Hari Das Thakur Samadhi Math

[Jagat]

From Sri Kshetra.

 

Hari Das Thakur’s tirodhäna-lila took place on the fourteenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Bhadra. The site where Mahaprabhu and His devotees buried him has been preserved to this day on the beach near the Svarga Dwar. Many important memorials and samadhis of great Gaudiya Vaishnavas such as Gopal Guru Goswami and his disciple Dhyana Chandra are also found in proximity to Hari Das Thakur’s samadhi.

 

The entire area around the Svarga Dwar was formerly the town’s cremation ground. There is a shrine to Hanuman named Shmashan Mahavira bearing testimony to the beach’s ancient vocation. Old accounts also say that the Vaishnava residence known as Sri Chaitanya Mandali was built near the cremation ground. As the town’s population grew and the area around the Svarga Dwar was inhabited, however, the cremation ground was moved several kilometers to the east, beyond Chakra Tirtha.

 

Some people say that Vaishnavas used to practice their bhajan here precisely because it was a cremation ground, but it is not a Gaudiya Vaishnava custom to engage in practices of this sort, as do some Tantriks. If Vaishnavas came to live and worship in this area, it was because Mahaprabhu Himself had declared the area sanctified by the touch of Hari Das’ sacred body. Indeed, it was the proximity to Hari Das’ samadhi that resulted in the Satasan Math being built here, attracting many great Vaishnavas like Svarupa Das Babaji and Bhaktivinoda Thakur.

 

Towards the end of the 19th century, different factions claimed proprietorship of the Samadhi Math, with the result that a long court case ensued. Many people at that time requested Bhaktivinoda Thakur to take over the management of the temple, but he was not eager to get entangled with those who saw holy sites such as this as nothing more than a piece of mundane property to be fought over. He thus built his place of worship a little distance from the Samadhi Math and only served it indirectly.

 

According to the sadhus at the Siddha Bakul Math, the two maths were once under united management, with disciples of Siddha Bakul Math serving as the Samadhi Math's mahantas. The temple was thus originally in the hands of renounced Vaishnavas, who held that it was no one’s personal property. Later, however, the seva was given over to householders, the descendants of Mamu Thakur, ostensibly to place it on a more secure footing. Eventually, the seva was inherited by Vraja Sundari Debya and Rami Debya, the daughters of Dayamayi Debya. Unfortunately, Rami Debya’s son Kunja Bihari Deva Goswami did not follow the minimum standards of Vaishnava conduct and, in order to fuel his desire for material sense gratification, he mortgaged Tota Gopinath’s seva to the mahanta of the Trimali Math, a Ramanujaite institution near the Boro Deul. The period of the mortgage was one year, for which he received the sum of Rs. 2500. When only two months were left before the debt became due, it was clear that Kunja Bihari would not be able to pay his creditors. At this point, Charan Das Babaji’s disciple Ram Das Babaji offered to pay it off if Kunja Bihari turned over the seva of Hari Das Thakur’s samadhi to him. Kunja Bihari agreed and the temple was given to Ram Das Babaji in 1906.

 

However, matters did not stop there. Dayamayi Debya's will turning over proprietorship of the Tota Gopinath Math to Kunja Bihari Goswami was illegal, so her other daughter, Vraja Sundari Debya, and grandson, Gopinath Deva Goswami, challenged it in court. Since the matter was before the courts when Kunja Bihari signed over the Hari Das' samadhi to Ram Das Babaji, they also challenged the legality of this agreement. When Gopinath Deva Goswami and his mother won the court decision, Ram Das went to them and begged them to allow him to continue running the temple. He promised to run the temple piously through donations and to maintain the highest standard of service. He was able to convince Vraja Sundari, and she signed a paper relinquishing any claim to the Samadhi Math.

 

An annual stipend of Rs. 50 used to come to the Samadhi Math from the royal coffers, but this was stopped when the court cases began. The Tota Gopinath temple adhikari, Padma Charan Dasji, claimed that this stipend should thenceforth be given over to the Gaura-Gadadhar deities established by Mamu Thakur in the Tota Gopinath Math. After fighting for this stipend for many years, he finally managed to win the favor of the royal house, but this victory was shortlived and the stipend stopped again.

