In honour of Srila Uddharan Das Thakur:

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur writes in his Anubhasya, "The Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (129) states that Uddharan Datta Thakur was formerly the cowherd boy of Vrindavana named Subahu. Uddharan Datta Thakur, previously known as Sri Uddharan Datta, was a resident of Saptagram, which is situated on the bank of the Sarasvati River near the Trisabigha railway station in the district of Hooghly.

"In Saptagrama there is still a temple with a six-armed Deity of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that was personally worshiped by Srila Uddharan Datta Thakur. On the right side of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a Deity of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, and on the left side is Gadadhara Prabhu. Uddharan Datta Thakur was the manager of the estate of a big zamindar in Naihati, about one and a half miles north of Katwa. The relics of this royal family are still visible near the Daiìhata station. Since Uddharan Datta Thakur was the manager of the estate, it was also known as Uddharan-pur. Uddharan Datta Thakur installed Nitai-Gaura Deities that were later brought to the house of the zamindar, which was known as Vanaoyaribada. Srila Uddharan Datta Thakur remained a householder throughout his life. His father's name was Srikara Datta, his mother's name was Bhadravati, and his son's name was Srinivasa Datta."

(From a purport to Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita,
by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad)

In honour of Srila Mahesh Pandit:

"Mahes Pandit, the seventh of the twelve gopals, was very liberal. In great love of Krishna he danced to the beating of a kettledrum like a madman."

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya, "The village of Mahes Pandit, which is known as Palapad, is situated in the district of Nadia within a forest about one mile south of the Chakadaha railway station. It is mentioned that Mahes Pandit joined the festival performed by Sri Nityananda Prabhu at Panihati. Narottam Das Thakur also joined in the festival, and Mahes Pandit saw him on that occasion. In the temple of Mahes Pandit there are Deities of Gaura-Nityananda, Sri Gopinath, Sri Madana-mohan and Radha-Govinda, as well as a salagrama-sila."

In honour of Srila Lochan Das Thakur:

About Srila Lochan Das Thakur
"We must pray to Vaishnav Thakur, 'Wherever you are, Prabhu, please bestow your mercy on this fallen and low soul so that I may live this life serving you.' Srila Lochan Das Thakur composed Sri Chaitanya-mangala that contains even more pastimes of the Lord than Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata..."
• Download / listen to the audio (5 Mb, 12 min | 2 February 2021 | Bengali)

Srila Lochan Das Thakur Mahasay
"Srila Lochan Das Thakur is a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu—he belonged to His line. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was born in Burdwan district and he was a disciple of Sri Narahari Thakur. The name of Srila Lochan Das Thakur's father is Sri Kamalakar Das, and his mother's name is Sri Sadanandi..."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 25 October 2020)

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

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

Composed by Srila Lochan Das Thakur:

• SONG: Akrodha paramananda | অক্রোধ পরমানন্দ
"The anger-less, prideless, supremely joyful Nityananda Ray wanders throughout the towns. Going from door to door to the homes of the lowly and fallen souls, He distributes the Hare Krsna mahamantra."

• SONG: Nitai gunamani amara | নিতাই গুণমণি আমার
"Nitai, the jewel of all good qualities, my Nitai, the jewel of all good qualities, brought a flood of divine love and inundated the earth. Lochan Das says, 'Anyone who did not serve Nitai knowingly committed suicide.'"

• SONG: Parama karuna | পরম করুণ পহুঁ দুই জন
"Nitai and Gaurachandra are the two most merciful Lords, the crest-jewels of all Avatars, the only source of joy. 'Fallen into samsara, I never aspired for Their feet. Now Yamaraj subjects me to my karma,' says Lochan Das."

• SONG: Ke yabi ke yabi bhai | কে যাবি কে যাবি ভাই
"The Lord's Names are the ferryboat, Sri Guru is the captain, and the outstretched arms in the sankirtan are the oars. All souls have been delivered by the winds of divine love, only Lochan Das has remained behind..."

In honour of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu:

• Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu
"I have no power to say what kind of devotion to his Guru Jiva Goswami had. Jiva Goswami's service cannot be compared to anyone's service. Whatever order he would get, he would place it on his head and do it all the time—his mind never went to any other place."
• Download / listen to the audio (8 Mb, 23 min | 2012)

• Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu: The All-Rounder
"Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu did everything alone—he cooked, did puja, cleaned the temple, brought water from the Yamuna, and also did personal service to his Guru. He was busy with his service from morning to night, and did everything alone."
• Download / listen to the audio (0.6 Mb, 2 min | 9 September 2011)

• Protected Journey
Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj explains the pranam-mantra of Srila Jiva Goswami in the book Dignity of the Divine Servitor: "I offer my full dandavats unto the lotus feet of Srila Jiva Goswami who is the protector of our spiritual life. He rescues us from the whole illusory environment..."

• Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhura Sochaka
A song composed by Srila Narahari Thakur in glorification of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu's life, character, and service. Bengali verses and English transliteration.

About Sri Jagadish Pandit:

Sri Jagadish Pandit
"Born in Guwahati, Assam, Sri Jagadish Pandit came to live in Nabadwip. Sri Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya lived together on the bank of the Gages near Sri Jagannath Misra's house, and Mahaprabhu would often come to visit them."
• Download / listen to the audio (4.5 Mb, 11 min | 24 January 2021)

"Jagadish Pandit was formerly a great dancer in Krishna-lila and was known as Chandrahasa. He belonged to the village of Yasada-gram, in the district of Nadia near the Chakadaha railway station. His father, the son of Bhatta Narayan, was named Kamalaksa. Both his father and mother were great devotees of Lord Visnu, and after their death, Jagadish, with his wife Duhkhini and brother Mahesa, left his birthplace and came to Sri Mayapur to live in the company of Jagannath Misra and other Vaisnavas. Lord Chaitanya asked Jagadish to go to Jagannath Puri to preach the Harinam sankirtan movement. After returning from Jagannath Puri, on the order of Lord Jagannath he established Deities of Jagannath in the village of Yasada-gram."

"Sri Jagadish is described in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (192) as follows: 'Sri Jagadish and Hiranya previously appeared as the wives of the yajnic brahmans of Vraja. The Lord asked for the grains they offered to Vishnu on the day of Ekadasi. Chandrahasa, the expert dancer and knower of the mellows of Vraja, has now appeared as Sri Jagadish Pandit.' Sri Nityananda Prabhu with His associates are the life and wealth of the most effulgent Sri Jagadish Pandit."

Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit—lived in Godrumadwip. Their house was some distance from the Lord's house. On the day of Ekadasi they arranged a large offering for the Lord. The injunction for fasting on Ekadasi is meant only for the living entities, but Lord Vishnu is beyond the jurisdiction of the rules and regulations that He has established. Since He is not bound to observe fast on Ekadasi, and since He alone is the enjoyer of all sacrificial offerings, all types of foodstuffs should be offered to Him on Ekadasi. On the day of Ekadasi the Vaisnavs give up all kinds of enjoyment and do not accept the injunction for honoring prasada as on other days, but Lord Sri Hari, the protector of the devotees, accepts the foodstuffs offered by His devotees on His day, Hari-vasara. Sri Gaura-Narayan also revealed His desire to eat those foodstuffs.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata)

In honour of Sriman Maharabhu's last day in Nabadwip:

In a lecture about Sriman Mahaprabhu's sannyas-lila, Srila Govinda Maharaj commented: "We have seen that Srila Guru Maharaj was always deeply intoxicated with Mahaprabhu’s sannyas-lila. He established as a rule in Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math that for the three days [after Mahaprabhu takes sannyas and leaves Nabadwip] the devotees will live very simply and eat only some rice and dalma (dal cooked with mixed vegetables)."

Heart-Breaking Decision
"Mahaprabhu's mother, Gadadhar, Brahmananda, Chandrasekhara, and Mukunda. Mahaprabhu told Nityananda Prabhu, 'Nobody except them knows about it.' Sri Sachi Mata cried so much and other devotees also tried to dissuade Mahaprabhu in so many ways..."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.1 Mb, 8 min)

Srila Lochan Das Thakur Mahasay
"Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur did not write in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata very clearly or broadly about the time prior to Sriman Mahaprabhu's taking sannyas, but in his Sri Chaitanya-mangal, Srila Lochan Das Thakur, for example, tells about the talk between Sriman Mahaprabhu and Vishnupriya Devi."
• Download / listen to the audio (3.7 Mb, 9 min | 25 October 2020)

Vishnupriya Devi's Sacrifice
"We must remember in our life the sacrifice that Vishnupriya Devi made. This life is not for enjoyment, this life is for service. We should learn from the sacrifice of Vishnupriya Devi..."

