Thursday, May 10, 2012

Happiness Life's is Love, Beauty, Charm, Ecstasy

Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj                                                                                                 

This is a lecture by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj to students at a college in Mauritius. His Divine Grace visited that tropical island off the east coast of Africa as part of his World Tour in 1993. This lecture is taken from Chapter 5 of The Benedictine Tree of Divine Aspiration, published in November 1993.


Honorable teachers, respectable Vaishnavas, and my beloved students: I feel very fortunate that you have given me this chance to speak about Krishna consciousness. I am especially indebted to the authorities of this college. Because of their kindness it is possible for me to meet with you all today.
When I first came here to Mauritius, I noticed some very auspicious symptoms. I noticed that the trees bear so much fruit, the earth is very fertile, and all the people are very conscious of religion. I was surprised to see that this country is like a heaven on earth! I also saw that many mangoes had fallen from the trees, and many other trees bore ripe papayas and other fruit, yet nobody collected that fruit. Seeing these symptoms immediately inspired me to remember Sri Vrindavan Dham. There we find ripe fruit on the trees everywhere, and the souls residing there are full of the mood of service. They are all eternally engaged in the divine service of the Supreme Lord. We find such descriptions of Goloka-Vrindavan, the holy abode of Lord Krishna, in Sri Brahma Samhita. This holy book was brought by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from South India, and it is widely accepted by religious authorities as the authentic treatise depicting the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
isvarah paramah krsnah / sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah / sarva-karana-karanam
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead – the Embodiment of Truth, Consciousness, and Joy – is Govinda, or Krishna. He is without beginning, the origin of all that be, and the cause of all causes.” [Sri Brahma Samhitha 5:1

]Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

That is, the actual form of each one of us originates from the sac-cid-ananda-vigraha of Krishna.
All the Vedic scriptures teach us that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Other “gods” also have their own abodes and full powers, but only as expansions of the power of the infinite Personality of Godhead, Krishna. If you subtract infinite power from infinite power, you still have infinite power, just as zero minus zero equals zero.
om purnam adah purnam idam / purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya / purnam evavasisyate
A proper examination of the Vedic Scriptures will leave us with no doubt that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Throughout the whole world people are chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, and through that we can also have some understanding. In all the scriptures – the Vedanta, the Upanisads, the eighteen Puranas – we find that the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, are chanted. Still the question arises: “What is Krishna consciousness, and why should we worship Krishna?”
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj
Srila Govinda Maharaj
Love, Beauty, Charm, Ecstasy
We are in want. We are not fulfilled within ourselves – for that fulfillment we must worship Krishna. What is our want? We need love, we need beauty, we need charm, we need ecstasy, and so on. These are essential for our soul, which is always in a state of living, and has the properties of thinking, feeling, and willing. The soul can move, and the jada, or the material, cannot move; but even within matter, there are living souls. Within a tree is living a soul – this has also been proved by scientists such as Jagadish Bose. This knowledge is not new: in the ancient Vedas we will find all knowledge given in a living way. The knowledge given by the Vedas is that behind everything is the living soul, and if we study the Vedas we will find this out.
The property of the living soul is thinking, feeling, and willing. One who has these properties must necessarily need to do something. He can do good, or he can do bad. If he does good, he will get a good reaction; if he does bad, he will get a bad reaction. Every action has a reaction. Newton’s third law states that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” We should therefore try to do good things, otherwise we shall not receive a good reaction. And to get relief from all reaction, we must become Krishna conscious. If we surrender fully to Krishna, everything will go directly into His account. If all our actions are done in Krishna consciousness, no reaction will come to us. This process has been given in Srimad Bhagavatam and Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
In this gathering you are all students and you all wish to know something about religion, specifically something about Krishna consciousness. If you try to read Srimad Bhagavad Gita you will be benefited. Everyone has the chance to improve his future by reading this book – whether he is a karmi, or a fruitive worker, a jnani, or a seeker of knowledge, a yogi, wanting power to conquer the environment, or a bhakta, who is always surrendered and fully dependant upon the knowledge of Krishna consciousness. Everyone can gain some good future prospect from reading Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
anasaktasya visayan / yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe / yuktam vairagyam ucyate
The real benefit to be gained is that without mundane attachment we are to engage in service to Krishna. [Bhakti Rasamrtasindhu 1:2:255]
asocyan anvasocas tvam / prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca / nanusocanti panditah
Krishna said to Arjuna: “You speak like a wise man, yet you are suffering from material happiness and sadness. You show yourself to be knowledgeable in the Vedas [pandit] but you are not actually following that line.” [Bhagavad Gita 2:11] Then Krishna started to give some knowledge of the Vedas to Arjuna. He explained that there is a certain plane, and if we can live there, no reaction will come to us. Krishna said:
niyatam kuru karma tvam / karma jyayo hy akarmanah
sarira-yatrapi ca te / na prasiddhyed akarmanah
“If you do not do anything, you will not get anything. You will not even be able to survive! You must do something, so try to do something good.” [Bhagavad Gita 3:8]
yajnarthat karmano ‘nyatra / loko ‘yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya / mukta-sangah samacara
“O Arjuna, this whole world of living beings comes into bondage by their actions, except action performed as selfless duty offered to Lord Vishnu. Therefore, being free from attachment, fully engage in the performance of action for the purpose of such sacrifice.” [Bhagavad Gita 3:9]
Actually, we need to do something good even from childhood. This is the knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam and Krishna consciousness. Whenever we gain any knowledge, we should try to use that for a good purpose – not just for a good purpose, but we should use it in a way that will be good for everybody. If we proceed in this way, we shall be supremely benefited in our lives as a result.
Failure Is The Pillar Of Success
When students study for promotion to a higher class, they endeavor with heart and soul, but not everyone is able to get the desired result because they may have many types of deficiencies. Some may fail in their class, but if they remember that “failure is the pillar of success,” they can get the strength to try and try again. Even in the mundane world we must apply this process.
Srila Govinda Maharaj
Srila Govinda Maharaj with Srila Janardan Maharaj
At first nobody can walk. When a very young child first tries to walk, he falls down, but again he tries to walk. He walks, falls down, walks, falls down, gradually gaining in strength and capacity until he is finally able to walk properly. In this way karmis, jnanis, and yogis have some prospect. But the super prospect is with those who are fully surrendered to Krishna. By their own free will they march in the line of Krishna consciousness, and they gain the benefit accordingly. In the Srimad Bhagavatam we find this advice of Prahlad Maharaj to his student classmates:
kaumara acaret prajno / dharman bhagavatan iha
durlabham manusam janma / tad apy adhruvam arthadam
Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Nrsimhadev. His classmate friends were only between five and twelve years of age, yet when he met with them in their teacher’s house he would urge them to inquire about and practice spiritual life even from childhood.
We have fortunately gained this human body. We are jivas, or souls, and we may be given any type of body according to our past activities. By some good previous activity we have been given this human body. In the human body there is a much greater capacity and possibility to learn and realize many things. Other species such as dogs, cows, etc., have only a very limited power of understanding – just enough to try to achieve some basic happiness. Real happiness, however, is not possible in this mundane world, but some realization is possible.
We use knowledge in many ways to try to gain happiness and a good result. The best thing for the jiva is to try to know what is the transcendental world’s environment, and his place there. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my destination in life? After death where will I go? In this human body we can realize the answers to many such questions; and that is called bhagavat-jnana, bhagavat-dharma. If we try to read and understand such topics, we will be benefited.
It is necessary that in this life we try to know what is the super benefit of our human life, and the super benefit of the soul. The soul is actually transcendental, but our body is mortal. The transcendental body is living in the mortal body, whether it be a human body or any other variety of species.
Actually we are not this body – we are living inside this body. We can understand this when we see a person who is dying. At that time we cannot give them any more days. We can understand that inside the body is the spirit of that person. With the spirit is thinking, feeling, and willing, and that is called the jiva, or the soul. When a man dies, that soul leaves his temporary material body. This is not only Indian philosophy, but in the Western countries also we find famous philosophers such as Hegel who have had similar realizations.
We must try to do something good for our self, for our soul. Good is possible through the processes of humility, tolerance, and giving honor to others. We should try to avoid the opposing environment, and in that way we can happily study what is the soul, what is God, and what is the super benefit of this life. Also, we should study where we have come from, where we will go, etc. Birth and death is natural in this world, and we are always getting happiness and sadness and many other temporary feelings. We must try to understand all these things. Prahlada Maharaj said:
kaumara acaret prajno / dharman bhagavatan iha
durlabham manusam janma / tad apy adhruvam arthadam
We must try to understand what is Bhagavat Dharma, and when that steady knowledge comes within us, we should try to use it to understand what is what. If not, we will be losers. [Srimad Bhagavatam 7:6:1] It is only in this human body that we can properly understand what is good and what is bad, and if we try sincerely we will get that type of knowledge.
What is necessary is sincerity, tolerance, humility and giving honor to others. These four qualities are necessary for everyone. I am very happy to observe that the people here in Mauritius are very enthusiastic and enlightened with these qualities. Furthermore, their tendency is to be real searchers, and they are practicing to do good according to their capacity, while avoiding bad things. I am very happy to see this within this small country.
I am pleased to have met you all. I do not know how much good I can do for you, but I am with you, and it is my expectation that our attempt will be fruitful in the future.

