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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for ISKCON Punjabi Bagh,
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DTSTART:20240101T000000
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240307
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240308
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240215T123108Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240309T094645Z
UID:33703-1709769600-1709855999@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Vijaya Ekadashi 7th March 2024
DESCRIPTION:Yudhisthira Maharaj said\, “Oh Lord Sri Krishna\, O glorious son of Vasudeva\, please be merciful to me and describe the Ekadasii that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna (February-March)”\nLord Sri Krishna replied\, “Oh Yudhisthira\, Oh king of kings\, gladly I shall tell you about this great fast\, known as Vijaya Ekadasii. Whoever observes it certainly achieves success in this life and the next. All the sins of one who fasts on this Ekadasii and hears its sublime glories are eradicated. \n“Narada Muni once asked lord Brahma\, who sits on a lotus flower about the Vijaya Ekadasii. Sri Narada said\, ‘Oh best of all the demigods\, kindly tell me the merit one can achieve by faithfully observing Vijaya Ekadasii.’\n“Narada’s great father then replied\, ‘My dear son\, this oldest of fasting days is pure\, and it nullifies all sins. I have never revealed this to anyone until today\, but you can understand beyond any doubt that this Ekadasii bestows the result indicated by its name… (Vijaya meaning Victory). \n“When Lord Rama was exiled to the forest for fourteen years\, He\, the goddess Sita\, and His divine brother Lakshmana stayed at Panchavati as mendicants. Mother Sita was then kidnapped by the demon Ravana\, and Lord Rama seemingly became bewildered like an ordinary man by distress. While searching for His beloved consort\, the Lord came upon the dying Jatayu and thereafter killed His enemy Kabandha.. The great devotee-vulture Jatayu returned to Vaikuntha after telling Rama how His dear Sita had been abducted by Ravana. \n“ ‘Later\, Lord Rama and Sugriva\, the king of the monkeys\, became friends. Together they amassed a grand army of monkeys and bears and sent HanumAnji his minister to Sri LankA\, where he was able to see Janaki (Srimati Sita devi) in an Ashoka grove garden. He delivered Lord Rama’s message and showed the ring proving his authenticity for rendering such great service to the Supreme Lord Sri Rama.“ ‘With the help of Sugriva\, Lord Rama proceeded toward Sri Lanka. Upon arriving at the shore of the ocean with the army of monkeys\, He could understand that the water was uncommonly deep and hostile. Thus He said to Lakshmana\, “Oh son of Sumitra\, how can We earn enough merit to be able to cross this vast ocean\, the unfathomable abode of Varuna deva? I can see no easy way to cross it\, teeming as it is with sharks and other ferocious aquatics.” \n“ ‘Lakshmana replied\, “Oh best of all beings\, Oh origin of all the devas\, Oh primal personality\, the great sage Bakad Albhya lives on an island just four miles from here. Oh Raghava\, he has seen many BrahmAs come and go\, so aged and wise is he. Let us go to him\, take his darshan (audience) and ask him how We can safely reach Our goal.” \n“ ‘So Rama and Lakshmana proceeded to the humble Ashrama of the incomparable Bakad Albhya Muni. Approaching him\, the two Lords paid Their respectful obeisances to him as if he were a second Vishnu. Bakad Albhya could immediately understand\, however\, that Sri Rama was actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead\, who for His own reasons had appeared on the Earth and was enacting just like a human being.\n“ ‘ “Rama\, “ said BakadAlbhya\, “Oh best of the human beings\, why have You come to my lowly abode?”\n“ ‘The Lord replied\, “Oh great\, twice born brahmin\, I have come here to the ocean shore with My phalanx of monkey and bear warriors in order to cross the sea and conquer LankA and its demon horde headed by Ravana. Oh greatest of sages\, please be merciful unto Me and please tell Me how I can cross this vast ocean. That is why I have come to your Ashrama today.”\n“ ‘The sage said\, “Oh Lord Sri Rama\, I shall tell you of the most exalted of all fasts\, observing which You will surely conquer Ravana and be eternally glorified. Kindly now listen with full attention. \n“ ‘ “On the day before Ekadasii\, fashion a water pot of gold or silver\, or even copper. Even clay will do if these metals are unavailable. Fill the pot with pure water and then decorate it nicely with mango leaves. Cover it and place it near a holy altar upon a mound of seven grains (the seven grains are barley\, wheat\, rice\, corn\, chickpeas\, kukani\, and dahl or peas). Now take Your morning bath\, decorate the water pot with flower garlands and sandalwood paste\, and inn the concave lid atop the pot place there the barley\, pomegranate\, and coconut. Now with great love and devotion worship the water pot Deity form and offer Him incense\, sandalwood paste\, flowers\, a ghee lamp\, and a plate of sumptuous foods. Remain there awake that night beside this sacred pot. On top of the lid filled with barley\, etc.\, place a golden murthy of Lord Sri Narayana.\n“ ‘ “When Ekadasii dawns\, take Your morning bath and then decorate the water pot with fine sandalwood paste and garlands. Then worship the pot again with first class incense\, lamps\, sandalwood paste and flowers dipped in sandalwood paste\, and then devoutly/devotedly place many kinds of cooked food\, pomegranate\, and coconut before the water pot. Then remain awake over night. \n“ ‘ “When the Dwadasi dawns\, take the water pot to the bank of a holy river\, or even to the shore of a small pond. After worshipping it again properly\, Oh King of kings\, offer it with all the aforementioned ingredients to a pure hearted brahmin\, expert in the Vedic sciences. If You and Your military commanders observe the Vijaya Ekadasii in this way\, You will surely be victorious in every way.” \n“” ‘Lord Sri Ramachandra Bhagavan\, the Supreme Personality of Godhead\, did just as Bakad Albhya Muni instructed\, and thus He conquered all demoniac forces. Similarly\, anyone who observes the Vijaya Ekadasii in this way will always be victorious in this mortal world\, and after leaving this world he/she will reside forever in the anxiety free realm of the Kingdom of God known as the Vaikunthas.” \n“ ‘Oh Narada\, my son\, from this history you can understand why one should observe this Ekadasii fast properly\, strictly following the rules and regulations. This fast is powerful enough to eradicate all one’s sinful reactions\, even the most abominable ones.” \nLord Sri Krishna concluded\, “Oh Yudhisthira\, anyone who reads or hears this history will attain the same great merit as that which is earned by performing a horse sacrifice on days of yore.” \nThus ends the narration of the glories of Phalguna-krsna Ekadasii or Vijaya Ekadasii\, from the Skanda Purana. \nThese stories have been summarized and slightly changed\, abbreviated or added to from how they are found in the celebrated book\, “Ekadasi: The Day of Lord Hari” 1986. HH Krishna Balaram Swami. Bhaktivedanta Institute Press.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/vijaya-ekadashi-7th-march-2024/
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240307
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240308
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240215T123219Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240309T094652Z
UID:33704-1709769600-1709855999@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Isvara Puri 7th March 2024
DESCRIPTION:Isvara Puri was the spiritual master of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Even though Lord Caitanya\, the Supreme Godhead\, did not need a spiritual master\, He accepted Srila Isvara Puri as His guru to establish the importance of accepting a spiritual master.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-isvara-puri-7th-march-2024/
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240309
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240310
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240215T123606Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240311T043749Z
UID:33705-1709942400-1710028799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Siva Ratri 9th March 2024
DESCRIPTION:Siva Ratri worship of Lord Siva. Devotees may bathe a Siva-linga in water and panca-gavya (five substances from the cow) and offer Krsna-prasada to Lord Siva. Fasting is optional for Vaisnavas. \nEvery lunar month on the 13th or 14th day of the dark half of the moon phase there is a Shivaratri but in the Vedic month of Phalgun (February-March) there is a Maha Shivaratri. The ceremony takes place mainly at night\, which is observed in the honour of Lord Shiva\, who was married to Parvati (Mother Durga) on this day. \nDevotees of Lord Shiva generally observe a strict fast on this day and some go to the extent of a nirjal fast i.e. they do not even have a sip of water. \nThey stay awake the entire night. The Shiva lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk\, yogurt\, ghee\, honey and so forth\, whilst chanting of the mantra “Om namah shivaya”\, continues. Offering of bael leaves are made to the Lingam. Bael leaves are very sacred (as Tulsi to Lord Vishnu and dhar to Mother Durga are very pleasing to Them) and Lord Shiva becomes pleased with that offering. Many different hymns glorifying Lord Shiva are sung with intense fervour and devotion. Aspirants perform japa of the Panchakshara mantra “ Om namah Shivaya” \nHe who utters the names of Lord Shiva during Shivaratri with perfect devotion and concentration is freed from all sins that he/she have committed. He/she reaches the abode of Lord Shiva and resides very happily there. \nNOTE: the Vaishnavas however worship Lord Shiva on this day in order to receive His blessings to become a better devotee of Lord Krishna (Vishnu) and not to attain residence in the abode of Shiva. \nWhen creation was completed Lord Shiva and Parvati Mata went to live on the top of Mount Kailash. \nParvati asked\, “O adorable lord\, which of the many rituals observed in your honour pleases you the most.”  \nThe Lord replied\, “the fourteenth night of the new moon in the dark fortnight during the month of Phalgun\, is my favorite day. It is called Maha Shivaratri. My devotees give me great joy and happiness bymere fasting than by ceremonial baths and offerings of flower\, sweets and incense.” \n“The devotee observes strict spiritual discipline in the day and worships me in four different forms during each of the four successive three hour periods of the night. The offering of a few bael leaves is more precious to me than precious jewels and flowers. My devotee should bath me in milk  in the first period\, in yogurt in the second period\, in ghee in the third\, and in honey in the fourth  and the last. In the morning he should feed Brahmins (that is if this is possible)\, and after doing   that he/she breaks his/her fast. No ritual can compare with this simple routine in sanctity.”    \nParvati was deeply impressed by the words of her husband. She repeated this to her friends\, who in turnpassed it on to everyone else. Thus the sanctity of Maha Shivaratri was broadcast all over the world. \nThe Shivaratri fast is aimed at controlling a persons’ two biggest vices (rajas – the quality of passionate activity) and (tamas – that of inertia). \nAt many ashrams around the world Shivaratri is celebrated in the following manner. \nAspirants fast the whole day\, many of them without taking a single drop of water. Some ashrams perform a grand havan (fire yajnas) to Lord Shiva for peace and welfare of all. The whole day is spent in chantinge of the mantra “Om namah Shivaya” and in meditation upon the Lord. At night all assemble in the temple and chant this mantra and during the four quarters of the night the Shiva lingam is worshipped with intense devotion. \nSrila Prabhupada says – \nDemon Sankhacuda Killed – taken from Krsna Book (Chapter 34.) \n“Once upon a time\, the cowherd men of Vrindavana\, headed by Nanda Maharaja\, desired to go to Ambikavana to observe the Siva-ratri ceremony. The rasa-lila was performed during the autumn\, and after that the next big ceremony is Holi\, or the Dolayatra ceremony. Between the Dolayatra ceremony and the rasa-lila ceremony there is one important ceremony called Siva-ratri\, which is especially observed by the Saivites\, or devotees of Lord Siva. Sometimes the Vaishnavas also observe this ceremony because they accept Lord Siva as the foremost Vaishnava. But the function of Siva-ratri is not observed very regularly by the bhaktas\, or devotees of Krishna. \nUnder the circumstances\, it is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam that Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men “once upon a time desired.” This means that they were not regularly observing the Siva-ratri function but that once upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikavana out of curiosity.” \n“…observing Siva-ratri\, Nanda Maharaja and all the cowherds men\, they increased their attachment for Krishna. That is wanted.” \n– ( Srila Prabhupada. 