(5/5) Deities' Pastimes

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Tarakeshwar, evening class, 10 July 2020, part 5
Translated from Bengali

I have also written about Deities in Guidance 4. [His Divine Grace reads from Guidance 4, the chapter 'Lord's Sri Vigraha lila within material world'].

'The Supreme Personality of Godhead come from the transcendental Vaikuntha Dham to this material world (Bhauma-prapancha) and reveals His pastimes—this is His avatara-lila (pastimes of His incarnations). In the same way, the worshippable Deity is also avatara-lila, also pastimes of His incarnation.'

[You can see here (in Tarakeshwar) that the Deities of the Lord is called Madan-mohan. We cannot understand the pastimes that He performs... The Lord comes from Vaikuntha and performs His pastimes.]

'There is a very secret distinction between the pastimes of the Lord in the form of Sri Vigraha, Sri Murti, and Sri Archa. Archa-avatar (worshippable, revered form) is a special manifestation of mercy. The Supreme Lord Himself appears as Sri Gaurasundar, Sri Krishna-chandra, Sri Ramachandra, and so on—in the same way, Sri Vigraha also appears on its own.

[Soon is Janmastami. Everything is closed this year (because of the coronavirus), but everyone's death is in Lord Krishna's hands, and on this day, we celebrate His appearance. Very old people (over ninety years old!) get this virus, and they survive, but twenty-four-year-old people die. Those who are destined to die have to die. This is what we believe in, is it not? If something is written in your destiny, nobody can prevent it from happening. Why are we still careful? To avoid difficulties and suffering, but if death comes, we all will have to leave. Some people lock themselves in their houses and refuse to go out being scared of the virus, but the virus can enter through the door or window! It can come with the wind! So, we must not waste our time thinking about all this. We must practise Krishna consciousness and think about the Lord. If anything happens, it will happen – there is no use worrying about it. Leave everything to the Lord: 'O Lord! I am Your child! I do not care how You keep me. You can kill me, You can save Me – as You wish (marabi rakhabi yo ichchha tomara, মারবি রাখবি—যো ইচ্ছা তোমার; Saranagati).' There is no other way except for this.]

'When the Lord manifests His Archa form, He is then known as Svayambhu-archa (self-manifest worshippable Lord). Even when the Lord appears in the form of a Deity, He is still the Lord Himself—the Lord Himself appears for the benefit of jiva souls as Sri Murti! The examples of this are Tota Gopinath, Saksi-Gopal, Sri Jagannathdev. They manifest Themselves in eight different forms (mrinmayi, dhatumayi, darumayi, silamayi, etc.)

saili daru-mayi lauhi lepya lekhya cha saikati
mano-mayi mani-mayi pratimasta-vidha smrta

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.27.12)

'The Deity form of the Lord (Sri Archa-avatar or Archamurti) is said to appear in eight varieties—(1) stone, (2) wood, (3) metal (gold, etc.), (4) earth, (5) paint, (6) sand, (7) the mind and (8) jewels.'

'The Lord Himself is present wherever He manifests Himself in a Deity form. Self-manifest Deities are not installed by anyone, They appear on Their own. Looking after Them, serving Them is a matter of a great fortune. A self-manifest worshippable Deity is an embodiment of mercy. The Lord comes as Sri Ramachandra to the house of Kausalya, as Gopal to the home of Yasoda, as Nimaichand to the courtyard of Sachi Mata – in the same way, a self-manifest Deity appears in different places. Gopal appeared alone and lived in a jungle forest with all the rain and storms falling on Him. He gave an inspiration to the heart of Madhavendra Puripad to get his service. Service, darsan, care for such a self-manifest Deity has much more value. A self-manifest Deity stands out in its peculiar distinction.

'Sri Sri Jagannathdev was floating in the ocean near Sri Puri Dham—how great Sri Sri Jagannathdev's pastimes are, how glorious it is! You cannot see such pastimes anywhere else.

'Beside such self-manifest Deities of the Lord, great souls establish the Lord of their hearts in holy temples. To extend mercy to jiva souls, greatest self-realised souls (mahabhagavata-uttama siddha mahajans) reveal the treasure of their hearts in the form of a Deity. [Srila Rupa Goswamipad's Govinda (self-manifest), Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu's Sri Madan-mohan, et.al.]

'Besides these two types of Deities, there are also Deities installed in temples according to the process given in the scriptures. Moreover, you can buy a calendar at the market, get some photograph or buy some deity of the Lord at the market and offer Him worship, flowers, bhoga. There are many different kinds of deities. Proper practitioners have affection for all manifestations of the Lord. Naturally, there is some distinction in the pastimes or some difference among Deities. Pastimes of a Deity manifest in a pure heart—Deities perform Their pastimes together with Their devotees. This is a very profound mystery. Everyone is Lordship, but all Lordships are not the same, there is a difference.

'Those who practise devotion do not show disrespect to any form of a Deity. They offer flowers to a calendar. They encourage faith in all deities. Different deities appear in different ways, and it is necessary to pay attention to it. What is each Deity's glory, which Deity is awakened—all this always plays within the hearts of pure devotees. Gopal does not hide anything from Sri Srila Madhavendra Puripad, but He cheats other people...

'A Deity is an incarnation of the Lord's mercy. It is good for practitioners of devotion to give attention to the service of the holy Deities.'

Always remember this. Read this book very carefully. There is also another very nice book, Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala, that was published recently....

— : • : —

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Kirtan-Seva
2) Beyond Surface Understanding
3) Read and Apply In Your Life
4) Be a Disciple
5) Deities' Pastimes