Monday, April 23, 2012

                                                                              

Srila Gadadhar Pandit's Appearance Day. Informal talk by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj over the phone with Madhusudhana Prabhu from Hawaii. Dum Dum Park Temple, Kolkata, 2006.
http://scsmath.net/math/audio/1107on-uploads/060427_SGovMj_GadadharPandit.mp3

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga
'The Lotus feet of Gadadhar Pandit are our sole treasure'
By His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj
From Divine Guidance, Chapter Two, 'On the Way to Sri Puri-Dham'

When Uddhava went to Vrndavan he was so charmed by seeing the Gopis' love, their devotion, their attraction, and their affection for Krishna, that he said, "For life after life, I only desire one thing: I want to become a speck of dust in Vrndavan. Not only that, I want to be one of those who are worthy of receiving that dust -- the plants and creepers of Vrndavan -- and live here for all eternity. Here in the land of Vrndavan, Krishna has performed His Pastimes, and His companions, the Gopis, also roam around here. If I can be born as a small creeper so that I may get the dust of their lotus feet on my head, that will be my highest fortune."
Such are the glories of Krishna, and the intense feeling of separation from Him -- Vipralambha. Mahaprabhu has shown us the highest limit of that Vipralambha in Sri Nilachala-Dham.
Sri Gadadhar Pandit, who kept Mahaprabhu in the depths of his heart, and performed the supreme seva, also lived there. Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and went to Jagannath Puri, and by His desire Lord Gopinath became manifest. When you go to Puri you will all see Lord Gopinath there. Both the feelings of Mahaprabhu and the feelings of Gadadhar Pandit were described in a beautiful sloka by our Srila Guru Maharaj.
nilambhodhi-tate sada sva-viraha-ksepanvitam bandhavam
srimad-bhagavati katha madiraya sanjivayan bhati yah
srimad-bhagavatam sada sva-nayanasru payanaih pujayan
gosvami-prabaro gadadhara-vibhur-bhuyat mad-eka-gatih
The lotus feet of Gadadhar Pandit are our sole treasure. He resided by the ocean of Vipralambha which was manifest by his life and soul, Lord Gauranga, who took everything from him.
Sri Sri Gaura Gadadhar, worshipped since the time of Mahaprabhu at the Sri Sri Gaura Gadadhar Mandir in Champahati, Sri Nabadwip Dham.
'The lotus feet of this Gadadhar Pandit are our ultimate destination. Our worshipable Deities are Gaura-Gadadhar, and the supreme demonstration of their Vipralambha was seen in Nilachala-Dham.'
Mahaprabhu was suffering separation from Krishna, and His feelings of separation were so intense, that sometimes His body became elongated, sometimes He retracted His limbs like a tortoise, and sometimes His joints became separated.
So Mahaprabhu, Sri Krishna Himself, suffered intense separation from Krishna, and He was enlivened by hearing topics about Lord Krishna from Gadadhar Pandit. When a person is in intense grief, what does he do? He becomes blinded by his grief, and he cannot decide how he will find some peace, so he drinks alcohol. Sri Gadadhar Pandit provided such intoxication for Mahaprabhu by enlivening Him with the intoxicating topics of Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is how he served the Lord of his heart.
And how were Gadadhar Pandit's own feelings of separation? He is seeing that his beloved Lord is in front of him, and his Lord is suffering so intensely that He is becoming unconscious now and then. All the eight symptoms of separation can be seen in His body, such as perspiring, trembling, tears, becoming stunned, changing of bodily colour, etc., but there is nothing he can do about it. Lamenting this, continuous floods of tears flowed from his eyes.
Whenever Gadadhar Pandit read the Bhagavatam, he became so mad with feelings of separation from Krishna that his tears would wash away the letters on the page. The proof of this is, when Srinivasa Acharyya came to him to study Srimad-Bhagavatam, Gadadhar Pandit told him,

