Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta
Narayana Maharaja
Disappearance Day of
Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja
[This year, 2007, the disappearance day of Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami
Maharaja is on October 26th in India. Below, please find 2 lectures given on his
disappearance day, in Vrndavana, India, on October 17, 2005. One lecture was
given in the morning and the other in the evening:]
(Morning class)
Today is the first day of our Urja-vrata , niyama seva and Damodara-vrata. Today
is also Saradiya-Purnima, the day leading to the full moon night, when Lord Sri
Krsna began His performance of the Rasa Dance. Today is also the disappearance
day of my Gurudeva, nitya-lila pravista om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana
Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. On this day he entered the eternal abode of Sri Krsna
in the evening, just when the moon was rising. Where was he? At the rasa-sthali
in Sri Navadvipa Dhama, which is non-different from Govardhana. At that time we
were all present, as our Gurudeva chanted, "Hare Krsna Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna
Hare Hare," and entered into nitya-lila (Krsnas eternal pastimes)."
Not only is this month full with Lord Krsna's pastimes, but in this month there
are also many appearance and disappearance days of great Vaisnavas. Srila Bhakti
Sri Rupa Siddhanti Maharaja and Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja
appeared in this month. We also honor the disappearance festivals of Srila
Bhakti Pramoda Puri Gosvami Maharaja, our Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami
Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivedanta Trivikrama Gosvami Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivedanta
Swami Maharaja, and Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, who all entered
nity-lila during this month.
My Gurudeva used to say, "Where was I? I was drowning in maya, in the cycle of
repeated birth and death. But Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura, was so merciful. He took me by the sikha and engaged me in his
service."
So, who am I? I was born in Bihar, the country of the demon Jarasandha. Even the
Pandavas never traveled there it is such an unfortunate place. But my Gurudeva
was so merciful. He caught me, and he fully engaged me in his service.
Because I was serving him, I received so much opportunity to hear the pastimes
of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. Especially, I could hear the glories of Srimati
Radhika and by my Gurudeva's mercy I could understand something of Her
glories. It is only by his mercy that people throughout the world now listen to
my hari-katha, and wherever I travel in the world, they offer me so much
respect. It is only by his mercy that I also received the mercy of all the
associates of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I am very, very
fortunate, and my good fortune has only one cause the service I performed for
my Gurudeva.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has taught us the following: suppose a
person is engaged in the service of Sri Gurudeva or the Vaisnavas. If at that
time, in another place, hearing, chanting, remembering and offering of prayers
to the Lord is going on, but because of serving the spiritual master under his
personal direction, that person cannot engage in these activities of bhakti, for
him there is no loss at all. He will have all his desires fulfilled; he will get
the results of all devotional activities. But for this to happen, he must have a
spiritual master who is of the highest caliber.
Although my Gurudeva has unlimited transcendental qualities, his wonderful
speciality, his best quality, was his unprecedented guru-nistha, his faith and
loyalty to his Guru. Such faith and loyalty is the backbone of bhakti. Unless
one has faith in ones own spiritual master, one cannot come even close to
having bhakti. We could see the guru-nistha of our Gurudeva, especially at the
samadhi place of his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada, in Mayapura-dhama. Coming before the samadhi of Srila Prabhupada, he
was not able to complete his utterance of the name, 'Prabhupada'. His voice
would choke and, weeping, he was not able to speak. At that time he indicated to
us: "Oh, you can say something."
My Gurudeva fulfilled all the heartfelt desires of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada. He would totally defeat all those who were against
Srila Prabhupada and suddha-bhakti (pure devotion to Sri Krsna). Once, during
Sri Navadvipa parikrama, Srila Prabhupada's parikrama party came to Paramatala
in Navadvipa. All the sahajiyas [*See Endnote 1] and smarta-brahmanas [*See
Endnote 2] present were very much disturbed by his forceful preaching, and they
had gone there to kill or at least injure the Vaisnavas.
