12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 4]

Cry and Pray
"We must direct our prayers to gurudev: if you send a letter to gurudev asking about the Lord, he will tell you about Him. Enquiry must be proper, not any nonsense enquiry. Gurudev is the Lord’s close associate. What must you come to tell him?"

• SRI BRAHMA-SAMHITA •

VERSE 46
“As the flame of one original lamp, when transmitted to another, burns separately as the expanded cause with the same nature of intensity, so also He shines in (Vishnu’s) dynamic nature—that Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I worship.”

VERSE 47
“With infinite universes in the pores of His body, He assumes His supreme figure called Sesa, the reservoir of almighty power personified; He who reclines on the causal ocean, enjoying His trance of divine sleep—that Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I worship.”

VERSE 48
“The lifespans of Brahma and the gods of the universes born from the pores of the divine body of Maha-Vishnu last for only one exhalation of Maha-Vishnu; and Maha-Vishnu is the portion of a portion of that Primeval Lord, Govinda, who I do worship.”

VERSE 49
“As the Sun, Surya, manifests some of his light in the gems named after him as surya-kanta, similarly, He by whom Brahma is empowered to create the entire material universe—the Primeval Lord Govinda, do I worship.”

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

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

In honour of Srila Madhva Acharya:

"Madhva Acharya also stayed here with his disciples for some time as a resident of the Nabadwip Dham. Gauranga-sundar mercifully revealed His most enchanting form to Madhva Acharya in a dream. Smiling, Gaurachandra said to Madhva Acharya, 'Everyone knows that you are My eternal servant. When I appear in Nabadwip, I will follow your lineage. Now, carefully eradicate illusionism and false scriptures from all regions, and establish the glory of the Lord's Deity form. Later, I will develop your pure conception.' Saying this, Gaurachandra disappeared. Madhva Acharya awoke and then fainted. Madhva Acharya then cried, wondering, 'Will I ever see that beautiful golden form again?' Then a divine voice came from the clear sky, 'Serve Me secretly, and you will come to Me.' Madhva Acharya became resolute and defeated the mayavadis in all directions."

Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya, Chapter 15

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 5]

Seeking Respite
"Everyone is born in various situations and families in this world. Even when we were born as dogs or pigs, we were born in some families, and now we are born in human families. You can understand what an agony it is to live in the material world. We keep suffering from all sorts of austerities, difficulties and pain. On top of that, this life is not eternal…"

• SRI BRAHMA-SAMHITA •

VERSE 50
“For the power to crush the obstacles of the three worlds, He whose lotus feet Ganesh perpetually holds upon the pair of nodes of his elephantine head—the Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I worship.”

VERSE 51
“Fire, earth, sky, water, air, space, time, soul, mind—the three worlds are created of these nine elements; He from whom these elements are born, in whom they remain, and in whom they enter in the end—that Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I worship.”

VERSE 52
“With unlimited brilliance and power, the Sun is the king of all the planets, the resort of all the gods—the personified eye of the universe. He upon whose order the Sun, mounting the wheel of time, runs his perpetual orbit—that Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I worship.”

VERSE 53
“I worship the Primeval Lord Govinda, by whose conferred power is manifest the potency in—religion, irreligion or all types of sins, the srutis, the penances and all beings from Brahma to the worm and insect.”

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 6]

Greatest Choice
"There is still time to turn. There are two ways. Do you hanker for material love and happiness or do you hanker for eternal happiness? If you want to have money, wealth, houses, cars and enjoy in this material world forever, then you will not get anything else in this world."

• SRI BRAHMA-SAMHITA •

VERSE 54
“Whether one may be the tiny insect Indragopa or the great king of gods, Lord Indra, He impartially awards all souls on the path of karma the fruits befitting their deeds. Yet it is so wonderful! He burns at the root all the karma of the souls who adore Him—I worship Him, that Primeval Lord Govinda.”

VERSE 55
“Those who cultivate their thoughts of Him through anger, amour, natural friendship, fear, parenthood, delusion, reverence and servitorship attain to bodies of a form and nature appropriate to the mood of their meditation. I worship that Primeval Lord Govinda.”

VERSE 56
“That place where the divine goddesses of fortune are the beloved, and Krishna, the supreme male, is the only lover; all the trees are divine wish-fulfilling trees, the soil is made of transcendental gems and the water is nectar; where every word is a song, every movement is dancing, the flute is the dearmost companion.... Practically no one in this world knows that place but for only a few pure devotees—and they know it as Goloka.”

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj about fasting on ekadasi and accepting material facilities:

"One time, a devotee came here from Vrindavan on the day of ekadasi. He reached in the evening and, after taking bath in the Ganges, attended kirtans, danced, circumambulated the temple and so on. Then, I asked him whether he would take any anukalpa. He replied, 'Generally, I do not take anything, but if you like, then, of course, I must take anukalpa. Your will is greater than my fasting.' That was his decision.

"My Guru Maharaj (Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur) always wanted maximum energy: you should take good food and do good service. That was his maxim. Krishna is not a liquidated party: take full prasadam and do full service. Do maximum service, and you should take whatever is necessary for that. You are to take it for the cause of Krishna, not for your own cause. You are Krishna's, so if you grow weak, His service will be hampered, and both you and Krishna will be losers thereby. 'My soldiers will be well-fed and well-working.' That was our Guru Maharaj's principle. Napoleon said, 'One full-fed soldier is equal to ten half-fed soldiers.'

"So, prasad-seva: if it is service, then it must be taken in a serving mood, of course. But, at the same time, the individual position of a devotee should be taken into consideration. Sahajiyas do not Fast on ekadasi at all: 'Oh, we are in Vrindavan, and there is no fasting in Vrindavan.' But Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Prabhupad did not like that – it is sahajiya (imitation) if you go on feeding your senses in the name of Krishna-bhakti (devotion to the Lord). For the service to Krishna, it is necessary to keep up the body and to provide nourishment to it, so we must take what is necessary for service. We do not like it if by fasting a loss of energy is effected. If fasting does not hamper your service, you may go on fasting – perhaps, your gurudev wanted that...

"For service, I must accept what is necessary to make me physically fit so that I can render more service. So, accepting material things is not objectionable. It is fruitful, not detrimental. Rather, it produces something of a pure character, which helps everyone. This is how a disciple receives and accepts things. At that same time, he may even blame himself, 'I cannot go on with my worldly life without the help of this or that!' He will blame himself, but the underlying spirit must be, 'If I do not take it, I shall be unfit; I will not be able to do my bit of service to the Lord, to my gurudev.'

"Moreover, by taking up renunciation, I will be a loser. I will incur a loss for myself, for the world, and my guru's service will be hampered. In this spirit, devotees are to take everything. For the cause of Krishna, for the cause of their guru, they will accept anything.

"Suppose there is a very miserly karmachari (manager). Because he does not want to spend money, he may not attain a particular result; then, some difficulty comes, and the opportunity is lost. This manager will be held responsible by the proprietor: 'Why did you not spend money? Why are you afraid of spending money from my store? Because of your miserly habit, the opportunity has been lost! Why should you not spend My money for My interest?' So, to render service to Krishna, to my gurudev, to Vaishnavs, to the world, to everyone, I must keep up this mundane body, and I am entitled to take something for that.

"Miserliness is mayavada; it is the renunciation spirit, and it will mar Krishna's interest. What we need is yukta-vairagya: I shall take from the store of Krishna to keep myself fit and to do service. It is Krishna's account, and if I do not do that, I should be a separatist, a mayavadi, a renunciationist. I shall render maximum service to Krishna, and I must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make myself fit for the service; otherwise, I shall be punishable."

"You do not need to know the meaning of each ekadasi tithi because if you know it, you will want to get this result, that result, etc."

