śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ |
25th Phālguna, Friday—1334 |
Dīkṣā
The vidhāna (ordinance) of dīkṣā is ongoing since the beginning of time, which is why everyone in Bhārata—high caste or low, scholars or fools, cultured ladies or śūdras—are acquainted with the topic of ‘dīkṣā’; but due to the influence of time, we come to the point that though we are inhabitants of Bhārata, we are utterly indifferent to investigating the purpose of this tradition, even to the extent that if some well-wisher comes to us and brings up all these topics, then we will likely say, “Come on, brother, put all those outdated topics to rest. There is no regard for all those things nowadays. If you want to develop, if you want to make yourself happy, if you want to help your fellow countrymen and establish your everlasting fame in this mortal world, then first free yourself from the bondage of all those archaic scriptural regulations; be hard-working, get rid of your outdated faith and your reliance on the gods. You’re obsessed with taking dīkṣā, chanting mantras, doing kīrtana, and following other scriptural decrees, but you are completely indifferent to what is going on with your brothers and friends, what is happening to your countrymen. Now we need strength of arms. Scriptural ordinances, renunciation, etc.—those are for weak people.” But alas, we have forgotten the strength that comes of dīkṣā, the strength of mantras that invigorated Viśvamitra so much that he once remarked, “Dhik balam kṣatriya-balaṁ brahma-tejo balaṁ-balam – Fie on strength that is the so-called prowess of the kṣatriyas; the power of divine spirit is the strength of strengths.” Now we have no more regard for that topic. What is the reason for that? Has anyone investigated that? If you look into the matter, you will come to know that we have ended up in this situation because we do not have real gurus who are perfected in mantra. You should please investigate the meaning of what is ‘guru’ and ‘dīkṣā’. The meaning of guru is recorded in scripture in this way:
gu śabde andhakāras tu
ru-kāras tan niṣedhakaḥ |
andhakāra-niṣedhatvāt
gurv ity abhidhīyate ||
The first syllable of the word guru refers to darkness, and the syllable ru implies prohibition. In other words, he who destroys the darkness of our ignorance is śrī gurudeva. And dīkṣā means:
divya-jñānaṁ yato dadyāt
kuryāt pāpasya saṁkṣayaṁ |
tasmād-dīkṣeti sā proktā
deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ ||
In other words, that by which one obtains transcendental knowledge that is directed towards the service of Bhagavān, that by which sin is destroyed at its root—only that is known as dīkṣā. Now see, dīkṣā is not just blowing and receiving air in the ear. Besides, those who have neither taken shelter at the feet of guru nor attained transcendental knowledge, which is the perfection of mantra, cannot even be guru. In the absence of a bona fide guru, our task of dīkṣā is not being executed properly, our purpose is not being fulfilled by receiving mantra from a so-called guru, as we are unable to appreciate the difference between a dīkṣita (initiated) and adīkṣita (uninitiated) person. As a result, we have no faith in mantra, no faith in guru. Surely it is also true that the direct audience of Guru and Vaiṣṇavas that we think we have obtained by the aid of material vision, or the mantra chanting we do with a mantra received from a so-called guru, is really just another material phenomenon that lacks actual capacity; it is all a facsimile of the transcendental name, mantra, and guru; in reality, the actual truth is distinct from any material object. But just because one can only see the distorted state of a true substance’s reflection does not mean one has to believe that the satya-vastu (real thing) is one of the distorted objects. You should please seek this real thing. Leave aside the guru who steals your money and look for the guru who takes away your suffering. We can only become powerful if we find a bona fide guru. Then the power of arms will seem trivial to us. Gurudeva is the direct manifestation of Baladeva, who infuses all with strength. Invigorated by His strength, the jīva will become capable of conquering the whole world. But why only the whole world, he will be able to conquer even Ajita Bhagavān (the Unconquerable Lord). The lack of faith we have in guru and śāstra will also be dispelled. The conflagration of material existence will be extinguished for eternity. Then we will dance and dance and sing:
viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate vidhi-
mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate |
* * * taṁ gauram eva stumaḥ ||
Our worldly lackings will be alleviated for all time and the world will be filled with joy.
