Padayatra- Walking Back to Godhead
Dated: 12th October 2015
Venue: Akaramapalli Namahatta center, All India Padayatra
Lord Ram and Laxman appeared in Treta yuga, same Ram Laxman appeared in Dwapara yuga as Krishna Balaram. In this present age kali yuga beginning of the age of kali they appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. So it is like Ram Laxman has come now seated in the chariot.
Balaji is also non different from Krishna, Balaji is Krishna, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna. Vakula mai, Balaji’s kitchen incharge, you know Vakula? She is Yasoda mai. So Yasoda and Rohini’s children are Krishna Balaram. And then Krishna Balaram had gone to Dwaraka, where Balaram was married he had only one wife (Laughter) Krishna had more than 16,000 wives. All these marriages were attended by Vasudev and Devaki. But Nanda and Yasoda they were in Vrindavan they were not able to take part in the marriage ceremony.
All the mothers have desire to see their sons getting married, they rarely would like to see their son becoming a brahmachari (laughter). So knowing the desire of His mother Lord Krishna arranged His own marriage ceremony. That pastime took place in Narayan Vanam. So Balaji is Sri Krishna, Jai Balaji.
So you may consider Balaji has come or Ram Laxman has come or Krishna Balaram has come in the form of Guar Nitai, Nitai Guarsundar Ki…..jai
We are all His children, yes you are or not? Haribol (response of the devotees there). You may say I am a father, mother I am not a child infact I have children. How could be a child? All the souls are children of the Lord and that Lord has come to your town. On the chariot there is also murti of Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada founder acharya of ISKCON and my spiritual master.
So 50 years ago Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada he travelled to America. He travelled by cargo boat, his journey started from Kolkatta boat went to Colambo and to Cochin. Just yesterday I and many ISKCON leaders were present in Cochin to have a memorial celebration of 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupad’s departure to America.
So Srila Prabhupada was a great devotee of Caitanya and Nityananda, Nitai Guarsundar. He was chosen empowered “saksad-dhari” who was sent to the west. To make Lord’s prediction come true, 500 years Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu predicted “Prithvite ache yata nagaradi grama sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama” – My name will be chanted in every town, in every village of this planet. Srila Prabhupada after reaching America he founded this International Society for Krishna Consciousness to spread the Holy Name everywhere. To spread this chanting of “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare” everywhere.
Srila Prabhupada the founder acharya of Hare Krishna movement, asked us to do this Padayatra- travelling with this bullock cart. Walking festival- Padayatra, he asked us to start padayatra on 1st Sept 1976 in New Delhi, that was Radhastami day, Haribol……..
We were just 10-15 disciples of Srila Prabhupada, those days they were only disciples of Prabhupada there were no other Guru’s in ISKCON he was the only spiritual master. So when everything was ready, kind of ready then we requested Prabhupada to inaugurate the padayatra. Again 1976 we were ready to go from Vrindavan to Mayapur walking…Haribol. Prabhupada gave us that instruction- “you go to Mayapur from Vrindavan”. During inaugural function we sat down and Prabhupada gave us further inspiration and instructions to do this Padayatra –Bullock cart sankirtan party.
Then again the main purpose was to spread the Holy Name around, distribute the knowledge about Krishna in the form of Gita, Bhagvatam. Prabhupada said “jare dako tare kaho hare Krishna upadesh” (Laughter). He said little differently from what Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. He said you may be going to the villages people may not always understand the philosophy so instead of “jare dekho, tare kaho krsna-upadesa” he said “Hare Krishna upadesh”.
Let them chant “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare”. This program started in 76, and during Prabhupada’s 100th birth anniversary, 100th birthday celebration of Srila Prabhupada we organized Padayatra in 100 countries..Haribol…Europe padayatra, Australia padayatra, Mauritius padayatra, South Africa padayatra ….all over the planet Hare Krishna devotees have walked, danced, chanted Hare Krishna.
