Archive for January, 2001

Vrindaban Unlike Navadvipa-dhama, offenses in

Dhanurdhara Swami January 21st, 2001

Vrindaban

Unlike Navadvipa-dhama, offenses in Vrindaban are not pardoned so easily. The devotees feel more pressure here. I am confident, however, that if the devotees
maintain their sincere mood of approaching the dhama, they will enter?although it may take time.

Actually there is no difference between Navadvipa-dhama and Vrindaban-dhama. It is the same entity manifesting different moods, just as even an ordinary man can sometimes be sweet, sometimes magnanimous, and sometimes be sad. Bhaktivinoda Thakur gives a great explanation of this in his Nabadvipa
Mahatmya:

“Krsnaloka exists in two states of emotion. Rasa expands there in the form of madhurya and audarya, sweetness and munificence. Audarya exists within madhurya in fullness, and madhurya exists within audarya in fullness. But, that place where madhurya is the chief state is known by fortunate persons as Vrindaban. And that place where audarya is eternally predominant is called Nabadvipa in all the Vedas. There is no difference between Vrindavan and Navadvipa, only the different manifestations of rasa make them different.? (Navadvipa-dhama Mahatmya)

A few of the devotees became ill the last day in Mayapur and, therefore, the trip to Vrindaban was difficult for them. We will take it easy today and only visit Srila Prabhupada’s house in the ISKCON’s temple compound. As this was Srila Prabhupada’s residence in Vrindaban, many wonderful pastimes were enacted here including his glorious passing from this world. Although I never considered myself fortunate to have had much personal association with Srila Prabhupada, I was surprised by how much I remembered of what I personally witnessed here.

I spoke of the time when Srila Prabhupada had a dream that he would be cured by a rare type of medicine made with crushed diamonds and prepared by a kaviraj with thick white and red ramanuja-tilak. I remembered how devotees were sent to somehow find him. I was also there when one of the devotees returned and excitedly told Srila Prabhupada that he had found the kaviraj. He explained that while searching for the doctor in Delhi he just happened to have met a friend in Delhi who had just seen a local kaviraj. When he inquired from his friend what the kaviraj looked like, it became apparent that he was the kaviraj in Srila Prabhupada’s dream?a Ramanuja-kaviraj making the rare medicine Srila Prabhupada wanted!

Tamal Krishna Maharaja was sitting at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada at the time. I remember his reaction. He looked at Srila Prabhupada and exuberantly exclaimed, “Srila Prabhupada! This is like living the Caitanya-Caritamrita! ?

What Maharaja said was so true. The world around Srila Prabhupada’s room had a very mystical sense?like a stage for a divine drama. It seemed as if it was something you only read about, but we were there as personal witnesses to Srila Prabhupada?s lilamrita.

I spoke for several hours and it brought my consciousness back to the mood of intense devotion that was manifest when Srila Prabhupada lived there. Actually, a magic still pervades his rooms. Srila Prabhupada said that Vrindaban is his home, so visiting his home in Vrindaban and meditating on his mood here was the proper way for us to enter Vrindaban and begin our parikrama.

Calcutta/Delhi/Vrindaban- -Ekadasi Up very early

Dhanurdhara Swami January 20th, 2001

Calcutta/Delhi/Vrindaban- -Ekadasi

Up very early as we need to leave Mayapur by 4AM to catch our plane. A last thought:

Since I have lived in Vrindaban for over twenty years and have my heart there, devotees who go on pilgrimage with me usually also become more inclined to Vrindaban than Mayapur. I think this year it may be different. A strong sentiment of gaura-bhakti has been aroused by our pilgrimage here, and my sentiments have also been significantly stirred.

I?ll never travel on Ekadasi again. We caught our plane on time. That was no problem. We were conveniently picked by four Sumos (Indian SUVs) that I had ordered before I left Vrindaban. Going quite well so far. The trip from Delhi to Vrndaban, however, was nothing but trouble. A third of the way there, one of our vehicles sped up to us to say that one of our trailing vehicles accidentally almost brushed a motorcycle and that a skirmish was started. The two men in the motorcycle were local thugs and they beat our driver severely. I have the driver of our car turn around and rush to the scene only to find Caitanya Bhagavat walking along the highway. He leads us to the driver who is in a state of shock, his face covered with blood. I?m anxious to return, but we have no choice but to go to the local police?especially since the driver is insisting on reporting it.