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

In honour of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami:

Raghunath Das Goswami's Path
"We have no qualification to serve the Vaishnavs. If we do not got mercy from Vaishnavs, we cannot get service from the Vaishnavs. That is why we always make Vaishnavs' disappearance festivals and remember such days."
• Download (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 8 October 2011)

Highest Designation
"We do not want to be a master, we do not want to be a Guru—we want to be a servant of the servant. This is the most important thing in our spiritual life. If we can become a servant of a Vaishnav, that is the highest, that is the best qualification..."
• Download (1.3 Mb, 3 min | 8 October 2011)

Raghunath Das Goswami's Pastimes: Nectar of Devotion
"In Mahaprabhu's time, and even after that, everybody wanted to be a servant. Das Goswami Prabhu, Jiva Goswami Prabhu, and others, were all servants. If you hear about Srila Raghunath Das Goswami's pastimes you will get nectar."
• Download (1.8 Mb, 4 min | 8 October 2011)

Humble and Chaste Service
"Wherever they are living now, we only want them to allow us to serve their associates, associates of our Gurudev, and our Guru. We do not want to enter their party, but we only want their service as a dog..."
• Download (2.4 Mb, 6 min | 8 October 2011)

Wholehearted Engagement
"This day is a day of Vaishnav seva. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu taught us what must be the quality of a Vaishnav and what must be the quality of your practising. What Das Goswami Prabhu showed, how he himself practised, is an example for us."
• Download (2.7 Mb, 8 min | 9 October 2011)

Two Oceans of Pastimes
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj is speaking about the glories and pastimes of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami and Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami on their disappearance day.
• Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 9 min | 5 October 2014)

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami: Breaking Free
"He wanted to take a roundabout zigzag route, avoiding Nityananda Prabhu and going directly to Mahaprabhu, but every time he went to Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu rejected him and sent him back to his home...."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 5 min | 25 October 2015)

Real Mercy, Real Service
Real mercy: "Getting mercy means getting service: if you have service, you have mercy."
Real service: "Practise properly, keep proper association, and always avoid the Nama aparadh, seva aparadh, dham aparadh, Vaishnav aparadh. Chant the Holy Name properly, without deceit, and with proper attention and service mood."
• Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 2 min | 30 May 2015)

In honour of Srila Raghunath Bhatta Goswami:

A Separation Day
"Srila Raghunath Bhatta Goswami was born in Benares. His father's name is Tapan Mishra, he was a very good searcher and devotee of Krishna. Srila Raghunath Bhatta Goswami got an opportunity to serve Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu was very affectionate to Raghunath..."

In honour of Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami:

dasa-vrndavanam vande krsna-dasa-prabhum tatha
chhannavatara-chaitanya-lila-vistara-karinau
dvau nityananda padabja-karuna-renu-bhusitau
vyakta-chchhannau budhachintyau vavande vyasa-rupinau
sri-guru-gaura-gandharva-govindas cha ganaih saha
jayanti pathakas chatra sarvesam karunarthinah

'I offer my obeisances to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur and Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, who made public the pastimes of the hidden avatar, Sri Chaitanya. They were both adorned with the mercy-dust of the lotus feet of Nityananda. I offer my obeisances to these two inconceivable sages who assumed the form of Vyasadev, one explicitly (Vrindavan Das Thakur) and the other one secretly (Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami). Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govinda and Their associates are ever victorious, and we, the students, pray for Their mercy.'

Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Glory (4)
"Another person who received Sri Nityananda Prabhu's mercy was Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami. Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami said that there were only three persons in this world who knew Mahaprabhu, but Gurudev said that there was one more person. Who is it? Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami himself."

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's Gratitude
"Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami writes, 'I have got Sri Vrindavan Dham by the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. He ordered me to Vrindavan saying I would get all possible benefit there. When I came there, I attained the mercy of Mahaprabhu's dearmost devotees.'"

About Nityananda Prabhu
"Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami says that Nityananda Prabhu's glory is unlimited; if you get a slightest touch of His mercy, you will understand His glory. Nityananda Prabhu freely scattered His mercy to all fallen souls. The Lord came to this world to deliver all fallen souls."

Bhukti, Mukti, Bhakti
What is mukti and what is bhakti? His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj is reading from Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila, Chapters 8 and 10, noting the exceptional character of devotion of Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami and Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.
• Download / listen to the audio (8 Mb, 17 min | 6 November 2010)

Two Oceans of Pastimes
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj is speaking about the glories and pastimes of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami and Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami on their disappearance day.
• Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 9 min | 5 October 2014)

Prayers to Sri Vaishnav Thakur:

• SONG: Sri Sad-Goswamy-Astakam | শ্রীশ্রীষড়্­গোস্বাম্যষ্টকম্
• Download / listen to the audio (4.5 Mb)

"Always engaged in chanting the glories of Sri Krishna, singing and dancing, they are oceans of Sri Krishna-prema; appreciated by both the learned and the ignorant, they are always benevolent in their behaviour, pleasing everybody – there is not even a trace of jealousy in them, so they are worshipped by all people; being recipients of Sri Chaitanyadev’s special mercy, they rescue all materialists, relieving the earth of its burden – again and again I worship and bow down at the holy feet of these six goswamis: Sri Rupa, Sanatan, Raghunath Bhatta, Gopal Bhatta, Raghunath Das and Sri Jiva."

• 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 Thakur | (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."

• SONG: Ye anila prema-dhana | যে আনিল প্রেমধন
"Where has Srinivas Acharya Thakur gone? Where are my Svarup and Rupa? Where is Sanatan? Where is Raghunath Das? Where are all these saviours of the fallen?"

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

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

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 7]

Nityananda Prabhu's Mercy
"Sri Nityananda Prabhu does not consider whether one is high or low, whether one is born in a noble family or a low family, or anything else – He rescues anyone who falls at His feet. Such is His mercy!"

• SRI BRAHMA-SAMHITA •

VERSE 57
“Upon hearing these quintessential hymns of Brahma, the Supreme Lord Krishna said unto him, 'O Brahman, if with knowledge of transcendental science you wish to create progeny, then, My dear one, hear the wisdom of these five slokas from Me.'”

VERSE 58
“When transcendental experience awakens by means of knowledge and devotion, the highest devotion symptomized by love for the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, the beloved of the soul, awakens in the devotee’s heart.”

VERSE 59
“Supreme devotion is attained by gradually increasing perception of one’s intrinsic self through constant self-cultivation following authority, virtuous practices and practising spiritual life.”

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

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

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 8]

Mahaprabhu's Mercy
"There were many instances when Mahaprabhu rescued jiva souls. One time, He rescued Chad Kazi. Mahaprabhu had divided devotees into groups of dancers and made Vakreshwar Pandit the leader of one of those group..."

• SRI BRAHMA-SAMHITA •

VERSE 60
“Sadhana-bhakti, or practising devotional life, is the means to the objective—prema-bhakti, devotion in love. Of all that is auspicious, there is absolutely nothing beyond prema-bhakti; it brings in its retinue divine ecstatic joy, and it can give Me to My devotee.”

VERSE 61
“Abandon all other types of religion and serve Me with resolve. One will attain perfection according to the nature of his faith. Perpetually pursuing worldly occupations or karma, the people of the world remain in the world. Meditate upon Me through the execution of your particular work, and you will attain to loving devotion, the supreme transcendental devotion.”

VERSE 62
“Hear Me, O Vidhe! I am the seed—the primal principle of the world of moving and stationary beings; I am the elements, I am the predominated, I am the predominator. The fiery spirit of Brahman that abides in you has been conferred unto you by Me; now, adopting that prowess, create the world of moving and stationary beings.”

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• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

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

SRI KARTIK MONTH: 7 October–5 November

'You think, "You all sing, and I will listen." It will not do. You must sing yourself. If I eat, will your stomach be full? You must chant kirtans yourself. When you chant these kirtans, you will be remembering Nityananda Prabhu. You worry that you do not know the tune, but no tune is necessary. Because we have drums and karatals here now, we are playing them, but when I am alone, do you think I sing it like that? I do not. I recite them. Chanting kirtan is not playing drums and karatals – even if you read them, that is also kirtan. So, always chant kirtan.'

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

Month of Service—Life of Service
"Today kartik-vrata, or niyom-seva, starts. Our temple observes it from purnima to purnima, and some other temples do it from dvadasi to dvadasi. One day I asked Gurudev what niyom-seva meant..."
• Download / listen to the audio (6.4 Mb, 14 min | 13 October 2019)

KIRTANS SUNG DURING KARTIK MONTH
Morning kirtans: TEXT | AUDIO [17 min, 8.2 Mb]: Sri Damodarastakam, Sri Sriman Mahaprabhur Sata-Nama, Sri Krsner Vimsottara Sata-Nama.
Evening kirtans: TEXT | AUDIO [27 min, 12.5 Mb]: Sri Siksastakam.

