Nectar Of Devotion (Bhakti Sastri class)
Online seminar

Welcome to all students and teachers of Bhakti Sastri Course. And today you made me the teacher, like a visiting professor is here. By the way, it is not my practice to give such teachings. As told by Sundar Caitanya Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada not only wrote the summary study, the essence of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’, but he also wrote translation and even comments and purports at many places. And when the book was ready, in Vrndavan, in 1972, Srila Prabhupada taught this book as a syllabus. He became a professor and I was one of his students. In the side courtyard of Radha Damodar, near Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada’s Samadhi, the compiler of ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’, there every day and Srila Prabhupada used to narrate ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’. From the writings of Srila Prabhupada, his disciples like Pradyumna Prabhu and others, used to read some portion. Srila Prabhupada used to call Pradyumna Prabhu as ‘Panditaji’. So they would read and Srila Prabhupada would narrate commentary, purport on that. I was also fortunate. And all those recordings are available. You try to listen those recordings while teaching.

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the speaker of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and the writer is Rupa Gosvami. The place is Dashasvamedha ghat. For two months Caitanya Mahaprabhu was giving ‘Sanatan-Siksa’ to Sanatan Gosvami in Varanasi. Sanatan Gosvami later on wrote books on those teachings. So here on Dashasvamedha ghat, the speaker is Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Rupa Gosvami compiled ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’ based on those teachings.
So in the Bhakti-rasa-amrita-sindhu, the nectar of devotion, Rupa Gosvami has described the Sakhya rasa, Vatsalya rasa and Madhurya rasa. This mellow, juice is not pot full or full of well or pond, but it is full of ocean, and that’s why this rasa, juice, mellow is called as Bhakti-rasa-amrita-sindhu (ocean). Caitanya Mahaprabhu called it ‘anandambudhi vardhanam’. That ocean is shore less ocean. Generally ocean has a boundary and it can not go beyond it. If it would have come out of the boundary, then our devotees, bramacaris of Radha Rasabihari temple would have achieved Jala-samadhi. But this ‘Bhakti-rasa-amrita-sindhu’ is ‘anandambudhi vardhanam’, it keeps on increasing. It is ocean and it keeps on expanding further. So Srila Rupa Gosvami filled such ocean in a pot, ‘sagar ko gagar me bharana.’ And that pot is Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu.

So the speaker, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the writer Srila Rupa Gosvami, both are the authorities. They are from the world where raso vai sah, Lord is ‘akhila-rasamrita-vigraha’, completely full of rasa. When lots of rasa is accumulated at one place, then it becomes raasa, full of rasa. So the one who does the Raasa-krida, Sri Krsna, is the one who does sankirtana, Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and within His team is Rupa Manjari. That same Rupa Manjari who relishes the Bhakti-rasa, has become Rupa Gosvami. So this book is the gift for all souls like us from such Rupa Gosvami and Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Rupa Gosvami has divided ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’ into four divisions- Eastern division, Southern division, Western division and Northern division, clockwise. So he divided this sindhu, ocean in four parts. As there are waves in the ocean, there are many waves in each division. And today we will discuss on one wave. In this first wave of Eastern division, there is discussion on Samanya bhakti. There are four waves in Eastern division. First is ‘Samanya bhakti’. The remaining three consist of the stages of Bhakti; they are not types of Bhakti. Bhakti begins with Sadhana Bhakti, which is the second wave of the Eastern division. The third wave is Bhava Bhakti and the fourth is Prema Bhakti.

When Srila Rupa Gosvami compiled ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’, he himself composed some verses, sutras which are known as ‘mula-karika’. Other than that Srila Rupa Gosvami gives many references from the scriptures to prove the statements given by him. We can say that half of the book is written by him and half is full of the references from different scriptures.

In the first wave there are 24 mula-karika, which are composed by Rupa Gosvami and 22 are references from different scriptures. The first wave is smaller than the second wave which is having more than 120 karika and almost similar sastra-praman. In that way Srila Rupa Gosvami has compiled the complete book.

The other day I said, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu is speaker and Rupa Gosvami is writer of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, then Jiva Gosvami is editor. He did the editing of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu as per the instructions of Rupa Gosvami and he even wrote commentary on it. So two commentaries are famous, one is by Jiva Gosvami and another is by Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur. They are also available. Bhanu Maharaja has translated Jiva Gosvami’s commentary in English. I don’t know about the other one. So you can take help from those commentaries for teaching the next classes.

It was Srila Prabhupada’s suggestion that this Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu or Nectar of devotion should be the part of Bhakti Sastri. There are different grades or standards such as Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhav, Bhakti Vedant, and Bhakti Sarvabhauma. You are sitting in the primary school. Srila Prabhupada already has given guideline about which books should be covered in Bhakti Sastri or Bhakti Vaibhav or Bhakti Vedant, or Bhakti Sarvabhauma. He is the founder acarya of these courses. As Maharaja was telling, Prabhupada used to have two complaints- ‘You don’t fear of Maya, you are so brave that you don’t fear of Maya, and another is- You don’t study my books. You may be reading them but not studying them’. So in this course you are not reading Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, but you are studying it. You have to take notes and all. When we say ‘study’ then it is ‘group study’. Reading you can do alone but study is better done in groups, study circles. Because when we read, we are alone, and some realization, some important point, ‘wow, clicked, wonderful, I got this’; we understand something but as we are alone, we can’t tell to or share with another person. Or if we are not getting some point, some doubt is there, then there is none to whom we can ask. But in the study circle we can ask and then there is bodhayantah parasparam and guhyam akhyati pricchati. So when Srila Prabhupada’s books were not being studied then he did this planning or you call it his trick or arrangement.

In the first wave of Eastern division of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, the 11th sloka is the Paribhasita sutra of this book. Each book or scripture has its one or two statements or verses which are the basis or foundation or theme of that scripture, which are known as Paribhasita sutra. So the paribhasita sutra of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu is –

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

This is the foundation of this book or of the study of this book. This comes in the first wave. anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam is called as tatastha laksana. There are two types of laksana- svarupa and tatastha. Svarupa laksana means pradhana or primary and tatastha means gauna or secondary characteristic. So in this paribhasita sutra, there are two gauna and two pradhana laksana. This whole book is study of the science of Bhakti. Srila Prabhupada called this book- The Complete Science of Devotional Service. This is sastra of Bhakti, and you are going to become sastrajna, scientists. The knower of sastra is sastrajna.

So in this verse there are characteristics of Bhakti, two primary and two secondary. Anyabhilasita-sunyam or jnana-karmady-anavrtam are the gauna laksana, secondary characteristics. Anya abhilasita sunyam, if you break these words then the meaning is clear. How should be the devotee, anya abhilasita sunyam- no other desire. In Bhagavad Gita Lord said, ananyas cintayanto mam, ana-anya, he does not think of someone else, but thinks only about Me. He is not having any other desire, but desires only Me. Caitanya Mahaprabhu called this ‘na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye’ free from such desires, such thoughts. Devotee does not have such thoughts in his mind; this is the secondary characteristic of bhakti. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam, jnana and karma adi, adi means etc, there is knowledge, karma, yoga etc, avrtam means covered; so in other words, karma kanda jnana kanda, keval vishera bhanda, as Gaudiya Vaisnavas say; so free from this karma and jnana, ana-avrtam- not covered, bhakti is not covered with karma and jnana kanda.

bhukti mukti siddhi kami sakale ashanta
krsna bhakta nishkam ata eva shanta

The devotee of Lord Krsna is free from this bhukti and mukti. So these are two secondary characteristics, gauna laksan.
At the end it is said that- bhaktir uttama, how is Bhakti? Bhaktir uttama, ut means above, tama means darkness of ignorance, so uttama means above or beyond the darkness of ignorance that means transcendental. It is gunatita, free from tama, raja and satva also. Bhakti is gunatita. So the devotee who is not covered by the darkness of mode of ignorance or passion or goodness which is due to karma kanda jnana kanda, such devotee, the bhakti of such devotee is uttama bhakti. This is tatastha laksana.

What is svarupa laksana? Sva-rupa, the eternal, personal form of bhakti! Tatastha laksana are additional which covers bhakti. So svarupa laksana is – anukulyena krsnanu-silanam, how should be Bhakti? Anukula bhakti, one is anukula and other is pratikula, favorable and unfavorable. Bhakti should be anukula. Kamsa also used to always remember Lord Krsna. It is said that if he sits to have meal and looks at the yellow prep like dal, he used to say, ‘hey, Pitambar! Is the Lord coming out from the plate? If He is here, then I will kill Him with my sword.’ This is also one type of bhakti, but it is not anukula but is pratikula. Anukulyena krsnanu-silanam, bhakti performed to please Krsna or as desired by Krsna; like Lord says, ‘patram puspam phalam toyam,’ so when there is the time for Lord’s meal, and you offer same menu as asked by the Lord, then it is anukula, anukulyena krsnanu-silanam. So these are two primary characteristics, muhkya laksana.

