he performed his childhood pastimes as the son of Nārāyaṇī, who was the recipient of Mahāprabhu’s mercy. Just as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Veda-vyāsa composed Bhāgavata, Mahābhārata, and other Purāṇas to convey to the hosts of living entities the topics of devotion to Hari, Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana has propagated the narrations of Mahāprabhu in easy, simple Bengali verse to everyone, from the sinners on up, from door-to-door across Bengal. Although we hear the topic of bhakti addressed prior to Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana in the poetry of Caṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati, and other Vaiṣṇava mahājanas and in Guṇarāja Khān’s Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya and other texts, all those padāvalī poems and kavitā epics are not composed in pure Bengali language. It was this Nārāyaṇī-nandana [Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana] who was the very first to broadcast in particular the topic of the incarnation of Nadīyā, and savior of the age of Kali, in what is considered modern Bengali language. Even the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kavirāja Gosvāmī, has described the glories of Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana, writing that he was simply drinking whatever nectar Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana had left behind.
No matter what angle you look at it from, Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana is the forever worshipful gurudeva of Bengal, and not only of Bengal, of course. He is the gurudeva and imparter of bhakti teachings for all living entities. In Mahābhārata and other texts, Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Veda-vyāsa had tried to attract the general public to hari-kathā by means of a variety of fables and tales. [page break]
This is surely indicative of Dvaipāyana Veda-vyāsa’s compassion for others, but when he incarnated in Modadruma-dvīpa in Kali-yuga, the compassion he showed through [narrations of] Śrī Caitanya-līlā was far greater. This time his mercy was without any deceit. What the Mahābhārata and other texts said covertly, Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata expressed very clearly, without any disguise. In the Mahābhārata, instructions concerning hari-kathā were conveyed via the pretext of parables about tigers and mice, etc. But this time, Dvaipāyana Vyāsa has showered enough of the nectar of Mahāprabhu’s supremely sweet and instructive pastimes to revive the dead. As a servant of the most merciful deliverer of the fallen, Nityānanda Prabhu, he even stepped forward to have mercy on those who would criticize Nityānanda, by offering to kick them in the head.
The sacred text of Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata is an invaluable asset in the storehouse of literature. In Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata is written Mahāprabhu’s prophecy: “pṛthivīte āche jata nagarādi grāma | sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma ||” From the glimpse that Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana has given us by mentioning this utterance from Mahāprabhu’s worshipful mouth, it is understood that in the near future, people of all the world will come to this appearance place of the Ṭhākura to worship the seat of Vyāsa and will roll in the divine dust of the Dhāma while loudly calling out the names of Gaura-Nityānanda. The foreshadowing of this has already been witnessed to a significant extent by the grace of the servants of Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana’s great text, Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, has been translated into the English language. We have also heard that this sacred text will be propagated in the world in Sanskrit and Hindi by the grace of Prabhupāda Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana’s appearance place is the very altar of bhakti, the bhakti-pīṭha or vyāsa-pīṭha. This is the Naimiṣa of Gauḍa. When the interest in serving the Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda deities worshipped by Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana disappeared, this place was also practically lost. By the grace of the yugācārya, this place and the worship here is being restored. A temple sanctum, a nāṭya-mandira temple room, and servant’s quarters will be constructed so that very soon the service of Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda in this place can be restored. Last Sunday, in the morning, Prabhupāda Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja laid the cornerstone for the temple in this place with his own hands amid the hari-dhvani cheers issuing from the mouths of countless assembled devotees. Under Śrīla Prabhupāda’s guidance, the tridaṇḍisvāmīs and devotees called out to the glory of Guru and Gaurāṅga and dug out the pit for the foundation of the temple here. The local zamindar landlords, Śrīyukta Haridāsa Sāhā, Kuladācandra Sāhā, and other mahodayas have expressed their shared enthusiasm and dedication of efforts to have the former glory of Māmagāchi village restored and the service of Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana made bright and refulgent.
Tridaṇdisvāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Mahārāja and Paṇḍita Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda Mahodaya delivered heart-touching lectures on Ṭhākura Vṛndāvana.
Devotees also had darśana of the deities established by Mahāprabhu’s associates Śārṅga Murāri and Śrī Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura. They performed parikramā, read from the līlā-granthas [pastime books] and engaged in hari-kathā and kīrtana before returning to the Śrī Modadruma camp.
All these places have been photographed.
The day before yesterday, the devotees arrived back at Yogapīṭha from Modadruma-dvīpa at almost 11 o’clock at night. Yesterday, in the morning, they went on parikramā to Rudradvīpa.
Today’s activites:
1 | Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta pārāyaṇa [reading].
2 | Kīrtana of Mahāprabhu’s birth pastime.
3 | Abhiṣeka festival and Saṅkīrtana-mahā-mahotsava at dusk.
Śrī Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā
Tomorrow, Wednesday, in the afternoon, at the temple in Śrī Māyāpura, the Śrī Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā’s general annual conference will take place. At this time the notable accomplishments of those who endeavor to please to Śrī Śrī Gaurasundara will be recognized and honored. Everyone is invited.
