PROPRIETOR OF VRINDAVAN
Is there a more beautiful place in the fourteen worlds and this is what we conceive with these eyes. If only we had eyes that were anointed with the ornament of love then we would see that beautiful Chintamani forest of the Vraj. Every tree is Kalpabriksha trees were every particle of dust is Chintamani. One time a Babaji told to GourKishore Das Babaji Maharaj that he had brought a small piece of land in a holy part of Vrindavan. Were he was going to have Bhajan Kutir to perform his Bhajan. And Gour Kishore Das Babaji very, very mercifully chastised him. What is this nonsense you are speaking that you have brought a piece of land in Vrindavan? Vrindavan is Sri Radharani’s property Vrindavaneswari. She is the proprietor of Vrindavan. It is a massive illusion to think that you can be a land holder in Vrindavan.
bhoktäraà yajïa-tapasäà
sarva-loka-maheçvaram
suhådaà sarva-bhütänäà
jïätvä mäà çäntim åcchati
Krishna is the proprietor of every thing that exists and Vrindavan is the intimate personal abode of Radha and Krishna. Gour Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj said with all the wealth of the fourteen worlds with all the all the wealth of Brahma loka, Swarga loka with all the wealth of Vaikuntha loka you could not purchase even one particle of dust from Sri Vraj Dham because that particle is Chintamani. Is touch stone. So yes many people are building houses, building temples and so many things, building Kutirs. Unless we are really in the mood of service we are not the proprietor. We are simply servants of the servants of the servants. So yes every particle of dust is more precious than all the wealth in Swarga lokam and in the Vaikuntha lokam. That is Vrindavan. When we see through the eyes of the scriptures and the great souls than we can began to understand were we are we heard the other day how even the bridge of Vrindavan is a bridge that is activating and moving Krishna’s Lela’s assisting in Krishna’s Lela. When a bridge touch’s us we being blessed by the embrace of Braja Bhumi, the singing of the birds, if we are Krishna Consciousness we will hear the singing of the birds, the chattering of the monkeys, and even the barking of the dogs. As the Kirtan of the glories of Radha and Krishna seekinisha find
ye yathä mäà prapadyante
täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham
mama vartmänuvartante
manuñyäù pärtha sarvaçaù
As we approach Krishna, Krishna will reveal himself accordingly. If you really looking for Krishna in Vrindavan you will hear his holy name even when the Ricshaws and Trucks honk their horns. Krishna will reveal himself in his dham if we really eager to find him, eager to remember him that is why we come to the holy dham. To deeply immerse ourselves in always remembering Krishna and never forgetting Krishna in a favorable mood of servitude, Hare Krishna in Bombay we like the sweet singing of the sparrows. But this cocking of the crows is not very nice. But in Vrindavan even the crows we should understand that these crows are born and raised in Vrindavan, they are not ordinary crows. They may be spirit souls taking their last birth ready to go back to Golaka. We don’t know. Prahupada would often say to the devotees in Vrindavan you don’t know who these people are Malati Devi told that wonderful story that are dogs harassing the devotes and barking and barking. And Prabhupada called them in personally with his own hands in his own rotis and then after they took the rotis they were very intimately just kind of bowed and left. And Praphupada said do not take anything or anyone in Vrindavan to be ordinary you do not know who they are. Swarup Damodar Goswami explained that the proper vision in order to understand every tree of Vrindavan is a Kalpabriksha tree. The cows are special cows. To be breathing the dust of Baraj to be drinking the water of Braj to be hearing all of the great souls chanting the holy names in Braj that is very special. Yes if you want to really make spiritual progress in a substantial way then we come to Vrindavan. We have to try to really deeply contemplate the sanctity of this abode. The very great mahabhagavat vaisnavas they can actually feel and experience Krishna’s eternal past time taking place at every moment in Vrindavan. And factually that is the reality when we are conditioned by the false ego we cannot see any thing as it is. We see everything through the glasses or spectacles colored by our own egoistic conceptions. So therefore it is very nice to see through the ears. In fact last time we did Braj Yatra and we came to Nanadagram. We concluded at Udabkayari. We may not have the time to go there today but if you remember we went there and it was just after sunset. And I was explaining what it used to look like there. Beautiful gardens and forest and trees and now it are all cut down it’s just an agricultural field. And it became dark and we were describing the beauty of that place in the darkness nobody could see any thing. Do you remember nobody could see anything was very dark and we were describing the beauty of Udabkayari and the beauty of Nandagram and the beauty of that forest and because we could not see anything with our eyes we our full hundred percent attention on seeing through our ears. And every one was just actually thinking actually everyone was realizing whether it really was better they could in the day light because they could not see around us when we actually got there was already kind of dark they could not see any thing with flash light torches and I was explaining what is Udabkayari, and everybody oh what a beautiful place, what a wonderful place, spiritual world. So the eyes are distraction because the tendency of the eyes is with these little balls made out of flesh and water and other substances what can we see. We have to see through our faith; we have to see through our heart. So that was a special night in the pitch darkness, people actually were seeing Vrindavan through their ears. And then coming back with their torches stepping on the thorns and then they were seeing and experiencing Vrindavan through their sense of touch also. I do not know how many of you were enjoying that but there is a great sage who prayed that when the thorns of Braja enter my feet I feel happiness millions and millions of time more pleasurable than the happiness of entering into the Brahmajoyti. Do you know gobandra prabhu told now you know how miserable that is, that’s from one side from the other side now we know how blissful these thorns will make us feel.