All this is explained in the first wave, but in your syllabus you have only essence of this. You need to read the remaining portion of the wave. Do you have book? You will be asked, ‘tomorrow there will be class on second wave of the Eastern division. So read before coming for the class.’ So you have to read it. You will also have exam in writing or in oral, so you have to read.

Based on this mula paribhasita sutra, in the same wave, six characteristics of bhakti are given. What was discussed just now was general. Going deep further, there is description given by Rupa Gosvami. This is intricate science. As I said, they are not types of Bhakti but stages of bhakti, three stages:

1.Sadhana Bhakti
2.Bhava Bhakti
3. Prema Bhakti

Rupa Gosvami has given two characteristics of Sadhana Bhakti, two characteristics of Bhava Bhakti and two of Prema Bhakti. In Madhurya Kadambini, Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur gives- there are stages from sraddha to prema- sraddha, sadhusang, bhajan kriya, anartha nivrutti, ruchi, asakti, up to here is Sadhana Bhakti. Then above that is Bhava bhakti, person is climbing on the ladder of bhakti, he is rising up. So from Sadhana Bhakti he rises to Bhava Bhakti and from there he attains Prema Bhakti, prema pumartho mahan.

In Shikshastakam, the first five slokas are sadhana bhakti, and then nayanam galadasru dharaya, and sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me, this is bhava bhakti. And the last verse, aslishya va padaratam, is prema bhakti. Commentators say that the eighth verse is the statement of Radharani Herself. Caitanya Mahaprabhu when reached Radhabhava while narrating this astak, then aslisya mam padaratam this is narrated by Radharani only and this is Prema Bhakti.

So kleshaghni and shubhada are two characteristics of Sadhana Bhakti. And we are at which stage or level? Sadhana Bhakti! Kleshaghni, klesha-aghni, klesa means miseries, sufferings, and the one who destroys the miseries, is kleshaghni, the characteristic of Sadhana Bhakti. Shubhada- shubha-da, da means giver, shubhamangal..(sloka recited at marriage ceremony). Don’t go ahead; food for someone is poison for the other. Each one is having different requirements. So if one enters in grihastha asrama and from there becomes vanaprasthi then it is shubha, auspicious, good fortune. Some people don’t listen the words but listen only after kicks. Some brahmacaris wants to get kicked. Dande na shuddhyati, Yamadutas’ said this, one learns only after getting beaten by stick. Now people are getting kicked by Corona virus, they can learn from this and can change their lifestyle.
So kleshaghni and subhada meaning is clear. To explain this more, Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada has given description. When we do activities in this material world, or why do we perform material activities? Because of avidya, ignorance; we are influenced by avidya. One is rajavidya or paravidya and aparavidya. Materialistic people are expert in avidya. They keep on studying, overseas education and all; by this they gain only avidya. The duty of brahmacari is vidya-arjan, to gain vidya, proper knowledge. Krsna also did Bhakti Sastri course in Ujjain, 64 lessons, 64 arts and science of bhakti. One lesson in one day, exam in the evening and excellent marks and certificate!

So when one is full of avidya, he commits sins. So he committed some sinful activity, activity is complete, finished, but after that the sanksar, impression, thought is still there and each sin is having its result. One has to suffer those reactions. As you sow so shall you rip! What do we sow? Seed! Rupa Gosvami said, we performed sinful activity, then the thought of the sin, the impression of the sin is known as aprarabdha, unmanifested. Tukarama Maharaja said,

‘papachi vasana nako davu dola tyahuni andhala baracha mi!’
The seed of sins inspires the person to perform more sins. Arjuna said,
‘papam carati purusah anicchanapi varsneya baladiva niyojitah’ (BG 3.36)

By what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? Then in reply Krsna says, ‘kama esa krodha esa’, so the lust or the desire of lust when gets intensified then it takes a form which is known as seed, the seed of sin.

So one performed sin, then aprarabdha, then seed and then kutam, kutam means about to fructify. First there is a seed, to sow it, give water and fertilizer; in our childhood we have seen during Navaratri festival. One day they sow seeds, give water and next day when we get up, hey it’s ready. But some seeds may take few weeks or even few months to grow. We think, ‘is it going to come out or not?’ Like coconut seed, the whole coconut is sowed in ground, and after many months it shows a small sprout; it takes so much time. It may happen that the person committed sin today and thought, ‘hey I am free. There is no punishment.’ But what happens? The sin performed then the impression of the sin, seed, then kuta, and then one day police comes, and behind the bars, or any other type of punishment, misery, adidaivik or adibhautik. We have to get free from these miseries, klesha, which are due to ignorance, avidya.

Then after kutam, the plant grows in tree, then there are fruits and the person tastes those sweet or sour fruits, fruit of pious work or sin; but both are not good. Then this is prarabdha, or our fate, ‘this was in my fate’. Karmana daiva netrena sat-asat janma yonisu, one performed activity then impression or sanskar, seed, kuta and then fruit; to take birth is also fruit. Our sat or asat birth is result of our previous karma. When someone is suffering from some chronic disease, suffering from legal implications, -someone suffers from one court case to another, that is also result of his karma- born in a low or degraded family -asat janma yonisu-, if one is uneducated -for uneducated person the black letters are like black buffalos. They look at the book and say, so many buffalos are walking behind each other- and if someone is very ugly, so this is klesha. Only bhakti can free one from all these klesha, kleshaghni.

Then shubhada, good fortune comes with that. Have a happy journey. Life is a journey. So it will be smooth journey. Smooth journey in Bhakti and not even Ghana taral, you will come to know that in next lessons, the levels of bhakti, Ghana and taral. So this is Lord’s arrangement. If you will commit this sin then there will be this result, and that result for that sin, like that. After sin, comes aprarabdha, then seed, kuta, prarabdha, you will get to taste all of these. It is possible that the result of sin committed in one life will come in next life, it doesn’t leave us. When cows return to Goshala after grazing in the fields, there are many calves waiting for them. Within one -two minutes the calf of a particular cow reach to the cow, even within the big herd he is not having any difficulty to find his mother. Similarly wherever you go, the result of your sin will find you. Go in cave or on moon or anywhere you go, no way to escape.

Jnanagni sarva karmani bhasmasat kurute katha

All this was happening due to avidya but jnanagni, when we gain knowledge jnana from Bhakti Sastri course, then this lamp of knowledge gives light as well as it is having capacity to destroy or burn things. Fire gives light and also can burn. So this lamp of knowledge will burn piles of sins. It will burn the seeds of all sins. So from jnanagni comes klesaghni, free from klesa, miseries. Then progress in bhakti. Life free from miseries, that also means less anartha, anartha nivrutti. Lord said mam ekam saranam vraj, this is atma nivedanam, one type of bhakti. How many types of bhakti are there?

Nine, navavidha bhakti! Sravanam, Kirtanam, visnuh smaranam padasevanam
archanam vandavam sakhyam atma nivedanam

These nine, dha means types. Sometimes we say dvidha mana, mind is confused, what to do? I should do this or that? So navadha, ninth type of bhakti is atmanivedanam. If you performed that type of bhakti means you did mam ekam saranam vraja, surrendered unto the Lord then what Lord will do? Aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah, whatever sins you had committed, you don’t have to suffer those results, moksayisyami, I will free you. If we will not take shelter of the Lord then don’t know how many lifetimes we have to suffer. No end to it! We have not taken shelter of the Lord and had piled up papam bijam, kutam, then for many lifetimes, we have prepared for 1000- 2000 births. And with each birth comes janma mrutyu jara vyadhi dukha dosanu darsanam. So if we will take shelter of the Lord then kleshaghni, we will be free from all those klesha which are waiting for us in future. We call this proactive manner, in future I may have to suffer the result of this so I better not do this. I have to change, do adjustment in my lifestyle, in my thoughts. But most of the time people prefer reactivity, when the reaction will come then I will wake up. I did not know like this happens. Then crisis management, which crisis may come, make a list, what should be done to avoid them, all planning, master planning.
So did you note down the two characteristics of sadhana bhakti? Next is Bhava bhakti and it is also having two characteristics- moksa laghutakrita and sudurlabha. Moksa laghutakrta- laghu means small or lower, krta means to do, when devotee attains Bhava Bhakti stage, he considers mukti, liberation as insignificant, ‘who cares’. Kaivalyam narakayate, we are Gaudiya Vaisnavas, we are Rupanugas and it is our realization that there is something above liberation and what is that? That is love, Prema bhakti. Generally people talk about four purusharthas- dharma, artha, kama and moksa, mostly their aim is to merge in Brahma. They consider this is topmost and nothing is beyond that. Most of the so-called religious people are like this only. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us the fifth purusharth and that is prema pumartho mahan. That is prayojana, the goal of Vaisnavas, especially of Gaudiya Vaisnavas. That’s why for Guadiya Vaisnavas don’t stop in between. For them this liberation is having no value, mokshalagutakrta. For the devotee who is floating in Bhakti-bhava, rasas are arising in him, he says, ‘bye bye mukti. We will meet some other day.’ Mukti is called as pishacini, ghost. Don’t get caught in her trap. Take diversion and go ahead. So those who are on the stage of Bhava Bhakti, they consider this mukti as valueless, insignificant, moksalaghutakrta. This is one characteristic of Bhava Bhakti.

