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Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura
The Life & Precepts of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté

Introduction Missing
    A Divine Life

çré siddhänta-saraswatéti viditau gauòéya-gurv-anvaye
bhäto bhänur éva prabhäta-gagane yo gaura-saìkértanaiù
mäyäväda-timiìgilodara-gatän uddhåtya jévanimän
kåñëa-prema-sudhäbdhi gähana sukhaà
prädät prabhuà taà bhaje

“In the great Gauòéya Vaiñëava teachers’ line,
as Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté he’s renowned.
Like the radiant sun in the morning sky,
he appeared to rescue all souls swallowed by
the all-devouring impersonal philosophy.
By spreading the teaching of Lord Gauräìga
to sing the holy name of Lord Kåñëa,
he gave all the chance to dive in the ocean
of love for Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Person.
Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta, my lord, divine master—
at his feet do I pray to serve him forever.”

			—Çréla Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Dev Goswämé

	Divinity can be seen by its own light. The transcendental life of Çréla Prabhupäda Saraswaté Öhäkura can be known to us only by his own causeless mercy—for such is the nature of the Supreme Lord and His representatives who come to this world. Çréla Prabhupäda was an in?nite ocean of divine treasure; if we are fortunate enough, perhaps we can touch the waves of that ocean as they lap the shore of our mortal plane. Within that ocean are his innumerable transcendental qualities such as scholarship, genius, spiritual realization, humility, magnanimity, compassion, mercy, and divine love, to name only a few. The essence of Çréla Prabhupäda’s life cannot be revealed in many volumes—let alone a single chapter—if they are merely a catalog of facts and ?gures. It takes the dedication of a lifetime to attain a true glimpse of his message, and his life is his message. We are about to stand in front of a divine personality; we are about to catch sight of that reality which is eternal and in?nite. Yet in our meeting with the eternal we have to retrace the footsteps of time, because we must begin somewhere.

Childhood, 1874–1892

	Çréla Prabhupäda Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura made his appearance in Puruñottam Kñetra (Jagannäth Puré) in the state of Oòissä, at 3:30 in the afternoon on Friday, the 6th of February, 1874. He was born in his family home, which was next to the holy site called the Näräyaë-chhätä of Çré Jagannäth Temple, and which always reverberated with the chanting of the holy name. He was the fourth son of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura and Çrémati Bhägavati Devé. Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura ?rmly established the concept of pure Vaiñëavism in the hearts of many educated and spiritually inquisitive people of Bengal in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Çréla Prabhupäda Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura was a beautiful child with all the bodily symptoms of a great personality that are described in the scriptures. Everyone was amazed to see that the child was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck like a brähmaë’s sacred thread. Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura named his son Çré Bimalä Prasäd, meaning “the mercy of the transcendental potency of Lord Jagannäth, Çrématé Bimalä Devé.”
	When Çré Bimalä Prasäd was six months old, Lord Jagannäth’s annual chariot festival took place. That year the chariot stopped in front of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura’s house and could not be budged an inch for three days. So while Lord Jagannäth stayed in front of the house, kértan was continuously performed there under the leadership of Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçay (“Mahäçay” is an honori?c title). On one of these days Çré Bimalä Prasäd, in his mother’s arms, went to see Lord Jagannäth, and extended his hand towards the Deity as if to offer his obeisance. At that moment a garland fell from the neck of Lord Jagannäth and encircled the child. The crowd was jubilant witnessing Lord Jagannäth’s blessing on the child. Amid the tumultuous sound of “Haribol!”, Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura fed Çré Bimalä Prasäd some of Lord Jagannäth’s mahäprasäd, and thus observed the child’s annapraçan (“grain ceremony”—?rst feeding of grains) under the most auspicious circumstances.
	Çré Bimalä Prasäd lived in Jagannäth Dhäm for ten months with his mother. Then they travelled to Bengal and resided ?rst at Räëäghäö and then at Çrérämpur. Once, when Çréla Bimalä Prasäd was a small boy, he took a mango without ?rst offering it to the Lord. When his father chastised him for this, he became very remorseful and immediately vowed never to eat a mango again—a vow which he observed his whole life. In 1881 Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura had a house built in Calcutta at Räm-bägän and named it Bhakti Bhavan. As the foundation was being dug, a Deity of Çré Kurma Dev manifested Himself from the ground. Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura gave this Deity to his son Çré Bimalä Prasäd when he was eight or nine years old, and taught him the mantra and the method of deity worship. The child duly started his deity worship with great care and devotion. 
	When Çré Bimalä Prasäd was in ?fth grade, he invented a new method of shorthand which he called Bicanto (or Vikånti). His teachers were always amazed by his mastery of Bengali and Sanskrit, his extraordinary intelligence and memory, and his pure moral and devotional nature. At this time Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura gave him Çré Chaitanya Çikñämåta to read. Çré Bimalä Prasäd also displayed extraordinary ability in mathematics and astrology. He studied astrology under the tutelage of the famous astrologer Mahesh Chandra Churämaëé, and impressed his teacher with his mastery of the subject and his exceptional talent. He also studied astrology with Paëòit Sundar Läl.  Seeing his scholarship in many different subjects, including the scriptures, his teachers named him Çré Siddhänta Saraswaté—“master of scriptural conclusions”.  When Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura was a student in the seventh grade in Çrérämpur, Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura gave him Harinäm (the holy name) on Tulasé-mälä (rosary made of Tulasé beads), as well as Çré Nåsiàha mantra. 
	In 1885 Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura founded the Vaiñnava Depository, a press which was housed in his own home. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura learned about the printing press and began assisting his father in proofreading.  At this time, Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçay’s magazine, Sajjan Toñaëé, resumed publication. In that same year Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura accompanied Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçaya on his pilgrimage to such places as Kuléngräm and Sargräm. At these places he heard extensive discussions on the holy name. Also in 1885, Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçäy established his “Viçva-Vaiñëava-Räj-Sabhä” (“great assembly of the Vaiñëavas of the world”) in the house of Çré Rämgopäl Basu on Bethune Row in Calcutta. Many well-known personalities such as Madangopäl Goswämé, Nilkänta Goswämé, Bipië Vihäré Goswämé, Rädhikänäth Goswämé, and Shishir Kumär Ghosh attended the meetings of the society and participated in discussions. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura used to carry Bhakti-rasämåta Sindhu (The Ocean of the Nectar of Devotion), by Çréla Rüpa Goswämé, to these meetings, and listen to the discussions there with rapt attention. 
	Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura was not interested in associating with other boys of his age unless they were interested in spiritual matters. His two favorite books were Prärthanä and Prema-Bhakti Chandrikä by Çréla Narottam Däs Öhäkura. As a young boy he published books on astrology, such as Surya Siddhänta and Bhakti Bhavan Païjikä. In the afternoons he spent hours debating about religion and philosophy with other students in Calcutta’s Beadon Square. Later out of these meetings he founded the August Assembly. All members of the Assembly had to take a vow of lifelong celibacy. Many educated people, both young and old, used to take part in the Assembly.