Nānā Kathā | Assorted Topics
(Local)
Dacoity
Two miles from Nadīyā District’s Cuwadanga subdivision headquarters, in Sumiddiya village, a dacoity occurred in the home of one Nandalāla De. At around 10 o’clock at night, men armed with torches, staffs, and other deadly weapons entered the home and attacked the inhabitants mercilessly. When the people of the village came, drawn by the cries they heard, the dacoits fled. This same night, another group of dacoits broke into Rāmacandra Sarakāra’s house and made off with some small portion of belongings.
Rādhāgrāma News
Rādhāgrāma is now peaceful. First it was heard that when Miñājān Jamādar was arrested, the police seized his gun. Now it is being said that police cannot find the gun. The police’s Circle Inspector has ordered Miñājān to surrender the gun to the station within three days.
This past 28th of February, everyone who was arrested was set free on bail. There are still many terrifying rumours going around in this area.
Kushtia News
Four accused have been on the run in connection with the killings that occurred one year ago in Kushtia’s Haripur. Today they have been caught. The case opens tomorrow. For these murders, the five accused have been sentenced to eight years imprisonment with forced labour.
Even today there has been no rain, so the state of Bengal’s crops remains i very worrisome. Severe famine has appeared in Barddhaman, Bankura, Dinajpur, Nadiya, Murshidabad, Birbhum, and Malda. In Nadiya, Murshidabad, Birbhum, and Malda, many workers have been recruited for public service tasks. The price of rice has been lowered relatively.
(Indian)
Svāmī Paramānanda Injured
Last month, Svāmī Paramānanda initiated the Muslims in the Gandhi movement into Hindu dharma to purify them. It was heard that this past 22nd of February, in Camparana, a Muslim dressed as a brāhmaṇa stabbed him in the hand.
Svāmī Killed
Reports from Faridpur for the 29th of February state that the Sessions Court had charged a Namaḥśudra woman, Chabi Dasi, with using an axe to chop off the head of one Svami Gurudas Hira while he slept in her bed. The whole jury found her not guilty, so Judge Mr. Ellis freed her. The accused woman’s lawyer said that the woman was mentally unstable at the time of the incident. The jury agrees with this conclusion.
Naukā Dubi | Boat Sinking
Akhila Candra Ghosh, the sole owner of Dhaka’s renowned shoe business, the Ghosh Brothers, was travelling with his elderly mother and seven-year-old son from Kartikpur to Faridpur when, as they reached the Suresvar steamer ghat, their boat sank. This accident happened the night of the 22nd. Akhila Babu’s body was found in Kedarganj, almost twenty miles away from the site of the incident. The bodies of the other two have still not been found.
Fearsome Riot
Two people killed
This past 30th of January, a ghastly riot broke out between King Bijoy Singh Dudhoria of Azimganj and the tenants of the Medinipur Jamidari Company over a large 25 thousand bigha river bar situated in the jurisdiction of Daulatpur station, with falls under the Kushtia subdivision. Two people were killed. Suits have been filed with Kushtia lawyers from both sides. Investigation of the cases is ongoing and several people have been arrested. The bail for every accused individual was set for a thousand rupees. The date set for the hearing is this upcoming 15th of March. Several police have been deployed to the river bar to keep the peace.
Travelling School
The Punjab government has arranged for a travelling school to drive development in villages. As of this past 1st of March, the school has reached Delhi.
Motor Accident
This past 9th of Pauṣa, in the city of Kathi, a child was killed in an accident with a vehicle belonging to the Dutta Company and the driver has been charged. At present, as per the decision of the district magistrate mahāśaya, the driver faces a fine of 125 rupees and his license has been suspended for six months.
Accident in Mahīśūra (Mysore)
7 people burnt to death.
This past 29th of February, a bus full of passengers was travelling from Mahīśura to Nasipura. Some five miles away from Mahīśūra city, as it reached the top of a dam next to a lake in the village of Bhārṇā, people saw that the driver’s seat had caught fire. The bus was moving very fast at the time. The driver quickly leapt from the bus and the bus drove off the dam, falling 15 feet and flipping over; as a result, the entire bus caught fire. Two people were burnt to ash; only their partially burnt skeletons were recovered. Another four dead bodies were found; they too had been badly burnt. Another seven people, badly burnt and nearly dead, were brought to hospital. Of them, one has died.
Fire in Calcutta
This past Friday, at 4:20 in the afternoon, fire broke out in the go-down of the Karimbhai Match Factory at No. 32 Canal Road. Three fire engines quickly arrived on the scene and tried to extinguish the fire. After almost five hours of exhaustive efforts, the fire brigades were able to put out the fire. The go-down had a huge stockpile of manufactured goods. The intensity of the fire destroyed the roof. The extent of the damage is not clear yet, but there is no doubt that many rupees’ worth of goods were destroyed.