Another characteristic is sudurlabha, very rarely achieved. Tukarama Maharaja said, ‘Bhakti is not the job of any fool. He must be intelligent.’ So at the end of many many births, bahunam janmanam ante, one who understands that vasudevam sarvam iti, isn’t this durlabha, rarely achieved? We could not achieve the Lord in this life, and not in that life, could not achieve bhakti, then they came in the association of the sadhu, sadhusang sadhusang sarva siddhi hoya, then they came to know the characteristics of the sadhu. In our country whoever wears saffron is sadhu. But the saffron cloth, or keeping shikha or wearing wooden sleepers or wearing kaupin,

kaupin vantah khalu bhagyavantah
vedanta vakyesu sada ramantah

Many sadhus of Varanasi talk like this. ‘See we are renunciants. We wear only kaupin and relish in Vedanta Vakya.’ Then what comes after Vedanta vakya? Aham Brahmasmi! They absorb themselves in this mahavakya. This is tatastha laksan, external characteristics of mahatmas, dress should be like this, such and such color, wearing tilak and all, this is secondary characteristic. What is svarupa laksan of mahatma? Mahatmanastu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah, the daivi prakriti, Radharani; Lord says, one who has taken shelter of the followers of Radharani, acharyas who come in that parampara, that person is mahatma.

titiksavah karunikah suhrdam sarva-dehinam
ajata-satravah santah sadhavah sadhu-bhusanah (SB 3.25.21)

These are characteristics or ornaments of the sadhu, mahatma. These are primary characteristics. This is the identity of Mahatma. Other than these are gauna laksana or tatastha laksana.

So sudurlabhah, to attain Bhakti is not easy. Lord said, manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye, one out of the million of people try to attain siddhi, perfection, okay, we can give credit that he is performing Sadhana Bhakti. Those who are performing sadhana are very few in the millions of people. And yatatam api siddhanam, among those who are sadhakas, kascin mam vetti tattvatah, rarely anyone can know Me. So sudurlabha, rare achievement is the characteristic of Bhava Bhakti. There could be many sadhakas who are performing Sadhana bhakti, but there are very few who have attained Bhava Bhakti and to attain this stage is very rare. We don’t have to get discouraged. Utsahan niscayat dairyat and also avasya rakshibe krsna, one who has taken shelter of the Lord, what does he think? Krsna will definitely protect me. He will definitely give me darsana. Therefore

utsahan niscayad dhairyat
tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh
sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati (NOI 3)
Sidhyati, siddha mahatma!

The third and last stage of Bhakti is Prema Bhakti. Actually there are seven more stages above Prema. We know only up to Prema as our border, limit is prema. But there is sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, mahabhava; Mahabhava Thakurani! Rupa Gosvami has written Ujjvala Nilamani after Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu. In that book he has given description of bhakti of goloka eva nivasati, the residents of the Goloka, their bhakti is above prema. When prema gets intensified, then it is called as sneha, etc. etc.

So Sandra ananda visesatma and sri krsna akarshini, Sandra ananda means solidified happiness, Lord is Sachidananda. So solidified, intensified prema! Bhava is also Prema, it is the beginning of Prema. As we can see sunrays before sun is arisen, at dawn, pitch darkness of the night reduces and light comes out slowly that is bhava. And when sun is completely arisen then it is prema.

When Bhava is intensified then it is Sandra ananda visesatma, automatically puts one into transcendental pleasure. And it is natural.

Nitya siddha krsna prema sadhya kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya

Soul’s love for Lord is completely awaken, enlightened. This is svarupa siddhi, one has attained his svarupa. Hitva anyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih, when we will come at the stage of our real svarupa then the devotion, feeling, bhava we will have will be of prema. Every talk will be with love, we will feed the Lord with love, with spontaneous love, natural love of the soul for the Lord.

Jnanakarmadi anavrtam, when jnana and karma covers the natural love of the soul, layer by layer covering; so by performing sadhana, we gradually throw them away which are binding or covering us. And then at the end we pure soul only remain. Pure soul and pure devotee! At that stage all the activities are the loving devotional service. So when we do bhakti, bhakti doesn’t mean to stay inert; but all the activities we perform are the loving devotional services. The works of the materialistic people are inspired by lust. Oh what are you doing? I am busy in work. (kama means lust and also work in marathi language) so the lust engages everyone in the work. The nature of lust is to inspire the person to work. And then the person is called as kami, who is working by getting inspired by kama(lust). Then how will be the premi? His thoughts will be of love for the Lord, he gets inspired by love and works for the Lord with prema, also serving the devotees of the Lord. He gains bliss in that. Lord is Sacchidananda, or Anandaghana, and He also gives happiness. So his life is full of bliss. This is one characteristic of prema Bhakti.

Another and last one is sri krsnakarsini. When the premi devotee performs loving devotional service, then that devotional service attracts the Lord, sri krsna akarshini. Srila Prabhupada used to say, ‘perform such bhakti, such loving devotional service that Lord Himself should come to see you. If you want to see the Lord then you will not get the appointment, you will not get the Lord’. Many demigods also used to come to Dvaraka and would ask appointment. Lord would say, ‘hey who is there, talking too much. Is he Indra? Hey, keep quiet. Which Brahma has come?’ ‘Caturmukhi Brahma!’ ‘Oh ok, let him come.’ When Suradas used to sing, he was blind, so whenever he used to sit and sing the glories of Govinda, his prema bhakti used to attract the Lord and would brought Him next to Suradas. When he would understand that someone has arrived and listening my songs, we would realize, ‘is He Kanhaiya?’ and when he would come to touch the Lord, the Lord would get up and start running. Then poor blind Suradas, how much he could run? He would say, ‘hey if You want to run then run, but I have already captivated You in my heart. You cannot go away from me. Wherever I am You will be there. I will keep You.’ He used to speak with authority. Lord is also having love for His devotees. It is not that only souls love the Lord. It is two way traffic.

It is said that Lord Vitthala came to meet Vallabhacharya to his asram which is here at the bank of river (Chandrabhaga). Vitthala gave darsana to him. And don’t know if that time or at other time, but Lord Vitthala gave instruction to Vallabhacharya to enter in Grihastha asrama and then he became grihastha. He had one son and he gave him the name Vitthalanatha. And Tukarama Maharaja, when he was sick on one ashadhi ekadashi, he was not able to walk to Pandharpur to take darsana of Vitthala. Then what happened? Lord was attracted by the bhakti of Tukarama Maharaja. Lord came personally to Dehu to give darsana to Tukarama Maharaja. Such incidents take place on daily basis in Goloka. So sri krsna akarsini is the laksan of Prema Bhakti.
Gaur Premanande Hari Haribol

