Solution of protection from ten name chanting offences.
Chanting of Holy name without concentration is what ? It’s also an offence. But one thing is that chanting without concentration is the main reason behind committing ten offences. That is the source, reason that why we keep commiting offences. It’s because we don’t chant with concentration.

Jagannath Katha
19th June 2022
ISKCON Thane

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya ?caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah

Translation
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him

jayati jayati devo devaki nandano ‘sau
jayati jayati ko vrsni vamsa pradipah
jayati jayati megha syamalah komalango
jayati jayati prthvi bhara naso mukundah
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Madhya 13.78)

Translation
All glories unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is known as the son of Devaki. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is known as the light of the dynasty of Vrsni. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead whose bodily luster is like that of a new cloud and whose body is as soft as a lotus flower. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who appeared on this planet to deliver the world from the burden of demons and who can offer liberation to everyone

sri krishna chaitanya?prabhu nityananda?sri advaita, gadadhara?srivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda

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

Hari Hari. The house is full here today in the Thane temple. What will you do in the future and where will you see them all? Maybe you’ll have to sit them on your lap or your shoulders. So we welcome you all here. Jagannatha Swami ki jai. I was about to say that I am very pleased but because Jagannatha Swami is present here, I will say that Jagannatha Swami is pleased by your presence here.

For your information I can tell you that this Jagannatha in this temple is not the Jagannatha of Iskcon Thane here, am I right? He is the lord of the universe but here he is the lord of Krishna Darshan Prabhu and he will stay seated here on top of the building. This is where he will continue to be worshiped and you can also go there, they can go there can’t they?

We must ask permission of the proprietor of lord Jagannatha. And yes, if you do go then they will give you Prashad also, so can they all come to your home to take darshan of Jagannatha, yes? Oh he is saying that you have already all been there to his home for darshan. Atvthe moment there are festivals being celebrated for lord Jagannatha throughout the whole country. Just a few days ago I was in Jagannatha Puri. Jagannatha Puri dham ki jai!

On that day it was occasion of snana yatra but on that day we just saw the snana yatra only, we did not bathe, well we did not bathe Jagannatha. We had had a bath ourselves but we did not bathe Jagannatha (laughter). When the priests were bathing lord Jagannatha, we were watching them and as we did so we were thinking in our minds, ‘how wonderful it would be if we could also bathe lord Jagannatha?’

So there is a possibility that lord Jagannatha has noted that this person wanted to do this. So I was thinking that the lord has now been fulfilled by the lord. What I just saw that day I was able to do today by bathing lord Jagannatha. I also did whatever I did on your behalf also and so what can we say about lord Jagannatha?

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has also said
jayati jayati devo devaki nandano ‘sau. What we see in the foreign countries is that some people upon looking at lord Jagannatha become scared, ‘how can he be God?! It is not possible!’ Not just this but You may know what happened with Indradyumna Swami Maharaja, not Swami but just Indradyumna Maharaja. This King Indradyumna was the one who arranged for the installation of these deities and the opening of the Jagannatha temple.

He gave one carpenter the job to carve the lord who was in the form of a log of wood, Daru Brahma. The carpenter’s tools were not working and they would break as soon as he would try to carve the form of the lord and his hands would be shaking to make the job even more difficult. Before him many others had come and had gone also and at the end one carpenter came who was Visvakarma himself.

He spoke and said, ‘I will carve the form of the lord from this log of wood, Daru Brahma.’ This Daru is not the alcohol which is drunk (laughter). Daru means a cast like a stick or log of Brahma which means Brahman, the supreme. He was the supreme lord who was initially in the form of Nila Madhava and so this is the very detailed and deep history of lord Jagannatha.

He himself became the log of wood for the deity and then he ordered that his deity be made from that log and then King Indradyumna will be able to worship that form of the lord. Then the job of sculpting the deity from the log of wood was given to who? It was Visvakarma and the deal was that until the deity is not completely made, he said ‘I will be the only one alone in the room. The doors and curtains must be closed and I will be by myself and if somebody intrudes or disturbs me during this time then I will not continue this work of sculpting that deity and the work will be left undone.

So for many day this work of sculpting the deity went on behind closed doors but this Visvakarma Ji was taking a long time, he is not just any ordinary carpenter. So King Indradyumna – I am calling him King Indradyumna but not to be confused with the disciple of Srila Prabhupada in Iskcon called Indradyumna Maharaja also.

So here, King Indradyumna was very anxious and he should be anxious for the darshan of the lord. He was very impatient you could say for taking darshan of the deities, to install them in the temple and also to open that temple. Therefore after some days he could not wait any longer and so he was knocking on the door, ‘may I come in sir?’ Somebody was also asking me like this today.

So at first he could hear some work happening, ‘khat khat khat’ and then the noise stopped and the King then opened the door hurriedly. When he looked inside he suddenly realised, ‘what have I done? The sculpting of the deities has not been completed. It is still incomplete because I have come in. This is not a beautiful form of the lord here in front of me, this is an incomplete form of the lord.

It is only half done and where are his hands and there is no clue to where the legs and feet are. The eyes are so big and look quite fearsome. How will I be able to worship this deity? Krishna does not look like this and Balaram? Forget it! This kind of Balaram? Krishna’s each limb is beautiful but this deity does not have all his limbs and there is no information about some limbs that are missing.

Being beautiful is a complete different matter!’ Then, ‘Narayan, Narayan.’ So who reached there? Narada Muni. How do you all know, were you there at the time? Laughter. Lord Narayana’s name is connected to Narada Muni. Just like immediately upon seeing the Hare Krishna devotees, what do you all say? ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna!’

So as soon as one hears the name of Narayana one knows, ‘Jai Narada!’ In this way Narada Muni is also remembered in connection to this chanting. So Narada Muni upon reaching the scene asked, ‘what is the problem, what has happened here? Why are you lamenting and looking so miserable and hopeless?’

King Indradyumna replied, ‘look for yourself! Is the lord’s form meant to look like this? I wanted to install the deities as quickly as possible and I gave this carpenter the job to do but he has left it incomplete and gone away. How will the installation take place now? At that time Narada Muni told the King, ‘these deities are not incomplete and in fact they are more than complete.’

Do you understand that which I am saying in English? More than complete which means that not only are they complete but they are more then complete. They are fully and wholly complete and how is this? Narada ji had previously spoken on this subject matter. This was on a certain occasion which had occurred at another time and I wont speak upon that right now.

The lord had manifested this form before and Narada Muni was witness to this. So he said ‘I have seen this form of the lord before! Just like when I had seen the forms of Krishna and Balaram along with Subhadra before, I remember this very well that this is that very same form and manifestation that I witnessed then. The same darshan I am having now of your deities, as I had seen them in person back then.

It was exactly the same form as how Jagannatha is now in this deity and Balaram is the exact same and so is Subhadra, just like when I saw them then. Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra- are you all listening, yes? When they had heard the story of Vrindavan and the residents of Vrindavan, and how the residents of Vrindavan were passing their days, because Krishna and Balaram who were originally from Vrindavan went and resided in Dwaraka thereafter.

They were originally in Vrindavan but after going to Dwaraka they never returned back to Vrindavan. When leaving Vrindavan to go to Mathura, they had told the residents that they would be returning very soon. He said ‘I am just now coming back’ but

Soduniya Gopinath Krsna Mathuresi Gela….akrurane raath sajavila …ratha
(Marathi abhang)

Translation
Listen oh gopi’s, Krishna is leaving to go to Mathura and Akrura is gettimg the chariot ready to take them..

There is this bhajan that Kamsa had sent Akrura, ‘go and immediately bring them!’ Who? ‘Krishna and Balaram and bring them to Mathura.’ So Akrura went and there is a marathi abhang, devotional song. So at that time all the residents of Vrindavan and especially the gopi’s were told this, that Krishna would come back soon. Then of course Krishna did not return after a few days and also for eighteen years he stayed in Mathura.

He did not return to Vrindavan and Krishna himself was not pleased about this fact but he was helpless in a sense as there were some important reasons for why Krishna had to stay behind in Mathura. Then Krishna tells Uddhava, ‘oh Uddhava come and sit down here with me and I will tell you something from my heart.’ Now it will be understood why Krishna continued to stay in Mathura and did not return back to Vrindavan.

In Mathura Krishna is saying to Uddhava ‘please take a seat Uddhava and I will tell you something which is in my mind and my heart.’ ‘Please speak oh lord,’ Uddhava said. Krishna then said

Udho Mohi Braj Bisrat Nahi
(Surdas bhajan)

Translation
Oh Uddhava, I am missing Braja very much

‘I just cannot forget Vrindavan.’ So Krishna says whilst remembering everything about Vrindavan, ‘I cannot forget Vrindavan.’ The he sent Uddhava with a message and this is called the message of Uddhava and in this way Krishna remained in Mathura for eighteen years and after that he went further on to Dwarka where he then started to live. After some time he also got married to how many queens? Sixteen thousand, one hundred and on top of that eight more who were the principal queens.

Rukmini Maiya ki jai! Rukmini is number one and she was from Maharashtra. You know that, right? No you didn’t know that. You are thinking‘it’s useless being Maharashtrian,’ (laughter). Rukmini was from Kaundinyapura, and where is this? In Amravati? So that Rukmini from Amravati is, well beginning with Rukmini Krishna married all these queens and then Krishna remained there and so did Balaram.

Also all the residents of Mathura became the residents of Dwarka, you know this. At one time there was nobody in Dwarka and Krishna didn’t have a living quarters or any place in Dwarka. There was no address of Krishna’s in Dwarka but then during one such night, all the residents of Mathura had to relocate within one night.

In that one night there were palaces made for each resident and the whole town was planned out and not only planning but the execution of the plan also. And this all took place within one night and Krishna Balaram made arrangements to send everyone to Dwarka and then they again came back alone to Mathura. This was to battle with Jarasandha and Kalayavana had also reached there who was called Adhama, a Yavana.

So Krishna was in this way residing in Dwarka but his heart was in Vrindavan. ‘I lost my heart in Hare Krishna Pandal, Hare Krishna festival.’ So Krishna also lost his heart in Vrindavan although he was residing in Dwarka as a duty. There is a duty that needs to be performed but if he had his own choice, then he would have chosen Vrindavan. So Krishna also was missing Vrindavan and not only the land of Vrindavan but the residents of Vrindavan, the Vrajavasi’s.

The Vrajavasi’s were missing Krishna and- do you understand Vrajavasi? Vraja you understand, Vrindavan dham ki jai!

Nilachala nivasaya nityaya paramatmane
balabhadra subhadrabhyam jagannathaya te namah
(Prayer of residents of Nilacala)

Translation
O Lord Jagannath, the controller and savior of the entire universe, kindly save the people of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh from the super cyclone Phailin.?May you kindly have your merciful glance upon us and save us from the impending danger and destruction by Phailin. Only you can protect us.

Right now the lord has become, or rather he is going to become- actually not yet but the lord is going to become Nilacala vasi, resident of Nilacala. So the Vrajavasi’s were missing Krishna, you do understand what I am saying when I say they were missing him, yes? I think this sort if language everyone understands.

Miss and miss, not miss. We are not missing the miss. Miss India and miss.. and the residents of Dwarka were missing the Vrajavasi’s and in this way they were missing each other but Krishna still was not able to go or you could say that the residents of Dwarka were not letting him go there. The Vrajavasi’s really wanted Krishna, ‘we want Krishna, we want Krishna!’ Can you say this, ‘we want Krishna?’

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

When we chant the holy name, what is it that we are saying? We want Krishna. To say Hare Krishna means ‘we want you.’ Anyway there were letter exchanges from Vrindavan there would be news and letters, where they would send letters and Krishna and others also would give their reply. The postman at one time walked from Dwarka to Vrindavan and the back from Vrindavan to Dwarka with the replies to the letter.

This is a Padayatra and it’s a very slow postal service, right? Then smart Krishna gave that postman a horse so now when the postman gets upon the horse what will happen? It will become a speed post. So the fast communication continued for a while but there was still no solution to the real problem. Krishna had already known and Rukmini had also said, ‘do you know? when Radharani feels separation from you, she feels so much unbearable pain no, you don’t know!’

Krishna said, ‘I don’t know? Have you not read the Bhagavad Gita? As you open the Bhagavatam, what is written? janmady asya yato ’nvayad itaratas carthe?v abhijnah svarat

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
janmady asya yato ’nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat
tene brahma hrda ya adi kavaye muhyanti yat surayah
tejo vari mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri sargo ’mrsa
dhamna svena sada nirasta kuhakam satyam param dhimahi
(SB 1.1.1)

Translation
O my Lord, Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord ?r? K???a because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Sri Krsna, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.

‘What am I like? I am abhijnah. Jnah means full of knowledge and abhi means all, so I am all-knowing. I am like this and the Bhagavatam is also declaring this and you, Rukmini are saying that I dont know?!’ So Krishna was speaking like this but at the same time he did accept that ‘yes yes it could be that I do not actually know Radharani’s feelings of separation and the pain she is going through.

I really Do you not know her heart and her mind,’ and then you know what? Krishna took a vow that ‘next time I come as an incarnation, I will become Radha, in the form of Radharani I will appear.’ And so who did the lord become? Gauranga. Radha bhava dyuti suvalitam naumi krnsa-svarupam

radha krsna pranaya vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha bhedam gatau tau
caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad dvayam caikyam aptam
radha bhava dyuti suvalitam naumi krsna svarupam
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 4.55)

Translation
The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krsna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krsna are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Sri Krsna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani although He is Krsna Himself

Krishna became Radharani’s feelings or her heart you could say. He became Radha conscious, conscious of Radha and he took her feelings, her emotions and her complexion. We call Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Gauranga and what do we call Radharani? Gaurangi. So Gaura-anga. Are you all listening? Gaura- anga , his limbs are white in complexion. Then Gaurangi, her limbs are similarly white in complexion.

Letter exchanges were happening but there was still no solution to the problem and that’s when Krishna had an idea. ‘I will go to Kuruksetra at the time of sunset and I will go on the pretext of bathing in some pure river at an auspicious time.’ In this way Krishna, Dwarkadhish made a plan to go to Kuruksetra to bathe in Surya Kunda. This Surya Kunda is a famous lake at Kuruksetra.

Then Krishna again wrote a letter to different devotees, ‘dear Radha, he gopi, he Lalite, he Vishake, he Nanda baba, he Yashoda Mayi, he Subal Sakha.’ He wrote a personal letter to each of these devotees. With great respect he signed it yours sincerely and then the postman bought the letter to Vrindavan by speed post. There was a home delivery and as the devotees open their letters and read them, this was the best news in their whole lives, you could says.

‘Now we will meet, now we will meet, we will meet.’ And it was written in the letter ’okay so Dwarka is a city very far from Vrindavan but Kuruksetra is not so far. So I am coming there, so you come too and we will meet.’ There is also something written here in Iskcon Thane about the meeting of the spiritual master and the disciple. The Vrajavasi’s got ready for this meeting whilst the residents of Dwarka had already reached Kuruksetra on their individual chariots.

The residents of Vrindavan then arrived in their individual carts and from the other side in Dwarka there were many chariots and in this way there was a great reunion at Kuruksetra. During this time, now you understanding this whole Mahabharata that I am reciting to you all. Its not exactly Mahabharata but what I mean is that I am extending the story so much and you will soon understand the reason behind this.

So please listen with attention. So all the residents of Dwarka were staying in their tents at Kuruksetra, Srimad Bhagavatam describes some of this but some other books describe this is more detail. The meeting of the residents of Vrindavan and the residents of Dwarka were meeting after one hundred years. They had not met for one hundred years and Radharani had also been cursed at one time before that ‘you will become separated from Krishna and you will have to stay far away from him.

You will not even have the opportunity to see Krishna’s face and you will be separated for one hundred years.’ So Radharani and the gopi’s also have now reached Kuruksetra and Krishna then
meets them all including the other residents of Vrindavan beginning with Yashoda. How must that meeting have been? Actually this is all so beyond our thinking and understanding, it is called achintya, beyond our comprehension.

We cannot even imagine what it must be like, we can lightly guess what that meeting may have been like between Krishna and Yashoda. Krishna also met his friends and do you understand when they used to wear underwear such as nappies together? That is how young they were when they were together and in this underwear they would go as cowherd boys to herd the cows.

