Sri Prabandhåvalî -1

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Sri Prabandhåvalî

Sri Sri guru-gaura∫gau jayata˙

SREE PRABANDHAVALE

A Collection of Devotional Essays

Sri Prabandhåvalî

cri cri guru-gaura∫gau jayata˙

CRE PRABANDHAVALE

A Collection of Devotional Essays

INTRODUCTION

It is a matter of great happiness that we can now present

this second edition of Cri Prabandhavali before our

Vais√ava readers. This book is a compilation of lectures

spoken originally in Hindi by our most worshipful Crila

Gurudeva, oμ vis√upada as†ottara-cata Cri Crimad

Bhaktivedanta Naraya√a Maharaja. The first edition of this

book was published in 1996, just before Crila Gurudeva’s

first preaching tour of Western countries.

Observing the festival days outlined in the Vais√ava

calendar is an important aspect of devotional practice. Crila

Gurudeva always speaks on the appropriate topic on such

days, whether it be the appearance or disappearance day of

a prominent Vais√ava acarya, the appearance day of an

incarnation of Bhagavan, or any other significant day. Of

the eleven lectures included within this book, nine are lectures

that he spoke on significant dates from the Vais√ava

calendar. The word prabandha means an essay and avali

means a collection. We are confident that devotees will find

this Cri Prabandhavali helpful in their sincere efforts to

honour these important days.

The material herein was spoken during 1989 and 1991 at

Cri Kecavaji Gau∂iya Ma†ha in Mathura and Cri Rupa-

Sanatana Gau∂iya Ma†ha in VRndavana. The only exception

is the chapter on Crila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada, which was compiled from three separate

lectures spoken in English in the early 1990s.

In this second edition a glossary has been added to assist

readers unfamiliar with Sanskrit terminology. Also, the

book has been redesigned and typeset to a higher standard.

Acknowledgment goes to Lava∫ga-lata dasi for copy-editing

this second edition, to Asabhadeva dasa and Canti dasi for

proofreading the final manuscript, to Atula-kRs√a dasa for

checking the Sanskrit, to KRs√a-prema dasa for designing

the new cover and to Subala-sakha dasa for providing the

new photograph of Crila Gurudeva. This publication is yet

another manifestation of Crila Gurudeva’s great mercy.

Together we offer it into his hands and pray that he will

bless us with the necessary qualification to continue serving

him in this way. Hare KRs√a.

Chapter One

The Appearance Day of

Crila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Maharaja

Vyasa is the personality who delineated the glories of the

names, form, qualities and pastimes of Bhagavan in this

world. The ceremony to honour the acarya who, sitting on

a throne in the service of Bhagavan, preaches His glories

and attracts people towards Him is called Vyasa-puja.

Another name for Vyasa-puja is guru-puja. In India, the

general convention is that guru-puja is observed on the day

of Guru-pur√ima. It is considered Vyasa’s appearance day,

and on that day all sampradayas worship their respective

gurus. But in accordance with the scriptures, the primary

acarya of modern times, Cri Crimad Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, established special worship

of the guru on that guru’s own specific appearance day. Real

guru-puja is when, on his appearance day, the guru worships

his whole guru-parampara and instructs his disciples on how

to do the same.

In the scriptures, the glories of the guru have been

described extensively. Crila Vicvanatha Cakravarti Ehakura

has written:

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado

yasyaprasadan na gati˙ kuto ’pi

Cri Gurvas†aka (8)

By the mercy of the guru, one receives the mercy of

Bhagavan. And if one doesn’t receive the mercy of the guru,

he will never attain the kRpa of Bhagavan. In Crimad-

Bhagavatam (11.17.27) Cri KRs√a says:

acaryaμ maμ vijaniyan

navamanyeta karhicit

na martya-buddhyasuyeta

sarva-deva-mayo guru˙

One should know the guru as the acraya-vigraha and nondifferent

from Me. One should never disrespect him or

attribute faults to him by perceiving him with material

vision, for he is the embodiment of all the demigods.

There are numerous demigods and goddesses, and

amongst them Brahma, Vis√u and Maheca are primary. The

guru is the embodiment of Brahma, the embodiment of

Vis√u, and also the embodiment of Maheca. He is compared

to Brahma because just as Brahma creates this world,

the guru creates bhakti by sowing the seed of devotion in

our hearts. Vis√u is the maintainer, and gurudeva is he who

maintains our bhakti. As long as we haven’t attained the

stage of prema, he continues to strengthen our devotion. As

conditioned souls, we cannot even imagine how much

endeavour he makes for even one disciple. And as Maheca is

the destroyer, the guru destroys all of our anarthas and

aparadhas. This is why the guru is said to be the embodiment

of all the demigods.

There are so many jivas in this world, and although some

are inclined towards Bhagavan, most are averse to Him.

Their intrinsic forms are as eternal servants of KRs√a, but

forgetting this, they are wandering in material existence.

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Without bhakti they will never possess any auspiciousness.

Therefore sometimes KRs√a Himself descends into this

world, sometimes He assumes different incarnations, and

sometimes He sends His cakti in the form of the guru.

Otherwise it would be impossible for the jivas to ever

receive auspiciousness. Only by bhakti can they attain their

ultimate good fortune; yet bhakti is not a thing of this

world. Inside the eternally perfected associates of KRs√a,

the essence of the saμvit- and hladini-caktis is always present

in the form of prema-bhakti. Until the jiva receives that

essence, he will not possess any real auspiciousness. The

guru is a resident of the spiritual world, and he descends

into this world. He brings the prema of Goloka Vraja to

this world and bestows it upon the conditioned souls. Such

a great personality, an eternally perfected ragatmika devotee

who possesses vraja-prema and brings it to this world, is

known as a cuddha-guru.

As the current of the Ga∫ga carries water from the

Himalayas down to the ocean, there is a current flowing

through our guru-parampara which, beginning from KRs√a

Himself, has come down to the modern acaryas and is

presently flooding the entire material world with kRs√aprema.

