Srila Lochan Das Thakur was a devotee of Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He displayed devotion for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from his childhood.
Srila Lochan Das was married at a very young age, according to the customs of that epoque. His in-laws’ household was in a distant village. However, though he had entered the married station, he was extremely renounced and spent all his time discussing Sri Krishna-katha with other devotees of Sri Gauranga.
Since Srila Lochan Das was married at a very early age, his wife at first remained with her parents, but as the time approached when she was to join him, they began to worry because of Srila Locana Das’s indifference to material life. They approached his guru Srila Narahari Sarkara Thakur and told him of their disquiet. As a result, Srila Narahari ordered Srila Locana Das to go to his in-laws’ home.
When Srila Locana arrived in their village he was unable to remember where their house was, since it had been so long since he had visited. He asked a young girl in the street for directions, addressing her as “Ma”, or “mother”. When he arrived at his in-laws’ house, he learned that the girl whom he had addressed as his mother was in fact his wife. From that day on, he always looked upon his wife as a mother, worshiping Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga in an attitude of renunciation.
EUROPE PREACHING TOUR – 2017
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By the blessings of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ji, Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math is engaging two specialist devotees for preaching the transcendental divine message of Sree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu across Europe.
The programs will be led by Bhakti Vichar Vishnu Maharaj and Hariballabh Das brahmchari.
The details of this spiritual adventure is as under:
When Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami was visiting the pilgrimage centres of northern India, he found a Salagrama Sila on the banks of the Gandaki River. He took the worshipable stone and carried with him wherever he went, treating Sri Shalagram as Sri Vrajendranandan Krishna Himself.
One day he thought that he would like to worship the Lord in a deity form so that he could expand his service. On the very next day, he found that the Salagrama Sila had transformed into Sri Radha Ramana to fulfill the wish of his devotee.
The pastimes is also told in the following way. It is said that Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami used to daily worship twelve Salagramas. He developed a desire to serve the Lord in the form of a deity, thinking that in this way he would be able to worship him in a much better way.
The Lord within his heart knew his feelings and through a rich merchant had many beautiful items used in the worship of the deity, such as ornaments and clothes, sent to him. Sri Gopal began to worry that all these beautiful objects would be wasted because there was no way that he could use them unless he had a deity in human form. That night, he put the Salagramas to rest and in the morning he saw that one of them had been transformed into the Radha Ramana deity.
When Sri Rupa Goswami and Sri Sanatan Goswami heard that Sri Krishna had so mercifully appeared to Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami, they immediately came with the other devotees for darshan, and when they saw him, they were ecstatic with love.
The annual festival commemorating Lord Radha Ramana’s appearance, when he is bathed publicly, takes place on the full moon day of Vaishakh. The Radha Ramana temple is considered one of the most important in Vrindavan.
In the pastimes of Sri Ramacandra, the following of ethical codes is of primary importance.
His pastimes strongly evoke the sentiment of compassion.
By the mercy of Sri Ramacandra, we can be saved from immorality and adharma (unrighteousness). The Supreme Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself, prayed to Sri Ramacandra in the following way to teach us: ‘Rama Raghava Rama Raghava Rama Raghava raksha mam’ (‘raksha mam’-rescue me).
From the pastimes of Sri Ramacandra, we learn about the necessity of accepting and serving a spiritual master, devotion to one’s parents and the duties of a brother and a wife. Supreme Lord Sri Ramacandra has exhibited the pastime of abandoning the opulence of royal life, which is very difficult to give up, and of abandoning a perfect wife for keeping dharma and ethics intact.
He accepted all kinds of suffering, accepted exile in the forest and went without food and sleep. He walked with His soft lotus feet on the forest paths, which were full of thorns. Out of love for His devotees, the Lord bestowed His mercy on the candala, Guhaka.
As the protector of one who surrenders to Him, the Lord awarded shelter to Vibhishana.
Sri Rama’s pastimes demonstrate how a henpecked person becomes miserable, and how those who consider someone merely dressed as a sadhu (lacking genuine qualification) to be a real sadhu, become cheated and end up miserable. By annihilating demons such as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, He destroys the living being’s inner demoniac tendencies. To instruct His subjects and for their pleasure, He underwent suffering by asking for Sita’s trial by fire and Her banishment to the forest. Austerities are prohibited for those with evil motives, who are in the mode of dark ignorance, because those austerities only create havoc in the world. To teach this, He killed the sudra Sambuka while the latter was engaged in performing austerities. He taught all these lessons by setting the example Himself.
Before taking sannyas, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Srila Jagadish Pandit (one of His devotees) to go to Nilachala to preach Sri Krishna-bhakti and the religious practice of the age, Harinama-sankirtan.
When he arrived in Puri, Sri Jagadish went for Lord Jagannath’s darshan and melted with love when he saw Him. When on his way back to Bengal, however, he felt extreme separation from Lord Jagannath.