Vaisnavam yata sambhu……..
LORD SHIVA AND HIS QUALITIES
Lord Shiva is very greatest Vaishnav according to Srimad Bhagwatam. Lord Shiva is Krishna who is excepting a role, but he is not Krishna. So he simultaneously Krishna and not Krishna, Ramasamita explains just like milk becomes yogurt it is nothing but milk but it is yogurt or dahi. Lord Shiva greatest the Vasishnava, Mahadev, he performed austerities because he wanted to participate and witness the beautiful supreme past time of Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan. So Krishna appeared to him and offered him any benediction this is something wonderful. Mahadev is ashutosh he is very easily pleased with a devotee who honestly and earnestly worship’s him and generally he is a giver of benediction. But here Lord Shiva is coming to Lord Krishna for benediction. Lord Shiva asked he said I want to witness your Braja past times and I want to be in such a role that the dust of the lotus feet of you and Radharani and all the gopas and gopis can be upon my head. That is how glorious lord Shiva understood Vrindavan to be. We were discussing the sikudava kund ( 13.20).Some times due to our ignorance we come to Vrindavan thinking I would be the proprietor I would have some possession I will be a guru or I will be a department head or I will be like that but who of us coming to Vrindavan praying and praying and praying to be a piece of grass. Brahma is praying to be the earth, were the dust of the feet of the Brajabasis on his head and that is Mahadev Shiva’s aspiration. Lord Shiva is willing to renounce Kailash, he is willing to renounce his Vaikuntha planet as Sata Shiva in the spiritual world. To get opulence million’s of time better. A chance to witness the past time of the Lord and get the dust of the feet of the Lord and his devotee right his head. So Lord Krishna fulfilled his desire and Lord Shiva appeared as Nandeswar hill. Which is were we are today also known as Nandagram. Lord Shiva appeared as a hill, and with his five heads there are five peaks like thorns in this hill it is said. And Lord Shiva is residing here since time immemorial assisting in the Lord’s eternal past time. Krishna blessed him that on top of your head Nanda Maharaj my father will built his palace and that is where I will reside. In the Yadu Dynasty there was a great soul of the name Devamidha. He had a Khatriya wife and Vaisya wife. From his Khatriya wife he gave birth to Surasena. Surasena gave birth to Basudev who married Devaki and from his Vaisya wife he gave birth to a very great soul name Parjaniya. And Parjaniya came to this Mahavan Vrindavan area and he was the king of the cowherd man. He very much wanted children. Why did be want children it’s natural for a man and woman who are married to have children. But also it was the Lord within his heart actually invoking this longing desire for children. To facilitate his appearance in this world were we have just passed is a very, very sacred place in Braja Bhumi, the Deity of Aaseswar Mahadev. Tharjanya Maharaj spent years and years worshiping that deity of Mahadev to have auspicious children, and he had five sons and two daughters. The five sons are Upanands, Adinanda, Nanda, Sunanda and Nandan. Glorious sons and by the blessings of Lord Shiva and by the will of the Supreme personality of godhead his grand son was the Supreme personality of godhead Sri Nandananan Krishna. So we should began our worship of Nandagram by praying at the lotus feet of Aaseswar Mahadev that he would bestow upon us the benediction that we can absorb ourselves body, mind, words and life in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord in a prayerful mood praying for pure unalloyed devotional service, humility towards the Vaishnavas, guru and Krishna. And during our very, very auspicious visit to Nandagram. Nanda Maharaj although he was a little son, Upananda who was supposed to be the king when Ajamil retired, he wanted his younger brother to be the king, because he took note of his exalted qualities. And how much everyone loved him so much, so Nanda Maharaj just to please his elder brother and others in Vrindavan accepted the role as Brajendra, the king of Braj and they were living here in the Nandagram, but for various reasons especially because no son is being born to Nanda Majaraj. They moved closer to Yamuna to Mahavan Gokul area were Krishna and Balaram appeared, for about three years and four months they remained in Gokul and then because of so many demons, Putana, Sakataswara, Trinavarta big Arjuna trees falling on the ground. They decided to move to a more favorable place near a hill Govardhan.