At that time my Gurudeva took Prabhupada to a secluded place and gave him his
own white clothing. He took the sannyasa dress of his Guru Maharaja, who then
secretly went back to the Matha (temple), while Gurudeva stayed there and risked
his life until he was rescued by the police. [*See Endnote 3] All the disciples
of Srila Prabhupada who were present had run here and there to protect their
lives, but our Gurudeva showed his unprecedented attachment, faith, and loyalty
to his Guru by risking his own life to save him. He used to say, "We should have
the resolve that, 'I will fulfill the mano-'bhistha, the innermost heartfelt
desires of our Prabhupada.'"
The sahajiyas used to criticize and say, "In the Gaudiya Matha they are not
doing anything worthwhile. They suck only the pit of the mango. We, on the other
hand, are tasting the rasa-lila of Radha and Krsna. We are tasting all the
juice, whereas in the Gaudiya Matha they are only sucking on dry philosophy. And
actually, they don't know anything." Hearing about this, Gurudeva crushed their
statements. With very forceful language he cut all their conceptions into
millions of pieces, until they finally fell at his feet and begged forgiveness.
Some of the members of the Nimbarka-sampradaya wrote an article saying that the
scholar Kesava-kasmiri defeated Sacinandana Gaurahari (Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu),
and that Sacinandana Gaurahari then took initiation from him. When Gurudeva
heard about this, he became red with anger and ordered me, "Bring my pen!" He
then wrote a very powerful article, stating that there was actually no one
called Nimbarka Acarya. He wrote that if there would have been such a person,
his name would have been mentioned in the commentary he wrote on the Vedanta.
Rather, there was a great Vaisnava called Nimbaditya, and it was he who wrote
the Vedanta commentary of his sampradaya. In the end, these persons also had to
come to Gurudeva and beg for forgiveness.
Gurudeva was also very rasika. He wrote a very beautiful arati-song for Srila
Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. That arati is so attractive that
Pujyapada Srila Bhakti-vilasa Tirtha Maharaja took it and wrote his own name as
the author. When Gurudeva heard about this he laughed and said, "Oh, that is all
right. After all, this arati song is about the glories of Prabhupada."
Thus, just as Srila Rupa Gosvami fulfilled the mano-'bhistam of Mahaprabhu, my
Gurudeva completely fulfilled the mano-'bhistham of his spiritual master. He
preached all over India, especially in all the villages of Bengal, like
Medinapura and Caubis Pargana.
He was also responsible for the sannyasa of Sri Abhaya Caranaravinda Prabhu,
Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. Parama-pujyapada Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami
Maharaja had taken harinama and diska from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada, but
he took sannyasa from Gurudeva.
Don't think this was an accident. He did this with full knowledge, accepting
Gurudeva as his sannyasa-guru. He did not want to take sannyasa from anyone
else.
We pray on this day for the mercy of Srila Gurudeva, so that we may have
unprecedented guru-nistha like him. By such guru-nistha, one definitely achieves
all perfection.
[That evening:]
Today is the disappearance day of our Gurudeva, nitya-lila pravistha Srila
Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. He was a mahatma, a perfect
personality.
Practically from the time of his birth, he used to go with his father to any
place where there was a recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Ramayana, or any
hari-katha. He was always attracted to hearing hari-katha. His family came in
this parampara; his father and mother were disciples of Sri Vijaya-krsna Gosvami.
When his father went to the spiritual world, his mother became in charge of the
household. She was very, very strict. She came from a family of land-holders,
and she had a very strict character. One day, her son Vinoda did not return to
the house on time, and she therefore stood outside with a big stick in her hand,
waiting. At eleven pm, her son had still not returned, and when he finally came,
she demanded, threatening him with the stick, "Where have you been?!" She
threatened him two or three times, but he did not answer.
