Guest guest Posted November 7, 2000 Report Share Posted November 7, 2000 Sri Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji Maharaja In 1849, Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji left grhasta life after the death of his wife. He moved to Vrndavana and took initiation from Sri Bhagavata Dasa Babaji, a disciple of Sri Jagannatha Dasa Babaji. For over thirty years Gaura Kishora Dasa stayed in Vrndavana performing bhajana under the trees at GiriGovardhana, Nandagrama, Varsana, Radha-kunda, Surya-kunda, Raval, Gokula. Sitting in seclusion, he chanted 200,000 names of Krishna every day (128 rounds of japa). He felt painful separation from Radha-Govinda and cried profusely. As he wandered through the dvadasa vana (12 forests) of Vraja, he would loudly chant the holy names in a deep voice full of lamentation. He would also relish the following bhajan: kothay go prema-mayi radhe radhe! radhe radhe go jaya radhe radhe! dekha diya prana rakho radhe radhe! tomar kangal tomay cake radhe radhe! radhe vmdavana-vilasini radhe radhe! radhe kanu-mano-mohini radhe radhe! radhe astha-sakhir siromani radhe radhe! radhe vrsabhanu-nandini radhe radhe! "O Radhe Radhe! Where are You, O Goddess of ecstatic love? O Radhe Radhe! All glories to You, O Radhe Radhe! O Radhe Radhe! Please show Yourself to me and thereby maintain my life. Your most despicable fallen servant calls out to You, O Radhe Radhe! O Radhe! Oh artful enjoyer of Vrndavana. O Radhe Radhe! O Radhe! Oh enchantress of Kanu's (Krishna) mind. O Radhe Radhe! O Radhe! Oh crest jewel of Your eight main girlfriends. O Radhe Radhe! O Radhe! Oh delightful daughter of Maharaja Vrsabhanu. O Radhe Radhe!" Srila Babaji Maharaja's mood of renunciation was unparalleled. Sometimes he ate mud from the banks of Radha-kunda or the Yamuna. Other times he took madhukari from the Vrajavasis. Madhukari is a babaji's daily practice of begging a little food from one to seven houses, just as a bee collects a drop of honey from each flower. He saw all the Vrajavasis (residents of Vrndavana) as being the direct personal associates of Radha and Krishna. As a result of this vision, he would pay respects to every person, cow, animal, bird, tree, creeper, insect, ant in the holy dhama. While staying in Varsana he made a flower garland everyday for Rai and Kanu (Radha-Krishna). After thirty years of rendering intimate services to Radha and Krishna in Vrndavana, Babaji felt inspired by the Divine Couple to see Sri Navadvipa Dhama. He visited all the lila sthanas of Lord Gauranga in Gaura Mandala. In Navadvipa, he used to sing one bhajana which means, "By receiving Nitai's mercy one gets Gauranga's mercy, which makes one eligible for Krishna prema. With Krishna prema one can attain the service of Srimati Radharani and the gopis." Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji was the embodied form of Sri Rupa-Raghunatha's renunciation. Completely detached, he would wash discarded cloth to cover his body. He drank from a rejected clay pot. Parched rice mixed with Ganges water or simply some mud from Ganga's bank sustained his life. He carried two books written by Sri Narottama Dasa Thakura; Prarthana, Prema-bhakti-candrika. On Ekadasi he didn't eat or drink a drop of water. Recognizing him to be a mahabhagavata, many tried to serve, but he never accepted. Regularly, he associated with and heard Srimad Bhagavatam from Srila Thakura Bhaktivinoda in Svananda sukhada kunja in Godrumadvipa. Constantly absorbed in bhajana, Srila Babaji Maharaja had no desire to make disciples. On the request of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, however, he reconsidered. Upon seeing the true humility and deep attachment of Thakura Bhaktivinoda's s on for bhajana, Sri la Gaurakis hora D as a Babaj i accepted one disciple--Sri Varsabhanavi-dayita Dasa (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura). To keep mundane people from approaching him for material boons he once resided in the lavatories at the Kuliya Dharmashalla (in Koladvipa) for six months. When public officials came offering to build him a proper bhajana kutir, Babaji Maharaja locked himself inside and said he already had one. He believed that associating with materialistic people was much worse than the smell of stool in the latrine. Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji advised a Calcutta doctor who wanted to open a free health clinic in Navadvipa Dhama: "If you really want to live in Navadvipa Dhama, then give up your desire to run a free clinic for healing sense enjoyers. If you want to render substantial service, then renounce everything except what promotes Hari bhajana. All other kinds of duties and services simply bind one to the ghastly cycle of karmic reactions." Babaji Maharaja spoke gravely to a newly married man: "A Vaisnava wife is extremely rare and difficult to find in this world. If one has the good fortune of having one, he should see it as a benediction from Krishna. The wife worships the husband as her lord and master. Similarly, the husband should worship the wife because she is Krishna dasi, a secant of Krishna. In this way, the husband can protect his devotional enthusiasm by not considering his wife to be his