Choti Choti Gaiya Chotay Chotay Gwaal?Chotoso
(Krishna bhajan)

Translation
The little cows and little cowherds, there is also my little Krishna (madhan gopal) amongst them all

The friends are older now and Krishna is also older but now they are meeting after so long. That meeting bought so much joy to all parties and then there has been a special reunion with Radharani where they have met in solitude. All these meetings are happening in Kuruksetra and it is not at the time of war also. That will happen after this so this is Krishna’s first visit to Kuruksetra.

When they go to visit again the battlefield of Kuruksetra then what will happen? Mahabharata, the history of great India. It was a world war and you could say that was the first world war. The world did not note this down as the first world war in history. They missed out this war, they missed the world war which all the kings and great monarchs were present and the whole world was involved.

There were eighteen aksauhini divisions in the armies and six hundred and forty million soldiers gave their lives in this war. At that time there was a lot of population and nowadays they are saying that the population has increased and that it is increasing too much. No, this is not true and the world has seen more population than this in the past.

The so called historians say that the first world war occurred when, who knows? 1918, who will understand here nineteen hundred and eighteen (laughter)? So 1918 was the year of the first world war and the second world war was in 1945, so the first and the second but what about the Kuruksetra war? Have you ever thought about this? I am bringing to your notice so be thoughtful, start thinking.

This is why the history which is taught these days in school, this history has to be re-written. The Mahabharata war is also not exactly the first because this world has seen many wars prior to this also but in the more recent years there has been the Kuruksetra war which was certainly the first world war. Then you can say the 1918 war was the second world war and that the other one was the third one.

So you should also make some protest regarding this and I know that the governmental authorities are seriously thinking that the world history now needs to be re-written. When I used to go to school we were also taught like this. We were told that lord Buddha was the first incarnation of the lord one and a half thousand years ago. Then Chandragupta Maurya came under the leadership and then the country of Kalinga which was a war led by Ashoka of Odhisha.

Then there came Darwin’s theory of evolution and according to this theory he was saying ‘how could there have been a war five thousand years ago with humans and they are using weapons? Forget it, this is not at all possible. At that time the most evolved species were the monkeys and we are all the descendants and children of the monkeys.’ Through the evolution process beginning with amoebae.

Oh they have forgotten the actual Ba who is Vithoba and we are now speaking about this amoebae. So they are saying that the whole process of evolution started with this amoebae but we know that the first living entity created was Brahma. He was a completely advanced living entity and he didn’t just have one head but he had four heads. He is called the four headed Brahma and this is all described in bhagavatam and the puranas that he at once created the eight million four hundred thousand species of life.

jalaja nava lakshani sthavara laksha vimsati krimayo rudra sankhyakah, pakshinam dasa lakshanam, girimsa lakhani pasau manushyah catur-lakshani

There are 900,000 species of aquatic animals, 2,000,000 species of immovable beings like the trees and vegetation, 1,100,000 species of reptiles and insects, 1,000,000 species of birds , 3,000,000 species of four legged beasts and 400, 000 species of human beings.

So this has been said and in this way the grand total becomes 84 lakhs, eight million species. In this way Darwin has made the whole world into fools and also the English have done some great brainwashing to the people of Bharat, India. Whatever is described in our scriptures is the history of the world, just like Mahabharata is a historical event also. Iti-h-asa, means ‘like this it all happened.’ So it is all factual, they are all facts.

It is not mythology but fact. It is all described in the scriptures and the puranas and srimad bhagavatam as well as Mahabharata. So this theory of Darwin has destroyed the intelligence of the whole world and unfortunately the people of India, Bharat have also been effected in this way of thinking. Anyway Kuruksetra dham ki jai!

So I was saying that when Krishna reached Kuruksetra, it was not the time of the battle of Mahabharata. This was the first visit but the next time he goes he will go as Partha- Sarathi, the charioteer of Partha, Arjuna.

tatah shvetairhayairyukte mahati syandane sthitau?madhavah pandavashchaiva divyau shankhau pradadhmatuh
(BG 1.14)

Translation
Then, from amidst the Pandava army, seated in a glorious chariot drawn by white horses, Madhav and Arjun blew their Divine conch shells

It is said in bhagavad gita that the chariot which Krishna was driving had horses which were white in colour. Details like this such as two personalities being present on this chariot, and who were they? Madhava was there and Pandava was there. Pandava here means just Arjuna, all the Pandavas were not sitting there, just Arjuna is there. And both then sounded their transcendental conches.

panchajanyam hrishikesho, the conch which hrishikesh sounded was called panchajanya.

panchajanyam hrishikesho devadattam dhananjayah?paundram dadhmau maha shankham bhima karma vrikodarah
(BG 1.15)

Translation
Hrishikesh blew his conch shell, called Panchajanya, and Arjun blew the Devadutta. Bheem, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, blew his mighty conch, called Paundra

So lord Hrishikesh’s conch was called Panchajanya and Devadutta was the name of dhananjayah’s conch shell. dhananjayah is the name of Arjuna. Then there are the other four Pandavas and when they blew their conches those conches have been named also. This is not imagination but it is all a fact and so going back to the meeting at Kuruksetra, the residents of Dwarka and Vrindavan stayed for many months there.

Yes I have to stop? Sure. How did I find out? Okay so in this one place all the residents of Dwarka got together okay? And where was this? Kuruksetra. And then Rohini Maiya ki jai. Rohini, the mother of Balaram knew what must have been happening to the devotees in Vrindavan. The residents of Marhura became residents of Dwarka and Krishna had also joined them and so he is also a resident of Dwarka.

But there was a time when Rohini was also in Vrindavan before going to Dwarka and she saw with her own eyes and experienced what would be the condition of the residents of Vrindavan at the moment. Due to Krishna not being present in Vrindavan, she could understand the condition of their minds and their situation in Vrindavan. These were not normal times for them and that is why Rohini wanted to address all the residents of Dwarka on behalf of the residents of Vrindavan.

Before starting her address to them all, Rohini told Subhadra what she should do. She said ‘there is a chance of Krishna and Balaram’s coming here but please do not let them come in because of what I am going to be speaking about.’ What is she going to speak about? The feelings of separation, whose separation? Mother Yashoda’s separation and the cows separation from Krishna and also the monkey’s separation.

Everyone there were feeling intense love for Krishna in separation, ‘what kind of life is this that we are without you?’ Here we are not talking about Krishna but we are saying ‘what kind of living is this without our husbands? What kind of life will that be.’ The only way one can say this is in regards to Krishna for it to fit, to make sense. You cannot even say this in regards to anything or anyone else, it shouldn’t be said.

It can only be said, ‘how can one live without Krishna?’ Nobody else can be spoken of in this way. Do you understand this? If you understand you will become Krishna conscious. In this way Rohini started her talks but just as Rohini had been thinking that Krishna and Balaram will certainly come, this is exactly what happened and they entered the scene.

Subhadra had been told that if they came they should be sent away a little fat from the place where the talks would be going on but they wanted to come in. Poor Subhadra, the poor younger sister had to agree to Krishna and Balaram’s wanting to go in and in this way Krishnaand Balaram along with Subhadra were listening at the door as Rohini was speaking.

The subject matter was the condition of the devotees of Vrindavan for the past one hundred years. All the Vrajavasi’s were thinking ’what kind of life is this without Krishna?’ In other words you can say ‘sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me.’

Yugayitam nimesena?caksusa pravrsayitam?sunyayitam jagat sarvam?govinda virahena me
(Siksastaka 7)

Translation
O Govinda! Feeling Your separation I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence

Without Govinda the whole world is vacant, zero. It should have a one in front and then one zero, then add another zero, another zero. If there is a one in front of the zeros then it has some value and it becomes a ten or hundred, a thousand and then a hundred thousand and like that. If there is not a one in the front then all these zeros together are just one big zero, sunyayitam jagat sarvam?govinda virahena me. Nama bina kichu nahiko aro, caudda bhuvana majhe

krsna nama sudha koriya pan,?jurau bhakativinoda pran,?nama bina kichu nahiko aro,?caudda bhuvana majhe
(Arunodaya Kirtana)

Translation
Drink the pure nectar of the holy name of Krsna. There is nothing but the name to be had in the fourteen worlds. It has filled the soul of Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Bhaktivinode Thakur says there is nothing but the holy name in these fourteen worlds. So as Rohini was speaking, they were listening and as they listened they were contemplating upon what was beings said. As this was happening you could say that a spiritual deformation began to occur with their bodily limbs. There was a lot of change in their bodies as if their limbs had melted and as they listened to each and every detail of what Rohini was saying, it was like an eye opener.

You know they say, ‘that was really an eye opener.’ Literally their eyes opened so wide and big and they were thinking ‘really? Wow! What, can this be true?’ So their eyes were opening wide, their eyes are big and open, right, Jagannatha Baladeva and Subhadra’s eyes? It was as if they had started to think ‘it’s better not to exist than hear this. Let us finish our existence.’

So their arms and legs started to melt as
they could not tolerate what they were hearing. ‘We cannot tolerate that because of us Yashoda and the other residents of Vrindavan, including the gopi’s and our boyfriends are so troubled.’

So at that moment Narada Muni had arrived there, ‘Narayana Narayana.’ Where had he come? Where? Yes, he had arrived in Nilacala and who did he meet? King Indradyumna who was at that time remorseful for what reason? ‘This is not the form of the lord. How will I be able to install these unfinished deities?’

At that time Narada Muni comes and says ‘no, no. These deities are all complete. When the lord displayed his love, it was not because someone may come and take a video of such a display or exhibition. This form if Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra gives us darshan in such a way that it reminds us that it is not only the devotees who love the lord, no.

What about the lord, does he love his devotees or not? This darshan of lord Jagannatha is the deity of love, love for his devotees. There is love for the lord and the other is love for the devotee that the lord has. When love for the lord arises in the heart of of the devotee, this is called asta vikara, the eight transcendental ecstasies. These are manifest in the devotees and the symptoms are state of being stunned, perspiration, standing of the bodily hairs on end, faltering of the voice, trembling, fading of the body’s color, tears and devastation.

These are all visible on the bodies and in the minds of the devotees so also when the lord manifested his love for his devotees, he showed that love by taking on this transcendental form of Jagannatha. Jagannatha Baladeva Subhadra ki jai! So try and understand the lord in this way, Jagannatha Swami is coming and actually you are making arrangements and prayers for Jagannatha’s arrival, I can see preparations are going on and the alter is being made. So one day, well when will that day come? Kabe ha’be se dina amar.

kabe ha’be bolo se dina amar ?(amar) aparadha ghuci’, suddha name ruci, krpa bale ha’be hr?doye sancar
(kabe ha’be bolo 1)

Translation
When, O when, will that day be mine? When will you give me your blessings, erase all my offences and give my heart a taste [ruci] for chanting the Holy Name in purity?

Pray that this day comes quickly for us and then we will once again come together. This does not mean that Tulsi this day you will not come here to the temple because one has to wait patiently. So as you wait, continue to come here also but may that day come quickly as well when we will come together in Iskcon Thane to celebrate the festival of the installation of the deities (shouts of Haribol).

Nitai Gaura prem anande Hari Haribol

Narsimha katha

What happened next? From that pillar Lord came out,

na mrgam na manusam

And what was the form, I never saw that form. Half portion of human and half like animal just like lion. Jai Narsimha dev ki jai. Then what happened next,

“paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam
dharma-sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge”

Translation:

“To protect the righteous, to annihilate the wicked, and to reestablish the principles of dharma I appear on this earth, age after age.” (B.G 4.8)

Lord came to destroy miscreants. When did Lord appear? Lord did all the calculations to appear. Maybe a little earlier than two-four minutes. Lord was looking at the clock, okay 10 seconds to go 3 seconds to go, ok time is up. What time? Neither it was day nor night, Lord has a complete list whatever boon he has demanded and what Brahma gave .

satyam vidhatum nija-bhrtya-bhasitam
vyaptim ca bhutesv akhilesu catmanah
adrsyatatyadbhuta-rupam udvahan
stambhe sabhayam na mrgam na manusam

Translation

To prove that the statement of His servant Prahlada Maharaja was substantial—in other words, to prove that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, even within the pillar of an assembly hall—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, exhibited a wonderful form never before seen. The form was neither that of a man nor that of a lion. Thus the Lord appeared in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.

This is written in the Bhagavatam, what will Lord do? Will show the promise of devotee to be true, and here is an incident of two devotees one Prahlad and other Brahma. So whatever he told, the Lord will show him to be true. All boons were given by Brahma, be like that, be like that, be like that, be like that… as per that boon Lord was going to do the action.

Prahlad Maharaja said that my Lord is everywhere, my Lord is in the pillar also .

So this also has to be shown as truth, hence Lord appeared from the pillar and the promise of a devotee was proved as truth. Neither in the day nor at night, so the Lord was waiting at that moment. Have to kill him, so where? Neither inside the house nor outside the house. So where he can do, on the entrance which is neither outside nor inside. Neither in the sky nor on the land then where? So the Lord placed him on the lap. Neither should be killed by the beast nor by the human. Hiranyakasipu didn’t think that someone could come in two in one, beyond the imagination of Hiranyakashipu . Well, Hiranyakashipu thought that Brahma was not giving him the boon of being immortal, but gave all these boons – Neither day nor night, neither inside nor outside, neither by any beast nor by the human. It means I have become immortal. Hiranyakashipu might have thought that he cheated Brahma, but if someone tries to cheat the devotees of Lord and Lord Himself, then Lord becomes a great cheater for them. The Lord also cheats. Lord placed Hiranyakashipu on his lap. He thinks I will not be killed by any tool but what Lord does. “Tavkarkamal ware nakham”, means Lord yours kar means hand, karkamal means using the nails ,the Lord uses His astounding sharp nails. The nails were amazing, tear him and finish him. Ram Nam Satya hai.

Lord was so angry. Bhagvan became Ugra Narsimha. His anger can be seen here. Here Lord is showing that if someone commits an offense against at the lotus feet of his devotees, He will not tolerate it.

My devotee will not be destroyed; progress will be there only if someone makes an effort. I’m theirs. This s Lord is showing in this pastime and when Lord appears, Demigod also appear, atmosphere was full of Demigods .The Ahobilam place in Andhra Pradesh still has a pillar from which the Lord appeared. Today, for a one and a half hour celebration of appearance day of Lord Narsimha is celebrated. Today is the very big festival.

“namas te narasinhaya
prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakasipor vaksah-
sila-tanka-nakhalaye”

All I bow to Narasimha Bhagavan, who is the one who gives joy to Prahlad Maharaj and whose nails are like chisels above the stone-like chest of demon Hiranyakashipu.
Narasimha Bhagavan is here and there also. Wherever I go, there is God like Narasimha. They are in the heart and also outside. I take refuge in the God of Narsingh, who is the source of all things and the ultimate shelter.

Lord Narasimha protects such devotees. The obstacles that come in their path are obstacles, they remove them. Do you want the Lord to destroy the obstacles that come in your devotion? Yes. Then you have to do Bhakti, bhakti sadhana. Prahlad Maharaja told nine types of devotional steps.The main devotional service begins with the sravanam kirtanam Vishnu smaranam and it is also a religion.

The yuga in which we are living is called Kali Yuga. “kali kaler dharma hari naam sankirtan” The religion of Kaliyuga is the sankirtana. Sankirta Dharma ki jai. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given the name of Sankirtana Dharma in Kaliyuga. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai. Lord appears and establishes the method of religion according to that yuga. So the religion of Kaliyuga is

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

Translation:

‘For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.’ (C.C Adi 7.76)

Narada Muni was the guru of Prahlad Maharaja. We also come in the same tradition; Srila Prabhupada also comes in the tradition of Narada Muni. Narada Muni himself appeared in the form of Srivasa Thakura at the time of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he preached Harinam. Narada Bhakti Sutra is famous: Naradaji teaches Harinam Bhakti in Kali Yuga and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given Harinama to Kali Yuga.

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare”

This is the religion of Kali Yuga and if you want to do devotional service in Kali yuga, then you have to chant this great mantra. Chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the dharma of Kaliyuga. All of you do this kind of Bhakti.

This kaliyuga is full of conflict, faults but one greatest quality of this Kali yuga is kirtan. By doing Krishna kirtan they become liberated, mukta sangaha, they become free from false association and param vrajeti, they will reach Lord’s abode, place of Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is told by Sukadeva Goswami. So it’s a submission from Lord’s devotees, acarya and scriptures, all of you recite Hari nama.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.

This Kali Yuga is identified by sarva sadhan badhaka, but all hurdles are removed by Narsimha bhagavan.

Narsimha bhagawan ki jai.
Ok Gaur premanande Hari Haribol.
Srila Prabhupada ki jai.