Lord Jagannath Deva saw Srila Jagadish crying and so mercifully appeared to him in a dream and told him to take His vigraha and serve the same. Simultaneously, He appeared to the king of Orissa and ordered him that at the time of the nava-kalevara, when the deity of Lord Jagannath is changed, the outgoing form should be given to Srila Jagadish Pandit. Thus, when he met Sri Jagadish, the Maharaj considered it to be a great honor to give him Lord Jagannath’s outgoing form, which is known as the samadhi-stha-vigraha.
Srila Jagadish prayed to Lord Jagannath, asking Him just how he could possibly carry the heavy figure of the deity all the way back to Bengal. Lord Jagannath answered him that He would become as light as a cork; Sri Jagadish should simple cover Him with a new cloth and then carry Him with the help of a staff. Srila Jagadish would have to make permanent arrangements to stay wherever Lord Jagannath was set down on the ground.
Srila Jagadish enlisted the aid of two Brahmins, and they took turns carrying Lord Jagannath as far as the village of Jashora on the banks of the mother Ganges, near the town of Chakdaha in Bengal. Srila Jagadish left Lord Jagannath with one of the Brahmins and went to take his bath in the Ganges. Suddenly, the Brahmin found that Lord Jagannath was becoming very heavy and that he was no longer able to hold Him up. Thus when Sri Jagadish came back from his bath, he saw Lord Jagannath sitting on the ground and realized that the Lord wanted to stay in that very spot.
In the book Prapannamrita, we hear the story of Sri Tiruppana, who was born a low caste chandala in South India.
Once, he lost consciousness while chanting the Holy Names of Sri Hari by the bank of the river Kaveri. At that time, a brahmin priest named Muni was returning to the Sri Ranganath temple with water for the Deity’s abhishek.
Seeing the Sri Tiruppana lying on the bank of the river, he repeatedly called out to him in a rude manner. Disdaining to touch the lowborn person with his hands, and fearful that the water meant for the Deity might become impure, he threw a lump of earth at the prostrate figure and awakened him.
Arriving at the temple, Muni found that the doors were bolted from inside.
After calling out for a long time, the priest heard a voice speak to him. The voice said that Sri Ranganath Himself had been injured by the lump of earth that had been thrown at His humble servant by this proud priest. Unless the priest circumambulated the temple carrying the devotee on his shoulders, the doors of the temple will not open.
Thus, it came to pass that the priest did as he had been ordered, and only then the doors of the temple open.
The Tiruppani Sri Vaishnavas still worship Tiruppana as Muni-vahana because a bhramin named Muni had carried him (acted as his vahana) around the temple.
Our Most Revered Parampujyapada Parivajakacharya Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj came to USA and started kirtan. The ultimate goal is satisfaction of Sri Krishna. Krishna bestowed so much grace upon Srila Swami Maharaj. Our Paramgurudeva Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur ‘Prabhupad’, the Absolute Counterpart of the Supreme Lord, was the founder of Sri Gaudiya Math and Sri Chaitanya Math. He as the spiritual master of Paramapujyapad Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, imparted to him the power to preach all over the world.
Srila Swami Maharaj started on his life’s mission by praying for the grace of Supreme Lord Sri Krishna and His personal associates. We have heard that he came alone, with no assistance from others. His Gurudeva had given him the order to spread the all-embracing, all-accommodating divine knowledge and love of God throughout the world. He travelled from India with great difficulty and eventually disembarked in Boston. I have heard that he came by ship and that this was the first place he came to in the USA.
When I was in Vrindavan at Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math with my revered Gurudeva Parampujyapada Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Goswami Maharaj, we heard that a godbrother of our Gurudeva, Parampujyapada Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, was staying at the Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple. As he was a godbrother of our Gurudeva and a disciple of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur, he was naturally the object of great regard and reverence.
Thinking, “I shall go there and pay my obeisances to him,” I made my way to the Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple. Upon meeting him, I offered my humble obeisances and he then began to speak. Showing me his writings, he said, “I want to publish a monthly magazine, Back to Godhead. Please go through my writings.” It was his order, I tried to go through it. When I had gone through the text he had given me, he said, “I have written other articles. You should also go through those.” After that I prayed out to him, “Will you not come to our Math? Our Gurudeva is there. Please come and see him.”
He immediately agreed, saying, “Yes, I will come tomorrow to see your Gurudeva.”
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj
Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami prays to Giriraja Govardhana as follows:
giri-nripa! haridasa-sreni-varyeti-nama
mritam idam uditam sri-radhika-vaktra-candrat
vraja-nava-tilakatve klpta! vedaih sphutam me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(Sri Govardhana-vasa-prarthana-dasakam, verse 8)
“O Gririraja Govardhana, when your nectarean name was uttered from the lotus lips of Srimati Radhika in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.21.18), ‘Hantayam adrir abala hari-dasa-varyah,’ i.e. ‘O simple-hearted innocent gopis, this mountain is foremost amongst all the servitors of Sri Hari,’ then you were consecrated by all the Vedas as the new beautiful tilaka (sandalpaste mark) of Vraja-dhama. I therefore pray to you to bestow me a dwelling place in your vicinity.”
