13 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR AREA | NOON | PART 2]

Remembering Saranga Murari
"If we do not hear about these pastimes and glories of the holy abode, how will we do parikrama? Who will tell you these things if you go to Mayapur as a tourist on a bus tour? Another place we go to during Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama is Mamgachhi, and the place I want to tell you about is visited just before Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur's birthplace."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

DIVINE SERVICE
'A brahmachari who lives in the math of the Mission, is in a very safe position because everything he is doing is seva for the Mission. But in the grhastha asram we are doing so much karma, so how can we be safe in our spiritual life?'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Janama saphala tara
‘If you have ever got the fortune to behold Lord Krishna just once, your life is successful. When souls behold Lord Krishna with the eyes that open in their hearts, they shed off all internal perversions.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Five, chanted on Wednesdays)
'He reveals (first, to Sri Sanatan and then to Prakasananda) sixty-two interpretations of the famous verse ‘Atmaramas cha… ittham-bhuta-guno harih’ (‘Even self-realised, self-satisfied souls are moved to worship the Lord’) from Srimad Bhagavatam; interpreting the various lexical meanings of the eleven words of this verse, juxtaposed in different ways, He reveals a treasure-mine of multitudinous meanings of this verse in consonance with the precepts of pure devotional conclusions – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

13 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR AREA | NOON | PART 1]

Remembering Chapahati
"We have very little time today, but I will speak more at the evening class. Now I want to tell you two stories. When we go for Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, we go to Chapahati on the last day. I want to tell you about two pastimes, one took place in Chapahati, and the other one in Mamgachi. This is the first story..."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

TRANSCENDENTAL WORLD
'Only your hankering can give you your share of that property. That is the only price for that, otherwise you cannot achieve it after even billions of lifetimes of merits. So hunger is necessary for that; and hunger will come if you make your stomach empty first. First take some purgative and cleanse yourself. Then gradually hunger will come.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Yasomati-nandana
‘Yasoda’s son Kana Krishna is a paramour hero of Vraja and the delight of Gokula. He is the treasure of gopis’ life, the enchanter of Cupid and the subduer of Kaliya.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Four, chanted on Tuesdays)
'Overcome with strong bouts of divine love surging through Him and becoming unconscious of the world around Him, He dances madly and chants kirtan; the tears streaming incessantly from His eyes flood His body, the colour of molten gold and tall as the mount Sumeru, His clothes, the colour of the newly risen sun, and the earth in all fourteen directions around Him; He glows as He chants, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’, shouts jumbled up words and relishes various postures and behaviours (roaring with laughter, etc.) under the influence of divine love – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

12 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | PART 5]

Pure Name Comes from Pure Heart
"It is necessary to chant the Holy Name without offences! You must give up all offences. Chanting all the ‘party’ kirtans is of no use. I have told you before: I have not come here to chant kirtans, I have come to make you chant kirtans."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

GOING DEEPER
'In this world we are always playing with fire. Mayadevi is very powerful. She always wants to take our time for her service. But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has shown us that the path of our life is the practising of Krishna consciousness. That is necessary for our transcendental super-benefit.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI SRI RADHA-KRISHNA VANDANA: Vibhavari sesa
‘O soul! The night is over and the dawn has broken. Cast off sleep and wake up! The Holy Names of the Lord are full of nectar, so always chant the glories of Lord Krishna! Dear mind, please do as I tell you.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Three, chanted on Mondays)
'He ardently preached that service performed in various divine relationships (from dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- to madhura-rasa) and the (paramount) service beauty of Sri Radha’s servitors in the highest paramour madhura-rasa, as well as any transcendental hankering of the self-realised souls in Sri Vraja Dham, can indisputably be realised in Sri Vrajendra-nandan only – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

12 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | PART 4]

Devotional Substance
"If you do something bypassing the Lord – if you take something without offering it to the Lord – it is stealing. Do you think that if you give something to the Lord, He will take it all away from you? The Ganges is worshipped with the Ganges water!"

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

AFFECTION
'If we can follow sadhu-sanga, it will give us relief from so many things and a very good result in the future. But all depends upon sraddha, faith. The translation of sraddha is more than just "faith". It is actually affectionate faith. Not everyone will feel affection. Good fortune will work in the background. With strong good fortune, one can immediately cross over the next three stages after association with the sadhu. But this is possible in very special cases only. Our Guru Maharaj used the word "affection", but it is necessary for us to know the line in which he did so.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SARANAGATI GITI: Tumi sarvesvaresvara vrajendra-kumara
‘You are the Lord of Lords, Vrajendra-kumar! By Your will, the creation and annihilation take place in the universe. You are my protector and maintainer – I aspire for nothing other than Your feet. I give up relying on my own strength and effort. Now I depend only on Your will.’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Two, chanted on Sundays)
'Very tall, beautiful and infused with divine love, His holy form increases gods’ joy; the lustre of His body, which puts millions of golden lotuses to shame, is worshipped by the Moon; and His intrinsic form is a holy abode of divine pastimes manifest as eternal ever-increasing transcendental ecstatic transformations that spring up as He revels dancing in Sri Krishna-sankirtan – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

About Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj:

divyam dirgha-bhujaravinda-nayanam sarasvatam sundaram
tejo-dipta-vapubudhaika-suhrdam karbura-garvapaham
pasandasura-chanda-danda dalanam dambhadri-dambholikam
vande vandya-kulabja-bhaskara-vibhum saranga-gosvaminam

‘I offer my obeisance unto the beautiful follower of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srimad Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj. He possesses a radiant form, long arms and lotus eyes. He crushes the pride of the wicked and squashes the cruel oppression of the heretics and demons. He is like a thunderbolt striking the mountain of hypocrisy. He is the sole friend of the intelligentsia and a shining sun above the lotus of the aristocracy.’

(Composed by Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

"You should know who Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj is and about our connection and relationship with him. You must remember this connection because without the knowledge of the relationship (sambandha-jnana), you can develop neither the knowledge of abhidheya (the means to attain the goal) nor the knowledge of prayojana (the goal).

"Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj (his brahmachari name was Sri Aprakrita Prabhu) was a prominent disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur entered his eternal pastimes, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj (Aprakrita Prabhu at the time), although a very senior brahmachari preacher, left the brahmacharya ashram and went back to his house in great distress. He was born in a village called Patrasayer (our Betur temple is situated nearby). After some time, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj come to Sri Aprakrita Prabhu and said, ‘Prabhu, you are living a family life now, let it be, but if you stay here, who will preach Mahaprabhu’s and Srila Prabhupad’s conception in this world? You have so much qualification for service and preaching, you must come back.’ Then, Srila Aprakrita Prabhu said, ‘If you give me sannyas, I will leave home and my family and come back.’ Srila Sridhar Maharaj agreed and gave him sannyas and the name Sri Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj. From that time, he came back to his preaching services.

"Srila Goswami Maharaj began to preach in various places. Trying to fulfil Srila Prabhupad’s earnest desire to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, Srila Goswami Maharaj even went to London, where he kept preaching and, eventually, with much effort and having tolerated much austerity, managed to open a small centre. He also has temples in Kolkata, Jalpaiguri and other places. In his lifetime, he established twenty-four centres in various places, among which is also the temple in Imlitala, Vrindavan, where Krishna was sitting when He decided that He would steal Radharani’s heart and halo and come as Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

"Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj always helped our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in various ways, especially during parikramas and with collection. Later, he finally established this temple here, at the place where the first meeting of Sri Sri Gaura Nityananda Prabhu took place. Srila Sridhar Maharaj had come here together with Srila Goswami Maharaj to see the land, and he gave Srila Goswami Maharaj much advice on what kind of temple to make, on the size of the nat mandir and other aspects.

"There is much that can be said about Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj. After taking sannyas in 1940, he always kept in touch with Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Our Srila Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, said:

"‘Once, Srila Goswami Maharaj gave a very special lecture. He explained that he and other great preachers were active in all directions, but they all waited to see what Srila Sridhar Maharaj thought about the quality of their preaching style. He used the phrase simha avalokana (a lion’s glance), saying, “We are preaching over the whole world, but from time to time we look back to see whether Srila Sridhar Maharaj is happy with our preaching activities.” “Simha avalokana” means when a lion goes some distance, it stops and looks behind to check the environment, then proceeds further, then again looks behind, and so on. In this way, Srila Goswami Maharaj described how all the preachers again and again looked towards Srila Guru Maharaj to see if their preaching had his approval.

"‘Srila Goswami Maharaj was the dearmost disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur – Srila Saraswati Thakur depended on his service. At the same time, although Srila Goswami Maharaj takes a unique position in Gaudiya Mission, he was very affectionate to our Srila Guru Maharaj. I have never seen him go against any decision of our Guru Maharaj; we can say that he almost blindly followed whatever Guru Maharaj decided, but he was not a blind man – he had much faith in Guru Maharaj.’

"Moreover, one year, during the circumambulation of Vrindavan, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj personally worshipped Srila Sridhar Maharaj with one hundred and eight lamps, incense and other paraphernalia on the occasion of Srila Sridhar Maharaj’s appearance day. Srila Goswami Maharaj performed this function, joined by many of his disciples and other godbrothers.

"Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj’s godbrother and sannyas-guru, but it is remarkable what kind of respect he had for Srila Guru Maharaj. Every year, Srila Goswami Maharaj’s disciples would arrange a very fine Vyasa-puja celebration on the appearance day of Srila Goswami Maharaj, and Srila Goswami Maharaj would personally go to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math to invite Srila Sridhar Maharaj to come to his temple on that day. Srila Sridhar Maharaj usually did not go to other temples, but he would always come to Srila Goswami Maharaj’s temple (this very temple where we are sitting now). Srila Goswami Maharaj not only invited Srila Guru Maharaj, he would also give whatever presentations, donations or gifts he had received from his disciples on that day to his sannyas-guru, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. One year, showing a pastime of feeling unwell, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj could not come to the festival in honour of Srila Goswami Maharaj’s appearance, and that day Srila Goswami Maharaj said, ‘Srila Sridhar Maharaj has been coming every year and I have been getting one more year of life, but since he could not come this year, I think that I will not be alive next year.’ And it happened like that – a few months later, on 26 May 1964, Srila Goswami Maharaj entered his eternal pastimes."