Who gave us aradhana of Narsimha bhagavan in ISKCON and in 150 countries the Narsimha caturdasi is celebrated. Many temple of Lord Narsimha in country and all over the world and in all altar of our ISKCON temple, daily we worship, each and every devotee of ISKCON around the world sings a prayer of Lord Narshima.
Hare Krishna

Topic : SB 9.16.1 -6
Place : Mayapur Dham
Date : 10 March 2019

Haribol, everybody Hare Krishna, welcome and thank you of joining us. Hari Hari and those who have joined include some very senior exalted Vaishnav’s, and making my job difficult talking in their presence but I pray, I do them also, please bless me, give me strength so I could talk something worthwhile . so reading from Canto 9 chapter 16 text number 1 to 6, so will get to that sixth verse which has a purport , so we had to read five previous verses.
Text No. 1

Sri-suka uvaca
pitropasiksito ramas
tatheti kuru-nandana
samvatsaram tirtha-yatram
caritvasramam avrajat
(SB 9.16.1)

Translataion : Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear Maharaja Pariksit, son of the Kuru dynasty, when Lord Parasurama was given this order by his father, he immediately agreed, saying, “Let it be so.” For one complete year he traveled to holy places. Then he returned to his father’s residence.

Text No. 2:

kadacid renuka yata
gangayam padma-malinam
gandharva-rajam kradantam
apsarobhir apasyata
(SB 9.16.2)

Translation : Once when Renuka, the wife of Jamadagni, went to the bank of the Ganges to get water, she saw the King of the Gandharvas, decorated with a garland of lotuses and sporting in the Ganges with celestial women [Apsaras].

Text No. 3:

vilokayanti kridantam
udakartham nadam gata
homa-velam na sasmara
kincic citraratha-sprha
(SB 9.16.3)

Translation : She had gone to bring water from the Ganges, but when she saw Citraratha, the King of the Gandharvas, sporting with the celestial girls, she was somewhat inclined toward him and failed to remember that the time for the fire sacrifice was passing.

Text No. 4:

kalatyayam tam vilokya
muneh sapa-visankita
agatya kalasam tasthau
purodhaya katanjalih

Translation : Later, understanding that the time for offering the sacrifice had passed, Renuka feared a curse from her husband. Therefore when she returned she simply put the waterpot before him and stood there with folded hands.

Text No. 5

vyabhicaram munir jnatva
patnyah prakupito ’bravit
ghnatainam putrakah papam
ity uktas te na cakrire

(SB 9.16.5)

Translation : The great sage Jamadagni understood the adultery in the mind of his wife. Therefore he was very angry and told his sons, “My dear sons, kill this sinful woman!” But the sons did not carry out his order.

Text No. 6

ramah sancoditah pitra
bhratrn matra sahavadhit
prabhava-jno muneh samyak
samadhes tapasas ca sah

(SB 9.16.6)

ramh — Lord Parasurama; sancoditah — being encouraged (to kill his mother and brothers); pitra — by his father; bhratrn — all his brothers; matra saha — with the mother; avadhat — killed immediately; prabhava-jnah — aware of the prowess; muneh — of the great sage; samyak — completely; samadheh — by meditation; tapasah — by austerity; ca — also; sah — he.

Translation and Purport by Srila Prabhupad
Srila Prabhupad ki Jai….

Translation : Jamadagni then ordered his youngest son, Parasurama, to kill his brothers, who had disobeyed this order, and his mother, who had mentally committed adultery. Lord Parasurama, knowing the power of his father, who was practiced in meditation and austerity, killed his mother and brothers immediately.

Haribol, you said, let’s see what the outcome is, The word prabhava-jnah is significant. Parasurama knew the prowess of his father, and therefore he agreed to carry out his father’s order. He thought that if he refused to carry out the order he would be cursed, but if he carried it out his father would be pleased, and when his father was pleased, Parasurama would ask the benediction of having his mother and brothers brought back to life. Haribol, that is haribol. Para?ur?ma was confident in this regard, and therefore he agreed to kill his mother and brothers.
Garu Premanande, Hari, Hari bol.

Krishna Caitanya Help. As it is also said, you remember the lotus feet of Gauranga then “Dushkram Sukarm Bhavate”. Something that is very difficult to do becomes dam easy to do “Duskarm Sukarm Bhavate” but if you forget the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then even dam easy thing becomes most difficult to do. So I want to remember Sri Krsna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet and as I proceed to talk. So a little back tracking, this is just beginning of new chapter. So a little review of the previous chapter or just remembering some highlights of the previous Chapter, whatever you may want to call. When Kartaviryarjuna, well he arrived in Jamadagni’s ashram and took away Kamdhenu that time, Parshuram, we will have to say Lord Parshuram that chapter is entitled as warrior, warrior incarnation of the Lord. Somehow that was getting my attention. Lord’s warrior incarnation, different varieties of incarnation, this one is the warrior incarnation. So he was out of station when Kartaviryarjuna has come and taken Kamdhenu , of course on arrival he found what has transpired and then he wanted to take action, he could not tolerate this injustice done, goes to the capital of Kartaviryarjuna. Kartaviryarjuna didn’t fight himself but he employed seventeen askshohini divisions to fight with Parshuram. Parshuram was on one side and seventeen askshohini on the other side.

There is lot of army, some on the back of the elephant, some in the chariot, some on the back of the horses, some foot soldiers. The sena or army is usually called scriptures called them chaturangi sena, army has four kinds of army men as I said, on the back of horses, elephant, in the chariot, and walking. So big number, and this was like, in Kurukshetra there were 18 thousand askshohini divisions, just one less, those many askshohini divisions, sena or army Parshuram fought with single handed and swiftly and his mind was acting like a wind. No, no, his arms, his weapons were acting swiftly like a mind and wind it says and he elixated the whole, they are all flat.
Jai, Parshuram ki Jai…………..

Just see the province of my Lord, my Lord, he is your Lord also. We should be bowing down unto, Aise sri Parshuram ko mere barambar pranam hai, As we say with Krishna, unto such Krishna, I offer my obeisances again and again. So unto such Lord Parshuram, we offer our obeisances. Did you just saw what, he did, then when his army was no more in existence, then Kartaviryarjuna himself comes on the scene, I would like to remember Kartaviryarjuna with, he is also called as Sahastra bahu, Bahu means arms and he has one thousand arms, so while battling with Parshuram, why he is called Parshuram, because he holds “parshu” in his hand. Parshu is a chopper or an axe, it is called Parshu, so that is his weapon. So he is known as Parshuram and yes two sets of weapons, one is Parshu the chopper and the shield and another one is bow and arrow. So Kartaviryarjuna he was holding, with his 500 left hands he was holding the bow’s, how many? 500 of them in 500 left hands and 50o right hands, he was holding stringing the arrows and shooting, you could imagine how any, one set of 500 arrows, next 500 arrows, next set of 500 arrows and so on, but Parshuram had only one bow and one arrow, but he was counteracting and dismantling all those arrows. So as Kartaviryarjuna couldn’t battle and fight with the use of arrows the he had started picking up uprooting gigantic trees and throwing them at Parshuram and then Parshuram get closer and what, with the chopper, he was using the chopping technique, he cut all the arms of Kartaviryarjuna and finally – finished. It was nice, nice scene and in relation with Parshuram, it is a lila, it is a pastime of Parshuram.

So this time he is using when enemy is at distance Parshuram used his bow and arrow and when he gets closer to the enemy and enemy gets closer to him, he has his chopper. I was thinking this is Parshuram and , there are three ram’s three Ram – Parshuram, Sri Ram, Balaram. So Balaram also, Balaram also has two weapons one is Haldhar – the plough, the other one is, Balaram another weapon is Club, Musal, not regular clubs, they are of different kind. Now they offer Musal in the Krishna Balaram temple, in the beginning there used to be club, like the Hanuman holding club but it is Musal. He is also Musaldhar or Haldhar, Haldhar or musaldhar. So what does Balaram, sometimes Balaram while fighting with an enemy, he drags his enemy with the help of the plough, closer and closer and closer and when he is close enough, then the club and finished. So then Parshuram returns with Kamdhenu “asramam avrajat” but this is another time the first verse of this new chapter 9th chapter talks also about ashram, he returns to ashram. His father’s Grihastha Ashram, or father is also like guru for him so his guru’s, his father’s ashram he has returned and he has a cow Kamdhenu, but as we just finished reading those verses statements of Jamadagni, he was not happy. Oh! you killed, you killed and he said, “Nar Devam”, you killed “nar deva’and now this is sin, you have committed sinful activity by killing “Nar Deva”. The king who represents the Lord and is first citizen and he is the protector of the citizens and you killed him. This is the sinful act. So Jamadagni was not at all happy and that reminded me when Srngi also had committed offence at the feet of yet another “ Nar Deva” Parikshit Maharaj, then Samika rishi was also not happy. Hey, what did you do, you kid, you immature and then one word is in Sanskrit of course “änga” means committing sin “ ägna”. So both of them Jamadagni, as well as Smika rishi both of them used that word and both of them said you killed Nar deva, you killed Nar deva. They were chastising, they were expressing displeasure, both these parents Jamadagani and Samika Rishi.

So then instead well the verse that is in front of us that describe the well two qualities of Jamadagni mentioned “Prabhava-jno”. First of all , first of all Parshuram was Prabhava jno, Prashuram knew the “Prabhava- influence of prowess of his father and spiritual master, in regards to his prabhava in samadhi’s he has undergone meditation, he has become powerful because he meditates. My father mediates`, he is a mediatator and tapasya-ca-sah because he is tapasvai, he is very, he undergoes all the austerities and profuse meditation and that is I know his “prabhava”, I am prabhava-jnah, I am the knower of his prabhava, so those two items mentioned in the verse that is on the board, the sixth verse of this chapter , but the previous chapter yet another quality, mentioned of Jamadagni mentioned “shamaya” shama, you could, you are such a intolerant, you could have tolerated whatever Kartaviryarjuna did and you could have forgiven him. So this was stand of Jamadagni and he also said, “ksamaya rocate sauri yatha prabha”, Lord is pleased when one is tolerant and he forgive others Parikshit Maharaj also did that with Kali. He forgave Kali and gave some, okay at least could stay in these four places to set the kind of scene, Kaliyug you could stay in four places. Dyutam, panam, striyah, Suna (SB1.17.38)

Where this gambling – Dyutam
Panam- where there is drinking
Suna – Where there is slaughting (slaughtering)
Striyah – where there is prostitution

Four places you could stay; so like that, fifth place was also offered. So the King Parikshit he exhibited this being “ksamayashil”, “ksamasva” tolerant, but Parshuram had not exhibited that

ksaminan asu bhagavams
tusyate harir Ishvarah
(SB 9.15.40)

And Jamadagni also said”Ksaminam” those who are tolerant “asu” quickly “bhagavams tusyate “ bhagwan becomes pleased with those who are tolerant. Okay, so you have committed sin, so how to get rid of, her reactions are waiting now then kindly Jamadagni said.

tirtha samsevaya comho
jahy angacyuta cetanah
(SB 9.15.41)

You should go to the holy places, tour to the holy places and develop “achuta cetanah”. Srila Prabhupad would translate this as being in Krishna Consciousness. You become Krishna conscious.

Go to the holy places, serve dham “tirtha samsevaya” not only sevaya but samsevaya meaning samyak prakrane sevaya. Go deeper into the service, get into the details of the service that is the meaning of “samsevaya”, tirtha samsevaya and become Krishna conscious. So then I was thinking that, It is good that his father, kind and authority, authoritive, knowledgable and learned and realised. Jamadagni, he gave this instructions to his son Parshuram , but then what about us. We also committed sins. Yes, any sinner’s here, only one two, life after life, after life, after , all that we did was sinful, not that we committed one, two okay five, ten, not everything, everything. We did was just sinful, the wrong. As we were busy in adharma, not in Krishna Consciousness or may be in some kind of dharma, but we were not going for “Sarva Dharman paritagye”. Yesterday we were hearing Hg Devamrit Maharaj, his mother also was getting, children you have to recite the verse of Bible first, No recitation of bible, no lunch or no dinner. So getting into some kind of being pious, pious deeds or theistic, but lot of atheist, I had never heard that before, organic naturally grown and everyone here in this world is naturally, naturally grown organic atheist and some are analatical and they prepare with get all the logic and justification for all the sins that they commit and there are two three kinds, there are three kinds. Some uttam adhikari’s among the sinners are atheist. Some uttam adhikari, some madhyam adhikari, some kanist adhikari, different grades of atheist.

So, I mean, I as Maharaj was describing yesterday in childhood that his mother’s instructions, I have to give class today. So I was thinking, today I will say something about my mother’s. So she would bring me to the temple’s and sometimes Hanuman Temple, Shiva Temple, Siddeshwar Temple, so many temples in my village and as we are there in front of the deities, she said, fold your hand, I would do that , pray and I wouldn’t know what to pray. So I would wait for dictation from mother. Please pray , so that god give me intelligence. Pray – God give me intelligence, God give me intelligence. So that was kind of a standard prayer my mother gives me to say to god. God please give me intelligence. So praying and praying , so finally when god give me intelligence and I joined, became baramachari at Juhu , Hare Krishna Land, Bombay and then she said, oh! God why did you gave such intelligence to my son. She was not happy with the kind of intelligence “sarva dharman paritagya and Mam ekam sharnam vraj”and all that and then my brother had come and finally found out where about me. You have to come, you have to return home. Mother may not survive. She is ready to give up here life please come and give darshan. Just for one time, she wants to see you. So I went, it is a long story, lots of things happened. So I was sadhu, Dhoti, Kurta, Shaven head and I was a kind of bright and brilliant student in my high school and school days. So the villagers may say, such a nice boy, he use to be nice boy. Now what has happen, he has gone mad, become pagal and my father was begging. He had a pant in his hand and begging please wear this, become normal. Although my father and my brothers they never ever had touched pant in their life. There dress always was dhoti and kurta but they wanted me to become a modern man, engineer and economic development like that, that’s was on their mind. So they were thinking that one day our son when we become engineer, he will come back riding in a car, or at least he will come in the motor bike, then something else had happened that Srila Prabhupad gave me this Padayatra Program, bullock Cart Sankirtan Party and in 1984, as we started our long walk, long bullock cart Sankirtan party from Dwarka to Mayapur, we went through Gujarat and then came to Maharashtra and guess one day, we are going to visit my village and I come into the village riding the bullock Cart. So all parents, like Jamadagni, the ideal father give the right instructions, all parents didn’t do but then Srila Prabhupad ki Jai…..

Srila Prabhupad became our father, he took the role of the father and now he had thousands of children. There is also use to be talk, that all your disciples, but some have not yet recognised you are and some have not yet recognised that you are their spiritual father or spiritual master. But at least thousand’s recognised and Prabhupad give this similar instructions like Jamadagni “tirtha samsevaya acyuta cetanah, then Prabhupad gave us Mayapur Vrindavan festival ki jai…..

You go to Mayapur , you go to Vrindavan and further cultivate your Krishna Consciousness. So what our parents couldn’t do or no one else did that for us. On behalf of Gauranga, Gauranga.. Gauranga..Gauranga.. this is the megnanimity of Gauranga.

namo maha vadanyaya
krishna prema pradayate
krishnaya krishna chaitanya namine
gaur tvishve namah

Kindly magnanimously lord gave Prabhupada to the world and he played that role of our spiritual father, Spiritual master and saved us. Hari Hari.

And Few thoughts, First verse Prabhupada has not written in commentary but I was reminded, yesterday we heard Balaram went on Tirtha yatra of all India and then Parshuram also went on tirtha yatra.

Tirthayatram sam sewyam.. we heard yesterday.. Balaram went on Pilgrim for one year, Parshuram also went on Teerth yatra for one year.
(This Ram, That Ram.. Similarity..)Both RAMs went on pilgrimage. Balram went on pilgrimage for one year. Parshuram went on pilgrimage for one year and Nityanand Rama..

Balaram hoyele Nitai.

He also went on pilgrimage. (you know that… Right). Hadai Pandit- okay, You have him, my son and then Ekchakra Gram journey begin. Nityanand prabhu was travelling and travelling, assisting the sadhu all over India. He was Travelling like Balaram travel, Parshuram travel, Nityanand Rama also travel and Nityanand come/ arrived at Radha Kundand He gets the news,” O, my lord is here, Gauranga has appeared. He received this news on the bank of Radha Kund..That where Nityanand stopped travelling, going round and round all over India..Straight come to Navedweep . Haribol..