Damodar Month
"This Kartik month (Damodar month) is Krishna's dearmost month. There is Radha-Damodar temple near our Vrindavan temple and every Kartik we go for parikrama in Vrindavan. This year also we have a great wish to start Vrindavan parikrama in Damodar month."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 7 min | 25 October 2018)

Damodarastakam
"We sing Damodarastakam about the pastimes of the Lord written by Satyavrata Muni every Kartik month. That is a very important song in our spiritual life."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 25 October 2018)

Attend to Kirtan—Attain Kirtan
"Who can understand these songs? We cannot even understand 'trnad api sunichena...' then can we proceed to the other songs? If we want to chant the Name of Krishna, then we must become like this—trnad api sunichena...—as we sing in this kirtan."
• Download (0.7 Mb, 2 min | 7 November 2012 | Bengali)

Siksastakam
"We are singing the Siksastakam songs every day [in Kartik month]. Mahaprabhu is Radha-Krishna's combined form and Siksastakam is His teaching. It is very nice. We must practise these songs."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 7 min | 25 October 2018)

Service Is Above Rules
'For us, the main thing is service. If you think, "I will stay the whole day fasting, I will not eat anything, and I will not do any service – I will only stay silent and do nothing the whole day," it is wrong. It is wasting time and being lazy. We must take what is necessary for the service of the Lord.'

Unconditional Servitude
'Srila Guru Maharaj and Srila Prabhupad said that the niyom-seva month rules are actually for those who live without following any rules (aniyom). The main thing is that we must always practise sravan and kirtan.'

(7 October—5 November)

In honour of Sri Murari Gupta:

Murari Gupta was a great devotee of Lord Ramachandra. When Mahaprabhu heard Lord Ramachandra's glories from his mouth, He immediately wrote on his forehead 'Rama-dasa [an eternal servant of Lord Ramachandra].'

Sri Murari Gupta wrote a book called Sri Chaitanya-charita. He belonged to a vaidya physician family of Srihatta, the paternal home of Lord Chaitanya, and later became a resident of Nabadwip. He was among the elders of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Chaitanya exhibited His Varaha form in the house of Murari Gupta (described in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.3). When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His maha-prakasa form, He appeared before Murari Gupta as Lord Ramachandra.

One time, when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu were sitting together in the house of Srivas Thakur, Murari Gupta first offered his respects to Lord Chaitanya and then to Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhu, however, was older than Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and therefore Lord Chaitanya remarked that Murari Gupta had violated social etiquette, for he should have first shown respect to Nityananda Prabhu and then to Him. In this way, by the grace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Murari Gupta was informed about the position of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, and the next day he offered obeisances first to Lord Nityananda and then to Lord Chaitanya. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave chewed paan (betel nut) to Murari Gupta.

Once Sivananda Sena offered food to Lord Chaitanya that had been cooked with excessive ghee, and the next day the Lord became sick and went to Murari Gupta for treatment. Lord Chaitanya accepted some water from the waterpot of Murari Gupta, and thus He was cured. The natural remedy for indigestion is to drink a little water, and since Murari Gupta was a physician, he gave the Lord some drinking water and cured Him.

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the house of Srivas Thakur in His chaturbhuja murti, Murari Gupta became His carrier in the form of Garuda, and in these pastimes of ecstasy the Lord then got up on his back. It was the desire of Murari Gupta to leave his body before the disappearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but the Lord forbade him to do so (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.20). When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu one day appeared in ecstasy as the Varaha murti, Murari Gupta offered Him prayers. He was a great devotee of Lord Ramachandra, and his staunch devotion is vividly described in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (2.15.137–157):

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Murari Gupta and began to speak about his firm faith in devotional service. This was heard by all the devotees. He said, 'Previously I induced Murari Gupta again and again to be allured by Lord Krishna. I said to him, "My dear Gupta, Lord Sri Krishna, Vrajendra-kumar, is the supreme sweetness. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of all incarnations and the source of everything. He is pure transcendental love itself, and He is the reservoir of all pleasure. Krishna is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. He is like a mine of gems. He is expert at everything, very intelligent and sober, and He is the summit of all transcendental humors. His character is very sweet, and His pastimes are melodious. He is expert in intelligence, and thus He enjoys all His pastimes and mellows."

'I then requested Murari Gupta, "Worship Krishna and take shelter of Him. But for His service, nothing appeals to the mind." In this way, he heard from Me again and again. By My influence, his mind was a little converted. Murari Gupta then replied, "I am Your servant and Your order-carrier. I have no independent existence."

'After this, he went home and spent the whole night thinking how he would have to give up the association of Raghunath (Lord Ramachandra). Thus he was overwhelmed. Murari Gupta then began to pray at the lotus feet of Lord Ramachandra. He prayed that death would come that night because it was not possible for him to give up the service of the lotus feet of Raghunath. Thus Murari Gupta cried the entire night. There was no rest for his mind; therefore he could not sleep but stayed awake the entire night.

'In the morning Murari Gupta came to see Me. Catching hold of My feet and crying, he submitted an appeal. He told Me, "I have sold my head unto the lotus feet of Raghunath. I cannot withdraw my head, for that would give me too much pain. It is not possible for me to give up the service of Raghunath's lotus feet. At the same time, if I do not do so I shall break Your order. What can I do?" In this way Murari Gupta appealed to Me, saying, "You are all-merciful, so kindly grant me this mercy: let me die before You so that all my doubts will be finished."

'Hearing this, I became very happy. I then raised Murari Gupta and embraced him. I said to him, "All glories to you, Murari Gupta! Your method of worship is very firmly fixed — so much so that even upon My request your mind did not turn. The servitor must have love and affection for the lotus feet of the Lord exactly like this. Even if the Lord wants separation, a devotee cannot abandon the shelter of His lotus feet. Just to test your firm faith in your Lord, I requested you again and again to change your worship from Lord Ramachandra to Krishna." In this way, I congratulated Murari Gupta, saying, "Indeed, you are the incarnation of Hanuman. Consequently you are the eternal servant of Lord Ramachandra. Why should you give up the worship of Lord Ramachandra and His lotus feet?"'

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu continued, 'I accept this Murari Gupta as My life and soul. When I hear of his humility, it perturbs My very life.'

(By Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad)

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

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

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 10]

Faith Is Not Idle
"You must ask yourselves, ‘How much time do I spend on the Lord and how much time do I spend on eating, dressing, sleeping, earning money and thinking about enjoyment? How much time do I think about the Lord?’ You must answer to yourselves."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

Introduction
'The Lord’s Loving Search for His Lost Servants: Great intensity is expressed here in a simple way. It is a mad search—an urgent campaign. With great earnestness Krishna comes to deliver His lost servants. Krishna comes to take us home.'

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 9]

His Things, For His Service
"Taking initiation is not the final destination. If you take initiation and receive the mantra, it does not mean that you have got everything. After taking initiation, you must practise sravan and kirtan. First, it is necessary to have sukriti..."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

Invocation
'Here, in one verse, Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given the very gist of Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy. He says, "We are not interested in the opinion of anyone ordinary: there is no value to any opinion other than what is revealed truth (amnaya)."'

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

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

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 11]

Devotion or Display?
"Serve internally, it is not necessary to show anything to others. Keep your spiritual lives to yourselves. Practise Krishna consciousness properly. If you do not read all this, where will you learn these things from? How will you even know these things?"

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

PLANETS OF FAITH
'Faith is the only means through which we can see, hear, or feel the higher world; otherwise it is all meaningless to us. To understand that plane, an inner awakenment is necessary. We can connect with the upper world only through a higher source. Therefore divyam jnanam, knowledge of the higher plane, is not ordinary knowledge; it is transcendental, supramental feeling and sense.'

• SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM •

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

Dear Devotees, Vaishnavs and Well-Wishers,

Bowing down at your holy feet and remembering our Divine Master Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, we would like to extend a humble and earnest invitation to your holy self to join the grand celebration of the divine appearance day of the supremely worshippable Founder Acharya and eternal Guardian of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Sri Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, that manifests this year on 15 October 2025 (Wednesday).