(From Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

Reviving Srila Prabhupad's Preaching
"...At that time Srila Sridhar Maharaj decided to go to Vrindavan and do bhajan, but when he got some akash dhvani, "What did I give you sannyas for? For your own self?" he hurried away from Vrindavan..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.2 Mb, 4 min)

The Root of Our Fortune
"Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj came in this world to rescue us, and he created our Guru—by his grace we have got shelter of our bona fide Guru. So, we must worship his lotus feet."
• Download / listen to the audio (7.6 Mb, 22 min)

Godbrothers' Bond
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj tells about the close and reverent relationship that Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj had with his godbrothers, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj, and Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj.
• Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 4 min | 19 September 2009)

12 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | PART 3]

Devotional Ingenuity
"Sri Krishna said, ‘I do not know anyone except My devotees, and My devotees also know only Me.’ When devotees cook, they always think about their gurudev. You must serve your guru and Vaishnavs extracting and smearing mellows of deep love from your heart."

• AFFECTIONATE GUIDANCE •

OUR LIFE-LINE OF DEVOTIONAL PRACTICE
'We must worship the raga-patha from afar, and our duty at present is to serve that rank of the devotees and to engage in the congregational chanting of the maha-mantra in the association of the devotees. This is the safe and actual process for us to make advancement in our Krishna conscious practising life.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SARANAGATI GITI: Amara samana hina nahi e samsara
‘There is nobody as deprived as me in this whole world. Having fallen into this ocean of material existence, I feel perturbed. When will Yogamaya, the guardian goddess of the family and the universal benefactor, mercifully withdraw the cover from me?’

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part One, chanted on Saturdays)
'Demigods, perfected souls, liberated souls, yogis and Lord’s devotees always sing His praise; He relieves the world from the blazing forest fire of three-fold miseries (caused by the desire for enjoyment, liberation and perfections) brought about by inauspicious actions (performed in aversion to the Supreme Lord); an ocean of generosity, He bestows His own Name from the nectarean storehouse of Lord Sri Krishna’s Names – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

In honour of Lord Buddha's appearance:

• SONG: Sri Dasavatar Stotram | দশাবতারস্তোত্রম্
"Showing compassionate heart for killed animals, You decry lamentable scriptural injunctions for sacrifices. O Kesava who assumes the form of the enlightened (Buddha)! Glory to You, O Lord of the universe, O Hari!"

"At the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist." (Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.3.24)

In honour of Srila Srinivas Acharya Prabhu:

Appearance of Acharya Srinivas
"Having received Mahaprabhu's blessing and mercy, Chaitanya Das and his wife returned to their house in Gaura-desh. Their son was born and, seeing his beautiful son, Chaitanya Das immediately declared, 'I will give this son to the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu for His service.'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 4 min)

Acharya Srinivas: Collecting Mercy
"Srinivas Acharya received Sri Narahari Thakur and Govinda Gosh Thakur's mercy from his childhood. Later, when Acharya Srinivas's father left his body, Srinivas and his mother then came to his mother's family house in Jajigram..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min)

Acharya Srinivas: Rescuing Scriptures
"So many things are written about Acharya Srinivas. There is a famous pastime of Srila Srinivas Acharya and Raja Birhambir. Srila Srinivas Acharya, Srila Narottam Das Thakur, and Srila Shyamananda Prabhu were once travelling with all the books of Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami, and others..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 5 min)

Time for Sravan
"You must see the sadhu with your ears, because you cannot see a sadhu with your eyes. This is actually not a place for play or tourism, this is a place for sravan and kirtan. You must listen with your heart. One time, Acharya Srinivas was sitting with Narottam Das Thakur in one place..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 7 min)

Srimad Gopal Bhatta Goswami [By Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur]
'In 1468 Saka (1546 CE), Sri Chaitanya Das’s son Srinivas came to Sri Vrindavan. Sri Gopal Bhatta mercifully gave him initiation. Srinivas Acharya also received Sri Jiva’s mercy. He studied scriptures from him and thereby received the title of a preacher of Vaishnavism...'

His Divine Grace
Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

"Srinivas Acharya, Narottam Das Thakur, and Shyamananda Prabhu started for Vrindavan to have the darshan of Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami, Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami, Srila Raghunath Bhatta Goswami and others who were there.

In this way, Srinivas Acharya, Narottam Das Thakur, and Shyamananda Prabhu stayed in Vrindavan for one year—Srinivas Acharya took initiation from Gopala Bhatta, Narottam Thakur from Lokanath Goswami, and Shyamananda Prabhu from Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu..."