MONTHLY ARCHIVE OF UPDATES

FEBRUARY 2018

Visiting Kandi and Sri Nrisingha Palli Temples
(43 photographs, 2.1 Mb | 31 January 2018)
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj leaves Sri Ekachakra Dham and visits our temple in Kandi (near Ekachakra) and Sri Nrisingha Palli temple to supply paint and supervise the rapid construction progress.

Jaya jaya gurudeva karuna sagara | জয় জয় গুরুদেব করুণাসাগর
Glory to Srila Gurudev, Sri Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, an ocean of mercy. He manifested the effulgent service of Sri Guru Sri Gaura Sri Nityananda in Sri Ekachakra Dham for the benefit of the entire world.
• Download / listen to the audio (2.5 Mb, 8 min | 28 January 2018)

Preaching Programme: DAY ONE
(12 photographs, 0.6 Mb | 1 February 2018)
The month of February begins from a week-long preaching programme that His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj undertakes with a group of Western and Indian devotees. The evening of the first day is spent at a programme in the Hooghly District.

Preaching Programme: DAY TWO
(24 photographs, 1.1 Mb | 2 February 2018)
Sharing photographs taken during the second day of preaching that His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj undertakes annually before Sri Gaura Purnima carrying the flag of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math to every house and heart.

Revealing Nityananda Prabhu
"Chandrasekhar Acharya and Srivas Pandit went to search for Nityananda Prabhu, but they were unable to find Him because Nityananda's glories are actually very guro—very sacred and of a very high level. It is not easy to find Him."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.2 Mb, 4 min | 26 January 2018)

Preaching Programme: DAY THREE
(28 photographs, 1.6 Mb | 3 February 2018)
Sharing photographs taken during the third day of preaching that His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj undertakes annually before Sri Gaura Purnima carrying the flag of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math to every house and heart.

Seeking Srila Saraswati Thakur's Mercy
"I am very happy that we celebrate the days of Srila Saraswati Thakur, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur together and I am very grateful that you have given me, a lowly person, an asan on this stage... What teachings did Srila Saraswati Thakur give to the world?"
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 16 February 2017 | Bengali)

sri-siddhanta-sarasvatiti vidito gaudiya-gurv-anvaye bhato bhanuriva prabhata-gagane yo gaura-sankirtanaih mayavada-timingilodara-gatan uddhrtya jivaniman krsna-prema-sudhabdhi-gahana-sukham pradat prabhum tam bhaje "I serve my lord, who is known as Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Within the Gaudiya sampradaya's lineage of Gurus, he shines like the sun in the morning sky. Through the sankirtan of Sriman Mahaprabhu he rescues the souls engulfed within the belly of the timingila of illusionism and bestows upon them the ecstasy of swimming in the nectarean ocean of divine love for Krishna."

"Today is a special day, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's appearance day. If he had not come, where would we get Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Gurudev? If we do not get mercy from Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, without Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, we cannot think about Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj."

Biography of Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad
The first part of the biographical compilation dedicated to Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad taken from a lecture of Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. The page shall be updated and expanded in the course of time.

Srila Prabhupad: Embodiment of Mercy
"Today is the holy appearance day of Bhagavan Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad, whom we are here to offer prayers to in the assembly of the devotees. He is Jagad Guru and what he gave to the world, no one else could ever give..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.9 Mb, 6 min | 28 February 2016)

Srila Prabhupad's Glory (1)
"Acharya-vandana: If you can realise the meaning this song, you can get all glorification of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Sujanarvuda-radhita-pada-yugam: We sing it but we do not realise its meaning because if we realised its meaning, we would get taste singing it. We must sing it every day and be conscious of it."
• Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 9 min | 25 December 2010)

Srila Prabhupad's Glory (2)
"Mahaprabhu predicted this, and Prabhupad fulfilled it through Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, Srila Gurudev. Now, in every village, all day, all night there is Hari-katha and kirtan going on."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.9 Mb, 8 min | 25 December 2010)

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur (Bengali class)
His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj is speaking on this day in 2015 about Srila Prabhupad's birth, youth, initiation, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur's founding the Yogapith temple, Srila Saraswati Thakur's preaching pastimes, divine power transmission, and vast contribution to the sampradaya.
• Download / listen to the audio (25.4 Mb, 74 min | 9 February 2015)

Sri Guru Parampara | শ্রীগুরুপরম্পরা
"The follower of Srila Gaura Kisor Das Babaji, the great soul Dayita Das (Srila Saraswati Thakur), whose wealth is Sri Krsna-kirtan, fulfilled the desires of the whole world. He is the dearmost of Sri Varsabhanavi and is always engaged in Her service."

