(3/7) Remembering Departure of Haridas Thakur

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Uluberia, 19 December 2020, noon, part 3
Translated from Bengali

Whoever we may be in this world, what is the use for us living for one hundred or two hundred years? Even if we live for ten years, if we chant the Holy Name properly during these ten years, we can get all benefit (there is value in those years lived). People are proud, 'Oh, my father has lived for one hundred years!', 'My father has got a life of one hundred and twenty years!' What is the use? They do not practise Krishna consciousness, do not chant the Holy Name. If you live for only thirty years but you chant the Holy Name and leave the world, there is some value in that. Do you understand it? There is no use living for one hundred years.

When Haridas Thakur expressed his desire to leave this world, Mahaprabhu also told him, 'Without you, this world will be void. I have performed all My pastimes together with you.' You must always remember the departure pastime of Srila Haridas Thakur.

When Mahaprabhu took sannyas and came to Puri, He told Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and Kashi Misra, 'When I come to stay here full time, apart from My room, I will need one more room.' He did not say who it was for. When somebody asked Him, 'Who is it for, Prabhu?' He only answered, 'You will see later.' Mahaprabhu wanted to stay in Puri together with Srila Haridas Thakur – He wanted to keep Haridas near Him. When we go to Puri, you can see the place where he stayed (it is called Siddha Bakul). Every day after taking the darshan of Lord Jagannath's mangal-arati, Mahaprabhu went to Haridas Thakur. After speaking to Haridas Thakur, He would then go to the ocean to take bath. This was Mahaprabhu's routine every day. Moreover, every day, whatever prasad He took, He would send the remnants to Haridas Thakur with Govinda, His servitor. This was what Haridas Thakur took.

One day, when Govinda came to bring prasad for Haridas Thakur and to visit him, he saw Haridas Thakur lying in his bed with the beads in his hand, chanting softly. It is written in the scriptures that he chanted 'munde munde', which means very slowly, softly. Normally, Haridas Thakur always chanted the Holy Name loudly, but that day he was chanting very softly. When Govinda came with prasad, Haridas Thakur looked at it and said, 'Today I will have to break it (aji langhimu): I will have to break the rule today. I never take prasad until I finish chanting 300,000 Holy Names.' He would chant the whole day, starting from early in the morning until later at night. He would chant 300,000 Holy Names every day. So, that day, he said, 'I have not completed chanting all rounds, but prasad has come – Mahaprabhu has sent this prasad – how can I send it back? What am I to do?' Then, he took a pinch of that prasad, put it in his mouth and then told Govinda, 'You can leave now.'

Govinda returned to Mahaprabhu and told him the news that Haridas Thakur had fallen ill – he was chanting the Holy Name softly and did not take prasad properly. He told Mahaprabhu, 'Prabhu, there is some bad news about Haridas Thakur.' Without any delay, Mahaprabhu immediately went to Siddha Bakul to see Haridas.

'Haridas!' Mahaprabhu said, 'You have become old now. Why do you need to chant so much now. You can chant less.'

Haridas kept looking at Mahaprabhu's face. Then, he pulled Mahaprabhu by the hand and made Him sit next to him.

'Prabhu,' he said, 'please sit down. I have some humble petition at Your holy feet. Will You fulfil it?'

'Haridas, you are a greatest devotee. The Lord must certainly fulfil your desire. What is your petition?'

'You have shown me many of Your pastimes: I have seen the pastimes of Your birth, childhood, youth, householder life and even sannyas. I am telling you from my heart that I can understand that You will not stay in this world for much longer. Prabhu, I will not be able to bear seeing this pastime of You leaving this world. I have seen all Your pastimes, but my heart is telling me that You will not stay in this world for much longer, so I want to leave this body before You. I am asking You for this.'

'Haridas, you are a great Vaishnav, so the Lord will fulfil your desire, but—'

'Please, no "but"...'

'But all My pastimes have always been with you. You are Namacharya, we have been distributing the Holy Name in this world together! If you leave this world, Prabhu, how can I tolerate it?'

'Prabhu, if an ant like me leaves this world, what loss is there for the world? You have so many devotees who can distribute the Holy Name in this world, and so many more will come. If I leave, it will not be a problem for anybody. What is the loss for the world if one ant dies?'

What was Mahaprabhu to say?

'Prabhu,' Haridas said then, 'I actually have three desires. I want to see Your holy lotus face with my eyes, I want to hold Your holy feet on my chest, and I will chant Your Name with my mouth.'

'The Lord will certainly fulfil your desire...'

In the evening, Mahaprabhu went back to Gambhira. The next day, He came to Haridas Thakur again in the morning, taking all the devotees with Him. He told everyone, 'Do the parikrama of Haridas's body (circumambulate it).' Then, Haridas told Mahaprabhu to sit near him...

The day before that, when Mahaprabhu came to visit Haridas Thakur, Mahaprabhu first asked him, 'Haridas, what is wrong? Are you ill?' Haridas Thakur replied, 'My mind is ill, not my body (asustha nay mora sarira, asustha hoya mora mana; অসুস্থ নয় মোর শরীর, অসুস্থ হয় মোর মন).' Do you understand what he said? It is not our bodies that are sick, it is our minds that are sick (full of bad thoughts and things)...

So, Haridas Thakur told Mahaprabhu to sit next to him. He pulled Mahaprabhu feet onto his chest and, looking at His face, he chanted in full consciousness, 'Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Sri Krishna Chaitanya.' Chanting Mahaprabhu's Name in this way, Haridas Thakur's soul left his body...

After that, Mahaprabhu took Haridas Thakur on His shoulder and carried him to the ocean. He gave Haridas a good bath with ghee and ocean water. He said, 'This ocean is a place of pilgrimage, but because Haridas's transcendental body has been bathed in it today, the water of this ocean has become a great place of pilgrimage. Then, a hole was made in the sand and Haridas Thakur was seated in his samadhi. Mahaprabhu buried Haridas Thakur with His own hands. (Now the water has moved away from shore, so the temple where his samadhi is is a little far from the shore.) In the afternoon, Mahaprabhu went begging to the market. He usually never went begging, but He personally went begging for His devotee. 'Do you know that Haridas has left his world? I am making a great festival in his honour!' Mahaprabhu begged from all the shopkeepers who sold prasad at Ananda Bazar in Puri, and all shopkeepers gave baskets full of prasad to Him. Mahaprabhu took everything to Gambhira and Siddha Bakul where prasad was distributed. He made a very big festival.

This is how Haridas Thakur's departure is described in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. It is a very beautiful pastime. You should know it.

বৈষ্ণবের গুণ-গান করিলে জীবের ত্রাণ
শুনিয়াছি সাধুগুরুমুখে

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe

'Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul—I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my guru.'

(Acharya-vandana)

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Last Rites
2) Gist of Fire Sacrifice
3) Remembering Departure of Haridas Thakur
4) Seek Devotion
5) Nought in a Knot
6) Knowledge of Relationship
7) Worshipful Mood