"My dear son, when I was reading Bhagavatam to Mahaprabhu, all the letters in my book were washed away, therefore I cannot now read to you from this book. Please find a book somewhere. Mahaprabhu instructed me in my dream, saying you were coming. But you need to have a book. I have memorised everything, but you need a book also." Gadadhar Pandit thus worshipped the Bhagavatam with his tears. Is it necessary to have any ingredients to worship? One's own tears are the best ingredients.
The lotus feet of this Gadadhar Pandit are our ultimate destination. Our worshipable Deities are Gaura-Gadadhar, and the supreme demonstration of their Vipralambha was seen in Nilachala-Dham.

Some links:

'Srinivas Acharyya and the Stolen Books.' In this audio recording, Srila Gurudev, His Divine Grace Srila Govinda Maharaj, touches further on the Pastimes between Srila Gadadhar Pandit and Srinivas Acharyya.
'Lotus Eyes -- Lotus Tears: Gadadhar -- Mahaprabhu's Ecstatic Correlative,' an article by Sripad Goswami Maharaj:
'By the divine grace of Srila Sridhar Maharaj, such an astonishing conception was projected on the mirror of my conscious self -- so beautiful, luminous -- it penetrated the layers of dust and ego, covering my heart, providing a momentary glimpse into his conceptual domain.'
'Two Surrendered Souls,' Sripad Akinchan Maharaj reflects on this holy day last year (also available on our local mirror):
'Srila Sridhar Maharaj says: "Gadadhar Pandit represents Radharani's mood, Her nature, Her heart." .... And at the conclusion of 'Heart and Halo,' Srila Sridhar Maharaj says that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur identified Gadadhar Pandit with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. "That was the vision of our Gurudeva. He could see in them the same identity...."'
'The Hidden Chamber of Bhajan.' Sripad Goswami Maharaj recounts Srila Gurudev's response to a suggestion that a deity of Sri Gadadhar join the Mahaprabhu Vijay Vigraha at the Chandan Yatra Mandir in Govinda Kunda:
' "Why was the worship of Gaur Gadadhar not manifested in Mayapur? First one must become qualified about that conception. One must not only understand it theoretically but must have substantial feelings. The worship of Gaur Gadadhar was the deep bhajan of Bhaktivinoda Thakur hidden in his bhajan kutir."
Webpage compiled by Damayanti Dasi, UK

Sunday, April 22, 2012

the five aspects of divinity within Gaudiya Vaishnavism




                                    jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda,
                           śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
"I bow down to Lord Krishna, who appears as a devotee (Lord Chaitanya), as His personal expansion (Sri Nityananda), His incarnation (Sri Advaita), His devotee (Sri Srivasa), and His energy (Sri Gadadhara), and who is the source of strength for the devotees." (Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 1.14)

Within the Gaudiya tradition a mantra formed from the names of the five members of the Pancha Tattva is often spoken or sung as a means of devotional worship or meditation (japa). Often this mantra is sung or chanted prior to the Hare Krishna mantra. It is believed by followers to be the most merciful mantra available in this age of Kali.

