Guest guest Posted October 1, 2001 Report Share Posted October 1, 2001 Dear Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Maharaja, Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Shrila Prabhupada and Shri Shri Gaura-Nitai! > who is this sadhu, nayana ranjana? Is he staying with you? which matha is > he from? I've never heard of him before. [Note: Since Maharaja has asked this question in a public conference, I have posted the reply also on the conference. I hope the conference members will tolerate this message (which may be kind of personal) on the conference considering my genuine attempt to always serve them in the past. If any devotee does not like the posting of this message, please delete it. I promise I will not post anything more on this subject.] It is me. Maharaja, I want your causeless mercy so that I can please Srila Prabhupada and Gaura-Nitai by preaching their mission according to their desires. I also take this opportunity to fall at the feet at all the assembled Vaisnavas in this conference and beg for their mercy. Please cast an affectionate glance upon me and thus I will get the strength to stick to my sannyasa vow for the rest of my life. I accepted the sannyasa order on the 18th Sept. from Param Pujyapad Bhakti Kumud Santa Maharaj. godbrother of Srila Prabhupada and disciple of of Om Visnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He is 88 years old and resides in Behala, Calcutta. He has been naishthika brahmacari for 77 years and been trained and cared for by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta from 11 years of age. As per your instructions to me regarding reinitiation, I had earlier surrendered to and accepted harinam and diksha on 15th Sept from Param Pujyapad Bhaktisastri Sri Parampada Prabhu (101 years in age, residing in Ambika Kalna), also godbrother of Srila Prabhupada and disciple of of Om Visnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I saw in him all qualities of a bonafide spiritual master. Extreme humility, strong attachment to chanting the name, service to the instructions of his guru maharaj till the end of his life, pride in having Srila Prabhupada as his godbrother and great praise & respect for his books and his achievements, following sadhana bhakti practices like mangal and sandhya arotik even in ripe old age, etc. etc. While studying Prabhupada's instructions, I came across the following statement from Srila Prabhupada in Cc Adi 7.163 purport: PEOPLE FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD SHOULD BE TRAINED TO PREACH AND BE GIVEN SANNYASA WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION SO THAT LORD CAITANYA'S MOVEMENT INCREASES BOUNDLESSLY #####Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has already sanctified the entire universe by His presence five hundred years ago, and therefore anyone who attempts to serve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sincerely by following in His footsteps and following the instructions of the acaryas will successfully be able to preach the holy names of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra all over the universe.##### There are some foolish critics who say that Europeans and Americans cannot be offered sannyasa, but here we find that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to preach the sankirtana movement all over the universe. For preaching work, sannyasis are essential. These critics think that only Indians or Hindus should be offered sannyasa to preach, but their knowledge is practically nil. WITHOUT SANNYASIS, THE PREACHING WORK WILL BE IMPEDED. Therefore, under the instruction of Lord Caitanya and with the blessings of His associates, there should be NO DISCRIMINATION in this matter, but people in all parts of the world should be trained to preach and given sannyasa so that the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement will expand boundlessly. We do not care about the criticism of fools. We shall go on with our work and simply depend on the blessings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates, the Panca-tattva. Cc Adi 17.265 When one is found to be regularly following these principles, he is given the first initiation (hari-nama), and he regularly chants at least sixteen rounds a day. Then, after six months or a year, he is initiated for the second time and given the sacred thread with the regular sacrifice and rituals. After SOME TIME, when he advances still further and is willing to give up this material world, he is given the sannyasa order. At that time he receives the title svami or gosvami, both of which mean "master of the senses." SB 7.15.30 purport: This is the process for conquering the agitation of the mind. One is recommended to take leave of his family and live alone, maintaining body and soul together by begging alms and eating only as much as needed to keep himself alive. Without such a process, one cannot conquer lusty desires. Sannyasa means accepting a life of begging, which makes one automatically very humble and meek and free from lusty desires. In this regard, the following verse appears in the Smrti literature: dvandvahatasya garhasthyam dhyana-bhangadi-karanam laksayitva grhi spastam sannyased