This is the primary function of the guru. If someone

is not able to give this prema, then he is not really a guru at

all. Being capable of bestowing kRs√a-prema is the primary

attribute of a genuine Vais√ava guru.

Today is the appearance day of such a guru, Cri Crimad

Bhaktivedanta Vamana Maharaja, who serves as the present

acarya of the Cri Gau∂iya Vedanta Samiti. He took birth in

1916 in the district of Jessore in East Bengal, which is now

CHAPTER ONE

Bangladesh. His boyhood name was Santosa, and his paternal

uncle was one of Crila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada’s first

disciples, NRsiμha Maharaja. Vamana Maharaja’s mother

was also a disciple of Prabhupada, and she was very strict;

she would even discipline her husband. If her husband had

been eating any prohibited food, she would not allow him

to enter the house, and she disciplined the children in the

same manner. Vamana Maharaja was the oldest of her four

sons, and she was very concerned about him being influenced

by his father. So when Vamana Maharaja was only nine

years old, she took him to Prabhupada’s ma†ha in Mayapura

where NRsiμha Maharaja was already staying. When they

arrived there, NRsiμha Maharaja led them to our gurudeva,

Crila Bhakti Prajnana Kecava Maharaja, who was the temple

commander at that time. Residing in the ma†ha from that

day on, Vamana Maharaja received harinama initiation

directly from Prabhupada and has remained a lifelong

nais†hika-brahmacari.

Our Guru Maharaja immediately put Vamana Maharaja in

school and would say to him, “I will give you some chocolate

if you will recite just one cloka for me.” In this way he

learned many clokas, and Gurudeva was always extremely

affectionate to him. At that young age Vamana Maharaja

learned how to seat Vais√avas for taking prasada by giving

them a leaf to eat from and some salt and water. And after

all the Vais√avas had finished taking prasada he would clean

everything. He also learned how to cook there, and he

could very quickly prepare first-class offerings.

After some time Prabhupada departed from this world,

and then our Guru Maharaja established the Gau∂iya

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Vedanta Samiti in 1943. I joined the mission in 1946, and at

that time I saw how Vamana Maharaja was doing everything:

writing letters, managing the temple, cooking, and

travelling for preaching. Together with my godbrother

Crila Trivikrama Maharaja, we received sannyasa from

Guru Maharaja on Gaura-pur√ima in 1954. Vamana

Maharaja is a great scholar just as our gurudeva was. It has

been said that he is like a dictionary of clokas because he

knows so many verses from the scriptures. When while lecturing

Gurudeva would sometimes forget a cloka, Vamana

Maharaja would always supply it from memory. Once, when

we went to Assam for preaching, Gurudeva boldly declared

that the mouths of the people there who ate meat and fish

were like the drains of sewers. One of the sects there was

virtually prepared to stone us, and they challenged us by

saying, “You say that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Bhagavan

Himself, but what evidence is there of this?” Guru

Maharaja turned to Vamana Maharaja and said, “Speak.”

Then Vamana Maharaja recited fifty clokas one after the

other from different scriptures as evidence, and those

people were silenced.

Guru Maharaja placed the entire responsibility of editing

and publishing our Bengali magazine exclusively upon

Vamana Maharaja. From his boyhood Vamana Maharaja

studied Bhagavatam verses and their commentaries, and as

a result he can speak on Vais√ava philosophy for hours

without stopping. He is such a great scholar, and he is a

very sweet person as well. With children he is very affectionate,

and he speaks with them concerning things like

ghosts that they enjoy hearing about. He attracts everyone

CHAPTER ONE

to spiritual life, and even in an assembly of scholars, he is

always the greatest scholar. He refutes others’ misconceptions,

but he does it in such a way that their feelings are not

hurt, as if carefully performing a surgical operation.

Vamana Maharaja is very grave and quiet, and there is

another special quality that he possesses: I have seen many

people, myself included, who give explanations from the

scriptures and enjoy taking praise from others for it. But

having known Vamana Maharaja for almost fifty years, I

have never seen him do this, not even by accident. He is

also very tolerant. As if taking poison and digesting it, he

may see the faults in others, but he never speaks about

them. He has so much eagerness to preach the instructions

of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and he has preached in all the villages

of West Bengal and Assam. Bhagavan has especially

empowered this great personality with many transcendental

qualities. Today I pray to Crila Vamana Maharaja that he

will mercifully allow me to always remain as his shadow,

thereby enabling me to always follow him. I consider him to

be my ciksa-guru, because since the day I joined the mission

he has given me whatever I required with great affection.

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Chapter Two

The Disappearance Day of

Crila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Cri KRs√a chose for His pure devotee, A.C. Bhaktivedanta

Swami Maharaja, to appear on the very auspicious day

known as Nandotsava. This is the day after Janmas†ami and

the anniversary of the day on which Nanda Maharaja held

a great festival to celebrate KRs√a’s birth. This fact alone

signifies that Crila Swami Maharaja was appearing for the

purpose of performing some very important activities. His

parents were very pious and therefore gave him the name

Abhaya Cara√a. Abhaya means “fearless”, and cara√a means

“the lotus feet of the Lord”, so Abhaya Cara√a is a name of

KRs√a because only KRs√a can grant real fearlessness in this

world. Thus Swamiji was meant to give fearless shelter to

the entire world. The giving of this name was very significant

and nothing less than a divine arrangement.

I first met Swamiji in 1950 when I was staying with my

gurudeva in our temple in Calcutta. Generally all devotees

would show great respect to my gurudeva, but one day I saw

Gurudeva himself show great respect to a householder

devotee who had arrived from Allahabad. He spoke to him

with great love and affection. At the first opportunity I

asked my gurudeva, “Who is that devotee?” He replied,

“He is Abhaya Cara√aravinda. [Crila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati] Prabhupada gave him the title ‘Bhaktivedanta’,

and although he is a gRhastha, he is very learned, especially

in English and Bengali. He is a very qualified devotee.”