We pray that devotees can render assistance to the festivals observed in their communities and focus eternally in their lives on contributing the core ingredient of every service endeavour—one's entire being, mind, heart and soul. In the words of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, "Surrender to the Lord. Have full faith. You must surrender and give everything—your shyness, shame, fear, everything; keep everything at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, Srimati Radharani, or Gurudev. Give your everything, cent per cent."

Taking your foot dust on our heads, we humbly pray that this supremely worshippable appearance day of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, celebrated with much joy and grandeur by the fortunate souls throughout the entire manifest creation, may pass auspiciously in Hari-katha, Hari-kirtan and Hari-seva that are so dear to the hearts of Sri Guru, Vaishnavs and the Lord.

Your aspiring servants at
scsmathinternational.com

Satisfying the Lord
"Bali Maharaj asked Vamanadev, 'O brahman, what do you want? Tell me, and I can give You anything you wish.' Vamanadev replied, 'I do not want much. I know you have everything, but I want only something small.'"
• Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 7 min | 30 August 2020)

Make the Festival, with Heart and Soul
"I am telling to everyone who is staying in the temple, to every centre: you must make a festival for Srila Sridhar Maharaj. If you want to show that you want to serve Srila Sridhar Maharaj, then make a good festival on this day."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min)

In honour of Srila Narottam Das Thakur:

In Praise of Srila Narottam Das Thakur [From Affectionate Guidance]
"Today is the Disappearance Day of Srila Narottam Thakur, so I would like to say a few words to glorify him. Before Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur most of the Vaisnava songs came from Srila Narottam Thakur. But although he wrote many beautiful songs of devotion, Narottam Das Thakur was not just a song writer, he was a great pandit and more than that, he was a devotee of Sri Chaitanyadev."

Whole-Hearted Service
"Narottam Das Thakur was born in Sripat Keturi (Bangladesh) and in his life he composed many Vaishnav songs. Actually, all our Guru-varga serve the Lord and serve their Guru whole-heartedly, with body, mind, and speech."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 6 min | 16 June 2010)

Narottam Das Thakur: Our Guru, Our Protector, Our Shelter
"Narottam Das Thakur is our Guru-varga. If you think how much he tried to preach, you will wonder, 'How is it possible?' You can understand how much he preached and how he protected our line if you think about his songs."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 9 min | 4 November 2012)

Srila Narottam Das Thakur: Bona Fide Benefactor
"Who will you call a Guru? A Guru is not someone whose profession is to make disciples, who only takes your money. The Guru gives a conception, gives some wealth, property, with which you can go to your real home..."
• Download (2.7 Mb, 6 min | 4 November 2012)

Srila Narottam Das Thakur's Separation
"How did he leave his body? It was unbelievable. It happened on the panchami (fifth) day of the Kartik month, that is today... One day, he was chanting and the devotees could see that he was saying, 'I want to go, I want to go.' He said this in front of everybody..."
• Download (1.6 Mb, 5 min | 4 November 2012)

Srila Narottam Das Thakur: His Mission in Bengal
"Three persons had promised to stay in Vrindavan, but they left their promise and came to Bengal. When Narottam Das Thakur came to Bengal he found so many great devotees who were not getting good association. He kept Mahaprabhu's conception properly. We pray we can get some mercy and can serve him, protect his line and preach about him."
• Download (2.6 Mb, 8 min | 4 November 2012)

Beware of Maya
"After some days there will come Guru Maharaj's appearance festival. We must honour his appearance day properly... Always, at all times, be alert, be aware of Maya. Maya does not mean some girl or a woman..."
• Download (1.9 Mb, 6 min | 4 November 2012)

Kirtans: • Ye anila prema-dhana • Hari haraye nama krsna.
• Download (2.7 Mb, 8 min | 4 November 2012)

Beware Imitation
"If you follow Narottam Das Thakur's advice, this is good, but if you think you want to do what Narottam Das Thakur did, if you want to become Narottam, then it is a very big problem. Do not imitate Nityananda Prabhu."
• Download / listen to the audio (0.7 Mb, 2 min)

"We have no quality, no qualification to serve Vaishnavs. If we do not get mercy from Vaishnavs, we cannot receive service from them. That is why we always make Vaishnavs' tirobhav (disappearance) festivals and remember such days. "We are praying to Srila Narottam Das Thakur, 'Wherever you are staying, Prabhu, wherever you are living now, we want to serve your servants! We want to serve your servants' servants.' We pray we can get some mercy and can serve him, can protect his line and preach about him."

• 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, please deliver Narottam this time!" • Ei-bara karuna kara | এইবার করুণা কর "O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. In every birth I aspire for the dust of your feet." • Thakura vaisnava-gana | ঠাকুর বৈষ্ণবগণ "Narottam Das says, 'Seeing and hearing about my situation, I am stricken with fear. Please rescue me and keep me by your side.'" • Dhana mora nityananda | ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ "The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs." • Nitai-pada kamala "Always aspire for Nitai's feet. Narottam is very sad: 'O Nitai! Make me happy. Keep me beside your reddish feet.'" • Sri Krsna Chaitanya Prabhu daya kara more "O Srinivas Acharya Prabhu! Be merciful! Narottam Das prays for the association of Ramachandra Kaviraj." • Gaurangera Duti Pada "Whether he lives in a house or in the forest, Narottam Das begs for the association of one who calls, 'O Gauranga!'" • Sri-rupa-manjari-pada | শ্রীরূপমঞ্জরী-পদ "O Rupa! Please be merciful to me, give me shelter at your lotus feet. Narottam is praying for your shelter." • Ye anila prema-dhana | যে আনিল প্রেমধন "Not finding the association of Sri Gauranga, who performed His Pastimes with all these associates, Narottam Das weeps." • Hari haraye nama krsna | হরি হরয়ে নমঃ কৃষ্ণ "Aspiring for the lotus feet of Sri Guru and the Vaisnavas, Narottam Das chants the Holy Name."

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 11]

Example to Follow
"In Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-Mukta-Mala, I wrote about some of the pastimes of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj. These pastimes show the symptoms of a Vaishnav. It is necessary to practise these things in your lives; otherwise, you will not get any result."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

THE ENVIRONMENT
'Everything is all right with the infinite and the environment. We have only to correct ourselves, to adjust ourselves. This is the conclusion—“Try to adjust yourself; everything is all right with the environment. We must leave everything to the Supreme Lord and conduct ourselves accordingly.” That will bring us real peace and progressive realization in spiritual life.'

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

In honour of Srila Bhakti Vichar Jajavar Maharaj:

Sripad Bhakti Vichar Jajavar Maharaj (by Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, spoken on Srila Jajavar Maharaj's disappearance day)
"Srila Jajavar Maharaj joined the Gaudiya Mission of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur at a very young age. He could sing nicely, and he looked very simple—there was not a shadow of inauspiciousness in his body..."
• Download / listen to the audio (8.4 Mb, 25 min)

Sri Sri Nityananda Stuti (by Srila B.V. Jajavar Maharaj)
'O Balaram Nityananda! Please be merciful to me. Who can possibly know Gaura without Your mercy? Without You, I have no other way, no other refuge. Please give me some place at Your holy feet. Please allow me to always chant Your Name. This poor Jajavar is singing thus Your glorification.'

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 13]

Shelter of Sri Guru's Mercy
"For as long as we stay in the shelter of gurudev, even the Lord cannot do anything to us, but once we leave gurudev’s shelter, we will dry up through the influence of the Lord’s power."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

BENEATH THE LOVING EYE OF GOD
'We must not allow any ulterior purpose or temptation to induce us to give up our search for Sri Krishna. Let the satisfaction of guru, Gauranga, Krishna, and the Vaishnavas be our only objective. Let no other element enter upon our path. Our purity of purpose must always be very scrupulously maintained.'

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

(7 October—5 November)

12 JANUARY 2021 [ULUBERIA | PART 14]

Service or Offence?
"If you have no chaste devotion to your Guru, you can never practise Krishna consciousness—whatever you do will be only an offence. You must always be alert about what makes Gurudev happy."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

LORD OF THE COWS
'With full faith that Krishna will give us protection, we should try to take shelter under Govardhan Hill and pray: “O Krishna, give me protection from all the difficulties that may come to attack me because of my leaving behind my ordinary obligations.”'

