Srila Lochan Das Thakur Mahasay

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 25 October 2020, part 3

লোচন বলে হেন নিতাই যেবা না ভজিল ।
জানিয়া শুনিয়া সেই আত্মঘাতী হৈল ॥

lochan bale hena nitai yeba na bhajila
janiya suniya sei atma-ghati haila

Lochan Das says, "Anyone who did not serve Nitai knowingly committed suicide."

Srila Lochan Das Thakur is a devotee, a follower of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu—he belonged to His line.

Actually, Srila Lochan Das Thakur, like our Gurudev and Srila Guru Maharaj, was born in Burdwan district and was a disciple of Sri Narahari Thakur (Sri Narahari Thakur's birthplace and house is in Srikhanda, near Katwa, where Mahaprabhu took sannyas). The name of Srila Lochan Das Thakur's father is Sri Kamalakar Das, and his mother's name is Sri Sadanandi. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was the only son of his father, so he was the darling of his parents, the apple of their eyes. Srila Lochan Das Thakur was married at a very young age, but he was attached and devoted to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu since his childhood, so from a very young age he was annoyed by all material things, and even though he was married, he did not stay in his own house so much; mostly he stayed away from his wife—from his youth, he lived in the house of his Gurudev (Sri Narahari Thakur) in Srikhanda.

Originally, before Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami's Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Sri Murari Gupta composed Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, and Srila Lochan Das Thakur read that book and composed his Sri Chaitanya-mangal based on it. In Sri Chaitanya-mangal, he prays to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur,

vrindavana dasa vandiba eka-chite
jagata mohita yanra bhagavata gite

"I am offering my whole-hearted obeisance to Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur, whose 'Bhagavat-gita' [lit. the song of 'Bhagavata', ref. to 'Chaitanya-bhagavata'] has captivated the whole world."

(Sri Chaitanya-mangal, Sutra-khanda)

When Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur composed his Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, he originally named it Sri Chaitanya-mangal, but Srila Lochan Das Thakur and Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami called his book Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat later on. In his Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami also writes,

krsna-lila bhagavate kahe vedavyasa
chaitanya lilara vyasa vrndavana dasa

"Vedavyas describes the pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna in Srimad Bhagavatam, and Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur is the Vyasa of the pastimes of Lord Sri Chaitanya."

Another thing is that Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur did not write in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata very clearly or broadly about the time prior to Sriman Mahaprabhu's taking sannyas, but in his Sri Chaitanya-mangal, Srila Lochan Das Thakur, for example, gives an extensive explanation of the talk between Sriman Mahaprabhu and Vishnupriya Devi. He writes,

prabhura vyagrata dekhi, visnupriya chandra-mukhi,
kahe kichhu gad-gad svare
kaha kaha prananatha, mora sire diya hata,
sannyasa karibe naki tumi

"Seeing some perturbed eagerness in the Lord, moon-faced Vishnupriya Devi spoke in a little trembling voice, 'Tell me, tell me, Prananath. Put Your hand on my head and tell me—are You going to take sannyas?'"

loka mukhe suni iha, vidarite chahe hiya,
agunite pravesiba ami
to lagi jivana-dhana, rupa nava yauvana,
vesa vilasa bhava-kala

"'I hear people talk. You want to tear my heart apart—I will enter fire! You are the treasure of my life. This time of life is filled with beauty, fresh youth, it is the time when You dress well, live well, and love.'"

tumi yabe chhadi yabe, ki kaja e chhara jive,
hiya pore yena visa jvala

"'When You leave me, what will this wretched soul live for? My heart is burning in the agony as if I have taken poison...'"

Vishnupriya Devi had noticed that Sri Gaurasundar had become very perturbed, and she could understand, "He will leave me and go to take sannyas..." So, she confronted Mahaprabhu saying, "Tell me, Prananath [the Lord of my life], keep Your hand on my head and tell me the truth—will You leave to take sannyas? I suspect that You will leave me and go away from home. I also hear rumours about it among people..." She expresses so much pain of separation. Srila Lochan Das Thakur describes it very beautifully. After that, when Vishnupriya Devi confronted Him, Sri Gaurasundar said,

e bola suniya panhu, muchaki hasiya lahu,
kahe suna mora pranapriya
kichhu na kariha chite, ye kahiye tora hite
sabadhane suna mana diya

"Hearing these words, the Lord said with a slight, gentle smile on His face, 'Listen to Me, dear. Do not stir your heart, what I am saying to you is for your benefit. Listen to Me carefully and attentively.'"

jagate yateka dekha, michha kari saba lekha,
satya eka sabe bhagavan
satya ara vaisnava, ta vine yateka saba,
michha kari karaha geyana

"'Everything you see in this world is false. The only truth is the Supreme Lord. Devotees of the Lord are also truth; know that other than, everything is false.'"