 

The temple building on the site of the Hari Das Samadhi Math were built after Ram Das Babaji took over the seva. An unusual feature of the temple is the three figures of Gauranga, Nityananda and Advaita Prabhus, who are seated as if in meditation. Usually, the three Prabhus are conceived in dancing form. The only place where there is another such deity is the meditating Gauranga inside the Jagannath temple itself, in the northeast corner of the inner compound. This Gauranga deity was installed, it is said, by Prataparudra himself. The devotees at Hari Das Thakur’s samadhi say that the deities of the three Prabhus date from not long after Mahaprabhu’s disappearance. Many people refer to Hari Das’ Samadhi Math as “Bhajan Kuti.” They say that this is because after Hari Das’ disappearance, whenever Sri Chaitanya went for His bath in the sea, He would stop here to sit and chant the Holy Names for a while. He also continued bringing Jagannath’s maha prasad to Hari Das at his samadhi. The three seated deities are a reminder of this particular lila.

 

The three Prabhus each have their own room and altar. Mahaprabhu occupies the central room, Nityananda is to His right, Advaita to His left. Carved in pillars on either side of the central door are figures of Jaya and Vijaya and Jagai and Madhai. Jagai-Madhai are, of course, incarnations of Jaya-Vijaya in Gaura lila.

 

[Jagat]

Everyone who has read the Chaitanya Charitamrita is familiar with the account of Hari Das Thakur’s auspicious disappearance from this world:

 

One day, Mahaprabhu’s servant Govinda went to Hari Das’ cottage to give him prasad, as was his custom. When he came there, he saw that Hari Das was lying down and chanting softly. Govinda told him to sit up and take prasad, but Hari Das said, “I will pass today. I have not yet finished chanting my Holy Names, so how can I eat? And yet I cannot show disrespect to Lord Jagannath’s maha prasad.” So saying, he took only a single morsel of the holy food.

 

The next day, Mahaprabhu Himself came to see Hari Das and asked him how he was. Hari Das paid his obeisances and said, “My body is well, but my mind and intelligence are not.” The Lord asked, “What’s the matter?” Hari Das replied, “I can no longer maintain my vow of chanting three lakhs of names every day.” Out of affection for Hari Das, Mahaprabhu told him that there was no need for him to show such attachment for the practice of devotional service in practice since he was a perfected being. He could thus reduce the number of Holy Names he chanted every day. Hari Das then in great humility revealed what was really bothering him.

 

“Lord, I know that it will not be long before You end Your pastimes in this world. This has been bothering me for some time. I would not be able to stand living in this world without You, so please let me leave first. Let me give up my life with Your feet on my heart, my eyes fixed on Your face and my tongue uttering Your name, ‘Sri Krishna Chaitanya!’ Let my body drop in Your presence. This is my request. You are the compassionate Lord, so please fulfill my request.”

 

The Lord answered, “The all-merciful Lord Krishna will surely give you whatever you ask. But whatever pleasure I get in living comes from you. You are My companion, is it right for you to leave Me like this?”

Hari Das grabbed the Lord’s feet and said, “Don’t play with me, Lord. I am most unworthy, but please grant me this boon.” He continued with great humility –

 

<center>mora shiromani kata kata mahashoy

tomar lila-rahasya koti-bhakta hoy

ama hena jadi eka kita mori gelo

pipilika maile prithivir kanha hani hoilo

bhakata-vatsala tumi mui bhaktabhas

avashya puribe prabhu mora ei ash</center>

 

<blockquote>"There are so many thousands of devotees who participate with You in Your pastimes, all of whom are superior to me. If a little insect like me should disappear, what difference will that make to You? If an ant dies, how does that affect the world? You are kind to Your devotees, so please grant me this wish, even though I am only the shadow of a devotee.” (CC 3.11.40-42)</blockquote>

 

The following morning after seeing Lord Jagannath, Mahaprabhu came to Hari Das Thakur’s cottage with Svarupa Damodar, Raya Ramananda, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, Vakreshwar Pandit and many other associates. Hari Das paid his obeisances to the devotees; Mahaprabhu asked him how he was and Hari Das answered, “It is as You wish.” Mahaprabhu gave the order for kirtan to begin and His companions formed a circle around Hari Das. He then began to glorify Hari Das unreservedly, to the amazement of all the devotees who came one by one and bowed before the Thakur and touched his feet.