Sanskrit College and Work in Tripura, 1892–1905

	In 1892 Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura ?nished high school and enrolled in the Sanskrit College. He was more interested in reading many different books in the college library than in reading his own textbooks. He used to study the Vedas under Paëòit Prithvidhar Sharmä after college. He also studied the Siddhänta Kaumudi within a very short time. As a student in Sanskrit College he refuted some concepts of Professor Païchänan Sähityächärya. Subsequently no one wanted to debate with Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura, for fear of defeat. But his spiritual interests did not allow him to stay in college for very long. He wrote in his autobiography, “If I keep studying at college with great attention, then I will be under a lot of pressure to enter family life. But if I am seen as a stupid, incompetent person, then no one will try to in?uence me towards material progress.’ Thinking this, I left the Sanskrit College, and in order to live a life of devotional service, I wanted a pious occupation so I could have a modest income.”
	In 1897 Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura established the Säraswat Chatuñpäöhé (The Säraswat Academy) at Bhakti Bhavan. Many prominent and educated men such as Lalä Haragaurishaìkar, Dr. Ekendranäth Ghosh, Sätkari Chaööopadhyäya, Shyämläl Goswämé, and Saratchandra Vidyävinod came to study astrology and mathematics there. From Säraswat Chatuñpäöhé, Çréla  Saraswaté Öhäkura published astrological magazines such as “Jyotirvid” and “Båhaspati”, as well as quite a few ancient astrological texts. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura’s reputation as a very knowledgeable astrologer spread in the educated society of Calcutta. Later Sir Äçutosh Mukhopaddhyäy, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, said that the chair of astronomy at the University of Calcutta would be reserved for Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura.
	In 1895 Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura accepted a job with the independent state of Tripura, as a scholar and tutor for the royal family thereof. After King Virchandra passed away in 1896, his son, King Rädhäkiçor Manikya Bähädur, requested Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura to tutor the princes, and later to supervise the estate in Calcutta. But Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura soon wished to retire from this job, and the King allowed him to do so in 1905 with full pension. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura accepted that pension until 1908.

Bhajan Life and Initiation, 1898–1905

	Previously, in 1898, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura had visited different places of pilgrimage such as Käçi, Prayäg, and Gayä. At Käçi (Benares), he had an extensive discussion with Räm Miçra Shästri about the Rämänuja sampradaya. During this period the renunciate nature of his devotional life became very apparent. As early as 1897 he was observing the four months of chäturmasya with great austerity and devotion. He would eat only boiled food (habiñyänna) which he cooked himself, and sleep on the ?oor without pillows. In 1899 he started writing various articles to preach Vaiñëavism in a magazine called “Nivedan”, published in Calcutta. In 1890 his scholarly book Baìge Samäjikata, consisting of research on society and religion, was published in Calcutta.
	In 1897 Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura established his own bhajan-kuöir (cottage for reclusive devotional practice), called Änanda-sukhada-kuïja, on the Godruma island of Navadwép on the bank of the river Saraswaté. There, in the winter of 1898, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura met with an extraordinary, exalted Vaiñëava saint, Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji, who captured his heart. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura wanted to take shelter at the lotus feet of Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji, and by the order of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura he surrendered at the lotus feet of Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji and received Bhägavati Dikñä (initiation) from him in 1900.
	Shortly before this, in March of the same year, Çréla Saraswaté häkur had gone to Remunä via Bäleçwar to see the Deity of Kñérachorä Gopénäth (Gopénäth who stole the kñéra, or milk pudding, for his devotee Çré Mädhavendra Puré). Then he went to Puré via Bhuvaneçwar. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura became very attached to the holy city of Puré. His great desire was to establish a maöh in front of the samädhi of Çréla Haridäs Öhäkura. The subregistrar of Puré, Jagabandhu Paööanayak, and others requested him to take charge of the service of the Deity of Çré Giridharé at Sätäsan Maöh. In 1902 Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura started to build his Bhajan-kuöir called Bhakti Kuthi near the samädhi of Çréla Haridäs Öhäkura. The King of Käçim Bäzär, Mahäräja Maëéndra Chandra Nandi, who was griefstricken due to some personal tragedy, used to live there in a tent and listen to the Hari-kathä of Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura and Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura. At this time Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura regularly used to read and explain the Chaitanya Charitämåta to the audience in Bhakti Kuthi, in front of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. He was also working very hard to collect material for Vaiñëava Maïjuñä, a Vaiñëava encyclopedia.
	One Bäbäji, Rädhä-ramaë-charaë däs, who lived in Puré, had concocted a song: “Bhaja Nitäi Gaur Rädhe Çyäm/Japa Hare Kåñëa Hare Räm”. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura not only protested against this but presented a very strong argument and proved it to be inauthentic and against Vaiñëava scriptures. This Bäbäji also introduced the “Sakhiveki” concept by dressing one of his followers as Lalitä Sakhi. This was against Mahäprabhu’s teachings since an ordinary jéva was being worshiped as though he were an expansion of Çrémati Rädhäräëé. Thus Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura opposed the Bäbäji. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura was always a fearless and forthright speaker. Therefore those who opposed him, unable to defeat him in argument, tried other ways to suppress his preaching. Although Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura silently tolerated this oppression, Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura asked him to go to Mäyäpur and practice his bhajan there, without obstacles.

In Sri Mayapur Dham, 1905–1910

	In February 1905, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura went on pilgrimage to various holy places in South India. After visiting Siàhächal, Räjmahendri, Mädräs, Peremvedur, Tirupati, Kaïjiveram, Kumbhakonam, Çréraìgam, Madura, etc., he returned to Calcutta and then went on to Çré Mäyäpur. In Peremvedur he gathered information about the practice of Tridaëòa Vaiñëava Sannyäs from a Tridaëòi Swämé who belonged to the Rämänuja sampradaya.
	In 1905, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura began preaching Çréman Mahäprabhu’s message while residing in Çré Mäyäpur. Following in the footsteps of Çréla Haridäs Öhäkura, he would take the holy name 300,000 times a day. He used to sleep on the ?oor for only a few hours, eat very simply, and take the holy name day and night. In the afternoon he would speak Harikathä to the assembled devotees. On some days he would go to Kuliyä to have darçan of Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji and receive his instruction. Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji was very pleased to see the great renunciation of Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura. He used to say, “In my Prabhu I see the same kind of renunciation that was seen in Çré Rüpa and Çré Raghunäth.” Çréla Bäbäji Mahäçaya used to address his disciple Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura as “my Prabhu” (“my master”). Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura also received the blessings of Çréla Vaàçédäs Bäbäji Mahäräj in Navadwép. Seeing Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura, Çréla Vaàçidäs Bäbäji Mahäräj would say, “Someone very close to my Gaura has come to me.”
	Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura began his intense preaching of pure devotional principles in a society in which the authority of the brähmaës was unquestioned, and the concept of pure devotion was misinterpreted and misrepresented by the imitators of Vaiñëavism (the Sahajiyäs). In India in the 19th and early 20th centuries, most brähmaës were more concerned about rules and regulations that were separated from the concept of devotion and not based on the injunctions of authentic scriptures than they were about what was spiritually and morally bene?cial for the rest of society. A brähmaë was no longer a person with brahminical qualities, but simply a person born in a family of brähmaës. Since the caste system was rotting at its core, it had become meaningless and was in fact detrimental to the spiritual and moral welfare of society. The brähmaës opposed any ideas that might threaten their preeminence, which was bereft of any moral or spiritual basis. Although many educated people had lost their faith in the bene?cial role of the brähmaë class, they did not know who could take their place. The pure Vaiñëavas led reclusive lives hidden from the public eye, and the Sahajiyä Vaiñëavas aroused more hatred and suspicion than respect. In this context, Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to establish the principles of Daivé-varëäçrama dharma—the system in which the service of the Lord is placed in the center of society, a Vaiñëava is respected by everyone else, and one’s caste is ascertained according to one’s natural tendency, not according to one’s birth.
	
