(3/6) At Sri Gambhira

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham Parikrama
10 July 2018, translated from Bengali, part 3

Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay
Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad ki jay
All the assembled, all the worldwide devotees ki jay
Purusottama Ksetra parikrama ki jay
Purusottama Ksetra parikrama-kari bhakta-vrinda ki jay
Jay Sri Gambhira ki jay

Where have we come? To Gambhira. Will you remember it? You must keep it in your heart, not just in your memory, or mind. Why is this place called 'Gambhira'? 'Gambhira' means a room within a room. I know that everybody was not able to go inside to offer their obeisances and have the darshan of Gambhira. Those who were walking next to me went there with me, but you should all go there one by one and offer your obeisances when we are leaving, all right? This is the room where Mahaprabhu stayed. It is a very small room.

When Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) was in Puri, I remember he said something. At that time, I had not taken sannyas. He was sitting in a chair, and I sat on the floor near him. Suddenly, he asked me, 'Vinod, you know that Mahaprabhu was 7'6 (seven foot six inches, 228.6 cm).' You can see that our Deities in Ekachakra are also of the same height: Nityananda Prabhu is 7'4 and Mahaprabhu is 7'6; and They are ajanulambita-bhuja, Their long hands reach below Their knees). So, Gurudev asked me, 'You know that Mahaprabhu was 7'6, but Gambhira is such a small room. So, how did Mahaprabhu chant and dance with His arms upraised in that room?' I said that I did not know. Then, Guru Maharaj said, 'Who will I tell it to you and who will be able to understand it?' These are very profound things. When it comes to the Lord, everything is possible. When Mahaprabhu danced, the ceiling could expand to make room for Mahaprabhu's dance.

In this room, Mahaprabhu manifested His vipralamba pastimes (the pastimes of divine separation).

অয়ি দীনদয়ার্দ্র নাথ হে
মথুরানাথ কদাবলোক্যসে ।
হৃদয়ং ত্বদলোককাতরং
দয়িত ভ্রাম্যতি কিং করোম্যহম্ ॥

ayi dina-dayardra natha he
mathura-natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvad-aloka-kataram
dayita bhramyati kim karomy aham

'O gentle-hearted Lord, ever-gracious upon the destitute, O Lord of Mathura, when shall I see You again? In Your absence my broken heart trembles. Beloved! what shall I do now?'

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 2.4.197)

He would lament, 'You have given Me your darshan once, but You are not giving it to Me again.' Who is Mahaprabhu?

When Krishna was sitting in meditation at Imlitala in Vrindavan, He saw His reflection in the Yamuna (Imlitala, a tamarind tree, is situated on the bank of the Yamuna). He thought, 'How beautiful I am! Why does Radharani cry chanting My Name? What sort of happiness does She feel serving Me? I must find it out! I must garb Myself in Her heart and halo and come to this world.' Making this promise, Lord Krishna appears in Kali-yuga in Nabadwip as Gauranga, accepting Jagannath Misra and Sachi Mata as His parents and stealing Radharani's heart and halo.

Going door to door, Mahaprabhu urged everyone,

জীব জাগ, জীব জাগ, গোরাচাঁদ বলে ।
কত নিদ্রা যাও মায়া-পিশাচীর কোলে ॥

jiva jago, jiva jago, gorachanda bale
kata nidra yao maya-pisachira kole

'Sri Gorachand says, "Wake up, souls! Wake up! How much longer will you sleep in the lap of the witch Maya?"'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'O jiva! Wake up! You have lost your address! You have lost your home! I have come for you! I have come to send you home!' What do Sri Guru and Vaishnavs do? We have fallen into illusory bondage, coming to this material world again and again. We have been born as trees, plants, animals, birds, cats, goats, cats, sheep and many other species, and we will have to go through these births again if we do not chant the glories of Mahaprabhu and Lord Hari – if we do not practise Krishna consciousness.

কয় বার এলি কয় বার গেলি
তবু তত্ত্ব না শিখিলি ।
নিজের মাথা নিজে খাইলি
এ দোষ দিবি কারে ভাই ?

kaya bara eli kaya bara geli
tabu tattva na sikhili
nijer matha nije khaili
e-dosa dibe kare bhai?

'Coming and going, coming and going, you never learnt anything. You have been eating your own brain—who will you blame now, brother?'