Finally he said, "Oh mother, I have formed a committee in the village. We
collect the money that we receive for buying our lunch. With that money we
perform service to the poor people in the village, by supplying medicine, food
and clothing. There is an old lady in the village who has become struck with
cholera and who has no other family members. Therefore, spending our own money,
we have called a doctor and arranged for medicine and food. Now she is doing
okay and therefore I have returned." When his mother heard this, the stick
dropped from her hand and she said, "You are very, very kind, and very
merciful." From that day on, she never chastised him again.
Sri Vinoda brahmacari was a life-long brahmacari; he never married. At the age
of sixteen, along with his aunt Sarojavasini-devi, he came to visit Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada at the time of Sri Navadvipa Parikrama. His
aunt was Prabhupada's first lady disciple. Srila Prabhupada had previously not
been willing to give initiation to any lady, and therefore she had asked very
boldly, "Oh, only men are living entities? Only men will do bhajana? Only men
will go back to Godhead and ladies will not?" Prabhupada then became a little
ashamed and started giving initiation to ladies at that time.
Still, at that time Prabhupada had not given guru-mantra to anyone. At the time
of Gurudeva's harinama and diksa initiation, he gave him all the mantras, like
brahma-gayatri, gaura-mantra, gaura-gayatri, krsna-mantra and kama-gayatri but
he did not give him guru-mantra and guru-gayatri. Therefore Gurudeva asked him,
"Does that mean I have to go to another Guru and take guru-mantra there?"
Prabhupada smiled and give him the guru-mantra and guru-gayatri, and from that
time he began to give everyone guru-mantra and guru-gayatri.
Gurudeva left college at the age of eighteen, and he performed amazing services
to his Guru Maharaja. What is now known as Chandrasekhara Bhavan in Navadvipa
was a Muslim graveyard at that time. In one night, Gurudeva took all the
headstones and threw them away. Then, in one part the devotees planted many big
and small mango trees, bamboo, and jackfruit, after which all the Muslims went
to the district magistrate and complained, "They have destroyed our graveyard."
The district magistrate came, saw that garden and said, "How can such a big
garden have become manifest in one night? No, this place has been here for a
long time." He threw out the Muslim's complaint.
Gurudeva also arranged for the building of the first big Gaudiya Matha in
Calcutta, which is now Sri Baghbazar Gaudiya Matha. There was a very wealthy
personality living in Calcutta who had come from Gurudeva's own village, and
Gurudeva went there and met him. Gurudeva's family members were the land-owners
of that village, so when he went there for collection, that man said, "How can I
serve you?" Gurudeva answered, "Actually, we want to build a Gaudiya Math in
Calcutta." That man gave the land. Gurudeva then said, "How can you give a plate
without food on it?" So that man also gave the money for the construction of the
building. *[See endnote 4]
Gurudeva was very expert in philosophical conclusive truths, and in that regard
I will relate one incident. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada had a
speciality: if any brahmacaris would disagree among themselves, he would order
one of the contending brahmacaris to glorify the other, and vice-versa. He had a
very beloved disciple named Sri Paramananda prabhu. Once, Paramananda and
Gurudeva had some disagreement. Therefore, Prabhupada ordered Gurudeva, "You
should glorify Paramananda prabhu." Gurudeva then stood up and began to recite
verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam, like:
aho bhagyam aho bhagyam
nanda-gopa-vrajaukasam
yan-mitram paramanandam
purnam brahma sanatanam
["How greatly fortunate are Nanda Maharaja, the cowherd men and all the other
inhabitants of Vrajabhumi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the
Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman,
has become their friend." (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.14.32)]
And from Vedanta-sutra Srila Sridhara Svami quoted:
mukham karoti vacalam pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande paramananda-madhavam
["I worship Madhava, the embodiment of paramananda, whose mercy turns the dumb
into eloquent speakers and enables the lame to cross mounatains."]
