SRI NABADWIP DHAM PARIKRAMA, DAY FOUR:

"jaya navadvipa-dhama sarva-dhama-sara
jaya navadvipa-basi gaura-paribara
navadvipa sama dhama nahi tri-bhuvane"

'Glory to Nabadwip Dham, the quintessence of all abodes! Glory to the residents of Nabadwip and all holy family of Gaura! There is no other abode in the whole three worlds that could compare to Nabadwip Dham!'

(Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

1 Mar (Sun). Parikrama of Sri Godrumdwip and Sri Madhyadwip. 2 Mar (Mon). Sri Gaura Purnima Adhivas. Parikrama of Sri Koladwip, Sri Ritudwip, Sri Jahnudwip and Sri Modadrumdwip. 3 Mar (Tue). Sri Gaura Purnima. Fast until moonrise (then anukalpa). 4 Mar (Wed). Paran 6:02–9:53. Anandotsav of Sri Jagannath Misra.

EVENING HARI-KATHA FROM THIS DAY

Main Guru of Our Line
'Yesterday was the disappearance day of Srila Madhavendra Puripad, the main guru whose line we have joined. We always speak about Srila Madhavendra Puri when we come to Govinda Kunda in Vrindavan. It is of paramount necessity for us to speak about his character.'

Madhavendra Puri Meets Gopal
'When Srila Madhavendra Puri drank that milk, he became overwhelmed with divine love for the Lord. Gradually, he regained his senses and wondered, "The boy must have forgotten to come for the pot, but where do I find Him?"'

Answering the Call
'You go for the parikrama, and I take care of all your needs and facilities, but you cannot follow one simple order. What is called Gurudev's sadhu-sanga? Gurudev's and sadhus' order is to do service. This is what is called sadhu-sanga.'

Remembering Chapahati
'I began telling you about a brahman's service and the result of service. There was a brahman in Dvapar-yuga who would serve the holy lotus feet of Radha-Govinda with champa flowers...'

Modadrumdwip's Ardent Brahman
'One time, there lived a great brahman devotee of Lord Rama in Modadrumdwip. When Mahaprabhu appeared at the house of Jagannath Misra, he was present at his house. When he saw the festival arranged in honour of Gaura's advent, he thought, "My Lord Ramachandra must have secretly appeared at the house of Jagannath Misra!"'

Esoteric Glory of Modadrumdwip
'The island of Modadrumdwip is Ayodhya. In the past, when Lord Rama lived in exile, He came with Laksman and Sita Devi to this island. He constructed a house beneath a tree and stayed there for some time. One day, seeing various places of Nabadwip internally, Lord Raghunandan smiled gently...'

Madhavendra Puri's Pastimes in Odisha
'When Madhavendra Puri came to Odisha to collect Malaya sandalwood for the Lord, he first went to Lord Gopinath"s temple to offer his obeisance. Seeing that the Lord was offered sweet rice, he thought, "If I could try it, I would be able to make this sweet rice for my Gopal." But then he thought, "No, I am just greedy for food!" He quickly left the temple and quietly sat outside.'

Be Unwandering and Unwavering
'Our home is there. The place that you think is your home here is not your home: we always take what is not true to be true. This place here is not your home! You have lost your address. Your address is where the Lord is. This is where we must go. What for do we struggle and work so hard now?'

Build Good Habits
'When we were young, we acquired so many bad habits, that is why we have many bad habits now: we cannot chant kirtan, we cannot talk about the Lord, we feel sleepy most of the time. Why do we get sleepy? Because you have not waken up! You do not do service all the time...'

Kirtans (evening programme)
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj chants:
• Jaya dhvani, Vandana • Gurudev bada krpa kari • Kabe Sri Krsna Chaitanya Prabhu daya kare more • Krpa kara Vaisnav Thakura • Are bhai Nitai amara dayara avadhi • Yadi Gaura na haite • Radhe Jaya Jaya Madhava-dayite • Janama saphala tara • Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
• Download / listen to the audio (16.3 Mb, 39 min | 26 March 2021 | Kirtan)

Remembering Holy Nabadwip Dham
"You should study every day otherwise one year later you will forget everything and fall into illusory bondage of Maya. The holy scripture manifests itself in two forms—grantha-bhagavata (a book form), and Vaishnav-bhagavata (a holy devotee form); there is no difference between these two forms...."
• Download / listen to the audio (2 Mb, 5 min | Bengali)

Do Not Shun Service
"We must always have attachment to spiritual life. Our attachment is always kept in some other place, whereas we have no attachment to the service of Krishna, to the practice of Krishna consciousness."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 7 min | Bengali)

Meaning of Chastity
"It is necessary to know what chastity is. You cannot only say 'Gaudiya,' 'Gaudiya' with your mouth—everybody says it, everybody chants kirtans, but why do we keep away from sahajiyas and other parties? We will never allow all these things to be mixed with our conception and line. Srila Sridhar Maharaj's line is the current of pure conception (suddha-siddhanta-dhara). There is no place for sahajiyas or mayavadis in it."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.6 Mb, 9 min | Bengali)

Pastime at Gadigachha
"There is a village called Gadigachha within Sri Godrumdwip. I want to tell you about a pastime that happened at this place. One day, Durvasa Muni was resting in Kamyavan when a small demigod boy came there..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | Bengali)

Glory of Sri Madhyadwip
"I would like to tell you about Sri Madhyadwip. It is an island of smaranam (remembrance of the Lord). Entering Sri Madhyadwip, Sriman Nityananda Prabhu told Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu about the glory of this place."
• Download / listen to the audio (8.7 Mb, 21 min | Bengali & Kirtan)

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 NABADWIP DHAM PARIKRAMA, DAY FIVE:

"jaya navadvipa-dhama sarva-dhama-sara
jaya navadvipa-basi gaura-paribara
navadvipa sama dhama nahi tri-bhuvane"

'Glory to Nabadwip Dham, the quintessence of all abodes! Glory to the residents of Nabadwip and all holy family of Gaura! There is no other abode in the whole three worlds that could compare to Nabadwip Dham!'

(Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Photographs of this day in 2019:

Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama: Day Three
Sharing photographs of the third day of the Holy Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama led by His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj and dignitary Vaishnavs through Sri Koladwip, Sri Ritudwip, Sri Jahnudwip, and Sri Modadrumadwip: Sri Samudra ghat, Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhar Mandir (Champahatti), Vidya Nagar Sarvabhauma Gaudiya Math, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya's house, the Deity served by Sri Saranga Murari, place where Mahaprabhu performed kirtan(!), and Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur's appearance place.

Photographs of this day in 2020:

Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama: Day Four
Photographs of the final, fourth, day of Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama spent in nourishing guidance His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj. This day, Sri Champahatti, Sri Samudragad, Sri Vidya Nagar, the birthplace of Srila Sarvabhauma Bhatttachya, Sri Saranga Thakur's temple, and Sri Mamgacchi—the rest of Sri Koladwip, Sri Jahnudwip, Sri Rtudwip, and Sri Modadrumdwip.

2 Mar (Mon). Sri Gaura Purnima Adhivas. Parikrama of Sri Koladwip, Sri Ritudwip, Sri Jahnudwip and Sri Modadrumdwip. 3 Mar (Tue). Sri Gaura Purnima. Fast until moonrise (then anukalpa). 4 Mar (Wed). Paran 6:02–9:53. Anandotsav of Sri Jagannath Misra.

EVENING HARI-KATHA FROM THIS DAY

The Sick, the Slick and the Trick
'The main thing is that you must serve the Lord. If you follow many rules and regulations and become sick, then it is wrong. Gauranga Mahaprabhu's followers, who genuinely follow His teachings – who not only preach about His conception but also follow it – are very great devotees.'

Where Are You Rushing?
'Many of you took prasad today in the afternoon and wanted to leave. I hid in my room and locked the door because I could not imagine that they would leave immediately as soon as the parikrama finished...'

Limited but One-Pointed Life
'How can you get good association? You do not get the association of saints by staying or sleeping at the same place with them. You must read saints' books. If you read their books every day, if you watch and listen to their programmes (lectures) every day, it will bring you much benefit. This is how you must live.'

Exclusive Discipleship
'If somebody takes sannyas from another temple, it means that they have left, giving up Srila Sridhar Maharaj's line – Gurudev said that such persons cannot be considered members of Chaitanya Saraswat Math. This is what I wanted to tell you today.'