Then, when Swamiji saw that I was rendering so much service

to my gurudeva, he was attracted to me. He called me

over and asked me where I was from, what my name was

and so on.

When Swamiji first came to Mathura, I personally

requested him to take sannyasa. He replied that when he

was initiated by Prabhupada, he was instructed to publish

an English magazine and several books, and around the

same time he read this verse from Crimad-Bhagavatam

(10.88.8):

yasyaham anugRh√ami

harisye tad-dhanaμ canai˙

tato ’dhanaμ tyajanty asya

svajana du˙kha-du˙khitam

[Cri KRs√a said:] O King, when I favour someone, I gradually

deprive him of all his wealth. In other words when a

person, although desirous of giving up material sense gratification,

is somehow engrossed in the sense objects present

before him, he is afflicted with distress. For such a person

the removal of these objects is itself a manifestation of My

favour. When his wife, sons and relatives find him to be an

abject failure beset with repeated misery, they reject the

impoverished man.

Swamiji said to me, “For me, the meaning of this verse has

come true. All of my business ventures failed, and my family

turned against me. They used to say, ‘You are a mad person.

You are good for nothing and have spoiled everything.’ So

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I have spoiled everything, I am penniless, and now you are

telling me that I should take sannyasa.”

I used to joke with him, saying, “You desire to love your

children and your wife, but they are not interested.” I told

him at that time that he should not endeavour any longer

for these material concerns because KRs√a and Prabhupada

desired that instead he should do many very important

things, like preach in Western countries. A few days after

that, my gurudeva also came to Mathura. I requested

Gurudeva to persuade him to take sannyasa. Swamiji and my

gurudeva were very intimate friends who had lived together

for some time. They were both intellectual giants from

high-class families. Then Gurudeva called him and said,

“Naraya√a Maharaja and all the boys here in the ma†ha are

saying that you should take sannyasa, and I support them. It

will be very beneficial.” He agreed, saying, “The meaning

of that verse from the Bhagavatam has come directly upon

my head, and now I must accept sannyasa.” When the auspicious

day for his initiation came, I personally prepared his

outer cloth for sannyasa and showed him how to wear it. I

also prepared his da√∂a and performed the sannyasa-yajna

with my own hands. KRs√a dasa Babaji Maharaja was also

present there, and as he led the congregational chanting of

the maha-mantra and I recited the mantras for the yajna,

my gurudeva gave Swamiji the sannyasa-mantra.

After that Swamiji and I spent a great deal of time

together, first in Delhi and then at the Radha-Damodara

Temple in VRndavana. In those days he was mostly translating

and writing. I saw at that time how he was niskincana,

possessionless. He didn’t even have a decent cadar, so I

CHAPTER TWO

would give him mine to sit on and we would talk about

KRs√a and how to do bhajana. We would also converse

about Rupa Gosvami and he would show me what he was

writing. Then at midday we would make capatis together –

he would roll them and I would put them on the fire. He

was so qualified in every respect. He was expert at playing

the mRda∫ga, performing kirtana and arcana, writing, and

giving lectures with word-for-word explanations of Sanskrit

verses. He was always writing, chanting, and thinking about

spiritual things, and he never wasted a moment.

He expressed to me his plan: “I will go to Western countries,

start a hostel, and if necessary I will distribute eggs,

meat and wine also, having full faith that by chanting the

holy name of KRs√a, within a very few days Western people

will abandon all these bad habits.” Due to that faith and

determination, in no time his mission was spread around

the entire world. I have never seen an acarya do anything

like this before. Even Ca∫karacarya took quite some time to

spread his doctrine, and that was only in India. But in a very

short time, from 1966 to 1977, he started so many centres

for the worship of Cri Radha-KRs√a, Caitanya Mahaprabhu

and Jagannatha in Western countries, in India, in Eastern

countries – everywhere. He not only established these centres,

but he also attracted many thousands of very good boys

and made them into scholars, brahmacaris and sannyasis. As

if with a magic wand he also attracted such qualified girls,

ladies and children. He made true the prediction of

Bhaktivinoda Ehakura that Westerners would one day take

tulasi-malas and mix with their Indian brothers, chanting,

“Hare KRs√a, Hare KRs√a, KRs√a KRs√a, Hare Hare, Hare

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Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”

Through the years he wrote me over one hundred letters

from Western countries, describing how he was preaching

and what he was doing. On his request I shipped all of his

books to him from Delhi to America, and I also sent him

mRda∫gas, karatalas, deities of Radha-KRs√a and many

other items. He even wrote in one letter requesting me to

send him a milksweet named Mathura pe∂a. He was very

fond of this sweet, so I used to send it to him. And when he

first returned from America to India, I was the first person

to greet him at the airport.

There have been many preachers like Vivekananda and

others who went to Western countries, but they could not

give what Swamiji has given there. They took only their own

theories, but Svamiji gave what Cri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Himself wanted to give to this world, the holy name within

prema-sutra:1

nama-prema-mala ga∫thi’ paraila saμsare

Cri Caitanya-caritamRta (Adi-lila 4.40)

He wove a wreath of harinama and prema with which he

garlanded the entire material world.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu was maha-vadanya, the most

munificent incarnation, and similarly, Rupa Gosvami,

Sanatana Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa

Gosvami, KRs√adasa Kaviraja Gosvami, Vicvanatha

Cakravarti Ehakura, Baladeva Vidyabhusa√a and

Bhaktivinoda Ehakura were all very munificent because

CHAPTER TWO

This term means “an aphorism saturated with divine love”, in other

words the Hare KRs√a maha-mantra.

they distributed that which Mahaprabhu Himself wanted to

give. Prabhupada sent Swamiji to Western countries, knowing

that he was a very great personality and that he could

give what was within Prabhupada’s own heart. Vivekananda

and all of the other preachers went there and gave only these

four things: dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development),

kama (sense gratification) and moksa (liberation).