PASTIMES OF KRISHNA IN NANDAGRAM
In the forest of Vrindavan, they went to Catikaar and Kamyavan and some other places and ultimately came back to Nandagram, and here in Nanadagram unlimited past times of Krishna, Balaram are taking place. Especially Krishna was given charge of the cows here at Nandagram. That day is called Gopastami. It is glorified in the Holy Scriptures. We are at a place now, which is very sacred to so many of Krishna’s lelas. Terekadamba here at Terekadamba Krishna would play his flute to call his cows. The power of Krishna’s flute is the most extraordinary subject matter to discuss. It is described that Krishna would wake up early in the morning at Nanda Bhavan and Yasoda Mai would give him bath dress him and decorate him very nicely and Srimati Radharani she would come from Yavart with her sakhi friends to Pavansarovar and she would cook breakfast for Krishna. And after taking breakfast, mother Yashoda one day offered Krishna shoes because after all he goes into the pastors. All they along with cows and for Yasoda mai Krishna’s feet are so soft and so delicate and in the pastors there is stones and there is rocks may be thorns but Krishna told that I am gopa I am servant of cows I cannot have what cows do not have. I will take shoes if you make shoes for all nine hundred thousand cows that I take care of. Krishna preferred to go therefore and actually there was no such thing as such as thorn or stone that would pierce Krishna’s lotus feet, because the land of Virndavan every thing by Virnda Devis loving service. She made absolutely everything perfect for the pleasure of Radha and Krishna. So Krishna would come down from his home to the beautiful jeweled Goshala were the cows would spend their night. None of the cows in Nandagram would give any milk until they saw Krishna. None of the cafés would drink drop of milk until they had the darshan of Gopa. All night long they were simply dreaming of Sri Nandanadanan and they would wake in the morning, they would in deep intense feelings of separation just waiting for Gopal to come, so that they could see his smiling face. And when Gopal would come with Balaram and his friends into the Gosala, there was a glorious kirtan that would take place amongst all the cows from the love of their hearts they would sing Krishna’s glory, according to their particular type of voice. All the cows will be singing Krishna’s glories and names with so much love and devotion by loudly, loudly moving and as they were moving for instrumentation with their hoods they would clump it on the ground and make very nice instrumentation. It was a beautiful kirtan. It was so sweet it was prem sankirtan. Krishna would come in and they would see him and they would move in increasing volume, increase in ecstatic love and they would be pruning the floor with their hoods just celebrating the appearance of Krishna. Just like greeting the deities for them and Krishna will smile, and each cow will feel that Krishna is smiling only at me. And in this way Krishna would reciprocate the love with in each and every cow’s heart’s desire. Yashoda mai was also worried that these cows may trample on Krishna’s feet in the pastor ground. But actually those worries were created by Lela Shakti by yoga Maya especially just to increase the sweetness of Yasoda’s love because every single cow in Vrindavan loved Krishna just as a mother loves her child. In fact we know the story how Krishna wanted to fulfill each of these cows’ desires. During the gamavimohan Lela he became each calf so that literally each cow of Braj had Krishna as her own child to fulfill her desire and each boy love Krishna as a father loves the son. This is Virndavan Dham. These cows and bulls and calf’s many of them has descended from Golaka Vrindavan. Especially to assist Radha and Krishna in their prakat lela in this world. When Krishna Balaram and the Gopas would be leaving Vrindavan to enter into the forest this was a very intense experience for all the Brajavashis. Yashoda mais heart will be pounding and pounding with imminence separation as if believing she would run out do you have enough of this and she would give a little more Prasad and then he would walk a few steps and then she would run back she make sure that all of his limbs were healthy and safe and then she come back and then she give him another garland and it is impossible for her to give up Krishna even for a moment and even though the little children the babies who were too young to go out and heard the cows with Krishna they would be crying and crying and crying because they would be left behind as Krishna would be going out with the gopas and the mothers were holding the milk crying in separation. Let me go, let me go, let me go the Brajavashis would be stunned when Krishna will leaves because he will be gone until around the time that the sun sets, very difficult. Mahaprabhu expresses the mood of the gopis and the gopas of Vrindavan. That in separation form Krishna a moments seems like fourteen years or more. In fact the Braj Gopis they would criticizing Lord Brahma how many of you ever criticize Lord Brahma, they criticize Lord Brahma that he is such a imperfect creator that he made this eyelids and when Krishna standing right before them, when the eye blinks it seems like a cowpea it seems like millions of years not being able to witness the beautiful three fold bending form of Shyamsunder.
