10th Birthday of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan

ISKCON Nashik
10 March 2021

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Swami Maharaja Ki jaya
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya

As I said I would be present in this program, so here I am. We got the calendar of Radha Madan Gopal 2021 is already here, beautiful darsana and so many beautiful pictures. Hari Hari!!. Today, the devotees of Nasik and so many devotees from different locations, I am not in Nasik but today I have become a devotee of Nasik on the 10th anniversary of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan. Hari Hari!!

I do remember, in Nigdi Sri Sri Radha Govind was installed, and the next day there was the installation of Radha Madan Mohan in Nasik. We were all there, the program in Nigdi was not over, so Radhanath Swami left me there and I could not be in Nasik that year. So, one after another, one day for Radha Govind and two or three days later for Radha Madan Mohan. Radha Madan Mohan ki Jaya!!

The deities were installed or there was the appearance of the deities. There is no difference, the Lord’s form is God Himself. We pointed fingers to show that, look over there is God. There is no difference between the form and God Himself, and also the name of the God and God Himself. It is difficult to understand this.

Abhinatvat nama namino

Means God is non-different from His name. ‘Krishna jinka nama hain’. There is no difference between the name of God and God Himself; this is easy to understand. So, I pay obeisance to the Lord that appears in the form of deities.

sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nanashringara-
tan-mandira-marjanadau
yuktasya bhaktams cha niyunjato pi
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam [Sri Gurvashtakam 3 verse]

Translation:

The spiritual master is always engaged in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. He also engages his disciples in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful clothes and ornaments, clean Their temple, and perform other similar worship of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.

So Lord appears in the form of deities, Sri Vigrah. So, 10 years ago in Nasik Radha Madan Gopal appeared. It became a birth place, like Krishna’s birth place is known as Mathura. But where the Lord appears it is said to be His birth place. Iskcon Nasik and this ‘brahma utsav’ mean Lord’s birthday. Happy birthday to you Radha Madan Gopal.

So, today is Radha Madan Gopal 10th birthday. So, would we ask ‘oh Krishna how old are you’? Like the western says; they do not ask how young you are rather they ask how old are you? So, I was about to say our Radha Madan Gopal is now 10 years old. But some time earlier some devotees were singing,

govindam adi-puru?am tam aham bhajami

Our Mahatma prabhu, my god brother sung it melodiously and devotees were trying to follow the same tune. Only he can sing in this way.

So, how old is Govind or Radha Madan Gopal but before that they are ‘purusam’. There is no time that Govind or Radha Madan Gopal was not ‘adi-purusam’. It is also called ‘adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca’. He is the oldest, Krishna is ‘adi-purusam’ ‘nav yavanam ca’. Today’s youth have to become old one day they have no choice but Krishna never becomes old. He remains young .

So, Their Lordships are 10 years old and slowly they will be 100 years and more 500 years. And their Lordships will always be there. The generation will come and go in Nasik but Radha Madan Gopal will stay the same. We are all engaged in the service of their Lordship Radha Madan Gopal. By singing also we render service either govindam adi-puru?am or

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Bhakti is when we engage our senses to be pure in the service of the Lord. God who is the Lord of our senses ‘Rishikesh’, we engage our body and senses

‘kayena vaca manasa vaca’

When we serve the Lord or ‘Pranair arthair dhiya vaca.’ So, God is pleased when we render service. So, we can serve the Lord in different ways. So, The Lord is in Goloka dhama, there are many lives serving the Lord along with the Gopi, Nanada baba, Sudhama and friends and many servants. Likewise in Goloka Vrndavana, the Lord appears and the service goes on and He gives souls like us the opportunity to serve Him. How merciful and generous Radha Madan Gopal is. By singing also we render service.

There are some foolish people who speak rubbish, they say that God doesn’t have form. These are Mayavadis, impersonalists. They say, “Yes, God exists but He doesn’t have any form”. Srila Prabhupada used to say, “You have form but God doesn’t, how is it possible”. Srila Prabhupada wrote,

om purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evavasisyate [Isopanisad Invocation]

Translation
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.