1st May 1974\, Morning Walk excerpt\, Bombay\, India.) \n“In this verse Lord Siva is described as midhushtama\, the best of the benedictors. He is also known as Asutosha\, which indicates that he is very quickly satisfied and very quickly angered. It is said in Bhagavad-gita that less intelligent persons go to the demigods for material benedictions. \nIn this connection\, people generally go to Lord Siva\, and because he is always quickly satisfied and gives benedictions to his devotees without consideration\, he is called midhushtama\, or the best of the benedictors. Materialistic persons are always anxious to get material profit\, but they are not serious about spiritual profit. \nSometimes\, of course\, it so happens that Lord Siva becomes the best benedictor in spiritual life. It is said that once a poor brahmana worshiped Lord Siva for a benediction\, and Lord Siva advised the devotee to go to see Sanatana Gosvami. \nThe devotee went to Sanatana Gosvami and informed him that Lord Siva had advised him to seek out the best benediction from him (Sanatana). Sanatana had a touchstone with him\, which he kept with the garbage. On the request of the poor brahmana\, Sanatana Gosvami gave him the touchstone\, and the brahmana was very happy to have it. He now could get as much gold as he desired simply by touching the touchstone to iron. But after he left Sanatana\, he thought\, “If a touchstone is the best benediction\, why has Sanatana Gosvami kept it with the garbage?” He therefore returned and asked Sanatana Gosvami\, “Sir\, if this is the best benediction\, why did you keep it with the garbage?” Sanatana Gosvami then informed him\, “Actually\, this is not the best benediction. But are you prepared to take the best benediction from me?” The brahmana said\, “Yes\, sir. Lord Siva has sent me to you for the best benediction.” Then Sanatana Gosvami asked him to throw the touchstone in the water nearby and then come back. The poor brahmana did so\, and when he returned\, Sanatana Gosvami initiated him with the Hare Krishna mantra. Thus by the benediction of Lord Siva the brahmana got the association of the best devotee of Lord Krishna and was thus initiated in the maha-mantra\, Hare Krishna\, Hare Krishna\, Krishna Krishna\, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama\, Hare Rama\, Rama Rama\, Hare Hare.(Srila Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam 4:7:7. purport.) \n“Vaishnavanams yatha Shambu – Lord Shiva is the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu.” \nStory – The unknown fast \nIn the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata\, Bhishma\, whilst resting on a bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma\, refers to the observance of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story goes as follows. \nOnce\, King Chitrabhanu was observing a fast with his wife\, and it was the day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to the king’s court. \nThe sage asked\, “ O king why are you observing a fast today?” King Chitrabhanu explained the reason\, as he had the gift of remembering the incidents of his previous birth. \nThe king said to the sage\, “in my past birth I was a hunter in Varanasi (Kashi). My name was Suswara. My livelihood was to kill and sell birds and animals. One day\, I was overtaken by the darkness of night. Unable to return home\, I climbed a tree for shelter. It happened to be a bael tree. I had shot a deer that day\, but I did not have time to take it home. I bundled it up and tied it to a branch on the tree. As I was tormented by hunger and thirst\, I kept awake throughout the night. I shed profuse tears when I thought of my poor wife and children who were starving and anxiously awaiting my return. To pass away time that night I engaged myself in plucking bael leaves and dropping them down onto the ground. “The day dawned and I returned home and sold the deer. I bought some food for myself and for my family. I was about to break my fast when a stranger came to me\, begging for food. I served him first and then took my food.” \n“ At the time of death\, I saw two messengers of Lord Shiva\, they were sent down to take me to his abode. I then learnt for the first time of the great merit I had earned but the unconscious worship of Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri. They told me that there was a lingam under that tree and that I had dropped the leaves on that Lingam. My tears\, which I had shed out of pure sorrow for my family\, fell onto the Lingam and washed it. And I had fasted all day and all night. Thus\, I unconsciously worshipped Lord Shiva on that most auspicious day.” “I lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for long ages. And now I am reborn as Chitrabhanu.” \nSlokas and Quotes from the Scriptures \nBrahma Samhita chapter 5 TEXT 45 \nksiram yatha dadhi vikara-visesa-yogat\nsanjayate na hi tatah prthag asti hetoh\nyah sambhutam api tatha samupaiti karyad\ngovindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami \nSYNONYMS \nksiram–milk; yatha–as; dadhi–yogurt; vikara-visesa–of a special transformation; yogat–by the application; sanjayate–is transformed into; na–not; hi–indeed; tatah–from the milk; prthak–separated; asti–is; hetoh–which is the cause; yah–who; sambhutam–the nature of Lord Siva; api–also; tatha–thus; samupaiti–accepts; karyat–for the matter of some particular business; govindam–Govinda; adi-purusam–the original person; tam–Him; aham–I; bhajami–worship. \nTRANSLATION \nJust as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids\, but yet the effect curd is neither same as\, nor different from\, its cause\, viz.\, milk\, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Sambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction. \nPURPORT \n(The real nature of Sambhu\, the presiding deity of Mahesa-dhama\, is described.) \nSambhu is not a second Godhead other than Krsna. Those\, who entertain such discriminating sentiment\, commit a great offense against the Supreme Lord. The supremacy of Sambhu is subservient to that of Govinda; hence they are not really different from each other. The nondistinction is established by the fact that just as milk treated with acid turns into curd so Godhead becomes a subservient when He Himself attains a distinct personality by the addition of a particular element of adulteration. This personality has no independent initiative. The said adulterating principle is constituted of a combination of the stupefying quality of the deluding energy\, the quality of nonplenitude of the marginal potency and a slight degree of the ecstatic-cognitive principle of the plenary spiritual potency. \nThis specifically adulterated reflection of the principle of the subjective portion of the Divinity is Sadasiva\, in the form of the effulgent masculine-symbol-god Sambhu from whom Rudradeva is manifested. In the work of mundane creation as the material cause\, in the work of preservation by the destruction of sundry asuras and in the work of destruction to conduct the whole operation\, Govinda manifests Himself as guna-avatara in the form of Sambhu who is the separated portion of Govinda imbued with the principle of His subjective plenary portion. \nThe personality of the destructive principle in the form of time has been identified with that of Sambhu by scriptural evidences that have been adduced in the commentary. The purport of the Bhagavata slokas\, viz.\, vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh\, etc.\, is that Sambhu\, in pursuance of the will of Govinda\, works in union with his consort Durgadevi by his own time energy. He teaches pious duties (dharma) as stepping-stones to the attainment of spiritual service in the various tantra-sastras\, etc.\, suitable for jivas in different grades of the conditional existence. In obedience to the will of Govinda\, Sambhu maintains and fosters the religion of pure devotion by preaching the cult of illusionism (Mayavada) and the speculative agama-sastras. \nThe fifty attributes of individual souls are manifest in a far vaster measure in Sambhu and five additional attributes not attainable by jivas are also partly found in him. So Sambhu cannot be called a jiva. He is the lord of jiva but yet partakes of the nature of a separated portion of Govinda. (Sri Brahma Samhita\, translation by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad.) \nLord Krishna (Vishnu) is in this analogy considered to be likened to Milk. Milk is the origin of so many dairy products – Krishna tu bhagavan swayam\, and so Krishna or Vishnu is the origin of everything. When Krishna wants activity overseen of the modes of Tamo guna He expands Himself transforming His supreme powers to act in that way\, as no-one else could\, and in that state He is Shambu – Shiva. So it may be seen that milk that is transformed becomes yogurt\, but that yoghurt can never again become milk\, this is presented in Brahma samhita 5:45. \nvrndavanavani-pate! Jaya soma soma maule\nsanaka-sanandana-sanatana-naradedya\ngopisvara! Vraja-vilasi-yugangri-padme\nprema prayaccha nirupadhi namo namaste \n“O gatekeeper of Vrndavana! O Soma\, all glories to you! O you whose forehead is decorated with the moon\, and who is worshipable by the sages headed by Sanaka\, Sanandana\, Sanatana and Narada! O Gopisvara (Shiva)\, desiring that you bestow upon me that prema for the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava who perform joyous pastimes in Vraja-dhama\, I offer obeisances unto you time and again.” \nQuotes from Vaishnava smriti compilation Hari Bhakti Vilas of Srila Gopal Bhattar Goswami\, and the Dikdarshini Tika of Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhupada. \nSiva ratri vrtam krsna catur-dasyantu phalgune\nVaisnaver api tat karyam sri krsna pritaye sada \n(hari bhakti vilasa 14/187 from gautamiya tantra) \nOn the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna (February-March)\, for the pleasure of Lord Sri Krsna\, a Vaisnava should always take a vow to fast. (It is called Siva Ratri\, or the night of Lord Siva.) \nParat parataram yanti narayana parayanah\nNate tatra gamisyanti ye dvisanti mahesvaram \n(Hari Bhakti Vilasa 14/189 from Kurma Purana the Supreme Lord speaks to Bhrgu Muni) \n(One who avoids fasting on Siva Ratri or the “night of Lord Siva”\, he becomes very offensive. Whatever offenses one accumulates by not fasting on Siva Ratri day is explained here.) The destination of the Supreme Personality of Godhead\, Lord Narayana\, is certainly in the spiritual world. But if one is envious of Lord Sri Siva\, he does not attain the spiritual world. \nYani kany atra lingani sthavarani carani ca\nTesu sankramate devas tasyam ratrau yato harah\nSivaratris tatah prokta tena sa hari vallabhah \n(Hari Bhakti Vilasa 14/200 from Skanda purana\, Nagara khanda) \nWhatever deities of Lord Siva that can be found on this earthly planet\, on the night of this fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna\, Lord Siva\, who is a leading demigod\, enters into them. For this reason\, this day is called Siva Ratri. For this reason\, this day is very dear to Lord Sri Hari. \nSri krsne vaisnavanantu prema bhakti vivardhate\nKrsna bhakti rasa sara rudra anukampaya  \nvarsi (hari bhakti vilasa 14/221 from skanda purana)  \nBeing a Vaisnava\, if somebody fasts on Lord Siva’s night (Siva Ratri day)\, by the mercy of him (Lord Siva) who is diving in the ocean of the mellow of devotion to Krsna\, one’s devotion to Krsna increases rapidly.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/siva-ratri-9th-march-2024/
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240311
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240312
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240215T123737Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240313T094351Z
UID:33706-1710115200-1710201599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji 11th March 2024
DESCRIPTION:Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Maharaja lived for 140 years. He took diksa from Sri Madhusudana Dasa Babaji and did bhajana for many year at Surya Kunda in vrindavana.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-srila-jagannatha-dasa-babaji-11th-march-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240311
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240312
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240227T092443Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240313T094359Z
UID:33842-1710115200-1710201599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Rasikananda 11th Mar 2024