‘I am here.’ (sending indication..) ‘I am here, I am here’, and then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Go find out.., Go Find out, where abou is Nityanand. And they gone in all ten directions, looking for Nityanand in Navdeep. He is somewhere in Navdeep. But Nityanand did not want others to find him out. Nityanand wanted only Gauranga to find him out. So He was right here. But they could not find, where about of Nityanand did not want to found.

Then they go back and said. No, No. “We could not find. We could not find.” We go everywhere all the islands, nook and corner but could not find, then Gauranga Said, Ok, Ok.. let’s go.

Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started to go in direction on Bhakti Siddhant Marg, Gauranga was walking and Gaur Bhakt Veranda were right behind him. (Because on that time Bhakti Siddhant Marg was not there). Nandan Aacharya Bhavan which is 150 or 200 mtr. down the road. In Nandan Acharya Bhawan exist now. 500 years ago. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu entered and enquired , “Do you know or have you seen. He know if anybody knows, he knows because he is ‘Sarvagya’, means He knows everything. He knows everything, Sarvagya. Hari Hari.

And then Great meeting between Two Lords

Balaram hoyle Nitai..

Nityanand Rama and Gauranga met at Nandan Aacharya house or called Nandan Aacharya Bhawan and then what a Reunion, what a meeting, embracing and shedding tears, trembling and rolling on the ground, went on and on before they calm down and set down, finally some exchange words or talks. So that Nityanand Rama also travelled and arrived in Navdeep and meeting took place. Parshuram also travel and like that, many more things could he said but time and tied wait for none. We wish only, we could just stop the time always 8o’ clock. 8am beginning but clocks moves and made one complete round and it is 9 O’clock.

Radha Madhav Golden Jubilee festival
Mayapur
March 3, 2022

Sri Sri Radha Madhav ki jai
Mayapur dham ki jai
Srila Prabhupada ki jai
All glories to assemble devotees.

We are celebrating here 50th anniversary of this and 50 th anniversary of that of course those historical facts are of course there but what we are also celebrating is 50 years ago Srila Prabhupad revealed Mayapur Dham to the whole world and he also made those prediction come true of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur had predicted one mahatama will gather those bhaktas from all over the world they will come to Mayapur and they will chant.

What will they chant ?
jai sachi nanda jai sachi nandan jai sachi nandan gaura hari
So 50 years ago, we are going in to the past 50 years ago. All that you see around wasn’t there. It was a very humble beginning just a little piece of land and small festivals. Only 70 devotees attended and the festival lasted for five days. Ofcourse a lot of very significant things happened during those five days. I was thinking, Prabhupada also was must have checked here is a vaisnav from Germany, devotees from here there, they all have come here they have received the Holy name of Lord, they are all chanting,
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare
Mahaprabhu’s prediction has come true,

p?thiv?te ?che yata nagar?di gr?ma
sarvatra prac?ra haibe mora n?ma

"In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard." My name will be chanted in every town, every village all over the world all over the planet. So by holding that festival 50 years ago and bringing
vaisnavas from all over the world, American sadhus, European sadhus. This is how I was introduced in 71 when I was a college student and Prabhupada was holding a festival In Mumbai and it was advertised the promotion was American sadhus are here and European sadhus are here.

We all Mumbaikar’s were thinking what American scientist is ok but Americans sadhu? Forget it, but here they. Prabhupada infact was traveling all over India for almost one year holding festival here festival there beginning with Amritsar and then many places.

I went back on the track, Prabhupada was once in the ardha Kumbha mela 71 holding Hare Krishna festival there and Radha Madhav deities Chota Radha Madhav ki jai. They were worshipped during that Kumbha mela ardha Kumbha mela at Prayagraj. Then Prabhupada travelled to Gorakpur probably you know not far from Prayag in Uttar Pradesh held another festival and the presiding deities were Chota Radha Madhav and for the first time there Srila Prabhupada sang this Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s song "jai Radha Madhav.”

Ofcourse he sang differently difficult to follow the same tune and well but more difficult of course is to his bhava and his emotions those who were present in festival at Gorakhpur they all witnessed as Srila Prabhupada sang this "jai radha madhav" song Srila Prabhupada was emotionally surcharged. His emotions stirred up and he was unable to sing this song. Tears gliding down his cheeks and then and there he named these deities as we called them as Radha Madhav.

Announced in our vaisnava parampara as Srila Jaidev Goswami prana dhan hye. Jaidev Goswami worshipped Radha Madhav. Be seated Maharaja is His holiness jayapataka Swami Maharaja ki jai.

He was the first one Prabhupad sent him to Mayapur. Maharaja is now worshiping Radha Madhava, he is entering in to the pastimes of Radha Madhav by swinging there cradle their swing they were seated in this swing. So those deities then. I don’t know all the details I think Jannivas and others Jaipataka Maharaja could tell they were in Kolkata and then Srila Prabhupada send Jaypataka Maharaja and Jannivas, go bring these deities to Mayapur. They were kind of packed not to be worshipped every day. And then worship of Radha Madhav began in Kutir Prabhupada Kutir 50 years ago. That is also celebration. I think I could just go back and so I was also saying let me finish that
Prabhupada was or what we are celebrating is Srila Prabhupada made Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction come true by bringing vaisnavas from all over the world to Mayapur earlier we know Gaura Nityananda they had liberated Jagai and Madhai.

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

The holy name delivered all those souls who were lowly and wretched. Gauranga and Nityananda They liberated Jagai and Madhai and then by bringing devotees from all over the planet to Mayapur 50 years ago.

Prabhupada was proving the potency of the Holy Name. American Jagai and Madhai, European and Australian, Canadian and African Jagai andMadhai.

Jayapataka Swami Maharaja ki Jay. He is the man of the show also here. He is the doer. Prabhpada handed over this dhama unto him. I am giving you kingdom of God or Gauranga. Develop this so that Jayapataka Maharaja gets credit for lots of things or most of things that has taken place we are witnessing around us here any way I just want
to say one more thing so the deities were worshipped began at Kutir.

1972 that festival I had missed but I didn’t missed in sense because after here, after Mayapur Gaura Purnima which was on 29 th February 1972 Srila Prabhupada in month of March beginning he had traveled to Vrndavan and conducted another bhumi Puja or groundbreaking ceremony in Vrndavan for Krishna Balarama Temple and in middle of March Prabhupada traveled to Mumbai Hare Krishna Land and there was Hare Krishna Festival was going on. I did miss 72 festival in Mayapur but Srila Prabhupada was so magnanimous, so kind, he brought the festival wherever I was or all the Bombay folks were and Hare Krishna Festival was held there and I was able to participate in the festival as well as I witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony of Radha Rasbihari Temple.

Radha Rasbihari ki jai
Krishna Balarama ki jai
So three ground breaking ceremonies in one month like a marathon. So I was able to witness one in Mumbai and so I did not miss 72 festival in one sense. So 72 at Kutir then well Prabhupada also and the deities were shifted to lotus building in 73 the first festival I attended ,I just want to say that Radha Madhava were on the ground floor here where the exhibition is now and of course Jananivas Prabhu was the pujari, head pujari and you know I was also pujari. Prabhupada had made me pujari of Radha Rasbihari in Mumbai so when I pujari from Mumbai had arrived Jananivas was very kind to invite me also me to worship Radha Madhav and during early morning hours after Mangal arti he used to take care of Madhav, he is to hand Radharani to my side and so he was very kind. Jananivas Prabhu to giving me opportunity to serve Radha Madhav especially Radha that time and so while we were busy doing that I know we were so much Prabhupada conscious while worshiping Radha Madhav I also think a Prabhupada.

Prabhupada is on the Bhaktivedant Swami Road now, he must have reached the Yogapitha now, he must be coming back and finally I would know ,yes Prabhupada is back because in front of Radha Madhava temple, devotees would begin kirtan as Prabhupada is back. Then both of us used to rush and try to finish of the remaining task to get deities
ready for Shringar darsana and Prabhupada finally coming into the temple and Jananivas Prabhu blowing conch shell curtains open and Prabhupada offering flat dandavats and standing with folded hands listening to Govindam that prayer and circumambulation of the deities and kirtans and ringing the bell.

So we are being reminded of all that those good old days or beginning days 50 years ago during this 50th Radha Madhav Golden Festival days these days so we are. This is the time to get inspired to carry forward mission of Srila Prabhupad and we all have our instructions and Prabhupada desires and of course Mayapur has a lot more to be done and remaining and as I said yesterday Radha Madhav's palace, Prabhupada got Radha Rasbihari’s palace ready the palace of Radha Madhav is just now coming. Just two more or two years to go and we'll be here two years later the festival will be held in Panchattava Temple, Radha Madhav Temple, Prahlad Narsimha Temple, Parampara Temple.

Srila Prabhupada ki jai
TOVP temple, we are looking forward to that occasion event and of course we have to prepare for that not just leave it up to Ambarish and Vrajavilas Prabhu and Jayapataka Maharaja. We all have to get right behind them facilitate their service of completion of TOVP

Are you thinking , are ready to do that?
Thank you.
Srila Prabhupada ki jay,
Radha Madhav ki jay.
Gaur Premanande.

Handling reversals in individual and institutional life

18th May 2022
Iskcon Noida

It is Srimad Bhagavatam class time but it is not a Srimad Bhagavatam class today. Is English okay, yes no? I don’t know how many yes’s and how many no’s. Today’s verse or the theme is “Handling reversals in individual and institutional life.” Did you here this? So this is today’s slokas. Handling reversals, setbacks in how to overcome stumbling blocks in individual and organisational life. So do you understand the topic? I am ordered to talk on this topic and I was just told this yesterday late in the evening.

So of course this is a very relevant and significant concern and so this is the topic. I think this is the reason that this topic has been picked and amongst the many other topics this is just one. You do experience this right, reversal, no? How many of you? I was expecting everyone to raise their hands but some of them are okay and they are not.. Lucky you if you are.

The day the Lord departed for His own abode, tad dina kali ayat, kali arrived. And what is the business or job description of this kali?

sarva sadhana badhaka

To create the badha in the life of sadhakas. That is what we all are we are sadhakas and this kali business is busy creating problems and stumbling blocks and reversals in our life, in the life of individual’s life and the life of organisation. I must talk about reversals in the life of organisation. While talking about organisation or organising the individual’s life in the life of organisation, In the last days of Srila Prabhupada, that was
in Vrndavan and Srila Prabhupada was with Giriraj Dasa brahmachari.

He was not swami or sannyasi at that time and Prabhupada asked, ‘After I am gone how will this movement go on?’ And Giriraj Prabhu quickly reacted, I will say reacted not responded but reacted. That meant that he did not think deeper but just said it, ‘oh we will continue Hare Krishna Srila Prabhupada and we will follow the four regulative
principles Srila Prabhupada.

And like that, that type of response he was giving and Prabhupada was listening. It seemed that he was not much impressed, so Prabhupada paused and he said ‘organisation,’ and then ‘intelligence.’ So this was the answer that Prabhupada was expecting and then he personally gave this answer. ‘In order for this organisation to go and, this institution to go on, we have to be organised.’

And he had added this ‘intelligence’ which meant intelligently organised or intelligent organisation. The GBC’s from time to time remember the statement of Prabhupada and then they discussed this further. During Prabhupada’s centennial days, the days when you were not even born physically or spiritually, we used to have a lot if discussions on this organisation.

I was appointed as the centennial minister so we also had to come up with organisation for the ministry’s work. So when we talk of organisation there are five principles or five steps to take. Or you could call them five phases of organisation. The first thing you work on is the vision for the organisation, vision or the goal. Then right after you have worked out your vision, the next thing you do is list all the possible or potential stumbling
blocks or set backs or reversals you could possibly come across.

You make a list of such items in advance so right there are the reversals or set backs, stumbling blocks. This is an important item to take note of, acknowledge it and then of course work on it. And the third thing is, first the vision, obstacles, list and then the strategy. Strategies to overcome the obstacles or strategies to just push through and spread to achieve your vision, realise the vision and achieve your goal.

You must have a strategy so thats the third thing and the fourth thing is to make a list of resources. Mainly there are two types of resources, one is a human resource and the other is the funds, Lakshmi. As they say, ‘money talks then everything walks.’ So money power, manpower and money power for the resources. And the fifth is a timeline, time factor.

Prabhupada said ‘you better be Krishna conscious within this lifetime.’ So if that is the vision, that is the goal to become Krishna conscious within this lifetime, then what is the timeline? Till you die and of course you do not know when that day will come and in this case it may be a little difficult to estimate but in general you have to have a timeline or idea.

‘I want to accomplish this within such and such time period of so many years or so many months.’ Okay so our focus is on the reversals, the set backs and stumbling blocks which are bound to come. They will come and the reasons why they come is the sins committed in the past and the offences being committed on a daily basis.

Then commencing our coming to Krishna consciousness, we kind of stop sinning – kind of stop sinning but then we get into this offensive mode that becomes our job. We keep committing offences and as a result in due course of time, as these sinful or offensive activities are performed, they leave impressions upon us. They leave the seeds or behind, bija.

And in due course of time they are just sitting doing nothing, it looks like they’re doing nothing and just sitting there. The seeds are just dormant or inert but they take their time and then the time comes and they pop up, they fructify. That is when we get the reaction and that’s when we begin getting stumbling blocks or reversals.

So having understood that much, what we should be doing because we have committed sins and we have committed offences, so it’s already too late but what we could do is prevent. Prevention is better than cure. Okay there is some disease or some outcome, some fruit, maybe a bitter fruit or sweet fruit we don’t know whether it’s of happiness and distress.

So if we could prevent this happening before the seed fructifies, if we could prevent from fructification then your job is done. So this is where our sadhana comes into the picture, right? This is where namasraya kori' jatane tumi,?thakaha apana kaje (Arunodaya Kirtana 6)

Translation
This temporary life is full of various miseries. Take shelter of the holy name as your only business Taking shelter of the holy names comes into the picture. This is where doing nityam bhagavata sevaya comes into the picture and in that way we are taking shelter of the lord or taking shelter of bhagavatam or taking shelter of the holy name. And what does Krishna say?

sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja?
aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah (BG 18.66)

Translation
Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear There are little little big and small stumbling blocks within this lifetime but there are so many more lives in which those obstacles and stumbling blocks are awaiting us beyond this life. What are these? Birth death old age disease, birth death old age disease, birth death old age disease. Janma mrtyu jara vyadhi and so Krishna says ‘surrender unto me and if you do your part then I will take care of my job.

So what will I do? If you surrender onto me then aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami. Pay attention to what Krishna is saying here, each word in each letter should be heard and understood. We are not going to spend time on each letter and each word right now but that is what we should be doing so that Krishna makes us free from the reactions, awaited reactions or the potential fruit of whatever sin that we committed.

nasta prayesv abhadresu
nityam bhagavata sevaya

bhagavaty uttama sloke
bhaktir bhavati naisthiki
(SB 1.2.18)

Translation
By regular attendance in classes of the bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact Naisthiki, you listen to bhagavatam, you listen to bhagavatam, you study bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada gave us this program. To be free from or at least minimise these stumbling blocks and these setbacks and reversals, this minimisation could be achieved by our attending morning program. Temples having a strong morning program and everyone participating in a strong morning program from 4.30 to 9.30.

You’ll then have a solution to the setback problem or reversal problem and if one recites bhagavatam everyday then what is the promise? Nityam bhagavata sevaya bhagavaty uttama sloke bhaktir bhavati. You will have bhakti at the lotus feet of the lord.

And what kind of bhakti will you achieve? Bhaktir bhavati naisthiki, you will become naisthiki and brahmachari also (laughter).

Naisthiki bhakta. You will become nisthavan in other words, (faithful devotee). Srila Prabhupada translates this naisthiki or nistha which we are talking about as handling reversals. So bhagavatam says ‘read me, study me, contemplate upon. sravanam kirtana? visnoh smaranam and there’s also mananam.

Then no more turning back, no more U-turn and no more reverses. So just before nistha is what? How can this reversal become no more reversals and no more stoppages or stumbling blocks where there’s nistha? What do you have to do to get there? Well you have to have sadhu sanga, or you may say ‘okay we have to become free from anartha’s. In order to become nisthavan or achieve the status of no more reversals, prior to that is becoming free from anartha’s.

Okay how to become free from anartha’s? Bhajana kriya. How to perform bhajan kriya or keep performing bhajana kriya? Sadhu sanga. How to achieve sadhu sanga? Adau shraddha, so like that shraddha, sadhu sanga, bhajana kriya, anartha nivrtti then nistha and no more reverses. Hari Hari. So this is principally the explanation or understanding, how one becomes free from reverses in individual life.

