Have You Forgotten?
"We must engage our heart, our mind and entire being in service. How many
people can serve their Guru, their Lord in this way? We mostly end up doing
karma instead of service. It is necessary to serve the Lord, your Guru, and
Vaishnavs with your heart."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.1 Mb, 3 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Deity Installation Anniversary Festival in Australia (1 January 2022 | 17 photographs, 0.5 Mb)
Presenting several photographs taken at the annual festival observed by the
devotees in Australia, celebrating the installation day of Sri Sri Guru
Gaurasundar at the temple of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Uki. Shared here in
eternal memory of Sri Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya
Maharaj.
Guidance, Issue #29(EPUB file, 1.1 Mb)
An ePub file for offline reading on mobile phones and tablets containing the
lectures of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
published here from October to December 2021. We pray this serves as a
source of guidance, nourishment, and life to all the devotees and
well-wishers worldwide.
Files for offline reading (all posts published on the website since
July 2014):
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Chaturdashi. Disappearance of Srila Mahesh Pandit and Srila Uddharan
Das Thakur (both are great followers of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu).
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life. If you
remember the glories of Vaishnavs, if you speak about the glories of
Vaishnavs, they can rescue you from all kinds of material bondage. We have
heard a hundred times that if we glorify Vaishnavs, it gives great benefit,
but even though we have heard it a thousand times, how much are we able to
glorify Vaishnavs from our heart? How much can we serve Vaishnavs with heart
and soul? This is the question."
In honour of Srila Uddharan Das
Thakur:
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur writes in his Anubhasya, "The
Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (129) states that Uddharan Datta Thakur was formerly
the cowherd boy of Vrindavana named Subahu. Uddharan Datta Thakur, previously
known as Sri Uddharan Datta, was a resident of Saptagram, which is situated
on the bank of the Sarasvati River near the Trisabigha railway station in the
district of Hooghly.
"In the Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda, Chapter Five, it is said that
Uddharan Datta was an extremely elevated and liberal Vaisnava. He was born
with the right to worship Nityananda Prabhu. It is also stated that
Nityananda Prabhu, after staying for some time in Khadadaha, came to
Saptagrama and stayed in the house of Uddharan Datta.
"In Saptagrama there is still a temple with a six-armed Deity of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that was personally worshiped by Srila Uddharan Datta
Thakur. On the right side of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a Deity of Sri
Nityananda Prabhu, and on the left side is Gadadhara Prabhu. Uddharan Datta
Thakur was the manager of the estate of a big zamindar in Naihati, about one
and a half miles north of Katwa. The relics of this royal family are still
visible near the Daiìhata station. Since Uddharan Datta Thakur was the
manager of the estate, it was also known as Uddharan-pur. Uddharan Datta
Thakur installed Nitai-Gaura Deities that were later brought to the house of
the zamindar, which was known as Vanaoyaribada. Srila Uddharan Datta Thakur
remained a householder throughout his life. His father's name was Srikara
Datta, his mother's name was Bhadravati, and his son's name was Srinivasa
Datta."
(From a purport to Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita,
by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad)
In honour of Srila Mahesh
Pandit:
"Mahes Pandit, the seventh of the twelve gopals, was very liberal. In
great love of Krishna he danced to the beating of a kettledrum like a
madman."
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya, "The
village of Mahes Pandit, which is known as Palapad, is situated in the
district of Nadia within a forest about one mile south of the Chakadaha
railway station. It is mentioned that Mahes Pandit joined the festival
performed by Sri Nityananda Prabhu at Panihati. Narottam Das Thakur also
joined in the festival, and Mahes Pandit saw him on that occasion. In the
temple of Mahes Pandit there are Deities of Gaura-Nityananda, Sri Gopinath,
Sri Madana-mohan and Radha-Govinda, as well as a salagrama-sila."
Sun, 2 January 2022
Morning Shows the
Day
"All these things are written in common literature, but our life is also like
that. When we wake up, we stand before the Lord, we think about the Lord. We
must always think about the Lord, we must always do service, always take the
Name of the Lord. This is what I do."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2 Mb, 5 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Mon, 3 January 2022
Genuine Surrender
"Do not think about your own happiness—whichever way the Lord keeps you, you
must accept it and respect that. Whatever situation the Lord keeps me, I must
practise Krishna consciousness in that situation. So, we are our own friends,
and we are our own enemies."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 4 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Pratipad. Appearance of Srila Lochan Das Thakur.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Srila Lochan Das
Thakur:
About Srila
Lochan Das Thakur
"We must pray to Vaishnav Thakur, 'Wherever you are, Prabhu, please bestow
your mercy on this fallen and low soul so that I may live this life serving
you.' Srila Lochan Das Thakur composed Sri Chaitanya-mangala that
contains even more pastimes of the Lord than Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (5 Mb, 12 min | 2 February 2021 | Bengali)
Srila Lochan Das
Thakur Mahasay
"Srila Lochan Das Thakur is a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu—he
belonged to His line. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was born in Burdwan district
and he was a disciple of Sri Narahari Thakur. The name of Srila Lochan Das
Thakur's father is Sri Kamalakar Das, and his mother's name is Sri
Sadanandi..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 25 October 2020)
•SONG:
Ei-bara karuna kara |
এইবার করুণা কর "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."
•SONG:
Dhana mora nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
Composed by Srila Lochan Das Thakur:
•SONG:
Akrodha
paramananda |
অক্রোধ পরমানন্দ "The anger-less, prideless, supremely joyful Nityananda Ray wanders
throughout the towns. Going from door to door to the homes of the lowly and
fallen souls, He distributes the Hare Krsna mahamantra."
•SONG:
Nitai gunamani
amara |
নিতাই গুণমণি আমার "Nitai, the jewel of all good qualities, my Nitai, the jewel of all good
qualities, brought a flood of divine love and inundated the earth. Lochan Das
says, 'Anyone who did not serve Nitai knowingly committed suicide.'"
•SONG:
Parama karuna |
পরম করুণ পহুঁ দুই জন "Nitai and Gaurachandra are the two most merciful Lords, the crest-jewels
of all Avatars, the only source of joy. 'Fallen into samsara, I never aspired
for Their feet. Now Yamaraj subjects me to my karma,' says Lochan
Das."
•SONG:
Ke yabi ke yabi bhai |
কে যাবি কে যাবি ভাই "The Lord's Names are the ferryboat, Sri Guru is the captain, and the
outstretched arms in the sankirtan are the oars. All souls have been
delivered by the winds of divine love, only Lochan Das has remained
behind..."
"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I
heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."
"If we give some honour, give some glorification to the Vaishnavs, it is
actually for our benefit. It is for our own benefit that we do some
ceremonies, some festivals, glorifying the Vaishnavs. It is necessary for our
spiritual life, and it is one of the bhaktyanga, one of the practising
processes. That is why we make Vaishnavs' disappearance and appearance
festivals."
