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His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
19 December 2010

জয় রূপ সনাতন ভট্ট রঘুনাথ ।
শ্রীজীব গোপালভট্ট দাস রঘুনাথ ॥

jaya rupa sanatana bhatta raghunatha
sri-jiva gopala-bhatta dasa raghunatha

"All glory to Sri Rupa, Sanatan, Raghunath Bhatta, Sri Jiva, Gopal Bhatta, and Raghunath Das!"

এই ছয় গোসাঞি করি চরণ বন্দ ।
যাহা হৈতে বিঘ্ননাশ অভীষ্ট পূরণ ॥

ei chaya gosani kari charana vandana
jaha haite vighna-nasa abhista purana

"I offer my obeisance to these six goswamis. By doing so, all obstacles are destroyed and all desires are fulfilled."

Mahaprabhu asked Svarup Damodar and Ray Ramananda once about Srila Rupa Goswami, "How is it possible that such a small boy knows so much? How can he understand these things?" Svarup Damodar and Ray Ramananda answered, "By the mercy of the Lord, one can know everything. This mercy comes from above, it is a transcendental power."

যস্য প্রসাদাদ্ভগবৎ-প্রসাদো
যস্যাপ্রসাদান্ন গতিঃ কুতোঽপি ।
ধ্যায়ং স্তুবংস্তস্য যশস্ত্রিসন্ধ্যং
বন্দে গুরোঃ শ্রীচরণারবিন্দম্ ॥

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadat na gatih kuto 'pi
dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam

"I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, praising and meditating upon his glory at the three junctions of the day. By his grace, one gains the Lord's grace. Without his grace, one has no shelter anywhere."

(Sri Sri Gurvastakam, 8)

Mahaprabhu said, "Do not become crazy, go back to your home!" Do you know whom He said this to? Mahaprabhu told this to Das Goswami Prabhu. Das Goswami was showing so much renunciation, so much vairagya, and Mahaprabhu told him to go back to his home, not to become crazy.

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.238)

It is about emotion and devotion. Have you read this chapter in Affectionate Guidance, Gurudev's book, called Emotion or Devotion? Sometimes so many tears come to someone's eyes, but it is not permanent. Here it is said, "Practise! Always practise," and Das Goswami practised so much!

Do you know how Sanatan Goswami practised from his early days? At the beginning, when he came to Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu first of all told Acharya Chandrasekhar and Tapan Mishra to take him to a barbershop and have him shaved. After Sanatan Goswami was shaved, they gave him some new cloth, but he refused, "I do not want this new cloth. If Prabhu has some old cloth, you can give it to me." He took some old torn cloth and tore it into two parts. He would wear one piece and use the second piece as the uttariya; then the next day he would wear the uttariya piece, wash the other piece, then use it as the uttariya.

Sanatan Goswami said to Tapan Mishra and Chandrasekhara Acharya, "I have come here, but I do not want to disturb anyone. I do not want to become a burden for you. Prabhu can stay with you and take prasadam, but why should I take it? I will do madhukari—I will go begging."

Before going for begging, Sanatan Goswami would come to Mahaprabhu and pay obeisance to Him. Mahaprabhu noticed that he wore old clothes and a very expensive, nice bhet kambal (woolen blanket) and thought it did not look good. When Sanatan Goswami understood it, he immediately went to some old Gaudiya Vaishnav who had an old kantha (quilt).

(In Bengal and Murshidabad, Bahrampur, this culture and custom still exists. When somebody's daughter is getting married, the family of the proposed husband first ask, "Can you make a kantha?" If she cannot, the girl does not get married. <Devotee: Is it the dowry?> Not, it is not dowry. Kanthas are made for the winter season, for a baby, for the family or for themselves. Girls take two-three old torn saris and stitch them together with a needle, and also embroider some lotus flowers or some other nice ornaments on it. That is called kantha.)

So, it is written in Chaitanya-charitamrita that the old Gaudiya Vaishnav was drying his chinda kantha (ছিণ্ডা কান্থা). Chinda means broken, torn. Sanatan Goswami came to him and asked, "Prabhu, can you change your kantha for my blanket?" His blanket was very nice, and the Gaudiya Vaishnav became angry, "Hey, I am an old man, and you are young, have you come to criticise, to joke with me?" Sanatan Goswami explained, "No, no, please forgive my offence! I did not come to joke. Actually, Mahaprabhu does not like my nice blanket. Can you please change with me? I am telling the truth." Hearing this, the Gaudiya Vaishnav agreed and gave him his old torn kantha.

The next day, when Sanatan Goswami came to pay his obeisance, Mahaprabhu asked him, "Sanatan, where is your blanket?" and he told Him the story, "Prabhu, this is what I have done." Mahaprabhu became happy, "Yes! Krishna is very merciful to you! He made you give up your very last illusory environment—you had only one thing, but the Lord made you give up even that. Bhagavan Krishna took away from you the last material thing, the last visaya, you had!"

This is what is called practising, and this is how they practised. Raghunath practised in the same way too.

When Raghunath came to Mahaprabhu for the first time, Mahaprabhu told him,

মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ' অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥

markata-vairagya na kara loka dekhana
yatha-yogya visaya bhunja' anasakta hana

"Do not show your false renunciation to people. Serve accepting material things, but without attachment."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.238)

আসক্তিরহিত সম্বন্ধসহিত ।
বিষয়সমূহ সকলি মাধব ॥

'asakti-rahita,' 'sambandha-sahita,'
visaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'

"When you are free from material attachment and establish relationship with the Lord, then you will see that everything around you is Lord Madhav Himself."

('Vaishnav ke?' verse 12)

Asakti-rahita, no attachment, and sambandha-sahita, with a relation. It is a very nice sloka. We must use everything for the service to the Lord. You have got the indriya—chaksu, karna, nasika, jihva, tvak, man, buddhi, ahankar (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, mind, intelligence, ego)—and you must use everything for this purpose: for your Guru, for the Lord, not for your own enjoyment.

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