Sujanarvuda-radhita | সুজনার্ব্বুদরাধিতপাদযুগং
"My master, Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, established the religion of the age, Krsna-sankirtan, and is the chief minister of the universal assembly of leading Vaisnavas. His lotus feet are worshipped by millions of virtuous souls and fulfil the desires of those who dispel souls' fears. Eternally I offer my obeisance to my master's worshippable feet."

Jayare jayare jaya paramahamsa | জয়রে জয়রে জয় পরমহংস
"Glory, glory, glory to Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur, this great swan-like perfect personality, abode of highest mercy, who is the path and refuge for the low and miserable who have no refuge!"

Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Vani
"If someone does not consider it necessary to faithfully follow their Guru and the Vaishnavs, their endeavour to serve the Lord is not service to the Lord—it is service to maya."

DAY FOUR (1.7 Mb | 4 Feb '18)

Preaching Programme Sharing photographs taken during the third and fourth days of preaching that His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj undertakes annually before Sri Gaura Purnima carrying the flag of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math to every house and heart.

DAY FIVE (0.6 Mb | 5 Feb '18)

Mahaprabhu's Stay in Shantipur
"Nityananda Prabhu understood devotees' feeling and somehow managed to take Mahaprabhu to Shantipur instead of taking Him straight to Vrindavan. In Shantipur, Mahaprabhu gave lecture, He sang and danced the whole day and night without stop..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 8 min | 26 January 2018)

Preaching Ideal
"Our duty is to learn what the main teachings of Mahaprabhu are. For as many days you are alive in this world, you must preach Krishna-katha, Gauranga-katha, Guru-katha, Guru Maharaj's katha. If you preach that, what is the need for you to worry about your future?"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.2 Mb, 4 min | 26 January 2018)

Learn and Distribute
"You must learn from Visvanath Chakravarti, from Prabodhananda Saraswati, from Gopal Bhatta Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Sanatan Goswami. If you learn what they teach, what they do, what their lifestyle is like, you can understand everything easily then."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 5 min | 26 January 2018)

Great Good Fortune
"By the mercy of Guru and Vaishnavs, by the mercy of the Lord, we have arrived in this Sri Ekachakra Dham where our most beloved Lord Nityananda Prabhu appeared. This is not a matter of small fortune—not everybody gets such fortune."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 5 min | 27 January 2018 | Bengali)

Preaching Programme: Hooghly
(39 photographs, 2.3 Mb | 9 February 2018)
Taking a few days' break, His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj sets out on the next preaching and collection trip in the suburbs of Kolkata nourishing the devotees and encouraging them to serve the Lord and practise pure devotion following the footsteps of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs.

Sri Ekadasi Guidance
Guidelines on how to observe and honour this holy day: Ekadasi takes an indispensible part in the life of a sincere practitioner. At Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Ekadasi and paran are observed with affection and without fail according to the dates given in the Calendar.

• "Sri Ekadasi" (Sri Sri Prema Vivarta)
"One day, Gaurahari left the Gundicha Temple and sat in the Jagannath Vallabha garden. It was pure Ekadasi, and the Lord spent the whole day and night chanting the Name of Krishna..."

• SONG: Suddha-bhakata | শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু
"I carefully observe the holy days related to Madhava, they are the mother of devotion."

• SONG: Sri hari-vasare | শ্রীহরি-বাসরে হরি
"On the holy day of Sri Hari, Sriman Mahaprabhu, the life and soul of the universe, began dancing..."

ADDITIONAL READING:

• "Observing Ekadasi" (by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
• "Ekadasi Vrata: Make Your Guru Happy" (by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
• "No Other Shelter" (by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
• "Mahadvadasi" (by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
• "Ekadasi and liberation" (by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
• "Ekadasi Tithi: One of the Practices" (by Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

Not a Game
"We must be serious about our spiritual matters, spiritual life. It is not a play, it is not childish games. Whatever you do, you must do it seriously. Just as a boat cannot run without the helmsman, in the same way life cannot run without an aim."
• Download (2.9 Mb, 9 min | 9 February 2018 | English and Bengali)

Visiting Sri Tarakeswar Temple
(36 photographs, 2.4 Mb | 10-11 February 2018)
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj spends a few days at the temple of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Madan Mohan jiu in Tarakeswar while collecting bhog for the upcoming festival time in the neighbouring areas.