(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
Tue, 4 January 2022
In Search of
Hidden Treasure
"Who can understand this Gaura Mandal? Those who were born here cannot
understand anything. Thousands of people from all over the world come here
from millions of miles away. Why? What do they want here? Srila Sridhar
Maharaj said that there is a 'hidden treasure' here..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.2 Mb, 8 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Wed, 5 January 2022
Humility and
Dedication
"Whatever unhappiness comes when I serve you, that is my happiness. When you
serve the Lord, you have to struggle, you have to exert yourself. Mercy is
followed by service—if you have mercy, you will have service, and if you have
no mercy, then you will have no service. It is necessary to remember and
practise this."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 4 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Tritiya. Disappearance of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu and Srila Jagadish
Pandit.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Srila Jiva Goswami
Prabhu:
—: Pranam mantra of
Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu :—
yah sankhya-pankena kutarka-pamsuna
vivarta-gartena cha lupta-didhitim
suddham vyadhad vak-sudhaya mahesvaram
krsnam sa jivah prabhur astu me gatih
"With his nectarean teachings, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu revealed the Supreme
Lord, Krishna, whose effulgence had been hidden by the quicksand of
calculation, the dust storm of fallacious logic, and the ditch of
illusionism. May he be my shelter."
—Sri Baladev Vidyabhusan
•Srila Jiva
Goswami Prabhu
"I have no power to say what kind of devotion to his Guru Jiva Goswami
had. Jiva Goswami's service cannot be compared to
anyone's service. Whatever order he would get, he would place it on his
head and do it all the time—his mind never went to any other place."
•
Download / listen to the audio (8 Mb, 23 min | 2012)
•Srila Jiva
Goswami Prabhu: The All-Rounder
"Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu did everything alone—he cooked, did puja,
cleaned the temple, brought water from the Yamuna, and also did personal
service to his Guru. He was busy with his service from morning to night, and
did everything alone."
•
Download / listen to the audio (0.6 Mb, 2 min | 9 September 2011)
•Protected
Journey
Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj explains the pranam-mantra of
Srila Jiva Goswami in the book Dignity of the Divine Servitor: "I
offer my full dandavats unto the lotus feet of Srila Jiva Goswami who
is the protector of our spiritual life. He rescues us from the whole illusory
environment..."
•Srila Jiva
Goswami Prabhura Sochaka
A song composed by Srila Narahari Thakur in glorification of Srila Jiva
Goswami Prabhu's life, character, and service. Bengali verses and English
transliteration.
About Sri Jagadish
Pandit:
Sri Jagadish
Pandit
"Born in Guwahati, Assam, Sri Jagadish Pandit came to live in Nabadwip. Sri
Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya lived together on the bank of the Gages near Sri
Jagannath Misra's house, and Mahaprabhu would often come to visit them."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.5 Mb, 11 min | 24 January 2021)
"Jagadish Pandit was formerly a great dancer in Krishna-lila and was known
as Chandrahasa. He belonged to the village of Yasada-gram, in the district of
Nadia near the Chakadaha railway station. His father, the son of Bhatta
Narayan, was named Kamalaksa. Both his father and mother were great devotees
of Lord Visnu, and after their death, Jagadish, with his wife Duhkhini and
brother Mahesa, left his birthplace and came to Sri Mayapur to live in the
company of Jagannath Misra and other Vaisnavas. Lord Chaitanya asked Jagadish
to go to Jagannath Puri to preach the Harinam sankirtan movement. After
returning from Jagannath Puri, on the order of Lord Jagannath he established
Deities of Jagannath in the village of Yasada-gram."
"Sri Jagadish is described in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (192) as follows:
'Sri Jagadish and Hiranya previously appeared as the wives of the yajnic
brahmans of Vraja. The Lord asked for the grains they offered to Vishnu on
the day of Ekadasi. Chandrahasa, the expert dancer and knower of the mellows
of Vraja, has now appeared as Sri Jagadish Pandit.' Sri Nityananda Prabhu
with His associates are the life and wealth of the most effulgent Sri
Jagadish Pandit."
Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit—lived in Godrumadwip. Their house was some
distance from the Lord's house. On the day of Ekadasi they arranged a large
offering for the Lord. The injunction for fasting on Ekadasi is meant only
for the living entities, but Lord Vishnu is beyond the jurisdiction of the
rules and regulations that He has established. Since He is not bound to
observe fast on Ekadasi, and since He alone is the enjoyer of all sacrificial
offerings, all types of foodstuffs should be offered to Him on Ekadasi. On
the day of Ekadasi the Vaisnavs give up all kinds of enjoyment and do not
accept the injunction for honoring prasada as on other days, but Lord Sri
Hari, the protector of the devotees, accepts the foodstuffs offered by His
devotees on His day, Hari-vasara. Sri Gaura-Narayan also revealed His desire
to eat those foodstuffs.
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata)
No Other Shelter
"One time, when Nimai was three-four years old, He showed He was sick, and
was crying so much. It was an Ekadasi day. His mother, Sachi Mata, asked Him,
'What has happened?' Nimai said, 'I want to go to Hiranya-Jagadish's
house!'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.1 Mb, 3 min | 17 June 2001)
Thu, 6 January 2022
Jnana-Sunya Bhakti
"Even if you think, 'If I serve the Lord, I will go to Goloka,' that is also
a desire. It is not good to be like that. Gurudev told to chant the Holy Name
with faith, that is sufficient—what I will get or not get, he will take care
of that. Such mood is jnana-sunya bhakti. This is the rule."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 4 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Fri, 7 January 2022
Taking a Stand Against Maya
"You must be hard with them, 'No, by hook or by crook, but I will practise
Krishna consciousness. I will not surrender to Maya and run behind any
desires.' You must always try to be like that; otherwise, you cannot practise
Krishna consciousness...."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 4 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Sat, 8 January 2022
Be One-Pointed
"Those who practise sravan and kirtan, gradually become firm
and fixed in their spiritual life and service, they get the taste. Practising
sravan and kirtan removes all unwanted elements. This is the
main result. As long as you have unwanted, inauspicious elements within you,
you will not know peace."
•
Download / listen to the audio (0.9 Mb, 2 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Sun, 9 January 2022
A Word of Warning
"Many forget this. They think somebody makes cow dung patties, somebody
washes the dishes and laugh, but this is wrong. They are also servitors. If
you remember this, then you will not be able to criticise anyone, and you
should never criticise anyone."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.8 Mb, 17 min | 3 February 2021 | Bengali)
Mon, 10 January 2022
Main Festivals
"Without Nityananda Prabhu's mercy, we cannot enter the kingdom of spiritual
life. It is first necessary to have Nityananda Prabhu's mercy, and Nityananda
means Gurupadpadma. They are asraya-vigraha (worshippable embodiment
of shelter)."
•
Download / listen to the audio (0.9 Mb, 3 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Evening Kirtans: Sri Ekachakra Dham • Gurudev, bada krpa kari
• Ohe Vaisnava Thakura
• Nitai-pada-kamala
• Gaurangera duti pada
• Yasoda Nandana Krsna
• Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
•
Download/listen to the audio (10.7 Mb, 26 min | 26 February 2021 | Kirtan)
Tue, 11 January 2022
Serve with Faith
"Initiation means service to the Guru. Service can be different—one can serve
close to Guru, and one can serve from far too. We must have this faith:
Krishna is my protector, Krishna is my maintainer. As soon as you lose this
faith, Maya will catch you."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.8 Mb, 5 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Wed, 12 January 2022
Service Duty (1)
"We love our wife, sons, brothers, sisters, we have a relationship with them,
but that kind of love must be there for our Guru, the temple, and the Lord.