maidservant, but she is always the maidservant of Krishna." "One who wants bhajana (eating palatably) will spoil his bhajana," was a favorite quote of Srila Babaji Maharaja. In other words, eating here and there simply to gratify the tongue (bhojana) destroys any attempts to worship Krishna (bhajana). Once a devotee ate some festival prasadam in his bhajana kutir. Babaji Maharaja would not speak to him for three days. On the fourth day he said, "You accepted "festivalprasadam" given by low class harlots and beautiful women. Because you took food without considering its origin your bhajana is useless." The essence of Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji's instructions: "The Divine Name of Krishna offers the one and only shelter. One should never try to remember Radha-Damodara's transcendental pastimes by artificial methods. Constant chanting of the Divine Names will purify the heart. By chanting Hari Nama the syllables of the maha-mantra (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare) will gradually reveal the spiritual form, qualities, pastimes of Sri Krishna. Then you will realize your own eternal spiritual form, service, and the eleven particulars of your spiritual identity." In pursuance of Babaji Maharaja's statement, "drag my dead body through the streets of Navadvipa," a group of so-called advanced devotees proposed to commit the said sacrilege. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, however, challenged them: "According to sastra, one who has had carnal association with a loose woman within the last twenty-four hours is contaminated, and therefore not qualified to touch my Guru Maharaja." Hearing this bold statement, the black-hearted brahmanas made a hasty retreat. On 19 November 1915, Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji Maharaja joined the eternal blissful pastimes of GandharvikaGiridhari. His beloved disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, established his samadhi on the banks of Sri Caitanya Matha's Radha-kunda, near Lord Caitanya's Yogapitha in Sridhama Mayapur. In Vraja lila he serves Srimati Radharani as Guna-manjari. His pushpa samadhi stands besides the Radha-Kunja Bihari Gaudiya Matha near Radha-kunda. GAURAKISORA DASA BABAJI: He was the guru of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, the founder of the Caitanya Mathas and Gaudiya Mathas. This Vaisnava saint's life was an example of utter humility and poverty, the true attributes of a Vaisnava. Gaurakisora never accepted any material object from anyone. For his clothing he used the discarded loin cloths from corpses left on the bank of the Ganges. For food, he would collect rice by begging, soak it in river water, and garnish it with salt and chilly. He never asked favors from anyone and lived a fully detached life, devoid of all possessions. Very little information is available about the past life of Gaurakisora except that he was born in a Vaisya family in the village of Bagjana near Tepakhola on the bank of the Padma. As a householder, Gaurakisora was known by the name Vamsidas a. At that time he was engaged in some agricultural trade and from the income took care of his wife and family honestly. After the death of his wife, Gaurakisora renounced his home and went to Vrndavana, where he was initiated into Vairagi Vesa by Bhagavata dasa babaji, one of the foremost disciples of Jagannatha dasa babaji. Gaurakisora lived on madhukari and slept beneath a tree. He would lie prostrate, offering his humble obeisances to the residents of Vraja, considering them as embodiments of Lord Krsna. He even offered his obeisances to the flowers, trees, and land around him. He spent about thirty years at Vrajamandala serving the deities there. Afterwards, perhaps by the direction of the Supreme Lord, he left for Navadvipa. During his stay at Navadvipa, Gaurakisora underwent various transformations of spiritual moods. Sometimes he danced on the bank of the Ganges chanting, "Gaura, Gaura", while at other times he would lie on the ground in an unconscious state. He joyfully moved throughout the groves located on the bank of the Ganges, considering them sites of the divine sports of Radhagovinda. His only clothing was a strip of cloth around his waist and often went totally naked. He chanted japa on beads or sometimes knotted a cloth and used that as a substitute for japa beads. Occasionally, he went to Godruma to listen to Bhaktivinoda Thakura recite Srimad Bhagavatam. Every virtuous person looked forward to rendering service to Gaurakisora. However, he rarely allowed anyone the chance to serve him. Once Manindracandra Nandi, the Maharaja of Kasimbazar, sent a distinguished messenger to escort Gaurakisora to the former's palace. Gaurakisora, however, did not accept the Maharaja's invitation saying that if he visited the palace he may feel tempted by the wealth of the Maharaja which may result in a strained relation between the two. Hence, Gaurakisora suggested that instead of him visiting the palace, let the Maharaja free himself completely from the shackles of wealth by donating everything he owned to his relatives and then come to live with Gaurakisora in a specially prepared shed where both of them could practice Haribhajan