A Letter from Bhaktivinode

	In the meantime Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura was very concerned that pure Vaiñëavism was being overshadowed by many other wrong concepts and also by imitators. He felt that among all his sons and disciples Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura was the most quali?ed person to preach pure Vaiñëavism; he had more enthusiasm, courage, and quali?cation than anyone else. Therefore Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçaya wrote him a letter:

Saraswati!

People of this world who are proud of their own aristocratic birth cannot attain real aristocracy. Therefore they attack the pure Vaiñëavas, saying, “They have taken birth in low-class families because of their sins.” Thus they commit offenses. The solution to this problem is to establish the order of Daivi-Varnäçrama Dharma—something you have started doing; you should know that to be the real service to the Vaiñëavas. Because pure devotional conclusions are not being preached, all kinds of superstitions and bad concepts are being called devotion by such pseudo-sampradayas as sahajiyä and atibäòi. Please always crush these anti-devotional concepts by preaching pure devotional conclusions and by setting an example through your personal conduct.
	Please make great effort so you can start the parikrama [circumambulation] of Çrédhäm Navadwép as soon as possible. It is by those actions that everyone in this world will receive Kåñëa-bhakti [devotional love for the Lord]. Please try very hard to make sure that the service to Çré Mäyäpur will become a permanent thing and will become brighter and brighter every day. The real service to Çré Mäyäpur can be done by acquiring printing presses, distributing devotional books, and preaching congregational chanting (not reclusive bhajan). Please do not neglect to serve Çré Mäyäpur or to preach for the sake of your own reclusive bhajan.
	When I am not present any more, please take great care to serve Çré Mäyäpur Dhäm which is so dear to you. This is my special instruction to you. People who are like animals can never attain devotion; therefore never take their suggestions. But do not let them know this, directly or indirectly.
	I had a special desire to preach the signi?cance of such books as Çrémad Bhägavatam, Ñaö Sandarbha, and Vedänta Darçan. You have to accept that responsibility. Çré Mäyäpur will prosper if you establish an educational institution there. Never make any effort to collect knowledge or money for your own enjoyment. Only to serve the Lord will you collect these things. Never engage in bad association, either for money or for some self-interest.

	All the Vaiñëava devotees who were in contact with Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura and Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura knew that the relationship between them was not mundane, like that between an ordinary father and son. Their relationship with each other was completely transcendental, like that between Guru and disciple, as is evident in this letter.
	Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura became more enthused now to preach pure Vaiñëavism. Apart from delivering hari-kathä and leading congregational chanting, he also started collecting facts about the four Vaiñëava sampradayas (branches of disciplic lineage). He started writing and publishing articles about Vaiñëava ächäryas in Sajjan Toñaëé.
	In 1906, one gentleman called Çré Rohiëé Kumär Ghosh came to visit Çréla Prabhupäda. He was the nephew of a High Court judge, Çré Chandra Mädhav Ghosh of Barishal. Rohiëé Bäbu gave up his home life to have a devotional life in Navadwép. He found a guru from the Bäul apasampradaya (one of the pseudo-Vaiñëava groups) and started residing in his äçram. One afternoon he came to Çréla Prabhupäda and heard some invaluable devotional instructions from him. Rohiëé Bäbu was deeply touched by this discussion, and when he came back to the äçram that night, it was all he could think about. Without taking his meal, he went to bed. That night, he had a dream in which that Bäul Guru and his female companion came as tigers to attack him, but Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura came to rescue him from this danger. The next morning when Rohiëé Bäbu was awakened by the sunlight streaming through his window, he immediately left that äçram and set off for Mäyäpur to beg Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura for shelter at his lotus feet. He was the ?rst disciple of Çréla Prabhupäda (Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura was thus addressed by his disciples).

Bhajan Kutir at Sri Vrajapattan, 1909

	In February 1909, Çréla Prabhupäda built a small Bhajan Kuöir near the Bhavan, or residence, of Çré Chandraçekharächärya, who was the maternal uncle of Çréman Mahäprabhu. Remembering Mahäprabhu’s Vraja-lélä that was performed here, he called this Çré Vrajapattan. Çréla Prabhupäda continued his service at Çré Yogapiöh (the birthplace of Çréman Mahäprabhu), but stayed at Çré Vrajapattan. At this time his mother, Çrématé Bhagavaté Devé, was staying at Yogapiöh and assisting him in his service to Çré Mäyäpur Dhäm.
	While he was staying there by himself, two very young boys came to him and took shelter at his lotus feet. One of them, Açvini Haldär, came from nearby Ballaldighi. Even though he was illiterate when he ?rst came, by the grace and guidance of Çréla Prabhupäda he became a great scholar of scripture. Later when Çréla Prabhupäda gave him initiation, he named him “Vaiñëavadäs” (“servant of the Vaiñëavas”). Çrépäd Vaiñëavadäs Prabhu served Çréla Prabhupäda for the rest of his life. He was known as a very expert kértan singer.
	The second boy, Çré Païchänan Samäddär, came from the village of Vinodnagar, in Jessore district. His father, Çré Täriëécharan Samäddär, had had the good fortune of associating with Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçaya had visited their village once as well. The little boy Païchänan was very attracted to Hari-kathä, and at the age of twelve he left home one night during the predawn hours and set forth in search of his devotional destiny. Somehow he came to Navadwép and, as if by some unknown attraction, came to Mäyäpur and met Çréla Prabhupäda. Hearing from Çréla Prabhupäda, he knew his destiny was at the lotus feet of this great personality. So he stayed there with Çréla Prabhupäda. Later Prabhupäda sent him to different schools, including the Sänagar School in Calcutta and the Hindu School in Navadwép. But his main teacher was Çréla Prabhupäda himself. Later he was known as a great scholar and writer, and talented in many arts. In 1913, Çréla Prabhupäda gave him initiation and named him “Paramänanda Vidyäratna”. Throughout his life, he was always by the side of Çréla Prabhupäda and he served his spiritual master in every capacity. Çréla Prabhupäda made him one of the trustees of the Gauòiya Maöh.

Brahmins and Vaishnavas, 1911

	In the year 1911 the Vaiñëava devotees were confronted by a great deal of hostile criticism from the orthodox brähmaëas of Bengal, known as the Smärta Samäj. These brähmaëas, although bereft of real scriptural knowledge, were very proud of their own birth and social position, and their doctrines of rules and regulations. Because of their elevated social status, it was easy for them to in?uence the masses, who were ignorant of pure devotional conclusions. Even some Vaiñëava devotees supported the brähmaëas in order to get some favor from them. At this time Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura was ill and bedridden. But he was still very concerned about the situation and wanted someone to confront the brähmaëa paëòits face to face. By Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura’s desire, and having been so requested by the famous scholar Çré Madhusudan Goswämé of Våndävan, Çréla Prabhupäda arranged a meeting with the brähmaë paëòits at the town of Balighäi, in Medinipur district. Paëòit Çré Viçvambharänanda Dev Goswämé presided over this meeting. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda read there his famous article, “Brähmaë and Vaiñëava”. When he arrived, the assembled scholars were sitting in two different groups: those who believed in the superiority of brähmaës over all other classes of people, and those who believed in the superiority of Vaiñëavas, irrespective of birth or social position, over all other classes of people. At ?rst Çréla Prabhupäda quoted from many scriptures glorifying brähmaës. The joy of the assembled brähmaës knew no bounds, because even they did not know that there was so much glori?cation of brähmaës in so many different scriptures. But then Çréla Prabhupäda started his glori?cation of Vaiñëavas, again based on scripture, which far exceeded the glori?cation of brähmaës in quality and quantity. This time the brähmaë paëòits were not so pleased. Unable to respond to the evidence presented by Çréla Prabhupäda, they started shouting and making a lot of noise. One or two of them desperately tried to present new arguments, but Çréla Prabhupäda crushed those also by dint of his scriptural knowledge and irrefutable logic. He personally answered all questions and refuted all arguments by the brähmaës, and thus established the superiority of pure devotees over all classes of people.