Krishna’s Flute
Krishna and his cowherd boys would be so happy they would be with all their cows for a day of playing and the cowherd boys would be blowing their buffalo horns and playing their flutes and they would be laughing and joking and dancing and all the cows their eyes their beautiful lotus eyes just gazing upon Shyasmsunder as they enter the forest were krishna could feel the hearts in the separation of the Brajavashis at the Nandabhavan and he reciprocated their love by playing upon his flute. Each cow, each calf and each gopa and gopi were in the village when they heard the sound of Krishna’s flute they felt that he was playing it just for them. Kishna’s form is the essence of all beauty and sweetness and his face is very, very specially beautiful and sweet and on his face his smile is a specially very beautiful and sweet. In fact Krishna smile is the source of all sweetness in all spiritual and material worlds. When Krishna would put his flute upon his lips he would transmit the beauty and sweetness of his form and of his love into the hearts of the Brajavashis. The love of Krishna heart will fill the holes of his flute and enter into the ears and his heart of his devotees and actually manifest his form and his qualities within the hearts embrace them within his hearts the power of Krishna’s flute. The Bhagawatam describes that when the rivers and the streams hear the flute they became stale like stone and when stone is touched by the vibration of Krishna’s flute it melts like a river and the river some times when hears Krishna’s flute flows up stream and even Krishna is amazed by the power of his flute. Sri Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu explains that the sound of Krishna’s flute is like a bird and just enters right into the ear and the heart of the gopis and that bird of the song of Krishna’s flute makes a nest in their ears and obstructs any other sound or any other thought. Krishna’s flute is like the full moon which invokes the rising tide of the love of the gopas and the gopis. Krishna’s flute invokes the top most love in the heart of each of his devotees. The gopis they pray how fortunate the lakes and rivers are because the lakes and rivers are the mothers of the flute and the bamboo trees are the father of the flute. Goips are praising their good fortune to have a son like this. In fact the gopis are praying to be born in a family of bamboo. A bamboo trees why because Krishna’s flute is Krishna’s constant companion. Krishna flute is constantly on Krishna’s lips and the gopis sometime they were chastised flute that you are stealing our property and who are you, you are not even human, you have no caste you are just dead wood. The fortune of Krishna’s flute Brahma Samita describes that Krishna’s flute is Krishna’s constant companion. Sometimes he would hold it in his belt. Sometimes in his hands Krishna sleeps with his flute and even Yashoda mai bathes Krishna he hold unto his flute. Of Krishna’s flute it describes that when he was leaving Vrindavan he would play his smallest of flute venu which is a wooden flute which has six holes very sweet beautiful song he would play especially the 5th note which captivate the hearts of all the cows, all the calf’s, all the gopas and all the gopis according to a particular devotee’s relationship with Krishna, Krishna would completely fulfill the desires of those devotees from the love of the song of his flute. It is described that Lord Brahma gave Nanda Maharaj this flute name venu when he has a gift for Krishna before Krishna even appeared on earth. When Yashoda mai was pregnant and Nanda Maharaj presented the venu to gopal, Radharani was Krishn’a flute music teacher. There is a beautiful story that one day when Krishna left Nandagram to perform his cow herding lela he was at Govardhan and he was playing his flute very, very sweetly. He was surrounded by many peacocks and each of the peacocks their heart’s stolen by the song of Krishna’s flute danced. They danced so beautifully they were weeping and crying in ecstasy as they were dancing and then they appealed Krishna please dance with us. So Krishna was dancing with the peacocks Krishna and the peacocks would in so much bliss so happily dancing together the flute became so blissful that the flute started playing itself without even being on Krishna’s lips.
