(7) Hapaniya: Hidden Jewel

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Hapaniya Dham, Vyasa Puja Mahotsav
22 October 2019, morning, part 7
Translated from Bengali

Inspired by Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj, Gurudev told Guru Maharaj that he wanted to make a temple in Hapaniya. Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj would go to Hapaniya on foot, chanting Sri Prema Dhama Deva Stotram all the way. I do not know if you know or chant this poem. One of the verses there is this:

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)

Walking and chanting in this way, he would come to Hapaniya and search, 'In which pond did Srila Sridhar Maharaj bathe? On which field did he play?' He even went to the Okorsa school. Srila Sridhar Maharaj asked him, 'Babaji Maharaj, you are my godbrother. You can go to Hapaniya, all right, I will not say anything, but why do you want to see in which pond I bathed or on which field I played?' Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj replied, 'Maharaj, seeing your writing, we think that what you have written was actually composed by Srila Rupa Goswami or Srila Sanatan Goswami. Remembering them, I go there to offer my obeisances.'

Our first Gaudiya Gitanjali (the kirtan guide) was compiled by this Srila Krishna Das Babaji Maharaj. Now it has been expanded, but the original book was compiled by him.

Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's preaching is now known all over the world. At first, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, the founder of IKSCON, went abroad to preach. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj comes from a family of kulin brahmans, so it is difficult for him to mix with sahebs (misters from the West), to use their bathrooms, and so on. He was of a strict nature and liked to live following the conservative brahman way. But when Srila Swami Maharaj was going to travel abroad, Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave him much encouragement. Before he left, Srila Swami Maharaj first took Srila Sridhar Maharaj's permission to go, and when he came back from his preaching in the west, he first came to see Srila Sridhar Maharaj.

Later, when Srila Swami Maharaj was abroad, his disciples asked him, 'Maharaj, you are old now – if you leave, who should we go to?' Srila Swami Maharaj replied, 'I have my dearest godbrother, he is my siksa-guru: his name is Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. You should go to him.' That is why, when Srila Swami Maharaj left his body, all the foreigners came to Srila Sridhar Maharaj's holy feet. Several years later, before Srila Sridhar Maharaj left this world, he handed over all the devotees to his assistant, our Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He said, 'Govinda Maharaj, you must look after them.'

I have a prayer to you all. You are very fortunate to have come here today. It is a very great fortune to be here. Perhaps, you have to tolerate some austerity here. Srila Gurudev did not make a big temple here because if you make a big temple, it takes much energy to maintain it, and it is necessary to have people to stay in it, too. You can understand it yourselves. So many householder people come to take initiation and then go back to their husbands and wives, but how many of them follow the order of their guru? You throw a flower at your guru's feet, you take some prasad, you give a fifty-rupee donation and you think that this is all there is to it. There are many such gurus in this world who will be happy to take your donations and obeisances. Genuine gurus never accept obeisances – whenever somebody offers them obeisances, they send those obeisances to their guru or the Lord; and whenever somebody gives them money, they use all money in the service of the Lord...

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