But they didn’t really give even moksa, so they gave only

three things. Some preachers may have tried to give moksa

there also, but not kRs√a-prema.

Because Swamiji had little time, he mostly emphasised

vaidhi-bhakti. There are so many stages of bhakti, but ultimately

bhakti means only raganuga-bhakti. He also wanted

to preach in Western countries that which Rupa Gosvami

has given in Ujjvala-nilama√i, and that which has been written

by acaryas like Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and

KRs√adasa Kaviraja Gosvami, but he could not do it at that

time. He had so little time, only ten or eleven years. So he

tried to give craddha, then nis†ha, then ruci. We should

know what nis†ha is. We are executing crava√am, kirtanam,

vis√u-smara√am, pada-sevanam, arcanam, vandanam,

dasyam, sakhyam and atma-nivedanam, as well as namakirtana,

sadhu-sa∫ga, bhagavata-crava√a, mathura-vasa and

cri murti-seva, but we should go deeply into all of these

activities. What is the meaning of nis†ha? When all anarthas

are eradicated. And what are anarthas? Those things which

entangle us in worldly intoxication. Svarupa-bhrama (not

knowing our real form), asat-tRs√a (desire for temporary

things), hRdaya-daurbalya (weakness of heart), and namaaparadha,

vais√ava-aparadha, seva-aparadha and dhama-

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aparadha – all these anarthas are mentioned in Vicvanatha

Cakravarti Ehakura’s Madhurya-kadambini. When all of a

devotee’s anarthas are eradicated, then nis†ha comes to him.

Although we know that chanting the name of KRs√a and

hearing about KRs√a are very beneficial, we do not possess

the determination by which we can constantly perform

these activities and steadily progress in bhakti. When one

possesses such unwavering determination, it is called nis†ha.

“I may die, but I cannot leave kRs√a-bhakti ” – this is nis†ha.

And when we reach the stages of ruci and asakti, it will seem

that we simply cannot live without taking KRs√a’s name or

hearing hari-katha.

There are two kinds of craddha: vaidhi and raganuga.

Swamiji gave only vaidhi-bhakti because at that time it was

not appropriate for him to explain raganuga-bhakti. He had

written something of it in his books, but because most readers

were not qualified enough to learn it at that time, he did

not explain it in detail. But by practising vaidhi-bhakti we

can eventually enter into raganuga-bhakti, which arises from

that craddha which is full of “greed”. Caitanya Mahaprabhu

descended especially to give sva-bhakti-criyam:

anarpita-cariμ cirat karu√ayavatir√a˙ kalau

samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasaμ sva-bhakti-criyam

hari˙ pura†a-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipita˙

sada hRdaya-kandare sphuratu va˙ caci-nandana˙

Cri Caitanya-caritamRta (Adi-lila 1.4)

May Cri Cacinandana Gaurahari, resplendent with the radiance

of molten gold (having adopted the splendour of the

limbs of Crimati Radhika), forever manifest Himself within

your hearts. He has descended in the age of Kali out of His

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causeless mercy to bestow upon the world that which had

not been given for a long time, the most confidential wealth

of His devotional service, the highest mellow of amorous

love.

The meaning of this verse is very deep. Mahaprabhu

came solely to give this, and Swamiji also came solely to

give this. But first he had to prepare the soil for the seed,

and so much time passed in doing that. He said that if the

philosophies of mayavada or advaitavada were not defeated

first, then bhakti could not be established. He came to this

world, as did Prabhupada before him, to fulfil the mission

of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, which is to bestow the parakiyabhava

of Vraja. They did not come to give the unnatojjvalarasa

spoken of in this verse because that is the property of

Crimati Radhika alone. Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended to

taste this, not to give it to others.

In this verse, the word sva means Crimati Radhika, and

bhakti means Her prema. Having stolen the inner bhava

and complexion of Crimati Radhika, KRs√a Himself

descended in Kali-yuga as Cacinandana. Why is He known

as Cacinandana? Because He was very dear to His mother

Caci, and His mother was very humble and merciful. Rupa

Gosvami is saying in this verse that as the mother, being so

merciful, gives her breast to her child, Caitanya Mahaprabhu

has come to give prema to us. He is KRs√a in the form of

Crimati Radhika, and Radhika is also so merciful, even more

than KRs√a. All of KRs√a’s mercy is embodied in Radhika.

So here, Cacinandana means He who is extremely merciful.

What did He give? He could not give the mahabhava of

Radhika because no one can taste the beauty of KRs√a, the

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sweetness of His form, and the sweetness of His pastimes as

She does. Mahaprabhu wanted to taste only these things as

She does, so what did He want to give? Sva-bhakti-criyam:

Crimati Radhika is sva-bhakti, the hladini potency plus the

saμvit potency. Here the word cri means manjari. So Rupa

Manjari, Ana∫ga Manjari, Tulasi Manjari, Lava∫ga

Manjari, Vinoda Manjari, Kamala Manjari, Nayana Manjari

and all other manjaris are the cri of Crimati Radhika. In Cri

Caitanya-caritamRta it has been stated that Crimati Radhika

is the root creeper, and all the gopis are the flowers, leaves

and buds. When the wind blows, all of the buds and leaves

will quiver. So if KRs√a and Radhika meet, and Radhika is

in a very pleasing mood, then all of the leaves and buds are

also pleased. If KRs√a draws any pictures on Her face or

anywhere else on Her, all the manjaris will have those same

designs on them. This is bhakti-criyam, and Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, Rupa Gosvami, Prabhupada and Swamiji all

came solely to give this: sva-bhakti-criyam, or manjaribhava.

