In honour of Srila Srivas Pandit:

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 Lord. 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)

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)

Prayers to Sri Vaishnav Thakur:

• SONG: Ei-bara karuna kara | এইবার করুণা কর
"O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. O saviour of the fallen, without you there is no one. In every birth I aspire for the dust of your feet."

• SONG: Ohe Vaisnava Thakura | (ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর
"O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant. Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after you."

• SONG: Ki-rupe paiba seva | কিরূপে পাইব সেবা
"I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"

• SONG: Dhana mora nityananda | ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ
"The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs' name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."

All Glory to Sri Sri Guru Gauranga

— · Invitation Letter · —

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

Dear respected Devotees, Friends and Well-Wishers,

We are offering obeisance at your holy lotus feet and on behalf of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj humbly extend a letter of encouragement to observe the disappearance day of our most worshippable and beloved Om Vishnupad Jagad Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, which manifests on 24 April (Saturday) this year, in every branch of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math throughout the world.

Considering the ongoing difficult situation all over the world, many temples, centres, and devotees are currently constrained in their capacity to host large programmes, however it is good if this festival can still be observed within each temple, centre and heart of devotees according to their capacity.

His Divine Grace 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 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."

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."

...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.'"

Prayers to Sri Vaishnav Thakur:

• SONG: Ei-bara karuna kara | এইবার করুণা কর
"O worshippable Vaisnava, be merciful to me this time. O saviour of the fallen, without you there is no one. In every birth I aspire for the dust of your feet."

• SONG: Ohe Vaisnava Thakura | (ওহে) বৈষ্ণব ঠাকুর
"O worshippable Vaishnav, ocean of grace, be merciful to this servant. Give me the shade of your feet and purify me. I clasp your feet. You can give Krishna, you have that power. Calling, 'Krishna!' 'Krishna!', I run after you."

• SONG: Ki-rupe paiba seva | কিরূপে পাইব সেবা
"I am so wicked, how will I ever get service? I do not have any attachment to Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! Prabhu, you see no fault in others, you are the saviour of the fallen. Please deliver Narottam this time!"

• SONG: Dhana mora nityananda | ধন মোর নিত্যানন্দ
"The feet dust of the Vaishnavs is where I sport and take bath, Vaishnavs' name is the water oblation. My mind is intently fixed upon the remnants of Vaishnavs, and I am elated hearing the name of Vaishnavs."

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