Here Prabhupada wrote that God is complete but if you say that God doesn’t have form then God becomes incomplete. So God definitely has a form. Christians always say that Man is made in the image of God. So God made humans as He is, as His form is. They also say that Jesus is sitting next to God’s right hand in heaven or spiritual world. So this shows that God is there then only Jesus can sit next to His hand.

God or Radha Madan mohan appears as it is or as they are in this world. Lord incarnates, avatari, comes down. It means as God incarnates in this material world as He is in the spiritual world. It’s like when a person living on the 10th floor comes down by stairs or lifts, he seems to be the same as he is on the 10th floor. So when he comes down you can shake hands with him, talk to him or can also take a selfie with him, similar is the case when God incarnates in this world.

ramadi-murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvaneshu kintu
krishnah svayam samabhavat paramaha puman yo
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami [BS 5.39]

Translation
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who manifested Himself personally as Krishna and the different avataras in the world in the forms of Rama, Nrisimha, Vamana, etc., as His subjective portions.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai!

In some days we will celebrate Gaura Purnima. On this day God appeared as Nimai or Gauranga. Before Him Krishna was there at the end of Dwapara yuga. So God appears in different forms in this world and this is His mercy.

kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara
nama haite haya sarva-jagat-nistara [CC Adi 17.22]

Translation
In this Age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Krsna.
In Kaliyuga, Krishna appears in the form of His name, which is also a form. So God appears as name, form, lila or deity.

naham tisthami vaikunthe
yoginam hrdayesu va
tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah

Translation
I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees engage in glorifying my activities.

Language is Sanskrit but you can understand. The Lord says that I appear at that place where My devotees glorify Me. This happened when the Gopis lost their Krishna, they came at the bank of Yamuna and sang Gopi geet.
Gopis sang a song called Gopi Geet. So Lord Krishna appeared in between them. Wherever Lords kirtans and kathas take place, which are form of Lord, He himself appears there. We can experience Lord. Lila is also form of Lord Himself. The Sastra is full of sentences, lila kathas. When we read, say or listen to some sentences, so as through this, Lord takes a form (Vangmay), or the lila and kathas are a form of Lord.

ajanu-lambita-bhujau kanakavadatau

As we say this, the Lord is taking a form. How is Lord? Whose arms extend down to Their knees, who has golden yellow complexions. So as we describe, this is how the appearance of Lord is being made.

Sankirtanaikapitarauas we do sankirtana, so the Lords sankirtana form takes place.

Kamalayataksau -The Lords Eyes are like Lotus.

When will I see the face of Nanda Maharajas child (Lord Krishna), who has wore a Kadam flower mala in this neck, who has Kasturi tilak on his head. So as we will read, say or listen to the description of Lords beauty, the Vangmay form of Lord will keep taking place as per the description. Same as some artist draw an art piece as per his imagination. It is also believed that from sound comes the form. In Bible it says, in the beginning there was a word, now the word is Lord. There’s no difference between the words and the Lord. So the Lord exists and His name exists.

If we want someone’s introduction or if someone introduces themselves, they say the Mr and Miss followed by name, etc. If you want to see them then they show you a photograph. If you want to know where they live, then they state their address. If you want to know their lila (activities) then know where they work or what profession they have. But if you say, the person is very Idiot or good, this is the introduction to their quality. So in this way to get a person introduced we need to know his name, profession, activities, address, qualities etc. So this is the same case in relation with Lord.

Description of Lords pastime, qualities, name, beauty give introduction about Lord Krishna. We can get this introduction from listening to kathas and sankirtans. The sadhus keep singing and listening to this Lords descriptions. It’s said in Guruashtak that, at every instance, at every moment, the sadhus keep tasting and drowning in joy of the Lords descriptions. So with this descriptions, we can identify Krishna, and also Lord takes the form as described by us devotees and appears in between us.