But they all had to first prepare the soil by endeavouring

to remove all of the weeds which are very harmful to that

creeper. I have heard that Prabhupada said he had come to

this world solely to give radha-dasya, but to accomplish this

he had to do so much that his whole life was spent only in

the preparatory work of cutting away the jungle, because at

that time there was only mayavada philosophy here.

Similarly, when Swamiji went to the Western countries,

he faced much opposition from Christians. Many acaryas

went there, but their endeavours were not fruitful and

Prabhupada was not satisfied. But since Swamiji went,

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hundreds of thousands of editions of Crimad-Bhagavatam

have been published and distributed around the entire

world.

In a very short time he accomplished all of this, but he

really wanted to give manjari-bhava, so we shouldn’t be satisfied

merely with what we received from him at that time.

I feel that if he were present here today, he would be

instructing us on raganuga-bhakti. He is omnipotent and he

will inspire everything in our hearts as the caitya-guru. He

is not far away from us; we should know that gurudeva is

always with us. We should try to enter into the realm of this

raganuga-bhakti, but we should not imitate. If we imitate,

all will be ruined, so we must be careful not to behave as the

sahajiyas do concerning raganuga-bhakti. In Cri Vilapakusumanjali,

Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has prayed for the

same bhakti that Vicvanatha Cakravarti Ehakura has prayed

for in Sa∫kalpa-kalpadruma. But we shouldn’t try to go at

once into that ocean of govinda-lilamRta – we’ll be doomed.

By thoughtfully executing vaidhi-bhakti, we will slowly but

steadily enter into the realm of raganuga-bhakti. Raganugabhakti

is the ultimate goal, but we should approach it very

carefully by following the ordinary principles that

Prabhupada and Swamiji have taught.

Just before Swamiji departed this world, he begged my

forgiveness for anything he may have said or written in the

course of his preaching that may have offended me. For the

same reason he also asked me to beg forgiveness from his

godbrothers on his behalf. He said that he had brought

many new devotees to the Gau∂iya line from Western

countries. He said that since he was unable to give them

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everything in the short time he was present here, he wanted

me to give them further instruction on bhakti and to always

help them in any way I could. He also asked me to perform

the ceremony to place him into samadhi.

I know that Crila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja

was no ordinary devotee because, if he was, he would not

have been able to preach all around the world the way he

did in such a short period of time. I consider him my ciksaguru,

and he always lives in the temple of my heart because

I had such an intimate friendship with him. I think that

he is always present here with us, and I pray to him that he

will bestow mercy upon us so that we will all enter into

raganuga-bhakti and prema-bhakti in this very lifetime.

CHAPTER TWO

Chapter Three

The Disappearance Day of

Crila Bhakti Prajnana Kecava Gosvami

Our Guru Maharaja appeared in a family of landowners in

the famous village of Banaripara in the district of Jessore in

East Bengal. When he was born, his body was very soft and

beautiful, and because he had a golden complexion, his

mother and all the local ladies gave him the nickname Jona

(meaning “glow-worm”). His actual name was Bhima. For

approximately three or four months he didn’t speak or cry

at all, and his family was very worried. Then one day a

Muslim mendicant who came to their home begging said to

Gurudeva’s mother, “Your son is not speaking?”

She replied, “How did you know that? If you can, please

make him speak somehow.”

The mendicant replied, “Do one thing. In the village

there are some ‘untouchables’, persons from the cudra class

who work in the cremation grounds. They eat low-grade

rice that is left soaking overnight. Beg some of this rice

from them, feed it to your child, and then he will speak.”

Guru Maharaja’s mother was a very hard-working lady,

who mostly looked after their land. She would discipline her

children very strictly, and they would never go anywhere

without her permission. Everyone respected her. When she

approached one of these cudra families and asked for some

of this rice, they said, “How can you take this? It has been

touched by us!”

She replied, “Don’t worry; just give me some of it.”

Obtaining some of this rice, she took it back to her home

and put it before the child, and at once he started crying,

“Ma! Ma!” and began speaking from that point on.

In his boyhood our gurudeva was very close to his father,

who was especially affectionate towards him. At that time

the people of East Bengal were very religious, and there

would always be readings from Bhagavad-gita and Crimad-

Bhagavatam going on. Then the Partition came, and it was

as if the very heart of Bengal was torn out. From early

childhood Gurudeva would grasp his father’s finger and

accompany him to religious programmes, and if it was dark,

he would sit on his father’s shoulders. Thus religious

philosophy became his interest. There is a Hindi proverb,

honahara viravana ke hota cikane pata, which means that

when a sapling will grow to be fruitful, its leaves are very

big and beautiful. Coming events cast their shadow, and

from his childhood the symptoms were there that he would

become a great personality.

As he grew up, he spent most of his time in the company

of a great mahatma who had an acrama in the village. There

he would hear readings from the Gita, Bhagavatam and

Vedanta. When he was at school, at a very young age he

started his own magazine, and its language was very literary.

He was also an excellent speaker, and when he would speak

in a large assembly, there would be no need of a loudspeaker.

He didn’t know as many clokas as some devotees,

but he would give such beautiful explanations. There is one

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verse from Crimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11) of which he would

give an especially beautiful explanation:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas

tattvaμ yaj jnanam advayam

brahmeti paramatmeti

bhagavan iti cabdyate

The para-tattva is bhagavat-tattva. From brahma there is

Parabrahma, from atma there is Paramatma, and from

Vis√u there is Maha-Vis√u. But for Svayam Bhagavan

KRs√a there is no necessity of the words “Param Svayam

Bhagavan”, because KRs√a is the supreme tattva, and

brahma and Paramatma are His reflection and plenary

portion, respectively. Brahma cannot actually be called an

object, because any object must necessarily have qualities.

Brahma is the potency of an object, and can be said to be

the shelter of an object, but brahma itself is not an object.

The names brahma, Paramatma and Bhagavan are synonymous,

but Bhagavan is to be worshipped, not brahma,

because brahma is formless.