Quoting many different verses from Vedanta and Srimad-Bhagavatam that contained
the name Paramananda, Gurudeva gave a nice explanation and all were astonished.
At the time of the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada,
some persons came and said, "We will perform agni-samskara. We will cremate his
body." At that time, Gurudeva, like a lion, stopped them, saying, "Oh, you want
to burn him? You can burn me first! I will never allow you to cremate his divine
body." He then organized a special train, and many brahmacaris, sannyasis, and
householders went on that train with Gurudeva and the transcendental body of
Srila Prabhupada to Mayapura. There, at the Gaudiya Matha, Gurudeva arranged the
samadhi-ceremony of his Guru Maharaja.
After some time, Srila Prabhupada came to Gurudeva in a dream and said, "You
have to take sannyasa. If you don't, all my Gaudiya Mathas and my preaching will
be destroyed." In that dream, Srila Prabhupada gave Gurudeva the sannyasa-mantra
and the name Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. Then, on the day of
Visvarupa Mahotsava, in Katva, our Gurudeva took sannyasa from Srila Bhakti
Raksaka Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja, and from then he became famous by the name
Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. *[See endnote 5]
In those days, many people considered that the real explanation of Vedanta was
given by Sri Sankaracarya, who propounded Advaita-vada, impersonalism. Gurudeva
rejected this idea and, following the conception of Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana,
gave his sannyasis the name 'Bhaktivedanta' (meaning that devotion to Sri Krsna
is the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate goal of Vedanta study).
Some people became disturbed by this, saying, "What speculation is this?! Srila
Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura never gave anyone the name 'Bhaktivedanta'."
Gurudeva replied, "Abhaya Caranaravinda Prabhu was given that name by his Srila
Prabhupada while he was a householder." We three Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana
Gosvami Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivedanta Trivikrama Gosvami Maharaja and I were
his first sannyasis, and after this, Gurudeva made thirty more sannyasis.
Every year, Srila Gurudeva performed parikrama, going to many holy places like
Dvaraka, Kedarnath and Gangotri in the Himalayas and so on. "I was with him at
that time." He had so much affection for his disciples.
Gurudeva was very expert in all philosophy. He was also very rasika (relishing
his loving relationship with Lord Sri Krsna), and he was a very expert writer.
He was an excellent writer and he was an expert debater also. I have learned how
to do this from him. I am therefore now also giving good scriptural arguments
against so many false philosophies.
Sometimes, Srila Gurudeva used to go to the court. One time the judge began to
ask, "Why have you come to court? Only lawyers and judges come here. Gurudeva
then told a story from Sri Sri Radha and Krsna's loving pastimes. He explained
that once, Sri Krsna did something wrong, and the gopis made a court case
against Him. Srimati Radhika was chosen as the high court judge. The cowherd
boys Subala and Madhu-mangala became the lawyers, and they defended the case of
Krsna. It was ultimately decided that Krsna was wrong, and therefore Lalita
ordered that He would have to undergo some reformatory action. He would have to
write a declaration saying, "I am the servant of Srimati Radhika. Gurudeva gave
this argument in the court that court cases are also there in the eternal
pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. *[See endnote 6 for another, similar
incident.]
Gurudeva preached all over India, and his sannyasa disciple, Parama-pujyapada
Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, preached all over the world. By his mercy, I
am also preaching all over the world."
Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja ki jaya!