avicarayan In this world of duality, family life is the cause that spoils one's spiritual life or meditation. Specifically understanding this fact, one should accept the order of sannyasa without hesitation. Letter to: Tamala Krsna, Columbus, Ohio, 13 May, 1969 So now I have to create more sannyasis to lecture on our philosophy, and I shall pick these sannyasis from the brahmacaris who are firm in their decision not to marry. Letter to: Gurudasa: New Delhi, 21 August, 1975 The purpose of sannyasa is that now one has no hindrances for preaching work. The purpose is to increase preaching. So if one takes sannyasa and does not increase preaching, then there is no value. So you take this opportunity seriously, and preach and inspire others to also preach. SB 7.13.34 purport: A sannyasi should have an institution meant to preach Krsna consciousness; he need not accumulate money for himself. Letter to: Mahatma, Bombay, 1 May, 1974 Taking of sannyasa order is in one sense only a formality. I was preaching and writing for eight or nine years as Vanaprastha and then in 1959 I took sannyasa. So if after a few years as Vanaprastha your behavior is ideal sannyasa can be considered. >From Jaiva Dharma by Thakura Bhaktivinoda: Ananta dasa: You ask many questions at once. Can I reply in a single answer? Being young or old has no bearing on renunciation. By purification in past lives or in this life a young man may become qualified to renounce household life. From his very birth Sukadeva Goswami was qualified for renunciation. One should see if the qualification is genuinely there. It should not be artificial. If he is genuinely renounced, there is no harm in a young man accepting the renounced order. [Here it is clearly said that age is not a factor for accepting the renounced order.] Regarding of my accepting sannyasa outside of ISKCON, Prabhupada states in the SB Introduction: When Kesava Bharati came to His house, the Lord asked him to award Him the sannyasa order of life. This was a matter of formality. The sannyasa order is to be accepted from another sannyasi. Although the Lord was independent in all respects, still, to keep up the formalities of the sastras, He accepted the sannyasa order from Kesava Bharati, although Kesava Bharati was not in the Vaisnava-sampradaya (school). If ISKCON does not have the facility of giving sannyasa till 50 years of age and if one is personally feeling a great desire to renounce and full concentrate on preaching, then I don't think it is a great crime to accept the formalities of the sannyasa order from another Gaudiya Vaisnava sannyasi. I did not do it whimsically. HH Mahanidhi Maharaj was telling me from Vrindavana to take sannyasa and preach for the last one year. He has also sent me blessings for accepting sannyasa recently. Also HH Subhaga Maharaja in Mayapur kindly guided me and gave me his blessings when I told him about my desire. Some devotees may argue that I have done it a very young age etc. but Prabhupada made a statement (which I cannot find now) that he could do so much preaching after 70 years age. But he is making young sannyasis and thus he expects thems to do much more because they start off at young age. Ofcourse it was his humility but we see that in the preaching missions of both Prabhupada and Bhaktisidhhanta that they gave sannyasa to qualified brahmacaries after 5 to 7 years in the movement. Infact HH Bhakti Caru Swami got all three together. According to SP, sannyasa is simply meant for preaching. At 50, active preaching surely becomes difficult. Especially nowadays after 50 years, the body becomes very weak and the enthusiasm to preach is not supported by the body. We see many of the present sannyasis have lot of problems with the body even though they are only around 50. This is bound to happen because of the degrading environment in Kali-yuga. I felt that if I start now atleast for the next two decades I can preach will full energy and capacity. From the very beginning I had not much desire to enter into married life and have maintained a strict standard in my dealings in the brahmacari ashram. I took harinama and brahminical initiation for a third time from Param Pujyapad Bhaktisastri Sri Parampada Prabhu, godbrother of Prabhupada and disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. You wrote to me by quoting a few verses that I have to COMPULSORILY accept the pancaratriki mantras again to be able to chant them properly. Also in the Hari-nama-cintamani, it is specifically mentioned that if your guru was bonafide earlier but he falls down later, one should again accept a sadguru to be able to purely chant the holy name. >From Hari-nama-cintamani by Thakura Bhaktivinoda Sastha pariccheda: Gurvavagya Kon sthane guru tyaga korite haibe- Now I will discuss the situation when one can give up one's spiritual master. Tave jodi erupa ghatana kabhu haya. Asatsange gurura jogyata haya ksaya.. It unfortunately happens sometimes that by bad association, the spiritual master looses his qualifications. Prathame chilena tini sadguru-pradhana. Pare nama-aparadhe haina hatagyana.. In the beginning when the guru gave initiation to the disciple, he was sadguru-pradhana or a very qualified bona-fide spiritual