The Gaura Mantra, 1911

	In that same year, at a meeting attended by many devotees and scholars of religion, Çréla Prabhupäda established the truth that the Gaura Mantra is eternal and should be chanted by all devotees. He based his conclusions on the evidence of many scriptures, such as the Chaitanyopaniñad from the Atharva Veda as well as other Upaniñads and Puräëas. Thus he crushed the theory that the name Gaura is not an eternal name of the Supreme Lord and that Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu was not an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Unbeknownst to Çréla Prabhupäda, his Gurudeva Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji was also present in the audience and was ecstatic to hear his conclusions.

Kashim Bazar Religious Conference, 1912 

	In March 1912, Çréla Prabhupäda was invited by the Mahäräja of Käçim Bäzär, Calcutta, Çré Maëéndra Chandra Nandi, to deliver hari-kathä at the “Käçim Bäzär Sammilani”, an annual religious conference. But when Çréla Prabhupäda arrived there, he saw that the organizers were more interested in their mundane concept of religiosity and in pleasing other people than in promoting the concept of pure devotion. To protest against these concepts which were contradictory to pure devotion, Çréla Prabhupäda fasted during his entire stay there and accepted prasädam (food that has been offered to the Supreme Lord) only after his return to Çré Mäyäpur Dhäm.

Pilgrimage and Preaching, 1912

	On November 4th, 1912, Çréla Prabhupäda, in the company of a few devotees, set out to visit the holy places where Çréman Mahäprabhu and his associates had their pastimes, such as Çrékhaëòa, Yäjigräm, Käöwä, Jhämatpur, Chäkhandi, Daihät, and so forth, and preached about pure devotion there. In Çrédhäm Mäyäpur and the surrounding areas, and sometimes in other villages of Bengal and in Calcutta, Çréla Prabhupäda constantly preached and answered spiritual questions.

The Printing Press
and the Anubhasya Commentaries, 1913–1915

	In 1913, Çréla Prabhupäda established a press called “Bhägavat Yanträlaya” at 4 Sänagar Lane, Kälighäö, Calcutta, and began publishing and printing such books as Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta with his commentaries called Anubhasya, Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä with the commentaries of Çré Viçvanäth Chakravarté Öhäkura, the Gaurakåñëodaya by the Oòiyan poet Govinda Däs, and so forth. In the evenings he would lead saìkértan and afterwards deliver hari-kathä. Many distinguished gentlemen of Calcutta would come to listen to him. In 1914 Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura disappeared from this world to enter into the transcendental abode of his eternal pastimes. In January 1915, Çréla Prabhupäda moved the printing press to Çré Vrajapattan at Mäyäpur, and continued publishing and printing books from there. He ?nished his commentaries on Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta on June 14th, 1915.

Editing Sajjan-Toshani, 1915

	After the disappearance of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura, his famous and widely distributed Vaiñëava magazine, Sajjan Toñaëé, continued publication under the editorship of Çréla Prabhupäda. In July 1915 he moved the Bhägavat Yantra press to the town of Kåñëanagar, and began publishing Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura’s books.

Disappearance of His Spiritual Master, 1915

	On November 17th, 1915, on the holy day of Utthan Ekädaçi, Çréla Prabhupäda’s dikñä guru, Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj, disappeared from this world. Çréla Prabhupäda immediately set forth for Navadwép from Mäyäpur. Çrépäd Kuïjavihäri Vidyäbhüñan (later Çrémad Bhakti Viläs Tértha Mahäräj) has described this incident in the biography of Çréla Prabhupäda, Saraswaté Jayaçré. A few so-called Bäbäjis of Navadwép began arguing with each other about who would give samädhi to the transcendental body of Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji. They all had some ulterior motive, namely to own this samädhi temple themselves so they could make money in the future from devotees and pilgrims. Apprehending a breach of the peace, the Inspector of Police, Çré Baréndra Näth Siìgha, arrived there. 
	After much argument these Bäbäjis said that Çréla Prabhupäda was not a sannyäsé and therefore did not have the right to give samädhi to Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj. Çréla Prabhupäda responded in a thunderous voice, “I am the only disciple of Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. Although I am not a sannyäsé, I have observed brahmachärya (celibacy) all my life. By the grace of Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj, I have not lived a secret life of illicit conduct and debauchery, like some ‘monkey’ renunciates. If there is someone among those present here who has a genuinely pure character and who is a renunciate, then he can give samädhi to Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj and we have no objection to that. If there is anyone here who, in the last one year, or six months, or three months, or one month, or even in the last three days, did not have any illicit contact with a woman, then he can touch this blissful transcendental body. If anyone else touches this body, he will be ruined.”
	Hearing this the inspector asked, “What will be the proof of this?” Çréla Prabhupäda replied, “I will believe their words.” Everyone present was amazed to see that all the so-called Bäbäjis left the scene, one by one. The Inspector of Police was dumfounded.
	Then by the order of Çréla Prabhupäda, the Vaiñëava devotees with him were fortunate enough to carry the transcendental body of Bäbäji Mahäräj. Some people said, “When Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj was here, he said, ‘My body should be dragged on the ground of Navadwép so it can be covered by the dust of Navadwép.’ His instruction should be obeyed.”
	Then Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Even though we are stupid, ignorant, and offensive, we should still be able to understand the signi?cance of these humble words of my Gurudeva, which were spoken to destroy the pride and arrogance of materialistic people. Even Lord Kåñëa considers Himself fortunate to carry the body of my Gurudeva on His shoulders or head. After the disappearance of Çréla Haridäs Öhäkura, Çré Gaursundar took his blissful body in his own arms and danced; such was the reverence he showed him. Therefore, following in the footsteps of Çréman Mahäprabhu, we shall also carry Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj’s blissful body on our heads.”
	On November 17th, 1915, Çréla Prabhupäda gave Samädhi to his Gurudeva, on the Nutan Charä of Navadwép, on the banks of the Gaìgä. Sixteen years later, the moving currents of the Gaìgä arrived at that holy place. By his instruction, on August 21st, 1932, some of his disciples from Çré Chaitanya Maöh, including Çrépäd Narahari Prabhu and Çrépäd Vinod Vihäré Prabhu (later Çréla Bhakti Prajïän Keçav Mahäräj) and others, removed this samädhi by boat across the Gaìgä from Navadwép to Çré Chaitanya Maöh, Mäyäpur.