This same day, there was news of fires in three other places in Calcutta. One in New Market, one on Durgacaran Mitra Street in a toy house, and the other on Lindsey Street. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fires quickly, so they were not so devastating.
Brothers Killing Brothers
A ghastly fight broke out between Sītānātha Bāga, his three nephews, one of their servants and one of Sītānātha’s other nephews, Kiraṇa Bāga, over the cutting of a branch of a dumura tree. The whole gang of them, led by Sītānātha, started beating Kirana so much that Kirana died in a matter of moments. Thus, Sītānātha Bāga, his three nephews, and one servant have been charged with Kirana’s murder. The trial has begun in the courtroom of Alipur’s additional session judge, Mr. D.P. Ghosh. Such is the fate of viṣayīs [those engrossed in sense gratification].
Struck and Killed by Bus
This past 7th of February, a man named Najir Ahad died, having been struck by a bus at the corner of Park Street and Chowringhee Road at around 8 o’clock at night. This past 2nd of March, Calcutta coroner, Mr. Suinaho, investigated this death along with a jury. The coroner and jury agreed that the man was killed by being struck by a bus.
Death by Gas Poisoning
A man named Nishamani Rauta used to burn gas lights. This past 18th of February he went to the Ramakrishnapur Port Commissioner’s jetty. Later he was found dead on the deck of a pontoon. Testing of his corpse revealed that gas poisoning was the cause of death.
This past 2nd of March, the Calcutta coroner investigated this death with a jury and is of the opinion that it was indeed gas poisoning that lead to this individual’s death.
Dacoity in Bengal
For the week concluding with the 18th of February, there was news of 16 different instances of dacoity across Bengal. Of them, there was one incident of dacoity each in Birbhum, Hooghly, Medinipur, Khulna, Nadīyā, 24 Paragana, Pawna, Barisole, and Chattogram. There were 2 incidents each in Barddhaman and Dinajpur and 3 in Murshidabad.
Agartala
20 tins of ghee are said to have been found in a trunk on the 28th of Phālguna.
Travelling Abroad
Śrīyuta Bhuvana Mohana Mandala, B.A., a member of the Namaḥśudra community, is travelling to England to study barristry. A great many people from that community turned out to bid him a grand farewell. It is they who are sponsoring the expense of his stay abroad.
Accident
Municipal Chairman Injured
Friday afternoon, the Nowakhali municipal chairman Khan Sahib Safar Ali was returning home by horse carriage from court, when the horse was spooked by a car horn and started galloping; as a result, the carriage flipped over and fell into the ditch, whereby the chairman was gravely injured, and the other passenger, an attorney, Sharatcandra Kar, sustained only mild injuries. Khan Sahib has been sent to hospital.
Plague in Bombay
In the week ending with the 18th of February and the three weeks prior to that, 421 people came down with bubonic plague and 249 died. The previous month, however, 481 people were infected and 266 died.
During the week ending on February 18th, 123 were infected and 68 died. However, the week ending on February 28th, there were 103 infected and 33 who died. 195 people in Dharoya were infected and 121 died. In Belgram, there were 156 people infected and 88 who died. In Canara, 56 people were infected and 33 died. In Bajitpur, 13 people got infected and 7 died. At this point, 34,406 people have been administered vaccines for bubonic plague.
Mountain Tour by Cycle
Śrīyuta Haripada Gosvāmī, Shacindra Candra Majumdar and Binoy Ranjan Ray, residents of Potajiya village in the Pawna Sahajadpur district, set out to tour the Jayanti Hills via bicycle and have reached Thakur Gaon via Bagura and Kochbihar. They will soon return.
Increase in India’s Military Spending
The Indian government’s budget shows that 55 koti [550 million] and ten lakh will be spent on military expenses between 1928–29. Last year, 54 koti, 92 lakh was spent. In other words, India’s military spending has increased 18 lakh. And this means that almost half of India’s entire revenue will be spent on military expenses.
Convicted Thieves Sentenced
Convicted thief Pannalal Beniya was arrested by police on charges of pickpocketing a man named Bhuvana Pala on Harrison Road and is being tried in the court of Jorabagan’s fourth Presidency Magistrate Śrīyuta H.K. Dev. The judge has sentenced the accused to two months imprisonment with forced labour.
Maniram Halaoyani is another convicted thief. He has already been punished 10 times. Most recently he was charged with pickpocketing 116 rupees from a traveller named Rādhākumar Sāmanta at Howrah Station. He has been sentenced to two years imprisonment and forced labour.
(Foreign)
England’s Decrease in Military Spending
Rugby News for the 1st of March reported that the British government had published their military budget, which states that 4,10,50,000 pounds will be spent on military expenses. This represents a decrease of 5,15,000 pounds, or 77,25,000 rupees, on military expenses.
Avakāśa | Break
Tomorrow, on the occasion of Śrī Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s janmotsava birth festival, the patrikā [newsletter] will not be published.