TOVP talks – Harer nama – No other way, No other way, No other way

Date: 11th August, 2020

Braja Vilas Prabhu: From Lokanath Maharajaa’s centers all over in Maharashtra, we collected at least two million dollars from Maharashtra. In 1971, he met the devotees at the first 10-day cross-made on pandal festival organized by Srila Prabhupada himself and his western disciples in 1972 and received the sannyas order from His Divine Grace in December of 1975, at the age of 26 years. I think in 1972 also, Maharaja came to Mayapur, is that right Maharaja?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : 73 was the first time.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : One of the most important instruction which Maharaja received from Srila Prabhupada was to preach Lord Caitanya’s message by organizing padayatras. Maharaja is very well known all over the world for organizing padayatras, to realize Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s declaration, the holy name of Krsna will be preached in every town and village on this earth, that is also one of the predictions which this temple is going to fulfill.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja has worked on establishing many temples, ISKCON Aravade, ISKCON Nagpur, ISKCON Amravati, ISKCON Noida, ISKCON Pandharpur, ISKCON Solapur to name a few, all these places which I mentioned and even more. He is well known for his inspiring lectures and kirtans and the devotees call him Kirtan Samrat affectionately,. In 2006 the World Holy Name project which is an initiative to increase the events and activities that people can participate to spread the holy name on this planet.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja has established the Bhaktivedanta academy, BASS- Bhaktivedanta Academy for Spiritual Sciences in Noida, to teach the priceless heritage of Vedic culture and wisdom. He is also author of many books, the famous book is, My Prabhupada, In conversation with Srila Prabhupada and also Vrajmandal Darsana and he is one of the initiating gurus in ISKCON. He has initiated disciples all over the world and he is also working on several books projects, aside thiswhat I got, he is the greatest supporter of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in fact recently one day before he has recorded a video for us, which we are going to discuss at some point in this interview with him.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : Maharaja thank you very much for participating and there are several questions which devotees wanted to ask you through this program already and our first question to you is, when we say this harinama is the only way, only way, one only way or no other way, no other way and no other way, this statement somebody can think it is like a fanaticism. How could you convince people otherwise is there any other way?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja: Lord also said that on number of occasions. One time, he was talking to Shuklam brahmacari, he was from Navadvipap and Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He said these verse,

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

and Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he started explaining this verse. In the beginning He said that,

“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 K???a mah?-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord K???a. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered.

The day that Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared, He appeared in the evening but Lord appeared in another form during the day and that was the Harinama Prabhu appeared during the day and that’s when all those folks coming from all over taking baths and chanting the holy names of the Lord. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu said ‘”kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara.” Krsna appears, tomorrow we are celebrating appearance of Sri Krsna and so that Sri Krsna appeared before Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the evening, He appeared in the form of the holy name during the day and Caitanya Mahaprabhu was explaining, He said this,

d?r?hya l?gi’ ‘harer n?ma’-ukti tina-v?ra
ja?a loka bujh?ite puna? ‘eva’-k?ra [CC Adi 17.23]

Translation: “This verse repeats the word ‘eva’ [‘certainly’] three times for emphasis, and it also three times repeats ‘harer n?ma’ [‘the holy name of the Lord’], just to make common people understand.

Just to emphasize the glories of the holy name that He has said this tina bar,

hare nama hare nama hare nama hare namaiva and Mahaprabhu said after saying hare nama hare nama hare nama three times, He said, hare namaiva aiva means, certainly it is and then He also has added another word, says kevalam, that is also another one and the only one and then the next line and this is from Brihad Naradiya Puran,

kalau n?sty eva n?sty eva
n?sty eva gatir anyath?

na asti eva, na – not, asti- is, nastyeva- there is not, there is not, there is not, gatir means destination or a process also that you adopt or practices religious practices, gatir anyatha, anya means another. There is no other process, no other way but hare nama hare nama hare nam n?sty eva n?sty eva n?sty eva . So, why is He saying three times n?sty eva , that also has been explained by Mahaprabhu. He said, in this age of Kali first nasty eva means not by karma that’s one, nasty eva not by jnana, karma kanda, jnana kand and not by yoga, one could realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So, He said just three times, n?sty eva n?sty eva n?sty eva gatir anyatha, this is the only way, the only way, the only way and this statement that is hare nama hare nama hare nama kevalam this is in Brihad Naradiya Puran and this is an eternal statement. Whenever there is Kali yuga, you don’t have to worry or wonder, oh now what has to be done, so that mantra is there, that proclamation is there. So whenever there is age of Kali you could close your eyes and chant,

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

You would not go wrong. So, Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also, as He was talking to Prakashananda Saraswati in Varanasi and He was chanting and only chanting and doing nothing else. All those Prakashanand Saraswati and company, he had 60,000 followers, they were criticizing Mahaprabhu, oh what kind of sentimental sannyasi you are, you should be studying Vedanta. So there was a dialogue between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Prakashanand Saraswati and Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘My guru Maharaja, murkha dekhi, he thought I was just a foolish and karila shashan, he ordered me and what was the order, he asked me to chant Hare Krsna. Again Mahaprabhu said to Prakashanand Saraswati and those who assembled, He repeated this mantra hare nama hare nama hare nama kevalam and then Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, you know I took this instruction of my spiritual master so seriously that I chanted and chanted hare nama kevalam, only harer nama.

So that’s what I was doing and as soon as I was doing chanting and chanting day and night and khaite, suiyte, while sleeping, while eating well then what happened, Mahaprabhu said to Prakashanand Saraswati and assembled followers, he said that, I got transformed, I was transformed.

kib? mantra dil?, gos?ñi, kib? t?ra bala japite japite mantra karila p?gala [CC Adi 7.81]

Translation: My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this mah?-mantra!

So I became mad, so I when back my spiritual master and asked him, kiba mantra dila gosai kiba tara bala. Wwhat kind a mantra have given it has so much power, so much strength in this mantra that this mantra is just handing Me and I have gone mad. Then His spiritual master said why are you surprised, this is what happens when one take this harer nama harer nama harer nama this instructions seriously.

k???a-n?ma-mah?-mantrera ei ta’ svabh?va
yei jape, t?ra k???e upajaye bh?va [CC Adi 7.83]

Translation: ‘It is the nature of the Hare K???a mah?-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for K???a.

Anyone who chants this holy name constantly with conviction that this is the only way, especially in this age of Kali then he develops bhava and love for the Lord. So that is what has happened to you, why are you so surprised? Go on, Go on.

So this is the way, this is not a new thing. Every time in the age of Kali, you go for chanting the holy names of the Lord that is what Shukadev Goswami also said to King Parikshit Maharaja, this is the beginning of the age of Kali, Kali was just about to commence. Sukadeva Goswami said,

kaler do?a-nidhe r?jan: asti hy eko mah?n gu?a?
k?rtan?d eva k???asya: mukta-sa?ga? para? vrajet [SB 12. 3.51]

Translation: My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare K???a mah?-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.

Kali-yuga is full of faults and flaws but there is eko mahan gunah, there is one good quality like harer nama harer namaiva kevalam, one quality is in age of kali.

kirtanad eva krsnasya, only Krsna’s name, again that harer namaiva, that aiva only is also coming here in Sukadev Goswami’s statement, kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet. So there is another authority Sukadev Goswami he has strongly recommended Chanting is the only process and if you want to hear more at the beginning age of Kali.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : I don’t want to stop you, one thing I want to tell you is Ambrish Prabhu would be very happy to see the background of Vedic planetarium behind you. I was thinking it was my screen saver then I suddenly realized that it is your screensaver. Maharaja with this I want to put another devotee’s question and of course Ambrish Prabhu is co-hosting with Ambrish Prabhu, he will also ask you a few questions. But I am going to ask you since you have got a background that immediately puts me to a TOVP question to you, that if TOVP is accepted as a good mandir how do you envision that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s eternal service will be spread all over the world from this temple?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja: Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu made one prediction that his holy name will spread all over the world but Nityananda Prabhu was yet another personality of Godhead, in fact

sankirtanaika-pitarau kamalayataksau

So founding fathers of the sankirtana movement are two, one is Gauranga and another is Nityananda. So one predicted that chanting of the holy name will reach every town, every village and the other one besides other predictions, Nityananda Prabhu talked about this temple,

adbhut mandir hoibe vikas and from there gauranger seva hoibe prakash

The Gurangas glories will spread all over the world, this is yet another prediction of Nityananda Prabhu. Bhaktivinoda Thakur kept seeing from his balcony towards yogapitha. So he was seeing effulgence, so he was seeing this adbhut mandir that Nityananda Prabhu talked about. Srila Prabhupada said that Mayapur was his place of worship. So Srila Prabhupada wanted to worship, do worship from this TOVP temple. Nityananda Prabhu predicted and the whole thing was revealed onto Srila Prabhupada and envisioning the temple and then he was talking, then giving shape as he was sharing with us. So this is the place of worship of Srila Prabhupada. So I think before any other deities we bring into this temple, I think the TOVP leaders or Ambarish Prabhu and Braja Vilas Prabhu and other Prabhus, I don’t know who else is involved with the decision. They are going to bring Srila Ptabhupad into this temple by next Mayapur. Acarya upasana, upasana of the acarya begins, our acarya who is also going to be doing upasana worship from this temple, he is coming, he is arriving and worship is going to be beginning very soon.