Krishna was holding the flute in his left hand and it was loudly playing beautiful songs in ecstasy. Krishna was amazed by this he was dancing and the peacocks were dancing and the flute was playing. This was such a tremendously beautiful past time that from morning till noon the entire village of Braja was mesmerized every one was stunned even the animals and the gopas all they could do was just motionless watch this beautiful dance. The peacocks became tired and then Krishna was just dancing by him self until then Balaramji embraced him. Krishna smiled and that smiled touched the very core of the depths of the heart of each devotee and then the king of the peacocks with all of his peacocks followers they all humbly bowed their heads with the lotus feet of Krishna and the Raj of the peacocks prayed to Krishna that we are just simple insignificant birds we have no possessions whatsoever but you have given us so much of happiness. Therefore the only opulence we have we want to offer you and he offered Krishna the only opulence they have the peacock feather to be put on his crown. The peacock with tears of love flowing from his eyes offered this feather to Krishna and Krishna happily accepted it and put it in his beautiful hair and wears it always. Terekadamba which is the area we are in now is a beautiful forest of kadamba trees after Krishna performs his lela of herding cows through the day. He climbs on a particular kadamba tree and there he plays his flute and calls the names of each cows. There are innumerable cows sometimes it’s numbered at nine hundred thousand yes and Krishna organized the cows quite systematically. These nine hundred thousand cows were organized with hundred and eight different groups and within these groups they were categorized by their particular colors. There were white cows white, red, black and yellow and within each of these four colors there were twenty five subdivisions and when Krishna would call the cows each and every cow would hear her particular name called. Each cow is thinking Krishna is calling only me and he is on the top of that Terekadamba playing his flute and calling the cows and all the cows from all directions would come to Terekadamba to gather around Krishna gazing at his beautiful form. Each one thinking he is calling my name he is looking at me and if any particular cow was left behind Krishna would get down from Terekadamba and go wherever that cow was and personally bring her back and Krishna would count each cow and make sure every single one of them were safe and happy and they returned to Nandagram. The older the cows that would just have calf’s were not allowed to go out with Krishna in the pastor grounds. They and their calfs would spend the whole day intensely in separation but Srila Prabhupad writes in Krishna book that when Krishna would play his flute the mother cows would lift their big long ears and just drink the nectar of Krishna’s flute as they enter their heart and the calfs even when they were sucking the milk from their mother when they would hear Krishna’s flute they would become so stunned and enchanted that they would forget what they would doing they would just stand there stunned in ecstasy with their mother’s nipples in their mouth and tears would profusely fall from the eyes of the calfs and Prabhupada say in that state they would embrace Krishna’s heart to heart. When Krishna would return to Nandagram in the evening those cows with new calfs would welcome Krishna by licking his body licking and licking with so much offering of their love like a mother some times kisses her son when he comes they would kiss the body of Krishna and Krishna would pet those cows and each cow was thinking that Krishna is especially petting only me.
Srimati Radharani is living in Yavat and Terekadamba is just between Nandagram and Yavat and Srimati Radharani would come in the morning toward Nandagram and sometimes Krishna would be here early and he would meet with them. There are remunerable story in this regard some are reveled to us in this world. Krishna would sometimes be milking his cows at Terekadamba and he would see Srimati Radharani and gopis coming and he would scoot the milk right into Srimati Radharani’s face as well as her sakhis. Which they would be very, very happy to receive other time he is with his cows and slap the cows and the cows would start running and they run right for the gopis and every body would be in different directions and Radharani would be alone and Krishna would meet her and in the evenings or let us say at night when Krishna would leave his father and mother’s house quite secretly he would often come to Terekadamba. He would climb on this tree and play the flute to attract the hearts of the gopis to come and here Terekadamba, Krishna, Sri Radha and the gopis would perform their rasa lela at night very, very sacred place. Therefore Srila Rupa Goswami made his bhajan kutir here at Terekadamba. In fact that is were we are sitting at this very moment. This is the bhajan kutir of Sri Rupa Goswami. Were he has eternally performing his bhajan. It is described that when he would sit under the Terekadamba tree and he would write his books. That tree the Kalpabriksha tree would be very deeply reciprocating with the heart of Rupa Goswami. When Rupa Goswami is writing book like Lalita Marba describing the pains of separation that Sri Radharani was feeling form Krishna the leaves of the kadamba tree would just feel that separation so intensely that they would all instantly dry up and fall to the ground. Like the shedding of tears and when he was writing books like Dana Keli Kumudi were joyful past times of Radha and Krishna meeting under that tree he would be writing and the tree would feel his ecstasies and whatever sees it was beautiful just rejoice green leaves growing and beautiful, beautiful golden cut kadamba flowers blossoming. There is a beautiful but an instructive story of how Rupa Goswami wanted to make an offering to Sanatan Goswami, later on he will go to Pawan Sarovar. Sanatan Goswami’s bhajan kutir was there. Rupa Goswami, Sanatan Goswami there bhajan kutir’s were quite close to each other here at Nandagram. As they were at Vrindavan, so Rupa Goswami wanted to make an offering to Sanatan Goswami. Something very special and Srimati Radharani understood the heart of her devotee, so she appeared as a very simple little girl, brajabasi dressed in very plain clothes and she said my mother she has sent me some milk and some rice, and some sugar for you to make nice khir for your brother. So Rupa Goswami accepted it, but he was so engrossed in speaking hari katha, haribol exactly what it is it is khir.