The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna stopped the worship of the demigods and introduced the worship of Govardhana, i.e. He introduced the service of Krishna and Krishna-bhaktas. One meaning of Govardhana is to enhance the sense-organs, so Govardhana-puja signifies the enhancement of the transcendental eternal spiritual sense-organs of Krishna and Krishna-bhaktas.
Since heaps of various items of cooked vegetable dishes were offered to Giriraja Govardhana in Govardhana-puja, this festival is also well-known as the Annakuta Festival. Sri Govardhana-dhari Gopala was originally installed by Vajra (the grandson of Krisha and son of Aniruddha). Due to Srila Madhavendra Puripada’s extraordinary pure devotion, Govardhana-dhari Gopala reappeared in Govardhana near the bank of Govinda-kunda. Srila Madhavendra Puripada performed the Annakuta Festival in Kali-yuga. This topic is narrated in detail in the Caitanya-Caritamrita (Madhya-lila, chap. 4).
Sri Krishna is The Predominating Aspect of the moiety and Srimati Radhika is The Predominated Aspect of the moiety. Moiety means one of the two parts of a thing.
There are two sides of Prema – union and separation. Prema in separation bestows much more happiness than Prema in union. This Prema is called ‘Adhirurha Mahabhava’, here manifestation of the Object of Worship (Krishna’s Sweet Form) is more than that caused by union.
For that reason Nandanandana Sri Krishna appeared in Kaliyuga as Sri Gauranga taking the mood of worship of Radha and Her complexion to taste His own extraordinary sweetness which She has tasted, sweetness of Prema in separation ‘vipralamba rasa’. As well as to perform the pastimes of the Most Munificent Form of Godhead, to distribute the highest Prema ‘unnata ujjwala rasa’, to all irrespective of caste, creed and nationality.
Radharani’s Prema is the purest and highest. She is most magnanimous. She is prepared to sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Sri Krishna.
na gani apana duhkha, sabe vanchi tanra sukha,
tanra sukha amara tatparya
more yadi diya duhkha, tanra haila maha-sukha,
sei duhkha mora sukha-varya
“I do not consider my grief. I only want His satisfaction. My only object is His contentment. If by giving pain to me, He is highly delighted, that pang will be my greatest blessedness.”
Sri Krishna will grant the fruit of being the resident of Davarka immediately to those who wear Tulsi beads around the neck.
The sins of the person who wears neck beads made of Srimati Tulsi tree with devotion after offering to Sri Vishnu will get vanquished and Devakinandan Sri Krishna will always remain pleased with him, he does not need to undergo further atonement, no more sins remain in his body.
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Kusum Sraman Goswami Maharaj.
Once the emperor of heaven, Devraj Indra, had committed a great offence for which his Gurudeva cursed him to take birth as a hog. Immediately, he became a hog and the throne of heaven was vacated. The demigods became disturbed and approached Sri Brahma for assistance.
‘Who will govern us?’ They asked. ‘Our emperor has become a hog. Our Gurudeva has cursed him.’
So Brahma said, ‘All right! let me go and fix the situation.’
The Brahma came to the world. Being omniscient, he recognized Indra in the body of a particular hog. This hog was surrounded by his wife and many piglets.
Brahma said, ‘Oh my dear sir, you are not a hog! You are the emperor of heaven! Why have you come here? Come along! Take the throne and govern your kingdom of heaven.’
Then the hog replied, ‘Who are you? I do not believe your words. I have such a nice, beautiful wife and children. I have so much responsibility. I cannot go.’
In the same way, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appears in this world and asks, ‘What are you doing here?’ Give up all these material things and take absolute shelter of Me. I shall rescue you from all sins. ‘ (Sreemad Bhagvad Geeta 18.66)
But we say, ‘Why have you come here? Who are you?’
We do not believe Him. Out of affection He comes to us, but we say, ‘Who are you? I have such a nice wife and children. I cannot give up these attachments. I have so much responsibility.’
Source: Droplets of Nectar from Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj (Vol. 2)
One day, a Brahmin from a village named Harinadi (in Jessore district) started a debate with Srila Haridas Thakur on this (above mentioned) subject. He argued that the names of the Lord should be meditated upon and that there was no reason to chant them aloud. He wanted to know in which scripture it was stated that one should chant aloud.
In answer to these questions, Srila Haridas Thakur gave a detailed account of the glories of the Holy Name. He said that loud chanting of the Holy Names was a hundred times more powerful than japa. Through the loud chanting of the Names, even the birds, animals and other creatures are also saved. Animals, birds, insects and other creatures are unable to speak, but if they just hear the Holy Name, they can all cross over. If you chant the Holy Names silently, then you yourself will be saved, but if you chant aloud, then you will benefit others. Therefore, all the scriptures state that by the loud chanting of the Name, a hundred times greater result can be obtained.