Nowadays there is another group of peeople who say, “The yuga-dharma of Kali is nāma-saṅkīrtana alone. If you chant nāma, you don’t need to worry about dīkṣā and its puraścaryā (preliminary requirements). Therefore, we do not need to go to a bona fide guru or hear what he has to say. Ajāmila was extremely sinful; he did not receive dīkṣā from anyone, but in his final moments, he just uttered the name of Nārāyaṇa in reference to his son and was liberated. How come we can’t be like that too?” We are not going to present any complicated arguments to reconcile the above assertion. All we say is that if there is no need for mantra-dīkṣā, then is the profuse glorification of dīkṣā and guru in the scriptures all just the rambling of the authors of scripture? Is Jagad-guru Śrī Gaurasundara’s performance of the pastime of accepting dīkṣā not to instruct the people of the world? If bhagavat-prema (divine love of God) is one’s sole objective, then there is definitely a need for dīkṣā:
dīkṣā-kāle śiṣya kare ātma-samarpaṇa |
sei kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama ||
jaḍa deha haya tāra cidānanda-maya |
cidānanda-dehe kṛṣṇera caraṇa sevaya ||
Upon reading this article, many will think, “It is hard to find a bona fide guru, so how will I find one? And how will I even recognize that he is a bona fide guru?” The world is full of sādhus. It is true that it is difficult to discern who is a sādhu and who is not. But that does not mean that there are no sādhus. There are sādhus, but we have not the slightest desire to go to them and serve them. Gurudeva is not a mortal jīva; in reality, he does not take birth in this world in the manner of mortal jīvas. As vastu (an entity), He is nondifferent from Bhagavān. He is Bhagavān’s eternal companion. If we have a sincere desire to obtain his proximity, then the omniscient Lord will surely send His eternal associate to us. Just think of the tale of the five-year-old boy Dhruva. Seeing Dhruva’s sincerity and resolve, Bhagavān sent His associate Nārada to him. If we have sincerity and resolve in our hearts, then attaining a bona fide guru will not be a remote prospect for us either.
“brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva |
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā bīja ||”
Moner Kothā and Śrauta Kathā – Mental Concoction and Aural Tradition
“Nowadays, by the grace of the printing press, it is very easy to become known as a writer. As long as you have a way to collect enough money for printing, you have nothing else to worry about. Whatever nonsense you write will get printed. In just two to four days, it will be a book and come from the printers in a little red tuktuk. Then: “Who gets me? There will be such a demand for my books in the market that I will have to print edition after edition to no end. I will get hold of some editors, by their hands or feet, and get them to write a few columns of praise in a few newspapers. I’ll have some more money to eat nicely, and my name will show up in the papers. The one problem is there are people who seem to have all their attention on me. I wrote a book and it burns my enemies like no magic can. In songs, in statements, in writing, they criticize me! Why, what did I do to them? They will speak well of me in general, won’t they?” I had been sitting and sitting, worrying like this, when one of my friends came to see me, so I told him, “Brother, look, I have written a book called Moner Kothā (Matters of the Mind). The books were selling well in the market, but a few people who couldn’t tolerate my happiness have been after me, and now Moner Kothā is not selling in the market anymore. If people don’t appreciate Moner Kathā, what else are they going to appreciate?” My friend laughed a little and asked to see the book. I got up quickly and put a copy of the book in his hands. “Who doesn’t like your book?” my friend asked. “Some publisher of a book called Śrauta Kothā is very much against my Moner Kothā.” My friend—he’s my best friend—could see I was a bit disheartened, so, in a very soft and sweet voice, he gave me many instructions. Though the instructions were not so pleasing to me in that state, they really helped me later on. My friend changed the course of my life. Readers, I have written down as much as I can remember of what my friend said, because it may prove beneficial for you. Kindly have some patience and follow along.
Bandhur Kothā
“My Friend Words”
“Brother, you’re wondering why the people who respect Śrauta Kothā are not respecting your Moner Kothā, and why everyone else in the world seems to honor it. This is a difficult topic. Look, the soul, mind, and body are three separate things. But soul is something entirely different from the body and mind. The body is made of earth and other gross elements, and the mind is comprised of subtle elements. These are all manifestations of the inferior energy mentioned in Gītā. The soul is something separate from this material body and mind. It is the superior energy of Śrī Bhagavān that manifests as the jīvas. Water, due to its constitution, hardens in the cold, but its inherent constant, or eternal nature, which is liquidity, is never destroyed; it simply remains unmanifest. The jīvātmā (the living entity, who is the soul) is the same. Even though it is susceptible to the influence of prakṛti and has chosen this strange aversion to Bhagavān due to contact with asat (the false), the eternal, everlasting propensity it has is never destroyed. The living entity’s eternal propensity is called bhagavat-sevā (service to God), or bhakti. Śrauta-kathā refers to this eternal propensity of the soul, to what is called bhakti-kathā (topics of devotional service). The mind, which is cidābhāsa or cetanābhāsa (a semblance of consciousness) is in the grips of Māyā’s āvaraṇātmikā (covering) and vikṣepātmikā (agitating) energies and is characterized by the functions of constant acceptance and rejection. Therefore, it is bereft of any inherent regard for the existence of the pure jīvātmā. ‘It doubts whether there is a soul or not.’ All the endeavors of the mind that is disjoined from the guidance of the pure jīva’s constitutional propensity, the soul’s inclinations, are unfavourable to bhakti. This sort of mind is always susceptible to the shortcomings of bhrama, pramāda, karaṇāpāṭava, and vipralipsā. Bhrama refers to mistaking one object for another—like thinking a snake is a rope, pramāda is carelessness, karaṇāpāṭava is the ineptitude of sensory perceptions, and vipralipsā is the desire to cheat. Therefore, what this mind tells us can never be accepted as reliable. But when this mind is driven by the tendencies of a pure consciousness, then it does not retain any more mundanity. It attains cetanatva, or the quality of consciousness. It is like this with the mundane body. Then all the mind’s thoughts are those of the pure jīvātmā—concerned with nothing except for the service of Hari. All the functions of the body are then the activities of the pure soul; they become service to Bhagavān.