Bhava-Rog Doctor
"When you get sick, you see a doctor—the doctor gives you medicine, you take it and get well. Here, to cure your disease of material existence, the doctor actually comes to your house and tells you what things you must avoid to remove your illusory environment."
• Download / listen to the audio (0.9 Mb, 3 min | 27 January 2018 | Bengali)

— · Sri Gaura Purnima Festival Invitation · — nadiya udayagiri purna-chandra gaura-hari krpa kari ha-ila udaya papa-tamo haila nasa, tri-jagatera ullasa, jagabhari hari-dhvani haya "By His causeless mercy the full moon Gaurahari arose in the district of Nadia, which is compared to Udayagiri, where the sun first becomes visible—His rising in the sky destroyed the darkness of sin; all three worlds became joyful and chanted the Holy Name of the Lord." Dear respected Devotees, Friends and Well-Wishers, On behalf of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, the Sevaite-President Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, we are bowing down at your holy feet and extending an invitation to join our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math during the annual week-long grand festival celebrating the Divine Appearance of Lord Gaurasundar that manifested this year between 25 February and 3 March 2018. On this day, the members of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, under the guidance and in the shelter of the holy lotus feet of the worshippable President-Acharya, Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Sri Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, are holding special programmes of worship, parikrama, revered offerings, kirtan, lectures, prasad distribution, as well as many other devotional activities. We shall feel obliged to have the kind company of you and your friends for this celebration to enhance this great festival at our centres in India, as well as branches worldwide. Shall you have any enquiries or wish to notify us of your arrival, we will be happy to hear from you at .

Please remember:

Proceed and Increase
"I am inviting all devotees to come to Nabadwip to see any festival or for the Gaura Purnima festival. Come as soon as possible; as much as it is in my power, as much as I can help anyone, I will try. Please come to Nabadwip."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 5 min | 17 June 2001)

Practise. Serve. Believe.
"Come. Come for Gaura Purnima, come for the parikrama of Virachandrapur in February. Mahaprabhu went there, Nityananda Prabhu came there to take the darshan of Mahaprabhu, and His mercy is unlimited. When you do parikrama of the Holy Dham, your parikrama of the material world comes to an end, you will not have to come back." (11 December 2011)

Knock, Knock! (Ahvana Poem)
"Who is your friend? Your friend has come to your house as a beggar and prays to you, 'Please chant the Name of Krishna! Come with us!' Just like a beggar he comes to you, but you cannot recognise him."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 8 min | 28 February 2012)

"I am touching your feet—please come!"
"Gurudev says, 'I am folding my hands, I am touching your feet—please come at Gaura Purnima!' How many more times will you come to this world? Those who do this Nabadwip Dham parikrama with devotees do no have to wander any longer in these three worlds."
• Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min | 28 February 2012)

Come to your home
"I pray to you all that you come every year. You may think, 'How will the money come?' But if you have a strong desire, Mahaprabhu will send you the money to come here." (9 March 2012)

Strike While the Iron Is Hot
"You think, 'I will chant the Holy Name tomorrow—I will wait today, and from tomorrow I will start.' Are you sure you are going to be in this world tomorrow?"
• Download / listen to the audio (3.9 Mb, 12 min | 26 May 2015)

Visiting Sri Tarakeswar Temple
(12 photographs, 0.8 Mb | 13 February 2018)
Photographs taken during the last evening at the temple of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Madan Mohan jiu in Tarakeswar. His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj speaks about the glories of Lord Siva and encourages devotees to practise properly.

In honour of Sri Sivaratri:

Sivji Maharaj and Nandi: Journey to Sri Nabadwip Dham
His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj is telling how Sri Sada Siva Gangadhar and Nandi came to the Math: "So many things have happened, and it was all like a miracle..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.9 Mb, 6 min)

Gopeshwar Mahadev's Surrender
"...Lord Siva entered the rasa-mancha in this mood, and Krishna understood who had come. Everyone wondered where the new gopi had come from and why Krishna was giving her so much honour."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 7 min)

Foster Devotional Feelings
"What do I want? I do not want wealth, knowledge, beautiful companions—all these things that the outside people are so proud of... If you run behind the illusory environment—enjoyment and liberation—Krishna will give it to you, but what will you think after that?"
• Download / listen to the audio (2 Mb, 6 min | 27 January 2018 | Bengali)

Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj's Bhajan Kutir
"This place where we are sitting now is the samadhi mandir and the bhajan kutir of Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj. We are paying obeisance to his place. He is our Guru parampara..."