DESCRIPTION:Rasikananda Prabhu preached Krsna consciousness in northern Orissa after the disappearance of Lord Caitanya. He was the principal disciple of Syamananda Gosvami. \nAccepting the order of his guru\, Sri Syamananda\, on his head\, Rasikananda preached the message of Sri Gaursundar in the world for approximately 16 years. Thereafter he entered into his eternal pastimes through the lotus feet of Gopinatha at Remuna. On the first day of the bright fortnight in the month of Phalguna\, Sakabda 1574 (1652AD)\, Rasikananda quietly slipped out of the village Santa without anyone’s notice and walked to Remuna. Arriving there\, he discussed Krsna-katha with the devotees there for a while and instructed everyone to serve Sri Krsna with devotion. Then\, after requesting them to begin sankirtana\, he entered the temple of Sri Gopinatha\, and after touching Kshira-chora Gopinatha’s lotus feet\, which bestow complete fearlessness\, he entered into their ultimate shelter. \nRasikananda prabhu’s samadhi is at the Temple of Kshira-chora Gopinath at Remuna just in front and to the right as you go in the main gate\, with the temple to the left\, and admin’ offices straight ahead \nHis Life \nBirth \nAround 1590 AD (Sakabda 1512)\, on the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartik\, during the night of the festival Dipamalika\, when the houses are decorated with rows of lamps\, Sri Rasikananda Deva made his appearance in this world. His father was Sri Acyuta Deva\, the king of Rohini. \nThe village of Rohini or Royni was situated within the country known as Mallabhumi\, encompassed on one side by the Suvarnarekha River (Suvarna meaning golden and rekha\, a line). This Suvarnarekha River cleansed the sins of all the local people. Near Royni was another village of the name Barayita\, by the side of which flowed the Dolanganadi River\, whose banks were adorned with beautiful gardens. Raja Acyuta Deva very affectionately maintained his subjects and was famous for impeccably observing the rites attendant upon kings. In the village of Royni the son of King Acyuta appeared as the sun appears in the eastern sky and became dearly beloved by the people. He was known as Rasikananda and also Murari. \nYouth \nAt a very young age he became quite proficient in all of the scriptures. He was very devoted to his parents\, especially his mother\, whose name was Bhavani. His father married him at very young age. Murari’s wife Syamadasi was a treasure chest of good character who hailed from the village of Ghonta Sila\, not far from Royni on the banks of the Suvarna Rekha\, where in earlier ages the Pandavas had lived in exile. \nMeeting his Guru \nOne day\, Murari was sitting in a lonely place\, wondering when and where he might become so fortunate as to get shelter at the lotus feet of a spiritual preceptor. Just then a voice from the sky addressed him\, “Don’t be in anxiety\, you will become the disciple of Sri Syamananda.” Having heard this proclamation\, Rasik Murari became very jubilant\, and began to repeatedly murmur the name Syamananda\, as though chanting japa. a Pandit \nMoment to moment his eagerness increased without diminition\, as tears flowed from his eyes by his chanting of the name of Syamananda. He was in such a state that he spent most of the night sleeplessly\, calling to his master Syamananda. Finally\, towards the early morning\, he drifted off to the land of dreams\, where he saw his spiritual master\, the very figure of charm and grace. Smilingly\, Syamananda informed him\, “When tomorrow the eastern sky becomes tinged with pink\, you will obtain me.” Saying this\, Syamananda disappeared. Rasikananda’s heart began to swell in ecstatic bliss. Then\, with the first rays of morning which dispel the dense darkness of the world\, the wise Murari sat silently watching the path. After some time Syamananda approached from the distance\, looking as effulgent as the sun and surrounded by his disciples like Sri Kishora dasa and others. His smiling face was like the lotus flower that opens to greet its friend- the sun\, and his chest was as broad as a door. His captivating appearance was made all the more irresistable by the sweet sounds of ‘Sri Krsna Caitanya-Nityananda’ emanating from his lotus mouth. Absorbed in intense love he moved along the path like the clouds move in the sky. When Rasika caught sight of this divine form\, he fell down in front of him to touch his lotus feet. In great ecstasy Shyamananda embraced him and began to bathe him with his tears of ecstatic love. \nLife devoted to Preaching \nSri Rasika Murari then felt himself to be one of the most fortunate living beings within this universe. On an auspicious day Syamananda initiated Rasika and his wife in Radha-Krsna mantra. After that\, Rasikananda began to travel with his guru\, during which time he became a very intimate disciple. Syamananda then bestowed upon him the service of Sri Radha- Govinda Deva at Sri Gopiballabhapur. Rasikananda became totally engaged in their Lordships service\, and the devotees were charmed by his excellent services. At Gopiballabhpur and other places he began to seriously take up the preaching the message of Sri Gaura-Nityananda. By his influence many atheists and non-believers were transformed into devotees of Sri Gaura-Nityananda. “By the tremendous influence of Rasikananda’s preaching\, many rogues\, robbers and atheists were delivered from their sinful activities and received his mercy. He distributed the jewel of devotion as he travelled from village to village\, in the company of his disciples. \nOne day he even converted a wild elephant which was sent for his destruction into his disciple and engaged him in the service of Krsna and the Vaisnavas. That wicked miscreant who sent the elephant bowed at his feet when he realised his mistake. It is not possible to count the number of living entities that were extricated from the ocean of material existence by Rasikananda Deva’s association. He was always intoxicated with the chanting of the Holy Name. Who cannot but be overwhelmed by hearing about his uncommon qualities?” [B.R. 15.86] Many virtuous kings and zamindars such as the king of Mayurbhanj named Vaidyanatha Bhanj\, the king of Patashpur known as Gajapati and Candrabhanu\, the king of Moyna\, took shelter at his lotus feet. What to speak of those pious and noble gentlemen\, even the sinful zamindar Bhima\, Suba Ahmadbeg and the wicked atheist Srikar also surrendered themselves at his lotus feet. Another vicious\, wild elephant was tamed by Rasikananda’s transcendental influence and henceforward was known as Gopala das. Later\, two jungle tigers likewise gave up their ferocious nature. \nLove for Lord Jagannath \nOne year\, during Lord Jagannatha’s Ratha-yatra festival\, Rasikananda Deva was preaching somewhere in the country\, but when he realised that it was time for Ratha-yatra he dropped everything and rushed like the wind in order to come to Nilacala in time for the festival. \nBut in the meantime the festival had already begun. Lord Jagannath\, Who felt reciprocal separation from His dear devotee Rasikananda\, caused the Rath to stop. Though the king summoned his elephants to push the Ratha\, under no circumstances could they budge it\, not even an inch. Then Lord Jagannatha\, seeing that the king was becoming frustrated\, informed him that he was waiting for His devotee Rasika. \nFinally Rasikananda Deva arrived\, carrying with him many offerings of silk clothes and other presents. He fell down to offer his dandavats before Lord Jagannatha\, and the king requested him to pull the rope at which the cart began to easily move along the road\, just as the clouds move in the sky. Later the king requested Rasikananda to accept a gift of land so he might establish a temple there. Rasikananda requested the place known as Fultota Math\, which is now known as Kunja Math. There he installed the Deity of Sri Bat Krsna. The Deity is now known as Sri Sri Radha-Rasika Raya. \nLineage \nSri Rasikananda had three sons: Sri Radhananda\, Sri Krsna-Govinda and Sri Radha-Krsna. The present servants of Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva at Gopiballabhapur are their descendents. He composed Sri Shyamananda-sataka\, Srimad Bhagavatastaka as well as other hymns and songs. His Sripat Gopiballabhpur can be reached from Calcutta by taking a train to Khavagpur\, and a bus to Gopiballabhpur from there. There is also a temple of Rasikananda at Puri.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-rasikananda-11th-mar-2024/
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240313
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240314
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240227T093213Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T133553Z
UID:33844-1710288000-1710374399@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Appearance Day of Sri Purusottama Dasa Thakura 13th Mar 2024
DESCRIPTION:Purusottama Dasa Thakura was a great devotee of Lord Nityananda. In Goloka Vrndavana\, Purusottama Dasa Thakura serves Lord Balarama as a cowherd boy.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/appearance-day-of-sri-purusottama-dasa-thakura-13th-mar-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240320
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240321
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240227T093517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240326T054455Z
UID:33846-1710892800-1710979199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Amalaki Vrata Ekadashi 20th Mar 2024
DESCRIPTION:This Ekadasi is described in the Brahmanda Purana in a conversation between King Mandhata and the great sage Vasistha. The mighty King known as Mandhata enquired from Vasistha Muni\, “O most fortunate sage\, please be merciful unto me and kindly describe unto me a vow\, by whose observance I may attain all auspiciousness.” \nThe famous sage replied\, “O King\, I will explain to you the glories of and history of Amalaki Ekadasi\, by following of which one receives all auspiciousness in their lives. The piety accumulated by observing this great Ekadasi undoubtedly destroys all sinful reactions and easily awards one liberation. It also gives the benefit of offering one thousand cows in charity. \n“A long time ago\, when the world was very ancient there was a magnificent city called Vaidisa. The city was home to many healthy\, prosperous brahmanas\, ksatriyas\, vaisyas and sudras. O lion-hearted King\, there were no atheists in this city at all and the citizens had not even heard of sin. The  air was always filled with the sound of Vedic mantras\, chanted by the expert priests\, and everyone was very contented by the religious atmosphere. \nIn this fabulous city there lived an honest and pious King named Caitraratha who was born the son of King Pasabinduka\, a lordly member of the dynasty of the moon. King Caitraratha had abounding strength\, beauty\, opulence and wealth; he was well in the scriptures and his citizens loved him. Because of the religious fervour of the people\, they would all always follow Ekadasi. Due to such devotional service unto Lord Visnu the people remained happy in their prosperous kingdom\, there were no poor or miserly people to be found anywhere! \nOne propitious year Amalaki Ekadasi mixed with Dvadasi during the waxing moon in the month of Phalguna (February/March). Realising this Ekadasi was very powerful the King and his subjects prepared to observe the vow with great and special care. Early in the morning they bathed in the river and went to offer puja at the temple of Lord Visnu who resided on the river bank. Within the temple there was an amalaki and the King offered due respect by placing a pitcher of water\, an umbrella\, cloth\, shoes\, and five kinds of precious jewels at the base of the tree. He went on to worship Lord Parasurama with a beautiful canopy\, gold\, diamonds\, rubies\, pearls\, sapphires and very fragrant incense. The sages prayed thus: “O great Lord Parasurama\, son of Renuka\, O you who takes shelter of this amalaki tree\, O bestower of liberation\, We offer our respectful obeisances unto you.” They further offered poetic prayers to the amalaki tree. “O Amalaki\, sustainer of the universe\, O offspring of Lord Brahma\, O destroyer of sins\, We offer our respectful obeisances unto you.” \nAfter offering these prayers the King and his subjects proceeded to remain awake throughout the night\, they stayed in that Visnu temple and sang songs of glorification to the Supreme Lord and the Amalaki tree. By providences will a hunter arrived on the scene. The hunter made is livelihood by killing animals and had never seen such a sight before. He was bewildered by the company sitting peacefully and chanting to the Lord. He decided to sit down as well and observe the sankirtan of the Lord. By way of great fortune he unknowingly took darshan of Lord Damodar who was seated atop the pitcher of water. He stayed awake all night and despite his hunger he did not eat anything\, nor did he kill any animals. \nIn the morning the King and his courtiers returned to their palace and the hunter also returned home. Many years later the hunter left his body\, but despite his sinful life he received liberation simply by the grace of Amalaki Ekadasi. In his next life the hunter became a King with many elephants\, horses\, chariots and a large army. He was known by the name of Vasurath\, son of a powerful King called Vidurath who ruled the famous city of Jayanti. King Vasurath ruled over one million villages\, was as effulgent as the sun and as powerful as Lord Visnu. He was truthful\, tolerant and fixed in his occupational duties. Thus he was a great devotee. \n“One day Vasurath lost his way while hunting in the forest. He was extremely fatigued and afflicted with hunger. Finding no alternative the King lay down to sleep in the dense forest\, with no pillow he slept on the bare earth. While sleeping in the way a band of nomadic mlecchas came across the King and thinking him their enemy proceeded to beat him with their various weapons. Strangely enough none of the weapons caused even a slight disturbance to the saintly King. Bemused by this magic the mlecchas turned to run away\, fearful for their lives. At that moment an effulgent goddess appeared before them holding a a disc in her hand. She was adorned with various shining ornaments and fragrant sandalwood paste. Raising her arm she flung the disc at the mlecchas and killed them outright. \nWhen the King woke up he was astonished by the gruesome scene and became frightened. Seeing that his fearsome enemies were all dead the King exclaimed: “Who is my protector who has slain these enemies for me? I offer my heartfelt gratitude to such a well wishing benefactor.” Just then a voice from sky thundered: “Who else but Lord Kesava is capable of protecting His surrendered souls? He alone is the maintainer of the surrendered devotees and the universe.” After hearing this voice in the sky the King’s heart melted in devotional ecstasy. Knowing that he had been saved by the Supreme Lord he considered himself very fortunate. With increased faith and determination he returned to his palace and ruled just like Indra\, without obstacle or hindrance. \nThe sage Vasistha concluded\, “My dear King Mandhata! Anyone who observes this sacred vow of Amalaki Ekadasi undoubtedly achieves liberation and returns the abode of Lord Visnu.”
