(2/2) Living Saint

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham parikrama, 1 July 2019, part 2
Translated from Bengali

...This is how Srila Haridas Thakur chanted the Holy Name. Even when he was beaten, the people who beat him ended up crying themselves. When they thought Srila Haridas Thakur had finally died, they had to dispose of his body. What do Muslim people usually do? They bury bodies because they believe that if you bury the body, the person will reach a good place. The Muslims call it 'beheshto' (বেহেশত, paradise). They call heaven 'beheshto' and hell 'dojokh' (দোযখ). You should learn these things – it is necessary to be able to speak to Muslims and bring them to this path. So, the guards who had beaten Srila Haridas Thakur thought, 'If we bury him, he will go to heaven. Better we just throw him into the Ganges.' They did so.

Srila Haridas Thakur floated down the Ganges and reached Kulia (further down the Ganges, past Shantipur). He was alive. When the Muslims found it out, they were astonished, 'Oh! He is no ordinary man! He is a living saint (jindapir, জিন্দাপীর)!'

In Kulia, Srila Haridas Thakur stayed in a cave. At some point, a huge snake came to live in that cave, and the snake's breath emitted so much poison that nobody could stay in that cave or anywhere near it. Srila Haridas Thakur chanted the Holy Name and prayed to the snake, 'Please leave. So many people are suffering because of you.' The snake heard Srila Haridas Thakur and went away to the forest, leaving its body there. He rescued that snake.

Such was Srila Haridas Thakur.

Lastly, Mahaprabhu told him, 'When I take sannyas, you must come and stay with Me.' In Sri Puri Dham, Mahaprabhu stayed at Gambhira, in the house of Kashi Misra. There, He performed His intimate pastimes in the company of Sri Svarup Damodar and Sri Ray Ramananda. (We will go there just now, it is close by, a five-minute walk from here.) When Mahaprabhu first came to Puri, He asked Kashi Mirsa and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, 'Please keep one more room for Me.' The room He was asking for was for Srila Haridas Thakur, and it was this Siddha Bakul where we are now and where Srila Haridas Thakur stayed and worshipped the Lord.

I described the glory of this place in Sri Puri Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala. I will read it to you later. Let us chant a kirtan now. We have come to Srila Haridas Thakur, so we must chant kirtan here.

[His Divine Grace chants 'Thakura vaisnava pada avanira susampada'.]

ঠাকুর বৈষ্ণব পদ, অবনীর সুসম্পদ,
শুন ভাই হঞা এক মন ।
আশ্রয় লইয়া ভজে, তারে কৃষ্ণ নাহি ত্যজে,
আর সব মরে অকারণ ॥১॥

thakura vaisnava pada, avanira susampada,
suna bhai hana eka mana
asraya laiya bhaje, tare krsna nahi tyaje,
ara saba mare akarane [1]

‘The holy feet of Vaishnav Thakur are the greatest wealth on earth. Brother, listen one-pointedly to this. Krishna never leaves those who have taken shelter in His devotees and serve them; everyone else simply dies in vain.’

বৈষ্ণব চরণ-জল, প্রমভক্তি দিতে বল,
আর কেহ নহে বলবন্ত ।
বৈষ্ণব-চরণ-রেণু, মস্তকে ভূষণ বিনু,
আর নাহি ভূষণের অন্ত ॥২॥

vaisnava charana-jala, prema-bhakti dite bala,
ara keha nahe balavanta
vaisnava-charana-renu, mastake bhusana binu,
ara nahi bhusanera anta [2]

‘The water that has washed the holy feet of a Vaishnav has the power to give transcendental love; nobody else has such power. If your head is not decorated with the dust from the holy feet of a Vaishnav, there is no value in any other ornaments.’

তীর্থজল পবিত্র গুণে, লিখিয়াছে পুরাণে,
সে সব ভক্তির প্রবঞ্চন ।
বৈষ্ণবের পাদোদক, সম নহে এই সব,
যাতে হয় বাঞ্ছিত পূরণ ॥৩॥

tirtha-jala pavitra gune, likhiyachhe purane,
se saba bhaktira pravanchana
vaisnavera padodaka, sama nahe ei saba,
yate haya vanchhita purana [3]

‘The purifying qualities of the water from holy places is mentioned in the Puranas, but all this is just a way of cheating yourself out of devotion. All this can never compare to the water that has washed the holy feet of a Vaishnav, which fulfils all wishes.’

বৈষ্ণব সঙ্গেতে মন, আনন্দিত অনুক্ষণ,
সদা হয় কৃষ্ণ পরসঙ্গ ।
দীন নরোত্তম কান্দে, হিয়া ধৈর্য্য নাহি বান্ধে,
মোর দশা কেন হৈল ভঙ্গ ॥৪॥

vaisnava sangete mana, anandita anuksana,
sada haya krsna para-sanga
dina narottama kande, hiya dhairya nahi bandhe,
mora dasa kena haila bhanga [4]

‘In Vaishnavs’ association, my heart constantly rejoices and I always feel the association of Lord Krishna Himself. Poor Narottam is crying – his heart can no longer endure it. Why has such a calamity come to my life?’

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

Jay! Srila Vaishnav Thakur ki jay! Hari bol! Hari bol!

শুন শুন নিত্যানন্দ, শুন হরিদাস ।
সর্ব্বত্র আমার আজ্ঞা করহ প্রকাশ ॥
প্রতি ঘরে ঘরে গিয়া কর এই ভিক্ষা ।
‘বল কৃষ্ণ, ভজ কৃষ্ণ, কর কৃষ্ণ শিক্ষা’ ॥

suna suna nityananda, suna haridasa
sarvatra amara ajna karaha prakasa
prati ghare ghare giya kara ei bhiksa
‘bala krsna, bhaja krsna, kara krsna siksa’

‘Listen, listen, Nityananda! Listen, Haridas! Make My order known everywhere! Go house to house and beg everyone, “Please chant Krishna’s Name, worship Krishna and practise Krishna’s teachings.”’

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 2.13.8–9)

When Mahaprabhu came to Sri Puri Dham, He kept Nityananda Prabhu in Nadia and Srila Haridas Thakur came together with Him to Sri Puri Dham. Here, Mahaprabhu gave him a room next to His. This is the room that is now known as Siddha-bakul.

One day, Mahaprabhu came there and saw Srila Haridas Thakur sitting outside his room in the scorching heat of the sun, chanting the Holy Name. Feeling disturbed by it, He brought a small stick that had been offered to Lord Jagannath as a toothbrush and thrust it into the ground. (Lord Jagannath's toothbrush must be worshipped – you must not take it and use it to brush your own teeth!!) Very soon there appeared this bakul tree that you can see to this day. To provide shade for His devotee, Mahaprabhu manifested this great tree.

The tree soon grew so big that the pandas (Lord Jagannath’s servitors) could not see the dome of Lord Jagannath’s temple because of it. The department management of the temple were quite dictatorial, so they ordered to have the tree cut down. Srila Haridas Thakur prayed to Mahaprabhu, ‘Prabhu, please save this tree.’

The next day, when the woodcutters came to cut down the tree, they saw that there was no tree there – there was only hollow bark left standing and all the insides were gone! What will they do with a tree’s bark? Realising that it was no using cutting down the bark, they went away having achieved nothing.

You can see even today that actually there is no tree – there is only bark. That is how this place got its name Siddha-bakul. Srila Haridas Thakur worshipped and served the Lord under this tree.

Jay Srila Haridas Thakur ki jay.

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