This is the Lord's house—this is what must be our consciousness like. We must
prepare (mould) ourselves. If we can serve the Lord twenty-four hours a day,
we will get the highest benefit."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.8 Mb, 5 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Thu, 13 January 2022
Service Duty (2)
"You are spending your life thinking all the time about material things, but
one day will come when you will be asked, 'You have been at My place for so
many days, what have you been doing there? How did you take care of My
house?'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 5 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Appearance of Srila Jagadish Pandit. Sriman Mahaprabhu leaves Nabadwip in the
night to go to Katwa to take sannyas.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Sriman Maharabhu's
last day in Nabadwip:
In a lecture about Sriman Mahaprabhu's sannyas-lila, Srila Govinda
Maharaj commented: "We have seen that Srila Guru Maharaj was always deeply
intoxicated with Mahaprabhu’s sannyas-lila. He established as a rule in
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math that for the three days [after Mahaprabhu takes
sannyas and leaves Nabadwip] the devotees will live very simply and eat only
some rice and dalma (dal cooked with mixed vegetables)."
Heart-Breaking Decision
"Mahaprabhu's mother, Gadadhar, Brahmananda, Chandrasekhara, and Mukunda.
Mahaprabhu told Nityananda Prabhu, 'Nobody except them knows about it.' Sri
Sachi Mata cried so much and other devotees also tried to dissuade Mahaprabhu
in so many ways..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 8 min)
Srila Lochan Das
Thakur Mahasay
"Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur did not write in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata
very clearly or broadly about the time prior to Sriman Mahaprabhu's taking
sannyas, but in his Sri Chaitanya-mangal, Srila Lochan Das
Thakur, for example, tells about the talk between Sriman Mahaprabhu and
Vishnupriya Devi."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 25 October 2020)
Vishnupriya
Devi's Sacrifice
"We must remember in our life the sacrifice that Vishnupriya Devi made. This
life is not for enjoyment, this life is for service. We should learn from the
sacrifice of Vishnupriya Devi..."
"If You Love Me..."
"Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, 'You think I am going to take sannyas
and go far away from Nabadwip, but this is not so. You are always with Me. If
you love Me, if you have any love and affection for Me, then always think
about Krishna, always chant Hare Krishna and tell others to chant it.'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 11 October 2020)
The Pain of Broken
Hearts
"We always remember Srimati Radharani, Her associates and other Vraja
gopis, but we forget about Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasomati. It has
come out of Radharani's mouth: 'We do not consider our heart's pain, but when
we see Mother Yasoda's face and Mother Yasoda's situation without Your
presence, our heart is breaking after breaking after breaking.' In
Mahaprabhu's pastimes, we can see a similar situation."
•
Download / listen to the audio (9.2 Mb, 36 min | 14 June 2007)
Ditching the
World
"We have come here by a great fortune. Not everybody can come here. We must
take the dust of this place, we must take prasad at this place. Do you
see our condition? We must cry, 'When will material attachment be removed
from my heart? When will that happen?'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (5.2 Mb, 15 min | 29 January 2018 |
Bengali)
According to solar calculation, it was on the day of Makara-sankranti, an
auspicious conjunction of the stars, that Nimai Pandit went to Katwa to take
sannyas, the renounced order of life. After this, He would become known as
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Just before this, He told only a few of His
friends, including Nityananda Prabhu, Gadadhara Pandit, Mukunda, and others,
"The time when I will accept the robe of renunciation is very near."
Just a few days before this, an opposition party had been raised against
Nimai Pandit. Those who believed that material nature is the highest
principle, and that consciousness is a product of matter, began to abuse
Nimai Pandit. He thought, "I came to deliver the lowest of men, but if they
commit offenses against Me, there will be not hope for their upliftment."
Suddenly, He said, "I came with that medicine which gives the greatest
relief, but now I find that their disease is rapidly growing worse and seems
beyond treatment. It will take its own course towards doom. The patients are
committing offenses by abusing their doctor. They are making arrangements to
insult Me. They take it that I am a family man—their nephew. They take Me as
one of them. I came with the best medicine for the present degraded age, but
now I find that they are plotting against Me. Now they are doomed. At least I
have to show them that I am not one of them." He thought, "I shall leave
family life and take sannyas and wander from village to village, town to
town, preaching the Holy Name of Krishna." That was His decision, and within
a few days He went to take sannyas at Katwa from Kesav Bharati
Maharaj.
Just the day before He left to take sannyas, from the afternoon until the
evening, there was a spontaneous gathering of devotees in the home of Nimai
Pandit. Every year in Bengal, that day was celebrated as Laksmi-puja,
worship of the goddess of fortune, when special cakes are prepared and
distributed. Nimai, knowing that early the next morning He would leave
Navadwip to take sannyas, attracted His followers in such a way that almost
every leading devotee came to see Him that evening.
They came with flower garlands and many other offerings to be presented to
the Lord. Nimai accepted their garlands and then placed them on the necks of
the devotees who gave them. Only four of His most intimate devotees knew He
was leaving; the ordinary devotees did not know this would be His last night
in Navadwip. With His own hands He garlanded the necks of His devotees and
appealed to them, "Always chant the name of Krishna. Under no condition
should you give up this krsna-nama. And don't do anything else. While
working, eating, sleeping or walking, day or night—in whatever you
do—continuously take the name of Krishna. Always talk about Krishna—nothing
else. If you have any real attraction for Me, then don't do anything without
chanting the name of Krishna.
"Cultivate Krishna consciousness. Krishna is the origin of us all. He is
our father; we have come from Him. The son who shows no gratitude towards the
father is sure to be punished birth after birth. Always chant these names of
the Lord:
hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
No other religious principle is required. Chant Hare Krishna. This is not
an ordinary mantra, but this is the maha-mantra, the greatest of all the
great mantras, the very essence of all the mantras known to the world. Only
take to this, always. No other prescription is to be followed.
"Remember your Lord, your home. This is a foreign land; you have nothing
to aspire after here. Try always to go back home, back to Godhead." In this
way, the Lord spoke, and all His devotees intuitively came because it was
Nimai Pandit's last night in Navadwip.
Late at night, one devotee named Kholaveca Sridhara arrived. He used to
make trade on the plantain tree and its fruit. He would sell the fruit, ripe
or green, and the big leaves which are used as plates. Sometimes Nimai would
pay him less for his fruits than what they were worth, and sometimes He would
snatch the best fruits from him. Sridhara came to see Him late at night to
offer Him a choice lau (calabash/bottle gourd). And Nimai thought, "I have
spent almost My whole life snatching so many things from him, and now, on
this last night he has brought this wonderful lau. I can't resist." He asked
Sacidevi, "Mother, Sridhara has given me this lau. Please think of how it can
be prepared." At bedtime, someone came with some milk. Nimai said, "Mother,
with this milk and this lau, please prepare some sweet-rice." So Sacidevi
prepared some lau sweet-rice: lau boiled with milk, rice and sugar.