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/amalaki-vrata-ekadashi-20th-mar-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240321
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240322
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240227T093711Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240326T054516Z
UID:33848-1710979200-1711065599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance of Sri Madhavendra Puri 21st Mar 2024
DESCRIPTION:Madhavendra Puri was the spiritual master of the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Madhavendra Puri established the worship of the Gopala Deity.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-of-sri-madhavendra-puri-21st-mar-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240325
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240326
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
CREATED:20240227T094031Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240326T054526Z
UID:33851-1711324800-1711411199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Gaura Purnima - Appearance of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu 25th Mar 2024
DESCRIPTION:Gaura Purnima the appearance anniversary of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu\, who is Krsna Himself in the role of His own devotee. He appeared in 1486 in Mayapur\, West Bengal. \n“This account originally appeared in a short work by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura entitled\, ‘Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts.’ (dated 20th August 1896.)” This was taken from “Prologue” to “Teachings of Lord Caitanya” (A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 1974. pages xiii-xxii.)\n“Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Mayapur in the town of Nadia just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd Phalguna (1407 Sakadba)\, answering to the 18th of February 1486 of the Christian Era. The moon was eclipsed at the time of His birth\, and the people of Nadia were then engaged\, as was usual on such occasions\, in bathing in the Bhagirathi with loud cheers of Haribol. His father\, Jagannatha Misra\, a poor ‘brahmana’ of the Vedic order\, and His mother\, Saci-devi\, a model good woman\, both descended from ‘brahmana’ stock originally residing in Sylhet. Mahaprabhu was a beautiful child\, and the ladies of the town came to see Him with presents. His mother’s father\, Pandita Nilambara Cakravarti\, a renowned astrologer\, foretold that the child would be a great personage in time; and he\, therefore\, gave him the name Visvambhara. The ladies of the neighbourhood styled him Gaurahari on account of His golden complexion\, and His mother called Him Nimai on account of the ‘nimba’ tree near which He was born. Beautiful as the lad was\, everyone heartily loved to see Him every day. As He grew up He became a whimsical and frolicsome lad. After His fifth year\, He was admitted into a pathasala where He picked up Bengali in a very short time. \n“Most of His contemporary biographers have mentioned certain anecdotes regarding Caitanya which are simple records of His early miracles. It is said that when He was an infant in His mother’s arms He wept continually\, and when the neighbouring ladies cried ‘Haribol’ He used to stop. Thus there was a continuation of utterance of ‘Haribol’ in the house\, foreshewing the future mission of the hero. It has also been stated that when His mother gave Him sweetmeats to eat\, He ate clay instead of the food. His mother\, asking for the reason\, He stated that as every sweetmeat was nothing but clay transformed\, He could eat clay as well. His mother\, who was also the consort of a ‘pandita’\, explained that every article in a special state was adapted to a special use. Earth\, while in the state of a jug\, could be used as a water pot\, but in the state of a brick such a use was not possible. Clay\, therefore in the form of sweetmeats was usable as food\, but clay in its other states was not. The lad was convinced and admitted His stupidity in eating clay and agreed to avoid the mistake in the future. Another miraculous act has been related. \nIt is said that a brahmana on pilgrimage became a guest in His house\, cooked food and read grace with meditation upon Krsna. In the meantime the lad came and ate up the cooked rice. The ‘brahmana’\, astonished at the lad’s act\, cooked again at the request of Jagannatha Misra. The lad again ate up the cooked rice while the ‘brahmana’ was offering the rice to Krsna with meditation. The ‘brahmana’ was persuaded to cook for the third time. This time all the inmates of the house had fallen asleep\, and so the lad showed Himself as Krsna to the traveller and blessed him. The ‘brahmana’ was then lost in ecstasy at the appearance of the object of his worship. \nIt has also been stated that two thieves stole away the lad from His father’s door with a view to purloin His jewels and gave Him sweetmeats on the way. The lad exercised His illusory energy and deceived the thieves back towards His own house. The thieves\, for fear of detection\, left the boy there and fled. Another miraculous act that has been described is the lad’s demanding and getting from Hiranya and Jagadisa all the offerings they had collected for worshiping Krsna on the day of Ekadasi. When only four years of age He sat on rejected cooking pots which were considered unholy by His mother. He explained to His mother that there was no question of holiness and unholiness as regards to earthen pots thrown away after the cooking was over. These anecdotes relate to His tender age up to the fifth year. \n“In His eighth year\, He was admitted into the tola of Gangadasa Pandita in Ganganagara close by the village of Mayapur. In two years He became well read in Sanskrit grammar and rhetoric. His readings after that were of the nature of self-study in His own house\, where He had found all-important books belonging to His father\, who was a ‘pandita’ himself. It appears that He read the ‘smrti’ in His own study\, and the ‘nyaya’ also\, in competition with His friends\, who were then studying under the celebrated ‘pandita’ Raghunatha Siromani. \n“Now\, after the tenth year of His age\, Caitanya became a passable scholar in grammar\, rhetoric\, the ‘smrti’ and the ‘nyaya’. It was after this that his elder brother Visvarupa left his house and accepted the ‘ashrama’ (status) of a ‘sannyasi’ (ascetic). Caitanya\, though a very young boy\, consoled His parents\, saying that He would serve them with a view to please God. Just after that\, His father left this world. His mother was exceedingly sorry\, and Mahaprabhu\, with His usual contented appearance\, consoled His widowed mother. \nIt was at the age of 14 or 15 that Mahaprabhu was married to Laksmidevi\, the daughter of Vallabhacarya\, also of Nadia. He was at this age considered one of the best scholars of Nadia\, then renowned seat of ‘nyaya’ philosophy and Sanskrit learning. Not to speak of the ‘smarta panditas’\, the ‘Naiyayikas’ were all afraid of confronting Him in literary discussions. Being a married man\, He went to Eastern Bengal on the banks of the Padma for acquirement of wealth. There He displayed His learning and obtained a good sum of money. It was at this time that He preached Vaisnavism at intervals. After teaching him the principles of Vaisnavism\, He ordered Tapanamisra to go to and live in Benares. During His residence in East Bengal\, His wife Laksmidevi left this world from the effects of snake bite. On returning home\, He found His mother in a mourning state. \nHe consoled her with a lecture on the uncertainty of human affairs. It was at His mother’s request that He married Visnupriya\, the daughter of Raja Pandita Sanatana Misra. His comrades joined Him on His return from pravasa or sojourn. He was now so renowned that He was considered to be the best pandita in Nadia. Kesava Misra of Kashmir\, who had called himself the Great Digvijayi\, came to Nadia with a view to discuss with the ‘pandita’ of that place. Afraid of the so-called conquering pandita\, the tola professors of Nadia left their town on pretence of invitation. Kesava met Mahaprabhu at the Barokona-ghata in Mayapur\, and after a very short discussion with Him he was defeated by the boy\, and mortification obliged him to decamp. Nimai Pandita was now the most important ‘pandita’ of His times. \n“It was at the age of 16 or 17 that He travelled to Gaya with a host of His students and there took His spiritual initiation from Isvara Puri\, a Vaisnava ‘sannyasi’ and a disciple of the renowned Madhavendra Puri. Upon His return to Nadia\, Nimai Pandita turned religious preacher\, and His religious nature became so strongly represented that Advaita Prabhu\, Srivasa and others who had before the birth of Caitanya already accepted the Vaisnava faith were astonished at the change of the young man. He was then no more a contending ‘naiyayika’\, a wrangling ‘smarta’ and a criticizing rhetorician. \nHe swooned at the name of Krsna and behaved as an inspired man under the influence of His religious sentiment. It has been described by Murari Gupta\, an eye-witness\, that He showed His heavenly powers in the house of Srivasa Pandita in the presence of hundreds of His followers\, who were mostly well-read scholars. It was at this time that He opened a nocturnal school of ‘kirtana’ in the compound of Srivasa Pandita with His sincere followers. There He preached\, there He sang\, there He danced\, and there He expressed all sorts of religious feelings. Nityananda Prabhu\, who was then a preacher of Vaisnavism and who had then completed His travels all over India\, joined Him at that time. In fact\, a host of ‘pandita’ preachers of Vaisnavism\, all sincere at heart\, came and joined Him from different parts of Bengal. Nadia now became the regular seat of a host of Vaisnava ‘acaryas’ whose mission it was to spiritualize mankind with the highest influence of the Vaisnava creed. \n“The first mandate that He issued to Prabhu Nityananda and Haridasa was this: ‘Go\, friends\, go through the streets of the town\, meet every man at his door and ask him to sing the name of Hari with a holy life\, and you then come and report to Me every evening the result of your preaching.’ Thus ordered\, the two preachers went on and met Jagai and Madhai\, two most abominable characters. They insulted the preachers on hearing Mahaprabhu’s mandate\, but were soon converted by the influence of ‘bhakti’ (devotion) inculcated by their Lord. The people of Nadia were now surprised. They said\, ‘Nimai Pandita is not only a gigantic genius\, but He is certainly a missionary from God Almighty.’ From this time to His twenty-third year\, Mahaprabhu preached His principles not only in Nadia but in all important towns and villages around His city. In the houses of \nTo his followers he showed miracles\, taught the esoteric principles of ‘bhakti’ and sang His ‘sankirtan’ with other bhaktas. His followers of the town of Nadia commenced to sing the holy name of Hari in the streets and bazaars. This created a sensation and roused different feelings in different quarters. The ‘bhaktas’ were highly pleased. The ‘smarta brahmanas’ became jealous of Nimai Pandita’s success and complained to Chand Kazi against the character of Caitanya as un-Hindu. The Kazi came to Srivasa Pandita’s house and broke a ‘mrdanga’ (‘khola’ drum) there and declared that unless Nimai Pandit ceased to make noise about His queer religion he would be obliged to enforce Mohammedanism on Him and His followers. This was brought to Mahaprabhu’s notice. \nHe ordered the townspeople to appear in the evening each with a torch in his hand. This they did\, and Nimai marched out with His ‘sankirtan’ divided in 14 groups\, and on His arrival in the Kazi’s house\, He held a long conversation with the Kazi and in the end communicated into his heart His Vaisnava influence by touching his body. The Kazi then wept and admitted that he had felt a keen spiritual influence which had cleared up his doubts and produced in him a religious sentiment which gave him the highest ecstasy. The Kazi then joined the sankirtan party. The world was astonished at the spiritual power of the Great Lord\, and hundreds and hundreds of heretics converted and joined the banner of Visvambhara after this affair. \n“It was after this that some of the jealous and low-minded ‘brahmanas’ of Kulia picked a quarrel with Mahaprabhu and collected a party to oppose Him. Nimai Pandita was naturally a soft-hearted person\, though strong in His principles. He declared that party feelings and sectarianism were the two great enemies of progress and that as long as He should continue to be an inhabitant of Nadia belonging to a certain family\, His mission would not meet with complete success. He then resolved to be a citizen of the world by cutting His connection with His particular family\, caste and creed\, and with this resolution He embraced