Association and Chastity
"What did Gurudev tell? He said: you must associate with those who are more senior than you are, you must observe and learn from those who have brought you to this line. Do you think you can become a sadhu just by dressing as one?"
• Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 7 min | Bengali)

Service Formula
"There are only twenty-four hours in a day. Where do we find time for other things? Those who practise Krishna consciousness chant the Holy Name, have so many things to do. Where is there time for prajalpa (idle talks and gossiping)? Always think about your own spiritual life—think how you are practising Krishna consciousness."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.4 Mb, 8 min | Bengali)

Serve with Loving Care
"You must be very careful that Deities do not become a burden and that you do not harass the Deities. You must serve Deities with faith. Serve the Lord dedicating all your mind, heart, soul, everything to the service."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 4 min | Bengali)

No Pain, No Gain
"People are so attached to their material things. Engrossed in the material world, we are so deeply attached to the material things that we cannot give our mind to the service of the Lord even for seven days."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.6 Mb, 7 min | Bengali)

Accepting the Rules
"If you only want to take initiation and then go back home and live as before, it will not do. You take initiation, then go back home and do not keep any connection with your Guru—there is no news about you for one-two years. I do not want your money, wealth, cars, houses, etc.—you must give your heart, your soul."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.5 Mb, 6 min | Bengali)

Plausible Priority
"We must take Krishna consciousness seriously. You come to Gurudev, take the beads and go away thinking you have become a sadhu—this is wrong.It is necessary to give priority to what your Guru says, and it is necessary to understand where the priority lies."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | Bengali)

Guru-Pada-Asraya
"The root of devotion to the Lord is guru-pada-asraya. It is necessary to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of bona fide Sri Guru who exists within the current of the guru-parampara, who holds Sri Rupanuga line and the authentic conclusions of devotional teaching."
• Download / listen to the audio (2 Mb, 5 min | Bengali)

Priceless Wealth
"We also had much pride and ego at first—we were first in class, studied very well; but when we came to the lotus feet of Gurudev, seeing his vast knowledge we said, 'In front of him, I am just a baby.'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | Bengali)

Temporal Distortions
"I have been talking for so many days, does anyone have any questions in the meantime? First become surrendered, then you can ask questions. One does not become surrendered just by paying a sastanga-dandavat..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | Bengali)

Where Chaste Ones Never Tread
"It is necessary to listen to what Gurudev says. You cannot live following your mind. First, I must learn from my Gurudev what Gurudev says, what is Gurudev's line, then only can I try to say anything to others. It is not so easy."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.9 Mb, 7 min | Bengali)

Do Not Get Mixed Up
"Srila Lochan Das Thakur says, 'I will not go to the place where there is no Nitai. I will not see the face of those who are against Nitai.' Nitai means Gurudev. We must not even see the face of those who are against Gurudev."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 6 min | Bengali)

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 Gaura Purnima Maha-mahotsav. Hari-katha spoken by His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj on the divine appearance day of Lord Gaurasundar:

YEAR 2015

Sri Gaura Purnima Programmes
◊ Morning (kirtans, Bengali)
Kirtans: Vandana • Samsara davanala • Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu jive daya kari' (Tilak Krishna Prabhu) • Bhaja re bhajare amar (Rama Krishna Prabhu of Uluberia) • Thakura Vaishnava gana • Nitai guna mani • Emona durmati samsara bhitare • Gaya Gora madhur svare.
Class: The glory of Hari Nam sankirtan and rarity of this life (not to waste time) • "I pray at your feet: think about Gauranga, think about Gaurahari, and think about the festival of Gaurahari" • Magnanimity of Mahaprabhu.
• Download (24 Mb, 68 min)

◊ Noon
Far but Near
"Without his mercy we cannot be present here. Every year we think we will join this festival next year, but only Krishna knows whether we can join or not. Only by the mercy of Gurudev, by the mercy of Mahaprabhu can we be here."
• Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 4 min)

The Gift of Guru
"If Gurudev had not come, who would have been able to tell us about the glories of Gauranga?"
• Download / listen to the audio (0.5 Mb, 2 min)

Stay On Board
The key how not to find yourself thrown off the board: take in the Captain's instructions and stay on board without discriminating against the members of the family.
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 5 min)

YEAR 2017

Division Is Wrong Vision
"'He is my disciple,' 'He is not my disciple, I will not give class to him,' 'You must not go to his class because you are my disciple'—these kinds of things are not good at all for our spiritual life. We must realise what Gurudev's conception is and follow that."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.9 Mb, 6 min)

Understanding Mercy
"Mahaprabhu said, 'Be humbler than a blade of grass,' but He was also angry with Madhai, and Nityananda Prabhu gave mercy to him, but at another time Nityananda Prabhu kicked Sivananda Sen's head. Chastising does not mean that Gurudev does not like you."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 5 min)

Service Pastimes
"I know Gurudev is giving me strength, this is how I am doing it. Also, all the devotees have love and affection for me, so many letters are coming from them—my health is not strong, but due to this mentally I am becoming very strong."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 5 min)

Protecting Purity of Conception
"Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Prabhupad gave us some conception, some message, but maya always attacks us. If you listen to your Guru properly, if you serve your Guru properly, then you can easily understand everything. That is good for you."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.2 Mb, 10 min | Incl. kirtan)

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Family Reunion
"Devotees came for the parikrama from so many different countries, from every village and every corner this year, and we are very happy with that. We want to show that we are together, that we are not breaking our unity."
• Download / listen to the audio (4.4 Mb, 12 min)

Power of Good Association
"You must see the sadhu with your ears. Every day you sing, 'Ramachandra-sanga mage Narottama Dasa: Narottam Das prays for the association of Ramachandra Kaviraj.' What does this mean? Why does Narottam Das always ask for the association of Ramachandra?"
• Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min)

YEAR 2018

Sri Gaura Purnima Festival: Miraculous and Marvellous
"I believe that wherever I go, devotees will always stay with me. If I can make my Gurudev happy, that is sufficient for me. If, by the mercy of Guru, Vaishnavs, by the mercy of devotees, I die serving devotees—if I can give even one drop of blood for the devotees—that is my happiness."
• Download / listen to the audio (4.5 Mb, 14 min | Bengali and English)

YEAR 2019

My Hope
"When all the devotees are with us, when all the devotees' mercy is with us, we have nothing to worry about. I promise to all of you that as long as I am alive I will not run away. We hope that by Srila Gurudev's mercy, this problem will be solved soon and it will be overcome."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 5 min)

Birds of Feather Flock Together
"You can see also now that all those who are Gurudev's enemies—who were rejected by Gurudev, who Gurudev got pain from, all those who were ousted have now come together. It is their karma and they will get the result for that."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 5 min)

YEAR 2020

Remembering Devotees (part 1)
'There are devotees who always do service, but their names do not come to my mind, and I feel very shy because of that. What can I do? I am very busy with so many things. Gurudev has given me many responsibilities, that is why I can forget something, but you are all in my heart. Always remember this. I have not forgotten any of you.'

Remembering Devotees (part 2)
'There are devotees who always do service, but their names do not come to my mind, and I feel very shy because of that. What can I do? I am very busy with so many things. Gurudev has given me many responsibilities, that is why I can forget something, but you are all in my heart. Always remember this. I have not forgotten any of you.'

YEAR 2021

Sri Gaura Purnima Address (1)
"Actually, there is something I want to tell you all. You think you are taking care of your family, but I am also your family member—you must come here and take care of the temples. Keep connection with your Guru. I want your mercy, I want your assistance."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.8 Mb, 7 min)

Sri Gaura Purnima Address (2)
"You have taken initiation, and you must now take care of the devotional seed properly. When you take initiation from your Guru, you enter a relationship with him, and you must maintain that relationship; otherwise all relationship will be gone."
• Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 7 min)

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.'

SRI NABADWIP DHAM MAHATMYA-MUKTA-MALA:
Epilogue: My Grief
'Today, by the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma, by the mercy of Gaura-hari, you have successfully, beautifully and without any obstacles completed Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. It is a very happy, joyful day, but at the same time there is also some sorrow in this day. Why?'

4 Mar (Wed). Paran 6:02–9:53. Anandotsav (great, joyful festival) of Sri Jagannath Misra. A grand festival and mahaprasad distribution at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Sri Nabadwip Dham.

HARI-KATHA FROM THIS DAY

YEAR 2012

Come to your home
"You have to be chaste, have to be clear. Take Gurudev's boat, and one day that boat will take you to Vrindavan. You have to believe that."

Remember Where You Belong To
"You must promise me now that if you go back to your home, you will serve the Guru, Vaishnavs, Bhagavan, that you will practise properly. Do not go back to the mundane world, do not go back to the attachment with the family life."
• Download / listen to the audio (0.8 Mb, 3 min)

YEAR 2013

Setting on the Right Track (1)
Lecture delivered at Sri Jagannath Mishra's Anandotsav in 2013: "We can realise it ourselves: how much can we proceed in our spiritual life and why did we come to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math? Again and again we do Nabadwip Dham Parikrama, but how much can we use ourselves for the service to the Guru, Vaishnavs, and Bhagavan?"
• Download / listen to the audio (6.1 Mb, 20 min | 28 March 2013)

Setting on the Right Track (2)
Lecture delivered at Sri Jagannath Mishra's Anandotsav in 2013, part two: "I am praying to you all that you do not forget your service to your Guru, to the Vaishnavs, Bhagavan. I am bowing at your lotus feet: if you serve my Guru, I will serve you my whole life; if you serve my Guru, I will sacrifice my life to serve you."
• Download / listen to the audio (5 Mb, 15 min)

YEAR 2017

Jagannath Misra's Festival: Serving and Honouring Devotees (1)
"We are very happy today because we are going to celebrate the festival of Jagannath Misra's ananda-mahotsav. Today we are also making a special festival for our best friend Sripad Yudhamanyu Prabhu Seva Vikram..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.6 Mb, 8 min | 13 March 2017)

Jagannath Misra's Festival: Serving and Honouring Devotees (2)
"We are going to celebrate, but this celebration is not for our own happiness, it is for the happiness of the devotees, for the happiness of the Vaishnav Thakur. This is the main thing."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.4 Mb, 7 min)

Mahaprabhu's Pastimes with Jagadananda Pandit
"When Sriman Mahaprabhu took sannyas, He followed all rules and regulations very strictly, but you have heard that Jagadananda Pandit always wanted to control Him..."
• Download / listen to the audio (6.3 Mb, 19 min | Incl. kirtan)

YEAR 2018

Great Fortune
"I think you are not ordinary souls. In this world there are millions of millions of people, there are so many big wealthy people, so many people who have a very big position in the country, but none of them are as fortunate as you are."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.2 Mb, 7 min | 3 March 2018)

Modern Milieu
"All over the world almost everybody runs behind money, runs behind property, gold, wealth. How many fortunate people are there who come to pure Krishna consciousness? The whole world is covered by the illusory environment, Kali Maharaj."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.3 Mb, 4 min | 3 March 2018)

"I Pray You Can Come"
"I am very glad that you come every year, and that every year you make the effort thinking, 'How can I come for the parikrama every year?' You are all in my heart, there is no doubt about it because we all come from the same family."
• Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min | 3 March 2018)

YEAR 2020

Run from Maya, not from Home
'Guru Maharaj often said that foreign devotees have one advantage: they do not have so much attachment to their family, but Bengali devotees are very attached to their families. People do not have faith that the Lord will protect everything....'