Our caravan winds through a few dirt roads and arrives at a typical UP police station: a few brick rooms on half acre of sandy land. A fairly pious looking police chief, not more than 35 years old, is sitting behind his simple wooden desk filled with a few papers and files in the sandy courtyard of the station. A few jolly pot-bellied assistants surround his desk. Surprisingly, the two hapless thugs?who bear remarkable resemblance to what I envision Jagai and Madhai to look like?have been miraculously apprehended. They stand ten feet behind the police
chief by the two feet brick wall surrounding the property.

I plead with the police chief that now that the offenders have been caught he should let us take the driver and go, but he insists that there are a few formalities that need to be completed and it won?t be long. The police chief then gets up along with his assistant, walks calmly over to the accused, grabs them forcibly by their hair, drags them to the middle of the courtyard, and then?as a small crowd of local citizens congregate in a circle?gives the two accused a good beating. I look over to our newcomers to India?Andrew, Justin, Scott, and others?and can?t imagine what they think of their introduction to the ?wild west? of UP, India?s most populous state.

The police chief then again calmly sits at his desk, has our driver fill out some papers, and orders the culprits, who will spend the night in jail, to apologize to our driver. He then, to our surprise, stands up, walks over to me, and very respectfully with folded hands apologizes, ?Please excuse us. Our people are uncivilized.?

The only thing I can think of at the time is ?there?s a method to their madness.?
Luckily Patricia?s a professional nurse and Shaun, a paramedic. Between the both of them the driver?s wounds are expertly dressed. They assure me that his injury looked worse than it was, and he is fit for the rest of the journey.

We continue on the road. We are on the GT highway, the main road that goes from Amristar in the North all the way to Calcutta. Up until five years ago, it was a just a two-lane highway (one lane each way), so to pass a car you had to treacherously navigate against the traffic. It now has four lanes but it is still a strange mixture of cars, old trucks, bicycles, and buffalo carts. It blows Sesasayi Visnu?s mind that, despite the heavy cement dividers between the up and down traffic, we occasionally confront cars and trucks whimsically coming toward us the wrong way.

Just ten minutes after leaving the police station we hit a bicycle that cut us off without looking. Luckily, no one is hurt seriously. Still, by Indian law, if you hit someone, somehow it is your fault, so the police confiscate our driver?s papers. Our driver, a nice brijabasi, asks me if I drive, because if we wait for him, he says, it may be several days. It?s a long story, but after an hour we are somehow off again.

I think of mantra for the day??You can?t by a ticket to Vrindaban??and begin to wonder if we will ever get there.

We take no chances. ?Jaya Radhe, Jaya Krishna, Jaya Vrindaban.? It?s Vrindaban bhajan all the way back. We pass Kosi, the border of Vraja. We taste the sweetness of the dhama. We finally arrive after seven hours. Home at last!

Mayapur Tomorrow we will leave.

Dhanurdhara Swami January 19th, 2001

Mayapur

Tomorrow we will leave. I plan an easy day. I therefore saved for today the visit to Nandana Acaryas house as it is right next door to ISKCON and takes only a few minutes to walk there. We have a short kirtan and read from Caitanya Bhagavat about the first meeting of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda at the very spot we are now sitting. No time to waste. We quickly cross the road and then cut across the fields for a quick bath in the Ganga. Still, we are running late for our next program. We rush off to Srila Prabhupada?s rooms to meet Jnanivas Prabhu, ISKCON?s head pujari, to hear about the Deities in Mayapur and his personal association with Srila Prabhupada.

I have heard wonderful things from the day I first came to India in 1974 about Jnanivas, the saintly devotee who never leaves Mayapur, and who has accepted Radha Madhava as his life and soul. He still hasn?t left Mayapur, and he still serves Radha-Madhava with the same devotion?probably more. He is humble and very deep. With rapt attention we hear about his association with Srila Prabhupada when ISKCON Mayapur was just one straw hut. He also shares some of his realizations about Radha-Madhava. His twin brother, Pankajanghre, also joins us. We also hear his realizations about the temple?s powerful Nrsimha Deity, the Lord he worships daily. It?s 2:30 PM and we?ve been sitting for nearly three hours. It our second bath of the day, but I am inclined to Narottama dasa Thakura?s opinion?darsane pavitra koro ei tamara gun?that sadhu-sanga is more potent than ganga-snana (bath).