Who fault is it? Mine. Yours. Who will you blame? We are our own enemies, and we are our own friends. So, it is not anybody else's fault – the fault is mine. Even having heard what Sri Guru and Vaishnavs say, I do not listen to what they say – I only continue struggling in my material life, material bondage, thinking only about Maya. We need the mercy of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs! They tell such beautiful things to us. Grasping us by the sikha, Sri Guru and Vaishnavs pull us out of this material life and engage us in the service of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna in Vrindavan. Do you understand?...

This is Mahaprabhu's place, and we must sing Mahaprabhu's kirtan here. I remember Guru Maharaj beautifully sang one kirtan written by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. There is also a kirtan written by Srila Sridhar Maharaj (Jaya Sachinandana sura-muni-vandana) – we were singing it and dancing as we were coming here. This kirtan is chanted only in Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, not in any other missions. There is so much more that can be said about Mahaprabhu and Gambhira... Here, Mahaprabhu relished the pastimes of vipralamba during twelve years, showing that Radharani becomes crazy for Krishna.

When Mahaprabhu was still living in Mayapur, Nabadwip, Sachi Mata noted, 'Vishvarup has left, and now my second son has become mad. He is talking gibberish.' Out of her motherly concern, she prepared a tub filled with cooling oil for Him. At that time, Srivas Pandit, who was staying nearby, came and said, 'Didi, what has happened to Him, no oil can do anything! Oil will not calm Him down. I too want to become mad like that. I do not know if I can be so fortunate or not, but I want to become like Him too.' Hearing this, Mahaprabhu grasped Srivas Pandit's feet, saying, 'Srivas! There is nobody in this house who can understand Me except you. I have become mad but mad for what?'

কবে নবদ্বীপে, সুরধুনী-তটে
নাচিয়া গাইয়া, বেড়াইব ছুটে ।
বাতুলের প্রায় ছাড়িয়া বিচার
কবে হবে বল, সে দিন আমার ॥

kabe nabadvipe, suradhuni-tate
nachiya gaiya, bedaiba chhute
balutera praya chhadiya vichara
kabe habe bala, se dina amara

'When will I wander along the banks of the Ganges in Nabadwip, dancing, singing and running about, without any thinking as though mad? When will this day be mine?'

[His Divine Grace chants 'Kabe habe bolo se dina amara'.]

কবে হবে বল, সে দিন আমার ।
(আমার) অপরাধ ঘুচি’, শুদ্ধ নামে রুচি,
কৃপা-বলে হবে হৃদয়ে সঞ্চার ॥১॥

kabe habe bala, se dina amara
(amara) aparadha ghuchi', suddha name ruchi,
krpa-bale habe hrdaye sanchara [1]

'Please tell me, when will that day be mine? When will my offences be removed? When will I get such mercy that the taste for the pure Name intensifies within my heart?'

তৃণাধিক হীন, কবে নিজে মানি,
সহিষ্ণুতা-গুণ হৃদয়েতে আনি’ ।
সকলে মানদ, আপনি অমানী,
হয়ে আস্বাদিব নাম-রস-সার ॥২॥

trnadhika hina, kabe nije mani,
sahisnuta-guna hrdayete ani'
sakale manada, apani amani,
haye asvadiba nama-rasa-sara [2]

'When will I relish the very gist of the Name's divine taste, considering myself lower than a blade of grass, bringing the quality of tolerance within my heart and becoming eager to honour everyone, desiring no honour from anyone?'

ধন জন আর, কবিতা সুন্দরী,
বলিব না চাহি দেহ-সুখকরী ।
জন্মে জন্মে দাও, ওহে গৌরহরি,
অহৈতুকী ভক্তি চরণে তোমার ॥৩॥

dhana jana ara, kavita-sundari,
baliba na chahi deha-sukha-kari
janme janme dao, ohe gaurahari,
ahaituki bhakti charane tomara [3]

'When will I say that I do not want any wealth, followers, erudition, beautiful women or any other bodily happiness? O Gaurahari! Birth after birth, please give me unconditional devotion to Your holy feet.'

(কবে) করিতে শ্রীকৃষ্ণ- নাম উচ্চারণ,
পুলকিত দেহ গদগদ বচন ।
বৈবর্ণ্য-বেপথু, হবে সংঘটন,
নিরন্তর নেত্রে ব’েব অশ্রুধার ॥৪॥

(kabe) karite sri-krsna- nama uchcharana,
pulakita deha gadgada vachana
vaivarnya-vepathu, habe samghatana,
nirantara netre babe asru-dhara [4]

'When will my hair stand on end, my voice falter, my complexion turn pale, my body tremble and tears pour incessantly from my eyes as I call aloud Sri Krishna's Name?'