master but later due to get involved with the ten offenses, his knowledge was diminished. Vaisnava vidvesa kori' chadi' nama-rasa. Krame krame hana artha-kaminira basa.. He gave up relishing the chanting of the Holy Names due to his envy towards the Vaisnavas. Due to this he gradually came under the control of the desires for money and women. Sei guru chadi' sisya Sri Krsnakrpaya. Sadguru labhiya punah suddhanama gaya.. One should reject such guru and again accept an advanced bonafide spiritual master and thus again relish the pure chanting of the Holy Name. _ Also since there is no clear stand on reinitiation even among the senior devotees, I decided that I should look again for an advanced spiritual master whom I can surrender to and who will inspire me to follow Prabhupada's vani throughout my life and alongwith that I can have an official connection with the parampara. But I did'nt want a calamity to happen in my life for the third time in regard to my spiritual master. By the unlimited grace of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, I was fortunate to obtain the association of Param Pujyapad Bhaktisastri Sri Parampada Prabhu, godbrother of Prabhupada and disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, residing at Ambika Kalna. He is 101 years old. I stayed with him for many days and found him all the wonderful qualities of a guru. He is extremely humble towards each and every person even though being so much senior in age. He is completely attached to chanting the holy name and preaches very strongly the importance of the chanting the holy name to every person he meets. He always repeats the verse which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta quoted to him at the time of initiation: nama bhaja, nama cinta, nama kara sara, ananta krsnera nama mahima apara. He obtained the title of Bhaktisastri from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and served was as the headmaster of the Bhaktivinoda Institute at Yogapitha in Mayapur for many years. That is why he is very learned in the scriptures and I closely observed that his preaching was on the same lines as our beloved Prabhupada. Even in this very mature age he attends the mangal-arotik and sandhya-arotik programs in his temple. He never speaks a single word criticizing any vaisnava and always glorifies the devotees who come to meet him. He especially glorifies Prabhupada and is proud to call himself his godbrother. He has followed the instructionms of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta till the end. He was told by his guru maharaj to serve his parents till the end of their lives, as his parents were great devotees and fully surrendered disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. Their names were Shri Krsnadasa Adhikari Kaviraja and Parama-bhaktimati sri-yukta kaisori sundari dasi. He met Prabhupada in Navadvipa and Prabhupada also told him that he was very fortunate to have such exalted parents. They both had a very friendly relationship. He never took sides in the trouble in Gaudiya Math after the disappeareance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. He peacefully shifted to Ambika Kalna alongwith his parents and kept on serving the instructions of his guru maharaj. He came with his parents to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in 1920. His parents were initiated immediately and he was initiated (harinam and diksha) in 1927. Bhaktisiddhanta was very pleased with him and gave him the service of delivering Ganges water to each and every devotee everyday morning. He put his hand on his head saying that he should not fear and stay in Navadvipa with his parents. Navadvipa (Mayapur) at that time was a forest with very less facilities. There is so much to say but I will keep it brief. He is very respected in ISKCON Mayapur and is very intimate friend of HH Subhaga Maharaja. He explicitly instructed me to fully dedicate myself to the siksha of Srila Prabhupada and preach the message of Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Mumbai as per the desires of Srila Prabhupada and his Guru Maharaj and do whatever is favourable to preach in a mass way. Inspite of his failing heath he most mercifully agreed to initiate me and thus I took harinam and brahmin diksha on 15 Sept 2001. He gave me blessings and permission to accept the sannyasa order of life and recommended and directed me to his godbrother HH Bhakti Kumud Santa Maharaj in Behela, Calcutta who is also 88 years old. He came to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta when he was 11 years old and since them he has been a naisthika brahmacari for around 77 years. On the recommendation of his godbrother and on deciding about my qualification, HH Santa Maharaj kindly gave me sannyasa on 18 Sept 2001. I also asked his blessings so that I can surrender to the vani of his godbrother Srila Prabhupada and he happily gave it. It is my deep realization that the diksha and sannyasa have actually helped me tremendously to dedicate myself fully to Prabhupada's instructions. Some devotees raise the point that who told me to translate Caitanya-bhagavata. HH Bhakti Vikasa Maharaj has given me his blessings regarding the translation work. He also feels it is a very important project for preaching to the common man. Also Prabhupada has said very clearly in the Cc Adi 8.36 purport: Under these circumstances, it is a great aid for the common man to read Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura's Caitanya-bhagavata, for thus he can actually understand devotional service, Krsna, Lord Caitanya and Nityananda. [...]Due to misunderstanding Srimad-Bhagavatam, people are misled regarding the science of Krsna. However, by reading Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura's book one can very easily understand this science. (*difficulty for the common man in understanding Srimad-Bhagavatam) So if Caitanya-bhagavata is a great aid for the common man it should be made available in all the regional languages at very affordable prices then it will reach the common man. So I am sure Prabhupada will be very pleased if some devotee takes up this project for the Indian languages because no one has done so far. I am simply trying to fulfil Prabhupada's open desire in Cc and I don't feel that it requires more authorization. Also I am not writing new books, I am simply translating. For a sannyasi also Prabhupada's instructions is to write books and hold discourses: SANNYASIS FIRST DUTY IS TO CONTRIBUTE LITERATURE AND HOLD DISCOURSES SB 2.2.5 purport: The first duty of a person in the renounced order of life is to contribute some literary work for the benefit of the human being in order to give him realized direction toward self-realization. Amongst the other duties in the renounced order of life of Srila Sanatana, Srila Rupa and the other Gosvamis of Vrndavana, the foremost duty discharged by them was to hold learned discourses amongst themselves at Sevakunja, Vrndavana (the spot where Sri Radha-Damodara Temple was established by Srila Jiva Gosvami and where the actual samadhi tombs of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Jiva Gosvami are laid). For the benefit of all in human society, they left behind them immense literatures of transcendental importance. Cc Madhya 19.132 purport: It is certainly not good to write literature for money or reputation, but to write books and publish them for the enlightenment of the general populace is real service to the Lord. That was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's opinion, and he specifically told his disciples to write books. He actually preferred to publish books rather than establish temples. Temple construction is meant for the general populace and neophyte devotees, but the business of advanced and empowered devotees is to write books, publish them and distribute them widely. According to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, distributing literature is like playing on a great mrdanga. Consequently we always request members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to publish as many books as possible and distribute them widely throughout the world. By thus following in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami, one can become a rupanuga devotee. NOD 7: In other words, a spiritual master needn't be very enthusiastic for constructing temple buildings simply in the name of so-called spiritual advancement. Rather, his first and foremost activity should be to preach. In this connection, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja recommended that a spiritual master print books. If one has money, instead of constructing costly temples, one should spend his money for the publication of authorized books in different languages for propagating the Krsna consciousness movement. TLC: Lord Caitanya's Mission Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed His disciples to write books on the Science of Krsna, a task which those who follow Him have continued to carry out down to the present day. NOD 7: Therefore, in the line of Lord Caitanya even the sannyasis can speak about Krsna consciousness everywhere, and if someone is seriously inclined to become a disciple, the sannyasi always accepts him. The one point is that without increasing the number of disciples, there is no propagation of the cult of Krsna consciousness. Therefore, sometimes even at a risk, a sannyasi in the line of Caitanya Mahaprabhu may accept even a person who is not thoroughly fit to become a disciple. Later on, by the mercy of such a bona fide spiritual master, the disciple is gradually elevated. However, if one increases the number of disciples simply for some prestige or false honor, he will surely fall down in the matter of executing Krsna consciousness. PRABHUPADA WANTED THE BOOKS OF THE PREVIOUS ACARYAS TO BE PUBLISHED: SB Intro: Many devotees of Lord Caitanya like Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura, Sri Locana dasa Thakura, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, Sri Kavikarnapura, Sri Prabodhananda Sarasvati, Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and in this latter age within two hundred years, Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana, Sri Syamananda Gosvami, Sri Narottama dasa Thakura, Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura and at last Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (our spiritual master) and many other great and renowned scholars and devotees of the Lord have prepared voluminous books and literatures on the life and precepts of the Lord. Such literatures are all based on the sastras like the Vedas, Puranas, Upanisads, Ramayana, Mahabharata and other histories and authentic literatures approved by the recognized acaryas. They are unique in composition and unrivaled in presentation, and they are full of transcendental knowledge. Unfortunately the people of the world are still ignorant of them, but when these literatures, which are mostly in Sanskrit and Bengali, come to light the world and when they are presented before thinking people, then India's glory and the message of love will overflood this morbid world, which is vainly searching after peace and prosperity by various illusory methods not approved by the acaryas in the chain of disciplic succession. Instructed to one of his disciples in Los Angeles (Siksa-guru by Sivarama Swami pg 233): I want all the books of Bhaktivinode Thakura translated into English. So my position is this. Atpresent I want to put my head into it and complete the Hindi translation of Caitanya-bhagavata which will form the basis of the translations into Marathi & Gujarati. Then I want to publish a fast selling English edition as well. This may take atleast 6 months. I want to do something wonderful for the sole purpose of mass distribution of Caitanya-bhagavata and Prabhupada's books especially in Mumbai where there is tremendous scope for mass book distribution. I have no other desire for money, followers, big projects etc. I know this from the depth of my heart and I don't want to prove it to anyone. Let others feel otherwise. I am not much worried about what others will feel as long as my desire is genuine because I have to answer Gaura-Nitai and Prabhupada. Only that I have decided to accept everything which helps me to fulfil this goal of mass book distribution. Atpresent I do not know how to do it but if Lord Caitanya wants he will inspire me. I want to do it separate from the present ISKCON setup because I am very afraid of getting involved in Vaisnava-aparadha and institutionalized beaureaucracy. I feel wherever there is a genuine desire to please Prabhupada and Gaura-Nitai, ISKCON is there. Let us see the essence and attitude not just the externals. I wanted to remain aloof from any direct involvement in the institutionalized problems facing present day Iskcon. Srila Prabhupada never wanted his sannyasa to become involved with institutionalized politics. A sannyasi should try his best to protect his bhakti seed from Vaisnava-aparadha. The sannyasa ashram is not the proper platform for political engagement. I have been praying to Lord Caitanya to protect me from the regular onslaught of Vaisnava-aparadha. Even though some may simply criticize me for serving outside of the official ISKCON, I will never see myself as separate from the goal to fulfil Prabhupada instructions. And that imho is the real ISKCON. I owe my present state of spiritual standing due to the kind association of the devotees in ISKCON. ISKCON has nourished my spiritual life all along and given me shelter for many years. If it was not for ISKCON, I would not be in the position I am atpresent. So I will never speak in any way to bellittle or undermine ISKCON. I will always praise ISKCON in public for its achievements and would like to cooperate and serve the ISKCON authorities in any way they would like if it is in my capacity and not against my project. Even though ISKCON devotees may criticize me due to their ignorance about my intentions, I will never retaliate or slander anyone in return. Because I want to preach separately for the very purpose to avoid all this. Prabhupada said that there is unlimited scope to preach in Mumbai and there can atleast 20 preaching centers here. There are 20 million people in Mumbai. And I am especially interested to plan a project for mass distribution of gaura-lila and Prabhupada's books in all mediums possible. It may take me many many years to fulfil this dream but I will patiently carry forward success or no success. Atleast if nothing comes up I can keep on distributing myself for the rest of my life. I would suggest that if anyone has any doubts or advice or clarifications or comments of any kind, then they can please write to me personally. I will consider it their mercy. I have many more things to say but I would not like to take too much of your time. I would again repeatedly beg you and all the assembled Vaisnavas on this conference that please be kind upon me and don't kick me away from your lotus feet. Even if you feel I am committing a mistake, the father does not reject the child because of that. bhakta-svabhava ajna dosa ksama kare. Devotees by nature always forgive the mistakes of the foolish and ignorant persons. Maharaja, I have always seen you as my siksha-guru and have got unlimited inspiration and enthusiasm from you in the matter of brahmacarya and memorizing verses. I always want to keep on doing so. Your hopeful servant, Tridandi Bhikshu Bhaktiratna Sadhu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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