Then Prabhupada used to say about.. ‘you are a rat so become a rat again!’ Big reverse huh? A U-turn and you are back to square one, as they say. That also we have seen happening and so Prabhupada used to tell this story but we don’t have time to tell you the story right now. There was a mouse and he always used to get into trouble so he
went to a sage, a yogi.’

‘Yogiji, I am always in trouble because of the cat around me so could you make me a cat?’ ‘Okay here you go.’ So he becomes a cat and now the cat is in trouble because of a dog so he goes back and says ‘the dog is troubling me. Could you make me a dog?’ ‘Yes okay here you go.’ So he becomes a dog and as he is a dog now the lion and
tigers are chasing and harassing him.

So he goes back and asks ‘oh, could you make me a tiger?’ ‘Okay you’re a tiger.’ And once he’s a tiger oh! Then he’s trying to make the sage his first prey or first target. And as the sage noticed that what did the sage day? ‘Oh! Become mouse again!’ So this is called droha, betrayal. He betrayed that Sage, so that could happen to us if we betray our authority that empowered us.

The vaishnava that empowered us, or the guru that empowered us. Instead of doing guru seva or becoming guru sevi, we become guru bhogi one, guru drohi two, and finally guru tyagi. Here you go. And then comes what? Again become a mouse and so you are disempowered. We know the example, we have a few notes here. There is Saubhari Muni who performed his meditation in kaliya daha and by practicing he had almost attained perfection.

But then he committed offence at the lotus legd of Garuda, he doesn’t have feet so lotus legs. And as a result what happened? He had kind of controlled or subdued his desires but everything aroused again. The whole agitation and especially the sex desire for agitation aroused and then he ended up getting married and change of ashram
happened. And he did not just marry one wife but how many?

Fifty of them! So this happened to that Prabhu, that Muni because of the offences, the vaishnava apradha that he committed. As we already said, sins committed in the past and we may still be continuing on. So if we stop this sinning and offending then it is like you turning off the switch and you are not supplying the current to the fan anymore. So it will still spin round for a minute or two and then stop. So you’re winding up but if you switch on when it was about to wind up and stop and then you switch off and switch on again. Then this will go on and on and on beyond this lifetime. So this has to be stopped and tolerance is also there. ‘Okay I am getting a reaction so I think I should stop at this point.’ Where is the srimad bhagavatam?

We should just make reference, I was told by the organisers IIYC to make a mention and they wanted me to do a whole presentation and for this purport I said to make a reference only.

tat te ’nukampam su samiksamano, you know that famous verse and statement of lord Brahma in the tenth canto chapter fourteen text number eight. Remember this as it is very, very useful and a very beneficial statement for the sadhaka’s. I’m looking at the watch and time and tide waits for not even Lokanath Swami (laughter). I’ll just read the translation, Jiveta yo mukti pade sa daya bhak.

Please listen with attention as this purport is in Hindi and so is srimad Bhagavatam.
Jiveta yo mukti pade sa daya bhak

Translation
SB 10.14.8
My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

So this is the translation and I am also not going to say much now. Some adverse reaction or fruit of action has to be tolerated and wait, just keep living and you will get your share or inheritance. You will get your share so like that keep practicing Krishna consciousness and lead a life of Krishna consciousness. Don’t die like when we sleep also or when we leave the Hare Krishna movement and devotee association then we are good as dead.
So don’t die like that, don’t die. Keep living, keep living till the last breath and remember itna to karna swami jab pran tan se nikle govinda nama leke

Translation
Oh lord just let me remember your name when my life is leaving this body So then what happens? tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti. So no more punar janma which means that you will become free from the setbacks or reversals. No more janma and metyu and jara and vyadhi, and them what happens? ‘You will come to me!’

That is your right, it’s our birth right to go back to home back to godhead. So will achieve that, there’s advise also

matra sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna sukha duhkha dah
agamapayino 'nityas
tams titiksasva bharata
(Bg 2.14)

Translation
O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed Just like we say that this world is a place of happiness and distress and so happiness will cone and distress will come but you have to tolerate both in fact. You have to tolerate happiness and tolerate distress and then transcend the happiness and also transcend the distress. By tolerating, tam all the happiness and distress, titiksasva, tolerate.

So try to prevent and whatever you could not prevent, when you get the reactions, tolerate them and don’t give up. Become tough, when the going gets tough the tough get going as they say. I think so much more could be said, I am just touching a few drops on the surface. These are our individual meeting reversals in this life and then we
have to talk about the organisation.

I have been given this homework and for us organisation is important right?
Organisational is giving us life in fact and organisation also has to be maintained and kept in a healthy state. And we have to be organised in organisation so how to avoid stumbling blocks or reversals within the organisation, the international society. The international society of Krishna consciousness. Okay so Prabhupada gave this job to the GBC, the governing body commission of this organisation and he did not appoint one successor. Or he kind of appointed this GBC body as the successor. One team was the successor and his way or belief was that, he used to say that two heads are better than one and three heads are better than two. In the same way thirty are better than twenty nine or one two three.

So he had more faith in team efforts, a body and an organised effort. So how to overcome these stumbling blocks or reversals? So the GBC is at the top level and the temple level also, the bodies are there even IIYC is an organisation and it also has a head and the legs and belly and arms. So how to avoid setbacks and reversals within
IIYC, I’m not going to speak on that (laughter).

In the 80s, this is much before most of you were born or had joined Hare Krishna movement, the movement was facing a bog turbulence. Ups and downs and.. This is because of the zonal acharya business which had cropped up and was being practiced. And in that way the acarya’s and guru’s, the eleven gurus, they became powerful in the Hare Krishna movement and they became the centre of powers. They together were even controlling the GBC’s.

So as a result the society was about to become just a zonal society for Krishna consciousness. One zone, one acharya and one organisation like that. There is no time also to explain the whole episode and the whole thing that the movement we t through.

Then ISKCON adopted lots of resolutions so that we don’t go through the same thing in the future. So then the GBC’s again took charge of the movement and we were united again! Haribol!

So this zonal acharya or guru groupism, probably from time to time you hear this. This is a very dangerous cancer and it can cause or rather it had caused a big setback so be aware because and avoid this from happening again. Never again. So GBC is the ultimate authority. Now unity in diversity. So in those days there was also some
misunderstanding amongst the leaders and as a result there was competition instead of co operation or complimenting each other.

The leaders were trying to compete and as a result conflicts were there so then Prabhupada did what he had to do while he was with us. He said ’every time you come to Mayapur you should discuss this one agenda,’ he said. Unity and diversity where each one has his strength and that should be acknowledged and appreciated and encouraged, not that you try to discourage or create a conflict.

So unity in diversity, this is a very important principle that we should all understand because to keep the movement united, this is a very significant thing that we wish to achieve. Otherwise united we stand and divided? We fall. So we can exhibit our strength if we are united. Unity in diversity should be understood and applied so that we do not experience setbacks for the organisation.

Boiling down the milk. Even during Prabhupada days the leaders were competing to have more quantity of number of devotees or properties and this and that. But Prabhupada also said that we have to preach to our inmates of the ashram first and make them strong and not try to reach out to more and more. As a result he said ‘we will dilute the whole thing.’

He said ‘milk should be concentrated by boiling down the milk, boiling down which means get rid of the water content and the what remains is the milk, the substance like rabri (sweet). Otherwise he said it will become a show bottle religion. This Hare Krishna movement will be a show bottle religion. The doctors when they sell the medicines, the bottles are kept there and sometimes they display the bottles and there are different colours also.

But they’re not actually medicine they’re just different colours or they are different diluted solution. And the label is there. International society for Krishna consciousness or whatever label is there. But the contents are diluted and say Srila Prabhupada said ‘the Hare Krishna movement will become a show bottle religion.’ Like this show bottle of the doctors where they sell their medical items, the drug stores.

I was told when they go to Tirupati and they have to shave up and surrender their hair unto Balaji. So a lot of people want to get shaved up and they’re only limited barbers so what they do is shave a little bit and okay ‘next one.’ And then they shave him up a little bit also and then okay line him up. ‘He is our customer now so he cannot go away.’ Instead of shaving one up fully and properly ‘next one’ then ‘next one.’

They just try to get the business and you could make a list of a lot of people now who are their customers. So Prabhupada said that the duty of our leaders is to preach and first preach to those who have joined, those who have moved in or have become initiated. And of course try to simultaneously reach out more and recruit more. So this is the boiling down milk concept that Prabhupada talked about.

This was his vision for the GBC leaders and he said ‘think of the world first and the zone next.’ So think globally, act locally. Otherwise you will isolate yourself from the rest of the world or you will not care for the rest of the world and you may end up becoming self-centred or selfish and that could cause conflict. So Prabhupada’s vision he shared with the leaders, we are sharing with you so you could also think of you, or you could think of at least zone first and temple next.

Or you could think of the temple first and your department next. This is also big thinking and this is also high thinking, this is high thinking, being broad minded. Thinking that the whole world is our family and Prabhupada built the house wherein the whole world could reside. So we should not try to create these compartments and these divisions, that’s the idea.

Of course the one of the famous statement that Prabhupada made and one of the last statement that he made ‘your love for me will be seen as you cooperate with each other. To keep this institution together after I am gone.’ So love trust cooperation these are not just big, big words but a lot goes with it and a lot depends on these words and these concepts, thoughts.

Especially co-operation. So we want our goal for our international society for Krishna consciousness, thinking about how long this institution is lasting or how long we are expecting it to last. Ten thousand years, we were talking about that timeline earlier, so ten thousand years. And what is the vision?

prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 25.264)

In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard. So in order to achieve that lofty goal, a lot of things have to be in place including or especially the spirit of cooperation. Well like that and not just work hard but smart. Don’t just work hard but work smart. That is why we could make that connection because Prabhupada said organisation and what else? Intelligence, organisation and intelligence, to know how to intelligently organise.

That also meant not just work hard but work smart, work intelligently to keep This institution together after Prabhupada has, well… But he also sometimes would say that the international society for Krishna consciousness is his body, it’s like a universal form of Prabhupada. So Prabhupada is here in the form of the international society for Krishna consciousness.

And he gave the instruction, ‘maintain what I have created.’ And he created the international society for Krishna consciousness so we have to maintain. So the maintenance job is of Vishnu and the Vaishnava’s so we should remain followers of Vishnu and not become followers of Siva. His job is destruction and when we ignore things, that ignorance causes the destruction, disunity and setbacks.

Hari Hari. Gaura prem anande hari haribol. If there is time, I don’t know for questions comments?
We did not read the purport of this tenth canto fourteenth chapter text number eight. If you read, Prabhupada explains These so-called reaction, setbacks reversals in the life of devotees, especially devotees like Prabhupada- they are not reactions. They are not the karma phala. Like the Pandavas, Prabhupada explains elsewhere that the kind of reversals the Pandavas met with, it’s a big long list.

Is that because of the sinful sin in the past? Do you think that would commit sin? Do you think they would commit sin? Did Yudhishtir Maharaja commit sin ever in that life or a previous life? So when these difficulties come, there’s a prayer of Kunti Maharani also. ‘Please send, please send some reversals. Then what will happen? We will come to you!

Whenever there are difficulties, well they were difficulties for Draupadi. What did she do? Krishna! Govinda! And Krishna was there so Kunti is very smart. ‘Please send us some reversals, some difficulties, stumbling blocks then we will remember you we will run to you. And the result of all this is no more birth, no more death. She’s pretty smart, no? Kunti Maharani or the Pandavas.

Or when such difficulties do arise, the lord is trying to show the rest of the world ‘look at the pandavas, look at Prabhupada, look at Kunti Maharani, what do they do? They do not run to or rely upon their bodily strength or their relatives or they don’t run to the doctor or the lawyer. No, they run to me! They come to my shelter.’ So the Lord is also trying to get that point across by using the devotees as an example. ‘In difficulty see what they do so the rest of the world, look what the devotees do, so you also call out for Krishna.’

Amogha lila says because of our expirations, this causes frustration. You are making that point, I heard you say we always have these high expectations and when these expectations are not met there is frustration. So we should except what sastra is saying, The Lord is coming to us. Instead of cutting our arm only the finger is cut or instead of cutting our throat only an arm is cut.

So we should take that as the kindness of the lord, we deserve much more, I mean what we deserve is already what we had been getting. ‘Hang him!’ And that is what happens right? We did this sin, that sin and we were being punished and what was that punishment? Capital punishment, ‘hang him, kill him.’ So how many times have we been killed and killed? I mean could there be a worst punishment than being killed?

‘Kill him! I don’t even want to see him existing, kill him!’ That has already happened and that could again happen and that’s what we deserve, to be killed. So the lord is kind and I mean the lord is really kind.

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru krsna prasade paya bhakti lata bija
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 19.151)

Translation
According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Krsna. By the mercy of both Krsna and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service This is kindness, when we don’t know and that is why we say cause less mercy because maybe we did not even deserve this but put of the causeless mercy of the lord we have been picked up and brought in contact with.. ‘Prabhu here is a bhagavad gita for you. Gita for you. Oh there is a Rathayatra in town today.’ ‘Oh where?’ ‘At such and such place.’ So a lot of people end up meeting these Hare krishna devotees and these Hare Krishna devotees become the vartma pradarsaka guru’s. Your good fortune has descended right there and then more good things happen to you, more good things happen to you. Siksa gurus and diksa gurus and this and that, they are all like a battalion and they all surround you and it’s difficult to get out and leave. So that’s also a merciful arrangement where there so many of us, the more the merrier.

Especially in this kali yuga, the sankirtan movement. It’s good to be part of congregation and a big number, and then we have so many other relationships also. So many spiritual fathers and spiritual uncles, spiritual god brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and this and that. We really get bound and then it’s difficult to give up this network or jala, Hare Krishna jala, entrapment.

So this is the magnanimity of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, what could we say? We deserve be killed and killed over and over again but god is mercifully glancing upon us.
Hari Hari.
Anything else?
Otherwise, huh?
Something else Devakinandan Prabhu wants to say?
Alright thank you.

Chida Dahi Festival
By Lokanath Swami
18 th June 2016
At Bangalore, India

Today is a very special festival. In fact, that festival took place some five hundred years ago. And from that year and day on verse every year on that particular day, today devotees had been observing this festival. We all love festivals. It’s said “utsav priya manavaha.” I did not say, I am just repeating the statement that all the manavahas, they like festivals, they like utsav and reason being that we all manavahas, the spirit souls, we come from spiritual sky and there is always festivals there. So, eh, all the souls like festivals. You like festivals?

The name of the festival is Pani Hathi Chida Dahi Festival. The place called Pani Hathi in Bengal on the banks of Ganga not far from Kolkata. This place is also known as the Raghav Pandit place. Raghav pandit big name in Gaudiya
Vaisnava world. Raghav pandit he used to reside there. And his sister Damayanti also very well-known personality. And they both used to cook for Gauranga and make offerings to Gauranga and Gauranga comes their everyday and accepts the offerings of Raghav pandit and Damanyanti.

Sometimes, Raghav Pandit was able to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu honouring prasad at his home. He also cooked prasad, dried prasad and bring it to Jagannath Puri. Raghav pandit used to cook lots of prasad, dried prasad at home and bring it to Jagannath Puri and offered it to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He used to carry a special kind of bag and the way he used to tie kind of cloth Raghaver jholi, Raghaver Jholi Caitanya Charitamrit says so. Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri everyday he used to take some prasad from Raghaver Jholi and honoured that in Jagannath Puri outside all year long. So, this Pani Hathi is a place for prasad where prasad is cooked and prasad is served to the Lord.

To that, Pani Hathi one day and this day Raghunath Das Goswami had come he had not become Goswami as yet. He was Raghunath Das Adhikari. He was a family man. Not by choice he was family man. Parents, father especially wanted his son to be married man so that he would not leave home and run to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It was time tying him. His father tied his son to the wife thinking that he would be bound and not able to leave home. Raghunath Das Goswami when he was just a young boy he had association of none other than Namacharya Srila Haridas Thakur.