“Only a person who is established in his constitutional identity as a pure jīvātmā—who, in other words, is endowed with an attitude of service to Bhagavān is a follower of the śrauta-panthā (the aural path), a śrauta-panthī. Only he is capable of performing kīrtana of śruti, or that śrauta-kathā heard in disciplic succession. But the person who is performing kīrtana of ‘moner kothā’ does not accept the śrauta-patha that is obtained via the guru-paramparā; therefore, he is an aśrauta-panthī, an antagonist of Veda, an antagonist of bhakti, an atheist, or someone who actively opposes the eternal nature of the soul’s identity. Hence, though his words sound sweet to the average listener, they are unhearable for those who are tattva-jña (acquainted with the truth).
“Only a person who is fully surrendered at the lotus feet of a genuine guru obtains the eligibility to hear hari-kathā. If the śravaṇa (hearing) is done properly, then gurudeva grants him the qualification to do kīrtana. Then the śrauta-kathā that is kīrtita (sung) by that person who has obtained the mercy of guru becomes something that others can and should hear. The kīrtana or ‘moner kathā’ that is produced from the mental machinations of a person who has not taken shelter of śrī guru-pādapadma, who has not heard the words of guru, can never be heard by those who are seeking the ultimate goal of life. Those who are unacquainted with bhagavad-bhajana give superiority to manodharma (mental contrivances), which is why they have regard for mana-kathā, the expressions of the mind, and not for śrauta-kathā.
“When the jīva sincerely offers his soul at the lotus feet of guru, then gurudeva makes his body and mind ātma-sama vastu (an entity or substance like his own soul); he makes them supramundane, composed of pure consciousness. Guru does not allow the jīva to remain trapped in mundanity. Then the thoughts of that transcendental mind are the thoughts of the soul. They are no longer the same as the thoughts of the mundane mind.
“So, it seems now you have understood that the ‘moner kothā’ of those who have not surrendered to a genuine guru is not something that can be listened to by vijña-jana (wise persons). Only śrauta-kathā is honored by the vijña-jana.”
Hearing these words from my best friend, my desire to hear śrauta-kathā gradually began to strengthen. My regard for moner kothā gradually decreased.
Parikramā Prasaṅga
“About Parikramā”
This past 12th of Phālguna, Saturday, was the adhivāsa-utsava (“prelude festival”) to Śrīdhāma Parikramā, and from the 13th of Phālguna, Sunday, till the 21st of Phālguna, Monday, there were nine days of the parikramā-mahotsava across the nine islands. And after that, from the 22nd to today, for five days, there has been a grand mahotsava going on at Śrī Śrī Gaura’s birthplace at Yogapīṭha that is truly something to be seen and experienced. For nine days of parikramā, it was not one person, not a few, but thousands and thousands of devotees roaming from island to island. And they were not just roaming; there were nice arrangements on each island for prasāda and accommodation, arrangements for bedding and luggage to be transported by cart. When the route was too long and little boys and girls and the elderly or handicapped pilgrims could not make the trek, then there were arrangements made for vehicles along with the parade to alleviate the difficulty of travel for them. The scale of arrangements was stunning. What was more stunning was the tireless service of the maṭha residents. On each island, they were distributing prasāda to thousands and thousands of pilgrims, monitoring all their needs. It was an unprecedented and unimaginably pleasant sight. At the end of parikramā, the scene that manifested in Antaradvīpa, at Yogapīṭha, for the festival of Śrī Śrī Gaura’s birth was also astounding. I do not know if anyone in this Hari-averse world has ever had the fortune of seeing so many highly educated, distinguished individuals who have so much heartfelt anxiousness to have darśana Śrī Śrī Māyāpura Śaśadhara’s beautiful face.