Pancha Tattva (Devanagari: पञ्चतत्त्व; IAST: pañca-tattva, from Sanskrit pañca meaning "five" and tattva "truth" or "reality") in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition refers specifically to the Five aspects of God or Absolute Truth.



  • Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is said to be Krishna Himself, The Supreme Person (Svayam Bhagavan).
  • Nityananda is Krishna's first personal expansion.
  • Advaita Acharya is a combined incarnation of Lord Vishnu & Lord Shiva (Harihara).
  • Gadadhara is an incarnation of Krishna's internal energy.
  • Srivasa is Krishna's pure devotee.




  • From 'Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya:'
    All glories to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of Sachi. All glories to Sri Nityananda Prabhu, the life and soul of Jahnava-devi. All Glories to Nabadwip-dham, the topmost of holy places, where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the age of Kali.

    Nityananda Prabhu said, "Listen to My words: Nabadwip, the holy land of Sri Chaitanya, is non-different from Vrindavan, the holy land of Sri Krishna. Measuring thirty-two miles in circumference, Nabadwip consists of nine islands, which form an eight-petalled lotus that floats on the waters of the Ganges. Eight of the islands form the eight petals of the lotus, and the center of that lotus is the ninth island called Antardwip.

    "The centre of Antardwip is Mayapur. Within Mayapur is the eternal sphere of influence known as Yogapith, the divine birthplace of Sri Chaitanya and eternal pleasure-ground of His Pastimes. As Sri Chaitanya, the Supreme Lord Krishna appears in the role of His own devotee, He comes as the original Guru in the form of Nityananda Prabhu, and as the devotee-avatar, Advaita. Krishna appears as His devotional energy, Gadadhar, and as His follower, Srivas. These five features of Godhead are known as Pancha-tattva, or the Five Great Truths. Within the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya known as the Yogapith, the Pancha-tattva have Their seat, thus the Yogapith is the holiest of all holy places. The circumference of Mayapur is three and a half miles, and its diameter about one and a quarter miles."