Our visit with the saintly pujaris of the Sri Mayapur Chandradaya Mandir is not over yet. We are invited to the veranda outside Srila Prabhupada?s room. The two brothers personally serve us a memorable feast of Radha-Madhava?s maha-prasadam. By their exemplary service I should take the dust of their feet on my head and serve them, but instead they serve us so unassumingly. I am humbled.

By the time we finish it is almost 3:30, which gives us a less than two hours before our next program at Mother Srimati?s room. We have entered the dhama in the mood of service, and the dhama is reciprocating. We are inundated by sravanam kirtanam. My plans for a Sabbath, a day of rest, have been washed away.

We did not have time to go to Ekachakra this year. Mother Srimati has traditionally been our guide there, so I ask her if she could organize a manasa-parikram in her room. She has occasionally done this at times, once for a group I took to Mayapur several yeas ago. It?s very absorbing to shut one?s eyes and visit the dhama by sound only. This year she even prepared a very tasteful and well done dramatic script for the parikram, beginning with a very potent description of Niyanananda?s position, including very vivid descriptive descriptions of the main lila-sthans of Nitai?s activities, along with dramatic accounts of the sweet lilas the Lord performed there. She also involved us a lot in speaking at the various pastime places and in leading the kirtans between them so that by the time the presentation was finishing we had definitely suspended the conception of our present space. Instead, we were visualizing and relating among ourselves as if we were there in Ekachakra-dhama.

Although the parikram became very spontaneous it was so well scripted and organized that it also finished exactly on time, as I had requested, so that we could all attend the evening arati. It was our last evening in the Sri Mayapur-dhama, and especially after association with Jnanivas and Pankajanghre, the devotees were anxious to attend gaura-arati, and take a last darshan of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, Panca-tattva, and Lord Nrsimhadeva. The day was not as relaxed as I had planned, but nobody cares. Days off are for work, not from devotion.

Godrumadvipa, Koladvipa It?s our last

Dhanurdhara Swami January 18th, 2001

Godrumadvipa, Koladvipa

It?s our last real day going out to see the lila-sthans of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his associates because, tomorrow, I want the devotees to have a day back before going to Vrindaban on the twentieth. We have a lot of ground to cover because we still haven?t seen Godrumadvipa and Koladevipa. We go first to Godrumadvipa, to Sukhada Svananda Kunja?the house of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. I ask Yajna Purusa to speak here. I learned something new. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Gaura Kisora das Babaji, and Srila Jaganatha das Babaji had all met together here to discuss Krishna consciousness, and that even Lord Nityananda Prabhu led his preaching from Godrumadvipa.

Yajna?s talk inspired me to speak about how the internal and external activities of the dhama are often mystically connected. I started by relating the internal significance of Svananda Sukhada Kunja for our guru parampara by explaining that in aprakat-lila, the eternal unmanifested activities of the dhama, Bhaktivinoda Thakura everlastingly resides in as Kamala-manjari, a young maidservant of Srimati Radharani in the group of Lalita-devi. I further explain that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati also resides here as Kamala Manjari?s assistant, NayanaManjari, and that although Srila Prabhupada has not revealed his siddha-svarupa, the sentiment is not wrong that he may also eternally reside here with his spiritual master and his param guru.

I then highlight my original thesis that the Lord?s aprakat-lila at certain lila-sthans is linked to the preaching of Lord Caitanya followers thousands of years later?at least inspirationally?by recounting Yajna Purusa?s description of the manifest history of Sukhada Svananda-kunja. So many of the predecessor acaryas practiced and discussed Krishna consciousness here, Bhaktivinoda commanded his nama-hatta preaching from here, and 500 years ago, Nityananda Prabhu also spread the holy name throughout Bengal from his base in Godrumadvipa.