There is no language to describe what an unprecedented sight it was to see thousands and thousands of men and women glorifying Guru-Gaurāṅga in unison while sitting and serving prasāda. It was something you had to experience. There were many people who came who previously had little or delicate faith, because they had the misfortune of listening to ignoble dhāmāparādhī, nāmāparādhī, and vaiṣṇavaparādhī people for so long. Even they came, some openly, and others in disguise, to participate in the festival. They were able to understand that wicked cheaters had been deceiving them all this time into believing falsity was truth. Now they are trying to be careful of bad association. They have acknowledged their offenses at the feet of the pure devotees and are asking for forgiveness.
The truth is a self-evident thing. It is not as if we have to be doubtful of the Sun’s existence just because fog or clouds obscure our meagre, contracted, and limited power of sight and create an obstacle to us seeing the Sun. The Sun is roughly fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than the Earth. A little cloud cannot cover it. Only our eyes get covered. Likewise, the conditioned jīvas’ fog of ignorance can never obscure the eternal Sun of truth, of pure bhaktisiddhānta (devotional conclusions). O jīva, if you have the slightest ambition to see the Sun of truth, then do not delay any longer. Quickly come and take shelter at the feet of a bona fide guru. Before long, the darkness of your ignorance will dissipate and you will be flooded in the radiant rays of pure existence emanating from the Sun of truth. Do not choose inauspiciousness for yourself any longer by associating with those who blaspheme the Dhāma and Vaiṣṇavas. Come just once and hear the truth from the mouths of pure devotees. Witness the conduct of pure devotees. All your doubts, all your unrest will be dispelled. The current of spiritual bliss will begin to flow through your heart. Today the pure devotees have arranged for you to have a holiday from your household perambulations and are incessantly preoccupied with facilitating your two feet in performing Śrī Dhāma parikramā, your ears in hearing the words emanating from Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s worshipful mouth, your tongue in relishing mahāprasāda and harināma–kīrtana, your hands in touching the dust of the Śrī Dhāma, the dust from the feet of the devotee residents of the Dhāma, and in smearing it all over your body and also in cleaning the temple, your eyes in beholding the forms of the devotees and Śrī Bhagavān, your nose in smelling the items offered at the feet of Bhagavān, your head in bowing to Śrī Bhagavān and the devotees, who are, above all, helping your mind to stop worrying about your body, home, and family and instead contemplate Śrī Bhagavān and His devotees. Thus the devotees are engaging all your senses in kṛṣṇānuśīlana (Kṛṣṇa consciousness).
Parama-bhāgavata Śrīpāda Kuñjabihārī Vidyābhūṣaṇa Ācāryatrika Mahodaya, who is exclusively devoted to the service of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga, is the main driving force behind this grand operation. The various members of the Śrī Śrī Viśva-Vaiṣṇava Rāja-sabhā are being directed under his supervision and carrying out all the necessary tasks related to this huge and auspicious grand celebration safely and without impediment. Anyone who has even once had the chance to witness and reflect on this exalted personality’s spotless and extremely pious character—how he labours day and night in his service in a steady, composed and sober manner, always with a bright smile on his face, dealing graciously with everyone from kings to wretched beggars—will surely obtain the qualification to receive Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga’s genuine mercy. Of this there is no doubt. It is from discussing the character of devotees that one obtains their mercy, and from the mercy of the devotees, one obtains the Lord’s mercy.
The gṛhastha devotees have tolerated the difficulties of travel and come to the Śrī Dhāma from far off places. And upon arriving here, they have had to tolerate many inconveniences. Though those who dwell in the Dhāma have wanted to accommodate them fully and please them, it may be that things could not be done as they had wished. Our anguished request of the devotees is that they do not take offense from these shortcomings. We pray that they consider the Śrī Dhāma to be their eternal home and the people living here to be their dearest relatives, and we hope that with this knowledge they can forget any sorrows or troubles. Rather than thinking that we just come to the Śrī Dhāma at the end of the year to see the festival and then have to return to our homes and become preoccupied with household life, we should come to the Dhāma knowing that, under the guidance of the eternal Dhāma residents, it is our eternal home, and we can become eternal Dhāma-vāsīs. We pray that the devotees can think: “(O Śrī Dhāma) Any distress incurred in the course of serving you is the greatest joy. The joys and sorrows of service are the greatest wealth, for they destroy the sorrow of ignorance.”
Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa
Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā
Thirty-fourth Annual Conference
The day before yesterday, the 23rd Phālguna, Wednesday, after sandhyā-ārātrika, at Śrī Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s birthplace in Prācīna Navadvīpa Māyāpura Yogapīṭha, Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā’s fourteenth annual conference was convened in great splendor. Many high-class, highly educated, and distinguished gentlemen from every district of Bengal participated in this assembly with supreme enthusiasm and earnestness. Besides them, many dignified academics from Bihar, Odissa, Assam, Uttara Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rājaputanā, Bombay, and the Madras Presidency attended, adding to the elegance of the assembly. Amid the noble gentry, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, the tridaṇḍipāda-gaṇa headed by Śrīmad Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Viveka Bhāratī Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Prakāśa Araṇya Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Sarvasva Giri Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Vilāsa Parvata Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Vaibhava Sāgara Mahārāja, Śrīmad Bhakti Vijñāna Āśrama Mahārāja, the Dvaita-vedānta scholar Śrīmad Aḍamāra Viṭṭhalācārya from Uḍupī-kṣetra, Paṇḍita Śrīyuta Śacīndra-candra Deva-śarmā Kāvya-vyākaraṇa-sāṅkhya-vedānta-ṣaḍ-darśana-tīrtha-sudarśana-vācaspati, Professor Śrīyuta Sureśa Candra Ghoṣa M.A.; Professor Śrīyuta Niśikānta Sānyāla M.A; Śrīyuta Surendra Nātha Ghoṣa M.A.; Śrīyuta Kumuda-kānta Bhaumika, Śrīyuta Kiśorī Mohana Pāla, B.L.; Śrīyuta Sāradā Mohana Pāla, Śrīyuta J.N. Candra, Śrīyuta Dīna-nātha Garāi, Śrīyukta Ramānātha Rāya, Śrīyuta Smarajita Kumāra Caṭṭopādhyāya, Śrīyuta Sakhicaraṇa Rāya, Śrīyuta Akṣaya Kumāra Gupta, D.S.P. Barisole; Śrīyuta Satīśa Candra Bandyopādhyāya Bhakti-bhūṣaṇa, Seristādāra, Khulnā Judge-court; Śrīyuta Śacī-kānta Biswas, B.L. Lawyer; Śrīyuta Rāmagopāla Chatterjee, Śrīyukta Phaṇibhūṣaṇa Bose B.A., Śrīyuta M.S. Ganeśa Āyāra, Śrīyuta Kuñjabihārī Bose B.L., Śrīyuta Atīndranātha Bandyopādhyāya, Śrīyuta Pañcānana Caṭṭopādhyāya, Śrīyuta Rādhā-govinda Dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīyuta Kuñjabihārī Ghoṣa, Śrīyuta Kṣetramohana Gāñgulī, a Barisole attorney; Śrīyuta Madana-mohana Paṭṭanāyaka, B.L., pleader, Cuttack; Śrīyuta Yatīndra Nātha Ghoṣa, B.A; Śrīyuta Pramoda Bhūṣaṇa Cakravartī Pratnavidyālaṅkāra, editor of Nadīyā Prakāśa; Paṇḍita Śrīyuta Rādhācaraṇa Gosvāmī Bhaktiratna; Śrīyuta Dhīrendra Nātha Bandyopādhyāya; Śrīyuta Amūlya-kumāra Sarakāra, K. Hinda, Kānapura; Śrīyuta Atīndra-nātha Dāsādhikārī, Dhanbad; Śrīyuta Sureśacandra Bhaṭṭācārya, Śrīyuta Atulacandra Bandyopādhyāya Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī, Ācāryatrika Śrīpāda Kuñjabihārī Vidyābhūṣaṇa B.A., Śrīyuta Ananta-Vāsudeva Brahmacārī B.A., and Śrīpāda Paramānanda Brahmacārī Vidyāratna, Sampradāya-vaibhavācārya; Śrīyuta Rāya Jānakī Nātha Bose Bahadur, Śrīyuta Īśānacandra Dāsādhikārī, Śrīyuta Avidyāharaṇa Dāsādhikārī Sevā-bāndhava, Śrīyuta Paṇḍita Kalivairī Vedānta-bhūṣaṇa, Śrīyuta Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī, Śrīyuta Samvidānanda Brahmacārī, Śrīyuta Kṛṣṇa-kṛpā Dāsādhikārī, Śrīyuta Kiśorī-mohana Dāsādhikārī Sāhitya-bhūṣaṇa-Puṛāṇa-ratna, Śrīyuta Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda B.A., Śrīyuta Caṇḍicaraṇa Mukhopādhyāya, Kavi-kṛṣṇāmṛta, and many, many other mahodayas who deserve mention.