Challenging Choice
'If you make a step towards Maya, she will catch you by your legs and pull you away to the prison-house. But if you make a step towards the Lord, the Lord will take you to the path of devotion and bring you to His own abode. Now you can choose – will you go towards Maya or towards the Lord?'

Always Keep in Touch
'Do not cheat me! I have entered into some relationship with you. You have done this parikrama for several days, and we have formed some relationship, so please keep in touch – phone me, write me letters or emails, try to find out how I am – so that this relationship does not break.'

Grand Assembly
'Today is anandotsav (joyous festival) of Sri Jagannath Misra, and Gurudev always made a Visva-Vaishnav Raja-Sobha ('Royal Assembly of Worldwide Vaishnavs') on this day. It is the day when Vaishnavs from all over the world assemble together...'

What Is Your Greatest Joy?
'We must always think about it: what is our greatest happiness? I feel very sad because somebody left yesterday saying that his daughter-in-law was going to deliver a baby. Because his daughter-in-law had to give birth to the baby yesterday, he ran back home.'

Messengers of Highest Giver
'On this day, it is not only Jagannath Misra and Mother Sachi who rejoice. Yesterday was a happy day for all gods and goddesses, for the whole world, and today is a joyful festival, but seeing that everyone is rushing to leave and jump back into their material life, I feet very sad.'

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.'

3 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 3]

Clearing the Path
"I am not saying that I am perfect, but if I tell, tell and tell it to myself, then one day I will become clean. So, when I say something to you, I am giving advice to myself. I know that all these things are easier said than done, but I am saying all this for my own benefit."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRI NITYANANDA VANDANA: Sri Sri Nityananda Astakam
'He bestows all mellows of devotional mood; He is the treasure of devotees who relish ecstatic devotional moods; He is a repository of all spiritual ecstasy; He is the quintessence of all three worlds; all sinners become purified just by remembering Him – the holy lotus feet of this Nityananda Prabhu, who are very hard to attain, will manifest very beautifully in the hearts of those who study this extremely high, extraordinary poem about Him.'

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.'

7 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 4]

Cause of All Causes
"We show so much devotion externally, but how much love and attachment do we have for our gurudev internally? How much time do we give to him every day? Every day we work the whole day running behind some kanak, kamini, pratistha, behind some establishment, but do you have any time to spare for the Lord, for your gurudev?"

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Prayers
'O maintainer of surrendered souls! O Supreme Personality! O great soul (who performs the pastimes of a great devotee)! You are the only object of eternal meditation for pure souls; You destroy souls’ illusion; You are a wish-fulfilling tree, a shelter of all devotees; You are worshipped by Siva (Sri Advaita Acharya) and Brahma (Haridas Thakur); You are the ultimate refuge for all creation; You destroy devotees’ miseries (offences to the Holy Name, etc.); and You are the only boat that can take us across the ocean of material existence. I bow down at Your holy lotus feet.'

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.'

7 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 5]

Do Not Be Disheartened
"Those who cannot join Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama bodily this year can make this parikrama from their houses. Do not be disheartened. if you have a great desire and great fortune, you will be able to come and join Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama next year."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Kali-kukkura-kadana
'If you want to slay the dog Kali, the destroyer of religion, chant the Name of Sri Sachinandan, the saviour in the Age of Kali and the destroyer of the fear of Kali.'

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 Sripat Hapaniya Dham:

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."

Sripat Hapaniya Dham: parikrama kirtan
Recording of the kirtan during the parikrama of Sripat Hapaniya Dham Temple, led by His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj.
• Download / listen to the audio (4.7 Mb, 14 min | 6 March 2018)

Sripat Hapaniya Dham: kirtans
• Sri guru charana • Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu daya koro • Ohe Vaishnava Thakura dayara sagara • Nitai pada kamala • Emona Durmati • Gopinath (song 1) • Jaya Guru Maharaj • Sujanarvuda-radhita • Sri Gaura Mandala majhe • Jaya Radha Madhava.
• Download / listen to the audio (20.2 Mb, 59 min | 6 March 2018)

Kirtan at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
• Ki rupe paiba seva • Gopinath, mama nivedana suna.
• Download / listen to the audio (6.1 Mb, 15 min | 2 April 2021 | Bengali)

Sripat Hapaniya Dham: Highest Place
"Today is the pancham dol and it also the appearance day of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinathjiu. This is a highest place and we must give respect to this place, Sripat Hapaniya Dham."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.3 Mb, 10 min | 17 March 2017)

Sripat Hapaniya Dham
"We come here to pay obeisance to Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj because he is not an ordinary person. We come and pray to his family, we pay obeisance to them and beg them for mercy. That is why we come here."
• Download / listen to the audio (6.4 Mb, 19 min | 28 March 2016)

A Day at Hapaniya [From Affectionate Guidance]
"Today we have very happily come to Sripat Hapaniya Dham. Our destination is Goloka, even if we may not know where Goloka is. However, we must know that the abode of Goloka has personally become manifest in this world as the abode of the Divine Master, the residence of the devotees and the Temple where the Deities are worshipped."

Remembering Srila Guru Maharaj (1)
"As each year, we have come today to the holy appearance place of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj in Sri Hapaniya Dham, and our Gurudev made this beautiful Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Ashram in this place..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.2 Mb, 3 min | 2 April 2021)

Remembering Srila Guru Maharaj (2)
"From his childhood, Srila Sridhar Maharaj had a renounced mentality. He would wake up early in the morning and go to take bath in the Ganges (you know how far the Ganges is from here, but he would walk all the way there every day)..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.8 Mb, 5 min | 2 April 2021)

Remembering Srila Guru Maharaj (3)
"Srila Sridhar Maharaj was a great speaker—nobody could defeat him in Hari-katha. Many great scholars and knowledge-seekers came to his lotus feet from all over India and also abroad..."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | 2 April 2021)

Remembering Srila Guru Maharaj (4)
"Srila Sridhar Maharaj had a very profound vision—he could see the future. He also had a strong common sense. When Srila Sridhar Maharaj purchased the land of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in 1941, and he knew that this temple would grow very big."
• Download / listen to the audio (7 Mb, 17 min | 2 April 2021)

Sri Hapaniya Dham
(10 March 2015 | 3 Mb)
Headed by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj and the august Vaishnavs, devotees visit Sri Hapaniya Dham on the holy installation day of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinath Jiu.

Sri Dham Nabadwip and Hapaniya: Last Festival
(24-28 March 2016 | 34 photographs, 3.1 Mb)
Sri Gaura Purnima festival has finished and the devotees, overflowing with gratitude and appreciation for the festival, return to their homes and householder practice taking the lotus feet of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj in their hearts. Today is Sri Panchami Dol and the Deity installation at Sri Hapaniya Dham, the worshippable birthplace of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. His Divine Grace takes the devotees to Sri Hapaniya Dham to participate in the festival and we are sharing some photographs taken earlier during Sri Jagannath Mishra anadotsav and today at Sri Hapaniya Dham.

Festival at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
(17 March 2017 | 40 photographs, 2.6 Mb)
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj is taking devotees to Sripat Hapaniya Dham, the holy birthplace of Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, to honour the installation anniversary day of Sri Sri Guru Radha Gopinath Deities.

Festival at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
(26 photographs, 1.5 Mb | 6 March 2018)
Sharing photographs from the annual festival in honour of the installation anniversary of Sripat Hapaniya Dham Deities, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinath.

Festival at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
(25 March 2019 | 47 photographs, 2.8 Mb)
The final day of the grand annual festival at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math concludes at Sripat Hapaniya Dham, the birthplace of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj takes devotees to Sripat Hapaniya Dham to honour the installation day of the presiding Deities at the temple.

Annual Maha-Mahotsav at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
(14 March 2020 | 44 photographs, 4 Mb)
Supremely fortunate devotees come to Sripat Hapaniya Dham, the holy birth place of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and observe the annual vigraha-pratistha festival in the shelter of the holy lotus feet of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Kusum Ashram Maharaj and other senior Vaishnavs.

Festival at Sri Hapaniya Dham
(2 April 2021 | 20 photographs, 1.4 Mb)
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj comes to Sripat Hapaniya Dham together with his associates to attend the annual festival commemorating the Deities' Installation at the supremely holy appearance place of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Due to the pandemic situation, the festival manifests in a quieter and a little more reserved form without the overwhelming crowds usual for this festival.

7 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 6]

Forthcoming Festivals
"Try to come and join Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. You have a great fortune to do it. Join, it will be good for you. We are inviting you all to join this festival – if you cannot come physically, you can join this festival through your hearts, through your minds."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Udila aruna purava bhage
'When the sun arose in the east, the jewel of the twice-born Gora awoke on His own. Taking devotees along, He went for a walk in town. The drums beat, "Dun-dun, dun-dun," and the cymbals played along, "Clang-clang, clang-clang." Overcome by divine love, Gora swung His golden limbs to and fro, ankle-bells tinkling on His feet.'

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 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 7]

On Importance of Chastity
"You have a soul, and you have a relationship with the Lord. Krishna says that He is chaste to His devotees, and if you want to be a devotee of Lord Krishna, then you must have chastity, too. We sometimes want to please our parents, husbands, wives and others, but Krishna says, 'If you please Me, you will please everybody.'"