কবে নবদ্বীপে, সুরধুনী-তটে,
‘গৌর-নিত্যানন্দ’ বলি’ নিষ্কপটে ।
নাচিয়া গাইয়া, বেড়াইব ছুটে,
বাতুলের প্রায় ছাড়িয়া বিচার ॥৫॥

kabe navadvipe, suradhuni-tate,
'gaura-nityananda' bali' niskapate
nachiya gaiya, bedaiba chhute,
vatulera praya chhadiya vichara [5]

'When will I roam the banks of the Ganges in Nabadwip, sincerely calling out, "Gaura-Nityananda!", dancing, singing and running about, without any thinking as though mad?'

When will I become mad and roam the banks of the Ganges like a madman, chanting, 'Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Nitai Gaura!' When will this day come?

কবে নিত্যানন্দ, মোরে করি’ দয়া,
ছাড়াইবে মোর বিষয়ের মায়া ।
দিয়া মোরে নিজ- চরণের ছায়া,
নামের হাটেতে দিবে অধিকার ॥৬॥

kabe nityananda, more kari' daya,
chhadaibe mora visayera maya
diya more nija- charanera chhaya,
namera hatete dibe adhikara [6]

'When will Nityananda be compassionate to me and relieve me from the mundane illusion? When will He give me the shade of His holy feet and grant me the right to enter the marketplace of the Name?'

কিনিব লুটিব, হরি-নাম-রস,
নাম-রসে মাতি’ হইব বিবশ ।
রসের রসিক- চরণ-পরশ,
করিয়া মজিব রসে অনিবার ॥৭॥

kiniba lutiba, hari-nama-rasa,
nama-rase mati' haiba vivasa
rasera rasika- charana-parasa,
kariya majiba rase anibara [7]

'When will I buy and scatter the nectar of the Lord's Name? When will I become intoxicated and overwhelmed with that nectar? When will I touch the holy feet of relishers of that nectar and become forever immersed in that nectar?'

I will buy this wealth and scatter it then all around. What does 'scatter' mean? Some people throw the Lord's prasad into the crowd – they made so much offence. When we go on a parikrama, they also throw some sweets at our feet – children pick them up and eat happily, but they do not understand how much offence those people make. 'Buy and scatter' means that I will take the Holy Name from Gurudev, and I will preach about it to others, going house to house. 'Krsna bala, sange chala, ei matra bhiksa chai: I am begging you for one thing only—come with Me and chant the Holy Name of Krishna!' This is all I am begging you for – I am not coming to beg for rice, money or anything else; I am begging you only: Say 'Krishna' and tell others about Krishna! Tell others about Krishna and arrange it for them to tell others about Krishna also.

কবে জীবে দয়া, হইবে উদয়,
নিজ সুখ ভুলি’ সুদীন-হৃদয় ।
ভকতিবিনোদ, করিয়া বিনয়,
শ্রীআজ্ঞা-টহল করিবে প্রচার ॥৮॥

kabe jive daya, haibe udaya,
nija sukha bhuli' sudina-hrdaya
bhakativinoda, kariya vinaya,
sri-ajna-tahala karibe prachara [8]

'When will compassion for all souls arise within me? When will I become destitute at heart and forget my own happiness? When will Bhaktivinod, receiving an order, wander around and preach humbly?'

There is no point of thinking about your own food, house and so on. You must serve devotees. As for yourself, all you can think is, 'When will compassion for all souls arise within me? When will I become destitute at heart and forget my own happiness?' We are all selfish, we always think only about ourselves – we always think what is best for us, what we like. But the Lord, Sri Guru and Vaishnavs never think about themselves.

This kirtan of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur is very beautiful. You should sometimes recite this line and rememeber:

কবে নিত্যানন্দ মোরে করি' দয়া ।
ছাড়াইবে মোর বিষয়ের মায়া ॥

kabe nityananda more kari' daya
chhadaibe mora visayera maya

'When will Nityananda be compassionate to me and relieve me from the mundane illusion?'

When will the Lord set me free from this material illusion?...

So, now we will chant Guru Maharaj's kirtan and leave. We will go to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya from here. After that, we will go to the Jagannath Temple, offer our obeisances and come back to the temple.

His Divine Grace seated outside Sri Gambhira amongst fortunate devotees.

Mahaprabhu's room (Sri Gambhira itself).

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