"If You Love Me..."
"Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, 'You think I am going to take sannyas and go far away from Nabadwip, but this is not so. You are always with Me. If you love Me, if you have any love and affection for Me, then always think about Krishna, always chant Hare Krishna and tell others to chant it.'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.4 Mb, 4 min | 11 October 2020)

The Pain of Broken Hearts
"We always remember Srimati Radharani, Her associates and other Vraja gopis, but we forget about Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasomati. It has come out of Radharani's mouth: 'We do not consider our heart's pain, but when we see Mother Yasoda's face and Mother Yasoda's situation without Your presence, our heart is breaking after breaking after breaking.' In Mahaprabhu's pastimes, we can see a similar situation."
• Download / listen to the audio (9.2 Mb, 36 min | 14 June 2007)

Ditching the World
"We have come here by a great fortune. Not everybody can come here. We must take the dust of this place, we must take prasad at this place. Do you see our condition? We must cry, 'When will material attachment be removed from my heart? When will that happen?'"
• Download / listen to the audio (5.2 Mb, 15 min | 29 January 2018 | Bengali)

According to solar calculation, it was on the day of Makara-sankranti, an auspicious conjunction of the stars, that Nimai Pandit went to Katwa to take sannyas, the renounced order of life. After this, He would become known as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Just before this, He told only a few of His friends, including Nityananda Prabhu, Gadadhara Pandit, Mukunda, and others, "The time when I will accept the robe of renunciation is very near."

Just a few days before this, an opposition party had been raised against Nimai Pandit. Those who believed that material nature is the highest principle, and that consciousness is a product of matter, began to abuse Nimai Pandit. He thought, "I came to deliver the lowest of men, but if they commit offenses against Me, there will be not hope for their upliftment." Suddenly, He said, "I came with that medicine which gives the greatest relief, but now I find that their disease is rapidly growing worse and seems beyond treatment. It will take its own course towards doom. The patients are committing offenses by abusing their doctor. They are making arrangements to insult Me. They take it that I am a family man—their nephew. They take Me as one of them. I came with the best medicine for the present degraded age, but now I find that they are plotting against Me. Now they are doomed. At least I have to show them that I am not one of them." He thought, "I shall leave family life and take sannyas and wander from village to village, town to town, preaching the Holy Name of Krishna." That was His decision, and within a few days He went to take sannyas at Katwa from Kesav Bharati Maharaj.

Just the day before He left to take sannyas, from the afternoon until the evening, there was a spontaneous gathering of devotees in the home of Nimai Pandit. Every year in Bengal, that day was celebrated as Laksmi-puja, worship of the goddess of fortune, when special cakes are prepared and distributed. Nimai, knowing that early the next morning He would leave Navadwip to take sannyas, attracted His followers in such a way that almost every leading devotee came to see Him that evening.

They came with flower garlands and many other offerings to be presented to the Lord. Nimai accepted their garlands and then placed them on the necks of the devotees who gave them. Only four of His most intimate devotees knew He was leaving; the ordinary devotees did not know this would be His last night in Navadwip. With His own hands He garlanded the necks of His devotees and appealed to them, "Always chant the name of Krishna. Under no condition should you give up this krsna-nama. And don't do anything else. While working, eating, sleeping or walking, day or night—in whatever you do—continuously take the name of Krishna. Always talk about Krishna—nothing else. If you have any real attraction for Me, then don't do anything without chanting the name of Krishna.

"Cultivate Krishna consciousness. Krishna is the origin of us all. He is our father; we have come from Him. The son who shows no gratitude towards the father is sure to be punished birth after birth. Always chant these names of the Lord:

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

No other religious principle is required. Chant Hare Krishna. This is not an ordinary mantra, but this is the maha-mantra, the greatest of all the great mantras, the very essence of all the mantras known to the world. Only take to this, always. No other prescription is to be followed.

"Remember your Lord, your home. This is a foreign land; you have nothing to aspire after here. Try always to go back home, back to Godhead." In this way, the Lord spoke, and all His devotees intuitively came because it was Nimai Pandit's last night in Navadwip.

Late at night, one devotee named Kholaveca Sridhara arrived. He used to make trade on the plantain tree and its fruit. He would sell the fruit, ripe or green, and the big leaves which are used as plates. Sometimes Nimai would pay him less for his fruits than what they were worth, and sometimes He would snatch the best fruits from him. Sridhara came to see Him late at night to offer Him a choice lau (calabash/bottle gourd). And Nimai thought, "I have spent almost My whole life snatching so many things from him, and now, on this last night he has brought this wonderful lau. I can't resist." He asked Sacidevi, "Mother, Sridhara has given me this lau. Please think of how it can be prepared." At bedtime, someone came with some milk. Nimai said, "Mother, with this milk and this lau, please prepare some sweet-rice." So Sacidevi prepared some lau sweet-rice: lau boiled with milk, rice and sugar.