I also brought up the possibility of a similar connection at Vraja Sukhada Svananda-kunja?Srila Bhaktivinoda?s house in Radha-kunda which later became the residence in Vrindaban of his son, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur?by pointing out the crucial instruction for spreading Krishna consciousness that Srila Prabhupada received there. ?If you ever get money, print books.?

In the same manner, I spoke about Radha-Damodar, which is located in Seva Kunj, the center of the rasa-mandala. In the daily pastimes of Radha and Krishna, seva-kunja, as the name seva indicates, is of paramount importance as a place for arrangement of the intimate service of Radha and Krishna. I conjecture that it is not coincidence, but divine arrangement, that thousands of years later the Six Goswamis also chose Radha-Damodara as the central meeting place for discussing Krishna consciousness among themselves and planning the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Similarly, it is no accident that five hundred years later Srila Prabhupada was able to procure a room at Radha-Damodar to plan and gain inspiration to continue that mission.

Our parikram for the day ended with a memorable kirtan before taking darshan of the stunning, if not the most beautiful Deity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in this world, Dhamesvara Mahaprabhu?a tall neem wood Deity that Visnupriya, the widow of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, worshiped for eighty years after her eternal Lord took sannyasa. I pray, O Lord, may these remembrances of kirtan remain always in my heart so that my faith in the Holy Name is eternally nourished.

Modadrumadvip I write my journal

Dhanurdhara Swami January 17th, 2001

Modadrumadvip

I write my journal in the evening before bed, but again I am exhausted and can just barely scratch my pad with some notes to be expanded later. Again I reflect on the kirtans here. I start and they are off. Full shelter in the holy name and it goes on for hours. When I think that we too tired to continue we become further absorbed. Saintly Mother Srimati met the group yesterday and then told me that this is this best group I?ve brought yet. My instinctive reply: ?That?s because we are the most the fallen and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is patita-pavana.? The same point rises again like a reoccurring theme. Many of the devotees this year are normally stressed out, so to speak, but their somewhat helpless condition allows them to approach Mahaprabhu and his devotees with need?the best qualification for approaching the mercy of the dhama.

We assemble at the Ganga for today?s parikram at the island of Modadrumadvipa, a forty-five minute boat ride up the Ganges. It?s scenic and we even see an occasional dolphin leap out of the water. We finally disembark by a small forest with many tall trees and climb fifteen feet to shore where we begin kirtan through a small dirt path lined by an occasional forest dwelling, quickly leading to the center of the small village of Mamagachi. This is a very special place containing the residence of Lord Rama (Mamgachi is non different than ayodhya) and many wonderful Vaishnava associates of the Lord such as Malini Devi, Vasudeva Datta, and Saranga Thakur.

Our kirtan quickly passes the center of town and crosses the railroad tracks, and as happens every year, empties a lower secondary school of hundreds of students who run wildly out of their classrooms enchanted by the kirtan of foreign devotees.

Another half kilometer and we are at the Modadruma Gaudiya Math, one of the 64 Gaudiya Maths founded by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. This particular Math was established to mark the birthplace of Vrindaban dasa Thakur, the author of Caitanya Bhagavat. We take darshan of his Deities, Sri Sri Nitai-Gauranga, and the small white murti of Vrindaban dasa Thakur established in his honor. It?s inspiring, especially as Sri Vrindaban Thakur is Sri Veda-Vyasa incarnate in gaura-lila and I consider my main devotional service to study and teach Srimad Bhagavatam.

We continue and in a few minutes reach the Saranga Deva Gausiya Math. Vasudeva Datta?s home was nearby and His deities, Radha Madan Gopal, are worshiped here, as are Radha Gopinatha, the worshipful Lords of param-vaisnava Saranga Murari, the foremost disciple of Saranga Thakur, the seventy-seventh branch of the Lord Caitanya tree of bhakti.

Often our stay in Nabadvipa is too short to visit all of its nine islands. I therefore always make it a point to visit Modadrumadvipa specifically for the sanga of Jagat Bandhu, the 73 year-old lone sevite of the Saranga Deva Gaudiya Matha. He bounds up with enthusiasm as soon as he hears the kirtan of the visiting Vaishnavas and heads immediately to the kitchen to prepare them prasadam. Unfortunately, today we cannot stay for lunch, but still he quickly arranges for us some tasty sweets. Our hearts are captured by his simplicity, friendliness, and boundless energy for vaisnava-seva.