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Jiva jaga jiva jaga
‘Wake up, soul! Wake up, soul!’ says Gorachand (Golden Moon). ‘How long are you going to sleep in the lap of this witch Maya? Forgetting that you came to this world saying, “I will serve You,” you carried on living in ignorance.’

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.'

7 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 8]

Study and Learn
"Gurudev always said: I am teaching so many things, but what have they understood? Somebody has been reading Ramayana the whole year, and after that they ask, ‘Whose father was Sita Devi?’ I have been teaching them Mahaprabhu’s conception (humility, tolerance and giving honour to others), and one year later, they are asking me such questions…"

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Jaya sachi-nandana
‘All glory to Sachi’s son, who is worshipped by demigods and sages and who destroys all fear of material existence! Glory to Him! He inaugurated the dancing and chanting of the Lord’s Names and removed the contamination of Kali! Glory to Him!’

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 Srila Srivas Pandit:

Srivas Angan
'It is our great fortune to have come here, to the house of Srivas Pandit. Taking the dust of this supremely worshippable place on our heads, we must always remember all these things that we have discussed and pray that in some future birth, somehow, we can become members of devotees’ family and take part in their service.'

Srivas Pandit's Devotion
"Srivas Pandit: 'You can get a son, a daughter, a father, a mother in every birth, but you will not get the Lord in every birth. This life is very important, you can get the Lord in this life, then why should I misuse it? Why should I not use this opportunity?'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.7 Mb, 5 min | 19 July 2013)

Malini Devi and Vishvarup
"The name Srivas Pandit's wife is Malini Devi. You know, one time Malini chastised Srivas Pandit. Once, Vishvarup Prabhu, Nimai's elder brother, came to their house to ask Srivas Pandit for help..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1 Mb, 3 min | 29 July 2012)

Why Can We Not Get It?
"At Srivas Pandit's house there was a maidservant Duhkhi—she got Mahaprabhu's mercy. There was a Muslim tailor near Srivas Pandit's house—he too got Mahaprabhu's mercy. A great sinner Chand Kazi broke a mridanga, but even he got Mahaprabhu's mercy. Why can we not get it?"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.2 Mb, 4 min | 20 May 2017 | Bengali)

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 1]

Practise Devotion
"Just as you eat and go to the bathroom every day, you must also serve the Lord in the same way – you must offer bhoga every day, you must chant kirtans, worship the Lord and do everything else every day. You must practise in your own lives. One does not become a disciple just by taking initiation."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Sri-krsna-chaitanya prabhu jive daya kari’
‘Bestowing His mercy on jiva souls, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu descends with His associates and abode. To distribute the rarest form of divine love, He teaches surrender, which is the life and soul of devotees.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 2]

Land of Religions
"One can ask, ‘In our country, there is only Christianity, but when I was in West Bengal, I saw that some people worship Kali, some people worship Durga, some people worship Ganesh, some people worship Lokanath, some people worship Harichand Thakur. Why is it like this? Why are there so many religions?’"

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Sri krsna chaitanya prabhu daya kara more
‘O Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! Please be merciful to me. Other than You, who is there to bestow mercy in this world? You descended to save fallen souls. O Lord, You will not find another soul as fallen as I am.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 3]

Seva Vidya
"Some think how to please the Lord, but when it comes to making sure that no difficulty or austerity comes to the devotees of the Lord, they do not think it is necessary to do that. If you send a letter directly to Krishna, you will not get a reply..."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Kabe sri chaitanya more
‘When will Sri Chaitanya (my chaitya-guru) be merciful to me? When will I come in the shade of Vaishnavs’ feet? When will I give up this mundane ego? When will I give honour to the Lord’s devotees?’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 4]

Conditioned Souls' Inaptitude
"You took initiation so long ago – have you not been able to make anyone fit for preaching? Have you not learnt to preach and speak Hari-katha yourselves? Must gurudev always come and do everything? It is not enough to only take initiation. You must practise properly."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Gaurangera duti pada
‘Those whose wealth and treasure is Sri Gauranga’s feet know the excellence of devotional ecstasy. When Gauranga’s sweet pastimes enter one’s ears, their heart becomes pure. No matter whether the person lives in a house or a forest, whoever calls out to Gauranga, Narottam begs for their association.’

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 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)

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 5]

Choose Your Association
"How can one come to the Lord? Through devotion. How does devotion come? Devotion to the Lord comes through the association of the Lord’s devotees. Where do you get this association of devotees?"

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Avatara sara, gora avatara
‘Gora avatar is the best of avatars. Why haven’t you worshipped Him? Although you live right in water, your thirst does not go away – you have got yourself in a scrape due to your own actions.’

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.'

In honour of Sriman Mahaprabhu's auspicious arrival (vijay-mahotsav) at Varaha Nagar (from Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's Sri Sajjan Tosani, Vol 9, Issue 12):

'To the north of the great city of Kolkata, there is a renowned village called Varaha-nagar. Four hundred years ago [as of 1898], there lived a fortunate learned brahman by the name of Raghunath. From his childhood, he received good association, as the result of which he developed faith in the scripture Srimad Bhagavatam. When he studied literature, grammar and other subjects, he tried his best to attain devotion to Krishna, following the advice "sa vidya tan-matir yaya" ("education is meant to awaken one's consciousness about the Lord"; Srimad Bhavagatam). A jiva soul attains taste for Srimad Bhagavatam as the result of great fortune. Srimad Bhagavatam is the crest-jewel among all scriptures that exist in the world. It is said in its second verse of the first canto that Bhagavatam contains the highest religion completely devoid of any deceit – the religion that is attainable by the sadhus who have no envy. The genuine substance that destroys the three-fold miseries and bestows the highest auspiciousness can be found in this Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam was created by the great sage Sri Narayan. If there is Srimad Bhagavatam in the world, what is the need for any other scripture? The Supreme Lord willingly becomes confined within the hearts of those who want to hear this Srimad Bhagavatam.

'This greatly fortunate brahman who resided in Varaha-nagar started studying Srimad Bhagavatam at a very young age (when he was a teenager). There is no doubt that he studied Bhagavatam from pure devotees because the Lord of our beings, Praneswar Gaurachandra, was extremely pleased with his explanation of Bhagavatam and thereafter named him Sri Bhagavata Acharya. It is easy to understand the quality of the scholar whom Mahaprabhu would give such a position by calling them Bhagavata Acharya. When Mahaprabhu was present in His Nabadwip pastimes, there was a renowned professor in Vidyanagar who was expert in all knowledge. His name was Devananda Pandit, and he was famous as an acharya of Srimad Bhagavatam. Everyone in Nabadwip would come to Vidyanagar to hear his lectures on Bhagavatam. Devananda Pandit was famously called an acharya (great teacher) of commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam even before Sriman Mahaprabhu's birth. Being a teacher Himself and a preacher of devotion, Mahaprabhu was extremely unhappy when He heard Devananda's lectures and nondevotional interpretations. A long time later, Devananda was converted to the pure devotional line by the mercy of Sri Vakreshwar Pandit. Learning later about the genuine meaning of Srimad Bhagavatam, he pleased my Mahaprabhu with his commentary on Bhagavatam.

Mahaprabhu, who would find faults with Nabadwip scholars' interpretation of Bhagavatam and taught the proper meaning of Bhagavatam to various scholars who came from other places – that Mahaprabhu bestowed upon Raghunath the title Bhagavata Acharya after hearing his explanation of Bhagavatam. Based on that, it can be concluded that according to the conception "vidya bhagavatavadhi" ("Bhagavatam is the utmost limit of knowledge"), there was no spiitual scholar at that time who could compare with Bhagavata Acharya.

'In Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata (3.5.109–121), Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote about how Sri Bhagavata Acharya received Mahaprabhu's boundless mercy:

'"So, Sri Gauranga Hari spent several days in Panihati, bestowing His mercy on the entire village. After that, the Lord came to the house of an extremely fortune brahman in Varaha-nagar. The brahman was highly learned in Srimad Bhagavatam, so upon seeing the Lord, he began to recite the holy scripture. Hearing his recitation filled with devotion to the Lord (bhakti-yoga), Lord Gaurachandra Narayan became overwhelmed. Sri Gauranga Ray kept saying, 'Speak on! Speak on!' Overwhelmed, He always shouted and roared for joy, hearing the brahman's recital. Immersed in great happiness, the brahman read on, and the Lord danced, losing all external consciousness. As the Lord heard verses glorifying devotion, He kept fainting and falling on the ground again and again. This is how the Lord manifests divine love. The sight of Him fainting frightened everyone. The Lord, an ocean of qualities, continued listening to Bhagavatam and danced in this way for nine hours through the night. Eventually, He regained external consciousness and embraced the brahman with satisfaction. The Lord said, 'I have never heard such recitation of Bhagavatam from anyone's mouth! From now on, your name will be Bhagavat Acharya ("the teacher of Bhagavatam"). You have no duty other than this.' Hearing the Lord's befitting title for the brahman, everyone loudly chanted, 'Hari! Hari!'"

'After bestowing His mercy onto Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatan in the village of Ramkeli, Sri Mahaprabhu came to Sripat Santipur on the bank of the Ganges and spent there a few days. At that time, Sachi Devi came there, too; she cooked and fed the Lord during those few days. The twelfth day of the bright fortnight (sukla-dvadasi) in the month of Phalgun is the day when Sri Madhavendra Puri is worshipped. After the great festival arranged on that day, the Lord went to Srivas Pandit's house in Kumarhatta and spent there a few days. After that, He spent a few days Sri Raghav Pandit's house in Panihati and then arrived at Sri Varaha-nagar during the dark lunar fortnight (krsna-paksa) in the month of Phalgun. There, together with Sri Nityananda Prabhu and a few other devotees, the Lord stayed at the house of the great devotee Sri Bhagavata Acharya before travelling to Nilachal (Sri Puri Dham)....