Ei-bara karuna kara vaisnava gosai
"O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. O saviour of the fallen, without you there is no one. In every birth I aspire for the dust of your feet."
[Chanted at the bhajan kutir of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj during the second day of Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama in 2017.]
• Download (0.9 Mb, 3 min | 9 March 2017 | Kirtan)

~ Pranam-mantra ~ gaura-vrajasritasesair vaisnavair vandya-vigraham jagannatha-prabhum vande premabdhim vrddha-vaisnavam "I offer my obeisance unto my lord, the ocean of divine love, Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj. He is the senior-most devotee, and worshipped by all who have taken shelter in Sri Nabadwip Dham and Sri Vraja Dham."

Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj
"One day Srila Jagannath Das Babaji received a divine call from Radharani saying, 'Why are you staying in Vrindavan? You must go to Nabadwip!' He could not walk, so his servant Bihari Das carried him in a basket on his head to Nabadwip."

Go-Astami
"Feed the cows, give some garland to the cows, give some sweets to the cows. When Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj got some pranami, he would buy sweets and give them to the cows..."
• Download (1 Mb, 2 min | 14 November 2010)

• SONG: Krsna haite chatur-mukha | কৃষ্ণ হৈতে চতুর্ম্মুখ
"The foremost devotees of Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur are Srila Baladev Vidyabhusan and Srila Jagannath Das Babaji. All the Gurus in this succession are associates of Sri Gauranga. I pray for their remnants."

• SONG: Ye anila prema dhana | যে আনিল প্রেমধন
"I will break my head on a rock, I will enter into fire. Not finding the association of Sri Gauranga, who performed His Pastimes with all these associates, Narottam Das weeps."

In honour of Srimad Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj's disappearance:

Reforming Others
Three educational stories from the life of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and his disciple Sripad B.D. Madhav Maharaj.
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 5 min | 12 May 2012)

Guru Consciousness, Service Consciousness
"I heard from Gurudev, one time it was Janmastami, and Madhav Maharaj (his brahmachari name was Hayagriva Prabhu) had some service in Delhi, so he had to travel by train on the Janmastami day...."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 25 December 2010)

Continuous Service
"It happened after Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's time. One time, Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj and one more sannyasi—three disciples of Prabhupad—were sitting in one room..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 5 min | 7 August 2011)

Preaching and Rice Collection
Day One (1.1 Mb) (15 February 2018)	Busy with the preparations for the coming festivals, His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj is taking one more trip to remote corners of West Bengal to nourish devotees, as well as collect rice. Sharing photographs taken during the first and the second days of the preaching and collection programmes.	Day Two (1 Mb) (16 February 2018)

Association and Assimilation
"Remember Nityananda Prabhu's tolerance and patience. If somebody tells you something bad, you become upset, you get angry, but this is not your conception—your Gurudev never taught you this, Nityananda Prabhu never taught you this."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.6 Mb, 8 min | 27 January 2018 | Bengali)

Preaching and Rice Collection (8 photographs, 0.7 Mb | 18 February 2018)
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj continues rice collection at the mills and distributors in West Bengal—the owners happily donate rice for the festival, with up to 50kg of rice being collected at some places.

Sri Vaishnava Calendar for 2018-2019
The calendar of auspicious days, festivals and fasting celebrated and observed at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math for the following year (Sri Gaurabda 533, or 2018-2019) is now available online, both in English and Bengali.

2018

 JANUARY
 FEBRUARY
 MARCH
 APRIL
 MAY
 JUNE
 JULY
 AUGUST
 SEPTEMBER
 OCTOBER
 NOVEMBER
 DECEMBER

• OFFLINE READING, ePub:
(All lectures of His Divine Grace Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj posted here on the website)
Issue #1 (31 Dec '14)
Issue #2 (2015/1)
Issue #3 (2015/2)
Issue #4 (2015/3)
Issue #5 (2015/4)
Issue #6 (2016/1)
Issue #7 (2016/2)
Issue #8 (2016/3)
Issue #9 (2016/4)
Issue #10 (2017/1)
Issue #11 (2017/2)
Issue #12 (2017/3)
Issue #13 (2017/4)
Issue #14 (2018/1)
Issue #15 (2018/2)
Issue #16 (2018/3)
Issue #17 (2018/4)
Issue #18 (2019/1)
Issue #19 (2019/2)
Issue #20 (2019/3)
Issue #21 (2019/4)
Issue #22 (2020/1)
Issue #23 (2020/2)
Issue #24 (2020/3)
Issue #25 (2020/4)
Issue #26 (2021/1)
Issue #27 (2021/2)
Issue #28 (2021/3)
Issue #29 (2021/4)
Issue #30 (2022/1)