Haridas Thakur had come tovillage of Raghunath Das Goswami. And Raghunath Das was a son of a big big landlord. But as he had an association of Namacharya Haridas Thakur who always chanted,

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

sadhu-sanga, sadhu-sanga Sadhu-sanga sarva-sastre
Kaya lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya

Raghunath Das Goswami had association of none other than Namacharya Haridas Thakur. So he had attained perfection by that association. So since then he had total detachment from everything worldly he had no no inclination no affiliation no affection total vairagya (detachment). He comes in contact with sadhus. This could be possible outcome of that. So Raghunath Das Goswami he had made many attempts to run away from his home and go join Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri. But all his attempt had failed. So now he had come to Nityananda Prabhu in Pani Hathi to seek some special benediction so that he would become successful in running away going away from all. So he arrived in Pani Hathi, he met, he saw Nityananda Prabhu sitting underneath a big banyan tree sitting with many of his associates. “koti surya samaprabha”.

Nityananda Prabhu was as brilliant as sun or many suns. So he was amazed by seeing such a powerful personality right there in front of him. He had Nityananda Prabhu realisation. He realises who Nityananda Prabhu is “Balarama hoilo nitai” Balarama had appeared as Nityananda Prabhu .

“Nanda Nandan jae sachi suta hoilo sae”

Nanda Nanadan had appeared as Sachinandan and Balaram had appeared as Nityananda Prabhu. So when he saw Nityananda Prabhu he was amazed. He fell flat at the feet of Nityananda Prabhu. But he did not offer his obeisances close to Nityananda Prabhu at some distance away he offered his obeisances.

So some devotees had noticed and Nityananda Prabhu also noticed the presence of Rahgunath Das. Why is he not coming closer? He is a thief he is hiding back there. So Nityananda prabhu he stood up he stepped forward and
he placed his lotus foot right on the head of Raghunath Das and then finally he got up Raghunath Das Goswami got up. Nityananda Prabhu you are a thief you must be punished so Raghunath Das was waiting to hear what the punishment is going to be. So Nityananda Prabhu said punishment for you is that you feed myself and all my associates with dahi chida. So Raghunath Das was very happy to hear this kind of punishment. So he immediately sent his assistants his associates into the market in the village with lots of chida and dahi. The chida is called chipped rice, it is the flat rice very flat. Raghunath Das Goswami was not only going to feed dahi chida but
also soaked chida so he also got dahi and yoghurt and milk also. He managed to get 7 big huge pots and four hundred medium sized clay pots. Thousands of smaller size pots and then dahi and chipped rice was soaked in yoghurt, chipped rice was soaked in milk. So when the news reached that there is going to be dahi chida festivals at Pani Hathi. Many many people came running for free prasad, food for life there was a large gathering Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami there were countless, you could not count how many people had arrived for honouring dahi chida at Pani Hathi.

So along with Nityananda Prabhu on the platform very special VVIPS, close associates of Nityananda Prabhu had taken seat. Then all around the platform people were sitting, brahmanas were sitting so many more villagers were
sitting on the bank of Ganga – this way that way. When all the banks were full people entered the water, knee deep water, waist deep water, they were trying to find place to honour the chipped rice. They also had added sugar,
honey, banana, camphor all that kichiri was very special very delicious preparations were made. So everyone wanted to honour this prasad. Then Raghunath Das, he assigned 20 people to serve all these assembled guests. As the serving was on, Raghav Pandit comes right in front of Nityananda Prabhu. He had cooked special dishes. He placed them in front of Nityananda Prabhu and chanted mantras offering him and Raghav pandit started distributing that to his associates. But to Nityananda Prabhu, he said “Sir for you a special prasad waiting at home, what are you doing here?.

Lets go honour prasad at my home.” Yea Raghav pandit said to Nityananda Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhusay no no no that prasad I will eat in evening. Now let me eat this prasad right here. I belong to cowherd community and always like to eat with my cowherd boyfriends. I am going to enjoy my meal right here with my my devotees. So as everyone was about to honour prasadam, Nityananda Prabhu sat in meditation, remembering and calling appealing for the presence
of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Everything is here, the cowherd boys were there, Ganga Jamuna was there only missing was Krsna. Krsna Caitanya was missing so that dahi chida festival, Nityananda Prabhuwas enacting his pastimes honouring prasad food in Vrndavan on banks of Yamuna. So as Nityananda Prabhu remembered and appealed Caitanya Mahaprabhu for his presence, Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared there.

Gauranga Gauranga Gauranga

But not everybody noticed Lord’s presence. Only handful, only some were able to realise. So as Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared there, Nityananda Prabhu immediately stood up to meet Caitanya Mahaprabhu and then both of these Prabhus Mahaprabhu and Prabhu they were looking all around all around they were seeing, they were surrounded by cowherd men, cowherd boys and they all honouring prasad. Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu were so very much pleased to see that scene. And then Nityananda Prabhu starts feeding Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He was taking some grains, some dahi chida, doodh chida from big pots and throwing.

Nityananda Prabhu was pushing some throwing some grains chip rice right into the mouth of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Most of them they were seeing Nityananda Prabhu. They were not seeing Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They were seeing he was picking come chip rice and as it was thrown, they were seeing it going maybe 6 inches or 1 feet forward and
disappearing. They were really surprised and wondering what’s going on here. And Nityananda Prabhu was bringing Caitanya Mahaprabhu come this and this way, they are escorting and feeding and as everyone was honouring prasad,
Nityananda Prabhu said to addressing to all those honouring prasad –

sei annamrita pao, Radha Krsna guna gao

While honouring Radha honouring prasadam, you also have to say Hari Hari so devotees were eating Hari Hari. You are eating and Hari Hari..loud Hari Hari

I is said that I think we did not even filled up the Banglore’s sky but the whole brahmand was filled with the vibration of Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari

sae annamrita pao, radha krsna guna gao

Now say annamrita pao so jao
Otherwise we will be namakharam. If you know being ungrateful, not chanting so they all were honouring prasad, filling their bellies with prasad and filling their mouth and sky with Hari Hari Hari Hari

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

So then gradually, so then what was happening more people were arriving and more chipped rice was needed. So the chipped rice merchants they were arriving on shutting their shops and Raghunath Das Goswami at any cost he was purchasing all those goods, all those that flat rice and yoghurt and bananas. And after all their goods were sold, they have made good money, Raghunath Das was feeding them free prasad. Their pockets were full and bellies were full free prasad. The devotees finally came, many of them with lots of garlands garlanding Nityananda Prabhu, the garlanding and the sandalwood paste all over his forehead. This comes at the end Caitanya Caritamrita. We always hear at the end of honouring of prasad, then comes the garland then comes the Chandan and then Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Nityananda Prabhu were chewing pan and were glancing upon all the assembled devotees with great joy. In all great details that Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami has taken note of.

So like this the festival during the day had come to an end. So we did not celebrate you did not celebrate the festival during the day but that day 500 years ago, there was another festival in the evening like here we are evening festival evening and that festival was held at Raghav pandit’s temple, his family temple home. After the day, festival Nityananda Prabhu took some rest and he arrived in the temple in the evening devotees also arrived and there was a very very special kirtan and kirtan went on and on and on and the kirtan Nityananda Prabhu was inspiring, inducing everyone to dance and and finally he also started dancing and when Nityananda Prabhu performs kirtan and he begins dancing that that that dance and kirtan becomes all attractive even that attracts Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu had come during the day and Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared there in the evening in the kirtan where Nityananda Prabhu was chanting and dancing. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu has also started dancing .

ajanu-lambita-bhujau kanakavadhatau
sankirtanaika-pitarau kamalayataksau
visvambharau dvija-varau yuga-dharma palau
vande jagat-priyakaro karunavatarau

Karuna avatarau there are two avatars – One is Gauranga and other is Nityananda.

Radhe Gauranga Girihari ki jai

As soon as we talked about you could see He is dancing, He is here. yatra madhbhakta gayanti– Lord said, I am there where I am remembered, my glories are chanted I am there that is my address. You could find me there. So
we have Gaura Nityananda appear as we are remembering glories of that festival, glories of Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu Hari Hari

sundara-b?l? ?ac?-dul?l?
n?cata ?r?-hari-k?rtana me?
bh?le candana tilaka manohara
alak? ?obhe kapolana me?
?ire c??? dara?i b?le
vana-phula-m?l? hiy?para dole
pahirana p?ta-pa??mbara ?obhe
n?pura ru?u-jhunu cara?o me?

Translation

This gorgeous boy is the darling child of mother Saci, dancing in the kirtana of chanting Lord Hari’s names. His forehead is adorned with drawings of sandalwood paste, and His enchanting locks of hair are shining in a splendorous fashion as they bounce upon His cheeks.
 
His hair is wrapped in a topknot, and a garland of forest flowers sways upon His chest. Wearing brilliant yellow silken garments, He dances with ankle bells tinkling upon His feet.
 
Sundar lala begins dancing in kirtan. He is a Natavara Gaura Nataraj, Nat means actor, dancer and He is Supreme dancer.

Krsna who dances in rasa dance in Vrindavan with Gopis same Krsna now he has become Krsna Caitanya and He is dancing with His devotees dancing in kirtan and Nityananda Prabhu also dances. He also dances in rasa dance, he
has his own set of Gopis. Only two Lords dance with the Gopis – Krsna and Balarama. There is no third Lords who dances with Gopis. Not Sri Rama, not Narasimha, Parasurama only Krsna Balaram and now they are dancing 500 years ago they are dancing in kirtan.

The founding fathers of the sankirtan movement original founding fathers, founders are Gaura Nityandand. Then 50 years ago, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was founded on behalf of Gaura Nityanand by Srila
Prabhupada ki jai.

And today this dahi chida festival is being celebrated internationally and there is also one temple called new pani hatti Navin Pani Hathi. This is the Atlanta and America. I think the name came from Jayapatak Swami Maharaj and I was I was with him 10 years ago on this day celebrating Pani Hatti Festival in new pani hathi that is Atlanta America.

Jayapatak Maharaj was personally there, he was coordinator of that festival mastermind of that festival. Jayapatak Maharaj was first one to promote and propagate this festival. As he had stayed in Navadvipa Mayapur and lots of
culture he had picked up. Jayapatak Maharaj ki jai. He should be remembered also yea so that good translation, so that evening after the kirtan two prabhus sat down again everyone did not take the cognisance of the presence of
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They did not take note of. Nityananda Prabhu sat down and he made an asan for Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he was sitting some saw him, some couldn’t see him and so many others sat down and then Raghav Pandit and Damayanti cooking was served to these two Prabhus and all other devotees. It is said that that the cooking that took place at Raghav Pandit’s kitchen, this cooking was done by Radha Rani herself. Radha Rani
would appeared there and do all the cooking. So he could understand who the cook is. She is the best cook in the world- Jai Radhe and also anyone who eat the food cook by Radha Rani he would never get sick.

Hari Hari
Such was the benediction of Durvasa Muni. Durvasa Muni blessed Radha Rani one time and Yashoda knew this benediction that Radha Rani had this special benediction. That’s why Yashoda would always insist that Radha Rani coming to Nandagram and doing all the cooking for Krsna. So Radha Rani was cooking in kitchen.

Gauranga Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and all others honoured and finally everyone had prasad. Raghunath Das Goswami received the special remnants of Maha Maha prasad. So they stayed overnight. Raghunath Das also stayed
and next day Raghunath Das Goswami came to the feet of Nityananda Prabhu and he was begging for special benediction. He said I made so many attempts to leave, run away but I have not succeeded so far – My dear Lord – Oh Varadraj – var means benediction, raj means giver of what, giver of benediction.

That is also Nityananda Prabhu, Balaram Nityananda, so that morning Nityananda Prabhu gave special benediction. Now all the obstacles have been removed so you will be able to find relief and you will be released from all the
bonds. And soon you will arrive in Jagannath Puri and attend the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai.
So without benediction of Nityananda Prabhu, Radha Krsna paithe nai.

You cannot attain Radha Krsna, so now Radha Krsna, Sri Krsna Caitanya, Radha Krsna nahi anya. Radha and Krsna they have combined in one form and that is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So Nityananda Prabhu is Adi Guru eh Balaram so,
yasya prasadat bhagavat prasado

If Nityananda Prabhu Adi Guru original spiritual master, he is pleased then Krsna is pleased. So Raghunath Das Goswami had pleased Nityananda Prabhu by organising that dahi chida festival, feeding him, feeding unlimited number of his associates and devotees. He received that benediction and we also pray to Nityananda Prabhu who is merciful always, today he is very very merciful.

He may bless all of us. May you all receive benediction from Nityananda Prabhu so that you could attain we all could attain the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu Radha krsna.

May Nityananda Prabhu be pleased with all of you including myself.
Nitai Gaura Preme Nande
Hari Haribol

I came here not to take but to give you.
Prabhupada went to America for not to take any thing but to Give them Krishna consciousness My first visit to New York was in 78 and from then nearly 50 times I visited New York and around the world.

In early days when I visited to western countries, people asked me Swamiji where from you have come? When I said from India. They would reply, ohh India that beggars country, you have come from there. This was identity of our country in those. Because when ministers and leaders or others went to West they had gone only to ask for something.

Bhakti Vedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada told that I came here not to take but to give you.
Srila Prabhupada ki jay.!!

Srila Prabhupada gave us everything

S. B 1.15.33

prthapy anusrutya dhanañjayoditam
nasam yadunam bhagavad-gatim ca tam
ekanta-bhaktya bhagavaty adhoksaje
nivesitatmopararama samseteh

Translation
Kunti, after overhearing Arjuna’s telling of the end of the Yadu dynasty and disappearance of Lord Krsna, engaged in the devotional service of the transcendental Personality of Godhead with full attention and thus gained release from the course of material existence.

The setting of the sun does not mean the end of the sun, right. Only right things have written here. It means that the sun is out of our sight. Right, that’s all. Similarly, the end of the mission of the Lord on a particular planet or universe only means that He is out of our sight. It’s clear. The end of the Yadu dynasty also does not mean that it is annihilated. It disappears, along with the Lord, out of our sight. As Maharaja Yudhisthira decided to prepare to go back to Godhead, so also Kunti decided, and thus she fully engaged herself in the transcendental devotional service of the Lord which guarantees one a passport for going back to Godhead after quitting this present material body.The beginning of devotional service to the Lord is the beginning of spiritualizing the present body, and thus an unalloyed devotee of the Lord loses all material contact in the present body.The abode of the Lord is not a myth, take note of this. From myth comes mythology and all that. As is thought by the unbelievers or ignorant people, but one cannot reach there by any material means like a sputnik or space capsule. But one can certainly reach there after leaving this present body, and one must prepare himself to go back to Godhead by practicing devotional service. That guarantees a passport for going back to Godhead, and Kunti adopted it.

Haribol!! And are you ready also to adopt? So wonderful verse and amazing purport by Srila Prabhupada. Well, ‘The Pandavas retire timely’ is the title of this chapter. So, things are getting unfolded. I don’t want to do the recapping as they say. I think some of you had been attending these classes regularly and many of you are. It’s a good chance that you are visitors. Regardless, I’m not going to summarize, just going to make some point that attracted my attention. And, I’m impressed with, also as I read this verse and the purport and that is: going back to Godhead.

That is what the Pandavas are going to be doing as they have retired timely. These days no one retires. So, there is also a message. The Pandavas retired and as soon as they had news that their Lord is no more on the planet, then what is the use of you and that planet where the Lord is not performing his pastimes anymore. So, better go wherever he is now and where he is certainly at home, back home. Prabhupada always says, back to godhead! back to godhead! not only god but godhead. Who is a godhead? Who is a head of all the gods? Krishna. Prabhupada always emphasizes Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Even today, we read that. Such a clarity and perfection.

As the news was received, well everyone including Kunti is mentioned, took to the devotional service maybe even more seriously not that she was not performing devotional service. And, the Pandavas also were going to be retiring and they were going to do tivrena bhakti-yogena, tivrena- they are going to intensify, amplify and going to increase the frequency frequently. Like some people say,‘You know I’m visiting the temple, I’m pretty regular every Janmashtami’. That’s also frequency, once a year, that’s a frequency. And, I go to Sunday festival or ISKCON Sunday festival, that’s also a frequency. And then, everyday that’s even more frequent and like that if we keepgoing, the Sastras say, ‘anukshan’, how frequently one should practice Krsna consciousness. ‘Shan’ means moment, one moment. ‘Anu’ means the next one, the following one also and in between the ‘Shanas’, if there is some space in between, so that is tivrena bhakti-yogena.