'If we consider the associates of Krishna and Gaura, it is discerned that Sri Radhika's sakhi Shyama Manjari is Sri Bhagavat Acharya in the pastimes of Gaura. In the pastimes of Krishna, Shyama Manjari would sing about Krishna (i.e. the pastimes of Shyama) for Sri Radha-Krishna. Becoming Sri Bhagavat Acharya in Gaura's pastimes, he recited Srimad Bhagavatam for Gauranga, fulfilling his service. Sri Radha had bestowed this service upon him in Krishna's pastimes. In Gaura's pastimes, Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami took him as part of his own branch and bestowed upon him a suitable service to Sri Gauranga. The speciality of his service was such that when Sri Gauranga came with His associates to his kunja, he began to perform his eternal service of reciting Srimad Bhagavatam instead of serving the Lord by offering Him water (to wash His feet) and other paraphernalia. Sakhis' duty is the service given to them by Sri Radha – this principle was demonstrated in this pastime.'

'O brothers, residents of the great city of Kolkata! You are fortunate. You are living in a place that can be considered part of the Varaha-nagar village. Wherever Gaura performed His pastimes, all those places are none other than Sri Vrindavan. The seva-bhumi (land of service) of Sri Gauranga's greatest intimate associate Bhagavata Acharya is a highly adorable place. Make your hearts firm and come in touch with the darshan of this Varaha-nagar. O devotees residing in Kolkata! When will we all together become immersed in Krishna-kirtan at the transcendental kunja of Shyama Manjari? Our misfortune is that we leave aside this heaven and roam in search of heaven all over the country and abroad. Why do we forget the words of Sri Narottam Das Thakur Mahasay? He wrote:

'"Those who know this Gaura Mandal as a transcendental wish-fulfilling gem reside in Vrajapur."

'O brothers! The meaning of these words is oceanic! Please consider it attentively. Whether it is manifest or unmanifest, Vrajapuri is a holy abode of eternal pastimes. When Krishna became Gauranga, He came with His own abode, bringing it to Gaura-desh. Sachinandan Krishna performed His pastimes together with devotees in various places according to the devotees' internal divine moods – all those places are parts of Vraja (in other words, they are places of the Lord's pastimes). All are transcendental. Gaura Mandal is not one location: it is manifest externally as various places. The places where the Lord performed pastimes in His youth are situated on the 114.6 miles, or 184.5 km, (sola-krosh) of Nabadwip. Vrindavan, which is situated in Vraja, is also, inseparably, Nabadwip, situated on the nine islands. In the middle of Nabadwip is Sri Gokula Mayapur. Sri Gauranga accepted the service of each sakhi in their various kunjas on this land; therefore, Sri Varaha-nagar is also part of Gaura Mandal as service to Radha-Krishna, who manifest Themselves as Sri Gauranga, is going on there in the kunja of Shyama Manjari.

'We have revealed to you this very hidden secret. We hope that upon learning about this, Vaishnavs residing in Kolkata will show some transcendental mood. We are servants of their intrinsic divine perfection (svabhava-siddha). If we can get to know their mood, we can reveal to them some further hidden secrets about this matter.

'It is very rare to find Srimad Bhagavata Acharya's holy book Krishna-prema Tarangini, composed in Sanskrit. The copy that we have is full of mistakes, and in some places the meaning is not intelligible. If some great soul has another copy, please let us know; we can purchase it from them. We humbly pray that Vaishnavs may bestow their merciful glance on us upon hearing about this matter.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 6]

Lost and Languid Souls
"If you can come to stay in your own house, you will get supreme benefit. But where is your own house? We are all sons of nectar, we are all sons of God. The problem is that we have forgotten our family, that is why we become bound by illusory environment time and time again."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Kali-ghora-timire
‘The people of this world are swallowed by the dismal darkness of Kali. Religion and pious deeds are now pushed far away. But Providence has brought an unprecedented touchstone, the greatly merciful Lord Gora.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 7]

‘Make Teachings of Sri Guru Non-Different from Your Heart’
"It is said that ekadasi is the mother of devotion (bhakati-janani), and ekadasi days are the days of the Lord (Madhava-tithi). We observe such days with great care. Whatever you do, you must do it for the service of the Lord."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Yadi gaura na ha’ta
‘If Gaura had not come, what would have happened? How would we have lived? Who would have revealed to the world Radha’s glory and the acme of Her ecstatic divine love?’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 8]

Price of Independence
"‘Everything happens by the will of the Lord.’ We must always remember this. Birth, death, old age and disease are there, that is why we suffer mentally. And the reason why we suffer in all these different ways is because we have forgotten the Lord."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Bimala hema-jini
‘His figure defeats pure gold! Various flower garlands adorn Him, highlighting His beauty, and in His ecstatic thrill, the hairs on His body standing erect defeat the beautiful stamens of kadamba flowers! His body is covered with drops of perspiration.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 9]

"Come Back to Your Home"
"What is the goal of life? How to attain it? The goal of life is devotion to the Lord and to return to the Lord. We must go to the place where we all come from. What must you do to get there?"

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Ha ha kabe gaura-nitai
‘O when will the two brothers, Gaura and Nitai, shower abundant mercy on this fallen soul and let me see Them? By Their mercy, I will see the beauty of Vraja in Nabadwip Dham. I will greedily behold the charming, joyous grove Sukhada Kunja.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 10]

Fighting Misconceptions
"These are their rules – who taught them such rules? In which scripture does it say to be like that? I am telling what is written in Hari-bhakti-vilas – this is the scripture that contains all the rules and regulations."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Bhaire! bhaja gorachandera charana
‘Brother! Worship Gorachand’s holy feet. No one in these three worlds is as merciful as He (He is a worshippable personification of mercy). Gora is a great saviour of the fallen.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 11]

Goloka at Your Home
"Goloka Vrindavan can be right at your home if you can turn your home into a temple and turn your family into a family of Krishna. In this world, all people live at leisure: they sleep till eight, and when they wake up, they have some tea with milk, brush their teeth and do all the other things while the Lord stays as He is. If you live like this, you will not get any result."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Kabe aha gauranga baliya
‘When will I chant, "O Gauranga!" and stop worrying about eating, sleeping and this body, becoming annoyed with it all? Meeting any Vaishnavs, I will fall at their feet, considering them my dearmost friends. Vaishnav Thakur will then show me Prabhu’s kirtan, accepting me as his servant.’

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.'

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 12]

Ekadasi: Devotional Practice
"Ekadasi is prescribed in the scriptures, so all of us must fast on this day. I have told you about the gist of ekadasi. We must observe it following this conception. It is necessary to practise Krishna consciousness taking shelter at the lotus feet of a bona fide guru and follow all rules and regulations properly and strictly."

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: E mana! gauranga bine nahi ara
‘O mind! There is no other incarnation of the Lord like that of Gauranga. Will what has happened ever happen again? Will there be anybody who will preach about this kind of divine love? Calling out and shouting, He ran around singing to the sounds of drums and karatals. Seeing this, even Yamaraj felt scared and quickly shut his door.’

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.'

In honour of Sri Ramanuja Acharya:

• Service: Faith and Surrender
"Gurudev told the story of Dhanur Das and his wife, Ramanuja Acharya's disciples, and how they maintained their family life..."

• How to See the Guru: Chastity
"Ramanuja Acharya heard there was a Guru in Alwar (South India). He came to that Guru and asked, 'You know one mantra that can give liberation. I want to get this mantra...'"

• Odds and Ends: Ramanuja Acharya's bed
"One time Ramanuja Acharya he went to Tirupati and stayed one month at one ashram there. He had a good servitor called Govinda who always served him..."

In honour of Sripad Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj:

Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj remembers:

When I got sannyas, Sripad Bon Maharaj was present there, as well as many others also. Sripad Bon Maharaj remarked, "Prabhupad has got a high satisfaction by giving you sannyas. We have never seen so much satisfaction in him at the occasion of any other sannyasi. He is highly satisfied with conferring sannyas to you."

....When Sripad Bon Maharaj returned from England, he put so many disturbing questions to our Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad), "What do you know about that country? They are so brave, so gorgeous! Staying here, we cannot have any proper estimation of the civilisation in London at present. We are all ignorant. If we are to preach in London or Europe, we will have to be trained in a different way!" That was his advice to our Guru Maharaj, and Guru Maharaj, being pressed, rather attacked by his own disciple in such a way, withdrew himself by saying, "This is not our way of thinking. Our Guru Maharaj, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, did not even know how to sign his name, but we think that all the scholarship, wealth, everything is there in a nail of his toe." Guru Maharaj represented himself in a mild and humble way, but there was also professor Sanyal present there, and he came out like a tiger at our Bon Maharaj, "Have you lost all you have got from Guru Maharaj?! You are bold enough to talk in such a boisterous way? Have you forgotten how to behave with your Divine Master?" He was furious; Bon Maharaj had to check himself. Anyhow, Prabhupad said about him, "Bon Maharaj went to preach in my first year in England and in my second year in England." Prabhupad had gone through it using Bon Maharaj.

So, when I heard that Sripad Bon Maharaj had returned from Europe and put forth so many arguments of the Western persons saying that they could not be answered, I wanted to hear what those questions were that could not be answered. He reluctantly spoke about the arguments he had had to face there, and I began to answer them one by one. Then, when Sripad Bon Maharaj could not say anything more, Srila Swami Maharaj [Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj], who was present at that round table meeting, said, "Here, Europe is defeated by Asia!"