in peace." Gaurakisora was very selective about accepting invitations for food. He believed that partaking of food here and there could adversely affect the spiritual life of a devotee. Once a devotee name Harenbabu partook of prasada offered at the festival held at Bhajan-kutir at Navadvipa. For this Gaurakisora stopped communicating with Haren for three days. On the fourth day Gaurakisora explained that the prasada of the above festival had been financed by a woman of questionable profession. Once, on the eve of Sanatana Gosvami's disappearance day, Gaurakisora decided to celebrate the occasion. The devotee attending him asked who would provide them with the materials for the celebration. Gaurakisora replied: "Remember not to speak to anyone about it. We shall miss a meal and continue around the clock chanting the holy name. This could be the typical festival for those of us who have taken the vow of poverty." Narendra Kumar Sen, a resident of Agartala (Tripura), once approached Gaurakisora to learn about Guru-pranali or Siddha pranali. Gaurakisora told him, "The Supreme Lord cannot be realized through worldly knowledge. Only through the chanting of the holy name can the true nature of the Lord be revealed. As the Lord is revealed from the letters comprising the Nama, the devotee gradually begins to understand his own nature and becomes acquainted with seva. Once a physician told Gaurakisora that he intended to move to Navadvipa and take up charitable practices. Gaurakisora advised the physician that if he truly desired to live in Navadvipa then he should give up the plan for a charitable practice because it would only encourage materially minded people to save money. Those who sincerely practiced Hari bhajan should never get distracted by the chains of welfare activities. A young seeker wearing a kaupina, once stayed with Gaurakisora for some days. later he arranged, through the agency of an employee of a female estate owner, to obtain five kathas of land as a donation from the woman. When Gaurakisora heard about this he was extremely annoyed: "Navadvipadhama is beyond this material world. How can a worldly land-owner dare to hold land here and even think he can donate five kathas out of it? A mere grain of sand of the transcendental Navadvipa is more valuable than all the precious gems in this world put together. Moreover, how advanced could this young kaupina-clad devotee be if he dares to collect so much land in lieu of his bhajan merit?" Once a devotee offered some sweets to Lord Gauranga and then took the offering to Gaurakisora, urging him to partake of it. Gaurakisora told the devotee, "Those who are non-vegetarian, those who commit adultery, or offer food to Lord Gauranga with a particular motive, their offerings never reach Lord Gauranga and are never sanctified as prasada." Gaurakisora regularly begged for rice, after which he would cook the rice, offer it, and partake of the prasada. He never touched any foodstuff offered by someone else. Once during monsoon, Gaurakisora stayed in the rest-house at Phulia Navadvipa. Some prasada was left in a vessel for him to respect later. Meanwhile a snake passed by the vessel and a woman there happened to notice it. When Gaurakisora sat down to take prasada the woman appeared there and informed him about the snake. Gaurakisora, however, firmly stated that he would not touch the prasada until the woman left. After the woman left, Gaurakisora said, "Look how maya works! Taking the form of compassion, maya attempts to hit deep into her target slowly. Maya can assume countless forms. She always prevents a mortal being from practicing Haribhajan." Giribabu and his wife once ardently requested Gaurakisora to stay in their house at Navadvipa. Gaurakisora was moved by their sincere devotion and finally agreed to oblige them on the condition that he would live only in their toilet room where he would perform Hari bhajan. Giribabu tried to persuade him to change his mind but Gaurakisora remained firm. Giribabu reluctantly arranged to have the toilet thorougly cleaned and Gaurakisora used it for Haribhajan. A realized soul can practice Haribhajan anywhere in an unconcerned manner, and wherever he resides, that place becomes Vaikuntha. Gaurakisora was a highly spiritually advanced soul. He never allowed deceitful practices or any discussion which was not within the purview of the holy books. One day when a devotee questioned Gaurakisora about a well-known reiciter of Srimad Bhagavatam who was in the habit of chanting "Gaura, Gaura", Gaurakisora remarked, "He doesn't say "Gaura, Gaura. Rather what he means to say is, `Money, Money.' Those who recite Srimad Bhagavatam for payment are not entitled to chant the name of the Supreme Lord." Gaurakisora never delivered discourses openly, yet his spotless character drew everyone to him. Upon meeting Gaurakisora, even a staunch materialist would become inclined take up Haribhajan. In November 1915 AD. on Ekadasi day, Gaurakisora dasa babaji breathed his last. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati himself arranged to bury the mortal remains of his revered guru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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