 

Krishna Das writes –

 

<center>haridas nijagrete prabhure basaila

nija-netra dui bhringa mukha-padme dila

sva-hridaye ani dhori prabhura charan

sarva-bhakta pada-renu mastaka bhushan

sri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu balen bara bar

prabhu mukha madhuri piye netre jala-dhar

sri-krishna-chaitanya shabda karite uccharan

namera sahit prana karila utkraman

maha-yogeshwar praya svacchande maran

bhishmer nirjan sabar hoilo smaran</center>

 

<blockquote>Hari Das made Mahaprabhu sit down in front of him and placed the bees of his eyes on the Lord’s lotus face. He took the Lord’s feet and placed them over his heart, then took the dust of the devotees’ feet and sprinkled it on his head. Then, as the tears flowed from his eyes, he drank in the vision of the Lord’s face and repeated the words, “Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu!” As he said these words, “Krishna Chaitanya,” he breathed his last, voluntarily leaving his body like a great yogi and making everyone think of Bhishma. (CC 3.11.53-57)</blockquote>

 

The devotees’ kirtan grew louder and louder, and the Lord lifted Hari Das’s body and started to dance ecstatically around the courtyard. Svarupa Damodar took control of the situation and had them make a pallet on which to place Hari Das’ remains. Krishna Das Kaviraj paints a vivid picture of the scene that followed:

 

<blockquote>The devotees placed Hari Das Thakur on the pallet and took him to the seashore in the midst of loud singing of the Holy Names. Mahaprabhu danced at the head of the procession, followed by Vakreshwar and the other devotees. They washed Hari Das’ body in the sea and the Lord said, “Now the sea has truly become a holy place”; then He and the devotees drank the water that had washed Hari Das’ feet. They then smeared his body with Jagannath’s prasadi sandalwood pulp and dressed it with prasadi cloth and silk Rathayatra ropes. After this they dug a hole in the sand and laid him in it.

 

All around the devotees sang kirtan, while Vakreshwar danced ecstatically. Gauranga shoulted “Haribol, Haribol!!” and threw a handful of sand on Hari Das’ body. They made a pile of sand over the body and then covered the sandpile with a cloth. The kirtan continued, making a great tumultous noise that filled the air. Then, after Mahaprabhu and the devotees had gone into the ocean and bathed, they circumambulated Hari Das’ samadhi amidst the sounds of the Holy Name. (CC 3.11.62-72)<blockquote>

 

[Jagat]

Just to complete the article.

 

<h2>On Hari Das’ Samadhi</h2>

 

<h3>(A Saragrahi Vaishnava)</h3>

 

O! Born of Moslem parents, Hari Das!

And trained in youth in Moslem creed,

Thy noble heart to Vaishnava truth did pass! –

Thy holy acts thy candour plead!

 

Is there a soul that cannot learn from thee

That man must give up sect for God?

That thoughts of race and sect can ne’er agree

With what they call Religion broad?

 

Thy love of God and brother soul alone

Bereft thyself of early friends, --

Thy softer feelings oft to kindness prone

Led on thyself for higher ends!!

 

I weep to read that Kazees and their men

Oft persecuted thee, alas!

But thou didst nobly pray for th’ wicked then!

For thou wert Vaishnava Hari Das!!

 

And God is boundless grace to thee, O man!

United thee to one who came

To save the fallen souls from Evil’s plan

Of taking human souls to shame.

 

And he it was who led you all that came

For life eternal, -- holy, -- pure!

And gave you rest in Heaven’s enduring name

And sacred blessings ever sure!

 

Thy body rests upon the sacred sands

Of Svarga Dwar near the seas,

Oh! Hundreds come to thee from distant lands

T’ enjoy a holy, thrilling glee!

 

The waters roar and storming winds assail

Thy ears in vain, Ah! Vaishnava soul!

The charms of Vrindavan thy heart regale,

Unknown the wheel of time doth roll!!

 

He reasons ill who tells that Vaishnavas die

When thou art living still in sound.

The Vaishnavas die to live and living try

To spread a holy life around!

 

Now let the candid man that seeks to live

Follow thy way on shores of time,

Then posterity sure to him will give

Like one song in simple rhyme.

 

[Jagat]

<center><h2>Siddha Bakul Math</h2>

 

(taken from Sri Kshetra)</center>

 

The Siddha Bakul Math stands on the place where Hari Das Thakur used to live and chant the Lord’s holy names in the last years of his life. It is no longer accessible from the Radha Kanta Math, but must be approached through a small side road to the east of the Svarga Dwar Road.