(Chaitanya Bhagavat 1.16.280-2)
japato harinamani sthane shata-gunadhikah
atmanam ca punaty uccair japan shrotnn punati ca
(Naradiya Purana)
Someone who chants the Holy Names aloud is a hundred times better than one who performs japa, because the one who is chanting ‘japa’ simply benefits himself, while the person who chants ‘japa’ aloud not only does good for himself, but for all those who hear him as well. Who is better, the person who earns money and spends it all on himself, or the one who uses his money to support a thousand others? Through japa, one takes care of his own spiritual life, while through uccha-sankirtan, all living beings are benefited. This is the reason for its being considered superior.
“O Kesava! You assumed the form of Vamana to trick the great demon Bali Maharaj by Your steps, and to purify all living entities by the water that emanated from the nails of Your lotus feet. All glories unto You, Lord of the universe.”
Lord Vamanadeva, the protector of brahmana-dharma, saw Shukracarya, the foremost of the Bhrigu dynasty brahmanas and guru of the demons, once said to Sukracarya, “Your disciple Bali Maharaja has undergone many difficulties. Please perform the yajna again for his welfare.”
Sukracarya replied, “My disciple has seen You; he has chanted Your name and glories. Your rare lotus feet have been placed upon his head. Is my disciple still so impure that I have to perform a yajna to bless him?”
“There may be discrepancies in pronouncing mantras, observing the regulative principles in serial order and moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place, person, articles and paraphernalia. But when Your Lordship’s holy name is chanted, everything becomes faultless.”
By the fruit of the penances of king Vrishabhanu on the banks of river Yamuna, Srimati Radharani self-manifested on an unprecedented hundred petal lotus flower in Yamuna.
King Vrishbhanu was extremely pleased being blessed with a wonderful and most beautiful baby girl but saw that the eyes of the baby were closed. He was all the while unhappy internally for the baby being sightless.
One day his friend king Nanda along with his wife Yasoda devi and the child Gopal came to his place. While Sri Vrishabhanu was narrating his sorrow to king Nanda one surprising incident took place.
Baby Gopal crawled towards Radharani and touched Her. She immediately opened Her eyes.
Sri Radharani had taken a vow that she would see Sri Krishna only when she opens Her eyes for the first time. Hence as soon as Sri Krishna came she opened Her eyes.
All the avatars of Bhagavan are either plenary portions (amsha) or portions of the plenary portions (kalaa) of the Lord.
All of The Avatars appear millennium after millennium to protect the planets from disturbances created by the demons.
But They are not equal to Nand-nandan Sri Krishna as He is the Supreme Lord Himself.
— Sreemad Bhagawatam 1.3.28
The Svarupa or svayam-rupa, Vrajendranandan Sri Govind is the Cause of causes.
— Sri Brahm Samhita 5.1
All twelve rasa (five main and seven secondary mellows or moods) are manifested in their complete form only in Sri Nand-nandan Krishna. So, even though all the manifestations of the Supreme Being are one, the excellence of rasa is only fully realized in the original form of Nand-nandan Sri Krishna.
Source: Dasavatar, by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj
Q: How will I attain Supreme Lord Krishna’s mercy?
Srila Vamsi Das Babaji Maharaj replies:
If you cry for Him, you will get His mercy.
Who cries for Him? One who love Him, will cry for Him.
If you cry with tears of love, if you love Him and yearn for Him and cry for Him, you will get the Lord’s mercy.
Mukhe bali Hari, kaje anya kari,
prema-vari cokhe elo na.
“I recite the names of Lord Hari, but I act otherwise.
So the tears of love do not well up in my eyes.”
If the Supreme Personality of Godhead wills to show Himself to anyone, even the blind, they can see Him clearly, because the eyes of flesh are not necessary to see Him. By His will power alone, He can reveal Himself to any person. That was the case with Dhritarastra in the Kuru-sabha. Dhritarastra said, ‘For the time being, my Lord, restore my eyesight so that I can see Your wonderful form which others are seeing and praising. You can do anything, so for the time being, remove my blindness.’
‘It is not necessary to remove your blindness, Dhritarastra! When I will say you see Me, you will see Me.’
And by His order, Dhritarastra saw!
His wish is everything. His simple will is everything, the cause of all existence. The Kurus wanted to see Draupadi naked, but Draupadi’s appeal reached Him and He sanctioned unlimited cloth. As much clothing as they removed, so much cloth yet remained.
We are accustomed to think, This is good; this is bad and This is possible; this is impossible. But these rules do not apply in His case.
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaj.
In the pastimes of Supreme Lord Sri Ramchandra all the rasas (mellow) up to vatsalya ras (parental affection) is exhibited. However, due to moral codes having the highest priority in these pastimes, the mood of parental affection has a restricted nature. Maharaj Dasrath established these codes, so he was unable to prevent Sri Ramchandra from going to the forest. To exemplify these codes, Sri Ramchandra accepted exile in the forest to uphold a promise that his father had made.