the position of a ‘sannyasi’ at Katwa\, under the guidance of Keshava Bharati of that town\, on the 24th year of His age. His mother and wife wept bitterly for His separation\, but our hero\, though soft in heart\, was a strong person in principle. He left His little world in His house for the unlimited spiritual world of Krsna with man in general. \n“After His ‘sannyasa’\, He was induced to visit the house of Advaita Prabhu in Santipura. Advaita managed to invite all His friends and admirers from Nadia and brought Sacidevi to see her son. Both pleasure and pain invaded her heart when she saw her son in the attire of a ‘sannyasi’. As a ‘sannyasi’\, Krsna Caitanya put on nothing but a ‘kaupina’ (two pieces of cloth\, a loin cloth) and a ‘bahirvasa’ (outer covering). His head was without hair\, and His hands bore a ‘danda’ (stick) and a ‘kamandalu’ (hermit’s water pot). The Holy Son fell at the feet of His beloved mother and said\, “Mother! This body is yours\, and I must obey your orders. Permit me to go to Vrndavana for My spiritual attainments.” \nThe mother\, in consultation with Advaita and others\, asked her son to reside in Puri (the town of Jagannatha) so that she might obtain His information now and then. Mahaprabhu agreed to that proposition and in a few days left Santipura for Orissa. \nHis biographers have described the journey of Krsna Caitanya (that was the name He got after His ‘sannyasa’) from Santipura to Puri in great detail. He travelled along the side of the Bhagirathi as far as Chatrabhoga\, situated now in Thana Mathurapura\, Diamond Harbour\, 24 Parganas. There He took a boat and went as far as Prayaga-ghata in the Midnapura District. Thence He walked through Balasore and Cuttack to Puri\, seeing the temple of Bhuvanesvara on His way. Upon His arrival at Puri He saw Jagannatha in the temple and resided with Sarvabhauma at the request of the latter. \nSarvabhauma was a gigantic ‘pandita’ of the day. His readings knew no bounds. He was the best ‘naiyayika’ of the times and was known as the most erudite scholar in the Vedanta philosophy of the school of Sankaracarya. He was born in Nadia (Vidyanagara) and taught innumerable pupils in the ‘nyaya’ philosophy in his tola there. He had left for Puri some time before the birth of Nimai Pandita. His brother-in-law Gopinatha Misra introduced our new sannyasi to Sarvabhauma\, who was astonished at His personal beauty and feared that it would be difficult for the young man to maintain ‘sannyasa-dharma’ during the long run of His life. Gopinatha\, who had known Mahaprabhu from Nadia\, had a great reverence for Him and declared that the ‘sannyasi’ was not a common human being. On this point Gopinatha and Sarvabhauma had a hot discussion. \nSarvabhauma then requested Mahaprabhu to hear his recitation of the Vedanta-sutras\, and the latter tacitly submitted. Caitanya heard with silence what the great Sarvabhauma uttered with gravity for seven days\, at the end of which the latter said\, ‘Krsna-Caitanya! I think You do not understand the Vedanta\, for You do not say anything after hearing my recitation and explanations.’ The reply of Caitanya was that He understood the sutras very well\, but He could not make out what Sankaracarya meant by his commentaries. Astonished as this\, Sarvabhauma said\, ‘How is it that you understand the meanings of the ‘sutras’ and do not understand the commentaries which explain the ‘sutras’? All well! If You understand the ‘sutras’\, please let me have Your interpretations.’ Mahaprabhu thereon explained all the ‘sutras’ in His own way without touching the pantheistic commentary of Sankara. The keen understanding of Sarvabhauma saw the truth\, beauty and harmony of arguments in the explanations given by Caitanya and obliged Him to utter that it was the first time that he had found one who could explain the Brahma-sutras in such a simple manner. He admitted also that the commentaries of Sankara never gave such natural explanations of the Vedanta-sutras as he had obtained from Mahaprabhu. He then submitted himself as an advocate and follower. In a few days Sarvabhauma turned out to be one of the best Vaisnavas of the time. When reports of this came out\, the whole of Orissa sang the praise of Krsna Caitanya\, and hundred and hundreds came to Him and became His followers. In the meantime Mahaprabhu thought of visiting Southern India\, and He started with one Krsnadasa Brahmana for the journey. \n“His biographers have given us a detail of the journey. He went first to Kurmaksetra\, where He performed a miracle by curing a leper named Vasudeva. He met Ramananda Raya\, the Governor of Vidyanagara\, on the banks of the Godavari and had a philosophical conversation with him on the subject of ‘prema-bhakti’. He worked another miracle by touching (making them immediately disappear) the seven ‘tala-trees’ through which Ramacandra\, the son of Dasaratha\, had shot His arrow and killed the great Bali Raja. He preached Vaisnavism and ‘nama-sankirtana’ throughout the journey. At Rangaksetra He stayed for four months in the house of one Venkata Bhatta in order to spend the rainy season. There He converted the whole family of Venkata from Ramanuja Vaisnavism to Krsna-bhakti\, along with the son of Venkata\, a boy of ten years named Gopala\, who afterwards came to Vrndavana and became one of the six Goswamis or prophets serving under their leader Sri Krsna Caitanya. Trained up in Sanskrit by his uncle Prabodhananda Sarasvati\, Gopala wrote several books on Vaisnavism. \n“Sri Caitanya visited numerous places in Southern India as far as Cape Comorin and returned to Puri in two years by Pandepura on the Bhima. In this latter place He spiritualized one Tukarama\, who became from that time a religious preacher himself. This fact has been admitted in his ‘adhangas’\, which have been collected in a volume by Mr. Satyendra Nath Tagore of the Bombay Civil Service. During His journey He had several discussions with the Buddhists\, the Jains and the ‘mayavadis’ in several places and converted His opponents to Vaisnavism. \n“Upon His return to Puri\, Raja Prataparudra-deva and several ‘pandita brahmanas’ joined the banner of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He was now twenty-seven years of age. In His twenty-eighth year He went to Bengal as far as Gauda in Mald. There He picked up two great personages named Rupa and Sanatana. Though descended from the lines of Karnatic brahmanas\, these two brothers turned demi-Moslems by their continual contact with Hussain Shah\, the then Emperor of Gauda. Their names had been changed by the Emperor into Dabir Khas and Sakara Mallik\, and their master loved them heartily since they were both learned in Persian\, Arabic and Sanskrit and were loyal servants of the state. The two gentlemen had found no way to come back as regular Hindus and had written to Mahaprabhu for spiritual help while He was at Puri. Mahaprabhu had written in reply that He would come to them and extricate them from their spiritual difficulties. Now that He had come to Gauda\, both the brothers appeared before Him with their long-standing prayer. Mahaprabhu ordered them to go to Vrndavana and meet Him there. \n“Caitanya returned to Puri through Santipura\, where He again met His dear mother. After a short stay at Puri He left for Vrndavana. This time He was accompanied by one Balabhadra Bhattacarya. He visited Vrndavana and came down to Prayag (Allahabad)\, converting a large number of Mohammedans to Vaisnavism by argument from the Koran. The descendant of those converts are still known as Pathana Vaisnavas. Rupa Goswami met Him in Allahabad. Caitanya trained him up in spirituality in ten days and directed him to go to Vrndavana on missions. His first mission was to write theological works explaining scientifically pure ‘bhakti’ and ‘prema’. The second mission was to revive the places where Krsnacandra had in the end of ‘Dvapara-yuga’ exhibited His spiritual ‘lila’ (pastimes) for the benefit of the religious world. Rupa Goswami left Allahabad for Vrndavana\, and Mahaprabhu came down to Benares. There He resided in the house of Candrasekhara and accepted His daily ‘bhiksa’ (meal) in the house of Tapana Misra. Here it was that Sanatana Goswami joined him and took instruction for two months in spiritual matters. The biographers\, especially Krsnadasa Kaviraja\, have given us details of Caitanya’s teachings to Rupa and Sanatana. Krsnadasa was not a contemporary writer\, but he gathered his information from the Goswamis themselves\, the direct disciples of Mahaprabhu. Jiva Goswami\, who was the nephew of Sanatana and Rupa and who has left us his invaluable work of Sat-sandarbha\, has philosophized on the precept of his great leader. We have gathered and summarised the precepts of Caitanya from the books of those great writers. \n“While at Benares\, Caitanya had an interview with the learned ‘sannyasis’ of that town in the house of a Maratha ‘brahmana’ who had invited all the ‘sannyasis’ for entertainment. At this interview\, Caitanya shewed a miracle which attracted all the ‘sannyasis’ to Him. Then ensued reciprocal conversation. The ‘sannyasis’ were headed by their most learned leader Prakasananda Sarasvati. After a short controversy\, they submitted to Mahaprabhu and admitted that they had been misled by the commentaries of Sankaracarya.\nIt was impossible even for learned scholars to oppose Caitanya for a long time\, for there was some spell in Him which touched their hearts and made them weep for their spiritual improvement. The ‘sannyasis’ of Benares soon fell at the feet of Caitanya and asked for His grace (‘krpa’). Caitanya then preached pure ‘bhakti’ and instilled into their hearts spiritual love for Krsna which obliged them to give up sectarian feelings. The whole population of Benares\, on this wonderful conversion of the ‘sannyasis’\, turned Vaisnavas\, and they made a master ‘sankirtana’ with their new Lord. After sending Sanatana to Vrndavana\, Mahaprabhu went to Puri again through the jungles with His comrade Balabhadra. Balabhadra reported that Mahaprabhu had shown a good many miracles on His way to Puri\, such as making tigers and elephants dance on hearing the name of Krsna. \n“From this time\, that is\, from His 31st year\, Mahaprabhu continually lived in Puri the house of Kasi Misra until His disappearance in His forty-eighth year at the time of sankirtana in the temple of Tota-gopinatha. During these 18 years\, His life was one of settled love and piety. He was surrounded by numerous followers\, all of whom were of the highest order of Vaisnavas and who were distinguished from the common people by their purest character and learning\, firm religious principles and spiritual love of Radha-Krsna. Svarupa Damodara\, who had been known by the name of Purusottamacarya while Mahaprabhu was in Nadia\, joined Him from Benares and accepted service as His secretary. \nNo production of any poet or philosopher could be laid before Mahaprabhu unless Svarupa had passed it as pure and useful. Raya Ramananda was His second mate. Both he and Svarupa would sing while Mahaprabhu expressed His sentiments on a certain point of worship. Paramananda Puri was His minister in matters of religion. There are hundreds of anecdotes described by His biographers which we do not think it meet here to reproduce. Mahaprabhu slept short. \nHis sentiments carried Him far and wide in the firmament of spirituality every day and night\, and all His admirers and followers watched Him throughout. He worshipped\, communicated with His missionaries at Vrndavana\, and conversed with those religious men who newly came to visit Him. He sang and danced\, took no care of Himself and of-times lost Himself in religious beatitude. All who came to Him believed in Him as the all-beautiful God appearing in the nether world for the benefit of mankind. He loved His mother all along and sent her ‘mahaprasada’ now and then with those who went to Nadia. He was most amiable in nature. Humility was personified in Him. His sweet appearance gave cheer to all who came in contact with Him. He appointed Prabhu Nityananda as the missionary in charge of Bengal. He dispatched six disciples (Goswamis) to Vrndavana to preach love in the upcountry. This he markedly did in the case of Junior Haridasa. He never lacked in giving proper instructions in life to those who solicited them. This will be seen in His teachings to Raghunatha dasa Goswami. His treatment to Haridasa (senior) will show how He loved spiritual men and how He defied caste distinction in spiritual brotherhood.”\n(Thakura Bhaktivinoda. 