Anyway, I want to get to the point, these are side points for me. So Kunti, was in fact the first one to leave the body. She left her body right there and then we hear as she heard maybe sometimes after because this talked here her practicing of devotional service. So, soon after she heard the news of the Lord’s departure, she also departed. The Pandavas are retiring and they are now heading towards the North. The rest of the world or India is behind, right, when you head towards the North Himalayas and the top of Himalayas is Badrika Ashrama. So, there’s a concept of heading North. It means going to the Lord with your back towards the rest of the world. So, that’s what the Pandavas were doing and, on the way, Draupadi also had joined this pilgrimage or the travelling, destination is back to Godhead. On the way, Draupadi was the first one to leave the body. Then, down the road, up the hill, the Himalayan Mountain, Sahadeva was the next one and then Nakula was the next one after five, ten, twenty, fifty kilometres. The end was Arjuna and Bheema.

In 1977, some time before Prabhupada’s departure, I was with my Narada muni travelling party distributing Srila Prabhupada books. We were in Badrika Ashrama and had visited that very spot which is known as ‘Bhima ka Pul’, Pul means bridge. On the way, there was a Sarasvati, this is even a little beyond Badrika Ashrama. He built a bridge; he did cross and he left the body. Then we had to come back to Vrindavan to see Srila Prabhupada, our party, to see how he’s doing. Those days there were no SMS and this and that. We had to personally come. Prabhupada was very kind to permit us to have his audience Darshana and during that Darshana we talked about Badrika Ashrama visit.

Well, also I had mentioned: ‘Srila Prabhupada! We showed your Bhagavad Gita to Srila Vyasadeva’, because we visited the cave of Vyasa and we were carrying Bhagavad Gita and we thought we did not see Vyasadeva but for sure he resides there, he must have seen us and also the Bhagavad Gita that we were carrying. So, I reported to Prabhupada that we showed your Bhagavad Gita, Prabhupada had a smile on his face. Then, I had also mentioned about his spot from where Bheema departed and then our Darshana time was over. Then, Bhavanand Maharaja at that time, he rebuked me, rebuked means mild chastisement, and he said: ‘Why, why did you tell Prabhupada about your visit to this Bheema Ka Pul spot from where Bheema departed?’ He took serious objection to this and he gave the reason, ‘You want to give hint to Srila Prabhupada, what hint? also of leaving. Are you reminding Srila Prabhupada…’? That was of course not my intention or it was not in my mind but this was the reading of this Maharaja. Hari! Hari!

Anyway, I just want to make a connection with going back to Godhead. Someone else went back to Godhead and I talked about Bheema’s going back to Godhead from such a place as Bheema Ka Pul and as I was sharing, someone got the hint that I was giving some hint about going back to Godhead or Prabhupada going back to Godhead. And as we know, our meeting was just, maybe, five six days before Prabhupada’s departure and so Prabhupada did leave on 14th of November 1977 and he went back to Godhead! Oh, he just entered the pastimes of Krsna and Balarama in Vrindavan. He always called Vrindavan is my home, so he was at home, he entered the home. So, Prabhupada, I think, I don’t know anyone else as far as I know I have read, heard many acharyas. A lot of them don’t even talk of for no, the unbelievers that Prabhupada is talking about the unbelievers or ignorant people. They think this going back to Godhead or even back home Vaikuntha or Goloka is just a myth and going there, forget it! No one talks about but Prabhupada is the one, he talked about so much and over again and again every other purport, every other talk that he delivered, talked about going back to Godhead. We are going back to home, some devotees have even compiled and sung songs, ‘we are going…’ and they play their guitar a little, ‘Srila Prabhupada is the captain of the ship and ISKCON is that ship. Please board the ship, we are going back to home …’. I’m not an English singer.

If you ever get money, what you should do? Print books. What was the first book of publication that Prabhupada …? Back to Godhead 1944. He gave a title to his first publication, periodical they called them. It was a pakshika, by monthly and then became monthly called Back to Godhead the title, BACK TO GODHEAD! Prabhupada really highlighted this Back to Godhead, going back to home, Back to Godhead. Then Srila Prabhupada, he wrote a letter to the first President of India Dr Rajendra Prasada, he was from Bihar and that was appeal to the President of India that he wanted assistance for publication of his Back to Godhead or promotion of his back to Godhead. In that letter which is available, Prabhupada’s letter to the President, Prabhupada writes, says,‘I have got a hint’ and Prabhupada says,the hint is: ‘When I leave my body, I’ll be going Back to Godhead’ and he also says HARE KRSNA, I think. My attention goes to you know who? Those with eyes closed but I think its not because of rapt attention. So, some of my time is invested and energy also. Hari! Hari! I think our going Back to Godhead would be delayed or we may miss the bus as they say, because we are late or spend some time sleeping.

Then Prabhupada writes in the same letter, he says,‘I would like to bring all my fellow human beings with me, bring them to home Back to Godhead’. This is Prabhupada’s vision. The Back to Godhead exists, right? Yes? back home exists? Why can’t Goloka exist or okay if it exists let it exists, you know, what does it matter for me it exists. That’s the kind of stand, I think because a lot of the people don’t even know that it exists and there are others they know or they may accept that it exists, but it doesn’t really, they don’t care. Prabhupada is the one who talked about going, going, going there! Physically going, of course. Going there couldn’t be physical, spiritually going, actually going there, going Back to Godhead, from somewhere you are from there you go elsewhere, go back to home, Back to Godhead. Whenever a devotee in ISKCON, leaves the body, we always talk about or we even hope and pray that he went…where did he go? BACK TO GODHEAD. Happy birthday to you and what? You may never take birth again and then what happens? you may never take birth again and what? Go back to home.
The Sastras talk of this everywhere. I was just thinking, the Bhagavad Gita is like an invitation, extended by Lord himself to all those listeners and readers of Bhagavad Gita. Invitation where? invitation for what? Going Back to Godhead.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

And after you give up your body,tyaktva deham punar janma
,naiti, no more birth death and what happens instead? mam eti. There are two eti: punar janmanaiti and mam eti. That person doesn’t go to another birth ,punar janmanaiti, instead mam eti, he comes to me.

dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

Is that 10th chapter of Bhagavad Gita? That I give intelligence to that person, of course, one who is practicing devotional service, and he is utilizing that intelligence for what?mam upayanti, upayanti means go again. Mam: to go to me and Lord is using ‘upa’ means comes close to me, meaning close, he comes closer to me.
He didn’t have much time while he was talking to Arjuna. He has mentioned about his abort.

na tad bhasayate suryo na shashanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama

So how many times, one time is enough. Your Lord mentions one time about his Dhama, isn’t that sufficient? Because he only speaks what? The truth, Lord only speaks the truth and nothing but the truth.It is talking about his Dhama and talking about going and those who go do not come back. In conclusion also, there are many other mentions of back to home, Back to Godhead and going back home but in conclusion man-man? bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mamnamaskuru ,now the Lord is going to say, ‘You know I had spoken about some confidential subject matters Guhyam, then I spoke about some Guhyatara more confidential but now I’m going to talk to Guhyatamam most confidential. Please pay attention. If confidential thing you ignored, most confidential, ATTENTION! Having said that, I’m going to talk of something most confidential than what a person is really focused on his attentive. I’m trying to do that but some of you don’t care. Hari! Hari!

There is man-man? bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mamnamaskuru, you know this, do these four things. Srila Prabhupada once time said, ‘We follow four regulative principles’ and as soon as Prabhupada says we follow four regulative principles devotees were thinking he is going to mention : no intoxication, no meat-eating and like that but then having said we follow four regulative principles ,they said man-man?, one principle :remember me, bhava mad-bhakto :become my devotee, mad-yaji: worship me and mamnamaskuru : offer your obeisances unto me. Prabhupada called these and we follow four regulative principles and if you did this, then what does Krsna say? Now, he’s going to close his dialogue with Arjuna with this statement. If you do these four things, then what happens? Then mam evaisyasi, again,mam evaisyasi, mam eva: me only, esyasi: you will come to me. You are dear to him or he loves you, he is dear to you, you are dear to him. Whether you are dear to him, yeah you are dear to him whether he is dear to you or not or temporarily he’s not dear to you, Maya is dearer and then you say I love you and all that. All this love is transferred and focused on someone else, something else other than the Lord or the demigods with a little demigod, they love this and Aham Brahmasmiand I am Brahman, I love Brahman.

But here the Lord is saying because I love you. So, we could very easily put ourselves in the seat or in a position of Arjuna. In fact, Lord is addressing through Bhagavad Gita, who is He addressing? Only Arjuna? No! He is addressing you, each one of you, me included. When Lord says priyah asi, Ishtadeva , priyah asi. The Lord is speaking in Sanskrit, you are very dear to me and could say all the names. Radharaman Maharaj,priyah asi: you are very dear. Lord is addressing, it’s good to know that the Lord likes and loves you. I think we always like to know who likes us and we love to know who likes us. What if one day, we come to know that the Lord likes me, Lord loves me and isn’t that good enough? Of course, if the devotees also like you, devotees, other souls like you and they do like pure devotees, like all the devotees. All those devotees in Goloka, everybody in Goloka loves you. So, it is not only the Lord who loves and likes you but all the devotees love and like you.

So, one should go to that place where everyone likes you. For sure, that place is back home, Goloka, that place is Mayapur Dhama Ki jai! Non-different from Goloka, sri-gauda-mandala-bhumi, jeba jane cintamani,tara hoy braja-bhume bas,those who would realise this sri-gauda-mandala-bhumi,in cintamani dhama, they will also go Back to Godhead, Back to Vrindavan Dhama ki jai! Anyway, some may stay here also, continue to stay because this is a part of Vrindavan. Hari! Hari!

Srila Prabhupada, on behalf of Sri Krsna or Sri Krsna Chaitanya gave us a lot of things including Mayapur festival 50 years ago. This is a year of celebration 50th anniversary, Golden Jubilee of Mayapur festival and a lot of other items also. He gave us Radha Madhava and gave us,

HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE,

He gave us Chaitanya Caritamrta. Of course, he gave Mahaprasade Govinde and each one of this is Lord, Dhama is Lord, his holy name is Lord, Caitanya Caritamrta, his Lila is Lord. What else? His form is Lord, non-different kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara, his gunas are Lord, prasadam is also Lord. Srila Prabhupada, On behalf of Parampara, acharyas, he gave us all these gifts including or at the center also we could say there’s a Dhama, he gave us Dhama and gave us the idea of going back to home. Although, it is not a new idea, so it is an eternal idea but Prabhupada threw light on it. He emphasized this fact and as I said earlier more than anyone else amongst you and acharyas. Is it a good idea going Back to Godhead? Are you getting that idea? Are you making up your mind? Are you preparing as Kunti Maharani prepared and Pandavas prepared? They retired also from worldly, well for them not worldly, so-called worldly for us they are really worldly things. When did the Lord disappear for us? For them, as soon as they heard the Lord disappeared immediately, they took to Krsna consciousness devotional service very seriously. For us, what was the last time that we were with the Lord or we forgot or he disappeared? Time immemorial cannot be encountered or calculated even with the present electronic calculators cannot calculate number of years ago that we left, we became outgoing or going outward. We have become dancing dogs in the hands of maya and the mind, senses. Such a long time ago, the Lord did not leave us but we left him or we were trying to leave him. The Lord has kindly caught up with us and by the merciful arrangement of Sri Krsna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his Senapati bhakta Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

He founded this International Society for Krsna Consciousness and all the arrangements are made for us to get a passport. A lot of time, we say ISKCON temples are like embassies. ISKCON is Goloka embassy and an embassy what do you get? Prabhupada is mentioning passport but passport is not enough. Just because your passport cannot go to America, what do you need? A visa. So, in an embassy you get the visa. Then, the spiritual masters, on behalf of the founder acharya and ultimately Lord. They put a stamp of approval, visa approval. He gets only one-way ticket and visa for how long? Otherwise, you get one year of a five-year student visa. Hahahaa. This is a wonderful arrangement and it is here at the disposal of anybody, everybody on this planet.

Appearance day of Gadadhar Pandit

Srimad Bhagavatam Class
30 April 2022
Iskcon Vrindavan

Srila Gadadhara Pandit avirbhav tithi mahotsava ki jai.

Nitai gaura prem anande Hari Haribol.

All glories to assembled devotees. Hare Krishna. Everyone is okay? Thank you for being with us this morning to do Nityam Bhagavata Sevaya. Hari Hari. So we are reading from canto ten chapter eighteen, Lord Balaram slays the demon Pralamba. Haribol.

Is this good news? So the verse is twenty two and today is as I said earlier, it is also the appearance day of Gadadhar Pandit ki jai.

So first we will read Srimad Bhagavatam and we will talk a little. Then we will also talk or remember Gadadhar Pandit as much as we could or I could manage to remember and share that remembrance. So we are at their mercy. Okay, so please repeat after me.

vahanto vahyamanas ca
carayantas ca go dhanam
bhandirakam nama vatam
jagmuh krsna purogamah

Translation
Thus carrying and being carried by one another, and at the same time tending the cows, the boys followed Krsna to a banyan tree known as Bhandiraka (SB 10.18.22)

Srila Sanatana Gosvami quotes the following verses from Sri Harivamsa (Visnu parva 11.18-32 ), which describe the banyan tree

dadarsa vipulodagra
sakhinam sakhinam varam
sthitam dharanyam meghabham
nibidam dala sancayaih

gaganardhocchritakaram
parvatabhoga dharinam
nila citranga varnais ca
sevitam bahubhih khagaih

phalaih pravalais ca ghanaih
sendracapa ghanopamam
bhavanakara vitapam
lata puspa sumanditam

visala mulavanatam
pavanambhoda dharinam
adhipatyam ivanyesam
tasya desasya sakhinam

kurvanam subha karmanam
niravarsam anatapam
nyagrodham parvatagrabham
bhandiram nama namatah

And the rest of the purport is just the translation of these verses which we have just read which are from Mahabharata.

Purport
They saw that best of all trees, which had many long branches. With its dense covering of leaves, it resembled a cloud sitting on the earth. Indeed, its form was so large that it appeared like a mountain covering half the sky. Many birds with charming blue wings frequented that great tree, whose dense fruits and leaves made it seem like a cloud accompanied by a rainbow or like a house decorated with creepers and flowers. It spread its broad roots downward and carried upon itself the sanctified clouds. That banyan tree was like the Lordly master of all other trees in that vicinity, as it performed the all-auspicious functions of warding off the rain and the heat of the sun. Such was the appearance of that nyagrodha tree known as Bhandira, which seemed just like the peak of a great mountain.

vahanto vahyamanas ca?carayantas ca go dhanam?bhandirakam nama vatam?jagmuh krsna purogamah
(SB 10.18.22)

Translation
Thus carrying and being carried by one another, and at the same time tending the cows, the boys followed Krsna to a banyan tree known as Bhandiraka

The description of the tree in the purport caught my attention, although this is the pastime of Balaram killing the demon Pralamba. Also this is in the middle of the act of the killing and hence it is described ‘vahanto vahyamanas ca.’ We will talk about the three verses very soon.

The friends of Krishna say ‘who do you think you are?! Krishna or even you Balaram, you and us, we are the same, all equals!’ Friendship is amongst equals, right? So that we see here and hence they’re playing with their friends and this demon has taken advantage. Pralamba has entered the gathering of the cowherd friends.

Pralamba is very long, lamba means long, very very long. Initially he looked to be a normal size but soon he became a long and tall demon and that’s why he came to be known as Pralambasura. Prabhupada asked his disciples ‘who is stronger, Krishna or Balaram?’ What did they say? Prabhupada was expecting a response, ‘is Krishna stronger or is Balaram stronger?’

Some said Krishna and some said Balaram. So Balaram Krishna, Krishna Balaram. Prabhupada said ‘look at Krishna and Balaram and the way they are standing. Isn’t Balaram taking support of Krishna even to stand?’ Jai Srila Prabhupada! So Prabhupada made a point that Krishna is stronger but in this pastime it doesn’t look like Krishna has proven his strength.

There was a wrestling match and Krishna has been defeated! Balaram’s party has won and that’s why Balaram is sitting on the back of Pralamba and Sridhama is sitting on the back of? Krishna! So about the trees, this tree that we are reading and hearing about, that tree is still there. You just have to come out on Vraja Mandal Parikrama and one day you will have darshan of this bhandira mentioned here.

Krishna and Balaram and friends were playing games, as they always do and therefore as we go on Vraja Mandal Parikrama we also play games, sometimes including wrestling matches. There were wrestling matches here and so we are also reminded of Krishna’s pastimes and the Parikrama devotees re-do the wrestling matches and the rest of us enjoy seeing the wrestling matches.