Late at night, at about three o' clock in the morning, Nimai went
away.
"Jagadish Pandit was formerly a great dancer in Krishna-lila and was known
as Chandrahasa. He belonged to the village of Yasada-gram, in the district of
Nadia near the Chakadaha railway station. His father, the son of Bhatta
Narayan, was named Kamalaksa. Both his father and mother were great devotees
of Lord Visnu, and after their death, Jagadish, with his wife Duhkhini and
brother Mahesa, left his birthplace and came to Sri Mayapur to live in the
company of Jagannath Misra and other Vaisnavas. Lord Chaitanya asked Jagadish
to go to Jagannath Puri to preach the Harinam sankirtan movement. After
returning from Jagannath Puri, on the order of Lord Jagannath he established
Deities of Jagannath in the village of Yasada-gram."
"Sri Jagadish is described in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (192) as follows:
'Sri Jagadish and Hiranya previously appeared as the wives of the yajnic
brahmans of Vraja. The Lord asked for the grains they offered to Vishnu on
the day of Ekadasi. Chandrahasa, the expert dancer and knower of the mellows
of Vraja, has now appeared as Sri Jagadish Pandit.' Sri Nityananda Prabhu
with His associates are the life and wealth of the most effulgent Sri
Jagadish Pandit."
Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit—lived in Godrumadwip. Their house was some
distance from the Lord's house. On the day of Ekadasi they arranged a large
offering for the Lord. The injunction for fasting on Ekadasi is meant only
for the living entities, but Lord Vishnu is beyond the jurisdiction of the
rules and regulations that He has established. Since He is not bound to
observe fast on Ekadasi, and since He alone is the enjoyer of all sacrificial
offerings, all types of foodstuffs should be offered to Him on Ekadasi. On
the day of Ekadasi the Vaisnavs give up all kinds of enjoyment and do not
accept the injunction for honoring prasada as on other days, but Lord Sri
Hari, the protector of the devotees, accepts the foodstuffs offered by His
devotees on His day, Hari-vasara. Sri Gaura-Narayan also revealed His desire
to eat those foodstuffs.
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata)
No Other Shelter
"One time, when Nimai was three-four years old, He showed He was sick, and
was crying so much. It was an Ekadasi day. His mother, Sachi Mata, asked Him,
'What has happened?' Nimai said, 'I want to go to Hiranya-Jagadish's
house!'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.1 Mb, 3 min | 17 June 2001)
Fri, 14 January 2022 (Fast on Jayanti Mahadvadasi)
Heed My Word
"There is no lack of anything. Those who think this is some want are the ones
who lack a lot: those who run behind money always feel they lack, and their
lack will never be fulfilled. If you rely and depend on the Lord, then the
Lord will no doubt arrange everything for you."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 6 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Dvadashi. Jayanti Mahadvadashi. Fast. Mahaprabhu walks to Keshav
Bharati's ashram and attempts to take sannyas; devotees raise a ruckus
at the ashram of Keshav Bharati.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
Today's events:
Clearing the
Obstacles
"When Mahaprabhu left His family, do you know who came at that time?
Kalanidra. Kalanidra came to the Lord and asked, 'Prabhu, I have come. Why
did You call me? What is my duty?' Mahaprabhu told her, 'Now do your
duty.'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 5 min | 12 December
2010)
Late at night, at about three o' clock in the morning, Nimai went away. He
left Visnupriya Devi asleep in bed. His mother Sacidevi, sensing what was to
come, was staying awake all night guarding the door. Nimai bowed down to her
and went away. And like a stone figure, Mother Sacidevi sat there by the gate
as Nimai left. She could not say anything, but was struck dumb.
A little after three o'clock in the morning, Nimai swam across the Ganges and
in His wet cloth went straight to Katwa, a distance of twenty-five miles. He
reached there by nine or ten o'clock. There, He approached Kesav Bharati to
take sannyas.
In the early morning, the devotees came to see Nimai and found Sacidevi like
a statue, sitting at the door. The door was open. Everything was empty.
"What's the matter Sachi Devi?" they asked. She told them, "Oh, I was waiting
for you devotees. You take possession of the house. I shall go somewhere
else. I can't enter this house any more. You are His associates; you are the
true heirs. Take possession." They began to throng around her and console
her. "You will go? What about the young wife He left? The girl is only
fourteen years old. Who will protect her? You can't shun the responsibility
given to you. It is on your shoulders." In this way they came and consoled
her and tried to give her some hope.
Suddenly the devotees heard that Nimai Pandit, Sri Gauranga, had left
Navadwip. They learned that He had gone to Katwa, to Kesav Bharati's asrama
to take sannyas, bidding goodbye to the people of Navadwip forever.
A dark shadow came down. Many began to weep and cry for Him. Many of them ran
towards Katwa. Nimai Pandit was an unprecedented scholar with beautiful
features—tall, fair, and benevolent. He had already made the people mad with
the Holy Name of Krishna. He had released the two great sinners Jagai and
Madhai from their nasty life. He had checked the Mohammedan ruler, the Kazi,
who had broken the mrdanga drum. As a famous Pandit, he had defeated many
scholars who came to conquer Navadwip, which was very much renowned for its
high culture of learning, especially of logic.
At that time in Navadwip, logic (nyaya), worship of material energy (tantra),
and official Hinduism (smrti), were in high culture. Navadwip was highly
renowned for scholarship. If Pandits could not defeat the scholars of
Navadwip, they could not become famous. From far away in Kashmir, Kesav
Kasmiri had to come to Navadwip to get a certificate that he was a Pandit.
And he was defeated by Nimai Pandit. Kesav Kasmiri was such a big Pandit that
it was rumored he was the favorite child of Saraswati, the goddess of
learning. No one could face him. Still, he was defeated by Nimai Pandit.
But Nimai Pandit left Navadwip forever and took sannyas because the people of
Navadwip could not appreciate Him. He reached Katwa, where, just on the banks
of the Ganges, there was a sannyasi named Kesav Bharati. Nimai went to him
and asked him for sannyas. Kesav Bharati suddenly found that his asrama was
full of luster. At first, it seemed as if the sun was rising before him; then
he saw that it was a bright person approaching. He rose from his seat, and
with strained eyes approached in wonder. "What is this?" he thought.
Then he realized that the great devotee-scholar, Nimai Pandit, had come. He
appeared before him saying, "I want to take sannyas from you." But Kesav
Bharati could not accept Nimai's offer. "I am charmed by Your beauty and
personality," he said. "But You are so young, only twenty-four years old.
What about Your mother, Your wife, and Your guardians? Without consulting
with them, I cannot venture to give You the robe of renunciation."
In the meantime, as it was Makar Sankranti, a famous holiday, many people
had come to take bath in the holy waters of the Ganges. They gathered there
and the rumor spread like fire: "Nimai Pandit of Navadwip has come to take
sannyas." Many men flocked there, until a huge crowd gathered.