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

In honour of Sri Radha Kunda's manifestation day:

"Srila Prabhupad laid a special stress on this and expressed it in very appropriate Gaudiya terms and conclusions. Unless we serve the transcendental Govardhan, we will not be able to realise the supremacy of Sri Radha Kunda that lies beside Govardhan and is inundated with the nectar of divine love. 'Go' means senses or knowledge. If you serve the external, physical Govardhan, i.e. cultivate knowledge merely to increase or indulge your selfish material senses, then you are actually dunking yourself into the waters of Niraya Kunda (Hell Pond) that is created by the maha-maya, the external shadow potency of Sri Radha; only when you foster transcendental senses and cultivate transcendental knowledge can you consider it service to Govardhan for the pleasure of Krishna's senses."

(Guidance 3, 'Sri Radhastami')

Dear and Dearmost
"Krishna said to Radharani, 'OK, so Your kunda is better, and My kunda is all poison, but if we mix some of the water from Your kunda into My kunda, then the kunda will be purified!'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.9 Mb, 6 min | 13 August 2009)

"Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur says, 'Sri Vrindavan and its surroundings so intensely awaken my remembrance of Krishna; and if these things are taken away from me, I shall lose my very life. They are sustaining me, because they are encouraging me to take to Krishna consciousness.'

This is Vrindavan. Vrindavan is so friendly, so sweet, so near to us, and such a well-wisher of ours. We are quite at home there—sweet, sweet home. Svarupe sabara haya, golokete sthiti: in our innate and innermost existence, we are members of that plane. Now we have come out, and we have scattered our consciousness all over the surface. Cover, cover, cover—there are so many layers, and they are all dry things. And the substance, the spirit, is within. Eliminating this bodily cover, the mental cover, the liberation cover, the Vaikuntha cover—then I may enter into the land of Vraja. Vrindavan resides within me, if I can find my friends everywhere. They are my friends and relatives, and they will give me all-pleasing experience, ecstasy. Mahaprabhu came with this news for us. 'Oh, you are a child of that soil; why do you suffer here, my children, my boys? Why do you suffer? Amrtasya-putrah: you are a child of that soil, and you are suffering so much, coming in the desert? Your home is so resourceful, so sweet, and you are running in the desert? What is this? Come! Leave this poisonous charm, this suicidal charm. This charm, maya-charm, misunderstanding charm—this is suicidal. Leave this apparent charm! This is poisonous, like a witch. The witch has charmed you here and made you spellbound. Come along with Me! I shall take you to your home which is so very sweet!'"

(Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion 1, chapter 11)

In honour of Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's sannyas day:

{ Book Shelf }
A complete collection of books, articles and poetry by His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj available for online reading and download, as well as purchase from any of our temples worldwide.

Biography of Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj
A glorification article that sprang forth from the interpretation of the Pranam-mantra of His Divine Grace and was originally published as an Appendix to the Revealed Truth.

Sannyas Day (20 photographs, 2.3 Mb)
Archive photographs taken on 6 November 1985, on the day Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj accepted the sannyas order from His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

Jaya jaya gurudever | জয় জয় গুরুদেবের
"All glory to the effulgent arati of Srila Gurudev taking place at the foot of Govardhan for the beneft of the world! All glory to the mine of joy, Sri Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami, who is the crown-jewel of Gurus!"

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

BRAHMA’S ILLUSION
'The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, the ultimate cause of all harmony, is so wonderful that simply by approaching Him, we will be charmed by His ways. He is known as Urukrama, for His strides are wonderful, unthinkable, unknown, and unknowable.'

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

In honour of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

~ Pranam-mantra ~

devam divya-tanum suchhanda-vadanam balarka-chelanchitam
sandrananda-puram sad-eka-varanam vairagya-vidyambudhim
sri-siddhanta-nidhim subhakti-lasitam sarasvatanam varam
vande tam subhadam mad-eka-saranam nyasisvaram sridharam

"I worship Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, the bestower of all auspiciousness, my only shelter and the master of all renunciates. He is my Lord who possesses a transcendental form, whose face expression is very grave, who is clad in the holy clothes the colour of the newly risen sun. He is an abode of intense joy; the only genuine master whom one can accept and surrender to; and an ocean of divine knowledge of renunciation. He is a repository of holy scriptural teachings and pastimes of the highest devotion and a great follower of Srila Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad"

Biography of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
Srila Guru Maharaj's extensive recollections of his childhood and youth, as well as the coming to the lotus feet of his Gurudev and later on starting Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

{ What Is Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and Its Distinctions }
An exquisite and profoundly fundamental chapter from Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj's book Guidance, Volume 3, dwelling on the mission and distinctive characteristics of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

{ Book Shelf }
An extensive selection of books, articles and poetry by His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj available for online reading and download, as well as purchase from any of our temples worldwide.

The Root of Our Fortune
"Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj came in this world to rescue us, and he created our Guru—by his grace we have got shelter of our bona fide Guru. So, we must worship his lotus feet."
• Download / listen to the audio (7.6 Mb, 22 min | 22 October 2011)

Make the Festival, with Heart and Soul
"I am telling to everyone who is staying in the temple, to every centre: you must make a festival for Srila Sridhar Maharaj. If you want to show that you want to serve Srila Sridhar Maharaj, then make a good festival on this day."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 7 min | 15 July 2012)

Photo Album: (35 photographs, 3.4 Mb)
A collection of selected photographs of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj is now added to the archive of photographs. (Part 1)

• SONG: Jaya Guru Maharaja | জয় ‘গুরু-মহারাজ' যতিরাজেশ্বর
"All glory to Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami, the leading general of the tridandi-sannyasis! You revealed your Pastimes in this world as the saviour of the fallen and delivered the sinful and unfortunate souls."

Sri-gaura-mandala majhe | শ্রীগুর্ব্বাবির্ভাব প্রশস্তি
"In Sri Gaura Mandal, there is a village called Hapaniya where my Lord, an abode of all good qualities, appeared. It stands on the bank of the Ganga, who is very merciful to the fallen souls; renowned in the whole world, this abode is a holy repository of knowledge and jewels of logic."

• SONG: Krsna haite chatur-mukha | কৃষ্ণ হৈতে চতুর্ম্মুখ
"Possessing a form that is non-different from Sri Svarup Damodar, Sri Rupa Goswami, Sri Raghunath Das Goswami and Sri Jiva Goswami, whose holy lotus feet are served to eternally, Sri Sridhar is a great guru and the worshippable embodiment of the highest devotional conception; he is an abode of benediction for the saints in the line of Sri Rupa."

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: Sri Rupa-manjari-pada | শ্রীরূপমঞ্জরী-পদ
"The lotus feet of Sri Rupa Manjari are my wealth, my bhajan (service), my puja (worship), the wealth of my life, and whatever ornaments I may have. Her lotus feet are the very life of my life."

(7 October—5 November)

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 1]

An Auspicious Evening
"We are very fortune because we have come today on this auspicious evening. Each of our temples observes this day. On this day today, in the evening, Mahaprabhu sat together with all the devotees in Nabadwip..."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

SONHOOD OF GOD
'If we examine ourselves, we will read and cry: “What have I done? What is my necessity? And how am I passing my days? I must repent, cry. I have passed my days uselessly, I am a traitor to my own self, I am committing suicide. My real complaint is against myself and my so-called friends. We have nothing to do here.” So, read and cry; do or die!'

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

SRI EKADASI GUIDANCE

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.

Renunciation of Cowards and Misers
[By Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj]
'What we need is yukta-vairagya: we shall take from the store of Krishna to keep ourselves fit and to do service. It is Krishna's account, and if we do not do that, we will be separatists, mayavadis, renunciationists. We must render maximum service to Krishna, so we must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make ourselves fit for the service; otherwise, we shall be punishable.'

"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"
• "Ekadasi Vrata: Make Your Guru Happy"
• "No Other Shelter"
• "Mahadvadasi"
• "Ekadasi and liberation"
• "Ekadasi Tithi: One of the Practices"
• "Yogini Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi: Historical Background"
• "Ekadasi: Main Focus Is Service"
• Ekadasi Struggle?
• "Make the Teachings of Sri Guru Non-Different from Your Heart"
• Ekadasi: Devotional Practice
• Ekadasi Struggle?