    Nityananda Prabhu continued, "Very soon, by the will of the Lord, this entire area will be submerged under the waters of the Ganges. Later, again by His will, this holy land will be revealed once more in all its glory. The holy land is eternal. It can never be lost, but it is sometimes hidden and sometimes visible. In this way, the appearance and disappearance of the divine abode of the Lord are like the rising and setting of the sun.
    "Sri Chaitanya, My worshipable Lord, resides eternally in Mayapur on the east bank of the Ganges. In the eyes of the common people, the Lord took sannyas, left Nabadwip, and went elsewhere, but actually Sri Chaitanya never leaves Mayapur or Nabadwip. Only devotees can perceive His daily Pastimes. You too, Jiva, will see the dancing Pastimes of Sri Chaitanya. Mayapur is on the island of Antardwip, where Lord Brahma was able to see Sri Chaitanya. O Jiva, if you want to see all these things, it will be fruitful for you to make a pilgrimage here."
    Jiva Goswami, upon hearing the words of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, fell at the Lord's feet with tears in his eyes and said, "You will show real mercy to this poor soul if You take me with You on a pilgrimage of the holy places of Nabadwip Dham." Hearing the plea of Jiva Goswami, Nityananda Prabhu said, "So be it. Today, Jiva, you shall see Mayapur and tomorrow, we will visit other places and tour more extensively."
    With these words Nityananda Prabhu arose, and Jiva followed behind Him, his heart filled with joy. Nityananda Prabhu moved slowly, His body transported by Divine Love (Gaura-prema). The enchanting figure of Nityananda Prabhu, covered with golden ornaments and moved by waves of spiritual emotion, glittered and shone. The lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu, which could not be attained by Brahma and Siva in their divine meditation, were mercifully bestowed upon Jiva Goswami. Following behind Nityananda Prabhu, Jiva Goswami took the dust from His lotus feet and, anointing himself with it, walked on with great eagerness.
    They reached the home of Jagannath Misra. As Nityananda Prabhu entered the house, He introduced Jiva Goswami to Sri Sachimata saying, "O Mother, here is Sri Jiva. He is a high-minded soul and a dear servant of Sri Chaitanya who is extremely fortunate." As Nityananda Prabhu spoke, Jiva fell over like a tree uprooted by a storm. Falling at Sachidevi's feet and unable to speak, his body exhibited uncontrollable symptoms of ecstasy.
    Out of her mercy Sachimata blessed him. That afternoon, in the house of Jagannath Misra, Nityananda Prabhu and Jiva Goswami accepted prasada. Vishnupriya-devi, on the order of Sachimata, cooked different kinds of rice, vegetables, chutneys, and sweets. Vamsivadana Thakur carefully offered bhoga to the Deity of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Isana Thakur, the old servant of Jagannath Misra's family who had been staying there since Nimai Pandit had taken sannyas, happily served Nityananda Prabhu prasadam.
    Out of motherly affection, Sachidevi told Nityananda Prabhu, "Eat Your rice, my child! You are at Your mother's house now. Unseen by You, Nimai has already taken His lunch. If You will also eat Your lunch, it will make me very happy." Hearing the motherly words of Sachidevi, Nityananda Prabhu enjoyed His lunch with great delight, and Jiva Goswami honoured His remnants.
    Jiva Goswami said, "I feel blessed to have the good fortune of taking prasadam in the home of Sri Chaitanya in Mayapur." After lunch Nityananda Prabhu took His leave of Sachidevi's holy feet and took Vamsivadana Thakur with Him. Jiva Goswami offered his respects to Vamsivadana's lotus feet, and Nityananda Prabhu explained to Jiva Goswami, "The devotees know that Vamsivadana is Krishna's own dear flute, by whose mercy souls are attracted to Krishna and thirstily drink the highest mellows of devotion.
    "Look, Jiva. In this house Sri Chaitanya would take us in and we would perform wonderful pastimes. Just see—this is the temple of Jagannath Misra, where he used to do his daily worship of Vishnu. In this house he served his guests. There is the Tulasi bower. While he was still in this house, he performed all the duties his own father had done before him. Relying on the authoritative directions of Vamsivadana Thakur, Isana now performs those duties every day. Here there once grew a neem tree. It disappeared by the divine touch of Sri Chaitanya."
    As He described this, Nityananda Prabhu wept in separation and Vamsivadana also wept. Just then, Srivas Thakur approached out of curiosity. When he saw the party of devotees he joined them, and the four of them left the home of Jagannath Misra. Together, they walked two hundred meters south, until they came to the courtyard of Srivas Thakur known as Srivasangam. There Sri Chaitanya used to perform kirttan. With His mind filled with transcendental pleasure, Nityananda Prabhu showed the house of Srivas to Jiva Goswami, who became overwhelmed with ecstasy as he remembered the Pastimes of the Lord.
    There Sri Chaitanya used to perform kirttan. With His mind filled with transcendental pleasure, Nityananda Prabhu showed the house of Srivas to Jiva Goswami, who became overwhelmed with ecstasy as he remembered the Pastimes of the Lord. As Jiva gradually recovered, he had a vision of one of the Lord's Pastimes. Sri Chaitanya was dancing with His intimate devotees. In that great kirttan party he witnessed with joy the unprecedented dancing of Advaita Acharya, Nityananda Prabhu, Gadadhar Pandit and Haridas Thakur, who sang sweetly as they danced. The great devotee Suklambara danced and was accompanied by hundreds of other devotees who also danced blissfully. Seeing this, Jiva lost consciousness in the ecstasy of Divine Love.
    Inside this compound is Srivasangan, Advaita Bhavan, and Gadadhar Angan. As you enter the gate, the main temple is on the right side and stands right where Srivas Pandit's house was located.
    Here Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu perform private kirttan with his most intimate associates.
    Lord Nityananda Prabhu and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu leading the devotees in kirttan to protest the Chand Khazi's ban on kirttan. You can see the broken mrdanga since this is the place where the mrdanga was broken. Srivasangam is the centre of Lord Chaitanya's sankirttan Pastimes, just as the Yogapith is the centre of His childhood Pastimes.
    This is the depiction of the maha-prakasa Pastime of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu where He revealed Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Chaitanya sits on the throne as Gadadhar Pandit fans Him with a chamara and Lord Nityananda Prabhu holds an umbrella over His head.
    Advaita Bhavan
    These are the Deities in Advaita Bhavan. Seated is Sri Advaita Acharya praying for the descent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is standing to the right.
    Nityananda Prabhu tells Jiva Goswami: "Here is the house of Advaita Acharya, where the Vaishnavas used to meet to discuss Krishna. Here, Advaita Prabhu worshipped Krishna, and by His loud calls caused the treasure of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to descend into this world."
    Gadadhar Angan
    Sri Sri Gaur-Gadadhar:
    Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (on the left) and Sri Gadadhar Pandit.
    For more nectarine  stories told by Nityananda Prabhu to Sri Jiva Goswami in 'Sri Nabadwip-Dham Mahatmya' and given in English in 'The Hidden Treasure of the Holy Dham Nabadwip'
    http://scsmath.com/memories/06a/060527_nbdp_parikrama/html/parikrama1a.html