The Divine Vision of Srila Prabhupada, 1915

	After the disappearance of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura and Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj, Çréla Prabhupäda was grief-stricken and was feeling the pangs of separation. At that time a wonderful incident took place. Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna has described this in Saraswaté Jayaçré: 

	Çréla Prabhupäda was feeling very discouraged in the absence of Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçaya and Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj, seeing the helpless condition of the spiritual section in the country and the propaganda of the sahajiyäs (imitators). He was thinking, “How will I ful?ll the desire of my spiritual masters? How will I be able to preach the message of Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu? I do not have enough money or manpower. Nor do I have any knowledge or talent that would enchant the public. I have no material skill or wealth. How can this grave task be performed by me? Perhaps I won’t be able to preach the message of my spiritual masters.” 
	Thinking all this, Çréla Prabhupäda displayed his pastime of gloom and depression. Then one night he saw in a visionary trance that Lord Gaursundar had arrived from the east side of the Yogapiöh temple with His associates. Amid the sound of saìkértan, He was ascending to His birthsite. With Him were the six goswämés. Çréla Jagannäth Däs Bäbäji, Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura, and Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji were also present in their effulgent transcendental forms. Addressing Çréla Prabhupäda directly, they said, “Why are you in such a state of anxiety? Begin your task of establishing pure religion. Everywhere preach the message of Çré Gaura and spread the service of the holy name, abode, and desire of Çré Gaura. We are always ready to help you, being eternally present with you. In your mission of establishing pure devotional service, you will always receive our help. Behind you innumerable people, unlimited wealth, and extraordinary scholarship are waiting to help you. Whatever you need at any time will immediately appear to serve your mission of pure devotion. With full enthusiasm, proceed with your preaching of the message of pure devotion as it was preached by Çréman Mahäprabhu. No material problems can impede you. We are always with you.” The next morning Çréla Prabhupäda told us about this visionary trance with great ecstasy.

Sannyas and Founding Sri Chaitanya Math, 1918

	Even though Çréla Prabhupäda was already a great renunciate and an eternally liberated (nitya-siddha) spiritual personality, in order to preach extensively as a travelling mendicant (parivräjak) and to set an example of Daivi-Varnäçrama Dharma, he decided to take sannyäs in the year 1918. By accepting the saffron cloth he actually took a humble position below his two gurus, Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura and Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji, who had both accepted the paramahaàsa-veça (the white cloth of a renunciate Vaiñëava who has given up varëäçrama dharma; sannyäs, which requires wearing a saffron cloth, is part of varëäçrama dharma). On the full moon day of March 7th, 1918, on the auspicious occasion of the appearance festival of Çréman Mahäprabhu, Çréla Prabhupäda took sannyäs in Çré Mäyäpur according to Vedic rites. Early in the morning he shaved his head and then went to bathe in the old Gaìgä, near Väman Pukur. Çré Rämgopäl Vidyäbhüñan, Çré Ananta Väsudev Prabhu, Çrékänt Däsadhikäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Prakäç Aranya Mahäräj), and a few other devotees accompanied him. On the way Çréla Prabhupäda spoke on such topics as the story of Ajämila, the sannyäs pastime of Çréman Mahäprabhu, and some verses from the Çrémad Bhägavatam. After bathing he offered his daëòavats and returned to Vrajapattan. The devotees had collected and arranged all the necessary paraphernalia there. Çréla Prabhupäda went inside the temple and, remembering his Gurudeva, he took tridaëòi sannyäs (the word “tridaëòi” signi?es the threefold vows of serving the Supreme Lord with body, mind, and soul). 
	In the meantime all the devotees were waiting outside. Among them were Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna and Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan. A big crowd had also assembled to celebrate the appearance festival of Çréman Mahäprabhu. When Çréla Prabhupäda emerged as a sannyäsé, everyone became very sad, and remembered the sannyäs pastime of Çréman Mahäprabhu. Overwhelmed with devotional emotion, they all started crying.
	That same day, Çréla Prabhupäda established Çré Chaitanya Maöh and installed the Deities of Çré Çré Guru Gauräìga and Çré Çré Rädhä Govinda there. This Çré Chaitanya Maöh in Mäyäpur is the Äkar Maöh (the original or parent maöh) of all the Gauòéya Maöhs all over the world. In the afternoon he delivered a lecture about the appearance of Çréman Mahäprabhu to the assembled crowd. The next day he initiated some of the surrendered devotees, such as Çrépäd Haripada Vidyäratna, Çrépäd Ananta Väsudev Prabhu, and Çrépäd Bhakti Prakäç Prabhu.
	After taking sannyäs, Prabhupäda displayed his extraordinary pastimes of renunciation and austerity. This was described in the memoir of Çrépäd Ananta Väsudev Prabhu quoted in Saraswaté Jayaçré:

	Before taking sannyäs he used to wear a top garment twenty-four hours a day. No one ever saw his upper body. But after sannyäs he would wear a chädar most of the time. He gave up wearing sandals. Walking everywhere without sandals made his feet bleed, but he still would walk without sandals. Seeing his example of great renunciation, we were amazed. During chaturmasya (the four months of the rainy season) he would sleep on the ?oor and would only eat during the day, never after sunset. In the heat of summer in Mäyäpur he would close his door and chant night and day.

	Later that month Çréla Prabhupäda gave a very scholarly lecture called “Vaiñëava Darçan” (“The Vaiñëava Philosophy”) at a literary meeting in the Kåñëanagar town hall. In May he took some of his disciples with him to preach in different places. In Daulatpur he stayed in the house of Vanamäli Poddar and preached continuously for several days. There he initiated quite a few devotees including Çrépäd Yaçodänandan Prabhu and Çrépäd Narahari Prabhu. 
	At this time his disciple Çrépäd Nayanäbhiräm Prabhu (later Çrémad Bhakti Vivek Bhärati Mahäräj) earnestly assisted Çréla Prabhupäda with his preaching activities. Çrémad Bhärati Mahäräj would preach in very simple language and present the Vaiñëava concept in a simple, but attractive, way. Çréla Prabhupäda engaged Çrémad Bhärati Mahäräj to speak to the general public. Çrémad Bhärati Mahäräj would sometimes make them laugh and sometimes make them cry. His preaching captured their hearts and they would come by the thousands to listen to him. He was an expert kértan singer. Çréla Prabhupäda always knew the greatest strength of each of his disciples, and he would engage them accordingly. Before he left this world, he told Çrémad Bhärati Mahäräj that he was a hard-working and practical person, and should serve the mission.

Sri Kshetra-Mandal Parikrama, 1918

	To celebrate the fourth disappearance anniversary of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura, Çréla Prabhupäda set forth for Puré Dhäm on June 2nd, 1918, along with twenty-three other devotees. Before going to Puré Dhäm, Çréla Prabhupäda accepted the invitation of Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan and went to his residence in Gauribäòi Lane, Calcutta, with all the devotees to take prasädam for two days. Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu was an ordinary impoverished postal employee. But he arranged for a sumptuous feast of many courses for Çréla Prabhupäda and his entourage. On his way to Puré Dhäm Çréla Prabhupäda also preached at different places such as Säuri, Kuämärä, and so forth. Then he went to Remuna to see the Deity of Kñérachorä Gopénäth. At a meeting in Bäleçwar, he gave a lecture on the Çikñäñöak verses of Mahäprabhu. On his way to Puré he became overwhelmed with the mood of separation of Çréman Mahäprabhu. Many distinguished government of?cers and citizens came to listen to his lectures, and some of them invited him to lecture in their homes.
	After celebrating the disappearance festival of Çréla BhaktivinodÖhäkura with extensive preaching and saìkértan in Puré, Çréla Prabhupäda came back to Calcutta. For a little while he stayed at No. 3 British Indian Street. He delivered lectures there and his disciples used to visit him daily. Sometimes Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan would cook for Çréla Prabhupäda there. During August and September 1918, a representative of a group of opponents of Vaiñëavism presented Çréla Prabhupäda with twenty-nine questions. He answered all of them on the basis of scripture and logic and thus silenced his opponents. These questions and answers were subsequently published in an article called “The Answers to the Questions of the Critics”. Later Çréla Prabhupäda came back to Bhakti Bhavan.

