CHAPTER FIVE

The Land of Spiritual Gems

More from within Sri Vrindavan Dham

Many devotees are coming to our Math from every corner of the world and we are living together. Everyone who comes does not know Bengali, English, or Hindi, but they are always very submissive and trying to serve, and they are serving. In which way is this possible? It can only happen by the causeless mercy of Sri Guru.

Srila Guru Maharaj spread his consciousness, the conception which is coming through the line of Srila Rupa Goswami, and you are getting the chance to engage in that line of service. All of you cannot speak even English, but you are doing service. It is sometimes a miracle for me to see. Only the mood of affection and the mood of service can help us, and you have that. It is your property, and to serve you—that is my property. In this way, no problem comes between us.

We are always trying to serve the will and mood of Srila Guru Maharaj, that is why we have come here. Srila Guru Maharaj lastly told me, "In the future, do not try to make many maths. Managing a math is very difficult and all of your time will be taken for that management. So only make a math in Puri Dham, and if possible, you can try to organise a devotees' bhajan ashram in Vrindavan Dham." That was his desire. And now it is established—Puri, Vrindavan, and Nabadwip Dham. With all the devotees I am trying to satisfy Srila Guru Maharaj's will and desire.

I know, believe, and have faith in Srila Guru Maharaj and that by his causeless mercy we can and must establish here a devotees' bhajan ashram. Srila Guru Maharaj did not say a math, but he said "bhajan ashram."

Whoever comes to Vrindavan must try to do some seva. Bhajan means seva, service. Here we are not doing business. When the mood of service to Vrindavan, to Guru and Vaishnav comes, and when the mood of service to Radha-Krishna comes to us, then we shall try to stay in Vrindavan. Who has this mood, he can stay in Vrindavan, and for that type of devotee we must make a bhajan ashram here.

Sometimes a few devotees have some intention to stay in Vrindavan, but they are staying in Vrindavan like a bee on the outside of a bottle of honey. What are they doing? One devotee came to see me recently, he now lives here in Vrindavan, but what is he doing? He purchased a cow and maintains his family—he is doing the same as he was in Bengal. His mood is good because he considers Vrindavan to be a very auspicious place, but his conception of Vrindavan is very small.

Vrindavan is infinitely great and it is inconceivable by our intelligence. We only see the mundane cover and we are not getting admission within the transcendental world of Sri Vrindavan Dham. We need admission, and it is our hope that one day we shall get that real vision.

matala harijana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

Taking this sloka as our example we shall worship Vrindavan from afar. One who reads Sri Brahma-samhita can know something about Vrindavan Dham. Actually, Vrindavan Dham is:

goloka-namni nija-dhamni tale cha tasya
devi mahesa-hari-dhamasu tesu tesu

("First there is Devi Dham, then Mahesa Dham, and above Mahesa Dham is Hari Dham; and above all is His own home, Goloka.")

And:

sriyah kantah kantah parama-purusah kalpataravo
druma bhumis chintamaniganamayi toyam amrtam
katha ganam natyam gamanam api vamsi priyasakhi
chid anandam jyotih param api tad asvadyam api cha
sa yatra ksirabdhih sravati surabhiyas cha sumahan
nimesarddhakhyo va vrajati na hi yatrapi samayah
bhaje svetadvipam tam aham iha golokam iti yam
vidantas te santah ksiti-virala-charah katipaye

Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.56

("That place where the Divine Goddesses of Fortune are the Beloved, and Krishna, the Supreme Male, is the only Lover; all the trees are Divine wish-fulfilling trees, the soil is made of transcendental gems and the water is nectar; where every word is a song, every movement is dancing, the flute is the dearmost companion, sunlight and moonlight are divine ecstasy, and all that be is divine, and enjoyable; where a great ocean of milk eternally flows from the udders of billions of surabhi cows and the divine time is eternally present, never suffering the estrangement of past and future for even a split second... that Supreme Transcendental Abode of Svetadwip do I adore. Practically no one in this world knows that place but for only a few pure devotees— and they know it as Goloka.")

That is the explanation of Vrindavan—the actual Vrindavan. Also in the Brahma-samhita (5.29), Lord Brahma says:

chintamani-prakarasadmasu kalpavrksalaks
avrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi purusam tam aham bhajami

("Surrounded by millions of wish-fulfilling trees, in abodes made of multitudes of wish-yielding gems, He who tends the ever-yielding cows and who is perpetually served with great affection by hundreds of thousands of Laksmis— the Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I worship.")