Srila Prabhupada talked of, whenever there were floods in Mayapur, Prabhupada said, Oh! It’s getting flooded here, so from here we will spread the flood of the holy name, devotional services, devotional practices from Mayapur to all over the world. So this is the original of center of flood from here it’s going to spread all over the world. I was thinking as I am into kirtans as this place gets ready. This temple is going to accommodate 10,000 kirtaniyas, there is no temple hall or no other forum like TOVP. 10000 at a time, so this is really a congregational chanting, param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam, victory to sankirtana moment. So the victory is to be starting or originating from TOVP. So we are really looking forward to the completion of this TOVP at the soonest so that we could worship that Prabhupada talked about, my place of worship, TOVP. Prabhupada is coming and he is going to begin the worship. And last year, the pujari floors were inaugurated and a year before the chakras I could see, were installed. So everything is in progress, so we would like to wait, it is yet to be completed and for that we all have to do our part.

Braja Vilas mentioned that I became responsible or instrumental in raising some funds in my area. So likewise, all over, everywhere, wherever holy name has reached and I also keep saying this, what happens is as anyone and everyone receives the maha-mantra and he begin chanting the hare krsna mahamantra from nama to dham, from name to Mayapur, from name to Navadvipa. So every chanter who receives the holy name, next thing he thinks is one day I will go to Mayapur, my destination is Mayapur. So immediately they all make connection with Mayapur, and they are all going to make connection with TOVP, adbhut, outstanding temple that Nityananda Prabhu had talked about.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : Maharaja you were encouraging so much in this what you have said. One thing which I wanted to ask you is that, you said Prabhupada is going to come to the TOVP and the TOVP Ambrish Prabhu has decided that next year being the 125th year, the appearance year of Srila Prabhupada and he decided that we wanted to welcome Prabhupada and install him in beautiful worshipable pose which you said and you made a video also about that one. So I wanted to ask you, because you were also the minister for the centennial celebrations, so you carried out the whole operations on how to welcome Prabhupada on the centennial celebrations. If you can kindly tell us how it was like organizing centennial celebrations and how devotees, where enthusiastically anticipating to participate in this centennial celebration because this is quasqui centennial celebration now, 125th years.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja: I would say, the highlight of the centennial celebration was the abhishek that we conducted of Srila Prabhupada with of course sahastra tirtha jala, we had collected holy jala from 1000 holy places and exported them to all the temples. Okay, I was centennial minister and I was encouraging and inspiring, it wasn’t just myself it was the whole of the leaders were also doing, inspiring everyone to have a grand celebration and so many events and monuments to be established and this and that. So, this was all going to be costing, money talks everything walks, devotees wanted to have a grand celebration but it was not a cost then so our centennial ministry came up with this scheme of bathing Srila Prabhupada on that occasion and abhishek, maha maha abhishek of Srila Prabhupada. Through this one event which was also a fundraising event, we raised enough funds to cover all the expenses of centennial globally. Now devotees took this abhishek concept so seriously to their heart and they knew this was going to bring in some cash in hand, some fundraising is going to happen. So I think it’s time to repeat the history or copy the success, so that was the 100th birth anniversary and this is the 125th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada. So I think the decision of TOVP leaders Ambarish and others, to invite Srila Prabhupada, welcome Srila Prabhupada right into the temple hall or wherever is going to be residing or sitting for all the time to come. We have already thought of making a very extraordinarily beautiful deity of Prabhupada, worshipable pose and then do maha maha abhishek of Srila Prabhupada on this occasion. And I think this is giving all of us a service opportunity that we could all sponsor this abhishek of Prabhupada, there are various kinds as per your capabilities like silver kalash, copper kalash and gold kalash and I think Ambarish will go for platinum kalash. I heard about this and I was very enthused myself. I am encouraging Ambarish and team to go for this and I would appeal to devotees globally as they had cooperated 25 years ago during 1996 during the abhishek time. So many sponsors had stepped forward, so if that happens this time, one more time and for some of you this could be a once in lifetime opportunity to have abhishek of Srila Prabhupada right inside TOVP. We could all understand that because of the pandemic situation things have slowed down, the fundraising a little bit and the construction is also. So we need to give a boost to all the operations of physical construction and the fundraising and I think this is the fantastic proposal that Ambarish Prabhu has come up with, so go for it.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : Thank you, Thank you so very much Maharaja because Ambarish Prabhu wanted to start next year with a grand celebration by inviting Srila Prabhupada because 2020 was almost you know not much we could do and our construction we are just going to start by this month end and we are going to start this construction again. We are all expecting Srila Prabhupada to come so that we can dedicate ourselves more than what we are now. So Ambarish Prabhu is here and any questions? So I can go ahead with some questions with Maharaja, do you have anything to ask?

Ambarish Prabhu : I just wanted to offer my obeisances to Maharaja. I have known Maharaja for many many years. I think we were together with Srila Prabhupada in 1975 when you took sannyasa?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : Yes

Ambarish Prabhuji : And then in centennial we worked together.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : In Bombay we were together, on Juhu beach we walked with Srila Prabhupada together.

Ambarish Prabhu : Yeah I have a photograph. I have that wonderful photography. But during the centennial we had the ISKCON, the biggest foundation, one of the pebbles was the TOVP, it wasn’t called the TOVP that time but it was Mayapur project.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja: We were establishing monuments and this was the major monuments we were envisioning.

Ambarish Prabhu : I remember Sridhar Maharaja and myself, we started planning for the fundraising and I traced my involvement with the TOVP back to the centennial 1996. So have always been so supportive and helpful. We came to your temple and raised money and it was wonderful. My question Maharaja is, you know because your main interest is kirtan and I have told this many times before that you are one of my most favorite kirtan leaders, it is beautiful to listen to you but this temple is the Brihad Mridanga and Prabhupada said to me personally that he wanted to bring the whole world to Mayapur, so broadcasting the holy name from this temple. How do you see the activities of kirtan coming from this temple will influence the forces of the Kali yuga, which are getting more and more intense all the time. Seems to me that this year Kali has really revealed and you know things are going be a very rough road from now on. How do you see that this temple from now on will influence the age of Kali?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : The holy name has and Mahaprabhu has influenced the whole world and Srila Prabhupada has. Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu propagated holy name all over India and at one point Srila Prabhupada was in Guntur or in some place in South India, he said he has left the job of spreading the holy name overseas or beyond the boundaries of India, he has left this job upto me, upto Srila Prabhupada . Prabhupada is empowered, he is our Senapati bhakta. What transpired and transformed in 1965 and then during Prabhupada days, who could have imagined that there will be Jagannath ratha ratra on the 5th Venue of Manhattan and who would have imagined of so many things which had happened. So many books have been distributed, chanting has gone all over. Westerners, I take that also as very historical, there were a bunch of followers in 1965-66 and ISKCON was registered and he was calling it the International Society for Krsna Consciousness. And he was talking, you know my temples are everywhere, my followers are everywhere and this and that. He was talking to a gentleman who was sitting next to him on the bench. So nothing was existing but he was talking about International Society for Krsna Consciousness. So then when he had few followers one day he sat down with them and all this vision he shared and said you could assist me, how to spread holy name and Krsna consciousness all over the world and if you are serious then you have to follow four regulative principles and the devotees asked about what are these 4 principles. What are those Swamiji. Prabhupada said,