"You do not need to know the meaning of each ekadasi tithi because if you know it, you will want to get this result, that result, etc."

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

SRI KARTIK MONTH: 7 October–5 November

'You think, "You all sing, and I will listen." It will not do. You must sing yourself. If I eat, will your stomach be full? You must chant kirtans yourself. When you chant these kirtans, you will be remembering Nityananda Prabhu. You worry that you do not know the tune, but no tune is necessary. Because we have drums and karatals here now, we are playing them, but when I am alone, do you think I sing it like that? I do not. I recite them. Chanting kirtan is not playing drums and karatals – even if you read them, that is also kirtan. So, always chant kirtan.'

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

Month of Service—Life of Service
"Today kartik-vrata, or niyom-seva, starts. Our temple observes it from purnima to purnima, and some other temples do it from dvadasi to dvadasi. One day I asked Gurudev what niyom-seva meant..."
• Download / listen to the audio (6.4 Mb, 14 min | 13 October 2019)

KIRTANS SUNG DURING KARTIK MONTH
Morning kirtans: TEXT | AUDIO [17 min, 8.2 Mb]: Sri Damodarastakam, Sri Sriman Mahaprabhur Sata-Nama, Sri Krsner Vimsottara Sata-Nama.
Evening kirtans: TEXT | AUDIO [27 min, 12.5 Mb]: Sri Siksastakam.

—: Sri Damodar Month :—

(7 October—5 November)

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 2]

An Auspicious Birth
"We have been born here in India, the place where there are so many pure things that you will not find anywhere else in this world, the place where the Lord has come so many times. We have been born as human beings in this wonderful land, but we must fulfil the purpose of this birth – we must help others."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

KNOWLEDGE-FREE DEVOTION
'To become Krishna conscious, one need not be a wise man, nor a very energetic man, he may not be a master of opulence and power—the only requirement that is demanded from him is that he must have an earnest hunger for the Lord. He must find some sweetness, some taste in His words and His affairs when he hears from a proper source—a genuine saint. That taste will take him gradually further and further into the highest domain.'

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

In honour of Sriman Mahaprabhu's arrival in Sripat Panihati:

"Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes are all uncommon. Whoever listens to His activities becomes glorious, and his life becomes perfect. The Lord finally reached Panihati, and as an act of mercy He gave the captain of the boat one of His personal garments. The place called Panihati was located on the bank of the Ganges. After hearing that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had arrived, all kinds of men assembled both on land and on the water. At length Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was taken away by Raghav Pandit. There was a great crowd assembled along the way, and the Lord reached Raghav Pandit's residence with great difficulty...."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.16.201—205)

"....After staying a few days at Srivas Pandit's house, the Lord went to Raghav Pandit's house in Panihati. While Sri Raghav Pandit was engaged in the worship of Krishna, Sri Gaurasundar came there before him. When he saw the Lord of his life, Raghav Pandit fell to the ground and offered his obeisance. Raghavananda cried in ecstasy as he firmly grabbed the Lord's lotus feet, which are cherished by Rama, the goddess of fortune.

"The Lord then embraced Raghav Pandit and soaked his body with tears of ecstatic love, and Raghav Pandit's body was filled with such ecstasy that he did not know what he should do. When the Lord of Vaikuntha saw Raghav Pandit's devotion, He glanced mercifully at him, saying, 'After coming to Raghav's house and seeing Raghav, I have forgotten all My troubles. I have obtained the same satisfaction at his house as one gets by bathing in the Ganges.' The Lord smiled and said, 'Listen, Raghav Pandit! Go and quickly cook for Krishna.'

"Sri Raghav Pandit was very happy to receive the Lord's order. Overjoyed, he went to cook. Following the dictates of his heart, he cooked an unlimited variety of dishes. Mahaprabhu then came with Nityananda and other associates to eat. Gaurachandra, the husband of Laksmi, lavishly praised each of the vegetable preparations as He ate. The Lord said, 'How wonderful is Raghav's cooking! I have never eaten sak [spinach] like this before.' Raghav knew that the Lord was fond of sak, so he had cooked various kinds of sak for Him.

"After joyfully finishing His meal, the Lord washed His hands and mouth and sat down. As soon as Gadadhar Das heard that Sri Gaurasundar was at Raghav's house, he quickly came there, too. Gadadhar Das was extremely dear to the Lord. His body was filled with the happiness of devotional service. When the Lord saw fortunate Gadadhar, He placed His lotus feet on his head. At that time Purandar Pandit and Parameswari Das quickly came there, too. On seeing the Lord, they both cried in ecstasy. Sriman Mahaprabhu manifested Himself in a Deity form, and Parameswari Das started to worship that Deity of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu in his village Tada-antapur. Raghunath Vaidya also came at that time. He was a great Vaishnav with unlimited good qualities. Thus, Vaishnavs came from wherever they were to meet the Lord. The village of Panihati became filled with ecstasy, for Lord Gaurachandra was personally present there.

"In a solitary place, Sri Gaurasundar spoke confidentially to Raghav Pandit, 'O Raghav, I have something confidential to tell you. Nityananda is nondifferent from Me. I do whatever Nityananda wants Me to do. I am telling you frankly that all My activities are performed through Him. There is no difference between Myself and Him. Everyone in your house will come to know this. From Nityananda you will easily obtain that which is rarely attained by the best of mystic yogis. Therefore you should very carefully serve Nityananda, knowing Him to be the Supreme Lord Himself.' Sri Gauranga also said to Makaradhvaja Kara, 'You should serve Sri Raghavananda. You can show your love for Me through your love for Raghav Pandit, do not doubt it.'

"In this way Lord Gauranga made the village of Panihati glorious by staying there during a few days."

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 3.5.75–109)

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 3]

Turning Back Home
"Those who worship Lord Brahma come to live on the planet of Lord Brahma; those who worship Lord Siva come to live on the planet of Lord Siva; those who worship humans come to live on the planet of humans. But if you worship the Lord, you return to the Lord and you will then never again have to suffer from birth, death, old age and disease."

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

THE HOLY NAME
'Sometimes chanting the name may result in namabhasa—the shadow of the name. Whether or not it is suddha nama, the genuine name, depends on the mental system of the person chanting the name. It depends on his relation towards Krishna, his intention.'

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

• LOVING SEARCH FOR THE LOST SERVANT •

THE SERVICE OF SRI RADHA [Last chapter]
'Radha-dasyam has been said to be the highest attainment. Why? The quality and quantity of rasa that Radharani can draw from Krishna can never be found anywhere else. So if you are situated just behind Radharani, you’ll be allowed to taste not only the quantity, but the highest quality of rasa.'

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

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

"Today, everybody says, 'Happy Diwali,' 'Happy Dipavali.' Diwali means a 'festival of lights'. Formally, we are placing some lights in front of the temple and in front of the Deities today, and I am praying to Gurudev, praying to the Lord for everybody so that light may come to our hearts, our minds and all our darkness will be removed from our hearts and minds. We pray to Gurudev, to the Lord, to Govardhan for everybody. People are suffering so much all over the world because of their life in darkness, please remove darkness from their hearts and minds and always keep light in their hearts and minds. This is the main thing today."

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

Glory and Pastimes of Sri Govardhan:

Loving Search for the Lost Servant:
(Chapter 6) LORD OF THE COWS
'Different material tendencies and mental impulses may attack us—even Indra himself, the king of heaven and the controller of all ordinary activities, may attack us—but if we are attentive towards our goal, if we are careful to read the order of Krishna, He will protect us in the shade of His lotus feet. He will give us shelter under the shade of Govardhana Hill, where no Indra will be able to touch our heads. And with full faith that Krishna will give us protection, we should try to take shelter under Govardhana Hill and pray: "O Krishna, give me protection from all the difficulties that may come to attack me because of my leaving behind my ordinary obligations."'

Sri Govardhan Puja (1): Sevya and Sevak
"Today is a very auspicious day—today is Sri Giriraj Govardhan Puja. By the mercy of Gurudev, we are present here in Govardhan. Gurudev writes that Giriraj assumes the form of both sevya and sevak..."