Sri Ramchandra vowed to accept only one wife –‘Eka patni vrat dhar.’ Therefore, no one else can worship Him as a husband. Kant-ras (conjugal mood) is not exhibited in these pastimes. When the sages of Dandkaranya desired to have Sri Ramchandra as their husband, He told them to achieve conjugal bliss by paying allegiance to the gopis in His pastimes as Krishna.
Sri Krishna is Svayam Bhagavan, the Prime Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas Sri Ram, Sri Narsimha and others are His partial manifestations (amsha) or the parts of the partial manifestations (kala).
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj
Srila Lokanath Goswami constantly traveled through Braj, ecstatically visiting the various holy places where Sri Krishna had engaged in His pastimes. Once, he came to Khadiravana. Then he visited Kishori Kund near the village of Umarao by Chatravana. He was so impressed by the beauty of the site that he stayed there for some time to do his bhajan in isolation. After being engaged in this way for some time, he developed a deep desire to worship Srimati Radha and Sri Krishna in the deity form.
The Supreme Lord knows the desires of His devotees and feels Himself obliged to fulfill them. He came personally to give Sri Lokanath a deity, telling him that the name is Radha Vinod before disappearing. Srila Lokanath was astonished to see the deity and then filled with anxiety at the thought that the Supreme Lord Himself had come and gone. But Sri Radha Vinod cast His sweet glance on Srila Lokanath and said to him, “I live here on the banks of Kishori Kund in the village of Umarao. I saw your eagerness to serve Me and so I came here Myself. Who else would have brought Me to you? I am very hungry. Quickly prepare something for Me to eat.”
When he heard these words, tears began to flow from Srila Lokanath’s eyes. He quickly started cooking for Sri Radha Vinod and then made an offering which the deity ate with great satisfaction. He then made him a bed of flowers upon which he placed Him, fanned Him with branches and joyfully massaged his feet. Srila Lokanath devoted himself in body, mind and soul to Sri Radha Vinod.
He wondered where he would keep the deity, and decided to make a large bag which became Sri Radhavinod’s temple. He kept his worshipable Lord constantly close to his heart like a necklace. This attracted the people of Braj to Srila Lokanath and they wanted to built a house for him and his deity, but he refused. He was so renounced that he accepted nothing other than what he absolutely needed for the deity’s service.
After spending some time at Kishori Kund, Srila Lokanath came to Vrindavan.
Srila Lokanath Goswmai is considered to be Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s direct disciple and associate
The most important thing in the conception of Bhakti is the service of Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna and all that is related to Sri Krishna.
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Hriday Van Goswami Maharaj
Chaturmasya – Vrat’ is observed by all – Karmis, Gyanis, Yogis and Bhaktas for the attainment of their respective ends. It is a kind of penance. But there is a difference in the mode of sadhan, as the ends of Karmis, Gyanis, Yogis and Bhaktas are different. The ultimate goal of Bhaktas is the get love for Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna(Krishna-prem).
Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya, our most Revered Paramgurudeva (His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhant Sarasvati Gosvami Thakur Prabhupad) and our Most Revered Gurudeva(His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Gosvami Maharaj Vishnupad), observed Chaturmasya vrat only to teach us that we should also observe this Vrat.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu observed Chaturmasya Vrat at Purushottam Dham by spending the whole time with Sri Krishna-katha.
Listening and chanting of the Holy Name, Form, Attributes and Pastimes of Sri Krishna should be mainly performed. Alongwith this we should also observe exoteric rules an enjoined in the scriptures as far as practicable.
Gourd (louki), Bean (Kidney bean, a long size bean), Brinjal, Patal, Kalmishak, Purni shak are prohibited in the four months of Chaturmasya.
All leave of plants are prohibited in the month of ‘Shravan’, curd is prohibited in the month of ‘Bhadra’, and milk in the month of ‘Ashwin’, and all kinds of tasteful food is prohibited in the month of Kartik. There are other rules also. One must contact respective acharyas for more details.
Chatrumasya vrat begins on,
a) 15 July and completes on 11 November (for those who observe this vrat from Ekadashi)
and
b) 19 July and completes on 14 November (for those who observe this vrat from Purnima).
In Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s pastimes we find that He personified the description of a Vaishnav as one who is more gentle than a rose, yet more terrible than the thunderbolt.
Although he was generally kind and sympathetic, He gave no quarter to dishonesty in the name of religion.
When He was in Orissa , in 1871, a member of the Khandait caste and the Atibari sect named Bishikishan who had gained some mystic powers through yoga practices proclaimed himself to be an incarnation of Sri Mahavishnu. He was staying with his acolytes at the edge of the jungle near the town of Bhubaneshwar.