They all opposed Mahaprabhu's sannyas. Some of them raised their voices in
protest: "You—Kesav Bharati! We won't allow you to give sannyas to this young
man. He has a family, his mother and wife. We won't allow it. If you give
sannyas to this charming, young, beautiful boy, we will break down your
asrama immediately. It can't be!"
But Nimai Pandit kept pressing for sannyas. At last, Kesav Bharati asked him,
"So, you are that Nimai Pandit about whom we have heard so much? Many big
scholars came to conquer Navadwip, the famous seat of learning, and You have
defeated them all. Are You that Nimai Pandit?" "Yes," said Nimai. Kesav
Bharati told him, "I can give You sannyas, but You must take the permission
of Your mother—otherwise I won't, I can't do it." Nimai suddenly began
running towards Navadwip to ask permission, but Kesav Bharati thought, "He
has such a commanding personality, He can do anything."
Nimai was called back. Kesav Bharati told him, "With Your most extraordinary
personality You can do anything. You will go there, charm Your guardians, get
permission, and return. Nothing is impossible for You."
The ordinary public was very much enraged, saying to Kesav Bharati, "We can't
allow you, Swamiji, to give sannyas to this young boy. It is impossible! If
you do, then we shall smash your ashram." Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began
performing kirtan, chanting Hare Krishna and dancing madly. And the angry
mob grew, sometimes creating a disturbance. In this way the whole day passed
with no decision. The night passed in sankirtan.
Perverted
Tastes and Habits
"Listen to what I am saying. If you do not learn to be like that, you will
never be able to practise Krishna consciousness. Those who make offences
against Vaishnavs can never get any good result—they cannot even chant the
Holy Name no matter how much they count the beads."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Remembrance of Sriman Mahaprabhu's sannyas-lila.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
Today's events:
Will-O'-the-Wisp
of Worldly Wishes
"If you give Maya chance, then Maya will attack you. As soon as you get a
weak spot, Maya will attack you. It does not matter whether you are young or
old. If you try to control your elements, you can control them
from a young age."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.1 Mb, 10 min | 5 July 2020)
...The next day, Nimai's will prevailed, although there was still some
opposition.
Nityananda Prabhu, along with Nimai's maternal uncle Candrasekhara, Mukunda
Datta and Jagadananda Pandit, gradually arrived there. And that afternoon,
the sannyas function began. Candrasekhara Acarya was asked to perform the
ceremony on behalf of Nimai Pandit, who began to chant and dance and charm
the audience.
laksa-locanasru-varsa-harsa-kesa-kartanam
koti-kantha-krsna-kirtanadhya-danda-dharanam
nyasi-vesa-sarva-desa-ha-hutasa-kastaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram
"While showers of tears fell from the eyes of millions, He delighted in
having His beautiful hair shaved away. Millions of voices sang the glories of
Krishna, as Sri Krishna Chaitanya accepted the staff of renunciation. From
that time on, wherever He went, whoever saw Him in the dress of a sannyasi
cried in grief. I sing the glories of that beautiful Golden God, the giver of
divine love."
The scene was at Katwa. Four-hundred and seventy-four years ago, Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyas. He was young and beautiful, with a tall
figure. He was only twenty-four and had beautiful curling hair. A barber was
asked to shave Him, and approached Him, but then withdrew. The barber could
not venture to touch Nimai's body. He began to cry. "How can I remove such
beautiful hair from such a beautiful head?"
And so many others were also crying aloud, "What a horrible thing is being
done here! Who is the creator of this sannyas? Who is so hard-hearted that he
created the sannyas-asrama, where one must give up all that is near and dear
and go from door to door, begging, leaving his own friends and relatives
crying helplessly? What is this creation of the Supreme? Is it logical? Is it
a happy thing? It is most cruel!"
Nimai Pandit was smiling. After the barber was ordered repeatedly, somehow he
was forced to shave Nimai's head. At first, he could not venture to touch His
hair, saying, "I can't touch Him." But at last, he had to do the service of
shaving the beautiful, curling hair of the beautiful face of the twenty-four
year old genius boy. He began with his shears. Some people could not stand
the scene. Some even became mad. In the midst of the weeping, wailing, and
crying of the threatening mob, it was done.
Nimai Pandit was senseless. After being only half-shaved, He stood up and
began chanting in kirtana and dancing in ecstatic joy. After He was shaved,
the barber promised, "I will never again shave anyone with this hand! I would
rather live by begging. This is my last service as a barber." After this,
that barber took up the occupation of a sweetmaker.
Ultimately Nimai's appeals pacified the mob, and a little before noon the
inevitable gradually came: the sannyas function was performed. Chandrasekara
Acharya, the maternal uncle of Nimai Pandit, was deputed to take charge of
the rituals in the ceremony of sannyas. When the mantra was to be conferred,
Nimai Pandit asked Kesav Bharati, "Is this the mantra you will give me? I
heard it in a dream." He whispered the mantra in the ear of his guru who
accepted, saying, "Yes, this is the mantra I shall give You." Then that
mantra was given.
And the name of this sannyasi was not given in an ordinary way either. A most
peculiar name came through Kesav Bharati: "Krishna Chaitanya." None of the
ten names generally given to sannyasis was given to Nimai Pandit, but the
name that was given to Him was Krishna Chaitanya. As soon as they heard that
name, the mob began to cry, "Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jaya!" "All
glories to Sri Krishna Chaitanya!"
The father of Srinivasa Acarya was a class-friend of Nimai Pandit. On his way
to his father-in-law's house, he heard that Nimai Pandit had come to take
sannyas. He ran there, and seeing everything, he became dumb—he was
devastated and went half-mad. After that, nothing came from his mouth but
"Chaitanya!" After he heard the name "Krishna Chaitanya," whatever anyone
said to him, he would only say, "Chaitanya!" He became mad. After that, his
name became Chaitanya dasa. His former name vanished, and everyone used to
call him Chaitanya dasa. He could not stand the scene of Nimai Pandit's
sannyas.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, newly dressed in red robes, embraced His guru, and
both of them began to dance, chanting the name of Krishna. After some time,
the meaning of the name was given. Kesav Bharati Maharaja said, "Sri Krishna
Chaitanya means that You arouse Krishna consciousness throughout the entire
world. You have descended to make all people Krishna conscious. So the most
suitable name for You cannot but be Sri Krishna Chaitanya."
Mahaprabhu was very cheerful, thinking, "I am going to relieve so many souls
from their eternal misery and affliction. I have promised to deliver the
whole world from this ocean of misery and take them to the nectarine world,
and now I am going to accept that task." He was cheerful, but everyone around
Him was diving in the ocean of despair and sorrow.
Some scholars stress that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyas from Kesav
Bharati, who was a mayavadi, an impersonalist. But although Kesav Bharati may
have externally showed himself in that way, it is seen that by coming in
connection with Mahaprabhu, he became a devotee. Otherwise, we may also think
that he was a devotee who came in the garb of an impersonalist to help the
preaching of Mahaprabhu by assisting Him with the social formality of taking
sannyas. At that time, all over India, mayavadi sannyasis had greater
recognition than Vaisnava sannyasis, and Kesav Bharati was already situated
in that post. Mahaprabhu took the garb of a sannyasi from him for His own
purpose, to help His preaching activity. All these things may be explained in
different ways. In any case, after Mahaprabhu took sannyas, Kesav Bharati
began to sing and dance with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He joined in
sankirtana and was immediately converted.