No meat eating
No intoxication
No illicit sex
No gambling,

Are you ready to follow these principles? Then you could be my genuine followers and could support me, are you ready? And everyone assembled there and raised their hands and I think that this was the turnaround or beginning of the end of the age of Kali. If that could happen then what is Kali, Kali resides in four places right, where there is meat eating, where there is intoxication, where there is illicit sex and where there is gambling. These 4 places were given by Parikshit Maharaja to the age of Kali. Just see the influence of the holy name that the Westerners were for the first time in the history of the world, they were ready to renounce and kick out meat eating, intoxication and this was because they had developed higher taste, because of chanting of the holy name and honouring Krsna prasadam and of course the sadhu sanga that they were getting from Srila Prabhupada. Now we have around 1000 temples and millions of followers. So if someone had asked or informed or said in the early 1963 or 64 that in 2020 there will be devotees coming from over 100 countries from Mayapur and they are going to be doing, jai sacinandan jai sacinandan, as Bhaktivinod Thakur also has predicted. Who could have believed such a thing, people from 100 countries coming to Mayapur and chanting Hare Krsna and forgetting all other things. Srila Prabhupada said, this is the United Nation of the spiritual world. So this much could happen which was at one time beyond our imagination or inconceivable, so much more could happen. You may say, look at this situation now the pandemic covid-19, everything looked bleak and is there a way out? Is this the end of the world or something? No there is nothing of this sort, these things will be out of the way and these tumbling blocks will be overcomed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his holy name. So His predictions are no doubt true, if Caitanya Mahaprabhu has predicted that holy name is going to reach every corner, every town, every village then that is bound to happen and if Nityananda Prabhu has also predicted this TOVP temple, adbhut mandir, this also bound to happen. We should have no doubt, so how it’s going to happen is just beyond our imagination, but it’s going happen, which we are convinced.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : Wonderful Maharaja, I’m going to take up a polling question of all the devotees, who are online can vote for it just wait for 15 seconds. So I am going ask the polling question. The question is TOVP will influence change in the world in many different ways. What is the single most way you think TOVP will affect the world? So it is multiple choice question,

1.Chanting the holy name
2.Making more devotees
3. Distributing more books
4. Informing people about Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy

Everybody voted that it will do everything, making more devotees than anywhere else, distributing more books than anywhere else, and informing people about Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy, more people knowing about Srila Prabhupada and Vedic cosmology becoming more popular.

So Maharaja a very important question is that in the final days of Srila Prabhupada in Vrndavan he expressed his desire to go out on a parikrama and he called, choose you to lead the party. Please narrate the story, it is a very very interesting story with regard to your personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada during his final pastimes.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : In those days 1977 October 11, Srila Prabhupada was bed ridden and he was in Vrndavan. So that time we were travelling and our party was called Narada Muni travelling sankirtana party. Travelling and travelling all the way, we had gone to Badrik asram, we were in Himalayan mountains, distributing Srila Prabhupada books. We also knew, I was Vrndavan. I was in Bombay with Srila Prabhupada when he had arrived from London and we were with Srila Prabhupada in Vrndavan for sometime and then we took off and went on distributing books. We knew Prabhupada’s health was not good at all and those days there was no way to get the news, no mobiles, no SMS nothing. So we came down to Vrndavan, we came to meet Srila Prabhupada and to find out Prabhupada’s health’s status and be with Prabhupada. So as we were party men, we were allowed kindly by Srila Prabhupada to enter his quarters. We used to give the whole report of book distribution, Prabhupada used to ask which book is selling the most? I also mentioned to Srila Prabhupada that while we were in Badrikasram, we visited the cave of Vyasadev, Vyas gufha and I said that I showed your Bhagvad gita to Srila Vyasadev. So we had gone with Gita and I thought we didn’t see Vyasadev but Vyasadev must have seen us and the Gita. Prabhupada heard this and he liked it. So towards the end we were leaving and I was the last person to leave Prabhupada’s quarter, I was just taking one last glimpse of Srila Prabhupada. Then Prabhupada signaled and said come, come back. So I went back and sat very close to Srila Prabhupada, we had to sit very close to Srila Prabhupada to even hear and understand what he had to stay. Prabhupada said to me that he wanted to see me and what time could he see me. Srila Prabhupada ki…jai. This is the humility of Srila Prabhupada. Then I said, what is the question, when can I see you, anytime. Prabhupada asked is 4o’clock okay? It was more than okay for me. So then all day I was wondering and thinking what is that, what Prabhupada wants. And when he said he wants to talk to me he sounded very serious and grave.

Finally at 4o’clock I went to Prabhupada’s door, but his servants and secretary Tamal Krsna Maharaja, Bhavananda Maharaja and Bhakti Charu Maharaja, now they had assembled in the Krsna Balarama guest house lobby, the front desk. So I was directed to go there, so when I arrived I found out that what Prabhupada wanted to talk to me about, he had already told his secretaries. They told me that Prabhupada wanted to go on Bullock cart, he wanted to tour Vrndavan and as Govardhan puja is ahead of us he wants to go Govardhan as a first spot. So myself and Panchadravid Swami Maharaja and we went to Mathura to arrange a Bullock cart. It was difficult as those days farmers did not want to work with bulls as it was go puja time, so they wanted to give rest and worship their bulls and cows. So finally we managed.

So Bullock cart had come and it was parked in front of Krsna Balarama temple. And we were greatly ancipating and travelling with Srila Prabhupada. So we had come back and reported to Srila that Bullock cart had arrived. We went to bed expecting that Bullock cart party to hit the road and go to Govardhan but during the night Srila Prabhupada was approached by Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja and Tamal Krsna Maharaja and Bhavananda Maharaja. It might be Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja who arranged Krsna Das Babaji Maharaja, one of Prabhupada’s god brothers to come and they wanted to use him to get some message across or get some concern across to Srila Prabhupada, and that concern was for health condition, not fit to travel on Bullock cart. So there were many discussions between Prabhupada and Bhakti Charu Maharaja and others assembled. Krsna Das Babaji Maharaja was like their advocate, so Prabhupada was convinced that this is not the best idea. That time Prabhupada said to Krsna Das Babaji Maharaja, just see how much they love me. That is what had happened and the Bullock cart plan was cancelled.

But I will quickly say that the next day we had again gathered around Srila Prabhupada because the travelling idea Prabhupada did not give up. He said I want to leave the body of this world fighting with Maya, preaching is fighting. So he was feeling restless lying on the bed, so he wanted to go out. Next day, as we gathered around, Prabhupada proposed that let me travel with the buses and everyone welcomed the idea. And those days when we were hearing Prabhupada, okay Prabhupada wants to travel with the bullock carts, fine, Prabhupada wants to travel with buses, wonderful. The thought was that way Prabhupada will stay longer with us, he is not leaving us, he is staying on with us. That was really inspiring, we were becoming jubilant as we were hearing this travel plans. All those who were assembled we were talking and saying to Prabhupada, Giriraj Prabhu, before he was Prabhu those days he said Prabhupada, wherever we travel the buses, whichever town we go to there will be opportunity to make life members, could I come?. Then Prabhupada said yes. Then Bhakti Svarupa Damodhar Maharaja said could I come? Prabhupada said yes. There was a devotee from Punjab, he was a good driver he asked Prabhupada could I come? Then Prabhupada said yes you could come. And then for sure I knew that I had to go, there was a long discussion before this, could I come thing was happening. Then I asked if I could come, Prabhupada? Then he said, it’s difficult to say what he said but he said to me so I have to say it, you will be our leader.

Braja Vilas Prabhu: I had just gone into the story Maharaja. I want to ask one question from the audience. That is, according to experience what religion will become the goal of all religions?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : Adi-lila, chapter 7, verse 74

nama vinu kali-kale nahi ara dharma
sarva-mantra-sara nama, ei sastra-marma [CC Adilila 7.74]

So this is Mahaprabhu talking, the Lord who had appeared,

dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge

The Lord who has appeared to establish dharma for the age of Kali, He is saying nama vinu kali-kale nahi ara dharma.

Ambarish Maharaja: You have been very kind, I know all these great ideas are coming from your fertile brain.

Braja Vilas Prabhu : Without your blessings nothing can happen. So now as Maharaja is blessing us. One last question to you is, Prabhupada so much liked you so much and sometimes he used to call you ‘Our Tukaram” all the devotees have so much love for you….?

Lokanath Swami Maharaja : I don’t know what it is, this is all blessing of guru and Gauranga, blessings of Srila Prabhupada. Whatever a disciple is, it is the mercy of the spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada is making us so. What we are is, tomar karuna sar, this is karuna of karuna avatar. Corona is there but karuna of Gauranga mercy of Gauranga is also there and Srila Prabhupada’s mercy.

Braja Vilas Prabhu: Thank You so much Maharaja for all your support and Ambarish Prabhu always wants that after the temple is opened you kirtana to be the first kirtana. We are waiting when they day will come. I am very grateful to you Maharaja and all our viewers who have participated and from Ambarish Maharaja and the TOVP team a very happy Janmastami.

Thank you for all your support that you are throwing to us.
Ambarish Prabhu: Thank you Maharaja for joining us. I am looking forward to see you in real life.

Lokanath Swami Maharaja: Lets met in Mayapur. When Prabhupada comes we have to be there at his lotus feet. Let’s do abhishek together.