    Saturday, April 21, 2012

    Hari Om Tat Sat (Sanskrit: हरी ओम् तत् सत्, Hari Aum Tat Sat)

    Om Tat Sat can be translated to mean the ‘Supreme Absolute Truth’, or more literally ‘all that is’.

    • Om refers to the Supreme Infinite Spirit or Person. • Tat refers to ‘that’, or ‘all that is’. • Sat refers to ‘truth’, that which is not evanescent or ephemeral, the underlying basis, which is most fundamental and universal.
     

    Friday, April 20, 2012

    Srila Govinda Maharaj - Faith is the Basis Pt. 3 of 3


    Devotee: What is the start­ing point of shar­anagati?
    Srila Govinda Maharaj: Sharanagati, sur­render, starts from the point of shraddha, faith. The mood of per­fect sur­render will come to us through shraddha.
    ‘śraddhā’-śabde—viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niśchaya
    kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya
    (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita: Madhya-lila, 22.62)
    Shraddha means con­fid­ent, firm faith that everything will be ful­filled, and everything impossible will become pos­sible, through the ser­vice of Krishna.”
    What is what, who is who—everything—is determ­ined by our faith. Faith is the basis of all reli­gions, not only the Vaishnav reli­gion, because faith is the jiva–souls’ true and best prop­erty. Faith is always the friend of every­one and if we have faith in Krishna con­scious­ness we will be able to adjust everything.
    sakala chhāḍiyā bhāi,     śraddhā-devīra guṇa gāi,
    yā̐ra kṛpā bhakti dite pāre
    (Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur)
    So giv­ing up everything, sing the glor­ies of Shraddha Devi, faith, by whose mercy we can feel the pres­ence of bhakti, devo­tion, in our hearts.”
    Faith is our main prop­erty; we should never lose our faith. And our faith must also grow, it must become stronger and stronger until it reaches an unshak­able pos­i­tion. Our faith must be tran­scend­ental, sin­cere and chaste. You can­not throw a rocket from any­where, you must have a sub­stan­tial found­a­tion. When your faith becomes firm and unshak­able and you under­stand the fun­da­mental pos­i­tion of sur­render and devo­tion to Krishna then you will be worry free and shar­anagati, your mood of sur­render, will pro­tect you. You will have an unshake­able launch­ing pad and from there you will be able throw your rocket across the illus­ory envir­on­ment to Goloka Vrindavan.
    The spir­itual world exists entirely within the plane of faith, and any­one whose faith is very strong will get that highest prop­erty when his faith takes on a tran­scend­ental form and is suc­cess­fully activ­ated in his heart. Everything will be revealed to him.