Late at night, at about three o' clock in the morning, Nimai went away.

From Golden Volcano of Divine Love

About Sri Jagadish Pandit:

"Jagadish Pandit was formerly a great dancer in Krishna-lila and was known as Chandrahasa. He belonged to the village of Yasada-gram, in the district of Nadia near the Chakadaha railway station. His father, the son of Bhatta Narayan, was named Kamalaksa. Both his father and mother were great devotees of Lord Visnu, and after their death, Jagadish, with his wife Duhkhini and brother Mahesa, left his birthplace and came to Sri Mayapur to live in the company of Jagannath Misra and other Vaisnavas. Lord Chaitanya asked Jagadish to go to Jagannath Puri to preach the Harinam sankirtan movement. After returning from Jagannath Puri, on the order of Lord Jagannath he established Deities of Jagannath in the village of Yasada-gram."

"Sri Jagadish is described in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (192) as follows: 'Sri Jagadish and Hiranya previously appeared as the wives of the yajnic brahmans of Vraja. The Lord asked for the grains they offered to Vishnu on the day of Ekadasi. Chandrahasa, the expert dancer and knower of the mellows of Vraja, has now appeared as Sri Jagadish Pandit.' Sri Nityananda Prabhu with His associates are the life and wealth of the most effulgent Sri Jagadish Pandit."

Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit—lived in Godrumadwip. Their house was some distance from the Lord's house. On the day of Ekadasi they arranged a large offering for the Lord. The injunction for fasting on Ekadasi is meant only for the living entities, but Lord Vishnu is beyond the jurisdiction of the rules and regulations that He has established. Since He is not bound to observe fast on Ekadasi, and since He alone is the enjoyer of all sacrificial offerings, all types of foodstuffs should be offered to Him on Ekadasi. On the day of Ekadasi the Vaisnavs give up all kinds of enjoyment and do not accept the injunction for honoring prasada as on other days, but Lord Sri Hari, the protector of the devotees, accepts the foodstuffs offered by His devotees on His day, Hari-vasara. Sri Gaura-Narayan also revealed His desire to eat those foodstuffs.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata)

Today's events:

Clearing the Obstacles
"When Mahaprabhu left His family, do you know who came at that time? Kalanidra. Kalanidra came to the Lord and asked, 'Prabhu, I have come. Why did You call me? What is my duty?' Mahaprabhu told her, 'Now do your duty.'"
• Download / listen to the audio (1.5 Mb, 5 min | 12 December 2010)

Late at night, at about three o' clock in the morning, Nimai went away. He left Visnupriya Devi asleep in bed. His mother Sacidevi, sensing what was to come, was staying awake all night guarding the door. Nimai bowed down to her and went away. And like a stone figure, Mother Sacidevi sat there by the gate as Nimai left. She could not say anything, but was struck dumb.

The ordinary public was very much enraged, saying to Kesav Bharati, "We can't allow you, Swamiji, to give sannyas to this young boy. It is impossible! If you do, then we shall smash your ashram." Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began performing kirtan, chanting Hare Krishna and dancing madly. And the angry mob grew, sometimes creating a disturbance. In this way the whole day passed with no decision. The night passed in sankirtan.

From Golden Volcano of Divine Love

Today's events:

Will-O'-the-Wisp of Worldly Wishes
"If you give Maya chance, then Maya will attack you. As soon as you get a weak spot, Maya will attack you. It does not matter whether you are young or old. If you try to control your elements, you can control them from a young age."
• Download / listen to the audio (4.1 Mb, 10 min | 5 July 2020)

...The next day, Nimai's will prevailed, although there was still some opposition.

In this way, the sannyas of Nimai Pandit took place. What is the meaning of His sannyas?....

From Golden Volcano of Divine Love

"Passing through the tract of land known as Rada-des, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recited the following verse in ecstasy:

etam sa asthaya paratma-nistham
adhyasitam purvatamair mahadbhih
aham tarisyami duranta-param
tamo mukundanghri-nisevayaiva

"Avanti Brahman said, 'I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of nescience by being firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of Krishna. This was approved by the previous acharyas who were fixed in firm devotion to the Lord, Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'"

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.3.4-5)