Sri Govardhan Puja (2): Seva-Adhikar
"Krishna Himself said, 'I am Govardhan!' Sometimes people say that worshipping Govindaji and worshipping Govardhan is different, but this is a misconception. You must serve Govardhan with sincerity and following all rules of service."

Sri Govardhan Puja (3): Full Service
"I have told you before that it is not necessary to know any mantra to worship the Lord—it is necessary to have a clean heart. Also, service is necessary, but service must be full. You start something and then leave it half-way—not like this."
• Download / listen to the audio of the entire class (7.5 Mb, 18 min | Bengali)

Sri Sri Govardhana-vasa Prarthana Dasakam
'You assumed the form of an umbrella, with Your Master’s arm propping You up; You checked the insolent, mad pride of the King of Heaven; the incomparable, great King among all mountains, You are very dear to the Lord. O Govardhan, please give me a residence near You.'
His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj reads Sri Govardhan Dasakam composed by Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu:
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min)

Sri Sri Giriraj-Govardhan Arati
'Lord Indra, Narad, Siva, Suka and other exalted souls see the beauty of this arati, which is a very rare sight to behold. You are eternally manifested as an object of service and as a servitor. This worthless servant beholds Your arati with great joy.'

• SONG: Radha-kunda-tata | করাধাকুণ্ডতট
"The grove-dwelling on the banks of Radha-kunda, Govardhan Hill, the banks of the Yamuna River. I can never leave all these things so dear to me, without them I know I'll surely die."

• SONG: Dasa-avatara-stotram | দশাবতারস্তোত্রম্
"I offer my obeisance unto Sri Krsna, who assumes ten forms and rescues the Vedas, upholds Mandara Mountain, uplifts the earth, rips apart demons, deceives Bali Maharaj, kills the ksatriyas, conquers Ravan, carries a plough, shows compassion, and annihilates the wicked."

• SONG: Damodarastakam | শ্রীশ্রীদামোদরাষ্টকম্
"To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who [due to the offence of breaking the pot of yogurt that his mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing] is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of Mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed—to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances."

• Mayura mukuta | ময়ূর-মুকুট
"He wears a peacock feather crown and yellow garments. He holds the flute and lifts the Govardhan Hill! All glory to the son of Yasoda, Krishna, Murari. Glory to He who holds the flute and lifts the Govardhan Hill!"

"Surrender to Giriraj"
"You must leave everything to the Lord, to Giriraj. If you make your own arrangements, then the Lord says, 'You are making your own arrangements, therefore I will not look after you.' Remember this—those who have no one, have the Lord; and those who have many things, have nothing, the Lord is not by their side."
• Download / listen to the audio (2 Mb, 5 min | 7 Nov. 2018 | English & Bengali)

Appearance of Sri Giriraj
"...When I was doing Govardhan parikrama, I was looking both sides, thinking (Gurudev was also thinking), 'You have made the temple in Govinda Kunda, but how you will bring Govardhan? How will you get Him?'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 11 November 2015)

Parikrama of Sri Govardhan
"How do we do parikrama? Govardhan is like a peacock, our temple is near Manasa Ganga, at the mouth of Govardhan, and we start the parikrama from the tail and do half portion one day, and the second half the next day."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 8 min | 11 November 2015)

Govardhan's Appearance in Vrindavan
"Yesterday and today also, we were explaining how Govardhan was brought to Vrindavan by Pulastya Muni. Govardhan was a son of Drona Parvat (Dronachal), and actually Govardhan was originally in Salmaladvipa..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.2 Mb, 4 min | 7 November 2018)

His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj speaking in English and Bengali about the Govardhan Pastime of Lord Sri Krishna.
• Download (11 Mb, ~23 min | 14 November 2012)

Sri Vraja-Mandal Tattva
"When Krishna wanted to appear in this world, He ordered Srimati Radharani to also come to this world, but Srimati Radharani said, 'I cannot come to a place where there is no Vrindavan, no Yamuna, no Giri Govardhan!' So, Sri Krishna personally brought some land from His own abode. That is why Sri Vraja-mandal is non-different from Goloka Vrindavan."
• Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 8 min)

Appearance of Sri Giriraj Govardhan
"There is one island province to the west of India called Salmalidvip. This is the place where Govardhan appeared as a son of Drona Parvat, Drona Hill. When Govardhan appeared there, all demigods became very happy and showered flowers from the sky..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 6 min)

Sri Govardhan Puja
"Tomorrow is the day when Nanda Maharaj made Govardhan puja, and after that, in Kali-yuga, this annakut utsav was arranged by Sriman Madhavendra Puri. Everybody must worship Govardhan to the best of your capacity."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 8 min)

Do Not Play With Fire
"If you commit aparadh, you can lose your service. You must control yourself. Give up ego. You think you are managing the temple? Who are you? Have you forgotten your identification that you are a servant of the Lord? Please do not fight. You have so much service in this world—do your service. Do your service within your capacity, and do not cross the line. This is very dangerous for your spiritual life."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.4 Mb, 8 min)

Gupta Govardhan and Other Esoteric Pastimes
"There are nine islands in Nabadwip, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj discovered the aparadh-bhanjan-pat and Gupta Govardhan in Koladwip. It is Govardhan as it is, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj himself identified Sri Govinda Kunda and said that it was Gupta Govardhan...."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 7 min)

Internal and External Evolution
"No matter what problems may come, you must not leave your service. Today doing, tomorrow not doing—not like that. You are an eternal servant, you are not a servant for two hours. Everybody wants to get to their destination, but some come late or miss their train."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.5 Mb, 9 min)

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

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

SRI KARTIK MONTH: 7 October–5 November

'You think, "You all sing, and I will listen." It will not do. You must sing yourself. If I eat, will your stomach be full? You must chant kirtans yourself. When you chant these kirtans, you will be remembering Nityananda Prabhu. You worry that you do not know the tune, but no tune is necessary. Because we have drums and karatals here now, we are playing them, but when I am alone, do you think I sing it like that? I do not. I recite them. Chanting kirtan is not playing drums and karatals – even if you read them, that is also kirtan. So, always chant kirtan.'

(Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj)

Month of Service—Life of Service
"Today kartik-vrata, or niyom-seva, starts. Our temple observes it from purnima to purnima, and some other temples do it from dvadasi to dvadasi. One day I asked Gurudev what niyom-seva meant..."
• Download / listen to the audio (6.4 Mb, 14 min | 13 October 2019)

KIRTANS SUNG DURING KARTIK MONTH
Morning kirtans: TEXT | AUDIO [17 min, 8.2 Mb]: Sri Damodarastakam, Sri Sriman Mahaprabhur Sata-Nama, Sri Krsner Vimsottara Sata-Nama.
Evening kirtans: TEXT | AUDIO [27 min, 12.5 Mb]: Sri Siksastakam.

(7 October—5 November)

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

In honour of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Srila Prabhupad:

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj: Intimate Friend and More
"Srila Prabhupad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj gave much respect to Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. You know when Srila Sridhar Maharaj and our Gurudev were in Kolkata, they lived together with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj for many years..."
• Download (0.7 Mb, 2 min | 22 October 2011)

Srila Swami Maharaj Prabhupad (Spoken on the appearance day)
"Without his mercy we would not have been able to think anything today, but we are very happy and we are making today a festival for Srila Swami Maharaj, on his appearance day. Everybody must pray for his mercy."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.9 Mb, 9 min | 15 August 2009)

CENTENARY ANTHOLOGY: Part 1. Chapter 1. Siksa-Guru
"Constantly associating, whether in Allahabad, Calcutta, or other parts of India, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj and Srila Sridhar Maharaj's relationship continually developed. Throughout his life, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj always maintained the highest respect and confidence in Srila Sridhar Maharaj. He considered that whenever it was not possible for his disciples to proceed directly under his guidance, that they should take direction from Srila Sridhar Maharaj."

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

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

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

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 4]

Beyond Perverted Comfort Zone
"We must return to the Lord – if we can do it, then we will not have to suffer from birth, death, old age and disease, we will not have to keep on coming and going, getting all kinds of bodies. But in order to attain that we must give up small things. Some sacrifice is required."

• THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV (1) •

(1) THE DIVINE SERVICE OF KRISHNA
'Guru Maharaj always directed his devotees to engage themselves twenty-four hours daily in the service of the Lord. In this way, you can ignore the mundane world and you must reach your destination.'

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

In honour of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami:

Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami, an eternal associate of Sriman Mahaprabhu and Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, resided on the bank of the Ganges. In Sri Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, he is stated to be the incarnation of bodily beauty (or lustre) of Srimati Radharani. Although he was a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu, he did not manifest sakhya-rasa, instead he manifested the mood of a gopi—sitting on the bank of the Ganges, he would scoop some Ganges water into a pot and cry out with a laugh, "Who wants to buy some milk?", "Who wants to buy some yoghurt?"

When Sriman Mahaprabhu ordered Sriman Nityananda Prabhu to preach Krishna consciousness in Bengal, He sent Sri Ram-das and Sri Gadadhar-das to Gauda-desh with Sriman Nityananda Prabhu.

Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur describes a pastime in which Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami delivers the Kazi of Endiyadaha who vehemently opposed sankirtan:

One day, overwhelmed by divine love for the Lord, Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami came to the house of Kazi chanting sankirtan and said, "Where is that Kazi? Come, chant the Holy Name at once, otherwise I will cut your neck!" Furious, Kazi came out to him, but seeing the divine form and mood of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami, he became astounded and his anger subsided. Kazi said then,

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak to you," answered Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami.

"What do you want to say?" asked Kazi.

"Gaura-Nityananda have appeared on this earth and are giving the Holy Name to anyone and everyone, but why are you not taking this nectarian Holy Name?"

"Go home, I will take it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why not today? I have come to give you the Holy Name and to rescue you. Take this supremely beneficial Holy Name! It will rescue you from all your sins today!"

Kazi felt embarrassed to refuse him, so he sniggered, "Well, I will say 'Hari' tomorrow."

Then, hearing Kazi say 'Hari', Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami became overwhelmed by divine love and said, "Now why tomorrow? You have just said 'Hari'! All your sins have been removed, you have become supremely pure." Saying this, Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami began to dance.

In this way, Kazi became purified and took shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami. At the end, Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur concludes, "Saintly persons did not want to be touched by the air that touched the Kazi, for they felt that such contact would make them lose their caste. Yet Gadadhar Das Mahasaya glanced mercifully on that most sinful Kazi, who took away the caste of any Hindu he encountered. When such a person gives up his envious nature, it is to be understood that this is the potency of Krishna consciousness."

This was how Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami delivered many sinners and inauspicious people by bestowing the Holy Name upon them.

Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami
"Sri Gadadhar Das Goswami is an eternal associate of Sriman Mahaprabhu and Sriman Nityananda Prabhu. At first, he lived in Katwa, and later, after Mahaprabhu's disappearance, he moved to a village on the bank of the Ganges...."
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In honour of Srila Dhananjay Pandit:

"Dhananjay Pandit was an extraordinary devotee, and Sriman Nityananda Prabhu always resided in his heart. He is the sixteenth dear servant of Nityananda Prabhu and he was very much renounced and always merged in love of Krishna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Swaraswati Thakur writes in his Anubhasya, 'Dhananjay Pandit was a resident of the village in Katwa named Sitala (Burdwan district). He was one of the twelve gopalas. His former name, according to the Sri Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (127), was Vasudama. It is said that for some time Dhananjay Pandit was in a sankirtan party under the direction of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and then he went to Vrindavan. After returning from Vrindavan to Sitala-gram, he established a Deity of Gaurasundara in the temple. The descendants of Dhananjay Pandit still live in Sitala-gram and look after the temple worship.'"

In honour of Srila Srinivas Acharya Prabhu:

Appearance of Acharya Srinivas
"Having received Mahaprabhu's blessing and mercy, Chaitanya Das and his wife returned to their house in Gaura-desh. Their son was born and, seeing his beautiful son, Chaitanya Das immediately declared, 'I will give this son to the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu for His service.'"
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Acharya Srinivas: Collecting Mercy
"Srinivas Acharya received Sri Narahari Thakur and Govinda Gosh Thakur's mercy from his childhood. Later, when Acharya Srinivas's father left his body, Srinivas and his mother then came to his mother's family house in Jajigram..."
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Acharya Srinivas: Rescuing Scriptures
"So many things are written about Acharya Srinivas. There is a famous pastime of Srila Srinivas Acharya and Raja Birhambir. Srila Srinivas Acharya, Srila Narottam Das Thakur, and Srila Shyamananda Prabhu were once travelling with all the books of Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatan Goswami, and others..."
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Time for Sravan
"You must see the sadhu with your ears, because you cannot see a sadhu with your eyes. This is actually not a place for play or tourism, this is a place for sravan and kirtan. You must listen with your heart. One time, Acharya Srinivas was sitting with Narottam Das Thakur in one place..."
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In Praise of Srila Narottam Das Thakur (From Affectionate Guidance, chapter 17)
Narottam Thakur's close associates and peers were Syamananda and Srinivas. These three great devotees were sent back to Bengal to continue the preaching of Mahaprabhu. The Bengali Vaisnavas were very eager to read the writings of Sri Rupa, Sanatan, Raghunath, Krishna Das Kaviraj, Lokanath Goswami, Gopal Bhatta Goswami, Prabhodananda Saraswati and the other Goswamis; so Narottam, Syamananda and Srinivas travelled from Vrindavan towards Bengal with many copies of those great books...

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

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

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

Composed by Srila Srinivas Acharya:

• SONG: Sri Sad-Goswamy-Astakam | শ্রীশ্রীষড়্­গোস্বাম্যষ্টকম্
• Download / listen to the audio (4.5 Mb)

"Always engaged in chanting the glories of Sri Krishna, singing and dancing, they are oceans of Sri Krishna-prema; appreciated by both the learned and the ignorant, they are always benevolent in their behaviour, pleasing everybody – there is not even a trace of jealousy in them, so they are worshipped by all people; being recipients of Sri Chaitanyadev’s special mercy, they rescue all materialists, relieving the earth of its burden – again and again I worship and bow down at the holy feet of these six goswamis: Sri Rupa, Sanatan, Raghunath Bhatta, Gopal Bhatta, Raghunath Das and Sri Jiva."

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 5]

What Are Your Plans?
"There is no use getting a lifetime of one hundred years if you do not chant the Holy Name. You think that you want to live longer to enjoy longer, but this is not right – you must think, 'Even if I live for only ten years, if I can chant the Holy Name, it is all right.'"

• THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV (1) •

(2) THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV
'Previously, many sastras, many types of Vaishnavs and religions were to be seen in the world, but only after the appearance of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami was it openly clarified that the only necessity is a life of service to Krishna, under the guidance of the genuine guru and Vaishnav. May Srila Prabhupada Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur be gracious upon us. '

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

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 6]

Life In Lord's Family
"A bad day for us is the day when we cannot hear or speak Hari-katha, the day when we cannot chant and glorify the Holy Name of the Lord. But the Holy Name does not come to everyone's mouths."

• THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV (1) •

(3) A DAY AT HAPANIYA
'Guru Maharaj told us, “Everything here is transcendental and very auspicious. If you can see in this way, you will be benefitted. You will retrieve your transcendental life, and also, you will attain the service of Srimati Radharani.” In this way, he gave his blessings to us here on that day, and we always remember that.'

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Six, chanted on Thursdays)
'Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

13 JANUARY 2021 [BASIRHAT (SANKRANTI EVE) | PART 7]

Not So Fast, Not So Cheap
"The Lord said, ‘I have decided that I will leave, but I could not! I want to leave this material world, but Maya is always pulling Me back!’ Tomorrow in the morning He will reach the temple of Keshav Bharati. Gurudev told me about the conversation that took place between them on this day."

• THE VOICE OF SRI CHAITANYADEV (1) •

(4) HOLY TALKS
'We lay some special stress on the observance of the last portion of chaturmasya, known as kartika-vrata, which is exclusively connected with service of the gopis, Radharani, and Krishna. But that depends on the quality of observance. One day’s or a second’s observance may cover the whole thing...'

Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram (Part Seven, chanted on Fridays)
'He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'