Appearance Of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

[Guest guest]

 

BY SRILA BHAKTIVEDANTA NARAYAN GOSVAMI MAHARAJA

 

Today is a very auspicious day. It is the very holy birthday of Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura, and also the disappearance day of Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja. In the evening we will glorify them, so all the devotees should be ready to be called upon.

 

I want to speak something about the glories of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada. I think that if this maha-purusa had not descended in this world, no one would have known the meaning of pure bhakti. No one would have even known the identity of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the book Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, or the books and the glorification of the Gosvamis.

 

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gave us two jewels, and one is the holy birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He manifested Gaura-dhama. Before him, no one knew where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had taken birth and no one knew where Mayapura was actually located. Secondly, he gave the jewel of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who preached throughout the world, and universe, the glorification of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, the rupanuga vicara-dhara (the conceptions of the disciplic line of Srila Rupa Gosvami), and the glories of Radha and Krsna. Before the birth of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and after the disappearance of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Srila Narottama Thakura, Sri Syamananda Prabhu and Srinivasa Acarya, and especially after the disappearance of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, pure bhakti was covered. The sahajiyas' ideas were spread throughout Vraja-dhama and Navadvipa dhama. Their influence prevailed and there was hardly any real Vaisnava.

 

In the name of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His philosophy and His prema-dharma, the sahajiyas were degraded in character and most sinful. To live with other men's widows, to dance and sing with them, and to smoke cigarettes and drink wine - this was their idea of parakiya and Vaisnava-dharma. Because of their influence, none of the learned and aristocratic persons even wanted to hear the name 'Gaudiya Vaisnavas'. They hated Gaudiya Vaisnavas.

 

The groups practicing such unauthorized worship have been listed by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: aula, baula, karttabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani sahajiya, sakhibheki, smarta, jata-gosani, ativadi, cudadhari, and gauranga-nagari. In India their main function was widow-bhajana (having illicit affairs with widows), and they maintained their lives by doing professional kirtanas during funeral processions. After following a dead body and singing, the deceased relatives would give them a donation. Vaisnava-dharma is very pure, but because of these groups all aristocratic persons began to hate it and thus it was in danger.

 

At that time Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati appeared in Jagannatha-dhama as the son of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. He was born with many symptoms of a maha-purusa, such as natural tilaka marks and the impressions of kanti-mala, on his body. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura told his wife Bhagavati-devi, "He is not an ordinary boy. An ordinary boy cannot have these natural tilaka marks, kanti-mala and other signs; and especially, he has taken birth in Jagannatha Puri. Also, I have prayed to Vimala devi, the pleasure potency of Sri Jagannatha-deva (Vimala devi is Laksmi devi, and the supreme Laksmi devi is Srimati Radhika Herself) and he has come by her mercy. The Thakura thus gave his boy the name Vimala Prasada. Prasada means mercy.

 

When the baby was six months of age he became qualified to have his anna-prasana mahotsava (grain ceremony in which a baby is fed grains for the first time). At the same time the Jagannatha Chariot Festival was taking place, and the three carts carrying Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra had been in procession and had stopped in front of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's house for three days. The Thakura was the manager of the entire festival. Therefore, without any problem or obstacle, he took his son upon the chariot and placed him in front of Jagannatha-deva. He took some prasadam from that chariot and placed it in the mouth of Vimala Prasada, and then the flower garland from the neck of Jagannatha dropped on the baby's head. The falling of the garland of Jagannatha, Govinda-deva, Gopinatha or any other deity is a very good sign, for it means the recipient is being blessed by the mercy of that deity. Thus, Vimala Prasada's anna-prasana mahotsava was observed.

 

Gradually he began to grow up, and when he became five years old Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gave him harinama and the arcana mantra for Kurmadeva. He was always with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, carrying his father's Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Ujjvala-nilamani, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and other books on his own head as he accompanied him to various places for preaching and giving classes. Thus, from the beginning of his life, very good samskaras came to him and he began to learn many things.

 

These activities are a part of his naravata-lila (human-like pastimes), because he is actually the associate of Sri Varsabhanavi-devi. He is Varsabhanavi-devi dayitaya. Dayitaya means near and dear - to Srimati Radhika. Krsna-prestaya. Krsna has so much love and affection for the manjaris, the most beloved maidservants of Sri Varsabhanavi-devi.