 

Krishna Das Kaviraj tells how Hari Das came to live there:

 

After Mahaprabhu returned from his pilgrimage to Southern India, word was sent to Bengal and as quickly a large group of devotees immediately set forth to see Him. In the meantime, Snana Yatra had taken place and Lord Jagannath was absent from the temple during Anasar. Mahaprabhu felt the separation from Jagannath so intensely that He went to stay in Alalanath. However, when word came to Him that more than 200 devotees had come from Bengal to see Him, he returned to Kashi Mishra’s house where they were like a flood, overflowing the residence. One by one, Mahaprabhu greeted all His Bengali associates, but when He observed that Hari Das Thakur was not there, He inquired whether he had come. In fact, Hari Das was there, but out of humility, he was paying his obeisances on the other side of the road. The devotees went to Hari Das and told him that Mahaprabhu wanted to see him. Hari Das said,

<blockquote>

”I am a low-born person who has no good qualities. I have no right to go near the temple. If I can find a solitary place to stay in some garden somewhere, then I will pass my time there alone. That way there is no danger that the servants of Jagannath will accidentally touch me. This is my wish.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.11.165-7)

</blockquote>

The devotees came back to Mahaprabhu to report what Hari Das had said, and this wish pleased Him. So the Lord asked Kashi Mishra for another cottage near His own place of bhajan. He said,

<center>

AmAr nikaTe ei puSpera udyAne

eka-khAni ghara Ache parama-nirjane

sei ghara AmAke deha Ache prayojan

nibhrite basiyA tANhA karibo smaraN

</center><blockquote>

“In the flower garden next door is an empty cottage, that is very secluded. Please give me this cottage, for I need it. I will go there to sit and meditate on the Lord.” (CC 2.11.175-6)</blockquote>

 

Kashi Mishra was happy to have another chance to serve the Lord by making these arrangements according to His order. The Lord then went Himself to Hari Das, lifted him from the ground, embraced him, and began to extol his qualities. Hari Das answered, “I am an untouchable. Lord, you should not touch me!” The Lord, however, answered Him by saying:

 

<blockquote>”I touch you just to become purified, for the standard of holiness you have achieved is far beyond Me. It is as though you are bathing at every moment in the waters of every single holy place; are performing all religious sacrifices, penances and charity. You are constantly performing the pious activity of studying the Veda. You are thus holier than any Brahmin or sannyasi.” (CC 2.11.189-191)</blockquote>

 

After saying this, the Lord took him to Kashi Mishra’s flower garden and gave him the solitary room there as a place to stay. “Stay here and chant the Holy Names. I will come here every day to visit you. From here, you can see the Lord’s discus on the pinnacle of the temple tower. Whenever you see it, pay your obeisances. I will arrange for Lord Jagannath’s prasad to be brought to you.” (CC 2.11.193-95)

 

One can still see the pinnacle of the Jagannath temple from the Siddha Bakul Math, but it is not as easy as it once was for though this was previously a large secluded garden, a wall has been built around it and the neighborhood has also become densely populated.

 

The Siddha Bakul Math was once known by the name Mudra Math, but was subsequently renamed in honor of the ancient bakul tree that stands on the premises. There is a legend connected with this tree. Lord Jagannath’s sevakas give Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra twigs to clean their teeth every morning. These twigs are usually taken from the kumbha tua tree. One day, however, one of the three twigs was lost and they hurriedly replaced it with one from a bakul tree. It is also customary for the sevakas to give the prasadi twig afterwards as an honor to some special person. On that particular day, they gave the bakul twig to Mahaprabhu. The Lord was ecstatic at this sign of Jagannath’s grace and planted it in the ground at Hari Das’ place of bhajan. The twig eventually grew into a large tree, under which Hari Das often sat to chant the Holy Names.

 

During the period when Hari Das Thakur’s successor Siddha Jagannath Das Goswami was the math’s mahanta, the king sent people to cut down the tree, as extra wood was needed for the Rathayatra carts. Jagannath Das tried to dissuade them from doing so, citing the tree’s sacred origins and association with the memory of Mahaprabhu and Hari Das. When Jagannath Das saw that his entreaties were falling on deaf ears, he finally gave up, taking it as Lord Jagannath’s desire. The king’s representatives told Jagannath Das that they would come the next day to cut down the tree, but that night, it suddenly became hollow. Naturally, the tree became useless as a provider of wood, and so the sacrilegious act was called off. From then on, the tree was named “siddha bakul.”

 

It is said that the Lord planted the twig on the first day of the Orissan month of Chaitra, also known as Maha Vishuva Sankranti. In memory of this event, a festival named the Danta-käñöha-ropaëa Mahotsava is held on that day ever year. As a part of the ritual, the tree is given a formal bathing with 108 jugs of water.

 

The temple building houses a wooden six-armed figure of Lord Chaitanya, to whose right stands Nityananda and left, Advaita Acharya, and deities of Radha-Govinda. There is also a wooden murti of Hari Das Thakur, which is not in the deity room itself, but in a shrine just outside it, in the Jagamohan. Hari Das is seated and holds a japa mala in his hand, chanting the Holy Names as he did throughout his life. On the north side of the temple, directly attached to the building, is shrine dedicated to Lord Nrisingha. It is said that this shrine has been there since before Hari Das came to live there.

 

At one time there was a good manuscript library in the Math, but sometime in the early part of the 20th century it was regrettably neglected and many valuable books were lost. One of those manuscripts was an Orissan verse translation of the Bhagavatam by Dina Krishna Das. This translation was especially dear to Gaudiya Vaishnavas, who felt it was better written and truer to the Bhagavata’s teachings than the more generally used Oriyan Bhagavata written by Atibori Jagannath Das. Unfortunately, no copies of this translation can be found anywhere any more. Other rare books in this library included Gaura-krishnodaya, an original biography of Mahaprabhu written by the Orissan poet Govinda Deva.

 

This math is also not without controversy. The guru-parampara of the Siddha Bakul Math is given by those currently in charge as follows –

 

(1) Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

 

(2) Srila Hari Das Thakur

 

(3) Siddha Sri Jagannath Das

 

(4) Sri Narahari Das Mahanta Goswami

 

(5) Sri Gaura Hari Das

 

(6) Radha Mohan Das

 

(7) Gopi Mohan Das

 

(8) Bhagavan Das

 

(9) Gopi Charan Das

 

(10) Shyama Charan Das

 

(11) Sadhu Charan Das

 

(12) Narahari Das

 

(13) Balaram Das

 

(14) Paramananda Das

 

(15) Balabhadra Das

 

Siddha Jagannath Das was a very powerful Vaishnava. His reputation reached the king of Puri, who wished to donate a great deal of land to the Math. Jagannath Das refused these gifts, however, saying that he preferred to serve the deities with whatever he could beg through the madhukari system. Following Sri Narahari Das, all mahantas of this Math are given the title “Mahanta Goswami.”

 

According to Balabhadra Das, the temple management changed hands at the time of Bhagavan Das. His successor, Gopi Charan Das Mahanta Goswami, started accepting land holdings in the name of the Deity.

 

The Radha Kanta Math does not accept the above parampara. Its authorities give the following history of the math according to their records: Since the Siddha Bakul Math was formerly Kashi Mishra’s garden, it was originally part of the Radha Kanta Math. It was given the name Siddha Bakul because Hari Das Thakur attained perfection (i.e., left his body) under this bakul tree. The original Mahanta of Radha Kanta Math was Vakreshwar Pandit Goswami; he was succeeded by Gopal Guru Goswami, whose disciple was Dhyana Chandra Goswami, who was followed by Balabhadra Goswami. Balabhadra had two disciples – Dayanidhi and Bhagavan Das. Balabhadra gave Bhagavan Das responsibility for the Siddha Bakul Math, which was given independent status as the sixteenth branch (adhikäri-maöha) math of the Radha Kanta Math. According to this account, Bhagavan Das was the first mahanta of the Siddha Bakul Math. Bhagavan Das was succeeded by Gopal Charan Das, Shyam Charan Das, Sadhu Charan Das, Narahari Das, Balaram Das, Paramananda Das, and Balabhadra Das, respectively. The present mahanta is thus in the twelfth generation after Vakreshwar Pandit.

 

According to the Radha Kanta Math, the tilak and other symbols of the parampara coming from Vakreshwar were used in the Siddha Bakul Math until 1942 when they were changed by Balabhadra Das. To further support their claims, the Radha Kanta Math points to the tradition that whenever a new mahanta was named at Siddha Bakul, the mahanta of the Radha Kanta Math would be present and would give him a special gift.