[The 2005 Vraja Mandala Parikrama ended on November 15th, successfully and without any obstacles. At the beginning of the parikrama Srila Narayana Maharaja gave a series of six evening lectures on Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s Prema-samput. After the completion of that course he spoke on Srila Cakravarti Thakura’s Madhurya Kadambini. In the mornings, throughout the entire Kartika month, he lectured on Lord Sri Krsna’s pastimes as described in the tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. On the last day he culminated that course with the pastimes of Sri Krsna’s Rasa-lila and the Songs of the Gopis in Separation.

In the photo gallery are two paintings that the artists were working on throughout Kartika, created under the guidance of Srila Narayana Maharaja for the covers of his upcoming Hindi publications of Prema-samput and Camatkar-candrika. Work on these paintings somewhat slowed up the work on the Harikatha lectures for the last couple of weeks of Kartika, and we beg the kind reader to please excuse us for that. Now that the paintings are completed, we are preparing the series of classes on Prema-samput to send out to you. In the meantime, kindly read this lecture given on the glories of Srila Rupa Gosvami at Sri Rupa Sanatana Gaudiya Matha, during his disappearance day celebrations last August.

[A couple of days after Srila Rupa Gosvami's disappearance day was the appearance day of Lord Sri Balarama, the first expansion of Lord Krsna. Both those festivals were observed in Vrndavana, and on the day after Lord Balarama's festival Srila Narayana Maharaja returned to Mathura. There, the devotees were preparing for the next big festival, Sri Janmastami, the appearance day of Lord Krsna Himself. On the first day of his classes in Mathura, Srila Maharaja called on disciples to continue the glorification of Srila Rupa Gosvami. After the devotees spoke, Srila Maharaja personally spoke, and a translation of his Hindi discourse is below:]

Before Srila Rupa Gosvami, no one explained the glory of the love of Sri Radha. Before him, vatsalya-rasa (parental love for Sri Krsna) and other rasas were explained, but not this.

Rupa Gosvami gave Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami his own book, Lalita-Madhava, to read, and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami wept due to its expressions of the intense separation moods of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Then, in order to pacify him, he gave him his Dan-keli-kaumidi, a humorous pastime of Radha and Krsna and the gopis meeting at Govardhana. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami became happy again, and he wrote Dan-keli-cintamini.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu distributed his mercy through Srila Rupa Gosvami.

yan kali rupa sarira na dharata?
tan vraja-prema-mahanidhi-kutharika, kaun kapata ugharata (1)

"If Rupa Gosvami had not appeared in Kali-yuga, who would have opened the great store-house of vraja-prema and distributed its contents freely?" (Yan Kali Rupa, verse 1)]

Rupa Gosvami established the supremacy of parakiya-bhava, based on the authentic evidence of Gopi-gita, Brahmara-gita and other chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

pati-sutanvaya-bhratr-bandhavan
ativilanghya te 'nty acyutagatah
gati-vidas tavodgita-mohitah
kitava yositah kas tyajen nisi

["Dear Acyuta, You know very well why we have come here. Who but a cheater like You would abandon young women who come to see Him in the middle of the night, enchanted by the loud song of His flute? Just to see You, we have completely rejected our husbands, children, ancestors, brothers and other relatives." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.16)]

radha krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau
caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam
radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam

["The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krsna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krsna are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Sri Krsna Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani although He is Krsna Himself." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 1.5)]

Who taught us this? Srila Rupa Gosvami. And moreover, he himself wrote and explained:

anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah

["May that Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Sacidevi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant spiritual knowledge of the mellow taste of His service." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 1.4)]

Srila Rupa Gosvami gave us Upadesamrta.
vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

["A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world." (Upadesamrta, verse 1)]

Don't blaspheme anyone. Gurudeva will correct everyone in connection with him. If you do parikrama of Giriraja Govardhana, Govardhana won't correct you. If you do devotional service under the guidance of Guru, he will correct.

utsahan niscayad dhairyat
tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh
sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati

["There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam [SB 7.5.23]-hearing, chanting and remembering Krsna], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous acaryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service." (Upadesamrta, verse 3)]

You have no time to blaspheme.

In the fifth verse Srila Rupa Gosvami teaches how to respect a kanistha (third-class or neophyte devotee), madhyama (second-class or intermediate devotee) and uttamam-adhikari (first-class or self-realized devotee) respectively. Don't give the same respect to the uttama as to the kanistha, and don't give the same respect to the kanistha as to the uttama.

What is the meaning of Matha? It is the place were students live, in order to learn about Krsna's service, and nothing else. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura established the Gaudiya mathas. As Srila Rupa Gosvami established the mano-bhistam of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura established the mano-bhistam (the innermost hearts desire) of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura,

If one wants to understand Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he must follow Sri Upadesamrta:

vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

["A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world." (Upadesamrta, verse 1)]

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura prayed:

keno va achaye prana ki sukha paiya
narottama dasa keno na gelo mariya (5)

["For what type of pleasure do I maintain my life?" Narottama dasa laments, "If I do not perform bhajana of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, why do I not simply die?" (Aksepa, verse 5)]

Everyday we should look in our own hearts, to see how much we are following Srila Rupa Gosvami. We should think, "If I am not following Srila Rupa Gosvami then I should die. There is no purpose to my life."