* * *

...At that time, all the preachers had been taken back from the compass of the country and were concentrated to work in Kolkata—they used to have to go door to door collecting bhiksa (alms, donations). Sripad Bon Maharaj's party, he and one or two brahmacharis, went to some part of Kolkata for collection. Generally, seeing some gentleman standing by, one of the members of the party would run up to him and say something like, "We come from Gaudiya Math, we want to make some collection. Dear sir, you are a devoted person of this locality, please make some contribution." So, one time, Bon Maharaj asked some gentleman to give him some addresses of good benevolent gentlemen whom they could approach to get some money for their purpose. The gentleman showed Bon Maharaj the way saying, "Just go to that house, you will find the right person there." Bon Maharaj went there in good faith. When he knocked on the door, the door was open. A lady came out. Seeing him, she said, "Oh, you are a sadhu! What do you want from me?" The gentleman who had directed Bon Maharaj there, was laughing behind him—the lady was a prostitute. Bon Maharaj was perplexed—it was a lady. Anyhow, he still gave her the letter of invitation saying, "We have got such and such festival, we want you to come and we want to ask you for some contribution." I do not know if the lady had given him anything or not, but all the people around were laughing. After that, Bon Maharaj came back to Prabhupad and said, "Prabhupad, I will not go for any collection again." Prabhupad asked him, "Why? What has happened?" Bon Maharaj related the incident saying that some rogues had guided him to a prostitute's house. After that, Prabhupad delivered a lecture: "There are many of you who have left their own property, but still I send you out for collection. Do you think that I am doing wrong? I am not. The visayi (materialists) always want to entrap us within their material life, but we must learn to utilise everything and anything in the service of Krishna, then only are we saved; otherwise, if we leave, give everything away, all this visaya (material elements) will be left there and as soon as it gets any chance, it will come to bite me. So, whatever comes to us, we should deal with everything in such a way that rather, 'Whatever I shall come across, it will give me some impression to remember Krishna—everything should utilise me for a particular service to Krishna.' If left there, they will be enemies, but they should all be turned into friends. They will help me, remind me, excite me in the service of Krishna. We must have this kind of adjustment in this world. So, nothing should be left off. 'Nirbandhah Krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam uchyate: when one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Krishna, one is rightly situated above possessiveness.'"

8 FEBRUARY 2021 [NRISINGHA PALLI | PART 13]

Stay Connected
"When you worship the Ganges, you worship her with the Ganges water. When you give five rupees to the Lord, you are giving the Lord’s money to the Lord. He is the owner of everything in this world, so you must give everything to Him. Always live like this, and always try to come to the temple."

• GOLDEN REFLECTIONS •

FOREWORD
'Home is there where the environment will take care of us, our fortune, and our comfort, independent of our consideration. The affectionate paraphernalia there will help us very affectionately and lovingly. So we should make good use of this opportunity to go back to God, back to home, our sweet, sweet home.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Gaya gora madhura svare
‘Gora sings sweetly: "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare." Whether you live at home or in a forest, always call out to the Supreme Lord. In happiness and in sadness, do not forget it: loudly chant the Lord’s Names.’

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.'

All Glory to Sri Sri Guru Gauranga

Disappearance Festival of Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa
Parivrajakacharya-varya Ashtottara-sata-sri
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

gurvvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam
chintyachintya-samasta-veda-nipunam sri-rupa-panthanugam
govindabhidham ujjvalam vara-tanum bhakty anvitam-sundaram
vande visva-gurun cha divya-bhagavat-premno hi bija-pradam

I offer my obeisance to him who perfectly fulfils his gurudev’s most cherished desires; who is fully adorned with the blessings of his gurudev’s associates; who is expert in all conceivable and inconceivable aspects of Vedic knowledge; who is a pre-eminent follower of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu’s line; who is known as ‘Govinda’ (Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj); whose beautiful, effulgent, exalted form is suffused with pure devotion; who is the guru of the entire universe; and who is the giver of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord.

Dear Devotees, Vaishnavs, and Well-Wishers,

Bowing down at your holy feet, we would like to extend a humble and earnest invitation to your holy selves in eternal memory of our worshippable Sri Gurupadpadma, Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, to join the observance of the divine disappearance day of the supremely worshippable Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Sri Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, which manifests this year on 30 March 2026 (Monday).

His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj has many times instructed on how to hold special programmes and taught it many times by his own example. Usually such programmes consist of: kirtans, lecture or reading of scriptures, arati, pushpanjali (offering of flowers to a photograph), and prasad-seva (cooking a special offering, offering it at the altar or to a photograph, and distributing it affectionately to devotees).

We hope all devotees find an opportunity to observe this holy day for the satisfaction of Sri Gurupadpadma, keeping the divine Guidance on their heads: "Always sit amidst fire blazing on all four sides. This fire is Hari-katha, kirtan, service to the Lord, and service to the guru. You must progress in your practising life keeping the sacrificial fire of your service ablaze."

Your aspiring servants,
On behalf of SCSMathInternational.com

10 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | NOON | PART 1]

Service Outlet
"On the one hand, the guru is the Lord Himself; on the other hand, he is also a dearmost associate of the Lord. Therefore, service to Vaishnavs is great fortune – not everyone gets this kind of fortune because Vaishnavs do not come to everyone’s house..."

• GOLDEN REFLECTIONS •

(1) EARLIER DAYS
'After the breakup of the Gaudiya Math Srila Guru Maharaj was not very enthusiastic to preach. He did not want to make another mission and therefore went alone to Vrindavan. The devotees then lost track of him, but all Srila Guru Maharaj’s Godbrothers were very enthusiastic to take him preaching, so they repeatedly searched in many places to try to locate him. Finally some Godbrothers discovered Srila Guru Maharaj in Nabadwip...'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Gaya gorachanda jivera tare
‘Gorachand sings for all souls: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. May your tongue just once pronounce loudly and with love, “O Son of Nanda! O Life of Yasoda! O Sri Radha-Raman!”’

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 Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj:

His Divine Grace Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

"When Kunja Babu [later, Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj] came to meet Srila Prabhupad, Srila Prabhupad could recognise that this young man would be able to help him a great deal. Our Guru Maharaj's nature was like that of a philosopher—he did not like to mix with the public, but Kunja Babu filled that side as he could mix with public and bring persons to Srila Prabhupad, enabling thus Srila Prabhupad to speak about the sastra. Srila Prabhupad wanted to speak about Mahaprabhu, but his temperament was such that he did not like to become involved with inviting people and taking responsibility for looking after them or their accommodation, feeding, etc. So, when Kunja Babu joined, he took up that responsibility. Srila Prabhupad got educated society ready to hear his speech about Mahaprabhu, and his style of speaking was a little philosophical, so he preferred educated society as his listeners. Kunja Babu did that service—he took the trouble of inviting, accommodating, and feeding the public. All these troublesome burdens were taken on by Kunja Babu.

"Gaudiya Mission had gradually grown from this combination—the material help of Kunja Babu and the spiritual work of Srila Prabhupad. They were the father and the mother of the mission, the cofounders of Gaudiya Math. The practical, material side of the service was done by Kunja Babu. Srila Prabhupad once said in Benares (I heard it directly from his mouth), 'I only want a good audience, and Kunja Babu has done that service to me the best. Amongst all my disciples, Kunja Babu has served me the best by bringing to me a good audience. I only want a good audience, nothing else, in this world, and in that direction, Kunja Babu has helped me greatly.'

"In the end, Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's order was to form a governing body of ten or twelve, and Kunja Babu had to manage as long as he lived. 'Kunja Babu's intelligence excells that of all,' this was told about him. We took it as Kunja Babu was the manager during Prabhupad's lifetime, but he was actually managing the whole institution, so he should be respected even though he was a grihastha and we were sannyasis. Later, many complaints were heard against him, but Srila Prabhupad had told us that Kunja Babu had to manage as long as he lived and that he should be respected. Srila Prabhupad did not select anyone as his follower acharya, that is why there was eventually a difference of opinion amongst us. There were also many ambitious sannyasis who were eager to go on as acharyas themselves. There were generally two parties, one accepting Vasudev Prabhu as the acharya, and the other one accepting Kunja Babu..."

His Divine Grace Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj:

"Sri Bimala Prasad got initiation from Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj and later, when he took sannyas, he became known as Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. At some point, he promised that he would complete chanting one hundred crores Holy Names and after that start preaching Mahaprabhu's proper conception, but as he was chanting the Holy Name, one day Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Giridhari came in front of him and Srimati Radharani said, 'You must preach pure conception of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, the combined form of Radha-Krishna.' Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, 'I am alone, how will I preach?' After that so many great scholars (dig-pals) came to help him—our Param Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Prajnan Keshav Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Goswami Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Vichar Jajavar Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Kumud Shanta Maharaj and many others. This is how Prabhupad started preaching the proper conception in this world.

"In Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswat Thakur's time, the secretary of Chaitanya Math was a grihastha, his name is Kunja Bihari Prabhu (affectionately known as Kunja Babu), later he became Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj. Kunja Babu could not always stay at the temple, but he always served Chaitanya Math from his householder life. Moreover, when he would come to visit Chaitanya Math, to see Prabhupad, at that time almost all sannyasis would give him their full obeisance.

10 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | NOON | PART 2]

Do Not Waste This Human Life
"There are many great buildings in this world, but there is no other place in this entire world that could compare to this land, Bharata-bhumi. The Lord Himself came to this land many times. There is still so much left – we will have to go through so many more births; but by great fortune, we have got this human birth now…"

• GOLDEN REFLECTIONS •

(2) BEHIND THE SCREEN
'I feel that everything can come to us when there is necessity in our service life. What is necessary for us is to keep ourselves in a clean devotional mood and position of service, then everything will come to us. Actually one moment can give us our full wealth, and also one inauspicious moment can give us our full destruction. I have seen this in my life. One second, if it comes in a bad way can destroy everything we have, and one second coming in a good way can give us everything.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Kabe gaura-vane
‘When will I leave all bodily pleasures and cry, "O Radha! O Krishna!", roaming the places of Gaura’s pastimes on the banks of the Ganges, at the foot of various sal trees?’

