Sri Radhastami in
Sri Hapaniya Dham (1)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Appearance day of Srimati Radharani, Hapaniya
17 September 2018, part 1

Today is a very auspicious day in our spiritual life, and every year on this day we make a festival for Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinathjiu in Hapaniya. This place is very auspicious—it is the appearance place (birthplace) of our Param Gurudev Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Remembering this place, almost all of Srila Sridhar Maharaj's godbrothers—Srila Bhakti Vichar Jajavar Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj, Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj, Satish Prabhu (he later became Sri Nayananda Babaji) and others—would come to visit this holy place of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

This place is very auspicious. Srila Jajavar Goswami Maharaj regarded this place as Varshana because it is the highest place in this area. During the floods, the water at our Nabadwip temple can be ten-feet high—the first floor will be already full of water, and it would be almost coming to the second floor—but at that time there is no water at the temple here. Varshana (the place where Radharani lived) is also the highest place, that is why Srila Jajavar Maharaj said that this place here in Hapaniya is nondifferent from Varshana.

Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj would walk here all the way from Nabadwip. We came here by car and we feel tired, but Srila Babaji Maharaj would come walking to the birthplace of Srila Sridhar Maharaj. On his way, he would chant the whole of Sri Sri Prema-Dhama-Devam Stotra,

কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণনাম-কীর্ত্তনং
রাম-রাম-গান-রম্য-দিব্য-ছন্দ-নর্ত্তনম্ ।
যত্র তত্র কৃষ্ণনাম-দান-লোক-নিস্তরং
প্রেম-ধাম-দেবমেব নৌমি গৌর-সুন্দরম্ ॥

krsna-krsna-krsna-krsna-krsna-nama-kirtanam
rama-rama-gana-ramya-divya chhanda-nartanam
yatra-tatra-krsna-nama-dana-loka-nistaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram

Later, the Supreme Lord travelled to the holy places of pilgrimage in South India with the clever intention of delivering the fallen souls. Appearing as a beautiful young renunciate, He distributed the sweet Names of the Lord, singing: "Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna he," as He strolled down the different pathways, entered temples, and visited homesteads during the sacred pilgrimage. Infused with an inconceivable type of divine inspiration, the Lord freely chanted "Rama Rama" and joyfully danced with the most charming gestures. Irrespective of time or personal qualification, the assembled bystanders were delivered by the Lord, who inspired them to chant Krishna's Holy Names. I offer my obeisances to that beautiful Golden Lord, Gauranga Sundar, the divine form of Krishna prema.

(Prema-dhama-deva Stotram, 22)

This Prema-Dhama-Devam Stotra is composed by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and its seventy-two slokas contain all pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj remembered all of the slokas by heart, he did not have to see the book to recite it. Also, his tune was very nice, he was a very good kirtaniya.

Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj would come here from Nabadwip singing Prema-Dhama-Devam Stotra and, when he was here, he would go to see the school where Srila Sridhar Maharaj studied (it is three-four kilometres from here, Okorsa High School), he would go to the primary school nearby in Hapaniya where Srila Sridhar Maharaj studied, he would search at which playground Srila Sridhar Maharaj played football, in which pond Srila Sridhar Maharaj bathed, and so on. He visited all these places. One day, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj asked him, "Maharaj, you are my godbrother, I do not mind you going to my birthplace, but why do you go to the school where I studied, the playground where I played, etc.?" And Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj replied, "Seeing the kind of slokas you have composed makes me think of Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami. Remembering them and thinking that you are nondifferent from Srila Rupa Goswami, I remember those slokas and come here."

In his childhood, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj would walk three-four kilometres from here to the Ganges—he would bathe in it, take a lotus flower and give it to Lord Siva here. You can see a small temple of Lord Siva outside our temple, near the big gate. It was built later—that place used to be open, without any house, but later, on the order of Gurudev, we made a house for Lord Siva there.

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