Mahaprabhu tried to give some nourishment to Vishnupriya Devi. He said, "Everything in this world is nothing. This relationship with our father, mother, wife, husband, everything is very temporary. Once the jiva soul comes out of the body, it cannot enter it again, and this body will rot within a few days."

michha suta pati nari, pita-mata adi kari,
pariname keba na kahara
sri-krsna charana bahi, ara ta kutumba nahi
yata dekha saba maya tanra

"'Sons, husbands, women, parents, etc. are all false. Ultimately, nobody belongs to anyone. Except for Sri Krishna's lotus feet, there is no kin. Everything you see here is His illusion.'"

"Who is your own? Who should you have a relationship with? With the Lord. All other relationships are material and a part of illusory environment. Your parents, all your friends' and relatives' circle, everything in this world is illusion, it is illusory environment."

ki nari purusa dekha, atma se sabara eka,
michha maya-bandhe bhave dui
sri-krsna sabara pati, ara saba prakrti,
e katha na bujhaye koi

"'Whether it is a man or a woman, everyone's souls is the same. Only those who are situated in illusory bondage see them as two different entities. Sri Krishna is everyone's husband, and all souls are female. Can you not understand it?'"

raktareta sammilane, janma vistha mutra sthane,
bhume padi haya ageyana
bala yuba vrdda haiya, nana duhkha kasta paiya,
dehe-gehe kare abhimana

"'When some blood and semen is combined, one is born from the same place where urine and stool come out. It all later falls unconscious on the ground. Going through childhood, youth, old age, souls suffer so many austerities and become proud of their body and house.'"

bandhu kari yare pali, tara sabe dei gali,
abhimane vrddhatra kala vanche
sravana nayana andhe, visada bhariya kande,
tabu nahi bhajaye govinde

"'When all their friends have run away, everyone will swear them, and they will be cheated in their old age because of their pride. Deaf and blind, filled with sorrow, they will weep, but even then they will not worship Govinda.'"

Mahaprabhu Sri Gaurasundar advised Sri Vishnupriya Devi then,

krsna bhajibara tare, deha dhari e samsare,
maya bandhe pasari apana
ahankare matta haiya, nija prabhu pasariya,
sese paya naraka-yantrana

"'They have got a body in this world and if they use it to worship Krishna, they will automatically leave all illusory bondage. However, those who lose their mind because of pride forget their own Master and in the end they undergo hellish sufferings.'"

"We have got this human body to worship the Lord, not for others! Because of our ego, we think, 'He is my husband,' 'He is my son,' 'She is my wife,' etc., but we forget our Master! In the end, we will get hellish austerities."

tora nama visnupriya, sarthaka karaha iha,
michha soka na karaha chite
e tora kahilum katha, dura kara ana chinta
mana deha krsnera charite

"'Your name is Vishnupriya [who is dear to Lord Vishnu], so fulfil its meaning. There is no need for all this false grief in your heart.' I have told you all this, so do away with all worries and dedicate your mind and body to Krishna consciousness."

"Do not lament so much," Mahaprabhu said.

apane isvara haiya, dura kare nija maya,
visnupriya parasanna chita
dure gele duhkha-soka, anande bharila buka,
chatur-bhuja dekhe achambita

"He is independent Lord, so He removed His own illusion. Vishnupriya felt pleased at heart—her sadness and grief had gone and her heart became filled with joy. She was then greatly surprised to see the Lord's four-armed form."