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.'

10 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | NOON | PART 3]

Eternal Oblivion
"It is very important that we have got this human birth, but what should we do in this birth? Everyone eats, everyone sleeps, everyone fears, and everyone is busy producing children. Nobody prohibits you to do this, you can have a family, but do not become an animal."

10 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | NOON | PART 4]

Happy Life
"You make a fancy room in a big house for yourself, you marble the floors, do everything, but if there is no peace in that room, you cannot call it home. Material life is also like that: if there is no genuine service to the Lord in your life, if there is no practice of Krishna consciousness, you cannot call it a happy life."

• GOLDEN REFLECTIONS •

(3) STEP BY STEP
'There are many devotees—and many different natures. As an example you can see in our own Sri Guru-varga that Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur has one kind of nature, Srila Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj has another kind of nature, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur’s nature is of another type, and Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj’s nature is yet another. But they are all siddha-mahapurusas—perfected souls. Also Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj has another type of nature, and our Srila Guru Maharaj yet another. So who are you to follow? You cannot follow the activities of anybody, but it will be good for your practitioner’s life if only you take the guidelines from your Gurudeva and do not try to imitate anyone.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: Ke yabi ke yabi re
‘Brother, who is coming? Who is coming to cross this ocean of material existence? Lord Chaitanya descends in this blessed Kali-yuga! At the ghat of my Gauranga, there is a ferry-boat going upstream without any fee – everyone crosses just like 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.'

In honour of Lord Ramachandra's appearance:

Reading from Guidance 4
"I am writing here something comparing the pastimes of Ramachandra and the pastimes of Krsihna-chandra, as well as Nanda Maharaj and Vasudev's vatsalya-rasa..."
• Download / listen to the audio (5.3 Mb, 13 min | 2 April 2020)

Peculiarity of Lord's Pastimes
"I have read Ramayan, but I am telling you the gist point... There are many incarnations—Narayan, Ramachandra, Vamanadev, Balaram, and others, but Krishna is the full Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, Gaura-lila is even higher..."
• Download / listen to the audio (7.6 Mb, 18 min | 2 April 2020 | Class and Kirtan)

Niti and Priti
"It was Ramachandra's vijay utsav yesterday, and we would like to clarify some things about Rama-tattva and Krishna-tattva. In Rama-lila, rules and regulations are the highest, and love and affection go down, but this is not the highest ideal..."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 9 October 2019)

Laksman's Grudge
"Sita Devi was crying so much, and Laksman could not bear the thought of doing it, but because Ramachandra was his worshippable Lord and his elder brother, he had to do it—but Laksman could not forget the kind of pain he got at that time..."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 4 min | 9 October 2019)

Hanuman's Service Drive
"I will give you some example of Hanuman's love for Rama, of his desire to serve Rama. We can see how much Ramachandra loves Hanuman and how much Hanuman loves Him. It is necessary to have such service desire."
• Download / listen to the audio (2.3 Mb, 6 min | 2 March 2020)

Beauty of Lord's Incarnation
'When religion diminishes and irreligion comes into prominence, the Lord personally comes to this world, and when He cannot come, He sends somebody else. When the Lord comes, He assumes different forms. You must remember all incarnations by heart.'

Sevya and Sevak
'Why is Lord Krishna called sampurna-bhagavan (complete form of the Lord, or Supreme Personality of Godhead)? Because all five spiritual relationships are found in His pastimes, but you will not find this in the pastimes of Lord Rama.'

Dasarath's Morality
'In Krishna's pastimes, rules and moral obligations had no value because when you are bound by love to the Lord, you will not see any rules and regulations. The only rule and regulation is the service to the Lord.'

Love and Rupture
'The secret purpose of Rama-lila is to set an example of these moral principles. Wherever Sri Ramachandra performed His pastimes—be it in Ayodhya, in Lanka, Dandakaranya or when slaying demoness Tadaka—He never broke the moral etiquette. But in Krishna's pastimes, rules and regulations have no value; this is the peculiarity of His pastimes.'

• Sri Dasavatara Stotram | দশাবতারস্তোত্রম্
'To fulfil the wish of great sages, You mercifully fight a battle, pleasing everyone with the tribute of Ravan's ten heads! O Kesava who assumes the form of Lord Rama! Glory to You, O Lord of the universe, O Hari!'

• GOLDEN REFLECTIONS •

(4) THE SOLUTION IN NUTSHELL
'You joined in the Krishna consciousness movement in the last chapter of Srila Guru Maharaj’s Pastimes, therefore you did not hear actually three fourths, but what you heard was the last chapter, the final chapter. Before reading other lessons if you read the final lesson, that can sometimes be very harmful to digest.'

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 the forthcoming disappearance day of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

Gurudev's Early Days at the Temple
'Actually, day by day our time is going. Gurudev has left his body here... He told us many things about his pastimes and his vision... You know that many things happened when Gurudev joined this mission. Gurudev spoke about it many times.'

Gurudev's Love for the Temple
'Gurudev always thought about his temple from his young age when he joined the temple. He also protected his temple, fighting so much. So many things happened. Gurudev loved his temple and personally handled so many things.'

Gurudev's Love and Affection
'Gurudev told us many things about service and service decision. He always thought about devotees and about how to give them relief. He showed very much patience and tolerance in his life. And I saw how much love and affection he had for his godbrothers. That love and affection were incomparable.'

Our Desperate Hope
'Our only bad fortune is that Gurudev has left... But his mercy is above us. We must follow his line, follow his instruction, then his mercy will easily come to us. That is our hope. Gurudev told me many times that it is necessary to be a sincere seeker and it is necessary to have chastity. Everybody is a sincere seeker, but it is very rare to see chastity in anyone.'

Our Hopeful Determination
'We have done many things wrong, it is not like we are washed Tulasi leaves – all of us have some bad qualities. So, what hope is there for us? We follow the will and the order of our gurudev, and we must have desire and determination to serve gurudev. This is our only hope.'

Festival: Vision and Focus
"Gurudev's disappearance festival means Vaishnav seva. Vaishnav is the main focus for us. Appearance and disappearance look different, but following Vaishnavs' vision we think that on these two tithis Gurudev always takes worships from us."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.8 Mb, 5 min)

Service in Separation
"If you follow your Guru's instruction, if you fulfil his desire, even after his disappearance, if you always think what will make him happy, then you will get his association, you will feel joy..."
• Download / listen to the audio (5 Mb, 13 min)

Sleeping Habit
"To maintain the brahmacharya life, you must wake up for mangal arati—then your sannyas, your brahmacharya will last longer... If at your young age you sleep for 10-12 hours, it is very bad for your future."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.6 Mb, 5 min)

Spare Yourself
"Computer eats your brain. Gurudev told this to me. Devotees also want to engage me in computers, but I do not want to. Sometimes they give me a smartphone, but they do not understand why I do not take it."
• Download / listen to the audio (1.1 Mb, 3 min)

• THE DIVINE SERVITOR •

THE GLORIOUS ADVENT OF THE PURE DEVOTEE
'Today is the 62nd Anniversary of the Holy Appearance Day of Om Vishnupad Astottara-sata-sri Srimad Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj. On this most holy of holy days I beg to offer my prostrate obeisances unto his lotus feet, unto the lotus feet of his illustrious Sri Gurudev, and all their associates. As is well known, Srila Govinda Maharaj was chosen by Srila Guru Maharaj long before his disappearance as his Successor-Acharya-President for his Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math of Nabadwip, Nadia, West Bengal, with its branches all over the world...'

A BORN PRECEPTOR
'I had to change my attitude and approach towards him. Such qualities as he displayed cannot be manifest in anyone without sadhana of a previous life or the special krpa of a siddha guru. At that time my vision changed and from then onwards I saw him as the embodiment of service to his beloved Guru Maharaj.'

THE SPIRITUAL SUCCESSION OF SRI CHAITANYA SARASWAT MATH
'Srila Guru Maharaj—acclaimed by one and all as the "Maker of Gurus"—has presented us with his most precious gem in the personage of Srila Govinda Maharaj. In Srila Guru Maharaj's own words, we say, "May we thank our lucky stars!"'

THE DIVINE ACCOUNT
'We have received everything, but now it is necessary to digest it properly. We have received much instruction and many books from both Srila Swami Maharaj and Srila Guru Maharaj, and we have heard many valuable teachings from them. We are observing their associates now living in this world: they are present in this world and we are hearing from them and are trying to practise Krishna consciousness as much as possible. We are trying to a lesser or greater degree; still, no doubt, our attempt is lacking. It is always necessary to have more and more attachment with consciousness—full Krishna consciousness.'

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 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)

In honour of the forthcoming disappearance day of Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

Separation Day
"Our supreme Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj accepted this day as the day to leave this world for his eternal abode, and he has left us, fallen souls, here to chant his glories..."
• Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 9 min | Bengali)

Make Service Your Goal, Means, and Sustenance
"Sacrificing his own life, forgetting his own happiness and comfort, Gurudev would go door to door preaching the message of Mahaprabhu: be merciful to the souls, chant the Holy Name, and serve the Vaishnavs. Besides this, there is no other religion."
• Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 9 min | Bengali)

Overpowered by Service
"You may have everything, but if you do not have mercy of your Guru, then you have nothing. Gurudev gave you all his blessings, and if we can serve him, we will get supreme benefit. You must always live remembering Gurudev's words."
• Download / listen to the audio (4.1 Mb, 12 min | Bengali)

'I Cannot Forget This Day'
'I try to forget that day, and I try to keep myself happy by serving him. The day when Gurudev left is a very bad day in my life. Those who do not have a relationship with their gurudev cannot understand this. They can never understand the pain of losing one's guru...'