    Srila Govinda Maharaj - Faith is the Basis Pt 2 of 3


    Faith is the transcendental basis for everyone and for every religion.

    Srila Govinda Maharaj - Faith is the Basis Pt.1 of 3



    BG 6.47   The best of all yogis is the devotee who has full faith in the authoritative pure devotional scriptures, and who adores, rendering all services unto Me. This is My opinion.

    SCS Math Srila B. S. Govinda Dev Goswami Maharaj

    Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj made his Appearance in this world on December 17th, 1929, at Brahmanpara, District Burdwan, only about six miles from Sripat Hapaniya where his beloved Gurudev made his Advent, also situated in the holy area of Gauda-Mandal.
    Revealing his pastimes to the conditioned souls of this worldly plane, at the tender age of only seventeen years Srila Govinda Maharaj manifest his coming to the Lotus Feet of his Gurudev, Sri Srila Sridhar Maharaj, in April 1947, on the Holy Appearance Day of Lord Nrsimhadev.
    On the Amavasya [dark-moon day] of August 12th, 1988, when Srila Guru Maharaj silently took his form of Holy Samadhi at his beloved place of bhajan, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip Dham, all the devotees felt that the exalted moon had disappeared from their vision; yet by his Divine Grace, Srila Guru Maharaj had already foreseen the devotees' need for uninterrupted light, for the smooth continuation of their devotional services, and therefore three years before he had conferred the holy order of Tridanda-Sannyasa upon Srila Govinda Maharaj, naming him as his illustrious successor, as the guiding light to perfectly ensure that no darkness could enter into his Sampradaya.
    Highly learned in Sanskrit and Bengali, Srila Govinda Maharaj has, as did his illustrious Gurudev, given us many divine prayers and songs most valuable for the cultivation of our spiritual life. His valuable natural talent, coupled with his fine delivery of Hari Katha [holy talks of the Supreme Lord and His Pastimes], and, on the practical side of devotional life, his untiring services to his Gurudev in nurturing and upholding Srila Guru Maharaj's Indian and Worldwide Mission from the very beginning to the present (it was none other than he who designed and supervised the building of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math) have ever fulfilled the desires of Sri Gurudev.
    The elixir of nectar which has been carried around the world from Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is still flowing by the mercy Sri Guru and Gauranga represented in the person of Srila Govinda Maharaj, and through him it has become doubly sweet.
    Srila Guru Maharaj -- acclaimed by one and all as the "Maker of Gurus" -- has presented to us his most precious gem in the personage of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

    Srila Govinda Maharaj Singing Sweet & Simple Kirtan

    Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj singing kirtan during an evening darshan at the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, London, Nov/Dec 2007.

    Afterwards, he speaks a little:

    Mahaprabhu Chaitanydev, when first started (doing sankirtan) first day, with no mrdanga and no kartatals, only clapping, and the song was 'hari haraye namah krishna yadvaya namah...yadvaya madhvaya keshvaya namah...and all the students (of Mahaprabhu) they wrapped up their books and they took a vow that 'We shall not read again, we will chant Hare Krishna!"

    Wednesday, April 18, 2012

    Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj




    gurvabhista-supurakam guru-ganair asisa-sambhusitam
    chintyachintya-samasta-veda-nipunam sri-rupa-panthanugam
    govindabhidham ujjvalam vara-tanum bhakty anvitam sundaram
    vande visva-gurun cha divya-bhagavat-premno hi bija-pradam

    "I worship the holy lotus feet of he who perfectly fulfills the most cherished wish of his divine master -- who is adorned resplendently with the blessings of his guru varga; who is adept in all Vedic conceptions, both conceivable and inconceivable; who is the faithful follower in the line of Sri Rupa; who is known as Srila Govinda Maharaj; whose beautiful divine figure revels in the mellows of divine love; who is the guru of the entire universe and the bestower of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord."