Mahaprabhu's Advent and Gift

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata, preaching programme,
16 January 2021, part 2
Translated from Bengali

Sriman Mahaprabhu said that there are four varnas, four ashrams, and four yugas. The four varnas are brahman, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra. The four ashrams are brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha, and sannyas. Finally, the four yugas, or ages, are Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapar-yuga, and Kali-yuga. The Lord comes in each of the four yugas to this pure land of Bharata (India). Why is it considered pure? Because there is the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Saraswati. There is Vrindavan, Mathura, Puri Dham, Badarikashram, Kedarnath in this land. Time after time, the Lord came here in Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapar-yuga, and Kali-yuga. We are living now in Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga's duration is 432,000 years, and only about 5500 years have passed so far. It is written in Vishnu Purana and Srimad Bhagavatam:

জলজা নবলক্ষাণি স্থাবরা লক্ষবিংশতি
কৃময়োরুদ্রসঙ্খকাঃ পক্ষিণাং দশলক্ষনম্
ত্রিংশললক্ষাণি পশবঃ চতুরলক্ষাণি মানুষাঃ

jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati
krmayo rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksanam
trimsal-laksani pasavah chatur-laksani manusah

'There are 900,000 aquatic species; 2,000,000 nonmoving living entities (trees, plants, etc.); 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles; 1,000,000 species of birds; 3,000,000 species of beasts; and 400,000 species of humans'.

(Sri Visnu Purana)

We have been born 900,000 times in water as all kinds of aquatics (dolphins, fish, crocodiles, etc.). We became trees, plants, etc. 2,000,000 times. We were born as insects, spiders, etc. 1,000,000 times. We flew in the sky 1,000,000 times. We became animals 3,000,000 times and, finally, humans 400,000 times. We have become humans now, but where have we been born? You can see here there are devotees from Mexico, England, America, Colombia, Venezuela. They left everything and came here, but the people from our country always try to go abroad in search for dollars—somebody becomes a doctor, somebody an engineer. Why do they then leave everything and come here? Srila Param Gurudev said: there is a hidden treasure in India. That is why the English translation of Srimad Bhagavad-gita is called The Hidden Treasure of the Sweet Absolute. On top of that, when the Lord came in Kali-yuga, He appeared right here in West Bengal—He chose Sri Dham Mayapur in Nabadwip and Sri Jagannath Misra and Sri Sachi Mata and appeared in this age as Gauranga Mahaprabhu. His non-different form Sri Nityananda Prabhu also chose Sri Hadai Pandit and Sri Padmavati Devi and appeared in this world in this Ekachakra Dham, Virachandrapur.

Why does Sri Krishna come in this Kali-yuga?

শ্রীরাধায়াঃ প্রণয়মহিমা কীদৃশো বানয়ৈবা-
স্বাদ্যো যেনাদ্ভুতমধুরিমা কীদৃশো বা মদীয়ঃ ।
সৌখ্যঞ্চাস্যা মদনুভবতঃ কীদৃশং বেতি লোভা-
ত্তদ্ভাবাঢ্যঃ সমজনি শচীগর্ভসিন্ধৌ হরীন্দুঃ ॥

sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaivasvadyo
yenadbhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam chasya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat
tad-bhavadhyah samajani sachigarbha-sindhau harinduh

'"What is the glory of Sri Radha's love? What extraordinary sweetness does She see in Me? What happiness does She feel when She is moved by Me?"—yearning to taste these three sentiments, the moon Krishna-chandra arose from the ocean of Mother Sachi's womb'.

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.1.6)

"Why does Radharani cry so much chanting My Name? What sort of happiness does Radharani feel when She serves Me?"—to taste this, Lord Sri Krishna appeared in this Kali-yuga. There is a very beautiful description in Srimad Bhagavatam:

কৃষ্ণবর্ণং ত্বিষাঽকৃষ্ণং সাঙ্গোপাঙ্গাস্ত্রপার্ষদম্ ।
যজ্ঞৈঃ সঙ্কীর্ত্তনপ্রায়ৈর্যজন্তি হি সুমেধসঃ ॥

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah

'In this age of Kali, intelligent souls will always worship Sri Gaurasundar through sankirtan-yajna (the sacrifice of chanting the Holy Names). He appears as dark-complexioned (Krishna) but with a non-dark, or golden, halo (couched in the heart and halo of Sri Radha). Together with His associates, He searches for Krishna by chanting His Holy Names. His limbs (anga) are Sriman Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Advaita Prabhu; His accessory limbs (upanga) are Srivas Acharya and all pure devotees; His weapons (astra) are the words of the Holy Name; and His associates (parsada) are Sri Gadadhar, Sri Svarup Damodar, Ramananda, Sanatan, Rupa and other'.

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.5.32)

Krishna steals Srimati Radharani's heart and halo and appears as Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Everybody knows that Gadadhar is Srimati Radharani's incarnation, but how can that be if Gauranga Mahaprabhu is the combined form of Sri Radha and Krishna? The answer is simple—a person does not have only a heart and a halo, there is some remainder (the body) also. Krishna takes Srimati Radharani's heart and halo and appears as Gauranga [the 'heart' means Srimati Radharani's mood of divine separation from Krishna; the 'halo' means the golden hue of Srimati Radharani's body], and Gadadhar took the remaining body.

When Krishna comes as Gauranga, He has some goals: He comes to taste Srimati Radharani's ecstasy and to also appear as the yuga-avatar.

নাম বিনা কলিকালে নাহি আর ধর্ম্ম ।
সর্ব্বমন্ত্রসার নাম,—এই শাস্ত্রমর্ম্ম ॥

nama bina kali-kale nahi ara dharma
sarva-mantra-sara 'nama' ei sastra marma

"There is no other religion except for chanting the Holy Name. The purport of all scriptures is that the Holy Name is the essence of all mantras."

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.7.74)

কলিকালে নামরূপ কৃষ্ণ-অবতার ।
নাম হৈতে হয় সর্ব্বজগৎ-নিস্তার ॥

kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara
nama haite haya sarva-jagat-nistara

"In the Kali-yuga, Krishna appears in the form of the Name. The entire world is delivered through that Name."

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.17.22)

The Lord's Name, form, qualities, pastimes, associates, features are completely non-different from the Lord Himself. The Lord comes Himself to grant His Name to everyone (nija nama kari' dana).

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