Who Is Gurudev?
'Gurudev is not a man of this world – he is not an ordinary man. When we think of Gurudev as of an ordinary man, we commit an offence, we make a mistake. Gurudev is the Lord Himself. The Lord personally comes in the form of guru to bestow His mercy upon us.'

The Worst Day
"Today, my Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's tenth disappearance festival, tirobhav-tithi. I had never thought that this day when Gurudev leaves would come in my life one day. I lost the dearest personality in my life on this day..."

Poisonous Trees Within and Without
'Whenever Gurudev chastised me, I did not mind it. But I cannot tolerate those who disrespected Gurudev, and I have not mixed with them to this day. Many people say, "Oh, why are you not going to Nabadwip?" You can judge it yourselves.'

Undistorted Line
'Everybody can be what they like, but if somebody calls Gurudev a liar, if somebody says bad things about Gurudev, if they leave the temple and then somebody brings them back, how can I talk to them? How can I even see their faces? I would rather stay in a jungle or under some tree; it is much better.'

Chaste Submission Is Key
'I think that this is the most important advice that we all must follow to a T. I have seen many devotees and many things happening during all these many years, and there is only one thing we really need. We may or may not know anything, we may or may not understand anything – it is not necessary to be scholars or to do anything big – the only thing we must remember is that we must practise spiritual life in submission to our gurudev.'

Busy Yourself with Service
'If you want to come, I am inviting everybody. At the same time, you must understand though that coming for a festival is not just an opportunity to take prasad – coming for a festival means coming to hear some Hari-katha and get some sadhu-sanga.'

Value of Chastity
'Do not get involved in any hodgepodge. We must have chastity and sincerity. Gurudev did not go to random places, and he never liked when anybody did that. This is the devotional line of our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math within the current of Sri Rupa-Saraswati.'

Plan Your Journey
'There are thousands of trains departing from the Howrah station, but we must get on the train that goes to Vrindavan – all the other trains will not take us there. Other trains will take us to Kashi, Prayag or some other place. Another thing is that even if you take the train to Vrindavan – under whose guidance will you stay there?'

Avoid Religious Hypocrisy
'It is greed that drives people to do so many atrocious things. We do not need to be part of that. We have come to practise Krishna consciousness. We are not dharma-dhvaji (pretenders who show off religion in a hypocritical way or use it for politics). We must live as Vaishnavs.'

Fight for Your Aspiration
'If Maya Devi does not let you go – you must keep trying, you must keep fighting. You must fight against Maya Devi, 'I must practise real spiritual life! I must come to this line!' To do that, you have to give up small things. If you want to get something great, you have to give up small matters.'

Guru's Care
'My Gurudev is always giving his blessing to me, even now. Even now he is helping me, he is looking at me from above. No matter what problems and difficulties come, he is always taking care of me. He takes care of everything in my life, that is why I do not have any problems.'

Learning the Ropes
'Gurudev chastised me many times, he taught me many times, many things, and every time I accepted what he taught me. He taught me everything, from cooking to doing worship, to how we must serve devotees. He taught me every single thing.'

Run behind the Lord
'You will be astonished to hear what happened about a week ago. One person approached me. The Lord sent him to me – I do not know, maybe it was Lord Brahma himself or Lord Siva, or maybe it was Lord Indra himself...'

Gurudev's Abundant Blessing
'Our Sri Gurupadpadma has given us so much blessing – he has made such wonderful arrangements for us all. What is there for us to be afraid of? We have taken shelter at his lotus feet, and if we can genuinely serve his holy lotus feet, then we have nothing to be afraid of.'

• THE DIVINE SERVITOR •

SURRENDER AND SERVE
'It is necessary to see what should be the one target in our lives, and that is service to Guru and Vaishnava. This is the main thing of value in our lives. To get a position or to get a chair is very easy. Anyone, anywhere, can make a chair for himself. But to receive mercy from Guru and Vaishnava is very difficult, although that is the wealth of our lives, and that is what we need for our practising life. Our only hope is that our Gurudev, his Godbrothers, and other Vaishnavas will not leave us. They are always giving us causeless mercy and we are able to maintain our spiritual lives with that.'

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.'

"Always engage yourself in Bhagavat-kirtan, in hearing and glorifying the Lord. Our Gurudev has left, so where can we find him now? If we read his books, we can get his association. When I leave, where will you get my association? I have books – if you read these books every day, you will be able to get your gurudev's darshan and you will be able to have his association.

"It was Mahaprabhu's order for all householder devotees that not a single day shall pass without chanting the Holy Name and without vaisnav-seva. How can you serve Vaishnavs when you are at home? If you read Vaishnavs' scriptures, this is also service to Vaishnavs. If you think about Vaishnavs and devotees, that is also service to Vaishnavs."

—Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj

Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Books

In honour of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

gurvvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam
chintyachintya-samasta-veda-nipunam sri-rupa-panthanugam
govindabhidham ujjvalam vara-tanum bhakty anvitam-sundaram
vande visva-gurun cha divya-bhagavat-premno hi bija-pradam

"I offer my obeisance to him who perfectly fulfils his gurudev’s most cherished desires; who is fully adorned with the blessings of his gurudev’s associates; who is expert in all conceivable and inconceivable aspects of Vedic knowledge; who is a pre-eminent follower of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu’s line; who is known as ‘Govinda’ (Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj); whose beautiful, effulgent, exalted form is suffused with pure devotion; who is the guru of the entire universe; and who is the giver of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord."

"Do Not Despair"
"You have come to see me. I am your friend, your master, or your everything, I can feel that you feel it. There are so many devotees from different countries here. Different countries means different languages, different cultures, different lifestyles, different food—everything is different; but our conception is one, and that is Krishna consciousness. We have been practising for a long time, then we must have some Krishna-conscious mentality and we can proceed with that to our goal, which is the life of a servitor."

The Pain of Broken Hearts
"We always remember Srimati Radharani, Her associates and other Vraja gopis, but we forget about Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasomati. It has come out of Radharani's mouth: 'We do not consider our heart's pain, but when we see Mother Yasoda's face and Mother Yasoda's situation without Your presence, our heart is breaking after breaking after breaking.'"

Declaration of Succession
Declaration of the Spiritual Succession of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj Successor Sevaite-President-Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

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.

Sri Samadhi Mandir Verses
A series of pages containing the verses that were selected to adorn the samadhi-mandir of His Divine Grace Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. May these pages please and nourish the Vaishnavs' hearts.

Prayers to Sri Gurupadpadma:

• SONG: Sri Guru Parampara
"All the Gurus in this succession are associates of Sri Gauranga. I pray for their remnants."

• SONG: Gurudev! krpa-bindu diya
"When I examine myself for qualifications, I find none. Your mercy is everything. If you are not merciful to me, then, crying, I will no longer maintain my life."

• SONG: Gurudev bada krpa kari
"When, O master, will you mercifully grant this servant the qualification to do this? Then my heart will become steadfast, I will tolerate everything, and I will serve the Lord sincerely."

• SONG: Samsara-davanala
"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, the ocean of goodness who assumes the form of a cloud of mercy to deliver the souls burning in the blazing fire of material existence."

• SONG: Thakura vaisnava-gana
"Narottam Das says, 'Seeing and hearing about my situation, I am stricken with fear. Please rescue me and keep me by your side.'"

• SONG: Nitai-pada kamala
"Always aspire for Nitai's feet. Narottam is very sad: 'O Nitai! Make me happy. Keep me beside your reddish feet.'"

• SONG: Emona durmati
"O Lord! I am very wicked-minded and have fallen into this material world, but You have sent a great soul, Your associate (to rescue me)."

• SONG: Ki jani ki bale
"I do not know by what force I have taken shelter within Your abode. Surely it is by Your mercy alone, for You are ever seeking the purification and deliverance of the fallen souls."

• SONG: Sri Rupa-manjari-pada
"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."

• SONG: Ye anila prema-dhana
"Where has Advaita Acharya gone? Where are my Svarup, Rupa, Sanatan? Where is my Raghunath? Where are the saviours of the fallen souls?"

Presented below is a collection of 51 recordings of Srila Govinda Maharaj chanting kirtans in various years between 1988 and 2009. May this nectar of Sri Hari-Kirtan from the holy lotus mouth of His Divine Grace nourish and massage the hearts of the entire Devotional Family of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

THE LINK TO THE FILES—for download or listening online (not all mobile devices may support online playback, but the files can be downloaded).
DOWNLOAD ALL FILES (.zip) (134 Mb)—for listening offline and comfortable upload to mobile devices.

CONTENTS:

10 FEBRUARY 2021 [TARAKESWAR | EVENING | PART 1]

Always Practise Devotion
"It is necessary to preach about the holy abode and come for the parikrama of Nabadwip Dham. The scriptures say that every devotee must practise the nine kinds of devotion. You must always practise sravanam and kirtanam."

• THE DIVINE SERVITOR •

THE LIVING LIFE
'If we can engage proper intelligence for the service of the Lord then we must certainly be the gainer. Proper intelligence is necessary, and that comes with the association of the devotees. Our mind is always going this way, that way and every way, but when we get the association of the devotees we shall automatically and always talk about Krishna consciousness.'

• SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI •

SRIMAN MAHAPRABHU VANDANA: ‘Hari’ ba’le modera gaura elo
‘My Gaura has come taking the Name of the Lord: "Hari! Hari!" Dazed by divine love, Gauranga-chand has come to Godrum together with Nitai and Advaita. In a frenzy of sankirtan ecstasy, He liberally distributed the Holy Name at the Market of Holy Names. He came and flooded the whole world with divine love for the Lord.’

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.'