This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s program; this is God’s program- this propagation of the holy name, spreading the holy name, bringing holy name to every person that we meet. And this particular party “All India Padayatra”, what’s the name? Srila Prabhupad’s All India Padayatra. I don’t know whether you have seen back of this cart? We have gone around 5 times parikrama of whole India…Haribol.. Badrikashrama in the north, Jagganath Puri in the east, Rameshwar in the south and Dwaraka in the west like this 5 times and then zigzagging also in between (laughter). We also have come to Tirupati, I think this is the 5th or 6th time we have come to Tirupati.
We have gone to thousands of villages and towns in India. These Padayatra devotees just only during month of kartik they go to Vrindavan for Vraj mandal Parikrama otherwise other 11 months this cart is on road, going from one village to another to another. This padayatra has walked 150,000 kilometers …..haribol. And as I said during the day these murtis are Nitai Guarsundar, ISKCON has many other travelling parties travelling groups they carry Guar Nitai deities on travelling book distribution parties but these deities are most travelled deities on this planet…Haribol. Millions of Indians in all the states of India almost all the states of india they have taken darshan of Nitai Guarsundar ki……….jai
Srila Prabhupada has revealed Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu to the world. He was kind of concealed or covered, He was limited to Bengal and Orissa, people of Bengal and Orissa knew who is Caitanya Mahaprabhu nowhere else. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was locked in Caitanya Carita Amrita which was in Bengali script world did not read Srila Prabhupada translated Caitanya Caritamrita in English language and then, is it available in telagu? Translation is going on in telagu language also and so many languages around the world. In this way Srila Prabhuapada has presented Caitanya Mahaprabhu to the whole world.
As we said “Vrajendra-nandana jei, saci-suta hoilo sei, balarama hoilo nitai” so one who was Nandanandan He becomes Sacinandan that’s Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Balaram becomes Nityananda Prabhu. So these are their identities, they are Krishna Balaram. They are Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki ……Jai, Nityananda Prabhu ki……………..jai
So they were acting like devotees, when Lord appeared He was acting like a devotee. Acting like a devotee or acting like Radharani who is a devotee of Lord. “jagate sikhaye” – to teach the whole world Lord was playing a role of a devotee. By His own example Lord is teaching and inspiring the whole world to worship the Lord, Chant the holy name of the Lord.
He played that role so perfectly as a devotee, so the world misunderstood Him or they understood Him as a devotee. Hye! He is a devotee, He is a bhakta, like Tukaram was in Maharastra and Narsingh Mehta was in Gujarat and Mira bai was in Rajasthan and also Nanak ji and Surdas and this likewise in Bengal there was great devotee called Caitanya. So the world thought he is a devotee, yes! You are a devotee. His real identity is He is Lord Himself “sri Krishna caitanya radha Krishna nahi anya”- Caitanya Mahaprabhu is non different from Radha and Krishna.
Why does He have a golden complexion? Why is he Gauranga? “antha Krishna bahira guara” inside He is Krishna and from outside He has covered Himself with Radhaduti and bhava- the complexion of Radharani. So what is the color of Radharani? Who knows? Matajis know? Gold, Ya you always like gold (Laughter) .
Real gold is Guaranga, Guarangi, you should get attracted to Guaranga and Gaurangi. “tapta kanchan gaurabgi radhe vrindavane swari” radhe vrindavane swari- she is controller of Vrindavan, queen of Vrindavan. She is “tapta kanchan” Her complexion is likethat of molten gold. So Lord assumed that complexion of Radharani, thats radhaduti- that’s complexion, duti means complexion.
Lord also assumed the bhava “radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam” – bhava – the emotions of Radharani. And this private, confidential reason why Lord appears as Caitanya Mahaprabhu to understand Radharani, to understand her emotions her devotion. So Krishna becomes Radharani.
So that Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda prabhu they had traveled 500 years personally all over India. You remember Balaram had traveled all over India? When Krishna was busy during Kuruksetra war driving the chariot of Arjuna. So same Balaram when He appeared as Nityananda Prabhu, He also traveled the way Balaram had traveled.
Hare Krishna