Braja Vilas Prabhu and Ambarish Prabhu: Thank you Maharaja we are waiting for that day.

Lord Nityananda’s Mercy
Date: 2nd August, 2020
Lecture online Bangladesh
[1:28:56]

I can understand Bengali but not speak, so I will speak in Hindi. In Bangladesh sravan utsava is going on. That’s a festival for ears. Tomorrow is Balaram purnima, balarama hoilo nitai . I was told to talk about mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. So at that time these lines came to my mind.

ha ha Prabhu nityananda, premananda sukhi
krpabalokana koro ami boro duhkhi

So Narottam Das Thakur says, prays to Lord Nityananda. He says, ha ha Prabhu, nityananda premananda-sukhi: “My dear Lord Nityananda, You are always joyful in spiritual bliss. Since You always appear very happy, I have come to You because I am most unhappy. If You kindly put Your glance over me, I may also become happy.”

O Nityananda Prabhu, just look at me, I am very distressed. It’s not good, please shower your mercy on us. So Nityananda Prabhu is famous for His mercy.

sri guru karuna sindhu
adhama janara bandhu

We keep singing this, so guru is an ocean of mercy and Nityananda Prabhu is Adi guru, guru of all gurus. Balaram is also guru. Certainly such a guru always has his merciful glance on everyone and to distribute His mercy, Nityananda Prabhu has appeared.

Gaura nityananda bol haribol haribol

Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu both appeared and they both are famous as being magnanimous, maha-vadanyaya.

namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradayate [CC Madhya 19.53]

O most munificent incarnation! So both Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu both are maha-vadanyaya.

brajendra nandana jei, saci suta hoilo sei,
balarama hoilo nitai

In Vraj mandal parikrama when we go to Dauji near Gokul, there we get to hear,

dauji ke bhaiya krishna kanahiya, krishna kanahiya dauji ka bhaiya

One party says, dauji ke bhaiya and other party says, krsna kanahiya

So Dauji means Balarama and Dauji’s brother is Krishna. So in this way devotees sing the glories of Krishna and Balarama. In Navadvipa parikrama, Jayapataka Maharaja, he taught us, he must be the one made this chant very famous Gauranga- Nityananda, Nityananda- Gauranga. In Vraja we sing, dauji ka bhaiya krishna kanhaiya and in Navadvipa we sing Gauranga- Nityananda, this proves brajendra nandana jei, saci suta hoilo sei.

So this Balarama appears as Nityananda in Ekachakra gram in Bengal at the house of Hadai Pandit and Padmavati’s house. He performed his bala lilas in Ekachakra gram. Then a saint came to their house. He was received and served nicely. When he was about to leave he made a special demand from this family, please give me Nityananda Prabhu I want Nityananda, I want Nityanand. As he was parivrajakacarya he needed someone for help. So he left Ekachakra gram. Nityananda Prabhu came out of Ekachakra gram and travelled everywhere for preaching in the same way as Balarama performed His yatra of India. From this we can understand, balarama hoilo nitai. Balaram also travelded and Nityananda Prabhu also travelled. Nityananda Prabhu travelled everywhere and while travelling when He reached Vrndavan at the bank of Radhakunda then He got the news that His Lord, His Mahaprabhu, Caitanya Mahaprabhu had appeared.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai

After hearing this He directly moved to Navadvipa, Bengal. Gauranga Nityananda met at Nandana Acarya’s house in Navadvipa. The age of Caitanya Mahaprabhu was 20 years old. After that Gauranga Nityananda stayed together.

sankirtana eka pitaro

Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu are the two fathers of sankirtana, founding fathers of sankirtana. They both performed sankirtana at Srivas angan, all Pancha Tattvas used to join the movement. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and after that Nityananda Prabhu left for Jagannath Puri. At one time Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, you always stay with me Nityananda Prabhu, now you go to Bengal. Then Nityananda Prabhu left for Bengal with dvadash gopals.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu had ordered to Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakur,

suno suno nityananda, suno haridas sarvatra amar ajna koroho prakas
prati ghare ghare giya koro ei bhiksa bolo `krsna’, bhajo krsna, koro krsna-siksa

Now Nityananda Prabhu will play the role of a guru, its Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions. Nityananda Prabhu first came to Pannihati there 24 hours day and night kirtans were going on. Kirtan. So there he was establishing dharma, dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge. Nityananda Prabhu will establish dharma and propagate dharma all over, that’s all mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. He is dinabandhu, He is karunasindhu, Nityananda prbahu. That is why Bhakti Vinod Thakur in his song says,

Nadiya godrome nityananda Mahajana
patiyache nam-hatta jivera karana

Caitanya Mahaprabhu made Nityananda GBC, governing body commissioner and pracharak.
patrapatra-vicara nahi, nahi sthanasthana
yei yanha paya, tanha kare prema-dana [CC Adi 7.23]

Translation: In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mah?prabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.

There was no discrimination Krishna prema was distributed all over. Nityananda Prabhu distributed Krishna prem everywhere. So once when Nityananda Prabhu was in Panihatti, there came Raghunath Das and he received special mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. When Raghunath Das came Nityananda Prabhu was sitting with his students on the banks of Ganga. Nityananda Prabhu asked has Raghunath Das come, someone said yes he is hiding and sitting behind. As Raghunath Das came Nityananda Prabhu blessed him by keeping His lotus feet on his head. And also said that you are a thief, I will punish you, you have to feed dahi chida to all devotees. Raghunath Das did the seva and thus he got mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu through Nityananda Prabhu.

So Nityananda Prabhu was preaching Jagai Madhai. You know the story, when someone among Jagai Madhai threw stone on Nityananda Prabhu and He got hurt. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard that Nityananda Prabhu was hit, He immediately called for Sudarshan Chakra and as Cakra came there next was vinashayacha duskritam, He was ready to kill the demons. But who saved their lives? That was Nityananda Prabhu, He reminded Caitanya Mahaprabhu, oh Lord you cannot destroy the anarthas by this kind of weapons in this Kaliyuga. Jagai and Madhai were hearing all this and then Jagai Madhai surrendered to Guara -Nityananda. Then they said we will leave all the sinful activities and chant the holy name. We will follow four regulative principles, no intoxication, no gambling, no illicit sex, no meat eating, we will only chant and perform kirtana.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

dina-hina jata chilo, hari-name uddharilo, tara sakshi jagai madhai

Translation: The holy name delivered all those souls who were lowly and wretched. The two sinners Jagai and Madhai are evidence of this.

Is there any proof that the holy name delivers the sinful?? Yes yes, tara sakshi jagai madhai. This is the proof. It was a team effort of Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhus. When we go for preaching we have to keep two approaches, soft and hard and thus do preaching. In this Jagai Madhai deliverance, Caitanya Mahaprabhu was hard and tough like vajra. He was about to use His chakra. But the soft nature, the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu saved Jagai and Madhai. All glories to Nityananda Prabhu.

It’s not that today Nityananda is not there, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not there. He is still there in Navadvipa, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are still performing their lilas. And fortunate ones can have darsana of those Gaura lilas and Nityananda lilas.

adyapa lila kare gaura rai
kon kon bhagyavan dekhi bare pare

Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON, he is founder of ISKCON. But Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON on behalf of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and even today the work is going on and many Jagai and Madhai are being delivered all over the world. Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are only behind this. This movement is doing so many things, it is done by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu only. Senapati bhakta of this sankirtan army, Srila Prabhupada was made instrumental by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But the work of delivering the fallen Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are doing and devotees are just instruments.

The order Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave to Haridas Thakur and Nityananda Prabhu was prati ghare ghare giya koro ei bhiksa, bolo krishna, bhajo krishna, koro krishna-siksa, the same order is given to all of us also. So all the preaching projects are going on under the direction of Nityananda Prabhu, He is the original spiritual master and by Him only all the preaching projects are going on. Nityananda Prabhu was preaching on behalf of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

yare dekha, tare kaha k???a-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara ei desa [CCMadhya 7.128]

Translation: “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”

He is our eternal spiritual master. In kaliyuga the most important way of preaching is holy name, harinama sankirtan.

harer nama harer nama, harer namaiva kevalam,
kalau nasty eva nasty eva, nasty eva gatir anyatha.

The preaching mission which Caitanya Mahaprabhu started and Nityananda Prabhu did and then Srila Prabhupada did, that we have to take it ahead.

Prithvite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama

Translation: “In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.”

Preach My name. One cannot preach unless he has compassion or karuna in his heart. Nityananda Prabhu was full of these qualities, He was karunasindhu. Nitai gunamani amar.

