Preaching Current

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
24 October 2018, Kolkata, part 2

Go to every house, go door to door and tell them, beg them: "Come with me! Say 'Krishna'! (Krsna bolo, sange chala, ei matra bhiksa chai!)" We beg you to say 'Krishna', come with us. This is what we are begging for, going door to door.

You know that when Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami lived in Ramakeli under emperor Hussein Shah, Mahaprabhu walked there all the way from Nabadwip (perhaps, 250-300 km; a very long way) to rescue them, and Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami met Him very humbly. Eventually, they left their jobs and everything else and came to Mahaprabhu. After that meeting, so many problems came. Emperor Hussein Shah even put Srila Sanatan Goswami into jail, but Srila Sanatan Goswami anyhow bribed the guard and ran away. He met with Mahaprabhu in Kasi, Benares, where Mahaprabhu was staying at Chandrasekhara Acharya's house. Then, Srila Sanatan Goswami finally reunited with Srila Rupa Goswami. On the way, he faced so much bondage—many dacoits attacked him, and even his servitor Isan had taken some gold coins with him, which turned out to be the main obstacle that prevented Srila Sanatan Goswami from coming to meet with Mahaprabhu, so Srila Sanatan Goswami left his servitor's company and association and went to Mahaprabhu alone.

You can see these examples and understand that there are always some problems. You can see our guru-varga also. When Bhagavan Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur started to preach the highest conception of Mahaprabhu, or when Bhaktivinod Thakur discovered Mahaprabhu's birthplace, so many problems came. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur went to the court and fought against some sahajiya babajis who were against him, trying to protest against his conception. However, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur discovered Mahaprabhu's birthplace in Yogapith, Mayapur, with the help of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj (Vaishnav Thakur). So many obstacles followed, but he finally gave us Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur from his heart.

At some point, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur had vowed to fulfil a sata-koti Nama yajna—he was always chanting the Holy Names. During this time, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Giridhari came in front of him, and Srimati Radharani ordered him to preach Mahaprabhu's conception properly. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to do that, but he said, "How will I preach? I am alone..." Srimati Radharani assured him, "Do not worry, I will send My associates to you." After that, so many exalted disciples came to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur: Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and many others.

When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to leave his body in Bagh Bazar Gaudiya Math, he indicated through the singing of the song 'Sri Rupa manjari pada' that he had selected the person who could preach the proper conception of Sri Rupa-Sanatan, Srila Jiva Goswami, Sri Rupa-Raghunath after him, and this personality was Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

After that, there were some problems at Chaitanya Math, you know about it. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj could not stay at Chaitanya Math and he decided to go to Vrindavan and spend the rest of his life chanting the Holy Name. He went to Vrindavan and stayed at Pavan Sarovar, Nandagram; sometimes he would also go to Kadam Kandi, Ter Kadamba. A few months later, he received a message from the sky—his Gurudev, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srimati Radharani, told him, "I have given you the responsibility to preach the proper conception of Sriman Mahaprabhu, Sri Rupa-Raghunath. Why have you come here? You are being selfish. You have come here and want to enjoy yourself, but you must give something to others." Following that, he came to Kolerganj, to the bank of the Ganges, and build a small kutir, a thatched house. Many of his godbrothers always came to him and encouraged him. Then, in 1947, our Gurudev, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, came to him as a 17-18-year-old boy. Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave him the name Gaurendu Brahmachari. When Gurudev came, Srila Sridhar Maharaj got some strength and wanted to preach properly. In this way, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math was established.

By the inspiration of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Prabhupad, many foreign devotees started coming to the temple. Srila Swami Maharaj told his followers, "After me, you can go to India. My siksa-guru is there, he is staying at Gupta Govardhan in Kolerganj, Nabadwip, and you will get association and good nourishment for your spiritual life. His name is Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj." Many foreign devotees came then and took shelter at his lotus feet. After Gurudev joined, there were also so many obstacles. Due to his health condition, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj could not go to preach in the West, in the foreign countries, but following the inspiration of his Gurudev (Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj), our Gurudev (Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj) went abroad several times—not only one or two times, he travelled 25 times all over the world from 1992 until 2008. He preached constantly—he gave his association, gave his life, gave everything to foreign devotees.

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