Purusottama

We went to Bhuvanesvara, and in Srimad Bhagavatam there is a history regarding this place. There was a demonic king named Paundraka, and He was very envious of Lord Krsna. He had heard that Krsna is Vasudeva, God Himself, and that He often manifested four-arms...

I remember when I used to come with my param-aradyatama (most worshippable) Sri Gurudeva and his disciples to Purusottama-ksetra during the Ratha-yatra Chariot Festival, and after that we all returned here for one month to observe Purusottama-vrata, the vows of this month...

We have come to this very sacred place called Sri Gambhira, the palace residence of Kasi Misra, who offered it to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This place was given to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the request of the king, who said, "Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself. I want Him to stay here." And it was so managed...

You are very lucky. If anyone comes here, or even takes a vow, that “I will go to Ksetra-mandala, Nilacala (Jagannatha-ksetra) or Bhubanesvara,” and if he dies before his vow is completed, still he will get the fruit. He will become four-handed. What relationship do you want with Lord Krsna?

Sankara is a very, very exalted mahabhagavata. He always serves Krsna and all His manifestations, like Rama, Nrsimha, Kalki and Varaha. In this world he has five kinds of manifestations: earth, water, fire, air, and ether. You cannot see other than these five. You can see water, you can see earth, you can see sky and you can see fire...

But it is only in viraha (separation) that the gopis, and all the Vrajavasis, sometimes say, "Oh, He's God, the Supreme Lord." And how do they say this? They say, "Paurnamasi has told us this." Or, "Gargacarya has told us." Somehow they have heard from them, but they themselves have no realization that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead...

This behavior of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu cannot be imitated. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would do parikrama, He would have a direct vision of the pastimes of Srimati Radhika and Sri Krsna. So we cannot imitate Him. This stage will come naturally if we follow the process of bhakti. Do not try to jump over the stages in the progressive development of bhakti – sraddha, bhajana kriya, anartha nivritti, nista, ruci, asakti and bhava. In this way some realization will begin to come...

This is Purusottama Month. Krsna is Purusottama, the Supreme Person, and therefore this month is actually Krsna’s month. Among all the incarnations, Krsna Himself is Purusottama. Therefore, this month is also supreme among all months, as is the month of Kartika. We are also so fortunate to be here in New Vraja, very near to Giriraja-Govardhana. Syama-Kunda and Radha-kunda are also here. All the pastime places of Vrndavana are here, as Vrndavana itself has manifested here. Peacocks are dancing, and so much is reminding us of Sri Vrndavana-dhama.

We are all very supremely fortunate to have come here to Purusottama-ksetra Jagannatha Puri-dhama, and stay so close to Purusottama-deva Sri Jagannatha Himself. We are especially fortunate to be here in this month called Purusottama-masa and to perform Purusottama-vrata (the auspicious vows taken on this month). We are even more fortunate to have the shelter of this particular place...

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu lived in the cave at Gambhira, He was always thinking of Krsna and weeping. He came to this world to taste radha-bhava, and His activities while in Gambira comprise a drop of the ocean He experienced. While living in Gambira He gave the deity of Gopinatha to Srila Gadadhara Pandita and told him, "Today I will give you a very good thing. Will you accept it?"

This leap-year, 2015, the auspicious Purusottama Month is from June 16th – July 16th (most locations, see calendar). In this month we increase our worship and devotional practices such as hearing, chanting, remembering, mangala arati, tulasi worship, proper honoring of maha-prasadam, and so on. We fast from tomatoes, eggplant, sesame, mustard seeds and mustard oil, honey, and urad-dahl, just as in the month of Kartika, and we avoid criticizing others...

The glories of adhimasa (extra month) are mentioned in the thirty-first chapter of the Naradiya Purana. Adhimasa considered the sovereignty of the twelve months and saw that he was being slighted. He went to Vaikuntha and related his dilemma to Sri Narayana. Out of compassion, Vaikuntha-pati took Adhimasa with Him and appeared before Sri Krsna in Goloka...

Here, the rain of svati-naksatra is Sri Ramananda Raya’s explanation of all bhakti-siddhanta. When the clouds of Ramananda Raya sprinkled the rain of explanation on the ocean of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His heart became the repository of jewels. Those jewels were the "anubhava yukta siddhanta"...

Sri Ramananda Raya then suggested sva-dharma-tyaga, giving up one’s occupational duty. Ultimately, even if one wants to offer the fruits of ones worldly activities to Krsna, since Krsna actually owns everything, what can one actually offer to Him? Everything belongs to Krsna, and therefore one should simply renounce and leave one’s material designation in varnasrama. One should be very careful to avoid anything that is against bhakti...