[*Endnote 1:
["We therefore see that devotees known as sahajiya, who make everything very
easy, do not associate with advanced devotees. Such persons, in the name of
devotional activities, are addicted to all kinds of sinful acts illicit sex,
intoxication, gambling and meat-eating. There are many so-called devotees
passing themselves off as devotees while engaging in these sinful activities." (Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.29.41, purport by Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada)]
[*Endnote 2:
"A smarta-brahmana is always interested in material profit, whereas a Vaisnava
is interested only in satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Srimad-Bhagavatam
8.19.33, purport by Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada)]
["A smarta-brahmana one who strictly follows the Vedic principles on the
mundane platform. On the mundane platform one cannot believe that prasada is
transcendental, that Govinda is the original form of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, or that a Vaisnava is a liberated person. These transcendental
considerations are out of the ordinary Vedic scholar's jurisdiction." (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 12.180 purport by Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami
Prabhupada)]
[*Endnote 3:
Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was doing Navadvipa
parikrama along with thousands of pilgrims. On the third day he came to
Navadvipa town, in front of the Praudha Maya temple, which was surrounded by a
big population. All the so-called brahmanas and caste Gosvamis there were in
opposition to Srila Prabhupada, because they felt he thought himself superior to
brahmanas. They made a conspiracy saying, "We will punish and kill him. About a
thousand of these brahmanas took sticks, bricks, stones, soda-water and hot
water, and they threw these from all the houses. They wanted to kill many
devotees along with Srila Prabhupada. All the devotees ran away, 'keeping their
feet on their heads.' They were running here and there, wherever they found a
way. This was reported to the police, but the police were silent; they were
favoring the caste brahmanas.
There was no way to escape. Srila Prabhupada was alone; all his senior
disciples had fled. One brahmacari was with him in white cloth, not saffron.
He at once signaled to Srila Prabhupada and they both approached a house. He
begged the householders, "Oh, please open the door. We want to stay for a
moment. He immediately gave Srila Prabhupada his own white clothes, and took his
sannyasi clothes and danda. In this way he actually took sannyasa there, and
then he somehow sent Srila Prabhupada, in white cloth, to Mayapura. No one knew
about this, and everyone surrounded that house. They thought, Oh, Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati is here; so we must take him.
He knew that this was a very dangerous time. He was Vinodabihari Brahmacari
then. He was very young, perhaps only 21 years of age, but he was very bold and
very strong and he had no fear at all. In the meantime some police came, and
after sometime the public disappeared.
After sometime he also went to Mayapura, and everyone saw that Sri Vinodabihari
Brahmacari was now a sannyasi not Vinoda Babu. That same night he changed his
clothes, but Prabhupada accepted him as a sannyasi disciple.
Now you should consider who was Vinodabihari Brahmacari. He was my Gurudeva,
Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. (Secret Truths of the Bhagavatam
(a compilation of lectures by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, p.
145-146)]
[*Endnote 4:
Sri Jagad-bandhu was originally a resident of the village of Vanaripada in the
Varisala district of East Bengal. Later he started a business in Calcutta and
became very wealthy. In Calcutta he lived in Bagbazar on the bank of the Ganga
in a gorgeous, palatial house. It so happened that Sri Vinodabihari Brahmacariji
and his god-brother Mukunda-vinoda Babaji Maharaja were performing bhiksa
(begging alms of grains door to door) and preaching in that area one day for
guru-seva.
When they arrived at Sri Jagad-bandhuji's home, they saw on the door a plaque
with the inscription, 'The bhavan of Sri Jagad-bandu dasa of Varisala'.
Vinodabihari suddenly remembered that the man was a subject of his family's
protectorate. He told the gatekeeper to say that Vinodabihari from Vanaripada
wanted to see Sri Jagad-bandhu dasa. When Jagadbandhuji heard this, he
immediately ran barefoot to meet Vinodabihari. Recognizing the brahmacari as his
landlord, he knelt down and offered pranamas. With great respect, he seated both
of his guests on chairs and began to listen to their bhagavat-katha. He became
very pleased as he listened to their discourse about the Supreme Lord, and his
delight and faith increased even more when he heard that Vinoda-bihari had left
home and was engaged in various kinds of seva to Jagadguru Srila Prabhupada.
Jagadbandhuji then said that he also wanted to perform seva for the Matha. He
revealed that he had previously resolved to donate land to the Sri Gaudiya Matha
but now, having heard Sri Vinodabihari's hari-katha, he had decided to do more.
