(8/14) Meaning of Chastity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Gurudev's Vyasa Puja Adhivas, Nrisingha Palli
13 December 2019, part 8

When I first came to the temple, Gurudev asked me (it was before I even took initiation), 'Who do you like more, Krishna or Gaura?' I did not know so much at that time. I knew that Nabadwip Dham was the abode of Gaura, and Vraja Dham is Krishna's abode. I replied, 'Gaura.' Gurudev was happy to hear my answer. Gauranga Mahaprabhu come with audarya-lila, so in this Kali-yuga everybody should have more inclination to Gaura and Nitai. Some time later, when I was already a brahmachari, Gurudev asked me, 'Which kunja do you stay in, Chandravali's or Radharani's?' I did not know Chandravali's name at that time, so I said, 'Radharani's kunja.' Gurudev said, 'Very good.' Then, he spoke some Hari-katha, and he explained Srila Raghunath Das Goswami's mood. You can read the Sochaka about him in Gaudiya Gitanjali, you will see his biography there.

Srila Raghunath Das Goswami was a son of a big zamindar from Adisaptagram. After receiving Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's mercy in Panihati, he went to serve Mahaprabhu, who then handed him over to Srila Svarup Damodar. You know about this, so I am not going into detail now. When Sriman Mahaprabhu and Srila Svarup Damodar left (disappeared), he was devastated. Everybody can understand it – when you serve somebody and they leave the world, it is very painful. So, when Mahaprabhu and Svarup Damodar left, he decided not to stay in Puri – he promised himself, 'I will go to Vrindavan and jump from Govardhan, taking my life.' Fortunately, when he came to Vrindavan, he met with Srila Sanatan Goswami and decided not to take his life.

What was Srila Raghunath Das Goswami's condition? When Svarup Damodar left, he gave up eating solid food (rice, etc.) and would take some fruit. When Mahaprabhu left, he gave up eating fruit, too, and would only drink some water. When he came to Vrindavan and met with Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami, they explained to him, 'Are you crazy? We must preach Mahaprabhu's teachings. How can you commit suicide? It is a great sin.' Srila Sanatan Goswami also told him about the time when he himself wanted to take his life, but Mahaprabhu dissuaded him. In this way, they managed to keep Raghunath Das Goswami alive.

After that, Raghunath Das Goswami stayed with them – he lived on the bank of Radha Kunda in Govardhan (his samadhi-mandir is there). One Vraja-basi would every day bring him some buttermilk in a bowl made from lotus leaves. This was the habit every day. But one day, that Vraja-basi could not find a good lotus leaf at Radha Kunda, but he saw some good leaves at Surya Kunda (Chandravali's place), so he took a leaf from there. You can understand from this pastime what devotional line is like. As soon as Raghunath Das Goswami took that leaf bowl into his hands, he could understand that these leaves were from another place, not from Radha Kunda. He asked the man, 'Where did you bring this from?' The man said, 'Oh, I found the leaf at Chandravali's place.' Raghunath Das Goswami threw that bowl with buttermilk away! He said, 'I will fast today.' The man tried to apologise, but Raghunath Das Goswami was determined, 'No, I will not take anything today!' This is called chastity. He is a member of Radharani's line, so his devotion to Her is unswerving.

Chandravali is also a devotee of Krishna, she also worships Him, but this is not our line. We belong to the line of Rupa-Raghunath, and we will not go to any other line. No matter what others are doing, we will not derail. This is what we must understand. No matter what nice things we may see there, we will not go to Chandravali's kunja. We will not mix with those who try to compete with our gurudev (guru means Radharani). Our line is the line of prema, the highest conception of divine love – those who attain prema reach the supreme abode of the Lord. Srimati Radharani is the guru of that prema. Chandravali is jealous of Radharani because Krishna loves Radharani so much. Krishna knew who Chandravali was, but He did know anything or anybody except Radharani.

রাধা-ভজনে যদি মতি নাহি ভেলা ।
কৃষ্ণ-ভজন তব অকারণ গেলা ॥

radha-bhajane yadi mati nahi bhela
krsna-bhajana tava akarana gela

'If you did not become devoted to the worship of Srimati Radharani, your worship of Krishna was in vain.'

(Sri Gitavali, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

That is why we always worship Radharani. Always remember this. This is the example Guru Maharaj told me. I still remember this. From this example, I understood which line I must follow and how I must follow it. If gurudev does not like something, we will never go there.

— : • : —

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Golden Time for Golden Purpose
2) Emerging from Darkness
3) Leaving Maya's Shelter
4) Sitting on Two Chairs
5) Deep Chastity
6) Accept and Appreciate
7) Join Service Festival
8) Meaning of Chastity
9) Leave Bargaining Mentality
10) Appreciate and Care
11) Who Is Your Own?
12) Spiritual Determination
13) Spiritual Progress
14) Service, Submission and Purity