When I first joined the ma†ha, I received such special

mercy from Bhagavan that I had the opportunity to accompany

our gurudeva to many big programmes where he

would speak, and he always kept me with him. He gave my

senior godbrother Crila Vamana Maharaja the responsibility

for printing and, being a very qualified man, he has since

printed many books and magazines one after the other. In

order to help with the magazine and cooking, and to look

after many services, Guruji would keep me with him. His

style of speaking and writing was wonderful, and it was my

great fortune to hear so much from him. I always took notes

CHAPTER THREE

and stayed with him like his shadow. Vamana Maharaja, just

as now, was very quiet and didn’t speak much, but my dear

godbrother Trivikrama Maharaja and myself were very

talkative. We were always engaged in debating about this

and that, and when Guruji would become tired of us, he

would say, “Take this book – the answer is there.” These

days devotees don’t discuss topics of tattva much. Instead

they speak about the type of clothing they wear and what

kind of food they eat. When two Vais√avas meet, they

should discuss tattva, and it was our great fortune to hear

talks on bhakti-tattva from very learned devotees. But these

days hardly anyone takes the time to discuss the meaning of

the scriptures.

Guruji was so intelligent and had so much potency in

speaking that he could change yes to no and no to yes. It

was amazing; without such devotees, preaching simply

would not go on. If one of us wants to write and publish

something, we have to look in many, many books and do so

much editing, and even if five of us are working together,

we still may have difficulty writing something. But what

would Guru Maharaja do? At the annual Navadvipa

parikrama, five to seven thousand devotees would come to

offer pra√ama to him and he would speak with many of

them. Somehow, in the midst of all this commotion, he

would simultaneously dictate an article for his magazine to

Vamana Maharaja. There would not even be any necessity

to check it; at once it was ready to go to press. It was amazing

how he would never have to look in any book. When

one of us is preparing to speak something, we have to first

look in so many books. And when we listen to someone

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speak or when we read something, we have to take notes in

order to retain it. But Guru Maharaja in his whole life never

took any notes. He read so many books – his library is here

in the ma†ha [in Mathura] – but he never took any notes.

And he knew so much history; no acarya knew more history

than him. Crila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada called him a

“Vedantic pa√∂ita”.

Guru Maharaja went from East Bengal to study at a very

old and famous college near Calcutta. Many great scholars

studied there and admission was not granted to everyone.

But due to his superior intelligence he was awarded admission.

In his very first year the dean and professors would

call him to read Cri Caitanya-caritamRta to them. Caitanyacaritam

Rta was composed in Bengali, but there is no

Sanskrit book that can match its highly poetic and philosophical

language.

jivera ‘svarupa’ haya – kRs√era ‘nitya-dasa’

kRs√era ‘ta†astha-cakti’, ‘bhedabheda-prakaca’

Cri Caitanya-caritamRta (Madhya-lila 20.108)

The inherent form of the jiva is that of an eternal servant of

Cri KRs√a. The jiva is the marginal potency of KRs√a, and is

therefore simultaneously one with and different from Him.

The dean and professors were unable to explain this

verse. Even in our sampradaya you will find very few devotees

who can properly explain it. So our gurudeva would

have philosophical discussions with them, and in the end he

left that college, saying, “Even the professors here understand

nothing, so what will they teach me?” At that time

Gandhi had started his movement to oppose the British

CHAPTER THREE

government, saying, “The English must leave India; they

will not impose the salt tax.” All over India the people

revolted against the British. So many big names like

Balagangadhara Tilaka, Gorakle, C.R. Das, P.C. Raya and

Lala Laja-patarai joined the opposition movement. It was as

if the blood of India’s youth was boiling, and at once all of

India’s industry stopped. Then the English thought,

“Gandhi has so much influence?” Our gurudeva joined as

well, but when Gandhi withdrew his movement due to

violence, Guruji along with many others joined the revolutionary

party of Subash Candra Bose. Taking a knife and a

rifle, he remained hidden within the forests and jungles for

some time. At that time the British government issued a

warrant for his arrest. He later joined the Gau∂iya Mission,

and then ten years afterwards, the British government

finally came to know of his whereabouts. One day some

agents came to Mayapura with a warrant for Guruji’s arrest,

and they approached Prabhupada about it. Prabhupada told

them, “But look how he has completely changed. He has

become a sadhu, a mahatma.” After discussing the matter

with Prabhupada and considering further, they withdrew

the warrant.

Guruji was a champion footballer, and he was proficient

in all subjects; he was an “all-rounder”. He was proficient in

sports, in studying, in fighting, in managing people and in

speaking sweetly. At the age of only sixteen he was managing

all the tenants on his father’s land. He first came to the

Caitanya Ma†ha in Mayapura at that age, and desired to

receive harinama and diksa from Prabhupada. For some

time he returned to his home and went to college, but at the

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age of eighteen he returned to the ma†ha with his aunt. She

was a very scholarly lady, and together they would compose

very beautiful poems and essays. Once when they were

conversing in Mayapura, Prabhupada said, “We will go on

parikrama of the entire planet and establish one ma†ha after

the other. In England, America, and all of the holy places of

India such as Haridwara, Prayaga, VRndavana, Kaci and

South India, preaching will go on.”

Then Guruji’s aunt said, “You are seeing a very big

dream! You are like the poor man who begged a torn bag

from someone, placed it under his head and fell asleep.

While sleeping he dreamed, ‘Oh, I am a millionaire! I am

an emperor!’ Who will see to all of this?”

Prabhupada replied, “Vinoda1 will see to it.”