Through his mystic powers, he had been able to cure incurable diseases and these powers had won for him a large following. One day he announced that on the full-moon day he would perform the ras-lila and invited girls of a nearby village to come and join him. The Chaudharis of the Bhringar clan found that he had polluted their womenfolk and went to complain en masse to the district commissioner, Mr. Ravenshaw. The commissioner gave the task of investigating the matter to Thakur Srila Bhakti Vinod, Who went personally into the jungle to meet with Bishikishan. Bishikishan told Him that he was living Mahavishnu and that Sri Jagannath Dev was nothing but a lifeless wooden statue. He tried in various ways to flatter the Thakur and to win Him over. When Srila B. V. Thakur saw that Bishikishan had no intention of stopping his efforts to deceive the people, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur had him arrested and brought back to Puri.
The Thakur proceeded to investigate the background of Bishikishan and visited many villages for that. After accumulating a mass of evidence showing the extent to which this yogi was cheating people, he had him brought to the court. While the case was being heard, the yogi used his mystic powers to cause Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and His family to be attacked by various illnesses, in an effort to intimidate Him, but without success.
The Thakur was determined to see Bishikishan punished for conspiracy to rebellion and gave him a sentence of one and half years.
In the months that followed, another on in Jaipur proclaimed himself to be the incarnation of Sri Brahma, while someone else in Khorda said that he was manifestation of Sri Balaram. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur quickly thwarted their efforts to cheat the populace.
My most Revered Gurudev, used to give me the advice not to take any decision by own initiative as the mind and intellect of a finite being (conditioned soul) is also finite and prone to commit mistakes. Any decision taken by the finite mind and finite intellect can increase problems. The correct way is to take absolute shelter of the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Lord and His Absolute Counterpart Gurudev or suddha bhakta, who are omniscient and All-Merciful.
A light of Transcendental Divine Knowledge will then enter into the heart of such a surrendered soul and remove all their doubts. All problems will be solved immediately and effectively.
‘To those who always worship Sri Krishna with sincerity of heart, the Supreme Lord bestows wisdom to understand the way to attain Him.’ (Sri Bhagavad Gita10.10)
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj
The knowledge of Brahm is made for devotion whereas knowledge without devotion is meaningless unless it is utilized in the service of the Supreme Lord.
There is one important incident from Srila Madhavendra Puri’s immaculate life to be told.
Sri Ramachandra Puri and Sri Isvara Puri were two of Srila Madhavendra’s initiated disciples.
However, Sri Ramachandra was unable to receive his spiritual master’s mercy because he showed him disrespect, whereas Sri Isvara Puri was blessed through his single-minded devotion to him and was thus able to attain the highest level of pure love for Krishna. Sri Ramachandra was unable to understand the sweetness and supremacy of his Gurudeva’s feelings of separation and had the audacity to give him advice based on knowledge of Brahma. Srila Madhavendra Puri became so angry that he shunned him completely.
Even though he was such a great loving devotee, Srila Madhavendra Puri became angry with his own disciple when he became offensive chastised him severely, using harsh words. When Sri Ramachandra told him to remember that he was a spiritual being, Srila Madhavendra lost his temper and said,”Get away from me, you most sinful rascal! I am dying from the distress of not having received Sri Krishna’s mercy, of not having attained Mathura, and you come to add to my misery! Go wherever you like, but don’t show your face to me again! If I see you while I am dying I will take a lower birth. I am dying from the distress of not having attained Sri Krishna and this lowly fool is teaching me about Brahma.”
As a result, Srila Madhavendra Puri withdrew his blessings from his disciple, who then started to develop material desires. He became a dry philosopher without any interest in Supreme Personality of Godhead. Not only that but he became critical of everyone, devoting himself to faultfinding.
Srila Prabhupada Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur comments — “Even though Sri Ramachandra Puri saw his own guru suffering of separation from Sri Krishna, he was incapable of recognizing the transcendental nature of his transport of emotions. He judged his guru to be an ordinary man and took his mood to be material, the result of some material insufficiency. As a result he tried to explain to him the value of experiencing the oneness of Brahma. Srila Madhavendra Puri reacted unfavorably to his disciple’s stupidity and disregard for his teachings and thus stopped wishing for his well-being. He abandoned him and drove him away.”
The words material desires means ”the desire for dry knowledge” and from that arose the tendency to criticize the devotees.
On the other hand, Sri Ishvara Puri not only adhered to his guru’s teaching but served him physically and thus received his mercy. He served the lotus feet of his spiritual master, even to the point of personally cleaning, as well as helping him to perform sravan of Sri Krishna’s name and pastimes. In this way he satisfied him completely.
He continuously repeated the name of Sri Krishna and recounted Sri Krishna’s pastimes to him. Srila Madhavendra Puri was so pleased with Sri Ishvara Puri that he embraced him and blessed him, saying, “May you have the wealth of love for Sri Krishna!”