väïchä-kalpatarubhyaç ca kåpä-sindhubhya eva ca
patitänäà pävanebhyo vaiñëavebhyo namo namaù
Very nice, I am completely devastated with gratitude with his incredible benediction. So they were so engrossed in hari katha that they forgot. So Radharani personally with her own hand cooked it and offered it to Rupa Goswami. Rupa Goswami presented that khir to Sanatan Goswami they drank it together. As soon as they tasted it tears were pouring from their eyes hairs were standing at the end, their limbs were trembling their voice were choked up they could not even speak any more they were in ecstasy. Sanatan Goswami what type of khir it is were did you get this and Rupa Goswami explained that this little girl she came and she presented the ingredients and she cooked it herself and she gave it to me to give it to you. Sanatan Goswami that was Srimati Radharani how could you does this how could you do accept service from Srimati Radharani. She is Vrindavaneswari; she is our supreme worship able goddess. We are her eternal servants of her maid servants are being in Vrindavan is here only to serve the wishes of Srimati Radharani not to engage Srimati Radharani in our service. Rupa and Sanatan Goswami were ashamed that they accepted service form Sri Radha their life, their soul, their only desire is to serve but still the taste of that khir was so incredible that they could not give up drinking it. They were rolling on the ground just drinking it and chanting loudly the holy names
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Here in the six Goswamis are very, very practically demonstrating Sri Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu’s beautiful prayers.
na dhanaà na janaà na sundaréà
kavitäà vä jagad-éça kämaye
mama janmani janmanéçvare
bhavatäd bhaktir ahaituké tvayi
I do not want wealth, I do not want the pleasures of the opposite sex, I do not want fame or scholarship, followers I do not even want freedom form suffering I only want to serve you unconditionally birth after birth after birth. This is the very, very unique quality of the great souls in the Goudia Sampradaya. They do not want to ask Krishna for anything but the chance to serve and please him and please his devotees. This is actually what it means to be servant in the parampara of Lord Chaitanaya being servant means this. To dedicate, ones body, mind words and life for the pleasure of Lord Hari.
Samsiddhir hari toshanam
Asisya va padam ratam pinastumam adarsh na marmarahata ……..
My lord if you want to put me in a diseased condition, if you want to break my heart, if you want to embrace me, you can do anything you want to me, I am your servant unconditionally. Bhaktivinod prays
mänasa, deha, geha, yo kichu mora
arpiluì tuyä pade nanda-kiçora!
Everything is yours my body my mind, my words, my home, my family, my wealth, my everything is yours Nandanadana. If you want to kill me kill me, if you want to protect me you can protect me. It does not matter I am your servant deal with me any way you please. That is pure devotional service. Most people worship god asking for personal benedictions give me husband, give me wife, give me wealth, give me health, give me good grades in my examination so many demands we make to god yes. How many people every day are going to church or sinegaurd or to the masjid or to the temples of the various demigods just demanding from god? Bowing down, making offerings doing pujas. I will never forget when I came down from Himalayas, 1971 I was in Delhi, can I tell the story, and I was amazing what I saw new Coughnut place there was this temple of Ganapati and I did not know what is Ganapati, I did not know anything I just meditation and living with sadhus but I did not know all of the details of the deities. So this family a man and his wife and his children they were just doing a puja and they were so much feeling intense emotion, they were just doing this puja, there was Brahmans doing mantras and they were chanting the mantras and their eyes closed, just crying out these mantras and they were offering gifts and they were offering flowers and they were doing yagyas and so many and they were so into it. I was thinking these people are really deep, I want what they have, so I sat there for two hours, all they were going through all the rituals, with so much emotion, I just sat there watching, just thinking what is these are yogis they have something very special. So when it was all over I went to the father and I said could you please tell me, you know what he said you have done and how did you do it, then he told me, he said I am starting a new business and while worshiping Ganesh to get lots of money for our business. I was really counter shocked, after living like these vairagis, in the Himalayas this is too much for me, but factually that’s what most religion is about.
Dharm ………(57.22.0)
Srimad Bhagawatam is the crest jewel of all the literatures. Even Vedavyas was unhappy sitting Saraswati river and Badrika Ashram and Narada Muni told him, why because all your literatures, your four Vedas, your Upanisadas, your Mahabharat, your Puranas, your Itihas, they are all yes the essence is there in all of them but they are all mixed up with artha, kama, dama and moksha, desire for sense gratification, desire for pirty, philanthropy, religiosity, desire for wealth, desire for liberation from suffering.