After this Guru Maharaja began staying in the ma†ha and

did not return to his home again. He had all of the symptoms

of a great personality on his body. His form was softer

than butter, his arms extended down to his knees, and all

auspicious signs were on his hands. He had “artist’s fingers”,

very thin and long. In the morning he would eat just a little

simple rice with some salt and then go out and work hard

collecting donations for the ma†ha all day. He would collect

one paisa from each person, rather than taking a large

amount from anyone. He would go to places where there

were large crowds such as the bus and train stations, speak

about Mahaprabhu’s doctrine to people, and take just one

paisa from each person. He would keep this money locked

up in a box that had a slot on top for the coins, and the key

CHAPTER THREE

Crila Kecava Maharaja’s brahmacari name was Vinoda-bihari

Brahmacari.

was left with Prabhupada. He would do this every day until

sunset, without even eating anything else.

One time Prabhupada was being driven along in his car

in Calcutta and he saw Vinoda resting under a tree with that

money box placed under his head as a pillow. Tears came to

his eyes and he said, “Such a beautiful young boy from a

wealthy family, only eighteen years old; and for me, for the

service of Bhagavan, he has left his parents and is undergoing

such hardships?” When Gurudeva returned to the

ma†ha that night, Prabhupada called him and said, “Vinoda,

you were sleeping on the ground at Garima†a? You are

undergoing so much hardship.”

Guruji replied, “No, this hardship is a matter of great

happiness if only you will be satisfied with me. This is my

everything. What more could I desire? If the guru is

pleased, then Bhagavan is pleased. There is nothing greater

than this.”

Prabhupada would call Guruji “Tu” or “Tui”. There was

only one other disciple for whom Prabhupada used this

affectionate name, and that was Paramananda Prabhu, who

was always with Prabhupada. Guruji was very intimate with

Prabhupada and would sleep only near him. Even if he went

to take rest at one or two o’clock in the morning, he would

knock on the door to Prabhupada’s room. The other devotees

would complain, but Prabhupada would always get up

and open the door for him.

Once Guru Maharaja was out collecting with Siddhasvarupa

Brahmacari, who later became Crila Bhakti Crirupa

Siddhanti Maharaja. They had collected one large bag

completely full with vegetables, and another half full. They

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got off the train at Howrah station, which was about five

miles from the ma†ha. There was no public transportation

which covered the entire distance at that time, and there

was no money available in the ma†ha for taking a rickshaw.

Gurudeva lifted up the full bag and said, “Let’s go!” But

Siddhanti Maharaja said, “No! You are my older brother

and my ciksa-guru. Therefore I will take the full bag!”

Guruji replied, “No, you are a small boy, my younger

brother. I will take it!” Snatching it back and forth from one

another, finally Guruji convinced Siddhanti Maharaja and

carried that weight all the way to the ma†ha. This is how he

did guru-seva. Whenever any necessity arose, Prabhupada

would say, “Where is Vinoda?”

After Guru Maharaja’s father passed away, his mother was

crying for her son Vinoda day and night, even though she

had three other sons in the house. One was a high school

headmaster who later also became Prabhupada’s disciple

and the acarya of the Gau∂iya Mission, Crila Audulomi

Maharaja. He was fluent in English, and was a very talented

speaker and writer. Vinoda was the youngest of the brothers.

His mother sent a letter to Prabhupada saying, “Please send

Vinoda for some time to attend to some work here on our

land, and when it is completed, he will return to you.” There

were some Muslim tenants who had refused to pay their rent

for about five years, so Prabhupada sent him there. Amongst

the tenants there was one gu√∂a (hooligan) who was a very

large man and the worst of them all. Guruji ordered one of

his family’s hired workers to apprehend this man and bring

him to the house. The man was beaten three or four times,

and after this all the tenants began paying their rent.

CHAPTER THREE

On Prabhupada’s land in Mayapura also there were

Muslims who were not paying their rent. Prabhupada was

thinking to sell the land, but Guruji pleaded with him to

allow him to try and procure the rent money from these

people. Prabhupada said, “What will you do? You are only

a boy of eighteen years.” Eventually Prabhupada agreed,

and Guruji had the ringleader apprehended, tied to a jackfruit

tree and beaten. Immediately all the tenants there

became frightened and began paying their rent, and Guruji

offered that money as puspanjali at the feet of Prabhupada.

But Guruji would care for those people whom he respected

more than he would for his own life. Everyone respected

him like a father.

At the end of her life, Guru Maharaja’s mother sent

another letter to Prabhupada saying, “Please send my dear

son Vinoda home for a little while.” He called Vinoda and

told him, “Your mother is dying; you must go to her immediately.”

Instead of going, Guruji went and hid somewhere

in the ma†ha for a whole day and night. When Prabhupada

came to know of it, he sent for Guruji and told him, “Your

mother is very ill. You should go to her. I instructed you to

go, so why haven’t you gone?”

Guru Maharaja replied, “Prabhu, after so many births

I have attained the shelter of your feet. By your mercy, I

have finally come to bhagavad-bhakti after so many births.

Suppose I go to my mother, and while she is taking her last

breath she places her hand on my head and says to me, ‘I am

going now. Who will look after our property? You must do

it.’ What will I do then? Having left your lotus feet, I will

again be trapped in maya.” Falling at Prabhupada’s feet, he

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began crying, and Prabhupada bestowed plentiful blessings

upon him. Until one’s determination is like this, he does

not have the qualification to leave his home and family. One

must have the understanding of a madhyama-adhikari that

the bodily relations of this material world are meaningless.

Otherwise, even without being requested, one will automatically

return to his home and family. And if he does continue

to stay in the ma†ha, it will only be for procuring money,

women and prestige. He will have only gone in a circle and

will end up back where he started. Therefore one cannot

leave his home and family until he has this qualification.