You heard the description of this tree which is huge and of course it is green and beautiful. There are blue birds flying around this tree and it is loaded with fruits and flowers and these trees are also devotees of Krishna. I was sitting under this tree here and it reminded me that it is a desire tree that even fulfils the desires of Krishna and his devotees.

These trees are so great and so nothing is inert in Vrindavan and everything is sac cid ananda.

cintamani prakara sadmasu kalpa vrksa
(BS 5.29)

Translation
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees..

Here the first line is mentioning the kalpa vrksa, the wish fulfilling tree and then the cows are mentioned and then lakshmi, Gopi’s are mentioned but the first item mentioned is the desire tree.

Prabodhananda Saraswati Thakur in his Vrindavan Mahimamrita, the glories of Vrindavan, glorifies the trees of Vrindavan like anything. These are his realisations about the trees of Vrindavan and the flowers which shoot or sprout or bloom. Even the leaves are sprouted and Prabodhananda Saraswati says ‘look, their hairs are standing on end.’

Just like one of the symptoms of ecstasy, the leaves are standing on end and the flowers are standing on end just like hairs that stand on end and the trees are ecstatic! So not just one tree which is mentioned here in this verse, all the trees of Vrindavan are like this. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was touring Vrindavan when he went on Vraja Mandal Parikrama.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did Parikrama of Vrindavan and Vrindavan doesn’t mean just Loi Bazaar Vrindavan, no. That’s how the rest of the world thinks and even I thought that way that Vrindavan means just seeing Loi Bazaar which is in the centre. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not come to Vrindavan and stay at MVT guest house for the rest of the month or whatever duration.

No, he went all around Vrindavan and all the twelve forests of Vrindavan. Vrindavan is known for being Vrinda-van, forests full of trees, right? The biggest population is that of the trees in Vrindavan. So when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was touring Vrindavan, everyone was welcoming and greeting Gaurasundar in Vrindavan.

Of course they thought ‘this is our Shyamsundar. Shyamsundar is here!’ Gaurasundar had come, that was five hundred years ago but they had this realisation that ‘our Shyamsundar is back.’ So everyone was meeting and greeting and glorifying the Lord and serving, especially the trees and the Lord was mostly reciprocating with those trees.

He was reciprocating with everyone and he was also saying ‘Haribol Haribol Haribol’ and everyone was chanting ‘Haribol Haribol Haribol’ including the trees. So in Chaitanya Charitamrita it is described by Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami how the trees were thinking. ‘Oh, our friend is here! Our friend is here!’

So they had to greet their friend and the trees had to give some gifts to their friend, so the fruit bearing trees were shaking their branches and tons of fruits were being downloaded, they were dropped and being offered to Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. As he continues his journey through Vrindavan, and of course he is chanting

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

The flower bearing trees, they shake their branches and tons of flowers, this kind of flower and that kind of flower. There was a flower abhishek, fresh and fragrant flowers being dropped from the top and the branches and they are like the hands of the trees dropping the flowers. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is feeling grateful ’thank you, thank you, thank you.’

He is embracing the trees, ‘thank you my dear tree.’ The next tree is saying ’me too.’ Then Mahaprabhu had to rush to that tree and embrace that tree and then ‘me too, me too.’ And the next tree and the next tree. In this way Mahaprabhu had to embrace all the trees of Vrindavan. It’s not a big deal for him. He could have become as many as the trees which were there, that many Gauranga’s.

He is Radha Krishna nahi anya so he could expand. Hari Hari. So these trees of Vrindavan play a very vital role in the pastimes of the Lord. What is Vrindavan without forests and without trees? Can we imagine? First of all it says Vrinda yaha vanam, there are lots of Tulsi trees and it is Tulsi Vrindavan. And the other trees are there and they are all great devotees, Hari Hari.

While performing the Sankirtan pastimes in Navadwipa, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s party was in Godrumadwipa and there is a Alm Ghat, like a mango grove and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s party had been chanting and chanting for a long time and they were hungry. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu brought them to this mango grove, ‘okay sit around.’ ‘The devotees were saying ‘we are hungry and what is this, there is nothing to eat here.’

And what did Mahaprabhu do? He planted a mango seed and quickly- in the spiritual sky there is no past present or future and everything is in present tense. And so quickly it grew leaves and flowers and fruits, raw and ripened fruits grew so quickly (Maharaja clicks fingers).

‘Okay say Maha prashade govinde.’ By the time they finished their prayer the fruits were ready and they were served and these fruits were so huge and delicious. Even a big devotee could not finish eating one of those mangoes. Someone else would think ‘that’s all you are giving us to eat, just one mango?’ So that was a great devotee, that mango tree was a devotee of the Lord.

So today five hundred years ago the other Pandit appeared, Haribol! We were not there to greet him back then but now we can welcome him. Su swagatam Gadadhar Pandit, welcome Gadadhar Pandit. That’s okay you don’t have to sing, I know you are all willing and ready to go but we don’t have seven days for recitation of Srimad Bhagavatam or Chaitanya Charitamrita katha.

We could welcome Gadadhar Pandit in our lives and so Gadadhar Pandit is very, very special. We could very easily say he was the topmost amongst the associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We could also say that there are two top notch associates, one was Balarama who is also standing at the right side of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When we take darshan of Pancha Tattva

Dakhine nitaicand, bame gadadhara. On Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s right hand side stands Lord Nityananda and on his left is Gadadhar Pandit. In this way we remember Pancha Tattva also and Gadadhar Pandit is on top of the list

panca tattvatmakam krishnam bhakta rupa svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta saktikam

I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Kirishna, who is nondifferent from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, manifestation, pure devotee, and devotional energy

The Lord appeared in Pancha tattva, five forms which are five personalities and so at the end of this prayer it is said ‘bhakta saktikam.’ So Gadadhar Pandit is the Sakti, energy of the Lord and what kind of Sakti is he? He is the hladini sakti of the Lord and who is this hladini sakti? Radharani ki jai! Jai Radhe.

So Radha had already appeared when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared. When the Lord appeared then what happened?Sri Krishna Chaitanya Radha Krishna nahi anya. They are two in one, there is one Radha and one Krishna but there is also another form. Radharani has appeared in another manifestation and that is Gadadhar Pandit.

What I have heard and have understood is
that in Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes as you all know, this is a well known fact that Radha and Krishna cannot be together all the time. The gopi’s also cannot be with the Lord all the time because the social norms are there and customs are there. A young boy and young girls together in one place and gossiping, it’s not possible, not possible!

Radharani of course wants to be with Krishna all the time, yes or no? You’re not Radharani so can’t say, but you know Radharani. So that which was then impossible was made possible. What was not possible in the nitya lila in Vrindavan, was made possible and Radharani appeared in her Gadadhar form in Lord Chaitanya’s manifest pastimes. She has become Gadadhar Pandit and now she can freely mix and mingle with her Krishna as Gadadhar.

Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai!

No-one could object and no-one could suspect and that is what happened in this gaura lila. Gadadhar Pandit was with Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu throughout Navadwipa lila as well as Nilacala lila. From their very childhood they were together and they were playing together, they even went to school together.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to debate with Gadadhar while he was a Pandit. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Pandit and he would always argue. He would also argue with Gadadhar Pandit and also Mukunda Datta and back then Gadadhar Pandit used to say ‘when will our friend Nimai Pandit become a devotee?’

He was more of a Pandit than a bhakta then and he was always having these debates. And so that did happen, as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was initiated by who? Iswara Puri in Gaya, that was when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s life changed and he stopped arguing with others including Gadadhar Pandit. Then he was looking for Krishna, ‘where is Krishna, where is Krishna?’

He asked this question one time to Gadadhar Pandit, ‘where is my Krishna?’ ‘Oh your Krishna is in your heart.’ As soon as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, actually he is Nimai and he has not become Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu yet and he has not taken Sannyasa yet, and so Gadadhar Pandit says ‘your Lord is in your heart.’

As Nimai heard this that the Lord is in your heart, he is immediately scratching and hurting his chest and digging deeper, he is attempting to open his heart like Hanuman. Hanuman had done this and you could see who is in his heart. I was in Bombay some time ago and it was summer season and I saw a big billboard. There was a young man who was depicted there and he had opened his heart. As we looked, we had to look at it as you couldn’t avoid it. There was a limca bottle.

So as Nimai was attempting to dig deeper to perform a open heart surgery or something, to look at the Lord of his heart or the Lord in his heart, then ‘no no no! Don’t do that, don’t do that! Look, take darshan of this deity because the deity is non different from Krishna. Or chant Hare Krishna.

Kali kale nama rupe Krishna avatare

The Lord appears in the age of Kali in the form of the holy name.’ Like that, Gadadhar succeeded in stopping Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s attempt to perform an open heart surgery. Saci Mata was watching this from a distance, what Gadadhar Pandit did for her Nimai and she had come on the scene and came forward.

‘Well done, well done Gadadhar. Thank you. I have a wish that you please stay with and around my Nimai. He may get into trouble like this again, who knows? I just saw what you did for him and how you protected him.’ Like that she strongly recommended that Gadadhar Pandit always be with Chaitanya Nimai.

One day Chaitanya Mahaprabhu out of ecstasy started calling out ‘bop, Pundarika Vidyanidhi, bop!’ No-one knew what he was talking about and who was this Pundarika Vidyanidhi? He was calling bop which means father. ‘Oh father Pundarika Vidyanidhi.’ In Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes Pundarika Vidyanidhi is?

Well there he is Pundarika Vidyanidhi but in Krishna’s pastimes he is?
Radhe vrindavaneshvari vrishabhanu sute.
King Vrishabhanu had appeared as Pundarika Vidyanidhi and at that time Pundarika Vidyanidhi was in Bangladesh and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu kind of called him over, ‘please come over.’

He had come and was kind of hiding or staying away in Navadwipa and Mukunda Datta proposed to Gadadhar Pandit, ‘would you like to see a very extraordinary devotee?’ ‘Oh why not? Please take me along with you.’ So that happens and Mukunda and Gadadhar have gone to see Pundaika Vidyanidhi because at that time he had migrated and is Navadwipa at the time.

So Pundarika Vidyanidhi was hiding in two ways we could say. He was staying away at a greater distance and in that way he was hiding away and he was also acting on his lifestyle which was a materialistic lifestyle. And he was hiding his true identity and nobody could recognise him. That is what happened as Mukunda Datta and Gadadhar Pandit arrived.

Gadadhar Pandit was witnessing this he and said ‘what is this? You said you were going to bring me to an extraordinary devotee and is this the extraordinary devotee? Look at the dress he is wearing and his sitting place and they are fanning him. Look there is a pond right there and this and that. The whole life is a life of luxury with no tinge of renunciation. This is some attached householder! This is not a Mahatma. Sa mahatma sudurlabha.’

Gadadhar Pandit was thinking like that and Mukunda Datta must have read the mind of Gadadhar Pandit and what he was thinking about. Then Mukunda Datta started reciting the words that Uddhava had recited one time in Vrindavan. As Pundarika Vidyanidhi heard this prayer he was a changed person and all the emotions aroused. He was trembling and he couldn’t even sit in his seat.

He fell down and he was rolling on the ground and screaming out the names of the Lord. Then Gadadhar Pandit thought ‘oh I am sorry. It’s good that I did not say anything offensive, but mentally I was certainly very offensive. Now I realise what kind of great devotee he is by seeing all the symptoms and ecstasy of this Pundarika Vidyanidhi.’

He thought ‘the only way I could rectify my mentality and for me to atone for my offences is if I become his disciple.’ And that did happen and then when Pundarika Vidyanidhi heard of this offer, ‘could you accept me as a disciple?’ Pundarika Vidyanidhi said ‘I am very lucky, very fortunate to have a qualified disciple like you!’ And that transaction did take place and here we see that Gadadhar Pandit is Radharani and he has become a disciple of Pundarika Vidyanidhi who is her father in Krishna lila.

Pundarika Vidynidhi has become her spiritual master as the spiritual master is the spiritual father and when Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, he disclosed his thoughts and intension of taking sannyasa with only a few selected devotees and Gadadhar Pandit was one if them. There was also Nityananda Prabhu, Chadrasekhar Acarya and Mukunda Datta. There were only four or five persons and Gadadhar was one.

When the sannyasa initiation took place in Katwa, Gadadhar Pandit was right there And as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu travelled to Puri, ‘only a few persons could go with me!’ From Shantipura all the residents of Navadwipa wanted to go with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu but he said ‘no, no, no no.’ But Gadadhar Pandit was allowed and he accompanied the Lord to Jagannatha Puri and one time the Lord found a deity of Krishna at Jagannatha Puri.

He offered that deity to Gadadhar Pandit. ‘He is Krishna and you are Radharani. He is Krishna so you can serve and be with this Krishna.’ That is tota gopinath ki jai! So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also gave initiation to Gadadhar Pandit in a way. This was ksetra sannyasa. Gadadhar Pandit was a Brahmacari throughout his life. The other members of the Pancha Tattva were all married and out of five, only Gadadhar was single or unmarried, so Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave him ksetra sannyasa.

‘This is Sri ksetra and you will be a sannyasi but you will have to stay right here serving tota gopinath.’ So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri, this was his regular practice. He used to go to tota gopinath especially to meet Radharani, well meet Gadadhar Pandit because externally he is Gadadhar Pandit in a male form, but in their eternal forms they are Radha and Krishna.

So here in tota gopinath, Gadadhar Pandit used to recite Bhagavatam. The reciter is Gadadhar Pandit and who is in the audience? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to listen to Gadadhar Pandit. The way Gadadhar Pandit used to recite Bhagavatam you can’t even imagine. We have heard how tears were rolling down his cheeks and he would drop those tears on the Bhagavatam.

Everyday the Bhagavatan was getting wet then drying up and then there the next day again. You can imagine the condition of the Bhagavatam, wet and dry and so..This is another thing but there was a time when Srinivas Acharya heard the news that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is no more and then he ran because he was on his way to Jagannatha Puri hoping to get darshan of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

On the way he found out that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is no more. ‘Okay at least I can still go and take darshan of Gadadhar Pandit and listen from him.’ This he did but Gadadhar Pandit said ‘the condition of my bhagavatam is so bad, could you get another copy for me?’ And Srinivas Acharya goes to find another copy of Srimad Bhagavatam but by the time he returns, Gadadhar Pandit is no more.

This was happening all the time to him. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared and everyone was gradually disappearing. Just like Srila Prabhupada disappeared, a big number. After that we are also dropping out but our race doesn’t stop, we keep marching. As Prabhuji said, we have come back home because this is Prabhupada’s home and coming to Vrindavan is coming to Prabhupada’s home. It is Krishna’s home.

We get to be with Prabhupada and associate with Prabhupada in Vrindavan dham ki jai! So then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to come to Vrindavan and Gadadhar Pandit wanted to very much accompany him. ‘Oh Vrindavan! When are you going to Vrindavan?’ So Radharani is thinking ‘of course, I have to come with you!’

So Gadadhar Pandit was following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and from time to time Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would notice and say ‘oh, you’re still here. Go back.’ Then after a while again the Lord would continue and then notice and say ‘you’re still here, go back.’ Then the Lord managed to go all the way up to Cuttack from Jagannatha Puri and then the Lord had to cross a river and so Chaitanya Mahaprabhu jumped into the boat and Gadadhar Pandit wanted to follow him into the boat.

But Mahaprabhu said ‘no, you can’t come.’ And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu proceeded and Gadadhar Pandit collapsed and he was rolling on the ground and there were pangs of separation. Of course he had to return home and he was getting older and he was not able to reach the head of his deity. He was not able to extend his hands to offer the deity a turban or flute and so what did the Lord do?

His deity kind of sat down. ‘Okay now you can go round and serve me conveniently’ and that deity tota gopinath is still sitting. Hari Hari. In the same deity Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wound up his pastimes by entering that deity of tota gopinath. The Lord entered that deity which Gadadhar Pandit used to worship, or rather Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had given him that deity which he was worshipping and Mahaprabhu also becomes a part of that deity.

‘Okay you can continue to serve the deity and myself’ and that is what Gadadhar Pandit did for the rest of his life which was only for another eleven months after Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s departure. Gadadhar Pandit also departed, he could not bear the separation from Gauranga and so he also departed. So what? Nothing more to say.

There’s so much to say but,

Gadadhar Pandit avirbhava tithi mahatsava ki jai!
Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!
Nitai Gaura prem anande hari haribol.
Srila Prabhupada ki jai.
Sri Krishna Balaram ki jai.
Vrindavan dham ki jai.
Trees of Vrindavan ki jai.
Vrinda devi Tulsi Maharani ki jai.
Gaura prem anande hari haribol.