In this way, the sannyas of Nimai Pandit took place. What is the meaning of
His sannyas?....
Sun, 16 January 2022 (Mahaprabhu roams Radadesh after
taking sannyas)
Snowball of Offences
"If you keep making and making offences, then these offences will go up to
the Guru. You can never get any benefit like this. Such people become
alienated from others—nobody likes them..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.3 Mb, 4 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
In memory of today's events related to Sriman Mahaprabhu's sannyas-lila:
Memorable Day In
Bamunpara
"One morning Gurudev went to Bamunpara. Only Gurudev, his driver, me, and
Gurudev's servant who cooked for him, went at that time. That day, Gurudev
showed me that place in Bamunpara where Mahaprabhu passed after taking
sannyas..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 4 min)
Remembering
Mahaprabhu's Sannyas-Lila
"Srila Param Guru Maharaj said that during this time Nabadwip was covered by
thick clouds—there was no sun in the sky and everything was very dark. Even
the sun too cried because the Lord had left Nabadwip. It was such a sad time,
everybody felt very deep separation."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 6 min)
Ten Days in Shantipur
"...When Mahaprabhu came to Shantipur and the news about it spread
everywhere, so many devotees started coming there—so many boats, full of
people, came to Shantipur to see Mahaprabhu..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 6 min)
Heart-Breaking Decision
"Mahaprabhu's mother, Gadadhar, Brahmananda, Chandrasekhara, and Mukunda.
Mahaprabhu told Nityananda Prabhu, 'Nobody except them knows about it.' Sri
Sachi Mata cried so much and other devotees also tried to dissuade Mahaprabhu
in so many ways..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 8 min)
Sri Nimai Sannyas
(English, Bengali, an audio recording)
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's poem expressing the
grief-stricken hearts of the residents of Nabadwip: "Vishvambhar, the son
of Jagannath Mishra, who resides in Nabadwip, Sachi's Nimai, has taken
sannyas. A tumult of cries filled the sky—Sachi's Nimai has
taken sannyas!"
From Sri Sri Prema Dhama Deva Stotram:
laksa-lochanasru-varsa-harsa-kesa-kartanam
koti-kantha-krsna-kirtanadhya-danda-dharanam
nyasi-vesa-sarvadesa-ha-hutasa-kataram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram
"Sri Gaurasundara departed from Nabadwip and went away to become a
sannyasi (monk), leaving behind his family members and friends whose eyes
were filled with tears. He accepted the staff and waterpot as his only
possessions, the emblems of a renunciate. When his long hair was cut off
and his head was shaved, thousands of voices sang the holy names. The
devotee's eyes shed rivers of tears, since they knew he was going into the
world and leaving them behind. From that time, whoever saw him in the red
garments of a sannyasi cried out loud in grief. I sing with joy the
unending glories of my sweet Lord, my golden Gaurasundara, the one and
only divine abode of pure love."
Mon, 17 January 2022 (Mahaprabhu roams Radadesh for the
second day after taking sannyas)
Path to Indigestion
"Can you eat the same amount as a young person? You cannot. Therefore, a
young person has more qualification and right to eat than you. If you speak
about things that are beyond your right, you will have indigestion—your
devotion will be destroyed."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 4 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
"Passing through the tract of land known as Rada-des, Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu recited the following verse in ecstasy:
etam sa asthaya paratma-nistham
adhyasitam purvatamair mahadbhih
aham tarisyami duranta-param
tamo mukundanghri-nisevayaiva
"Avanti Brahman said, 'I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of
nescience by being firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of Krishna.
This was approved by the previous acharyas who were fixed in firm devotion to
the Lord, Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'"
(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.3.4-5)
Today in the calendar:
Purnima. Pushyabhisheka Yatra of Sri Krishna. Disappearance of Sripad Bhakti
Sharan Vaisnava Maharaj.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
Tue, 18 January 2022 (Mahaprabhu roams Radadesh for the
third day before arriving in Shantipur)
Memorable Pastimes
"I have remembered one story that Srila Gurudev told me. The name of Srila
Prabhupad's guru was Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj. When Srila Gaura
Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj came to Nabadwip from Vrindavan, people thought he
was like a madman..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.1 Mb, 4 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
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)
Wed, 19 January 2022
Kali Yuga
Brahmans
"Who is great, a brahman or a Vaishnav? If you have 100,000 rupees, it
automatically means you have 1,000 rupees as well. So, 1,000 rupees is
brahman, and 100,000 rupees is Vaishnav—it means that those who have
the qualities of a Vaishnav automatically have all qualities of a
brahman."
•
Download / listen to the audio (5.9 Mb, 14 min | 23 February 2021 | Bengali)
Ten Days in Shantipur
"...When Mahaprabhu came to Shantipur and the news about it spread
everywhere, so many devotees started coming there—so many boats, full of
people, came to Shantipur to see Mahaprabhu..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 6 min)
Thu, 20 January 2022
Service Quality
"It is necessary to always be alert and make sure there is no defects in
your service. When you are giving something to your Guru, you must always see
if that thing is clean and neat or not. We make sure everything is clean, but
last we should see whether our mind is clean or not."
•
Download / listen to the audio (7.2 Mb, 17 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Fri, 21 January 2022
Deeply Anxious
to Serve
"Many of you are householder devotees, living in your homes—you also offer
bhog to the Lord every day and take prasad, but can you say
that your material illusion (prapancha) has gone away? Why is it not
going away?"
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 7 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Tritiya. Appearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu.
Disappearance of Srila Ramachandra Kaviraj.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Srila Gopal Bhatta
Goswamipad:
Srila Gopal
Bhatta Goswami's Miracle
"You have heard about the Deity of Sri Radha-Raman in Vrindavan. When Gopal
Bhatta Goswami lived in Vrindavan, he every day worshipped twelve pieces of
Govardhan sila..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min | 7 September 2013 | Bengali)
Strongest
Faith (2) Gopal Bhatta Goswami
"You have eyes in your heart, and if you have such feeling towards the Deity
in your heart and do your service with such faith, then you can easily see
Krishna everywhere, hear Krishna-nama everywhere, nothing else besides
Krishna-nama will enter your ears..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.3 Mb, 4 min | 10 March 2015)
Prayers to Sri Vaishnav Thakur:
•SONG:
Ei-bara karuna kara |
এইবার করুণা কর "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."
•SONG:
Ohe Vaisnava
Thakura |
(ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর "O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant.
Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give
Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after
you."