At your home there’s a chair and a table. When someone asks what is this You say that’s a chair and a table. You won’t say that’s a wood. Once upon a time it was wood, but now it has took a different form and is introduced differently. So Shri Bhagvan tells Uddhav in Srimad Bhagavatams Eleventh Canto that Vigraha is made from eight types of different metals. There’s one chapter in which Uddhav and Sri Krishna are discussing about Vigrahas Aradhana. Uddhav is very curious to know and this is also Uddhav Geet. Bhagvad Geet of Kurukshetra and Uddhav Geet which is told by Bhagvan to Uddhav in Dwarka. So in this discussions about Vigraha, it’s said that from eight types of different metals, we can make Lords Idol.

It is also said that we can also make Lords idol in our heart, because heart is also a type of element. It is very subtle. So when we do meditate about Lords Vigraha with our whole Heart, the Lord appears in our Heart, as we set Lords Vigraha in our mind. It is also a form of God.

So before it was stone, but now it’s stone no more. Before it was Sangemarmar stone, the Jaipur’s artists made an idol of it. Then we bring those idol and then we do Pranpratishtha in them. The idol look is made similarly as look of Lord actually is. The imagination of actual Lords look is not just any fake imagination. The artists try their best to make Lord look like how the Lord actually is. Description of Lords look is there in sastras. The artists make idols accordingly.

When the idol reaches Nashik, so the devotees and acaryas gather, and the mantras are chanted, homa is done, abhishekam and all these rituals are done. Then Pranpratishtha is done in Bhagvans vigraha.

Radha Krishna Pran Mora Jugal Kishor

Our Naath, Radhas Prannaths Pranpratishthais done with all the sacred and holy rituals. All acaryas and Gurus pray to Lord to stay there in the idol form and accept the idol as His look. The Lord listens to their prayer and becomes Radha Madan Gopal and stays in the idol.

As Yashoda Ma used to say to Lord ‘Uthi Uthi Gopala’ in Vrndavan, so as the same we do. We wake up Lord in the morning and pray him to bring peace and joy in the world. Then we do Lords praising -stuti and then Bhagvan is offered BalvBhoga (sweet breakfast). Bhagvan accepts it. Then it’s time for Lord to bathe. In Pandharpur during kakda arati and bathing time, the Lord Panduranga (Krishna) is in the form of Bal Krishna (Baby Krishna), so the sweet breakfast called as Bal Bhog is offered to Lord. Then in the noon the Lord grows up a bit, so then He’s offered RajBhog (Lunch as offered to King). So in Pandharpur, in between Lords abhishek, the Lord is offered the makkhan (Butter). After abhishek Lords sringar (Makeup) is done. Then sringar darsana arati is done and so Lords daily routine goes on.

Sri Vigraha means Lord Himself. Always remember. This is called Krishna conciousness, to be Krishna conscious. To understand that the vigraha is Lord Himself. Srila Prabhupada trained us to do sastang pranam as soon as we enter into the temple and do Lords stuti and Lord hears it. There are very eminent stories of sri vigraha with which the devotee can understand and experience the Lords existence there.

Saint Surdas from Vrndavan who was blind, but still used to go for Lords Vigraha darsana. People used to think why he come for vigraha darsana everyday even if he is blind. But Surdas used to do see and do darsana from his heart. Someone asked him what do you see? He replied, “Today my Lord is naked”. As they were the summer days, so Lord only wore underpants that day.

So everyone was astonished, saying ‘’wow you can see, you can have darsana?”
And Radha Madhana Gopal which was previously known in Vrndavana by Sanatana Goswami’s Madana Mohana. Radha Madana Gopal or we may say Madana Mohana also, there are so many pastimes, so many conversations and sometimes discussions.

Krishna would say “Hey you will only feed me with these dry breads, at least add some salt. Don’t you know I am the son of Nanda Baba. He possesses thousands of cows and so much milk yogurt, butter and I am the only one to eat all. You are not feeding me properly, you giving only plain bread and curry without any spices”

Sanatana Goswami replied “hey keep quiet and don’t be fussy. Can’t you see that I’m old, so whatever I have I offer you accept it”

So, Lord Gopal went to Orissa from Vrndavana walking and became Sakshi Gopal.
So when the young brahmin came and wanted to take Lord Gopal to Orissa, he prayed to Him “Dear Lord please come with me and be my witness”.