At the beginning of the assembly, Śrīyuta Satīśacandra Bandyopādhyāya Bhakt-bhūṣaṇa Mahāśaya raised the proposal of having Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja adorn the seat of chairman of this conference. Śrīyuta Śacīndra-candra Kāvya-vyākaraṇa-sāṅkhya-vedānta-ṣaḍ-darśana-tīrtha-sudarśana-vācaspati supported this proposal wholeheartedly. Śrīla Prabhupāda expressed his natural humility, saying it would be more appropriate if another worthy individual was elected to conduct the conference. At that, the proposer, Śrīyuta Satīśacandra Bandyopādhyāya Mahāśaya submitted his proposal again. He remarked that Śrīla Prabhupāda, as an exemplar of the quality of tṛnād api sunīcatā, was imposing on himself the idea of being unqualified and therefore refusing to be the chairman. However, if the matter was to be carefully deliberated, if there was anyone in human form upon the Earth who was qualified to be the chairman of the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā, it was Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja alone. If the topic of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s worthiness was to be sung by a thousand mouths for a thousands years, there would still be no end to it. “I am an insignificant jīva; what kīrtana of his glories can I do?” he said. “I do not want to say much. If the whole universe were to tell me in unison to reject this proposal, I would still not be able to give it up.” When Dr. Śrīyuta Dhīrendranātha Bandyopādhyā Mahāśaya lent his support to this argument, Śrīla Prabhupāda accepted the seat of chairman. After that, Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda B.A. Mahodaya read the annual report of the previous year’s Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā. Everyone confirmed this description was accurate. After that, Śrīpāda Aprākṛta Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Prabhu proposed that since this assembly’s previous chairman, the late king of the independent nation of Tripurā, Mahārāja Vīrendra Kiśora Māṇikya Bāhādura, had departed this world, the seat of the permanent chairman had been left empty, and so, his very qualified son, the current King of Tripurā, Pañca-śrī Śrīyuta Mahārājā Vīra Vikrama Kiśora Varmaṇa Māṇikya Bāhādura ought to be given this position. Saying this, Śrīpāda Aprākṛta Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Prabhu described how the royal Vaiṣṇava family of the independent kingdom of Tripura were consistently demonstrating heartfelt efforts and cooperative understanding in preaching pure devotion. Śrīyuta Surendranātha Ghoṣa M.A. Mahāśaya supported this proposal wholeheartedly and everyone else followed suit, so the proposal was accepted.
(to be continued)
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Śrī Māyāpura Pūrṇa Candrodaya
The Rising Full Moon of Śrī Māyāpura
“navadvīpe śacī-garbha-śuddha-dugdha-sindhu |
tāhāte prakaṭa hailā kṛṣṇa-pūrṇa-indu ||”
Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 4.272
In Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara, Śrī Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura has written:
“navadvīpa madhye māyāpura nāme sthāna |
jathā janmilena gauracandra bhagavān ||
jaiche vṛndāvane yogapīṭha sumadhura |
taiche navadvīpe yogapīṭha māyāpura ||”
According to the descriptions found in Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka, Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and other authoritative ancient texts, this town of Navadvīpa is found on the eastern bank of the Gaṅgā. Long ago, the capital of the Sena kings was situated here. The town of Navadvīpa itself, which was the main seat of learning in all of Bhārata, and all the surrounding areas where there were schools or centers for learning were called “Navadvīpa”. Śrī Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura has written the following in Navadvīpa Parikramā:
“naya dvīpe navadvīpa nāma |
pṛthak pṛthak kintu haya eka grāma ||
jaiche rājadhānī kono sthāna |
yadyapi aneka tathā haya eka nāma ||”
The clear evidence that the capital of the Sena kings was in this town of Navadvīpa is that even now there is a huge manmade lake called “Ballāla-dīghī” and to the north of it is “Ballāla Ṭibī”, a large raised mound that is the remnants of the ruins of Ballāla Sena’s palace. Navadvīpa Maṇḍala is also referred to as “Gauḍa Bhūmi” because the Sena kings moved their seat of power from the ancient Gauḍa-nagara, which was in the district of Malladaha, to the town of Navadvīpa. After the fall of the Sena kings, Navadvīpa fell into the hands of Muslim rulers. In the 15th century (1498–1511), Bengal’s independent ruler, Allauddin Saiyad Hussain Shāh, appointed the Faujdar [a military commander with judicial and land revenue functions] Mullah Sirajuddin Cāñda Kājī here. Even now Cāñda Kājī’s samādhi and his descendants are here. Some portions of ancient Navadvīpa’s ‘Bela-pukuriyā’ neighbourhood have shifted to become part of the current neighbourhood of ‘Vāmana-pukura’. Cāñda Kājī’s samādhi is situated in this Vāmana-pukura.
Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma is within a sixteen-krośa-wide boundary that is surrounded by the Jāhnavī; within it are the seats of the nine limbs of bhakti: ‘Antaḥ’, ‘Godruma’, ‘Sīmanta’, ‘Madhya’, ‘Kola’, ‘Ṛtu’, ‘Jahnu’, ‘Modadruma’ and ‘Rudra’—these nine islands. In the very middle of them, in the middle of Antardvīpa, is Śrī Māyāpura; in this place is Śrī Jagannātha Miśra’s house, Śrīvāsa Aṅgana, Śrī Advaita Ācārya’s home, Śrī Murāri Gupta’s home and other sites.
