Main Target

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Bankura Anniversary Festival,
26 January 2021, part 12
Translated from Bengali

Therefore, our main goal, main target is pure devotion. There is devotion mixed with material desires (karma-misra bhakti), devotion mixed with knowledge (jnana-misra bhakti), and pure devotion free from devotion (jnana-sunya suddha bhakti). When Mahaprabhu spoke to Ramananda Ray and Srila Sanatan Goswami, He discussed this with them. Mahaprabhu told Srila Sanatan Goswami, "The Lord has given you this body, then how can you want to spoil a body that does not belong to you?!" Srila Sanatan Goswami said, "I came to do some good, but it turned out just the opposite." After Mahaprabhu left, Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami went to Vrindavan. Mahaprabhu told them, "I will do much work through your body, I will serve Vaishnavs, devotees through your body, I will recover so many holy places and compose so many books through you." Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami composed many beautiful holy books; we must always remember their teaching.

You can read Sri Rupa-Siksa and Sri Sanatan-Siksa. Srila Sanatan Goswami asked Mahaprabhu five questions, "(1) Who am I? (2) Why do I suffer? (3) How can I get benefit? (4) What is the highest goal? (5) How can I attain the highest goal?" "Bhagavata pada Vaisnavera sthane, ekanta asraya kara Chaitanya-charane! (ভাগবত পড় বৈষ্ণবের স্থানে, একান্ত আশ্রয় কর চৈতন্য-চরণে) Read Bhagavatam under the guidance of bona fide Vaishnavs and take shelter at Mahaprabhu's lotus feet! That is your benefit." We must read Bhagavatam at the holy lotus feet of Vaishnavs; otherwise, we will not be able to understand its meaning—we will understand it in a wrong way. Therefore, it is necessary to hear Bhagavatam from a Vaishnav and to take shelter at the holy lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Mahaprabhu Himself came in this Kali-yuga.

কৃষ্ণবর্ণং ত্বিষাঽকৃষ্ণং সাঙ্গোপাঙ্গাস্ত্রপার্ষদম্ ।
যজ্ঞৈঃ সঙ্কীর্ত্তনপ্রায়ৈর্যজন্তি হি সুমেধসঃ ॥

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

"Those of sharp intellect will worship Krishna who appears with a non-black bodily hue, who is armed and surrounded by His associates and servants, and who always chants the Holy Names."

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.5.32)

Krishna stole Srimati Radharani's heart and halo. It is said in the scriptures that Gadadhar Pandit is Srimati Radharani's incarnation in this Kali-yuga, but then somebody can ask, "If Gadadhar Pandit is Srimati Radharani's incarnation, then how can Gauranga Mahaprabhu be Radha-Krishna's combined form?" Krishna has taken Radharani's heart and halo—if you take someone's heart and halo, something will still remain from that person, and that remainder is Sri Gadadhar Pandit Goswami. This is the answer. That is why Gadadhar Pandit always stayed near Mahaprabhu, and they were very intimate. Gadadhar Pandit would read Bhagavatam, and Mahaprabhu would come and listen to him reading. One time, Gadadhar Pandit was going to make some spinach. He knew that Mahaprabhu liked wild spinach very much, and he decided to test Mahaprabhu, "If I cook spinach but do not invite Mahaprabhu, will He come Himself?" When Gadadhar Pandit finished cooking, he saw that Mahaprabhu came—He came to him even without an invitation.

Gauranga Mahaprabhu, a combined form of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, comes to this world, on the one hand, to relish the divine separation mood of Srimati Radharani and Vraja gopis, and, on the other hand, to establish and propagate the religion of this age—Sri Harinam-sankirtan. He went house to house begging everyone, "Say 'Krishna', follow Krishna's teaching!" Mahaprabhu taught everyone that it is necessary to accept and follow the teaching of Lord Sri Krishna.

First, it is necessary to become a devotee of Gauranga, Nityananda, a servant of Gurudev. Sri Vasu Ghosh wrote very beautifully,

যদি গৌর না হ'ত তবে কি হইত
কেমনে ধরিতাম দে ।
রাধার মহিমা প্রেমরস-সীমা
জগতে জানাত কে ? ॥

yadi gaura na ha'ta tabe ki ha-ita
kemane dharitam de
radhara mahima, prema-rasa-sima
jagate janata ke?

"If Gaura had not come, then what would have happened? How would we have maintained our lives? Who would have revealed to the world Radha's glory and the extremes of Her ecstatic divine love?"

(Srila Vasudev Ghosh Thakur)

If Gauranga Mahaprabhu had not come to this world, who would have been able to tell about the glory of Srimati Radharani. Nobody except Him can do it. Therefore, if you are to know the glory of Srimati Radharani, you must first worship Gauranga; if you do not worship Gauranga, you cannot worship Radha-Krishna. Worship Gauranga, worship Nityananda....

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