20th August 1896.) \nReason for appearance \nLord Krishna thought in Goloka\, “I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the age; nama-sankirtana\, the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord in the form of Lord Gauranga. By accepting the role of a devotee\, I shall make the whole world dance in ecstasy\, and thus realize the four mellows of loving devotional service. In this way\, I shall teach devotional service to others by personally practicing it\, for whatever a great personality does\, common people will follow. Of course\, My plenary portions can establish the religious principles for each age\, but only I can bestow the kind of loving devotional service which is performed by the residents of Vraja.” \nBesides this secondary reason for Lord Krishna to appear once more\, taking the form of a devotee\, there is another confidential purpose of a very personal nature. Even though Lord Krishna had tasted the essence of loving mellows by performing His conjugal pastimes in the company of the gopis\, He was not able to fulfill three desires. \nTherefore\, after His disappearance\, the Lord thought\, “Although I am the Absolute Truth\, and the reservoir of all rasas\, I cannot understand the strength of Radharani’s love\, with which She always overwhelms Me. Indeed\, the love of Radharani is My teacher\, and I am Her dancing pupil\, for Her love makes Me dance in various novel ways. Whatever pleasure I get from tasting My love for Srimati Radharani\, She relishes ten million times more\, by Her love. Although there is nothing greater than Radha’s love\, since it is all pervading\, it nonetheless expands constantly and is completely devoid of pride. There is nothing purer than Radha’s love\, and yet its behavior is always perverse and crooked.” \n“Sri Radhika is the highest abode of love\, and I am its only object. I taste the bliss to which the object is entitled\, but Radha’s pleasure is ten million times greater than Mine. Therefore\, My mind becomes mad to taste the pleasure that is experienced by the abode of love\, although I cannot do so. Only if I can somehow become the abode of that love\, will I be able to experience its joy.” \nThis was one desire that increasingly blazed in Lord Krishna’s heart. Then\, upon seeing His own beauty\, Lord Krishna began to consider as follows: “My sweetness is unlimitedly wonderful. Only Radhika can taste the complete nectar of My sweetness\, by the strength of Her love\, which acts just like a mirror whose clarity increases at every moment. Although My sweetness\, being without limit\, seemingly has no room for expansion\, it shines forth with newer and newer beauty\, and thus constantly competes with the mirror of Radharani’s love\, as they both go on increasing without admitting defeat.” “Devotees taste My sweetness according to their respective love\, and if I see that sweetness reflected in a mirror\, I also become tempted to taste it\, although I cannot. Upon deliberation\, I find that the only way I can relish My sweetness is to take the position of Srimati Radharani.” \nThis was Lord Krishna’s second desire\, and His third desire was expressed while thinking as follows: “Everyone says that I am the reservoir of all transcendental bliss\, and indeed\, all the world derives pleasure from Me alone. Who then could give Me pleasure? I think that only someone having a hundred times more qualities than Myself could give pleasure to My mind\, but such a person is impossible to find.” \n“And yet\, in spite of the fact that My beauty is unsurpassed\, and gives pleasure to all who perceive it\, the sight of Srimati Radharani gives pleasure to My eyes. Although the vibration of My flute attracts everyone within the three worlds\, My ears become enchanted by the sweet words spoken by Radharani. Although My body lends its fragrance to the entire creation\, the scent of Radharani’s limbs captivates My mind and heart. Although there are various tastes due to Me alone\, I become charmed by the nectarean taste of Radharani’s lips. Although My touch is cooler than ten million moons\, I become refreshed by the touch of Srimati Radharani. Thus\, in spite of the fact that I am the source of happiness for the entire world\, the beauty and attributes of Sri Radhika are My very life and soul.” \n“My eyes become fully satisfied by looking at Srimati Radharani\, and yet\, when She gazes at Me\, She feels even greater satisfaction. The whispering murmur of the bamboo trees that rub against one another steals away Radharani’s mind\, for She thinks it to be the sound of My flute. She embraces a tamala tree\, mistaking it for Me\, and thus She considers\, ‘I have gotten the embrace of Krishna\, and so now My life has become fulfilled.’ When the fragrance of My body is carried to Her by the wind\, Radharani becomes blinded by love and tries to fly into that breeze. When She tastes the betel nut that has been chewed by Me\, She merges into an ocean of joy\, and forgets everything else.” \n“Thus\, even with hundreds of mouths\, I could not express the pleasure which Radharani derives from My association. Indeed\, upon seeing the luster of Her complexion after Our pastimes together\, I consider My own happiness to be negligent. Expert sexologists say that the happiness of the lover and the beloved are equal\, but they do not know the nature of transcendental love in Vrindavana. Because of the indescribable pleasure which Radharani experiences\, I can understand that there is some unknown mellow within Me that controls Her entire existence.” \n“I am always very eager to taste the joy that Srimati Radharani derives from Me\, and yet\, in spite of endeavoring\, I have been unable to do so. Therefore\, in order to fulfill My three desires\, I shall assume Sri Radhika’s bodily complexion and ecstatic loving sentiment\, and then descend as an incarnation.” \nDesiring to understand the glory of Radharani’s love\, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love\, and the happiness that She feels upon realizing the sweetness of His love\, the Supreme Lord\, Gauranga-Krishna\, decided to appear in a form that was richly endowed with Her emotions. First of all\, the Lord had His respectable superiors incarnate on the earth\, such as His mother and father\, Sri Sachidevi and Jagannath Mishra. In addition\, there was Madhavendra Puri\, Keshava Bharati\, Ishvara Puri\, Advaita Acharya\, Srivas Pandita\, Thakur Haridas\, Acharyaratna and Vidyanidhi. \nBefore the appearance of Lord Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu\, all of the devotees in the Navadvip area used to gather at the house of Advaita Acharya. In these meetings\, Advaita Acharya preached on the basis of Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam\, decrying the paths of philosophical speculation and fruitive activity\, and firmly establishing the super excellence of devotional service. In the house of Advaita Acharya\, the devotees took pleasure in always talking about Krishna\, worshipping Krishna\, and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. \nHowever\, Advaita Acharya felt very pained to see how practically all the people of the world were devoid of Krishna consciousness and completely merged into material sense enjoyment. Knowing that no one can gain relief from the cycle of repeated birth and death without taking an interest in the devotional service of the Lord\, Advaita Acharya compassionately pondered over the means whereby people could become delivered from the clutches of maya. \nAdvaita Acharya thought\, “Only if Lord Krishna personally appears and preaches the path of devotional service by His own example\, will liberation become possible for all people. Therefore\, I shall worship the Lord in a purified state of mind and constantly petition Him with all humility. Indeed\, my name Advaita will be fitting only if I am able to induce Lord Krishna to inaugurate the sankirtan movement of chanting the holy name\, which is the only religion for this age.” \nWhile Advaita Acharya thought about how to satisfy Krishna by His worship\, the following verse came to mind: “Sri Krishna\, who is very affectionate toward His devotees\, sells Himself to one who offers Him merely a tulasi leaf and a palmful of water.” (Gautamiya-tantra) \nAdvaita Acharya considered the meaning of this verse in the following way: “Lord Krishna cannot find any way to repay the debt which He owes to one who offers Him a tulasi leaf and water. Therefore\, the Lord concludes\, ‘Since there is nothing in My possession which is equal to a tulasi leaf and water\, I will liquidate the debt by offering Myself to the devotee.’ ” Thereafter\, while meditating upon the lotus feet of Sri Krishna\, Advaita Acharya constantly offered tulasi buds in water from the Ganga. While thus engaged in worship\, Advaita Acharya petitioned Krishna to appear by His loud cries\, and this repeated invitation attracted the attention of the Lord\, causing Him to descend. \nSri Upendra Mishra\, a brahmana who was formerly the gopala named Parjanya\, the grandfather of Lord Krishna\, was a great devotee and scholar. One of Upendra’s seven sons\, Jagannath Mishra\, moved from Srihatta to the banks of the Ganga at Nadia\, and then married Srimati Sachidevi\, the daughter of Nilambar Chakravarti\, who was formerly Gargamuni. \nBefore the appearance of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu\, Jagannath Mishra (who was formerly Nanda Maharaja) begot eight daughters in the womb of Sachidevi (who was formerly Yashoda)\, but just after birth\, they all died. Being very aggrieved at the loss of his children\, one after another\, Jagannath Mishra worshiped Lord Vishnu\, while desiring a son. Thereafter\, Sachimata gave birth to a baby boy named Vishvarup\, who was an incarnation of Lord Baladev. Being very pleased\, the mother and father began to serve the lotus feet of Lord Govinda even more devotedly\, because they realized that their happiness was by His mercy. \nThen\, in the month of Maagh (18th February 1486) of the year 1406\, Shaka era\, Lord Krishna entered the bodies of both Jagannath Mishra and Sachidevi. Thereafter\, Jagannath informed his wife\, “I see many wonderful things! Your body seems to be effulgent\, and it appears as if the goddess of fortune is personally residing in our house. Wherever I go\, everyone offers me respect\, and even without asking\, they give me money\, cloth and grains.” Sachimata replied\, “I also see wonderfully brilliant beings\, appearing in the sky\, as if offering prayers.” \nJagannath Mishra then said\, “In a dream I saw the effulgent abode of the Supreme Lord enter into my heart. Then\, from my heart it entered your heart\, and thus I can understand that a great personality will soon take birth.” \nAfter this conversation\, both husband and wife felt very jubilant\, and with great care and attention they rendered service unto the household Shalagrama-shila. \nHowever\, when Sachimata’s pregnancy approached the thirteenth month\, and still there was no sign of delivery\, Jagannath Mishra became very apprehensive. At that time\, Nilambara Chakravarti made an astrological calculation and predicted that the child would be born that very month\, taking advantage of an auspicious moment. \nThus it so happened that on the evening of the Phalguni purnima\, in the year 1407 Shaka era\, corresponding to the modern year 1486\, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made His appearance at Navadvip. At this time\, Rahu considered\, “When the spotless moon of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is about to become visible\, what need is there for a moon which is full of black marks?” Thinking in this way\, Rahu covered the full moon\, and so all of the Hindus went to the banks of the Ganga in order to bathe and chant the names “Krishna” and “Hari”. While the Hindus were thus vibrating the holy names of the Lord\, the Mohammedans jokingly imitated them. In this way\, at the time of Lord Chaitanya’s appearance\, everyone was engaged in chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. \nIn all directions and within everyone’s mind there was peacefulness and joy. In Shantipur\, Advaita Acharya and Haridas Thakur began chanting and dancing in a very pleasing mood\, although no one could understand why they did so. While laughing again and again\, they also went to the Ganga\, and at that time\, Advaita Acharya took advantage of the lunar eclipse to distribute all kinds of charity to the brahmanas. Upon seeing how the whole world had become jubilant\, Haridas Thakur addressed Advaita Acharya in great astonishment\, “Since Your dancing and distribution of charity appears very pleasing to me\, I can understand that You have some very special purpose.” \nIn Navadvip\, Srivas Thakur and Acharyaratna\, who was also called Chandrashekhar\, immediately went to bathe in the Ganga\, and while chanting the holy name of the Lord in great jubilation\, they also gave charity by dint of mental strength. Indeed\, wherever they were situated\, all of the devotees danced\, chanted and gave charity on the plea of the lunar eclipse\, their minds overwhelmed with joy. Even in the heavenly planets\, chanting and dancing was going on\, for the demigods were very eager to witness the transcendental appearance of the Lord.