Anya vilasita sunyam gyanam…….(58.12.4)
Sri Rupa Goswami in his bhajan kutir he gave us this verse what is that Sri Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu came to give, pure unalloyed unconditional service to the Lord. Without even a single taint of desire for sense gratification, elevation to heavenly planets, mystic powers or even the slightest desire for liberation, Lord Chaitanaya taught Sanatan Goswami that story of sarvagya the astrologer. He said the real nectar of the treasure of the goloka life you have to know exactly were to find it. In the northern direction there is a big black snake representing gyana kanda, devouring our individuality through mental speculation and the desire for liberation, then in another direction there is a yaksha, a ghost that would haunt you, the desire for mystic powers and in another direction there are bees, that vast thing that bite you, in the form of karma kanda, the desire for sense gratification. But if you go in the eastern direction, just to go little, just the little, you will find that treasure and nectar and that is path the upasana kanda, the path of unconditional love devotional service that is what Sri Rupa Goswami has given us. And yes, Srimati Radharani, who is the very goddess of devotion of the ultimate deities of the goudia sampradaya, she came to personally render menial service to Rupa and Sanatan by cooking this khir, and they were ashamed that they have accepted service. Please understand the magnitude of their consciousness, they were multi milliners, they left their beautiful palaces to sleep under trees, they left the finest foods to be beggars and just get some course brajotis, they left their magnificent world ropes to just wear discarded clothes as coupin and chadar. They gave up every thing to serve the order of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They were constantly engrossed in chanting the holy names, hearing the glories of the Lord, excavating the holy places of pilgrimages. They gave up every thing. To live the most difficult possible life’s by material calculation, just to serve and here one time Radharani reciprocated to serve them. And they felled utterly condemned, that they are accepting something. This is what it means to be servant. Therefore Vedavayas wrote Srimad Bhagwatam. Which kick’s out everything else except unconditional motivated loving service to Radha and Krishna and reveals their beautiful past times in Vrindavan. Vrindavan Das Thakur explains in Sri Chaitanaya Bhagawat that the tittle Das is the ultimate attainment, Prabhupad gave it to us so easily. In order to actually attain the tittle Das you have to go beyond yoga, beyond Gyan, you have to go beyond all religious rituals; you actually have to come to a platform
Yoginam api sarvasam mat gati antara……………(1.3.05)
Krishna ends the yoga chapter of the Gita, of all yogis he who abides me with love and faith is most intimately united with me and yoga is highest of all. That’s what it means to be servant. To actually be Das is the highest destination in all of existence. There is nothing higher that we can pray for, and then to actually live up the names who are given Das and Mahaprabhu even brought back to a higher level. Higher than Das is
Gopi bartu pada kamala yur das das das anu das……….(1.04)
Actual service means our heart and all of our energies are for the pleasures of the Vaisnavas, gurudev and Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. Sarvabhoma Bhatachyara asked Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya of nine processes of devotional service which is most important and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately replied that chanting of the holy name
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
We must chant in a spirit of Das, Das, Das anu Das. Therefore Mahaprabhu taught us the process of chanting
tåëäd api sunécena
taror api sahiñëunä
amäninä mänadena
kértanéyaù sadä hariù
Yesterday during Srila Praphupad’s disappeance day, he very beloved god brother His Holiness Bhakti Vaivav Puri Maharaj, was very strongly stressing chanting hari nam and this jwel of verses.
Trinad api suni chena……….
There is no service greater than that so here Nandagram, Krishna’s eternal home, we have come. I would like to speak very briefly about some of the places we are visiting. We will go form here to Vrindakund, were we have Dinabandhu Prabhu, who will for our love and devotion of his heart in this most sacred place and enchant out hearts. From Vrindakund, we will go to Pavansarovar. From Pavansarovar, we will go up the hill to Nandabhavan, to the house of Yashoda. There we will see the deities of Krishna Balaram, Yashoda, Nanda, Radharani, Sudama and Madhumangal. There they all are waiting for us. In fact Chaitanaya Charitamrita, explains that when Sri Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu came to Nandagram, in a cave nandeswar mountain, he found deities of Krihna Balaram, Nanda and Yashoda and he worshiped them with great love and he explained that later on Sanatan Goswami actually installed them. There is also a place called Howballao, whether you can actually bring two thousand people there or whether you just see through your ears, but sometimes Krishna would play with his friends and they would be so engrossed with play, sometimes it would take massive incredible demons, to distract their attention form their place, so that they would eat their lunch. So one time Yashoda mai told Rohini Devi that tells Krishna Balaram lunch is ready, Nanda Maharaj wants to take with them. So Rohini went, Rohini Devi she called out Krishna Balaram come home Nanda Maharaj is waiting for you, it is a special day. You take lunch with them, but they just completely ignored Rohini.