Sri Bhaktivinod Asan
and the Visva-Vaisnava-Raj-Sabha, 1918–1919

In the next few months and years something unprecedented took place. The big city of Calcutta, previously thought by Vaiñëavas to be a very unfavorable place, became the center of preaching for Çréla Prabhupäda’s mission of pure devotion. It started when his disciple Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu, who was always burning with fervent enthusiasm to serve Çréla Prabhupäda, submitted a new proposal at his lotus feet. One day in Mäyäpur, he said, “Prabhupäda, how many people can come here and listen to your glorious, powerful, and unparalleled message about Çréman Mahäprabhu? On the other hand, people from all over the world come to Calcutta or pass through that city. If we can arrange for a residence for you in Calcutta, faithful people from many places will have the good fortune of listening to you.” Çréla Prabhupäda granted this request. Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu rented a two-story house in November 1918 on No. 1 Ulöoòiìgi Junction Road, next to the famous temple of Pareçnäth.
	That same month Çréla Prabhupäda established the spiritual institution called Bhaktivinod Äsan there. The temple room and Çréla Prabhupäda’s room were upstairs, and three or four devotees, including Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu, lived downstairs. The rent was Rs. 50 per month. This was beyond the means of an impoverished postal employee. Other devotees staying there tried to help Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu, but most of the time they also found it dif?cult to come up with that money. But Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu always went out of his way to supply whatever was necessary to serve his Gurudeva, even if he had to incur a substantial debt in order to do so. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda now started his regular preaching program in the newly established Bhaktivinod Äsan. More and more people came to listen to him. On February 5th, 1919, on the auspicious appearance day of Çrématé Viñëupriyä Devé, Çréla Prabhupäda re-established the Viçva-Vaiñëava-Räj-Sabhä. He gave a scholarly lecture on the ancient history of this assembly. On June 27th, in Svänanda-sukhada-kuïja (the Bhajan Kuöir of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura), the worshipable deity form of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura was installed.

Preaching  in East Bengal, 1919

On October 4th, 1919, Çréla Prabhupäda set forth to preach in East Bengal (now Bäìglädesh) and north Bengal. Right before this natural disasters, a strong hurricane and ?ood, had hit East Bengal. Thousands of people became homeless and many people died. Usually autumn is a season of festivity in Bengal, since during this time of year Bengalis celebrate their Durgä Püjä festival. But this year grief and loss took the place of festivity in many places. Çréla Prabhupäda chose this time to preach his message of pure devotion. He decided that this was the proper time to sing the verse:

tatte ‘nukampäà susamékñamäëo
bhuïjäna evätmakåbhaà vipäkam
hådväg vapubhir vidadhan namaste
jéveta yo muktipade sa däyabhäk
—Çrémad Bhägavatam 10.14.8

“My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reaction of his past misdeeds and offering you respectful obeisances with his heart, words, and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”
	Çréla Prabhupäda preached in many different towns and villages in East Bengal. Wherever he went, many people came to listen to his lectures. In many places special meetings were arranged where Çréla Prabhupäda was requested to speak. Many distinguished gentlemen invited Çréla Prabhupäda to their homes to deliver Hari-kathä. He led saìkértan processions in different towns and villages. Çréla Prabhupäda visited such places as Dämurhudä, Kusthia, Pävnä, Sätberia, Sägarkändi, Belgächi, Räjbäòi, Lauhajaìg, Domsar, Näräyangaïj, Òäccä, Siräjdighä, Kotchandpur, Çrépät Maheçpur, and so forth.

Questionnaire for the Kashim Bazar Conference

In April 1920 the religious conference, the “Käçim Bäzär Sammilani”, took place in Kummilä, East Bengal. The members of the Viçva-Vaiñëava-Räj-Sabhä were invited to participate in that conference. But when they saw the agenda of that conference, which included the discussion and singing of Lord Kåñëa’s very intimate pastimes with the gopés, by the order of Çréla Prabhupäda they sent a questionnaire to that conference, care of the gentle and humble Mahäräja of Käçim Bäzär, Çré Maëéndra Chandra Nandi. Seven questions were posed regarding the propriety of such discussions of the intimate pastimes of Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa among conditioned souls. The Mahäräja duly presented the questionnaire to the assembled paëòits. But no one dared to answer those questions.

Disappearance of Srimati Bhagavati Devi, 1920

	In June 1920 Çréla Prabhupäda’s worshipable mother, Çrématé Bhagavati Devé, left this world to enter the abode of her eternal pastimes. Six years earlier on that very day Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura had left this world. For many years, Çrémati Bhagavati Devé had dedicated herself to assist the divine mission of Çréla Prabhupäda. Before she left this world, she called Çréla Prabhupäda to her bedside and expressed her last desire, that the message and the holy name of Çréman Mahäprabhu be preached all over the world.

Sri Gaudiya Math, 1920

	On September 6th, 1920, Çréla Prabhupäda founded Çré Gauòéya Maöh at Bhaktivinod Äsan and installed the Deities of Çré Çré Guru Gauräìga and Çré Çré Rädhä Govinda. Çréla Prabhupäda s movement gained great momentum immediately after he chartered the Gauòéya Maöh. Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to start a great mission which would propagate Çréman Mahäprabhu s teachings in their purest form. He wanted to preach that the goal of life is to love and serve Kåñëa, and that the only way for the fallen souls of Kali-yuga to be delivered is to chant the holy name and render unconditional devotional service. He wanted to preach his concept of pure devotion to all classes of people the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor, the orthodox brähmaës and the young people in?uenced by Western ideas. He wanted hundreds of people to come to his lectures and thousands of people to read the books and magazines published by the Gauòéya Maöh. In short, he wanted to start a spiritual revolution a seemingly ambitious goal for someone who only had a handful of men to help him and hardly any money to spend. But the Gauòéya Maöh grew at an amazing speed. People came from all ?elds of life, and most of them were highly educated. Many people came to join his mission with many different talents and skills to contribute scholars, writers, editors, administrators, doctors, engineers, lawyers. Çréla Prabhupäda s unique personality and his powerful speeches touched many people s hearts and changed their lives forever. A spiritual revolution was indeed taking place in Bengal. 
	The devotees of the Gauòéya Maöh worked very hard to propagate Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching mission. They begged from door to door, worshiped the Deities, performed kértan inside the temple, and went on nagar-saìkértan on the streets of Calcutta. They also preached at various places, being so instructed by Çréla Prabhupäda. In 1920, Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan Prabhu suddenly left for Basra (in present-day Iraq) to take a temporary position, so that he could pay off the huge debt he had incurred in trying to serve the Gauòéya Maöh. 
	On November 1st, 1920, Çréla Prabhupäda gave sannyäs to Çrépäd Jagadéç Bhaktipradép, who was a disciple of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. He was the ?rst devotee to receive sannyäs from Çréla Prabhupäda. Now he was called Çréla Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj.
	On March 14th, 1921, Çréla Prabhupäda revived Navadwép Dhäm Parikramä. At the end of March he once more went to preach in Puré Dhäm. At this time Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj published a book called Ächär O Ächärya (The Spiritual Master and His Conduct), by Çréla Prabhupäda. This book introduced revolutionary ideas by criticizing the contemporary practices of those gurus who had turned religion into a money-making profession.
	From the 1920’s onward, Çréla Prabhupäda’s movement started spreading steadily. Preaching went on continuously not only in Bengal, but in other parts of India. Scholars of every ?eld came to listen to Çréla Prabhupäda’s lectures and ask him spiritual questions. 