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240327
DTSTAMP:20260518T142040
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SUMMARY:Festival of Jagannatha Misra 26th Mar 2024
DESCRIPTION:Jagannatha Misra appeared as the father of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. \nSRI CAITANYA BHAGAVATA\nAdi Lila Chapter 3. \n1. Even before He took his birth\, the Lord propagated the chanting of His holy name.\n2. Streams of people went for their bath in the Ganga at the time of the eclipse and all the way they chanted the Lord’s name.\n3. Some\, who from their birth never once uttered the Lord’s name\, now chanted that name on their way to the Ganga.\n4. The sound of chanting emanated from every direction and the Supreme Lord\, the best of the brahmins\, smiled to Himself as He made His appearance.\n5. Sri Jagannatha Misra and Srimati Sacidevi glanced at their child’s beautiful face and were over come with unbounded joy.\n6. Ladies stood around the child not knowing what to do; fussily they ululated in jubilation.\n7. Relatives and friends hurried to see the new born child; Sri Jagannatha Misra’s house was a scene of great exultation.\n8. Srimati Sacidevi’s father\, Sri Nilambara Cakravarti\, found esoteric and wonderful signs in every house of the child’s astrological chart.\n9. Sri Cakravarti was astounded by the baby’s beauty and saw all divine symbols on His person.\n10. A much accepted prophesy in Bengal was that someday a king would be born in Bengal as a brahmin’s son\, so Sri Cakravarti thought that only the future would prove whether this was the child.\n11. In the presence of all\, Sri Nilambara Cakravarti\, an expert astrologer\, began explaining the ramifications of different astrological signs in the Lord’s chart.\n12. The further he delved into the child’s exalted chart\, the more difficulty he found in describing the Lord’s position.\n13. The child will conquer Brhaspati (the sign for learning and education) and be a scholar; He will be a natural repository of all divine qualities.\n14. Present in that gathering was a great saint in the guise of a brahman who made predictions on the Lord’s future.\n15. The brahman said\, “This child is the Supreme Lord Narayana Himself. He will establish the essence of all religion.\n16. “He will initiate a wonderful preaching movement and deliver the whole world.\n17. “He will give everyone that which is forever desirable even by Lord Brahma\, Lord Siva or Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.\n18. “Upon seeing Him people will feel compassion for all living entities and become callous toward material pains and joys. This will be the great benediction for the whole world.\n19. “Not to mention ordinary men\, even hard-core atheists will worship the child’s lotus feet.\n20. “He will be glorified throughout the entire creation and people from all orders of life will come to worship Him.\n21. “He is the personification of pure Bhagavat religion (eternal religion)\, the benefactor of brahmanas\, cows and devotees and the affectionate\, devoted son of His parents.\n22. “This child has come to accomplish great works\, just as the Supreme Lord Narayana incarnated to re-establish religious principles.”\n23. “Who can explain the imports of this child’s exalted astrological and esoteric symptoms?\n24. “How fortunate you are\, Sri Jagannatha Misra\, a leader amongst men. I offer my obeisances to you\, the illustrious father of this child.\n25. “I feel greatly fortunate that I could calculate his astrological chart. His name accordingly will be Sri Visvambhara.\n26. “He will be known to all as Navadvipa-Chandra (the moon of Navadvipa). He is spiritual bliss personified.”\n27. The brahmin did not speak further about Lord Caitanya’s pastime of accepting the renounced order of sannyasa since that would disturb the loving emotion of His parents.\n28. Sri Jagannatha Misra was enthralled with ecstasy over the descriptions of his son. He immediately wanted to offer gifts to the brahmin.\n29. He was a poor man with few possessions\, yet feeling great jubilation Sri Misra fell at the brahmin’s feet and cried.\n30. The brahman also caught Sri Misra’s feet\, and everyone present\nshouted “Hari\, Hari” in great joy.\n31. The relatives and friends were all praise for the child\, and they blessed Him as they heard the super-natural predictions about His future.\n32. Soon the musicians arrived playing their respective instruments – clay drums\, flutes and shanhai (a reed instrument) – and filled the air with wonderful music.\n33. Ladies from the higher planets mingled freely yet unnoticed with the ladies from earth in this wonderful gathering.\n34. The mother of the demigods (Aditi) smiled and placed her right hand holding auspicious grass and paddy on the child’s head to bless him saying\, “Long life”.\n35. “Please remain eternally in this material world and manifest Your pastimes”. This explained the expression “Long life”.\n36. Srimati Sacidevi and the others noticed the extraordinary beauty of these ladies but they hesitated to inquire about their identity.\n37. The demigods respectfully took the dust from Sacidevi’s feet\, and she lost her speech in extreme exultation.\n38 & 39. Neither the Vedas nor Lord Ananta Sesa could describe the waves of jubilation that drowned Sri Jagannatha Misra’s house. Entire Nadia seemed to be present at Sacidevi’s house to experience that indescribable joy.\n40. Wherever the people were – in their houses\, or on the banks of the Ganga\, or on the streets\, – they all loudly chanted the Lord’s name.\n41. Everyone jubilantly celebrated the Lord’s birth\, unknowingly thinking the festivity was actually for the lunar eclipse.\n42. Lord Caitanya appeared on the full moon night of the month of Phalguna; this day is the most worshippable by Lord Brahma and other great personalities.\n43. This day of the Lord’s appearance is the holiest of holy occasions; this day is devotion personified.\n44 & 45. Lord Caitanya appeared on the full moon night of Phalguna and Lord Nityananda appeared on the 13th night of the waxing moon. Both these days are all auspicious and transcendental occasions.\n46. If one properly follows these two holy occasions he develops love of Godhead and cuts asunder the knots of material illusion.\n47. The appearance days of pure Vaishnava devotees like the appearance day of the Supreme Lord\, are also all auspicious and transcendental.\n48. Whosoever hears the narrations of Lord Caitanya’s birth is freed from all miseries in life and in death.\n49. Anyone who hears Lord Caitanya’s pastimes immediately gets love of God and becomes his eternal servitor; he comes with the Lord each time He advents in this material world.\n50. The Adi Khanda text is wonderful to hear because it contains descriptions of Lord Caitanya’s appearance.\n51. The Vedic literature describes these pastimes of the Lord as eternal\, although He sometimes appears and sometimes disappears.\n52. Lord Caitanya’s pastimes have no beginning and no end; I write them down by the mercy of the Lord.\n53. I offer my humble obeisances at the Lord’s feet and at the feet of all His devotees. I pray that I may be excused from all offenses.\n54. I\, Vrndavana dasa\, offer this song to the lotus feet of my life and soul\, Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya and Lord Sri Nityananda Prabhu. \nSRI CHAITANYA BHAGAVATA.\nAdi Lila Chapter 4. \n1. All glories\, all glories to the lotus feet-eyed\, moon-like Lord Caitanya; all glories\, all glories to all Your loving devotees.\n2. O Lord\, look upon me mercifully so that my delusion is dispelled and I may be able to serve and worship You day and night.\n3 & 4. The wonderful appearance of the Lord increased the happiness of everyone in Srimati Sacidevi’s house. Both Sri Jagannatha Misra’s and Srimati Sacidevi’s hearts heaved joyous waves while looking at the Lord’s beautiful face.\n5. Sri Visvarupa would pick up his brother in his arms and smile gleefully at the Supreme Lord\, the abode of all transcendental joys.\n6. Friends and relatives lingered\, surrounding the Lord affectionately all the time.\n7. Some chanted mantras of enchantments in the Lord’s room for His protection. The Vishnu Raksa mantra (invoking Lord Vishnu’s protection) or Devi mantra (invoking Durga devi’s protection) were chanted while some people circumambulated the Lord’ house.\n8. And when the Lord would cry\, shedding tears from His lotus eyes\, only the sound of the holy name of Krsna would pacify Him.\n9. Finally everyone understood the secret message and whenever the Lord cried\, they immediately chanted Lord Hari’s name.\n10. The demigods were in a jovial mood and decided to play some practical jokes on the people who always surrounded Nimai.\n11. A demigod in a spiritual body stole quietly about the house\, unseen by human eyes. When the peopled saw a shadowy figure slither past they exclaimed\, “There goes a thief!”\n12. Terror-stricken\, some of them loudly chanted “Nrsimha! Nrsimha!”\, while others murmured the Aparajita Stotra (prayers to Parvati devi\, wife of Lord Shiva) for protection.\n13. While many persons were going around the house chanting all different mantras and prayers\, a great commotion was heard from inside Srimati Sacidevi’s house.\n14. The demigods had assembled to see the Lord\, but the people outside thought that thieves were entering.\n15. Some shouted\, “Catch the thief! Thief!”\, while others continuously chanted\, “Nrsimha\, Nrsimha”.\n16. A brahmin priest endowed with powers of exorcising ghosts threatened the invisible demigods\, “You’re lucky you got away today\, but you do not know the tremendous power of Lord Nrsimha-deva.”\n17. Unseen by anyone\, the demigods laughed to themselves. In this way a month passed.\n18. Completing her one-month of confinement\, the period of contamination after childbirth\, Srimati Sacidevi went for a bath in the Ganga with the other ladies.\n19. Amongst singing and joyous clamor Sacidevi bathed in the Ganga. She worshipped Ganga devi and thereafter she worshipped a village goddess called Sasthi.\n20. After worshipping different demigods in accordance with proper rites Sacidevi returned with the satisfied ladies.\n21. According to the social custom\, Sacidevi respectfully offered all the ladies roasted paddy\, bananas\, oil\, vermilion powder\, betel nuts and betel leaf.\n22. The ladies in turn blessed the child and offered respects to Sacidevi before they returned to their respective homes.\n23. In this way the Supreme Lord Caitanya performed His childhood pastimes. Without the Lord’s mercy these pastimes are incomprehensible.\n24. The lord as a child cried frequently. His real intention in crying was to induce everyone to chant the Lord’s holy name.\n25. The ladies tried one way or another to pacify Him\, but He cried all the more.\n26. As soon as they chanted “Hari\, Hari”\, a beaming smile spread across the Lord’s exquisite moon-like face.\n27. Discovering that this pleased the Lord\, everyone got together and repeated Lord Hari’s name while clapping their hands.\n28. Happily everyone performed congregational chanting and Saci devi’s house resounded with the Lord’s name.\n29. Unknown to all\, Lord Caitanya’s childhood pastimes in Sri Jagannatha Misra’s house were a facsimile to Gopala Krsna’s childhood pastimes.\n30 & 31. When no one was present in a room\, He would intentionally scatter things around after pouring milk\, butter or oil on the floor.\n32. Forewarned that mother Saci devi was approaching\, He would quickly lay down and start crying.\n33. Mother Saci devi would pacify Him by repeating Lord Hari’s name until she noticed the different substances spread all over the floor.\n34. “Who has scattered the rice\, wheat and dahl? Why are these broken pots of curd and milk on the floor?\n35. No one could understand who had done this. There was only the four-month-old baby in the house.\n36. Curiosity drew everyone to that room\, but they could not find any trace of the culprit.\n37 & 38. Some conjectured\, “A demon or ghost must have come\, but due to the effect of the mantras it could not harm the baby. Angry that it could do nothing to the child\, it threw everything around and escaped”.\n39. This incident left Sri Jagannatha Misra quite perplexed\, but thinking it a providential interference\, he did not comment.\n40. In spite of the extensive damage\, both Sri Jagannatha Misra and Sacidevi felt their sorrows soothed by just looking at the child’s face.