'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."
"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 CharitamritaAdi 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 Sanskritpañca 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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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 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!"
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."
