Devananda Pandita

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December 29th, 2002, Sunday (Dasami)

The Disappearance Day of Sri Devananda Pandita

 

SRI DEVANANDA PANDITA

 

Sri Devananda Pandit used to live at Kulia. He was a famous reciter

of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and many people used to study the Bhagavatam under

his guidance.

 

One afternoon, Srivasa Pandita came to hear Devananda Pandit's

recitation of the Bhagavatam. Hundreds of students were seated around the

Pandit and some were following his reading in their own personal copies of

the manuscript.

 

Srivasa Pandita was a very advanced devotee and thus, when the sweet

nectar of the Bhagavatam entered his ears, his heart became softened in love

of God. He started to cry and roll on the groung, his body having become

agitated by the waves of ecstatic love.

 

When the students of Devananda saw this, they thought, "This fellow

must be crazy. He is disturbing our hearing of the recitation. Get him out

of here." Thus they picked him up and carried him outside. Though Devananda

saw all this taking place, he didn't prevent those foolish students of his

from commiting this offense. As the guru was ignorant, so his students were

sinful.

 

Srivasa said nothing, but simply went to his house feeling very sad.

All of this accured before the appearance of Sri Gaurasundara.

 

During Mahaprabhu's exhibition of His divine positon as the Supreme

Personality of Godhead for twenty-one hours, He asked Srivasa if he

remembered this incident.

 

One day, when Mahaprabhu was taking a stroll around Nadiyanagara, he

came to Mahesvara Visarada Pandit's house. At that time Devananda resided

there. Mahaprabhu heard him reciting the Srimad-Bhagavatam from outside and

became very angry.

 

"What purport will that rascal explain? Not in any of his births has

he understood the meaning of even one verse of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The

Bhagavatam is the avatara of Sri Krsna in book form. Devotion is the only

subject it teaches. The four Vedas are like yoghurt and the Bhagavatam is

like butter. Srila Sukadeva Gosvami did the churning and Maharaja Pariksit

ate that butter. Sukadeva Gosvami is very dear to Me. He knows very well

that the Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant to describe the truth about Me according

to My own likings. Whoever sees any difference between Me, My own devotees

and the Srimad-Bhagavatam simply brings destruction upon himself." [C.B.

Madhya 21.13]

 

Mahaprabhu made these statements in a voice loud enough for

Devananda to hear. Then He turned to go back to His home. The devotees

following Him begged for more mercy. He continued, "All the scriptures state

that the Srimad-Bhagavatam enunciates the highest realization. Without

having understood any of this, simply for the sake of name and fame as a

religionist and a scholar, he poses himself as a teacher of this great book.

But he doesn't know the purport.

 

"Only one who has understood that the Srimad-Bhagavatam is verily

the inconceivable intelligence of the Supreme Lord Himself knows that the

only meaning of the Bhagavatam is devotion. In order to understand the book

Bhagavata, one has to serve the devotee-Bhagavata."

 

Devananda could hear all of these remarks from the distance, yet he

thought nothing of it.

 

After some time Gaurasundara accepted sannyasa and went to live at

Nilacala. It was then that Devananda at last began to feel some remorse.

"Such a great soul, totally imbued with love of God, but I never went even

once to have his association."

 

One day Srila Vakresvara Pandita came to Kuliya to visit the house

of one devotee there. In the evening he held a festival of dancing and

chanting the Holy Name. Devananda was present on this occasion, and was

completely stunned by Sri Vakresvara's effulgence and ecstatic chanting and

dancing. As the night progressed more and more, people came to listen to his

kirtan until there was finally a huge crowd. Devananda took a cane and began

to control the crowd so that Vakresvara's dancing wouldn't be disturbed.

 

When Vakresvara fainted in ecstatic love, Devananda carefully put

his head on his lap and brushed the dust from his body with his own upper

cloth. Then he smeared that dust on his own body. That day his service to

the devotees had its auspicious beginning.

 

After some days, Mahaprabhu returned to Bengal to see his mother and

the holy Ganges. He also came to Kuliya. At that time thousands upon

thousands of people came to have darsana of His lotus feet. All of those who

had previously committed offenses against Nimai Pandita by thinking Him to

be an ordinary human being now came to seek His forgiveness; Mahaprabhu

forgave each and everyone of them. Among those present was Devananda, who

fell down on the ground to offer his obeisances to Mahaprabhu. From that

moment he became one of the Lord's foremost devotees.

 

Still, he felt a little hesitant, and thus upon getting up, he stood

to one side. Mahaprabhu addressed him, "Because you have served My dear

devotee Vakresvara, I am now pleased with you. By that service you have now

been able to approach Me. Within Vakresvara's person is Sri Krsna's complete

potency. Whoever serves him must receive Krsna's mercy."

 

Devananda, in a faltering voice replied, "You are the Supreme

controller. Simply for the sake of reclaiming fallen souls You have advented

Yourself here at Nadiya. I am a sinful wretch and have never served Your

lotus feet and thus was cheated of Your causeless mercy for so many years.

Oh my Lord, Who resides with in the heart of all living entities, You are

Supremely merciful. Only because You have shown Yourself to me have I been

able to see You. O most compassionate One, please instruct me. Let me know

the actual purport of the Srimad-Bhagavatam."

 

Mahaprabhu replied, "Now hear Me, O brahmana, and know that the only

way to explain the verses of the Bhagavatam is in terms of bhakti. In the

beginning, middle and end of the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is only one

teaching: devotion to Visnu, which is eternally perfect and which is never

destroyed or diminished."

 

"As Krsna's various incarnations such as Matsya and Kurma appear and

disappear in this world by Their sweet will, in the same way, the

Srimad-Bhagavatam is not made or composed by any person. It makes its

appearance and disappearance by its own sweet will. Due to the appearance of

devotion, the Bhagavatam blossomed forth from Vyasadeva's mouth, by the

mercy of Sri Krsna.

 

"As the truths regarding the Supreme Authority are inconceivable, so

are the truths of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Many may pretend to know its meaning

but they have no real grasp of the evidence the Bhagavatam presents. But

whoever who simply remembers the Srimad-Bhagavatam while admitting himself

to be ignorant can understand the real meaning.

 

"The Bhagavata, which is saturated with loving devotion for Krsna,

is an expansion of Krsna Himself and contains descriptions of His most

confidential pastimes." [C.B. Ant. 3.505-516]

 

"Now you should beg forgiveness by catching hold of Srivasa Pandit's

feet. The book Bhagavata and the devotee Bhagavata are not different. If the

devotee Bhagavata is merciful to us, then the book Bhagavata manifests its

true meaning."

 

Then Devananda fell at Srivasa Pandita's feet and begged

forgiveness. Srivasa embraced him and his offense retreated far away. All

the devotees shouted in ecstasy, "Hari bol! Hari bol!"

 

His disappearance is on the 11th day of the dark fortnight in the

month of Pausa.