(11/13) Holy Assembly at Sripat Hapaniya Dham

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Hapaniya Dham, Vyasa Puja Mahotsav
22 October 2019, morning, part 11
Translated from Bengali

[Returning from the brief parikrama of Sri Hapaniya Dham, His Divine Grace addresses the assembled devotees.]

We are present now here, at Sri Hapaniya, the holy appearance place of Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. The place outside the temple where we started chanting kirtan before the parikrama is the place where Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj first started chanting kirtan together with other boys, when he was twelve years old. He would also go to the Ganges every day to take a bath, and on the way back, he would pick a lotus flower at a pond and bring it to the Deity of Lord Siva in the small outside temple. Later, in our Gurudev's time, the small temple of Lord Siva was restored and the shelter for kirtan was constructed. Some time later, the pond behind the temple was named Santi Sarovar after one of Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's relatives.

Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj had a few brothers, and all of them eventually took initiation from him. You have seen many small houses built at our Nabadwip temple. Why are they there? Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj wanted to bring his brothers to this path, so he told them, 'I know that you are working, you are very busy, but please buy a house in Nabadwip.' That is how those houses appeared. For example, there is a house called Manindra Dham – it was Mani Babu's house; there is also Amarendra Dham – it was Amarendra Babu's house. They are Srila Sridhar Maharaj's brothers. Either he or Gurudev made those houses and named them after his brothers. Later, his brothers gave those houses to the temple. They did not stay there all the time, but they would come there sometimes. Also, we have heard that when Srila Sridhar Maharaj lived in his parents' house, all family members spoke Sanskrit at home – they were all very exalted people...

The Deities of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha-Gopinath here were installed by Pujyapad Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj. And Pujyapad Bhakti Vichar Jajavar Maharaj said, 'This place is very high. When the whole of Nabadwip is flooded up to the first floor, there was no water here. I think that this place is non-different from Varshana.' He compared Sripat Hapaniya to Varshana, the appearance place of Srimati Radharani. Apart from Pujyapad Puri Goswami Maharaj and Pujyapad Jajavar Maharaj, Pujyapad Bhakti Kamal Madhusundan Maharaj, Nrisinghananda Brahmachari (later, his name became Pujyapad Bhakti Vivriti Puri Maharaj) also came here. Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj would also come here, and he would walk all the way from Nabadwip to Hapaniya and recite Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram that was composed by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণ-কৃষ্ণনাম-কীর্ত্তনং
রাম-রাম-গান-রম্য-দিব্য-ছন্দ-নর্ত্তনম্ ।
যত্র-তত্র-কৃষ্ণনাম-দান-লোক-নিস্তরং
প্রম-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

'After that, on the pretext of making a pilgrimage, He set off to deliver South India through the Holy Name: posing as a youthful sannyasi, the beautiful Lord wandered throughout South India visiting various holy places and chanting very sweetly, “Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna he” and singing “Rama Rama” – stirred internally in an inexplicable divine way, He would display an extremely sweet and peculiar dance; He made everyone chant and distributed the Holy Name of Krishna anywhere and everywhere without considering whether the time was right or whether the recipient was fit – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.'

(Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram, 22)

When Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj came here, he would also visit Okorsa, the high school where Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj studied, and search out the fields where Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj played. One day, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj asked him, 'You are my godbrother. You go to Hapaniya, it is all right, but why do you need to go to the school where I used to study, to the fields where I used to play, and to the pond where I used to bathe?' Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj replied, 'Maharaj, whenever I read your writings, I feel that it is written by Srila Rupa Goswami or Srila Sanatan Goswami. Therefore, remembering this, I go to see your birthplace.' Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj compiled our kirtan guides.

Also, Bhutavrit Prabhu (later, he became Pujyapad Saudha Ashram Maharaj) came here. He was among the devotees who had come to preach at Nadanghat and brought Gurudev to the Math.

When the temple was being inaugurated, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj came and spent here, perhaps, one–two nights. The room where the Deities are installed is the maternity room where he was born. When Gurudev took him here for the first time, he asked him to show in which room he had been born. Srila Sridhar Maharaj indicated this place, and Gurudev had the Deities of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha-Gopinath installed here by Pujyapad Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj.

I am speaking briefly now because I have been speaking for a long time, and I spoke yesterday also. There are other sannyasis present here today, so I would like to request them to speak now. They have come from far and because it is the niyom-seva month now, many of them have not had anything to eat also since the morning. I have asked devotees yesterday to arrange for some khoi (wholegrain puffed rice) in case anybody wants to take it...

[His Divine Grace asks devotees to make sure all the sadhus are given water and then requests them to speak.]

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CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 66 Mb
Length: 138 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Blessed Navami-Tithi
2) Step Beyond Material Knowledge
3) Outsmarting Gopal
4) Glorious Hapaniya
5) Beautiful Twist of Fate
6) Austere Beginnings
7) Hapaniya: Hidden Jewel
8) Transcendental Values
9) Month of Internal Churning
10) Devotees' Inner Wealth
11) Holy Assembly at Sripat Hapaniya Dham
12) Appreciation for Prasad
13) Concluding Words