(2) Step Beyond Material Knowledge

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Hapaniya Dham, Vyasa Puja Mahotsav
22 October 2019, morning, part 2
Translated from Bengali

So, our Param Guru Maharaj Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj appeared in this world in this village, in this very house. Later, our Gurupadpadma arranged this temple here, and Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj came from Mayapur to install the Deities, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Gopinath.

Why is Gopinath installed here? Mostly, we can see that Krishna, Govinda or Madan-mohan are installed in temples. Gopinath is the Deity of prayojana-tattva (the knowledge about the ultimate goal). This 'goal' is the gist, or the core, of devotion; it is the main necessity of a jiva soul. There are three aspects of spiritual knowledge: sambandha (what is what), abhidheya (the means to the end) and prayojana (the goal, or necessity). Madan-mohan is the Deity of sambandha. Abhidheya means sravan (listening about the Lord), kirtan (chanting the Lord's glories) – the Deity of abhidheya is Govinda. And Gopinath is the Deity of prayojana. Remember these things. Sriman Mahaprabhu taught all this to Srila Sanatan Goswami when they were in Kasi. You can read about this in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, and if you cannot understand what is written there, you can ask about it later.

Sriman Mahaprabhu taught Srila Sanatan Goswami about what sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana are. So, Sri Madan-mohan is the Deity of sambandha, and we have Madan-mohan installed in Tarakeswar. Sri Sri Gandharva-Govinda-sundar are the Deities of abhidheya; we have these Deities installed in Siliguri and Nabadwip. And Gopinath is the Deity of prayojana-tattva, and we have this Deity installed here, in Hapaniya, as well as in Bamunpara. 'Ei tina thakura gaudiyake kariyachena atmasat (এই তিন ঠাকুর গৌড়ীয়াকে করিয়াছেন আত্মসাৎ). These three Deities have captured the hearts of Gaudiya Vaishnavs' (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.1.19). Originally, Sri Madan-mohan (the Deity of sambandha) was served by Srila Sanatan Goswami, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda (the Deities of abhidheya) were served by Srila Rupa Goswami, and Sri Govinda (the Deity of prayojana) was served by Sri Madhu Pandit.

We always speak about it when we go to Vrindavan, and also when we come here. We tell about this again and again because you keep forgetting. You must keep these things in your hearts. Otherwise, it goes into one ear and out the other – these things do not enter your ears. Until and unless your material attachments go away, the teachings of Sri Sri Rupa-Raghunath will not enter your ears. You will not be able to hear these things for as long as you keep thinking about all the external things – about eating, sightseeing, coming to have a good time, and so on.

Now is the Damodar month, and today is the appearance day of Sri Virachandra Prabhu. We will sing now the Damodarastakam kirtan in glorification of Lord Damodar. This kirtan must be chanted every day during this month. You are making a big deal out of eating, dancing and jumping around, but the main thing is that you must chant kirtan. Chant the Siksastakam kirtans and the special kirtans chanted during the Damodar month. Buy the kirtan books and chant kirtans with them. Always keep kirtan books in your pockets and chant all the time. I also carry this book around in my pocket. Even when you travel by train, bus or car, you can always read and chant kirtans. Always chant kirtans. I am going to chant now, please chant along with me.

[His Divine Grace chants Sri Damodara Astakam.]

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