There was a disciple of Prabhupada named Rama-govinda

Vidyaratna, who was a scholar of Vedanta, the Bhagavatam

and all the scriptures. He was a very good devotee and

later became Naimi Maharaja. Once, he desired to have

darcana of Prabhupada’s guru, Crila Gaura-kicora dasa

Babaji Maharaja, and Guruji also wanted to go; so taking

Prabhupada’s permission, they went. At that time, to avoid

the trouble that ordinary people were giving him, Babaji

Maharaja had locked himself in a latrine for about a week

and was just chanting, “Hare KRs√a, Hare KRs√a...” The

news reached the district magistrate and the police superintendent,

and at once they all came running there. Seeing

that the door was locked from inside, they approached with

folded hands and said, “Babaji Maharaja, we will construct

you a very nice hut for bhajana.”

He replied, “No, this is very nice.”

“Why?”

“Because the stench of the lust of materialistic people

does not come here. I prefer the stench of stool to that.”

CHAPTER THREE

“Alright, Maharaja, we will supply you with one boy to

keep those people away from you.” Day and night they were

trying to persuade him to come out, but he would only say,

“For me, this is Vaiku√†ha.” So many times they asked him

to please open the door, but time and again he would reply,

“I am not well; I am unable to do it.” He would not open

the door for those people, and he just continued chanting

“Hare KRs√a, Hare KRs√a, KRs√a...” Then Guruji

approached the door and said, “Babaji Maharaja, we are

disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.” Hearing the name

of Prabhupada, Babaji Maharaja at once stood up. Opening

the door, he let them in and again locked the door. The two

boys offered pra√ama and, grasping the feet of Babaji

Maharaja, Guruji said, “Please give us your blessings.”

Then Babaji Maharaja told him, “I will take all of your

hardships and impediments away so you can always perform

bhajana freely – this is my blessing.” Later on, Guruji would

say on many occasions that although difficulties may have

come to him from time to time, by the mercy of Babaji

Maharaja, nothing could ever disturb him.

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Chapter Four

The Disappearance Day of

Crila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada

Today is the anniversary of the day of separation from

nitya-lila pravis†a oμ vis√upada as†ottara-cata Cri Crimad

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada. It is the

day of pancami, and he also appeared on pancami. He

took birth in the home of Bhaktivinoda Ehakura, who is

an eternal associate of both Cri KRs√a and Cri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu. Just as the sage Bhagiratha brought the

Ga∫ga to this world, Bhaktivinoda Ehakura was the great

personality who brought the current of bhakti to this world

in the modern era. When the so-called gosvamis were

making a business out of bhakti while engaging in varieties

of worldly enjoyment, when in the name of Mahaprabhu so

many kinds of bogus philosophies were prevalent, such as

sakhi-beki, smarta-jati, sahajiya, etc. – at that time Crila

Bhaktivinoda Ehakura came. After that, Prabhupada

appeared in the form of his son, Bimala Prasada. If these

two great personalities had not appeared, then cuddhabhakti

would not exist in the world today. And from the

time that they disappeared, society began reverting back to

its previous condition. At first there were thirteen known

sahajiya cults, then our Guru Maharaja, Crila Bhakti

Prajnana Kecava Gosvami, counted thirty-nine. And how

many there are now, no one knows.

I am also seeing how things are gradually changing. We

saw how renounced the devotees were before. For instance,

we never used to see socks on the feet of any Vais√ava, and

we never saw devotees wearing such sweaters and cadaras as

we do now. They only wore the bare necessities of clothing

and a cheap blanket, even as they attended ma∫gala-arati in

the morning cold. It is only after the disappearance of

Prabhupada that devotees can be seen to wear these other

things. They would live with such simplicity, eating only

cak, rice and a thin dahl, but in comparison to them, just

look at the way we are living! And I speak for myself also –

their knowledge, their renunciation and their spiritual conception

were of such a high standard that in comparison to

them we are so inferior.

The period between Vicvanatha Cakravarti Ehakura and

Bhaktivinoda Ehakura was an age of darkness for Gau∂iya

Vais√avism. Living at that time were some real Vais√avas

who performed real bhajana, but mostly, just as we still see

sometimes today, the so-called Vais√avas only performed

rituals for wages. When someone would die, people would

call the Gau∂iya Vais√ava babajis, who would come and

chant some ceremonial kirtana and perform other rituals

for wages. And there was so much misconduct in their

behaviour. Seeing this, Bhaktivinoda Ehakura thought,

“These people are Vais√avas? The conception of

Mahaprabhu has completely vanished. What can be done?”

He was very worried. Bhaktivinoda Ehakura endeavoured

to his utmost, but changes did not come about in his

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lifetime to the degree that he would have liked. He went

from town to town and village to village inaugurating the

nama-ha††a. In each village he would assemble four or five

of the religious men, form a committee and hold programmes

for harinama-kirtana on Sundays. Gradually it

spread from one village to the next, but overall his preaching

was limited to Navadvipa, Calcutta and the rest of

Bengal.

He published the magazine Sajjana-tosa√i, and through

its medium he gradually published Cri Caitanya-caritamRta

and other books in instalments. He made a circle of

devotees, and also revealed Navadvipa-dhama through his

writings, although the scholars of society and the sahajiyas

didn’t accept his ideology. Then Prabhupada appeared in

Puri. Because Bhaktivinoda Ehakura was a district magistrate,

he would be transferred here and there, but he would

always keep Bhakti-rasamRta-sindhu and Caitanya-caritamRta

with him and explain them to his son. Prabhupada received

so much instruction from him, but we should understand

that Prabhupada is an eternally liberated soul; there was no

one in the world like him. Without being educated in

school or college he learned all subjects very quickly and

became a great scholar in Sanskrit. His English was so high

that even professors of English could not understand it. I

have been told by some learned Western devotees that

when reading his Brahma-saμhita, they must repeatedly

consult the dictionary. And his Bengali was also of such a

high standard that even eminent scholars found it difficult

to follow. He said that spiritual language should be like

that; it shouldn’t be so simple to understand.

Om Tat Sat

(Continued...)

_{(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swami jis great Devotees , Philosophic
Scholars, Purebhakti dot com for
the collection)}

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Saturday, October 13, 2012