At Tota Gopinath's Temple

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham Parikrama
9 July 2018

We have come to the temple of Tota Gopinath. 'Tota' means a garden, so the Deity here is 'Garden' Gopinath. I have a question to you. Those of you who know the answer, please raise your hand. Who served Tota Gopinath here? [Five devotees raise their hand.] Only five? Can you understand how many devotees there are then? That is why it is said that out of ten million workers, you will get one wise person; out of ten million wise people, you will get one liberated soul; and out of ten million liberated souls, you will get one devotee of Krishna. But even though the number of such devotees is very small, even one such devotee can rescue the whole universe. So, who served Tota Gopinath here? Why do you not remember it? It was Gadadhar Pandit. Remember it. You must know that he is the incarnation of Srimati Radharani. All right, you could not answer this question. Now, tell me something else then.

There are three Deities in Vrindavan: Govinda, Gopinath and Madan-mohan. We also have Gopinath's Deity in some temples [Bamunpara and Hapaniya], Madan-mohan in Dum Dum Park and Tarakeshwar, and Govindaji [in Nabadwip and Siliguri]. So, who served Gopinath in Vrindavan? Who know it? Raise your hand. Four people. It was Madhu Pandit. Only four people raised their hand, and everybody became scared, 'What if I say it wrong?' Anyhow, remember it.

One day, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu brought Gadadhar Pandit, His Prananath (the master of His very being), here. Suddenly, Mahaprabhu said to Gadadhar Pandit, 'Gadadhar, I will give you a big gift today!' When Gurudev tells you to do some service or gives some order, that is mercy. You always try to touch Gurudev's feet, but that is not mercy. Even if you sit the whole day at Gurudev's feet, even that is not mercy. If Gurudev tells you to do some service and you do it, that is mercy ('My Gurudev has bestowed his mercy on me – he has given me service!'). Those who do what Gurudev has told them to do are intermediary (madhyam) devotees. Those who are told to do something but they do not do it are low (adham) devotees. And those who do something without Gurudev having to tell them are the highest (uttam) devotees. So, when Mahaprabhu said, 'Gadadhar, I will give you a big gift today,' Gadadhar Pandit asked, 'What gift will You give?' And Mahaprabhu replied, 'You will see.' Mahaprabhu then went to this garden and started digging the sand with His hands. As He carried on digging, He found this Gopinath Deity. Then, He told Gadadhar Pandit, 'You are to take ksetra-sannyas. You must never leave Puri.' Gadadhar Pandit tried to leave many times, but Mahaprabhu did not allow him to.

So, Gadadhar Pandit started serving Gopinath here, and Mahaprabhu would come here every now and then. In the garden near the temple, there was wild spinach (avona sak, আবোনা শাক). Guru Maharaj (Srila Govinda Maharaj) loved that spinach very much. 'Avona' means that nobody planted it – it grows wild. It was also Mahaprabhu's favourite, so Gadadhar Pandit often cooked it. One day, he cooked that spinach and all the other preparations, and he decided not to invite Mahaprabhu to come. But Mahaprabhu still came, even without an invitation. When He came, He said, 'Gadadhar Pandit! I know you have cook avona sak for Me today! You did not invite Me, but I still came without your invitation.' Then, Gadadhar Pandit explained, 'Yes, I wanted to test You! I wanted to see how much You love me.'

Mahaprabhu would come here, take prasad and take some rest, and later, in the afternoon, Gadadhar Pandit would read Srimad Bhagavatam, and Mahaprabhu would listen to him reading. When He heard him read and explain Bhagavatam, He would become astonished.

Have you taken the darshan of the Deity properly? Many of you have seen the Deity, but have you ever seen another Deity like Gopinath anywhere? [Devotees: No.] Why not? [Devotees: Because He is sitting.] Yes! In all places, Deities are standing, but here, Gopinath is sitting. Why is He sitting? The Deity of Gopinath is very big. Gadadhar Pandit served Gopinath all his life and eventually grew old – he could not dress the Deity, could not decorate the Deity, could not serve the Deity properly anymore. One day, crying, Gadadhar Pandit told Gopinath, 'Prabhu, please arrange for somebody else, I cannot do it anymore... I am old, I cannot serve You properly – I cannot even put a garland on Your neck. You are very tall...' Then, he closed the altar for the night, putting the Deity to rest, and went to rest himself. Next day, when he came to do the mangal arati, when he entered the Deities' room, he saw Gopinath sitting there.

People see Deities are made of stone or wood, but can a stone Deity sit down? People think that the Deity must have been made like that. Never think like that. It is very offensive to think like this. All right?

This is how Gadadhar Pandit served Gopinath here, and Mahaprabhu would come here regularly to see him. This is the pastime of Tota Gopinath where we have come with you all.

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

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Language: Bengali