•SONG:
Ki-rupe paiba seva |
কিরূপে পাইব সেবা "I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"
•SONG:
Dhana mora nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
In honour of Srila Ramachandra Kaviraj's disappearance:
Power of Good
Association
"You must see the sadhu with your ears. Every day you sing,
'Ramachandra-sanga mage Narottama Dasa: Narottam Das prays for the
association of Ramachandra Kaviraj.' What does this mean? Why does Narottam
Das always ask for the association of Ramachandra?"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min | 12 March 2017 | Gaura Purnima)
Sat, 22 January 2022
Spiritual Trade-Off
"Dhruva Maharaj went to the forest and spent there five years sitting in one
place, unswervingly meditating on Krishna. He did not meditate on the Lord to
get the Lord—he actually meditated on the Lord to get the throne of his
father's kingdom!"
•
Download / listen to the audio (2 Mb, 5 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Chaturthi. Disappearance of Sripad Yadavendu Bhakti Chandan.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Sripad Yadavendu
Bhakti Chandan:
Sripad Yadavendu Bhakti Chandan [GaudiyaDarshan.com]
"...He was a senior man, he was very experienced and honourable, but he
treated me with humility and all his other good qualities. Later, I was his
servant for one month in Vrindavan. Sometimes Srila Guru Maharaj told me, 'In
the evening, give him a garland.' Guru Maharaj gave him the title 'Bhakti
Chandan'."
In Remembrance of Sri Bhakti Chandan Prabhu [GaudiyaDarshan.com]
"Today, being separated from the direct affection of Srimat Yadavendu Bhakti
Chandan Prabhu, we are bearing jewel-less hearts. Personally, I received so
much of his auspicious association. When we have teeth, we do not understand
their value. Today, if I could meet him again, then, just by getting a touch
of his good association, I would attain even greater good fortune."
Sun, 23 January 2022
Greatest Wealth
"We say all these big, big things, we give lectures, but to what extent are
we able to practise it? Just think about it—how hard it is to practise
atma-nivedanam, how hard it is to give everything to the lotus feet of
the Lord..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 4 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Mon, 24 January 2022
Never Too
Early, Never Too Late
"If you serve and run behind the Lord's devotees—then the Lord Himself will
run behind you to serve you! You will not have to run behind the Lord, the
Lord Himself will run behind you to catch you—if you can serve devotees
properly. However, you cannot serve devotees without being a devotee
yourself..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.8 Mb, 5 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Saptami. Disappearance of Srila Jayadev Goswami.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Sri Jayadev
Goswami:
"When Laksman Sen was the king of Nadia, Jayadev Goswami was one of His
subjects in Nabadwip. The wise Jayadev built a cottage on the bank of Ballal
Dirghika and resided there with his wife Padmavati. While there, he wrote the
Dasa-avatara-stotram, and this poem once came to the hand of Laksman Sen. The
king read the poem with great joy and then asked, 'Who wrote this?' Govardhan
Acharya said to the king, 'The great poet Jayadev wrote it.' The king asked,
'Where is this poet Jayadev?' Govardhan replied, 'He lives in Nabadwip.'
Hearing this, the king secretly searched for Jayadev's home and then came
there in the evening.
The king entered the cottage in the dress of a Vaisnava. He bowed to Jayadev
and sat on one side. Jayadev understood that this man was the king and that
he had come to him as a beggar in the dress of a Vaisnava. Within a short
time, the king introduced himself and requested Jayadev to go to his palace.
The wise Jayadev was extremely detached, and he did not agree to go to the
home of any materialist. Jayadev, the great devotee of Krishna, then said, 'I
will leave your province and go elsewhere. 'Association with materialists
never results in good fortune, so I will cross the Ganga and go to Nilachal.'
The king said, 'O master, listen to my words. Please do not ever leave
Nabadwip. 'Please be merciful to me and act in such a way that your words
will come true and my desire will also be fulfilled. On the other side of the
Ganga, there is a beautiful place known as Champa Hatta. Please stay there
for a couple of years. I will not go there according to my own desire; I will
come to see your feet only when you desire it.' Hearing the words of the
king, the great poet immediately replied in agreement. 'Although you are a
materialist and this kingdom is yours, you are a devotee of Krishna and you
have no material attachment. I called you a materialist to test you, but you
heard this and tolerated it. I have now understood that you are a devotee of
Krishna. You engage in material affairs but remain detached. I will stay in
Champaka Hatta for some time. In secret, leaving your opulence behind, you
may come to see me.'
"Through one of his ministers, the king happily had a house constructed in
Champaka Hatta. The poet Jayadev stayed there for some time and served Sri
Krishna according to the path of divine love. Padmavati Devi would bring
loads of champak flowers, and Jayadev worshipped Krishna, the son of Nanda,
with them. Jayadev offered worship with intense love, and eventually he saw
Sri Krishna appear before him in a form the colour of a champak flower. The
Lord's beautiful, golden lustre was completely enchanting, and His extremely
beautiful face belittled millions of moons. He had wavy hair, long arms, and
a beautiful flower garland around His neck. His body illumined the thatched
hut of Jayadev. Seeing the form of Gauranga, Jayadev, the best of poets,
fainted in divine love as tears streamed from his eyes. Seeing the Lord's
form, Padmavati Devi fainted and fell to the ground.
"The Lord raised them both with His lotus hands and then mercifully spoke
nectarean words. 'You are both My highly exalted devotees, and I desired to
reveal Myself to you. Very soon I will take birth from the womb of Sachi Devi
in Nadia. With all the devotees of all My previous Avatars, I will distribute
the wealth of divine love through Sri Krishna-kirtan. At the age of
twenty-four, I will take sannyas and then reside in Nilachal. There, immersed
in intense divine love, I will deeply relish your Sri Gita-govinda with My
devotees. I am telling you the truth: your Gita-govinda is extremely dear to
Me. Nabadwip Dham is spiritual and supreme; I promise you that you will come
here after leaving your body. For now, you two will go to Nilachal. Serve
Jagannath there, and you will attain the fruit of divine love.'
Saying this, Gaurachandra disappeared. In separation from the Lord, Jayadev
and Padmavati fainted. Regaining consciousness, they began to cry profusely.
Crying and crying, they offered prayers. 'Alas! What a form we have seen! How
will we now live in separation from Him? Why did the Lord order us to leave
Nadia? We understand that we must have made some offence here. Nabadwip Dham
is spiritual and supreme, and our hearts are dismayed at the thought of
leaving. It would be better to become an animal or bird and remain here
forever, meditating on the Dham. We can give up our lives, but we cannot give
up the Dham—our attachment is so intense. O Lord! Sri Gauranga! Be merciful
and keep us here at Your holy feet.' While speaking in this way, they cried
aloud, and then they heard a divine voice. 'Go to Nilachal, and do not be sad
or unsteady at heart. I will tell you two things. Some time ago, you both
desired to stay in Nilachal for a few days. Jagannath has fulfilled this
desire of yours, and He wants to see you. You two will please Jagannath,
again leave your bodies, and then reside in Nabadwip eternally.'
Upon hearing the divine voice, Jayadev and Padmavati immediately left, and
after some time, they turned and looked back at Nabadwip. They wept, and
tears streamed from their eyes. Humbly, they spoke to the residents of
Nabadwip. 'Please be merciful to these two souls. Please forgive us for the
offences we have committed.' They walked away, looking back again and again
at the eight-petalled lotus of Nabadwip. They went ahead and eventually did
not see Nabadwip anymore. Crying, they crossed outside the land of Gauda.