Is it right for one person to give a plate and someone else to serve food on
it? That will not do. I shall carry the entire financial responsibility for the
construction of both the Matha and Mandira.
This actually came to pass. In 1930, Sri Sri Gaura Vinodanandaji were installed
in Their enormous Sri Mandira with hari-nama sankirtana and much pomp and
grandeur. That is how the great endeavor of parama-niskincana Sri Vinodabihari,
who was completely dedicated to the lotus feet of his guru, became the
foundation of the establishment of the Baghbazar Sri Gaudiya Mahta. (Bhakti
Prajnana Kesava Maharaja, His Life and Teachings, by Srila Bhaktivedanta
Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, p 44-46).
[*Endnote 5:
At this time, while Sri Krtiratna was sleeping during the last part of the
night, he dreamed that Srila Prabhupada laid his hand on his right shoulder and
spoke to him in a grave voice, saying, "Until now you have not taken sannyasa.
Today I am giving you sannyasa" In his dream, the complete sannyasa ceremony
took place, and when the ceremony was over, Srila Prabhupada instructed Srimad
Bhaktisaranga Gosvami Maharaja to call out Sri Kesava Gosvami Maharaja ki jaya!
The jaya dhvani was so loud that Krtiratna Prabhu woke up. He told his senior
god-brothers about the dream and they were elated to find 'Kesava' among the 108
sannyasa names.
When Srila Prabhupada had been personally present, he had on several occasions
expressed his desire to give sannyasa to his intimate servant, Sri Vinodabihari
Brahmacari. He used to say, Vinoda is sannyasi by body, mind, and words. It
only remains to change his outer dress.
On one occasion, Srila Prabhupada had planned to give Sri Vinoda-bihari
sannyasa. Dor-kaupin (loin-cloth), danda and all the requirements had been
prepared and all the arrangements were completed, but Sripada Kunjabihari
Vidyabhusana Prabhu, who was the secretary of the Gaudiya Mission, made a humble
submission at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada: If Sri Vinoda-bihari is given
sannyasa now, it will jeopardize the protection of the matha and mission.
Please, postpone his sannyasa.
On another occasion, the arrangement for Vinoda-bihari's sannyasa was made
again in the Baghbazar Gaudiya Matha. This time it was due to the special
petition of Bhagavatratna Prabhu that Srila Prabhupada did not award sannyasa.
On a third occasion, Srila Prabhupada ordered Vinoda-bihari in a dream to take
sannyasa, saying, Vinoda, because you have not taken sannyasa until now, my
entire preaching work is being ruined. Finally, on the fourth occasion, hearing
Srila Prabhupada instructing him to take sannyasa, and actually seeing himself
accepting sannyasa from Srila Prabhupada in the dream, Krtiratna Prabhu took
this matter very seriously and vowed to accept sannyasa on the upcoming holy day
of Bhadra Purnima in Katva, where Sriman Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa.
Accordingly, on Purnima, Sri Vinodabihari Brahmacari accepted sannyasa in Katva,
by the pancaratric method of Samskara-dipika, from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Prabhupada's dear disciple, Srila Bhaktiraksaka Sridhara Gosvami, who
was a great transcendental writer, poet and philosopher. His sannyasa name was
announced to be Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaj.
Pujyapada Srimad Bhaktibhudeva Srauti Maharaja performed the priestly duties of
the ceremony and instructed the brahmacari how to put on kaupin and the outer
cloth. Srila Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja recited the sannyasa-mantra. Thus the
sannyasa dress and sannyasa name given by Srila Prabhupada in the dream became a
complete reality. (Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, His Life and
Teachings, by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, p. 89-90)]
[*Endnote 6:
Once Sri Vinodabihari Brahmacari attended a religious assembly in Krsnanagar,
at which attorneys, barristers, a retired judge and other eminent learned and
respected people were present. Many of them gave sincere and thoughtful
speeches, and one in particular spoke with great humility and regret. "I have
uselessly wasted my whole life in court proceedings," he began. My birth has
become unsuccessful because I have not performed hari-bhajana, the worship of
Lord Hari. Human life can become successful only through hari-bhakti, but I have
distanced myself from it. Now in old age my senses are becoming weak, I can not
understand anything, and death is imminent. Speaking in this way he prayed at
the lotus feet of the Vaisnavas and Bhagavan for Bhagavad-bhakti.
