Srila Prabhupad: Divine Benefactor

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's disappearance
Nrisingha Palli, morning, 3 January 2021, part 4
Translated from Bengali

কুলিয়াতে পাষণ্ডীরা অত্যাচার কৈল যা'রা
তা সবার দোষ ক্ষমা করি ।
জগতে কৈলে ঘোষণা 'তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা'
হন 'কীর্ত্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥'

kuliyate pasandira atyachara kaila ya'ra
ta sabara dosa ksama kari'
jagate kaile ghosana 'taroriva sahisnuna'
hana 'kirtaniyah sada harih'

"You forgave all the atheists of Kuliya village, despite their bad behaviour. Loudly you proclaimed to one and all: one who is more tolerant than a tree can always chant the glories of Lord Hari."

(Acharya Vandana)

Kuliya is the same place as Nabadwip. When Prabhupad Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was in Nabadwip, he was assaulted by the babajis and goswamis of Mayapur, but he showed no resistance—instead, he forgave everyone and declared, "Chant the Holy Name, being as tolerant as a tree!"

করিতেছ উপকার যাতে পর উপকার
লভে জীব শ্রীকৃষ্ণ-সেবায়

karitechchha upakara yate para upakara
labhe jiva sri-krsna-sevaya

"You are giving great benefit by helping other souls get service of Lord Krishna."

(Acharya Vandana)

Srila Prabhupad's help was such that everyone was benefitted through it. What kind of help was it? For example, he used bananas in the service of the Lord, and in this way he helped banana trees—through him, banana trees got some spiritual benefit. This is the kind of help that benefits everyone. You can come to somebody's house and ask them for a handful of rice or a sack of potato—general people cannot serve the Lord themselves because they do not offer bhog, they do not take prasad (somebody can be a vegetarian, but they do not take prasad). To give benefit to such people, you can use their wealth and property in the service of the Lord.

Last year, there was a lockdown. Do you know what we did with all the potato we had collected? There are many small temples in Mayapur, in some of which devotees did not even have anything to eat. I was offered to sell the potato we had, but I said no. I took all the potato and sent Sripad Niriha Maharaj to distribute everything to the temples—he went temple to temple and gave some rice, dal, potato, soya beans, and oil to the temples. It was not possible for temples to buy many things during lockdown, and we did not have many festivals (Vaishnavs could not come during lockdown), so we did not use this bhoga. What was I to do? I sent Sripad Niriha Maharaj in a car and has everything distributed to the temples in Nabadwip. For example, they went to Chapahatti—we go there during the parikrama and always have a big programme there every year. They went also to Mamgachhi, Vidyanagar. I even sent bhoga to the place where Sripad Tirtha Maharaj is staying (where he made his temple). I do not care who criticises me—I sent bhoga everywhere. If you give, then it is necessary to give to everyone. We sent bhoga to Chaitanya Math also, but we did not send to ISKCON because they have money and did not lack bhoga. We also distributed bhoga to everyone in the neighbourhood—people stood in a long queue to take rice and potato; but it was much more important to give this bhoga to Vaishnavs. It is necessary to use the property of the temple in service to Vaishnavs. Because it was good for the reputation of the temple, we gave also something to common people, so that they have a favourable attitude to the temple ("Maharaj has built this temple, etc., and he also gave rice to us!"). People see us building temples and think we have money, but this money belongs to the Lord—I myself am a beggar. So, we collected very much rice and potato last year, and I could not allow it to get wasted, so we distributed everything.

দূরে যায় ভব-রোগ খণ্ডে যাহে কর্ম্মভোগ
হরিপাদপদ্ম যা'তে পায় ॥
জীব মোহ-নিদ্রাগত জাগা'তে বৈকুন্ঠদূত
'গৌড়ীয়' পাঠাও ঘরে ঘরে ।

dure yaya bhava-roga kande yahe karma-bhoga
hari-pada-padma ya'te paya
jiva moha-nidra-gata jaga'te vaikuntha-duta
'gaudiya' pathao ghare ghare

Their heart disease goes far away, all enjoyment and selfish pursuits break apart, and the soul attains the lotus feet of the Lord. As a messenger of the spiritual world, you send Gaudiya Vaishnavs house to house to awaken the souls sleeping in illusion.

(Acharya Vandana)

People are sleeping on the lap of Maya. They forget the Lord and sleep on the lap of illusion. When we sleep, we do not think about anything, we do not realise that we are sleeping, but the problem is that when we wake up, we still continue sleeping because we forget the Lord. We do not remember anything about our past lives, and we do not remember the Lord. Srila Prabhupad sent messengers from Vaikuntha (brahmacharis and sannyasis) for such sleeping souls—on his order, they went house to house, calling out, "Wake up, brother! Wake up! Stop sleeping!"

উঠরে উঠরে ভাই আর ত সময় নাই
'কৃষ্ণ ভজ' বলে উচ্চৈঃস্বরে

uthare uthare bhai ara ta samaya nai
'krsna bhaja' bale uchchaihsvare

Wake up, wake up, brother, there is no time! Worship Krishna!