From that time onward, Sri Ishvara Puri became an ocean of love for Sri Krishna, while Sri Ramachandra Puri became a mine of insults. These two personalities thus bear witness to the results of pleasing or displeasing a great soul. Srila Madhavendra Puri taught this truth through them.
He was the spiritual master of the whole world and he gave the gift of love of God
Sri Guru is not exclusively the same as the Supreme Lord Himself, but he fully represents the essence of the whole normal potency and embodies the most comprehensive and excellent service and favor of the Lord.
As he is the fittest servitor of the Lord, he is empowered by the Lord to reinstate all misguided souls to their best interest. So, guru is the divine messenger of immortal hope and joy in this mortal and miserable world.
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaj ji
Obtaining the shelter of the lotus feet of a genuine guru is, without a doubt, a matter of both great fortune and great dilemma for the conditioned soul (living being).
If, however, a fortunate soul has a sincere longing and ardency to attain a true guru, he does so by the mercy of Sri Krishna.
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Srirup Siddhanti Goswami Maharaj
vaisakhasya caturdashyam
suklayam sri nrikesari
jatas tad asyam tatpujot-
savam kurvita savratam
(Padma Purana)
“Sri Nrisimhadeva appeared on the fourteenth lunar day (Caturdashi-tithi) of the bright fortnight of the month of Vaishakha. So, on this day, it is proper to worship and celebrate the appearance of Lord Sri Nrisimhadeva
This is the childhood pastime of Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
On another day, a Brahmin pilgrim passed through Navadwip (West Bengal, India) with Bala Gopal, his deity of the baby Krishna. Sri Chaitanya Maparabhu was called Nimai, when He was a child. His father Sri Jagannath Mishra offered the Brahmin a place to perform his puja as well as food to cook for an offering. When the pilgrim had finished cooking, he sat down to offer the bhoga to his deity. But as soon as he started meditation on his mantra, baby Nimai came and began eating the offering. The Brahmin saw this and started to shout in distress. Sri Jagannath Mishra was extremely disturbed by the incident and the Brahmin had to intercede to stop him from giving the child a spanking.
Although the Brahmin did not want to cook again, Sri Jagannath begged him to do so. Before he recommenced preparing the offering.
Sri Jagannath took baby Nimai to a neighbor’s house so that He would not do any more mischief. Once again,when the Brahmin sat down to meditate on his Bala Gopal mantra to make his offering, Sri Gaura Gopal appeared out of nowhere and started to enjoy the food-stuffs.
The Brahmin again began to shout in frustration, “Everything’s ruined. Everything’s ruined!” For a second time Sri Jagannath was devastated and once again was about to punish the child, only to be stopped by his guest. The Brahmin said,“He’s only a child and doesn’t understand anything. It’s not His fault. It seems that it is not my destiny to eat today.”
This time, baby Nimai’s older brother Sri Vishvarupa begged the Brahmin to try a third time, and so finally, on his insistence, he began to cook again. This time it was quite late at night and Nimai was fast asleep in His room so no one suspected any trouble.
Even so, the Brahmin waited until the entire household had gone to bed before making his offering; but once again, contrary to all expectation, Sri Gaura Gopal came to consume it. This time, however, He gave the Brahmin a vision of an extraordinary eight-armed form. In four of these hands, He held the conch, discus, mace and lotus flower of Sri Narayana; but in the palm of another hand, He held a lump of butter from which He was taking morsels with another.The last two hands were engaged in playing a flute. When the pilgrim Brahmin saw this wonderful vision, he fainted away completely.
When he came to consciousness, Nimai told him not to reveal this pastime to anyone. He told him, “You have been My servant for many, many births. This very same pastime also took place at Sri Nanda’s house in Gokula.”
The Brahmin decided to stop his travels and remain forever in Navadwip to be close to his Lord. Every evening after finishing his daily activities he would return to Nimai’s house to behold his worshipable lord.
Sri Virabhadra Goswami was inundated with Srimati Jahnava Mata’s mercy, becoming Her direct initiated disciple. Sri Nityananda Das writes in his Prema-Vilasa that when Sri Virabhadra saw Srimati Jahnava Devi in a four-armed form, His mind was changed and He decided to accept Her as His diksha Guru.
Without the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu’s energy, Srimati Jahnava Devi, no one is able to cross over the ocean of material life, nor can one obtain the service of Sri Nityananda Prabhu and enter into the loving service of His worshipable Sri Gaurhari and Sri Sri Radha-Krishna.
Srila Bhakti Vinode Thakur has written in his Kalyankalpatru:
“O Jahnava Devi! Be merciful today to your servant and deliver me from my pain. Give me a place in the boat of your lotus feet so that I can be sure to cross over the ocean of birth and death. You are Nityananda’s energy. You are devotion to Krishna and my guru. Please give this servant the desire tree of your lotus feet. How numerous are the fallen souls that you have saved? So this fallen beggar seeks a place at your feet.”