I was thinking when Jiva Goswami came to Navadvipa he directly went to Srivas Thakur’s house. Nityananda Prabhu was staying here in those days and He became dhama guru for Jiva goswami and performed Navadvipa mandal parikrama. This is the work of a spiritual master, acarya. Nityananda Prabhu revealed the Navadvipa dhama, He disclosed all the places in Navadvipa. This is simantadvipa, here Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave darsana to Parvati and she put the dust of the dvipa in her hair part so that dvipa came to be known as simantadvipa. Nityananda Prabhu described all the lilasthalis to Jiva Goswami and if one does such parikrama that will deliver the whole world.

If Nityananda Prabhu was not there then there would be no parikrama then Bhakti Vinod Thakur would not have written the Navadvipa mahatmya book. In that book he writes that these parikramas will deliver the whole world. yadi nitai na hoite, there would have been no revelations. Then ISKCON won’t have been established and parikramas won’t have been there. There is no limit to mercy of Nityananda Prabhu.

ha ha prabhu nityananda premananda sukhi,
kripabalokana koro ami boro duhkhi

We should pray at the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu so that His mercy reaches us also. In fact if you all are hearing lectures in sravan utsav then you have already got the mercy. And if you are like Jagai and Madhai then by chanting you will get mukti and bhakti.

Where I am sitting is Pandharpur, Maharashtra. Nityananda Prabhu came here when he was travelling. He was initiated by Laxmipati tirtha, that’s the glory of Pandharpur dhama. And in this dham the Chandrabhaga river which is non different from Ganga flows and on her bank we have a temple and also we have established Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhus lotus feet here. Also Caitanya Mahaprabhu had come to Pandharpur, He said I want to go to South India. Everyone asked why you want to go? I want to search for My brother Visvarupa and then He went for a south India yatra. Then He reached pandharpur and as He got the news that Visvarupa had come to Pandharpur. First Nityananda Prabhu came here then Chaitanya Mahaprahu came. Before Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came here Visvarupa had come. This Chaitanya Mahaprabhu knew from a Gaudiya Vaishnava, he said that when I went Navadvipa with Madhavendra puri, we reached the house of Jagannath Mishra, he welcomed us very nicely and Saci mata had prepared nice prasadam for us. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said oh you had gone to my house, Saci mata is my mother and Visvarupa is my elder brother. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked do you know about my brother something, he has taken sannyasa. He said, yes your brother had taken sannyasa and he came to Pandharpur and stayed here. His name was Shankararanya Swami and from here only he went back to Godhead. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu got the news in this way.

Visvarup is the expansion of Balarama, balarama hoilo nitai, Balaram becomes Nityananda and also Visvarupa. First Balaram appeared as 7th child and then Krishna came as 8th child, like that first Visvarupa appeared and then Nimai appeared. Dauji appears as Visvarupa, elder brother. One understanding is that Visvarupa went back to Godhead and another is he entered Nityananda Prabhu, two in one, Nityananda Prabhu and Visvarupa together.

Jai jai nityananda premananda sukhi kripa va lokan karo ami bado dukhi

So again and again we pray at the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu so that He showers His mercy on us and not only us but on the whole world His mercy should be showered. So that people suffering from Corona get karuna of Nityananda Prabhu. Whoever gets mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, it’s his duty to preach. All the acarya preach on behalf of Nityananda Prabhu.

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur preached on behalf of Him, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur preached on behalf of Him, Srila Prabhupada preached on His behalf and Jayapataka Maharaja is preaching on His behalf, Bhakti Caru Maharaj was preaching on His behalf. We all have to distribute the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. How?

prati ghare ghare giya koro ei bhiksa bolo `krsna’, bhajo krsna, koro krsna-siksa.

By doing this or by yare dekha tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa. Or by sankirtana of hare krishna mahamantra and book distribution and prasadam distribution and by observing different festivals like sravan utsava and many more like Janmashtami mahotsav, Radhastami mahotsav, Jhulan yatra, Kartik vrata, Gaur Purnima festival. So our dharma is to spread the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu and Gauranga Mahaprabhu all over. Let’s follow that.

Question Answer Session

Question 1: Nityananda Prabhu is a disciple of Madhavendra Puri or Laxmipati Tirtha?
Answer: Nityananda Prabhu was disciple of both Madhavendra Puri and Laxmipati Tirtha. Caitanya Bhagavat states that Nityananda Prabhu was a disciple of Laxmipati Tirtha. Both understandings are there. He took diksha from Madhavendra Puri. It’s said that Laxmipati Tirtha initiated Madhavendra Puri and then Madhavendra Puri initiated Nityananda Prabhu. And second understanding is as stated in Caitanya Bhagavat, that Nityananda Prabhu was initiated by Laxmipati Tirtha. So there are two references or may be may be diksha guru and another siksha guru such relation can be there.

Question 2: How can we please Nityananda Prabhu?
Answer: By preaching,

golokam ca parityajya, lokanam trana karanat

When Lord sees jivas suffering then He also becomes sad so He appears and preaches, to make them happy. This is His motive of appearance, He wants to make people happy. So with our efforts if we can make some people happy by preaching then Nityananda Prabhu will be very happy.

yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto pi

We have to give His prasad to as many people as we can. We have to distribute Srila Parbhupada books to as many people as we can, we have to take people for dhama yatra. And then we can take them to Ekachakra gram. So the purpose of preaching is to please the Lord.

nama nache jiva nache

Nityananda Prabhu is very happy when He sees jiva dancing on the holy name and if you are successful in making some people happy then Nityananda Prabhu will be happy and will come to give you darsana. If we contribute to the temple building then Nityananda Prabhu will be happy, so do something for that. Also when you please your spiritual master then Nityananda Prabhu will be pleased because guru is the representative of Nityananda Prabhu. Try to understand what is on Nityananda Prabhu’s mind, He wants all people to come back home. So do something that people take up holy name, nama se dhama tak. Wherever a person is in Germany, America if he gets the holy name he tries to go to Mayapur thus taking them from nama to dhama.

Question 3: Tomorrow is Balarama jayanti which food items He likes and which games He likes and what are the reasons for his happiness?
Answer: For games, balavasta krida sakta

When Nityananda Prabhu was going to school He used to enact the pastimes of Krishna lila, Dhenukasura lila or Pralambasura vadha. Then once He became Laxman and there was war and Laxman fell unconscious as the bell rang all children went to class but Nityananda Prabhu was still unconscious. All the children went home but Nityananda Prabhu was lying there only. When Hadai pandit and Padmavati came searching for him, He was lying down on the ground. So they remembered that today they were playing Ramayan lila but as the bell rang the child who was Hanuman ran home forgetting his role. So all kids were called and Hanuman was sent to bring the herb and then gave it to smell and Nityananda Prabhu was again conscious, He jumped up and said where is Ravan? So these kinds of games Nityananda Prabhu used to play.

Question 4: I feel more attraction for Nityananda Prabhu is that sin?
Answer: It’s not an offence, if naturally that’s happening but such attraction will stay or change one can’t say.

hitva anyatha rupam sva-rupe?a vyavasthitih [SB 2.10.6]

Some sadhaka are attracted to Radha Krishna and some are attracted to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. These attractions are not final, there can be changes.
There are two parts of Golok, one is Vrndavan and another is Navadvipa or Svetadvipa, those who are attracted to Radha Krishna reach Vrindavan and those who are attracted to Guara Nitai reach the Navadvipa part of Golok and those who are attracted to both reach both the places, but it’s too early for now, we can’t jump to any conclusion. There may be some changes, wait and see, keep patience.

Question 5: There is Vrndavan, Mathura in the spiritual world. Is there any place in the spiritual world where Gaura Nitai are chanting and dancing?

Answer: Gaura and Nitai are always together, like if Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself than Balaram is his prakash. Krishna and Balarama are almost the same, Prabhupada says if Krishna is 100% Lord and Balaram is 98% Lord, they are very close in regard to their godhood. So like that Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are same they are always together, like brothers.
During Rama-lila also they are together, Who is Rama Laksaman, Krishna is Rama and Balaram is Laksaman. So Rama Laxman in Treta Yuga, Krishna Balarama in Dwapar yuga and in Kaliyuga Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. So they are always together, wherever Nityananda Prabhu is dancing there Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears like he appeared at Panihati festival. During the dahi chida festival, as Nityananda was dancing, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu rushed there. So they are inseparable, they cannot be separated.

Nitai Gaura Premananda haribol haribol!!