Then, Mahaprabhu showed His chatur-bhuj murti to Vishnupriya Devi. He showed that He was not only her husband, but He was the Lord Himself (He showed His four-armed form, holding a conch, disc, club, and a lotus), but despite all advice, despite even the chatur-bhuja, Vishnupriya Devi still thought, "Gaurasundar is my husband."

tabe devi visnupriya, chatur-bhuja dekhiya,
pati budhhi nahi chhade tabu
padiya charana tale, kakuti minati kare,
eka nivedana suna prabhu

"Yet even seeing the four-armed form of the Lord, Vishnupriya Devi could not give up her perception of the Lord as her husband. She fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly, 'Prabhu, please hear my one prayer.'"

mo ati adhama chhara, janamila e samsara,
tumi mora priya prana-pati
e hena sampada mora, dasi haiyachilum tora,
ki lagiya bhela adhogati

"'I am a very fallen wretched soul, I was born in this material world, but You are the dearmost lord of my heart, You are my all in all. Such is my wealth, I have become Your maidservant. Why am I so unfortunate?'"

iha bali visnupriya, kande utaroli haiya
adhika badila paramada
priya-jane artti dekhi, chhala chhala kare ankhi,
kole kari karila prasada

"Saying this, Vishnupriya Devi broke down and began to sob. Her plight became even worse. Seeing the grief of His beloved, with His eyes filled with tears, He took her on His lap and spoke mercifully:"

suna devi visnupriya, tomare kahila iha,
yakhane ye tumi mane kara
ami yatha tatha yai, achhiye tomara thani
ei satya kahilama dara

"'Listen, Vishnupriya Devi. I have told you that whenever you think of Me, I am always in your room, wherever I may be at that time. I assure you this is the truth.'"

prabhu ajna vani suni, visnupriya mana guni,
svatantra isvara ei prabhu
nija sukhe kara kaja, ke dibe tahate badha,
pratyuttara na dilena tabu

"Hearing Prabhu's advice and order, Vishnupriya composed herself thinking, 'This Prabhu is independent Supreme Lord. He does what pleases Him, what use is it trying to stop Him?' So, she said nothing in reply."

visnupriya heta mukhi, chhala chhala kare ankhi
dekhi prabhu sarasa sambhase
prabhura acharana katha sunite lagiye vyatha
guna gaya e lochana dase

"Vishnupriya Devi listened to the Lord's sweet words with her face lowered and eyes filled with tears... As Lochan Das relates these pastimes of the Lord, it gives him pain to hear about this behaviour of the Lord."

Srila Lochan Das Thakur wrote so many things there...

We all know that Srila Lochan Das Thakur composed Sriman Nityananda Prabhu's songs, such as "Parama karuna pahu dui jana," "Nitai-guna-mani amara," "Akrodha-paramananda Nityananda Raya," and others, but he also wrote a song about the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. We do not sing this song, but we can recite it now.

are nikunja vane, syamera sane,
ki-rupa dekhilum rai
kemana vidhata, gadala murati,
lakhai nahika yai

"O what sort of form have I seen of Rai next to Shyam in Their Nikunja grove! It is inconceivable that the Creator can produce such a form!"

sajala jalada, kanura varana,
champa varani rai
mani marakata, kanchane jadita,
aichhana rahala thai

"There I beheld Kanu's body is the blue emerald colour of a water-bearing cloud, and Rai's golden colour is like that of a champa flower!"

kiye aparupa, rasa mandala,
ramani mandala ghata
mana-matha mana, paila achetana,
dekhiya o anga chhata

"What a superb form! He enjoys amorous pastimes with young ladies! Seeing His lustrous form, my mind swooned and I fell unconscious."

vadane madhura, hasa adhare,
hrdaye hrdaye sanga
kona rasavati, rasera avese
kusuma sayane anga

"He is lying on a bed of kusum flowers, His face emanating sweetness, His smile most affectionate, He is filled with joy and overcome with amorous ecstasy."

navina meghera, nivida abha,
tahe vijuri ujoi
dasa lochanera, rai saravasa
o-rasa avese so-i

"There is a lightning striking through the dense glow of this fresh rain-cloud. Rai is all in all for Lochan Das who is overwhelmed by these pastimes."

...Srila Lochan Das Thakur stayed in this world for eighty-five years. He left this world in 1530 (Gregorian calendar—1609). The main scripture he composed is Sri Chaitanya-mangal, and there is one more scripture composed by him called Durlabha-sara.

Jay Srila Lochan Das Thakur ki jay!

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

• Listen to the audio or download (3.7 Mb, 9 min)