 

Gaura-vani-pracarine. What is the meaning of gaura-vani? This adjective has also been given in the pranama-mantra of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, but we do not go in deep to uncover its meaning. Gaura-vani means that which Gaura (Sacinandana Gaurahari) preached, and what He inspired in the heart of Srila Rupa Gosvami - the glorification of the mood of the gopis and Srimati Radhika. Gauracandra said, "O Nityananda, O Haridasa Prabhu, you should go door to door and preach, "Bolo Krsna, bhaja Krsna, karo Krsna'. This is Gaura-vani. It is also what He discussed with Sri Raya Ramananda and Sri Svarupa Damodara in Gambira, and it is especially His revelation of the meaning of ceto-darpana-marjanam, yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitam, and aslisya va .-ratam (the verses of Sri Siksastakam). This is Gaura-vani, and it is also the love and affection that Srila Rupa Gosvami explained in Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Sri Ujjvala-nilamani, Sri Vidagda-madhava and Sri Lalita Madhava. This is gaura-vani.

 

Our entire parampara descended to this world, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was the most prominent acarya of modern times. If he had not come, everything would have been transferred into sahajiya-vada - wherein all its philosophies are asat-sampradaya (outside the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings). If one is not serving his Gurudeva, if he does not have strong belief in his Gurudeva, and if he is not following his Gurudeva's line of thought, such a person must be a sahajiya as above-mentioned - and this is coming nowadays. We are preaching and therefore they are somewhat stopped, but I do not know what will happen after us. A very dangerous stage is coming.

 

Many Iskcon devotees left parama-pujyapada Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, their guru, Prabhupada, and they went to Radha-Kunda. This is because they wanted to remember asta-kaliya-lila as a 'gupi' - not gopi, but gupi - and for that offense they went to hell. Some of them became babajis, keeping two, three, or four widows with them, and they began to relish their 'parakiya-bhajana.' I know not only two, or three, or four, but so many of them. They go to Radha-Kunda because they want to jump - not to practice bhakti-yoga. They want to be gopis by paying two pennies to a bogus person who will 'give' them siddha-deha (perfected personal identity) and tell them, "You are now a gopi." Such bogus gurus will then give a name and all other information about that 'gopi.' Then after some time, such disciples imagine themselves absorbed and participating in Radha and Krsna's most confidential pastimes in the kunjas. There are also some bad-charactered persons who have been kicked out from the Gaudiya Matha, and they also went to become babajis in that asat-sampradaya. You should not try to be like that; do not go in that direction.

 

Loose-charactered or unqualified persons imagine themselves absorbed in asta-kaliya-lila of Radha and Krsna in Their midnight and end of the night (nisanta-lila) pastimes, when They meet in a kunja. If Radha and Krsna are alone, half naked and kissing each other, what will that 'meditator' think? Material ideas will come to him. He will be bound to think in this way, and this is wrong. Radha-Krsna-lila is transcendental. Only a saintly person like Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who was a brahmacari from his birth, like Narada Gosvami who is a liberated soul, or like Sankara who is an ideal personality, can think of asta-kaliya-lila.

 

Do not do this. Rather, offer pranama to these lilas and try to practice bhakti-yoga as our predecessor acaryas have taught us. Gradually step from the root of the tree, and then become qualified to climb and finally reach the top. Then you can take the fruits. Otherwise, you will only have bogus ideas. So do not go in that direction. Try to follow Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravasti Prabhupada, our Gurudeva, and Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. Otherwise, you will also be like those bad-charactered persons and you will go to hell.

 

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura later sent his son to Sanskrit college, and at the age of twelve, perhaps, he received a degree in astrology and the title Siddhanta Sarasvati. At that time he had become the champion in astrology throughout Bengal, and all the elevated panditas and scholars gave him that honorary title. Sometimes Srila Saravasti Thakura would find himself defeating their arguments, however, and that is why he left that college. Our Gurudeva also left college. They both left because they found that they had nothing to learn from their teachers.

 

During that time the governor of Bengal was Asutosa Mukarji. At that time the government in India was ruled by the British, and the British had made him governor. He was very qualified. He established the Calcutta University, and there he kept a reserved seat for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He requested him, "Oh, please come. You should be the head of the department, and you should look after it. You are the most qualified for this." Srila Sarasvati Thakura replied: "I have not come to count the stars and calculate the tithis (lunar days). I have not come to count all the grains of sands of the world. I have not come for that. I cannot fulfill your desire." As long as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was present in this world, that post was kept for him; but he never accepted it.