Śrī Jagannātha Miśra, one of seven sons of Śrī Upendra Miśra, the foremost of Vedic brāhmaṇas in Śrī Haṭṭā, came to dwell on the banks of the Gaṅgā in Navadvīpa. Śrī Nīlāmbara Cakravartī was the foremost astrologer living in Navadvīpa at the time and Jagannātha Miśra married his daughter, Śrī Śacī Devī. Because Śrī Nīlāmbara Cakravartī’s residence is in Kājī-pāḍā [“the Kājī’s neighbourhood”] the Kājī Sahib used to refer to the esteemed Cakravartī Mahāśaya as his uncle by village relation. Śrī Jagannātha Miśra was, like Śrī Nanda and Vasudeva, the ocean of all good qualities and his position was that of ‘Purandara’ [“chief”]. Purandara’s wife, the crest-jewel of chaste ladies, Śacī Devī, had eight daughters who all died shortly after birth. Overwhelmed with grief for his children, Purandara Miśra began to worship Viṣṇu. Śrī Jagannātha Miśra and Śrī Śacī Devī are the main exemplars of aprākṛta-sahaja-dharma (supramundane spontaneous dharma), but from the mundane perspective, their desire for a child may resemble the conduct of people who are attached to the results of karma in this inferior, reflected realm. But in truth, their behaviour was simply a favourable prelude to Bhagavān unveiling His incarnation. If conditioned souls like us can realize this, then and only then can we attain deliverance from the bondage of māyā and become engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s devotees. Purandara Miśra worshipped Viṣṇu and manifested Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa of Vaikuṇṭha in this world as his ninth child.
In the Śaka year of 1407, on the 23rd of Phālguna, on the full moon day, the beginning of spring, on the occasion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Dola-yātrā, at dusk, the full moon rises proudly with a reddish splendor at the same time every year to bathe the whole world in its pristine, soft, white wreaths of light. But on this particular day it was as if the moon knew that its fullness, softness, whiteness, its munificence, its magnanimity, and its poetic assets, the literature and verse metres dedicated to it—all would be ridiculed and upstaged. Or else, in order to broadcast the fact that the fullness of mundanity is forever defeated by the fullness of transcendence, the spotted worldly moon let itself fall into the clutches of Rāhu. The sound of “Haribol, Haribol!” rose up across the land. The commotion of work stopped. The directions themselves, personified as divine damsels, heard the sound of kṛṣṇa-kīrtana and began dancing and laughing. At this time, under the lion lagna (hour marker) and lion rāśī (zodiac symbol), from the ocean of Śacī’s womb, Śrī Māyāpura’s Pūrṇacandra (full moon) rose. The lord of Śāntipura, Śrī Advaita Ācārya, and Ṭhākura Haridāsa as well as Navadvīpa resident Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and other Vaiṣṇavas sensed that the night covering the skies of their souls, a deep sorrow for the suffering of others, was coming to an end, and so they danced joyously in their homes. The beautiful ladies of the town took gifts in their hands and came to behold the face of Māyāpura’s moon. Nīlāmbara Cakravartī did his calculations and was able to see all the signs of an exalted personality in this wondrous moon. He understood that this personality would care for and maintain the whole of the world, so he revealed His name as known by the Vedas: Viśvambhara. The noble ladies who had arrived there saw the boy’s beautiful golden complexion and noticed that He stopped crying and became excited as soon as He heard the sound of hari-kīrtana, so they began to broadcast the name ‘Gaurahari’ to refer to the moon of Māyāpura that had risen from Śacī’s womb. After all the grief over eight daughters and understanding that this baby was her life and soul, Śacī Devī, the crest-jewel of transcendental, spontaneous love, chose the name Nimāi, derived from the word ‘nimba’, to ward off Yama (the god of death) with a reference to bitterness. Some say that it was simply because Gaurasundara was born beneath a neem tree Śacī Devī called her gem of a son affectionately by the name Nimāi.