In Sri Brahma-samhita is given a very nice explanation about Vrindavan Dham, Goloka Dham. Chintamani-prakarasadmasu kalpavrksa. If we look at the houses in Vrindavan we cannot at present see that they are made of chintamani, but actually they are transcendental and actual Vrindavan is all made of chintamani. Prakarasadmasu kalpavrksa: 'sadmasu' means all the houses, and 'kalpavriksa' means wish-fulfilling trees. If you want a fruit such as a mango from a neem tree, the neem tree will give you a mango—that is kalpavriksa. But what we see with our present vision is not that!

We think it is a very auspicious place, no doubt, and that it exists above this mundane world, but with our mundane knowledge we cannot feel it. We glorify that auspicious place, and therefore sometimes some light may come to us. We think it to be better than other places, no doubt, but we do not see the real Vrindavan. But we need that real Vrindavan, and we need to have admission there.

chintamani-prakarasadmasu kalpavrksalaks
avrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi purusam tam aham bhajami

Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.29

In this connection, I can remember an answer given by Pishima, Srila Swami Maharaj's sister. Pishima had much regard and affection for Srila Guru Maharaj, and he also liked her like his disciple. She was a very strict lady and a great devotee of Lord Krishna, so everyone respected her, and her opinion was held in very high regard.

One day some curious sannyasis asked her, "In which way is Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip, running? Are they eating nicely or are they not getting food?"

Pishima gave her reply, "Oh, that Math is very glorious, you cannot guess it. Laksmi Devi herself looks after the grounds and verandah of Radha Govindasundar! This is the actual position of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math there."

When Srila Guru Maharaj heard this he said; "Oh, in a very protective way Pishima has expressed it! If she had said, 'Laksmi Devi herself looks after the grounds of Sridhar Maharaj's Math,' I must fall into the ocean of offence, but she said, 'She is looking after Radha-Govinda's grounds,' and that is good. We can honour that, we can honour her opinion."

Laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam. This is the mood of our transcendental body: we are always ready, ever ready for service to Krishna, and waiting for the order of our Divine Master.

Our transcendental body is very nicely decorated with marks of tilak as twelve temples of Krishna, and good tulasi-mala on our neck. The Hare Krishna mahamantra is on our chest. With that body we are to serve Krishna under the guidance of our Divine Master. This is our dhyan, our meditation, and we want that. We are practising in a mundane way, but by the mercy of our Gurudev, and through our devotion, we must get it. That only is our hope, and this has been shown by Srila Raghunath Das Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami.

I have already told you Srila Das Goswami's super-sloka, asabharair-amrta-sindhu-mayaih kathanchit... Srila Rupa Goswami gave another sloka that is also very high. He said,

virachaya mayi dandam dinabandho dayam va
gatir iha na bhavatah kachid anya mamasti
nipatatu sata-kotir nirbharam va navambhas
tad api kila payodah stuyate chatakena

"O Dina-bandho, O Krishna, I am fully surrendered unto Your lotus feet. I do not want anything without Your mercy— that is my life's position. I shall not praise others and I do not desire anything from any other channel. Only I desire the mercy of Your Divine Grace." In this way, Srila Rupa Goswami also explained the heart of a devotee.

Srila Rupa Goswami composed many books. For us, the conditioned souls, he gave many things. Anyhow, our activity must go for the service to Guru, Vaishnav, and Bhagavan, and one day we must attain that transcendental vision. Through such vision we will be able to see everything—Krishna Dham, Vraja Dham, Vrindavan Dham. We will get the mercy of the Vraja-basis there, and of Sri Rupa, Sri Sanatana, Sri Raghunath, and the other Goswamis. Through their mercy we must get service to Their Lordships Sri Sri Krishnachandra and Srimati Radharani. This is our only hope, and the only goal of our life.

CONTENTS:

Foreword

FIRST SECTION
Chapter 1:
Utilising Our Fortune
Chapter 2:
On the Way to Sri Puri Dham
Chapter 3:
On the Way to Sri Vrindavan Dham
Chapter 4:
Within the Holy Dham
Chapter 5:
The Land of Spiritual Gems
Chapter 6:
Sweet Service, Service, Service

SECOND SECTION
Chapter 7:
Hand-carved Gems