They were so much immersed playing with their friends. So Yashoda Mai had to personally come out. Prabhupad tells one story, mother Yashoda scolding Krishna Balaram, come, come, come and they started leaving, and then their friend said, you are leaving like in the summit of our play, we will not play with you again. So then Krishna Balaram ran away from their friends and from Yashoda Mai and continues playing. Very difficult Krishna Balaram and their gopas they really took their play seriously because they were so ecstatic, the reciprocation of love was so deep, so profound, and they could not stop. So one time some how or other get Krishna Balaram home, Yashoda Mai she would do this some times. Play different tricks, the how is coming, Krishna said what is the how, she said it is a horrible demon, what kind of demon, she said big sharp monk teeth, huge mouths, big, big angry red eyes and pointed ears, four legs and claws and they especially hunt and eat children like you. Krishna said I do not believe in hows and then all of a sudden, Yashoda Mai, ah, ah and ran away ah he is coming, ah he is coming and she ran and ran. Krishna saw Mother Yashoda running, Balaram said ah and they ran and followed. They ran all the way home, and Nanda Maharaj was waiting at the table. They sat down and they started eating Prasad and Krishna Balaram would be telling Nanda Maharaj, you should have seen what we saw today. A How came to attack us. He had big long sharp teeth, big, big wide open mouth and angry red eyes and pointed ears and claws and four legs. He was going to eat us, we barely escaped. So to pick that past time, there are deities of the Hows. So it is called Howballow, very, special place. There is also Nandabaithak, which is a sitting place of Nanda Maharaj, were the assemblies would be Upananda, Avinanda, Sunanda, Nandanandan they would all come together and discuss so many things, just like when after Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill. They were discussing how wonderful is Krishna, how is it possible Nanda Maharaj that he killed Saktasura, he killed Putana, he killed Trinabarta, he killed Vakasura, he killed Aghasura so many and still even Yashoda Mai chastised him and you treat him just like a naughty boy.
As far as we understand Nanda Maharaj said you have quoted to us Garaga Muni what he have said. We think that you should not treat Krishna like such a ordinary child any more and Nanda Maharaj just laughed at them he just laughed at them he said you speak whatever you want but I know Krishna. You are talking about how he is a great yogi or he is some powerful like Narayan but look what kind of great yogi, yogis control their senses. Krishna is always hungry. If we do not give him butter he cries what yogi is that and yogi control their anger but if we do not give Krishna butter or his food on time he will take rocks in angry and break the pots. Sometime he would pass urine in the gopis floor and yogis are supposed to be fearless but when they stand at right Krishna would run and jump on her arms crying and trembling until he kiss him and embrace him and he so naughty yogis are supposed to be well behaved, so naughty and yogis are supposed to be truthful but Krishna is always telling lies. Steals butter, he steal dirt, did you steal, no I did not steal, I did not steal butter, he says you may say whatever you like but in my experience and Yashoda Mai’s experience we understand that he is simply an ordinary beautiful little child and if we do not teach him how to behave properly then what will become him when he grows up and then Nanda Maharaj would be speaking about Krishna’s beautiful, beautiful mischievous naughty past times and he would be in ecstasy, and everybody would just be laughing and crying and they would forget the whole purpose of the meeting. Just to warn Nanda Maharaj not to discipline Krishna and this way the Brajawashi’s were always immersed here at Nandagram and hearing and chanting the glories of the lord and singing his sweet names. There is also a Yashoda kund were Yashoda would take her bath and often bathe Krishna and Balaram and close to that is a temple of Lord Narshima Dev that was for the protection of Krishna, Garga Muni gave him the deity of Narasingha Dev to worship. There is Motikund. That is not so far from Pawansarovar. If you remember when we were in Naliharikund at Govardhan near Radhakund, we told these story of Raghunath Das Goswami, Mukta carita well the place that Krishna grew his garden of multi colored fragrant pearls is motikund here at Nandagram and watered with the milk of these surabhi cows by the loving hands of Yashoda Mai. There are wonderful, wonderful holy places here not far as Yavat. Udabcayari and just one more place. One day Krishna was standing on Lord Shiva’s head, and he played his flute and Lord Shiva in ecstasy melted and Krishna’s foot print was left on the head of Lord Shiva and that foot print is still here today, it is called caran pada hari and if possible we will go there have the darshan of Krishna’s lotus foot print. At this time we request Dinabandhu Prabhu to inspire us with his beautiful realizations and then we will go to Vrindakund. Yes and from Vrindakund, Krishna will direct us. The temple opens at four o’ clock so we will be taking darshan at that time.
Thank you very much.
Jai Jai Sri Radhee
Let us pray here at Terekadamba for the causeless mercy of Sri Rupa Goswami that we may honestly, honestly dedicate our lifes and souls to be gopanugus to follow the path that he has given as the servant of the servant of the servant of his loving servants.
Thank you very much.