Srila Krishna Das in his song that begins as Jaya Radhe Jaya Krishna Jaya Vrindavana, has prayed for Jahnava Devi’s mercy after glorifying Krishna’s name, abode and associates: “Remembering Jahnava Devi’s lotus feet, the lowly Krishna Das sings the name of the Lord”.
Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would always perform Sri Harinam Sankirtan in the house of one of His devotee, Srila Srivas Pandit.
One day, Sri Srivas’s only son died while sankirtana was being performed in his house. Sri Srivas was afraid that the sounds of mourning from the women’s quarters would disturb Sri Mahaprabhu while He was engaged in singing the Holy Names. So he went directly into the house and tried to quiet the women by explaining spiritual truths to them. When they still didn’t stop their loud lamentations, he threatened to throw himself into the river and drown if they did not stop making noise. This had the desired result.
Later on that night, however, the kirtan came to a stop and Sri Mahaprabhu said, “Something doesn’t seem right. Has some tragedy taken place in the pandit’s house?” Sri Srivas answered, “How can anything be wrong, when I have Your smiling face in my home?”
“However, some of the other devotees said, “Prabhu, Srivas’ only son died in the evening about an hour after sunset.”
Mahaprabhu asked, “Why did no one say anything before now?”
The devotees answered, “Lord, Srivas told us not to, because he was afraid that it would interfere with Your pleasure in Sri Harinam kirtana.”
Sri Mahaprabhu said, “How could I ever abandon devotees who love Me to this extent!”. After this, He went inside and sat down beside the child’s dead body and brought him back to consciousness. He asked, “Child! Why do you want to leave the house of such a great devotee as Srivas?”
The dead child answered, “The few days that I was to spend in Sri Srivas’s house are over, and now I am following Your wishes in going elsewhere. I am a living being without any independence; I cannot go against Your wishes. Please be merciful to me that I never forget Your lotus feet, wherever I go.”
When Srivas’ family members heard the child speak such wisdom, they immediately forgot their distress and stopped mourning.
Sri Mahaprabhu said to Sri Srivas Pandit, “From this day on, Nityananda and I will be your sons. We will never leave you.”
According to Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Transcendental Divine Love is the strongest spiritual force on earth which can establish close relation of love and unity of hearts amongst all human beings and thereby establish real peace in the world.
All animated beings are inter-connected and are the parts of the potency of One Organic System — The All Pervading Soul. The knowledge of our common relation to that Absolute Soul will foster in us love and affinity for each other.
— His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj.
Srila Madhvendra Puripad, a devotee of Supreme Lord Sri Krishna once visited Remuna, a place in Orissa. During his visit to place he went for an audience (darshan) of Sri Gopinath deity.
Seeing the beautiful image of Lord Gopinath in Remuna, Srila Madhavendra Puri was overwhelmed with love, and started singing His names and danced for some time in ecstasy. He asked one of Lord Gopinath’s Brahmin servants what foods were offered to the deity. The Brahmin answered: “In the evening we offer Sri Gopinath twelve bowls of amrit-keli, a thickened milk preparation that is like the nectar of the gods. It is famous everywhere as Sri Gopinath’s khira, and no offering anywhere in the world is its equal. As the Brahmin spoke, other servants of Lord Gopinath started to make the amrita-keli offering to their deity. Srila Puri thought that if he could just get a taste of this preparation, he would be able to one day make it himself and offer it to his own Lord Gopal. However, this very thought shamed him, as it is improper to desire the food intended for the Lord. After watching the arati ceremony, Srila Madhavendra went outside and sat in the empty market-place, chanting the Holy Names.
In the meantime, the pujari had finished his duties and was taking rest when he had a vision of the deity in a dream telling him, “Get up! Open the door. I have put a bowl of amrit-keli khira aside for the sannyasi. It is hidden behind the pleats of My dress. You did not see Me put it there because of My power (maya). The sannyasi, whose name is Madhava Puri, is sitting in the marketplace. Quickly take this khira to him.”
The pujari was startled by the dream and immediately got up. He bathed, opened the door to the altar and found a bowl of the khira behind the deity’s cloth, just a he had been told. He took the bowl and went to find Srila Madhavendra Puri. He wandered through the market, shouting, “I have khira here for Madhava Puri. Lord Gopinath has stolen it for you. Take it and eat it with joy, for there is no person as fortunate as you in the three worlds.”
When Srila Madhavendra heard the pujari shouting in this way, he approached him and identified himself. The pujari gave him the khira and then fell at his feet.. He recounted the whole story to Srila Madhavendra sending him into paroxysms of divine love for Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. He respectfully ate the prasad and then, after washing the clay bowl, broke it into many small pieces and wrapped them up in his outer garment. Each day thereafter, he would eat a piece of the clay bowl and once again feel the same ecstatic love.
Knowing that word of this miracle would spread by morning, Srila Madhavendra Puri became fearful of the celebrity that would inevitably befall him and the crowd of people that would then surround him. So, he paid his obeisance to Lord Gopinath and left for Puri before dawn.