 

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura then thought, "What should I do for this boy?" So he established a medical dispensary and told his son, "Remain there, and somehow maintain it." He began to do so, but it failed, and the father again wondered what to do.

 

There was a king in India at that time named Munindranatha, and he was a bosom friend of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. He told the Thakura, "I want a tutor for my son. He will be the king after me, so I want a tutor." Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, "Let us try; I will tell my son to teach him." At that time the pay scale was very high - about 1000 rupees. Srila Sarasvati Thakura then went to Kasimpur, the place ruled by that king, and began to teach his son. Do you know what he taught? The entire world and all grammatical terms are Krsna. He taught as Mahaprabhu taught when He was a teacher in Navadvipa, and after some time the Prince became a very learned scholar of Vaisnava philosophy. The result was that the boy became renounced. He was not like you. Many of you have been hearing harikatha for sixteen or twenty years, but you have not become detached. On the other hand, being taught by Srila Sarasvati Thakura, he became detached from worldly ideas and possessions.

 

His mother became very upset, and she told her husband, the King: "You have only one son, and you want to make your son a sannyasi? Your only son? I do not want this. If you do so, I will take poison and die." The King became upset and asked Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura; "What should I do?" Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, I will tell my boy to return home." The King said, "I will continue to give you money, the same salary that I have been giving; but yes, he should return."

 

The king had a very big library, and Vimala Prasad studied the thousands of books there - all the Gosvami's books, Srimad Bhagavatam, the books of all the sampradayas, Brahma-sutra, and so on. Though he already knew them, just to set an example for us, Srila Prabhupada went there and studied those books. And quickly, in one or two years, he completed that study.

 

After that he returned Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura again thought: "What shall I do?" He purchased the land in Mayapura, beginning from Jagannatha Bhavan, the house of Sacinandana, up to Yoga-pitha and Chandra Sekara Bhavan and beyond. He gave the entire area to Srila Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who then began to do bhajana in Svarupa Ganja. The Thakura told him, "We have discovered the birthplace of Mahaprabhu by the help and mercy of Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja. Now you should glorify it."

 

Srila Sarasvati Thakura then made a hut and installed Sri Gauracandra, Visnupriya, Laksmipriya, and Panca-tattva. His father then told him, "You should perform arcana in the hut, and by that you can maintain yourself and also do service."

 

In general a father does not believe that his boy is very intelligent and qualified to properly accomplish tasks. Our Guru Maharaja considered us his babies and thought, "What will they do?" He told us that he had made our Gaudiya Matha temple with bricks, and added, "After I depart, if you cannot maintain yourself you should sell these bricks and somehow maintain." Similarly, Srila Bhaktivinoda used to think, "My baby boy is the same as he was earlier." Very soon however, Srila Prabhupada preached over the entirety of Bengal. He began to establish the Navadvipa-dhama parikrama and Kartika parikrama. Then, after some time, he gave sannyasa to very qualified disciples - who were only boys. At that time Pujyapada Van Maharaja, Pujyapada Sridhara Maharaja, Pujyapada Vikanas Maharaja, Pujyapada Audalomi Maharaja and many others were only about 25, 26, or 27 years - and they were the cream of all Bengal and all India. He brought them to him and gave them sannyasa and brahmacarya, and thus he established Caitanya Matha.

 

What is the meaning of 'matha'? Mathanti vasanti catraha. It is a place in which students study and learn under the guidance of their Gurudeva. It is like the guru-kulas of previous times, where the boys would study and become very qualified in all kinds of siddhanta. Srila Sarasvati Thakura established this. He also gave brahmacari-vesa (the dress and status of a celibate student) to other beautiful boys, and thus he very quickly preached all over India.

 

After some time he wished that this religion of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's philosophy also go to Western countries, and he therefore inspired Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja - Abhaya Caranaravinda. By his mercy he came and preached everywhere in a couple of years, established preaching centers, and translated and published so many books, which were then translated in all the prominent languages of the world. You have come by his mercy, but the root mercy is that of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura.

 

Gaura Premanande.

 

For more information go to http://www.gaudiya.net/.

 

To order Srila Maharaja's lectures on MP3 CD please visit http://www.sbnmcd.org/

 

Editorial advisors: Pujyapada Madhava Maharaja and Sripad Brajanatha dasa

Transcriber: Janaki dasi

Typist: Anita dasi

Editor: Syamarani dasi