Sri Chaitanya Math, Mayapur, 1920

As Çréla Prabhupäda was spending more and more time away from Mäyäpur while preaching at the Bägbäzär Gauòéya Maöh or going on preaching tours of different places in Bengal, Bihär, and Oòissä, in 1920 he decided to establish some of his disciples at Çré Chaitanya Maöh in Mäyäpur. He directed two devotees, Çrépäd Narahari Däs Brahmachäré and Çrépäd Vinod-vihäré Brahmachäré, to take charge of that maöh.

Gaudiya Math in East Bengal, 1921

In 1921, Çréla Prabhupäda preached at different places in Bihär, including Dhanbäd, and then returned to East Bengal to preach extensively there. Some of his disciples who were in?uential speakers, such as Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj, also delivered many lectures and answered question. In the beginning considerable opposition to Çréla Prabhupäda’s outspoken preaching arose. The professional speakers of Çrémad Bhägavatam did their best to launch a powerful campaign to mislead the common people against Çréla Prabhupäda’s mission. Initially it worked, when some people refused to open their doors to Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples. But being empowered by his blessings, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples were very determined to preach. They decided that if there was no food and shelter for them then they would just go hungry and drink the water of the Burigaìgä river. But they would go on preaching tirelessly. Such determination was rewarded by a renewed interest in Gauòiya Vaiñëavism among the spiritually inquisitive. The ground for Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching in East Bengal was made  fertile by the advance work of Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples.
	When Çréla Prabhupäda went to East Bengal, he gave realizations to the inquiring public that were beyond their dreams. For example, Çréla Prabhupäda resided in the city of Dacca for one month and gave thirty different interpretations of the following verse from Çrémad Bhägavatam:

oà namo bhagavate väsudeväya
janmädy asya yato ‘nvayäd itarataç
chärtheñv abhijïaù svaräö
tene brahma hådä ya ädi-kavaye
muhyanti yat sürayaù
tejo-väri-mådäà yathä vinimayo
yatra tri-sargo ‘måñä
dhämnä svena sadä nirasta-kuhakaà
satyaà paraà dhémahi
								—Çrémad Bhägavatam 1.1.1

“O my Lord, Çré Kåñëa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Çré Kåñëa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance, and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is only He who ?rst imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmäji, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in ?re, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Çré Kåñëa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.”
	Even great scholars were amazed to hear these interpretations. Many sincere souls took initiation then from Çréla Prabhupäda. One of the disciples who came from Dacca was Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod, who later became one of the main writers in the preaching mission of the Gauòéya Maöh.
	That same year, Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan Prabhu returned from Basra and joined Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching mission in Dacca. Çréla Prabhupäda had been missing him greatly, and had already made plans to take Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan Prabhu with him to different places.
	On October 13th, 1921, Çréla Prabhupäda established the Çré Madhva Gauòéya Maöh in Dacca, and on October 31st he installed the Deities there. In Faridabäd Çréla Prabhupäda delivered Harikathä in the house of Çré Saratchandra Bandopadhyäy, who was grief-stricken by his son’s death. Hearing Çréla Prabhupäda’s hari-kathä, he felt relieved and took initiation from him. Later his two daughters, Çrématé Äparaëä Devé and Suñamä Devé, also took initiation from Çréla Prabhupäda. Çrémati Äparaëä Devé was a poet and a writer. She subsequently wrote quite a few articles in the Gauòéya magazine. Much later she translated Çré Rüpa Goswämé’s Stavamälä and Çré Raghunäth Däs Goswämé’s Stavavali into Bengali poetry, which was much appreciated by the Vaiñëava devotees.
	On his return from Dacca, Çréla Prabhupäda renovated some ruined temples and places of pilgrimage from the time of Çréman Mahäprabhu’s pastimes, and reestablished regular worship there. Among them were the famous Gaur-Gadädhar temple in Champähaöi, the birthsite of Çré Våndävan Däs Öhäkura, the guesthouse in Modadruma-dwép, etc. In 1933, Çréla Prabhupäd put Çrépäd Satéç Prabhu (Çrépäd Satprasaìgänanda Brahmachäré, later Çrémad Nayanänanda Bäbäji Mahäräj) in charge of the Gaura-Gadädhar temple in Champähaöi.

Purusottam Math in Puri, 1922

“Hyutkale Puruñottamät”—“From Utkal (Oòissä) the concept of pure devotion will spread to the whole world.” To honor this prediction of the scriptures, Çréla Prabhupäda founded the Puruñottam Maöh in Puré in June 1922. Following in the footsteps of Çréman Mahäprabhu, he participated in the pastime of cleansing the Guëòichä temple and in parikramä of Puré Dhäm along with his disciples. He sent his disciples to preach in various parts of Oòissä.

Publication of the Gaudiya Magazine, 1922

On August 19th, 1922, Çréla Prabhupäda began publishing a magazine called Gauòéya from the Krishnanagar Bhagavat Press, which would become the most famous and widely distributed spiritual Bengali magazine and one of the chief instruments of Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching mission. In its ?rst year the magazine was jointly edited by Çrépäd Atulchandra Bandopadhyäy Bhaktisaraìga (Çrépäd Apräkåta Prabhu—later Çrémad Bhakti Saraìga Goswämé Mahäräj) and Çrépäd Haripada Vidyäratna(later Çrémad Bhakti Sädhak Niñkiïchan Mahäräj). In its second year Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod became assistant editor. Subsequently Çrépäd Bhaktisaraìga was editor-in-chief, Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod was editor, and Çrépäd Haripada Vidyäratna was assistant editor. From 1930 onward, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Pramod Puré Mahäräj) became joint editor of Gauòéya.
	In each issue of Gauòéya there was an editorial; sometimes there would be an article by Çréla Prabhupäda or an article based on his lectures. All together each issue would comprise three or four articles, short paragraphs on current topics and recent events or information on upcoming events, and a column of questions and answers. Sometimes there would be a poem, or a story of Mahäprabhu’s childhood pastimes written for children.
	For a few years, Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod was posted in Dacca as a teacher in a high school there. But he used to send one or two articles every week. Çrépäd Pranavänanda Prabhu also used to write articles, and would proofread the whole magazine. Çréla Prabhupäda trusted him with the proofreading because he would work very hard and frequently stay up all night to make the text free from errors. The result was a perfect production every week. Devotees used to distribute Gauòéya with great enthusiasm. One devotee from Çré Chaitanya Maöh in Mäyäpur, Çrépäd Satyen Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Nilaya Giri Mahäräj) used to take the ?rst train to Calcutta every morning to sell and distribute Gauòéya. The philosophical and literary standard of Gauòéya was unsurpassed.
	Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen, Professor of Bengali literature at the University of Calcutta, was a well-known scholar and writer. Some of his books, such as Rämäyaëé Kathä (Topics of the Rämäyaë) were prescribed textbooks for the students of Bengali literature. The editor of Gauòéya wrote an article criticizing some of his ideas. When Dr. Dinesh Sen read that article, he was so impressed by its literary standard that he wrote a letter of praise to the writer. That letter was kept in the archives of the Gauòéya Maöh. But more importantly, Gauòéya helped to keep the ?re of devotional inspiration burning in the hearts of many Bengalis, when another big ?re was burning in the heart of Bengal and the rest of India.