Then Lord replied: “What? We need to go to Orissa? But I am in deity form and I cannot walk”. The young Brahmin said “Oh you’re able to talk but you would not be capable to walk?” Lord Gopal then replied “Okay, you defeated me, let’s go”.

So in this way the deity form of the Lord Gopal walked to Orisa. When Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took renunciation (sannyasa) and was going to Jagannatha Puri peacefully. In Cuttack Nityananda Prabhu narrated the pastime of Sakshi Gopal to everyone. Before Cuttack He was in Remuna and there, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu narrated the pastimes of Ksheerachor Gopinatha and Madhavendra Puri. And Gopinatha stole milk (ksheera) for Madhavendra Puri. There’s a difference between kheer and Ksheera ; Ksheera means condensed milk and kheer is rice cooked with milk. So, what we prepare for mangal arati is kheera that is sweet rice. Rice and sweet and milk, but when there’s no rice but only milk by boiling the milk it becomes thick and slurry this is called ksheera.

Ksheerachor Gopinatha stole ksheera (condensed milk). So, the Lord woke up the brahmin who slept after eating Ksheera and said “Wake up ,you have not given Madhavendra Puri condensed milk (Ksheera), go now. Come with me, I will give you a cup of ksheera take it to him”. When the Pujari went there, he saw the cup full of ksheera which Lord stole and hidden it behind Him. The pujari took it and went away. There are some kinds of Pujaris that do not share the mahaprasad, they eat all themselves. Maybe he might be similar. So the pujari took the cup and called out loud in search of Madhavendra Puri. He met Madhavendra Puri, gave him the cup of ksheera that Gopinatha stole for him. He honored the ksheera and thanked the Brahmin and God.

This is the pastime narrated by Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself to the devotees in Remuna. Like this, there are so many pastimes. Madhavendra puri is the first spiritual master (adi guru) of our gaudiya lineage (sampradaya). Our lineage starts from him. During his lifetime there have been a lot of pastimes related to the deities.

In Vrndavana, God once came in his dream and said “Go to Jagannath Puri, bring sandalwood (chandan) for me because I’m feeling too hot, I can wrap them and feel better”. This is a whole chapter to narrate.

So, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu narrated the pastime of Ksheerachor Gopinatha.The deity form of the Lord is not less than an incarnation. The deity form of the Lord is God Himself. And He gives us a chance to serve Him. When I joined ISKCON in 1971, it was blissful with a lot of cleansing of the heart process (ceto darpana marjanam) by worshiping the deity form of the Lord.

Prabhupada explained that by worshiping the deity, our bodily conception of life is decreased and we become more favorable to God’s form and our mind becomes more steady, we become more attracted to God’s form and be detached from our body. We can say that it’s an immediate effect of worshiping the deity form of God (vigraha aradhana). Then we dress up Radha Rasabihari and finally at the last we place His hair and crown. Then finally we offer God garland then we show the mirror ; sometimes behind the curtain or sometimes even while the curtains opens. During those days, Prabhupada used to come during the Sringara darsana. I got the opportunity to do sringara for Radha Rasabihari and Prabhupada used to come for that sringara darsana on time around 07hr15. Anyways, I wanted to say that when we show the mirror to the Lord and when He looks into it then the pujari can see God’s expression. His joy, His happiness that is the aim of life – to please God.

When God is looking at Himself in the mirror, He’s very Happy – “hmm I’m very nice, thank you head pujari”. Then we gave Srila Prabhupada caranamrita.

Radha Madana Gopal has blessed you all by appearing in Nasik. Now serve Him as much as you can. Worship God, His deity form. So keep Radha Madana Gopala in the center of all the activities – Krishna centered, vigraha centered. Keep doing.

So thank you by giving me a chance to serve and to express what I had. Thank you Radha Madana Gopala. Thank you Radha Madana Gopala. And thanks to all of you, servants of Radha Madana Gopala, the pujaris as well. I’m thankful to all of you.