(Acharya Vandana)

তোমার মুখারবিন্দ- বিগলিত মকরন্দ
সিঞ্চিত অচ্যুত-গুণগাথা ।
শুনিলে জুড়ায় প্রাণ তোমা মোহ অন্তর্দ্ধান
দূরে যায় হৃদয়ের ব্যথা ॥

tomara mukhara-binda vigalita makaranda
sinchita achyuta-guna-gatha
sunile judaya prana toma moha antarddhana
dure yaya hrdayera vyatha

Hearing verses, drops of molten nectar coming from your mouth, glorifying the Infallible Lord soothes our being and dissipates darkness and illusion, and all heart pain goes far away.

জানি আমি মহাশয় যশোবাঞ্চা নাহি হয়
বিন্দুমাত্র তোমার অন্তরে ।
তব গুণ বীণাধারী, মোর কন্ঠ-বীণা ধরি'
অবশেতে বলায় আমারে ॥

jani ami mahasaya yasovancha nahi haya
bindu-matra tomara antare
tava guna vina-dhari, mora kantha-vina dhari'
avasete baliya amare

I know that there is not a slightest drop of deceit known within you. Your glory is like a player of a vina—they have seized the vina of my throat and, paralysing me, they force me to sing.

(Acharya Vandana)

The poet says, "Prabhu, I know that when I say all these things, no pratistha will come to you, and you will not consider me a flatterer (karta-bhaja)." Do you understand what karta-bhaja means? I can tell you. You know, there is a 'temple-in-charge' (manager), and many compete and fight with them, "Oh, I am not getting a good room!", "Oh, I am not getting good food!" They like to bypass the manager and come to complain to Gurudev. Goda dingiye ghas kayoya (ঘোড়া ডিঙিয়ে ঘাস খাওয়া—bypass the proper channel; lit. jump over the goda [raised platform for cows to stand while eating grass] to eat grass). For example, there are managers in Puri and Vrindavan, and people bypass them and run to other places, thinking, "Oh, if I give him some money, he will like me, and I can stay nicely." Such people are called karta-bhaja (flatterers). There are aul, baul, and karta-bhaja people (apa-sampradayas).

জানি আমি মহাশয় যশোবাঞ্চা নাহি হয়
বিন্দুমাত্র তোমার অন্তরে ।
তব গুণ বীণাধারী, মোর কন্ঠ-বীণা ধরি'
অবশেতে বলায় আমারে ॥

jani ami mahasaya yasovancha nahi haya
bindu-matra tomara antare
tava guna vina-dhari, mora kantha-vina dhari'
avasete baliya amare

I know that there is not a slightest drop of deceit known within you. Your glory is like a player of a vina—they have seized the vina of my throat and, paralysing me, they force me to sing.

বৈষ্ণবের গুণ-গান করিলে জীবের ত্রাণ
শুনিয়াছি সাধুগুরুমুখে ।
কৃষ্ণভক্তি সমুদয় জনম সফল হয়
এ ভব-সাগর তরে সুখে ॥

vaisnavera guna-gana karile jivera trana
suniyachhi sadhu-guru-mukhe
krsna-bhakti samudaya janama saphala haya
e bhava-sagara tare sukhe

Singing the glories of the Vaishnavs rescues and protects the jiva soul. I heard this from the mouth of sadhus and my Guru. When there arise devotion to Lord Krishna, the life becomes successful, and the soul can happily cross this ocean of material existence.

তে-কারণে প্রয়াস যথা বামনের আশ
গগনের চাঁদ ধরিবারে ।
অদোষ-দরশী তুমি অধম পতিত আমি
নিজগুণে ক্ষমিবা আমারে ॥

te-karane prayasa yatha vamanera asa
gaganera chanda dhari-bare
adosa-darasi tumi adhama patita ami
nija-gune ksamiva amare

My attempt is like that of a dwarf who wants to catch the moon in the sky. You never see anyone's faults, and I am extremely fallen. Please forgive me for being what I am.

শ্রীগৌরাঙ্গ-পারিষদ ঠাকুর ভক্তিবিনোদ
দীনহীন পতিতের বন্ধু ।
কলিতমঃ বিনাশিতে আনিলেন অবনীতে
তোমা' অকলঙ্ক পূর্ণ ইন্দু ॥

sri-gauranga-parisada thakura bhakti-vinoda
dina-hina patitera bandhu
kali-tamah vinasite anilena avanite
toma' akalanka purna indu

Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur is an associate of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and a friend of all low and fallen souls—to dispel all darkness of this dark age, he brought to this earth you, a spotless full moon.

কর কৃপা বিতরণ প্রেমসুধা অনুক্ষণ
মাতিয়া উঠুক জীবগণ ।
হরিনাম-সংকীর্ত্তনে নাচুক জগত-জনে
বৈষ্ণব-দাসের নিবেদন ॥

kara krpa vitarana prema-sudha anuksana
matiya uthuk jiva-gana
harinama-sankirtana nachuk jagata-jane
vaisnava-dasera nivedana

Please bestow your mercy so that, incessantly intoxicated by the nectar of love of God, the souls arise. May the whole world dance in the sankirtan (congregational chanting) of the Lord's Holy Names. This is the humble petition of this servant of Vaishnavs.

(Acharya Vandana)

Jay Prabhupada Jay Prabhupada
Jay Prabhupada Jay Prabhupada

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