Some time later, they arrived in Nilachal and saw Jagannath with cheerful
hearts. Glory to the poet Jayadev! Glory to Padmavati! Glory to Sri
Gita-govinda! Glory to love for Krishna!"
Who Will Understand
This?(Continuation of "My Grief")
"Jayadev Goswami started composing this Gita Govinda in some other
place, but he could not finish it there, so he came to Nabadwip to finish it.
He sat there in Champa-hatti, but then he suddenly forgot what to write
next..."
Tue, 25 January 2022
Capturing Lord's Heart
"Krishna is very merciful. If you can do just some small service to Him with
heart and soul, you can capture the Lord. Krishna is saying, 'I do not give
My mercy to anyone so easily, but when I do give My mercy to someone, I do
not leave them.'"
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Today in the calendar:
Krishna Ashtami. Disappearance of Srila Lochan Das Thakur.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
In honour of Srila Lochan Das
Thakur:
Srila Lochan Das
Thakur Mahasay
"Srila Lochan Das Thakur is a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu—he
belonged to His line. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was born in Burdwan district
and he was a disciple of Sri Narahari Thakur. The name of Srila Lochan Das
Thakur's father is Sri Kamalakar Das, and his mother's name is Sri
Sadanandi..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 25 October 2020)
•SONG:
Ei-bara karuna kara |
এইবার করুণা কর "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."
•SONG:
Dhana mora nityananda |
ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs'
name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of
Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."
Composed by Srila Lochan Das Thakur:
•SONG:
Akrodha
paramananda |
অক্রোধ পরমানন্দ "The anger-less, prideless, supremely joyful Nityananda Ray wanders
throughout the towns. Going from door to door to the homes of the lowly and
fallen souls, He distributes the Hare Krsna mahamantra."
•SONG:
Nitai gunamani
amara |
নিতাই গুণমণি আমার "Nitai, the jewel of all good qualities, my Nitai, the jewel of all good
qualities, brought a flood of divine love and inundated the earth. Lochan Das
says, 'Anyone who did not serve Nitai knowingly committed suicide.'"
•SONG:
Parama karuna |
পরম করুণ পহুঁ দুই জন "Nitai and Gaurachandra are the two most merciful Lords, the crest-jewels
of all Avatars, the only source of joy. 'Fallen into samsara, I never aspired
for Their feet. Now Yamaraj subjects me to my karma,' says Lochan
Das."
•SONG:
Ke yabi ke yabi bhai |
কে যাবি কে যাবি ভাই "The Lord's Names are the ferryboat, Sri Guru is the captain, and the
outstretched arms in the sankirtan are the oars. All souls have been
delivered by the winds of divine love, only Lochan Das has remained
behind..."
"Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I
heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru."
"If we give some honour, give some glorification to the Vaishnavs, it is
actually for our benefit. It is for our own benefit that we do some
ceremonies, some festivals, glorifying the Vaishnavs. It is necessary for our
spiritual life, and it is one of the bhaktyanga, one of the practising
processes. That is why we make Vaishnavs' disappearance and appearance
festivals."
(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)
Wed, 26 January 2022
Life of Loving Service
"You must remember one thing. There is no relationship between our bodies and
the Lord. It is our soul, what we call 'I', that has a relationship with the
Lord, and the soul (atma) knows perfectly well what Paramatma wants,
what Paramatma needs. The body does not and cannot know this."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 6 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Thu, 27 January 2022
Our Dearmost
"Who is there in this world who is truly close and dear to you except for
Nityananda Prabhu? Who else can you call your dear and near? If you can get
the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, you will get the mercy of Gauranga.
Nityananda Prabhu is Guru-tattva. You cannot get anything without the mercy
of Gurudev..."
•
Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 4 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
Do Not Compromise
with Maya
"So many problems came in their time, and they did not back off—they spoke
the truth; but we are ready to compromise our principles—we compromise what
Mahaprabhu teaches us with other things. Srila Sridhar Maharaj saw a big
dream that Mahaprabhu's proper conception would be preached all over the
world by Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and that is happening now. We must not
surrender to maya."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3.8 Mb, 11 min | 7 June 2019)
Fri, 28 January 2022 (Sri Shat-tila Ekadasi; tomorrow paran
is at 6:24-10:01 a.m.)
Worshipful Mood
"...We worship Suddha Saraswati, it is necessary if you want to get the
result. Unless we get the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, we will not have any
brain. We must have the mercy of Nitaichand. When will we attain His
mercy?"
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 6 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
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..."
Eternal Life
Membership
"What makes the Lord happy? Where does the Lord mostly stay? He is there
where devotees speak about Him. When such discussions take place here in Sri
Ekachakra Dham, Nityananda Prabhu becomes very happy, and Hadai Pandit,
Padmavati Devi become even happier—devotees comes and talk about their son,
glorify their son. If you listen to such talks with heart and soul, very
attentively, Nityananda Prabhu truly becomes happy and pleased with you."
•
Download / listen to the audio (5.2 Mb, 13 min | 5 February 2020 | Bengali)
At Sri Ekachakra Dham: Evening Kirtans • Sri Guru-charana-padma
• Kabe Sri Chaitanya more karibena daya
• Ohe Vaisnava Thakur
• Nitai-pada-kamala
• Emana durmati
• Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu
• Jaya Radhe Jaya Krishna
• Hari Haraye Nama Krsna
• Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
•
Download/listen to the audio (17.5 Mb, 42 min | 5 February 2020 | Kirtan)
Sun, 30 January 2022
Spiritual
Diligence
"Students study a little by little every day and at the end of the year they
take an exam, when it is understood whether or not they have been studying
diligently or not. In our spiritual life also, we must study and learn little
by little every day."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | 6 February 2020 | Bengali)
Mon, 31 January 2022
Perfect Chastity
"You are always so busy with your work—you are always so busy only with the
happiness of your body, with money, food, clothes... You must follow this. If
a doctor gives you prescription but you do not follow it, your disease will
not be cured."
•
Download / listen to the audio (4.9 Mb, 12 min | 6 February 2020 | Bengali)
At Sri Ekachakra Dham: Morning Kirtans • Sri Krsna Chaitanya Prabhu jive daya kari
• Thakura Vaisnava-gana
• Nitai-guna-mani amara
• Gaurangera dyuti pada
• Dasavatara Stotram
• Gaya Gora madhur svare
• Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
•
Download/listen to the audio (12.1 Mb, 34 min | 6 February 2020 | Kirtan)
'To run a temple, you do not have to be a big guru. If you are gentle, if
you have some quality, have sympathy, love and affection, for others, you
can be a proper manager of a temple.'
Deity Installation Anniversary Festival in Australia
Guidance, Issue #29
(EPUB file, 1.1 Mb)
Sri Nimai Sannyas
(English, Bengali, an audio recording)
From Sri Sri Prema Dhama Deva Stotram:
•
SONG:
Suddha-bhakata |
শুদ্ধ ভকত-চরণ-রেণু