\n41. Days passed wrapped in mystery until the day of the name giving ceremony arrived.\n42. Sri Nilambara Cakravarti and other learned scholars and friends assembled there.\n43. Respectable\, chaste ladies who looked as fresh and glowing as Laksmi devi\, the goddess of fortune\, attended the ceremony in beautiful saris.\n44. Everyone discussed which name the child would have. Some ladies made one suggestion while other ladies made another.\n45. “This child will have no younger brother or sisters\, so being the last child of the family\, he should be named Nimai”\, said one lady.\n46. After considering all points the scholars said there was one name appropriate for the child.\n47. As soon as He was born\, famine ended in the land and the farmers were blessed with the long-awaited rain.\n48. Happy and healthy conditions returned to the land at His birth. It was similar to the ancient story of Lord Narayana protecting and upholding the universe during devastation.\n49. Hence\, His name should be Sri Visvambhara (sustainer of the world). This is confirmed in His horoscope\, for He is the brightest torchbearer of His family.\n50. The name Nimai that the respected ladies gave will be His second name.\n51. The name was given at an auspicious moment when all the planetary indications were right and amidst readings of ”Bhagavad Gita\, Srimad Bhagavatam\, and the Vedas\, etc. by the brahmins.\n52. The demigods and humans assembled together on this occasion and offered benedictions. They chanted Lord Hari’s all-auspicious holy names while blowing conch shells and ringing bells.\n53. Rice\, paddy\, books\, roasted paddy\, coins\, gold and silver were placed for the child to hold (testing the child’s tendency).\n54. Sri Jagannatha encouraged his son\, “My dear Visvambhara\, take whatever your heart desires”.\n55. Sacidevi’s son\, the Supreme Lord\, ignored all items and picked up the ”Srimad Bhagavatam and embraced it.\n56. The ladies loudly glorified the Lord. Everyone was impressed and said\, “He will be a great scholar”.\n57. Some commented that the child would turn out to be an elevated Vaishnava devotee with the extraordinary capacity to easily grasp the imports of the scriptures.\n58. Whoever saw Lord Visvambhara’s enchanting smile became drenched in showers of bliss.\n59. Once the ladies had the child on their laps\, they would not put Him down. This child\, the Supreme Lord\, is almost unapproachable even by demigods.\n60. And whenever the Lord started crying the ladies clapped their hands and chanted Lord Hari’s name.\n61. Hearing the chanting the Lord swayed blissfully as though he were dancing on their laps. This excited the ladies who in turn increased their chanting.\n62. The Supreme Lord\, by His desire\, had everyone constantly chanting the Lord’s name\, on any available pretext.\n63. The Vedas\, ”Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures conclude that no undertaking reaches success without the Supreme Lord’s desire.\n64. Sacidevi’s son\, the Supreme Lord Caitanya\, grew day by day\, motivating everyone to chant His own holy name.\n65. When the Lord began to crawl on His knees He looked most charming. The small ankle bells on His feet were pleasing to hear.\n66. The Lord fearlessly moved around everywhere\, catching anything he saw – fire\, snakes\, anything.\n67. One day a snake slithered through the courtyard and the Lord caught hold of him simply to enact another pastime.\n68. The Lord lay down on the coils of the snake.\n69. When the residents of the house saw Him they screamed in alarm\, but the Lord calmly smiled and remained in that relaxed position.\n70. The people shouted\, “Garuda! Garuda!” while Nimai’s parents waited in anxiety.\n71. The snake\, who was really Lord Ananta Sesa\, started to slither away when he heard all the crying and commotion\, but little Nimai tried to stop him.\n72. The ladies rushed over and grabbed up the Lord in their arms\, each one blessing Him that he might have a long life.\n73. Some relatives tied a talisman on Nimai for his protection\, while some chanted benediction hymns and others poured Ganga water on different parts of His body.\n74. Some of them thought that the child had got a new life while others realized that the snake was Ananta Sesa.\n75. The Supreme Lord Caitanya who was radiant like the moon\, tried repeatedly to go back to the snake\, but everyone stopped Him.\n76. These pastimes are not revealed even in the Vedas\, and anyone who hears them is free from the bite of the serpent of material illusion.\n77. Lord Caitanya\, the pleasure of Sacidevi soon toddled about the house.\n78. Lord Caitanya’s extraordinary beauty eclipsed the beauty of millions of cupids: even the radiant moon longed to behold the Lord’s beauty.\n79. Curly locks decorated His exquisitely formed head and with lotus-shaped eyes He looked like Gopala Krsna.\n80. His long arms stretched to His knees. He had an expansive chest and reddish pink lips. All His limbs were beautifully formed.\n81. His brilliant sun-red complexion was always attractive and His fingers\, hands and feet were like blooming lotuses.\n82. The Lord’s reddish complexion sometimes cause Sacimata anxiety; as the child ran about she kept thinking she could see red\, gaping wounds.\n83. Sacidevi and Sri Jagannatha Misra were always struck with great wonder at the Lord’s beauty. Although they were needy\, their son was a source of unending joy for them.\n84. Together in seclusion they whispered to each other\, “I wonder what great personality has come as our son.\n85. “An elevated and distinguished personality has taken birth in our house; perhaps this will terminate all our material miseries.\n86. “I have never heard of any other child as wonderful as ours. He smiles and dances without stopping when he hears the chanting of Lord Hari’s name.\n87. “When He cries no amount of consoling will calm Him\, but when He hears loud chanting of Lord Hari’s name He stops crying and listens.\n88 & 89. “From early morning the ladies surrounded the Lord and loudly sing Lord Hari’s name; they clap their hands in rhythm and the Lord dances gleefully.”\n90.The Lord playfully rolled in the dust\, then laughing he would jump into his mother’s lap.\n91.The Lord danced\, moving His body in such a manner that no one can contain his laughter.\n92. Nobody could understand how the Lord through his childish pranks motivated everyone to chant the holy name.\n93. The Lord was so vivacious and restless\, fleeting in and out of the house\, that no one could catch Him.\n94. Venturing out on His own\, Nimai wanted to taste whatever he saw – roasted rice\, banana\, sandesh\, etc.\n95. The Lord was so extremely attractive that strangers gave him whatever he requested.\n96 & 97. Strangers gave Him sandesh or banana\, and pleased with His gifts the Lord returned home. He then distributed the food to those ladies who sang Lord Hari’s name.\n98. Everyone merrily applauded the child’s ingenuity and continuously sang Lord Hari’s name.\n99. The Lord wandered freely in and out of the house\, whether morning\, noon\, evening or night.\n100. Daily He went to a friendly neighbor’s house and mysteriously stole from him.\n101. In some houses He drank all the milk and in others He ate all the rice. Wherever He found nothing to eat He was satisfied to break all the earthen pots.\n102. If He found a small child in any house He would tease him to tears\, but when He was observed He fled.\n103. But if by chance some one caught Him\, Nimai would catch the person’s feet and plead.\n104. “Please let me go this one last time; I shall never come back again. I will never steal anymore. Please be merciful.”\n105. Astounded by the boy’s sharp intelligence\, no one could remain angry with Him. Ultimately everyone was affectionate towards Him.\n106. People were naturally captivated just by seeing Him\, and parents loved Him more than they loved their own children.\n107. The Lord of Vaikuntha\, Lord Caitanya\, passed His childhood in this manner\, moving and mischievous.\n108 & 109. One day two thieves saw the Lord roaming about the streets alone. Seeing His fine ornaments\, they conspired to steal them.\n110. One of the thieves picked Him up saying “Oh dear! Oh dear!”\, while the other joined him saying\, “Where have you been for so long?”\n111. “Come quickly home\, dear”\, the thieves said. The lord smiled and replied\, “Yes\, let us go home.”\n112. Busily the two thieves sped away with the Lord in their arms while the street onlookers ignorantly thought that the rightful guardians had taken their child.\n113. Teeming thousands of people were on the streets\, but all were strangers to each other. The thieves were happy with themselves and with the ornaments on the child.\n114. Overtaken by greed the thieves were trying to eat the imaginary pie-in-the-sky thinking they would surely steal the golden bangles.\n115. They carried Him on their shoulders toward their hideout while the Lord rode along chuckling to Himself.\n116. One thief passed a sandesh into the Lord’s hand\, while the other said comfortingly\, “We have almost reached home”.\n117. The thieves had kidnapped the Lord and run far away when the Lord’s relatives began to search for Him.\n118. “Visvambhara! Come home\, Nimai!” they shouted .\n119. Everyone grew frantic and restless like fish out of water.\n120. In distress they remembered Lord Govinda while far away the thieves carried Nimai toward their house.\n121. Deluded by the Supreme Lord’s illusory potency “maya”\, the thieves mistook the way to their hideout; they arrived instead at the residence of Sri Jagannatha Misra.\n122. The bewildered thieves thought they were in their own house\, so they busied themselves trying to remove the Lord’s ornaments.\n123. “Get down now. We are home.” said the thieves\, and the Lord replied\, “Yes\, yes put me down.”\n124. Inside Sri Jagannatha Misra’s house everyone sat around with their heads in their hands in utter despair.\n125. The beguiled thieves took the Lord down from their shoulders\, thinking the house to be their own.\n126. As soon as Nimai was on the ground He ran straight to his father. A joyous uproar shook the house as the relatives loudly chanted\, “Hari\, Hari”.\n127. An understandable transformation overwhelmed the people as if life had returned to their bodies.\n128. The thieves realized that the house was not their own\, but they could not recognize where they were.\n129. Taking advantage of the commotion\, the fearful thieves stealthily left the place without being noticed by anyone.\n130. Reflecting on the strange and wonderful incident\, the thieves thought\, “Who is playing tricks with us?”\n131. “Candidevi (goddess Durga) certainly saved us today\,” they said after regaining their composure. Then they embrace each other.\n132. The thieves actually gained immeasurable piety and good fortune because they carried the Supreme Personality of Godhead on their shoulders.\n133. In Sri Jagannatha Misra’s house the happy relatives asked\, “Who brought the child back? We should offer him nice gifts and tie a turban on his head.”\n134. Some one said\, “I saw two persons come with the child\, put him down and leave\, but I do not know which direction they went after that.\n135. Everyone was surprised that whoever brought the child back did not stay to be acknowledged.\n136. They turned to Nimai and asked\, “Our dear child\, tell us who brought you back. We are puzzled.”\n137 & 138. The Lord replied\, “I went to the banks of the Ganga but I lost my way home and was roaming about in the town. Two persons took me in their arms and brought me home”.\n139. “The words of the scriptures are never wrong\, The unseen hand of God always protects children\, old persons and the helpless\, “they all said.\n140. Being bewildered by the Lord’s illusory energy “maya” the relatives conjectured in many ways.\n141. The Supreme Lord performed His wonderful pastimes in this manner; no one can understand them without the Lord’s direct mercy.\n142. Whoever hears these narrations – which are a mystery even in the Vedas – can easily get undeviating devotion at Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet.\n143. I\, Vrndavana dasa\, offer my humble song at the lotus feet of Sri Krsna Caitanya and Sri Nityananda Prabhu\, who are my life and soul.
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