Jagat Bandhu?the friend of the world?is a fitting name for this unpretentious man-of-the-people-type saint, who is anything but ordinary. His guru had instructed him to worship the Deity with love, but more important to serve all Vaishnavas?especially with sumptuous prasadam. Taking the order of his preceptor on his head he has been serving Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha and the Vaishnavas in Mamagachi for over 65 years, since he was eight years old, a time when the area was mostly a wild jungle. If within the whirl of his service you can get him to sit down, he excitedly tells the adventures of his jungle seva to Gopinatha, packed with tales of tigers, wild boars, and pythons. Every year he shares a new adventure.

Last year he told the story of how he fell and seriously hurt his back when climbing up a tree to pick fruit for Gopinatha. The injury was so debilitating that he could hardly walk, but somehow he still managed to continue his Deity seva. Unfortunately, for the first time in over sixty years he was unable to fetch the Deities water from the Ganga?almost two kilometers away. He was astonished the next morning to see some of the local forest monkeys dragging a bucket filled with Ganga water into the ashram.

That same year one of the monkeys stole the Bhagavad-gita right from his hands while he was sitting on veranda in front of Gopinatha during his usual late evening studies. When he returned to trade some bananas for his book, he was astonished to see the monkey sitting in his seat holding the Bhagavad-gita and over fifty monkeys sitting before him apparently attentively listening.

Do I believe him? Yes, When a person has no other ego than ?I am the servant of Gopinatha and the Vaisnavas,? I implicitly trust that person and honor their words although I can?t always confirm exactly how those words are true.

Caitanya-Caritamrita literally means ?the character of the life force in eternality.? That character?s affectionate surrender to the Supreme Lord is expressed through a loving relationship with the Lord and His devotees. We are reading Caitanya-Bhagavata every evening and relishing the descriptions of perfected souls expertly exchanging and nourishing loving relationships between themselves and with the Lord. Such love is real happiness, unending pleasure without misery. It is unlike material pleasure, which can only give temporary satisfactions, and invariably leads to some form of misery that eventually eclipses that pleasure. Living together as Vaishnavas on parikram, centering our lives on the Lord?s glorification, enables us to not only constantly hear about the loving relationships among the associates of Lord Caitanya, but also, live them to some extent. With that we can glimpse, if even only shadow, real happiness based on spiritually centered relationships.

A friend in Vrindadan sent me a copy of an unfinished paper he is writing on ?the philosophy of Caitanya and his followers? for a volume on ?systems of Vedanta? for a project called ?Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy, and Culture.? It?s a very comprehensive sixty-page summary of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy. I read his description, of prayojana-tattva this morning, where he describes the characteristics of priti, or love. A few paragraphs were relevant to my thoughts today:

?In the material world, people are also hankering for love. As a result they seek out relationships so that they can exchange love. If their love is unfulfilled with one person, they seek someone else. When they become frustrated with human relations, they try to repose their love in a pet or even inert objects. For the sake of love one can sacrifice everything, including one?s life, which is most dear. Nothing gives more satisfaction and happiness than love. One manifests one?s best character toward the object of his love. There is no cheating or crookedness involved in true love. Even the cruelest person acts favorably towards his beloved.

?Love in the material world, however, is ephemeral and impure. It is tainted with selfish motives and the object of one?s love is not eternal and perfect. Nobody has the perfect qualification to be the object of love, except Bhagavan. Love is a two-way exchange, and such a perfect exchange is not possible between human beings because of their inherent limitations and imperfections. Therefore, people keeping changing the objects of their love in search of the perfect person. In childhood one loves one?s mother, then friends and later a sweetheart, and in this way one goes on changing the objects of love. In one lifetime after another, a person tries to love parents, spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, friends, relatives, children, wealth, nation, name and fame, his or her own body and so on but never attains lasting peace. He or she has not attained the real object of love. After which the search will come to an end. That object is Bhagavan. As described earlier, Bhagavan means that person who is the fountainhead of all good qualities in their utmost perfection. He is eternal, all pervading and full of love. He has the unlimited capacity to reciprocate with everyone?s love simultaneously and He has no personal motives to fulfill.?

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