The spotless full moon, Gauracandra, rose from the ocean of Śacī’s womb and gradually unveiled His pastime of growing. Māyāpura Purandara Prabhu [Gaurahari], the ocean of blissful pastimes, expanded the eternally ever-fresh dance of His wondrous childhood pastime splendor and kept causing Śacī and other ladies to be filled with astonishment. During Nimāi’s name ceremony, Jagannātha Miśra tested the child’s propensities and placed a variety of items before him, such as a sacred book, some parched rice, paddy, coins, gold, silver, etc. Nimāi left everything aside and embraced the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam alone. When the boy Nimāi began to cry, Śacī and the other ladies would try to pacify Him with many different objects. But nothing would calm the boy. Only when they all started clapping and singing hari-saṅkīrtana did He stop crying and even seem to be dancing in joy. Gradually, Nimāi manifested His pastimes of crawling. One day, while crawling around the courtyard, He saw a snake, crawled on top of the curled up snake, and laid down, displaying His śeṣa-śāyī pastimes. The ocean of vātsalya-rasa in Śacī and the other ladies, who were connoisseurs of transcendental, spontaneous, pure prema-rasa, immediately became agitated; they all started calling out “Garuḍa! Garuḍa!” and fearing something terrible would happen to the child, began crying. Seeing this, Ananta, who had assumed the form of that snake, left that place.
(to be continued)
Invitation Letter
With all due respects, I submit the following request—
Parivrājaka Ācārya Tridaṇḍi Gosvāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Mahārāja, one of the preachers from the Calcutta Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha, a preaching center for pure sanātana-dharma that is renowned throughout India, will make his auspicious arrival in Bārākapura and, from the 26th of Phālguna (the 10th of March, Saturday) till the 28th of Phālguna (the 12th of March), will deliver many profound teachings to the assembled pious people and perform saṅkīrtana. Below, the place and time have been given. Our humble request to all gracious souls is that they please participate in this grand function and relish the nectar of hari-kathā for a few days.
At the humble request of—
Śrī Yugala Kiśora Dāsa Brahmacārī
Place: Bārākapura, in Benapāḍā, in the courtyard of the home of Śrīyukta Vipinabihārī Mallika Mahāśaya.
Time and topic: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam reading and explanation from 7 to 9 a.m. on the 26th of Phālguna, 10th of March, Saturday.
On the evening of the same day, there will kīrtana and a lecture on the topic of “Jīve dayā – Compassion to living entities”.
On the 27th of Phālguna, the 11th of March, Sunday, there will be nagara-kīrtana from 7 to 10 a.m.
That evening there will be a lecture from 7 to 9 on the subject of “Religion for all”.
On the 28th of Phālguna, the 12th of March, Monday, in the morning, from 7 to 9, there were be a reading and explanation of Sanātana-śikṣā.
That evening, from 7 to 9, there will be a class about śrī nāma and then performance of saṅkīrtana.
Nānā Kathā
(Local)
Joyous News
Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, Candraśekhara Bhavana: The day before yesterday, Wednesday, in the morning, by the gracious donations of two pure devotees eager to serve Hari, two foundations were laid to the auspicious accompaniment of saṅkīrtana. One foundation was for a transcendental theatre stage to the south of the huge nāṭa-mandira in front of Śrī Śrī Gāndharvikā Giridhārī’s sanctum. The other, to the west of the temple, was laid for a large facility to house devotees.
(Indian)
Howrah Election Committee
Municipal elections are forthcoming in Howrah. There are committee conferences happening every day all over the city organized by campaign donors in order to support Congress candidates.
Strike in Liluah Imminent
Unrest from agent’s notice
At Liluah’s E.I. railway factory, a strike is imminent. On March 3, the agent issued a notice stating that he never made any promise of increasing workers’ wages previously.
Many people seem to remember that in January, when workers were urging for a raise in wages, the agent had posted a notice in Hindi about this issue to dispel the workers’ complaints as quickly as possible. Since then the workers have been waiting all this time, but as there has been no raise in wages, they have made it known to the agent that they will strike. In response to this, the agent issued the aforementioned notice on March 3.
According to a proposal accepted in the general assembly on February 9, a special assembly of the Liluah workers was convened at around 4 p.m., March 1, Wednesday, to set a date and time for the strike. Many distinguished leaders participated in the aforementioned assembly.
On March 3, in Howrah Field, under the chairmanship of Śrīyuta Kālidāsa Bose, there was an assembly of the workers at the General Stores’ Black Signal Factory Engineering Company. The activities of the railway management were criticized and it was said that if there is no response to their complaints, they will launch a strike some time after March 10.
Defamation Case Against Statesman
Judgement pending
Editor of The Statesman, Mr. Watson, is being sued for publishing an article in The Statesman on August 12 that spouts falsities about India’s widows. A lawyer from Howrah, Śrīyuta Maṇīndranātha Bandyopādhyāya, filed the charges in the court of Howrah Deputy Magistrate H.C. Bose. Because Howrah’s Attorney Deputy Magistrate acquitted the defendant, an appeal has been made against this order by the plaintiff in the court of Hooghly District Session Judge, Śrīyuta P. Der.
On March 5th, both parties have provided their questions and answers. The judge has issued a statement of judgement pending.