Sripat Hapaniya Dham:
Highest Place

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
17 March 2017, Sripat Hapaniya Dham

Today is the pancham dol and it also the appearance day of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinathjiu. Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj installed the Deities. The place where the altar is, is the actual birthplace of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj (his mother's labour room).

Our Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, made this temple and Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj always said to him, "This is your temple." Before making this temple, Gurudev asked Srila Sridhar Maharaj, "Maharaj, can you please go there one time and show me which place you were born in?" Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj did not want to come here, but Gurudev requested, requested, and requested him, then one day he came here. When he came, the local people did not allow him to go back to Nabadwip, so he had to stay here for three days. So many people came to see him at that time—they all remembered Srila Sridhar Maharaj because he was a very educated boy. Everybody was very happy to see him again, to hear his Hari-katha, many villagers came even from far away places.

All of Srila Guru Maharaj's godbrothers, Srila Jajavar Maharaj, Srila Madhusudan Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj, Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj, and others, came here. Jajavar Maharaj said that it was a high place, like a hill. I remember there was a big flood in 2000, Nabadwip was flooded to the ground floor, but no water came here. This is a highest place.

The name "Hapaniya" means "sweet water." If you drink some coconut water from here, you can see how sweet that water is. The coconut water has a different taste in this place.

When Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's godbrother, came here from Nabadwip, he would come here on foot. He would walk twenty-five kilometres here and sing all Prema-dhama Stotram.

কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণনাম-কীর্ত্তনং
রাম-রাম-গান-রম্য-দিব্য-ছন্দ-নর্ত্তনম্ ।
যত্র তত্র কৃষ্ণনাম-দান-লোক-নিস্তরং
প্রেম-ধাম-দেবমেব নৌমি গৌর-সুন্দরম্ ॥

krsna-krsna-krsna-krsna-krsna-nama-kirtanam
rama-rama-gana-ramya-divya chhanda-nartanam
yatra-tatra-krsna-nama-dana-loka-nistaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram

Later, the Supreme Lord travelled to the holy places of pilgrimage in South India with the clever intention of delivering the fallen souls. Appearing as a beautiful young renunciate, He distributed the sweet Names of the Lord, singing: "Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna he," as He strolled down the different pathways, entered temples, and visited homesteads during the sacred pilgrimage. Infused with an inconceivable type of divine inspiration, the Lord freely chanted "Rama Rama" and joyfully danced with the most charming gestures. Irrespective of time or personal qualification, the assembled bystanders were delivered by the Lord, who inspired them to chant Krishna's Holy Names. I offer my obeisances to that beautiful Golden Lord, Gauranga Sundar, the divine form of Krishna prema.

(Prema-dhama-deva Stotram, 22)

He would start singing in Nabadwip and finish here in Hapaniya. When he would come here, Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj always searched which pond Srila Sridhar Maharaj swam in, which playground he played football at, which school he studied at. That school (Okorsa High School) is a few kilometers away from here—he had to walk there. There is now a school in Hapaniya, but before there was not. One day, Srila Sridhar Maharaj asked Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj, "You are my godbrother, you are going to my birthplace, it is not a problem, but why are you going to my school? Why are you looking for the place where I played football, etc.?" Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj replied, "When I see the slokas that you have written, I think that Rupa Goswami wrote it. That is why I think you are non-different from Srila Rupa Goswami; that is why I want to go to the auspicious place of your birth, I want to see it."

In this way, all of Srila Guru Maharaj's godbrothers respected this place. Before, almost all villagers here were highly educated brahmans. Now most of them have left Hapaniya and live in towns and cities (Kalna and others), they have a job, etc. Srila Sridhar Maharaj's nephew lived here until he passed away in 2016, a few months ago. He kept connection with our temple.

We come to this place and make a festival three times every year. First festival is on Radhastami; then during kartik month, the day after Srila Guru Maharaj's Vyasa Puja; and the third time after Gaura Purnima, on pancham dol when we make the anniversary festival of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinath. During these festivals we always give prasadam to all villagers.

This is a very important place. Mahaprabhu would also go to his Guru, Ishwar Puri's birthplace every year, and when He would come there with the devotees, everybody took some footdust from that place, and because so many people came there and took so much footdust, there appeared a kunda (pond) that was called Chaitanya-doba.

In this way, we must give respect to this place, Sripat Hapaniya Dham.

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