At the end of the meeting, the respected chairman asked Sri Vinodabihari
Brahmacari Krtiratna Prabhu if he would kindly say something. He stood up and
began to speak simply and naturally, but with very powerful language. "The
hidden purport of all sastras is Bhagavad-bhakti. Of all forms of
Bhagavad-bhakti, the prema-mayi bhakti (bhakti imbued with prema) of the
associates of Vrajendra-nandana, Sri Krsna in Vraja is topmost. Therefore,
Vaisnava acarya Sri Cakravarti Thakura has said,
aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas-tad-dhama vrndavanam
ramya kacid-upasana vraja-vadhu vargena ya kalpita
srimad-bhagavatam pramanam amalam pram pumartho mahan
sri caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam tatradaro nah parah
"Vrajendra-nandana Sri Krsna is the supreme worshipful Deity. Sri Vrndavana
Dhama is worshipful like Krsna, because it is the place of His pastimes. Amongst
all forms of worship, the gopis' worship of Krsna is supreme. Srimad-Bhagavatam
offers the supreme, flawless evidence of this truth. This is the teaching of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
"In the sastras there are also examples of court-proceedings. I think that the
performance of court-proceedings is the best sadhana in hari-bhakti. Besides,
court-proceedings are actually hari-bhakti; it is just that people do not
understand how to perform them. For those unfortunate souls, the opportunity to
attain bhagavad-bhakti is very remote.
"We are in the party of the most worshipful Srimati Radhika, and our special
seva is to arrange for Her meeting with Krsna. On one occasion, Sri Krsna went
to meet with Srimati Candravali in her kunja. Radha's sakhis made up some excuse
to extricate Him from there, and they brought Him to Sri Radhaji's kunja at Sri
Radha-kunda. There, in front of Kunjesvari Srimati Radhika, He was made to
write, I am the servant of Radhaji. I will never leave Radhaji and go
elsewhere. Then He had to sign this declaration. A few days later, though, Sri
Krsna, compelled by His nature, neglected His promise and again went to
Candravali's kunja. Radha's sakhis, seeing that Sri Krsna was so opposed to Sri
Vrndavanesvari Radhika, filed a court-case against Krsna, who was not at that
time present in Her court, and they issued a court decree with which He was
bound to comply. In this way they arranged His sweet meeting with Srimati
Radhika by means of a warrant.
The lawyers, the judge and all the other people were pleased and impressed with
Sri Krtiratna Prabhu's sweet speech, which was filled with scriptural siddhanta.
His philosophical lecture made a deep impression in everyone's heart and made
them realize that the most important achievement in the human form of life is to
attain the service of Sri Radha-Govinda, and nothing else.
He then explained that birth in a high family, beauty, education, wealth, etc.
are not required for sri krsna-bhajana. On the contrary, Krsna-bhajana is the
qualification and birthright of every human being. Thus, it is necessary for all
of us to perform hari-bhajana. (Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, His
Life and Teachings, by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, p 52-53)]
Editorial Advisors: Sripad Madhava Maharaja, Sripad Brajanatha dasa and Sri
Prema Prayojana dasa
Assistant Editor: Hariballabha dasi
Translator: Sripad Damodara Maharaja
Transcriber: Janaki dasi
Typist and proofreader: Vasanti dasi
Editor: Syamarani dasi
Teachers 
