At Sri Nandan Acharya Bhavan (1)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama, Day One
Antardwip, 23 March 2021, part 1
Translated from Bengali

[Arriving at Sri Nandan Acharya Bhavan, His Divine Grace takes a seat in the nat mandir and chants 'Parama karuna' and 'Kabe Sri Chaitanya more karibena daya'.]

As we proceed with our parikrama we do not stop and sit at all places, so why have we come here? Why are we sitting here? Is it because we are going to eat here? Not because of that. We are sitting here because this is the place where Gaura and Nityananda's first meeting took place.

You all know that Sachinandan Gaura Hari appeared in this world in Yogapith (we will go there later during our parikrama), and when Nityananda Prabhu came to Nabadwip Dham, He first stayed here.

This temple here was established by a fellow godbrother of our Param Gurudev (Gurudev of our Gurudev, or you can say our grandfather Guru) Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, his name is Pujyapad Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj. His brahmachari name was Aprakrita Prabhu, and he appeared in this world in Patrasayer, Bankura (we have a temple there). He used to stay and serve together with our Param Guru Maharaj at Chaitanya Math at first, and when Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur left, he went back to his home feeling dejected by the situation. Our Param Gurudev then forcefully brought him back saying, "If such a great preacher as yourself stays at home, then who will preach Mahaprabhu's teaching, Prabhupad's teaching in this world?" Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj replied, "If you give me sannyas, then I can leave home again." After that, Srila Sridhar Maharaj gave him sannyas and the name Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj. His samadhi mandir is here, at this temple. After him, the acharya of this temple was a disciple of Pujyapad Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj named Sripad Bhakti Suhrid Akinchan Maharaj, his samadhi is also here, you can see it. He was very affectionate to me. After him, Sripad Sadhu Maharaj, my very good friend, is managing this temple to this day. He must have left now for the parikrama (he takes devotees for the parikrama just as we do). There is also another historical significance related to this temple. Sripad Bhakti Kiran Giri Maharaj, whom our Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj gave charge of Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama, was a disciple from this temple, but he took sannyas from Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He often stayed at our temple, and he spent his last years here. His samadhi mandir is also here.

You can find the full history of these great personalities in the book that we published last year called Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala. It is necessary to learn these things. You cannot learn something just by buying a book from the market—if you want to learn properly, then you need to go to school and learn from a teacher. So, listen to these things and you will understand it, or at least you will understand it later.

Pujyapad Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj would come to our Math every year and invite Srila Sridhar Maharaj to his birthday celebration.

[Clamour among the devotees.] What has happened? [Somebody has fallen down.] Of course they will fall down—I told you to listen attentively. You must concentrate your mind here, otherwise you become scatter-minded and start going here and there during the parikrama—did I tell you to go anywhere? Only go where I go. Do not go to any other places. [Clamour continues.] Who has fallen down? Give them a chair. [Devotees say that the person has fainted.] Fainted? Pour some water on their head. Actually, if somebody leaves their body here, it is a great fortune—they immediately go to their own holy abode... [The person came round after a while.] I myself want to leave my body like this—chanting kirtan. I pray that not a day, not a moment passes in my life without kirtan...

So, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj would invite Srila Sridhar Maharaj to his birthday every year, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj would come here every time, and every time he came, Srila Goswami Maharaj would give him whatever donation his disciples had given to him this day because Srila Sridhar Maharaj was his sannyas-guru and siksa-guru. One time, however, Srila Sridhar Maharaj could not come, and Srila Goswami Maharaj said, "My sannyas-guru could not come this time, I think I will not be alive next year..." And he really did leave his body that year.

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