Vrajamandala with Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Vrajamandala with Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj

Part1: Mathura Krishnaloka is described in Srimad Bhagavatam (10.20.47):

 

“From the transcendental realm which is called Krishnaloka, there emanates a glowing effulgence that resembles the tail of a comet. This glowing effulgence is unlimited, immeasurable and unfathomable. Within this effulgence there are innumerable glowing planets, each of them self-luminous. Somewhere, a limited part of that glowing effulgence is covered by material energy, just as a part of the sky is covered by a cloud. Within this material energy there are innumerable universes, in every universe there are innumerable material planets, and the earth is one of these planets. Thus we can understand what an insignificant part of the entire cosmos is this globe on which we live.”

 

His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj reached Vrindavana on 14 October 2002 for the one month long Vrajamandala Parikrama. Speaking on the subject "Who will show us Vraja-dhama?", Srila Tirtha Maharaj ji said that only a tatvik-vrajavasi like Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarawati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad can give us the knowledge of Vraja-dhama. Quoting from Srila Prabhupad’s discourses of the 1932 Parikrama of Vrajamandala, Srila Tirtha Maharaj explained the significance of doing circumambulation of dhama. "This world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. All act as purushas and want to enjoy and lord it over others. If we want Sri Krishna to appear in our heart, we will have to make our mind Vrindavan. Unless we do this Sri Krishna will not appear. In Vrindavan, Sri Krishna is the only Enjoyer and Master. He is ‘Purushottama’, the highest Person, all else are His prakriti."

 

Srila Tirtha Maharaj went on to describe how all the holy scriptures of India describe the glories of Vrajamandala, the land where Sri Krishna appeared 5000 years ago. Also known as Vrajabhumi or Vraja, the abode of Sri Krishna is the most sacred place of pilgrimage. ‘Vraj’, ‘Mathura’, ‘Vrindavan Dham’, not only refer to the place located in the cultural and linguistic region of Vraja situated on the banks of the Yamuna river in the present day Uttar Pradesh (U.P, India) but, in the spiritual sense, this is the celestial transcendental abode of the Supreme Personality of the Godhead, Sri Krishna.

 

In the minds of devotees, there is no doubt that the spiritual abode of Krishna, descended as earthly Vrajamandala or Vraja-dhama. This terrestrial dhama is as much transcendental as the celestial abode. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said that just as Sri Krishna is worshipable, His abode, Vrajamandala, is also worhsipable. Even the trees, creepers, rivers, ponds, streets etc., of Vrajamandala are as worshipable as the Lord. In Srimad Bhagavatam it has been stated, “Vrindavan-dhama is non-different from Sri Krishna because the Name, Form, Attributes and the Place where the Lord appears are all identical with the Lord”. In the words of the great Gaudiya poet sage, Sri Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, "Vrajamandala manifests its true form only to those who look upon it with the eyes of love". We have to follow a pure devotee of Sri Krishna to get those eyes of love. Hearing from a bonafide sadhu is the best way of getting the true knowledge of the abode of Sri Krishna.

 

On the evening of 16 October, Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj came to the first camp of this year’s Vrajamandala Parikrama, Mathura. Devotees from all over the world arrived for participating in the Parikrama, which commenced on 17 October.

 

Mathura is one of the sapta-puris, the seven holy cities of India. All major Puranas mention the name of Mathura, but only the Ramayana and the Harivamsha Purana describe the origin of the place. Traditionally founded by Madhu Daitya, the city was rehabilitated by Sri Shatrughna, the youngest brother of Lord Rama, after conquering the region from Lavana, the tyrannical son of Madhu. The first reference to Mathura can be traced back to Atharva Veda in the sloka: ‘tadvishnu paramam padam sada pashyanti surya diviva chakshuratatam’.

 

Long after the time of Shatrughna, there came the Shursena dynasty in which Lord Sri Krishna appeared in Dvapara Yuga. Mathura was widely known when Kamsa, the cruel king, made it his capital. Lord Sri Krishna rescued people from Kamsa. Later, Yudhishthir Mahraraj enthroned the great grandson of Sri Krishna, Vajranabha, who established the major temples of Vrajmandala. Most of these temples and their deities are still worshipped even today.

 

(Humbly and anonymously submitted to us by members of GOKUL from Vraja-mandala parikrama)