Gaudiya Math and the Freedom Movement of the 1920’s

	That other ?re that was burning in the hearts of the masses of India was the desire for freedom. On one hand was Mahätmä Gändhi’s nonviolent movement for freedom. On the other hand was the more radical guerrilla group. There were little pockets of guerrilla resistance everywhere in India. The British government, which was very reluctant to give up India, “the jewel of the crown of the British empire”, was equally intimidated by both groups.
	In Bengal one of the groups of guerilla freedom ?ghters was called the “Anuçilan Samiti” (Organization for the Cultivation of Freedom). Actually, “anuçilan” means cultivation, but what was to be cultivated was not speci?ed, for obvious reasons. Hundreds and thousands of young, educated and talented men, with the support of their mothers, sisters, and wives, gave up their education, family life, and profession, and risked their lives to join one of these two movements: Mahätmä Gändhi’s nonviolent movement or the guerrilla movement. If there was one desire that was shared by the whole nation, it was the desire for freedom from the British.
	But Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to preach about another kind of freedom which transcends any freedom of the mundane world: the freedom of the soul. While nationalistic leaders were preaching that it is the birthright of a nation to have freedom and sovereignty, Çréla Prabhupäda was preaching that it is the birthright of every soul to seek freedom from material bondage and ?nd its rightful place in the realm of eternity. The nationalistic leaders would argue that that could wait, but Çréla Prabhupäda insisted that one should not waste one minute while reaching for the supreme goal of human life, because it can end at any moment. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda said, “First of all we have to know who we are. After that it will become very easy to ?nd out what is our foremost duty. The only path to our eternal welfare is to serve the Lord and have His grace. The human birth is the root of devotional service. It is not possible to render devotional service in animal life.…We all have to become free. But the state of freedom is nothing other than the state of cultivating Kåñëa consciousness with the support of all our senses, being ?xed in our real identity.” (Upadeçämåta pp. 462–463)
	As one can imagine, it is easier to arouse the oppressed masses to seek political freedom than to arouse the soul to look for its eternal prospect. Yet many young men gave up the nationalistic movement and came to Çréla Prabhupäda’s spiritual movement.
	Çrépäd Vinod Vihäré Prabhu was formerly a member of the secret organization called the Anuçilan Samiti. He gave up his af?liation with it and joined Çréla Prabhupäda’s movement, and so did a few others. But the British police remained very suspicious of their activities. So they sent undercover agents to the Gauòéya Maöh to spy on the activities of its members. One such undercover agent listened to Çréla Prabhupäda’s lectures with rapt attention, and gave up his profession to become Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciple. Before begging for Çréla Prabhupäda’s mercy, he disclosed that he had come as a spy. He became Çrépäd Gaurendu Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Vardhan Sägar Mahäräj). 
	After this incident, in 1924 or 1925, another very learned gentleman, Çré Rämendra Chandra Bhaööächärya, who was not known to any of the devotees, began coming to the maöh regularly. He would silently listen to Çréla Prabhupäda’s lectures with rapt attention. One day Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré was giving a lecture when he arrived. One devotee, Çrépäd Kértanänanda Brahmachäré, cautioned Çrépäd Pranavänanda Prabhu about this gentleman. He said, “I have noticed that he does not ask anything, but listens to every word with rapt attention. He must be an undercover spy.” 
	Çrépäd Kértanänanda Prabhu started keeping an eye on this gentleman. But it so happened that very soon Çré Rämendra Chandra Bhaööächärya attracted Çréla Prabhupäda’s attention. It was discovered that he was no spy, but in fact was formerly in Mahätmä Gändhi’s freedom movement. Çréla Prabhupäda gave him initiation, and later named him Çré Rämänanda Däs Brahmachäré. Within a few years he gave him sannyäs, naming him Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Dev Goswämé Mahäräj. Çréla Prabhupäda was very fond of him, and so were his other disciples. Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj was known for his extraordinary scholarship, his poetic talent, his powerful preaching, his saintly character, and his wholehearted dedication to serving his Gurudeva.
	Many distinguished citizens of Calcutta admired Çréla Prabhupäda’s unprecedented and extraordinary contribution to the Vaiñëava movement of Bengal. But not everyone shared their sentiment. The famous Bengali leader of the freedom movement, Netäji Subhäsh Chandra Bose, complained to Çréla Prabhupäda that he was diverting the attention of the youth from the freedom movement to his devotional mission. Çréla Prabhupäda appeased him by saying, “These men are not so physically strong. They will not be of much use to you.” Of course, he did not think that Netäji would be interested in the concept of spiritual freedom at that moment.

The Acharya  Who Could Inspire  And  Engage

	Freedom ?ghters or not, intelligent and spiritually inquisitive young men were coming to Çréla Prabhupäda, giving up their family ties and material prospects. To cite only one example: Before he took initiation, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré used to go to Çré Gauòéya Maöh every day after work. One day, just as he was about to leave for Çré Gauòéya Maöh, he was stung by a scorpion hidden in his shoe. Two days previously a man had died from a scorpion’s sting. Although Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré was bleeding profusely, and the blood was blackish with venom, he told his weeping mother he was all right and set forth for Çré Gauòéya Maöh as if nothing had happened. There he listened to Çréla Prabhupäda’s lecture, and although the intense pain continued throughout that evening and the rest of the night, his mind was on Çréla Prabhupäda’s words, not on his pain. When his Godbrothers refer to this incident, he says, “That was my time of navänuräg [the ?rst stage of love, when any separation seems risky and unbearable].”
	Çréla Prabhupäda’s transcendental personality was extremely attractive, and his powerful preaching could plant the seed of divine love in one’s heart—with tangible results. The proof of this was to be found in the atmosphere of the Gauòéya Maöh, which was always lively with the sights and sounds of uninterrupted, wholehearted devotional service. Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj said in his memoir, “When I went there again, I saw many things that touched me. Çréla Prabhupäda was delivering a lecture to so many gentlemen—educated persons. In another place the elderly Çrépäd Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj was giving a lecture. Elsewhere Çrépäd Bhakti Swarüp Parvat Mahäräj was found writing receipts, collecting funds from the people. It was a hive of activity. I felt a transcendental happy atmosphere there.”
	At the center of this transcendentally happy hive of activity was the Ächärya who was known to be “softer than a ?ower and harder than a thunderbolt”. Nothing escaped Çréla Prabhupäda’s keen eyes. His affection for his disciples was also all-encompassing. Çréla Prabhupäda would personally supervise the distribution of prasädam to his disciples; he would stand there and make sure everyone ate well. When his disciples’ family members came to visit, he would personally welcome them, make them comfortable, and spend considerable time with them. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda’s deep humility was re?ected in his thoughts, words, and actions. He called his disciples “Prabhu” (“master”). He never asked any of them to do anything for him, personally. Yet each of them was eager to render some service to him, for he was their supremely worshipable lord (“Paramärädhya Çréla Prabhupäda”). Not only was he worshipable to them, but so was anyone who served him with total dedication. Because Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan had a long history of selfless dedicated service to Çréla Prabhupäda, the brahmachärés staying at the maöh would stand in line to eat his remnants (a traditional Vaiñëava devotional practice), in the hope that it would give them Guru-sevä-kuïja (the grove of devotional service to Gurudeva—kuïja means “grove”).

Sri Vraja-Mandal, Sri Chaitanya Math, and Puri Dham, 1922–1923

	On September 28th, 1922, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Vraja-maëòal (Mathurä and Våndävan) with the goal of establishing centers for preaching the pure devotional concept of Çréman Mahäprabhu as preached by Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji and Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. Later he went back to Dacca, East Bengal, to preach there again. Then he went to Kuliyä, Navadwép, and S?äotäl Pargaëä (in Bihär).
	On March 2nd, 1923, on Gaura-Purëémä day, construction of the new temple of Çré Chaitanya Maöh in Mäyäpur began. As per Çréla Prabhupäda’s plan, the Deities on the main altar were Çré Çré Guru Gauräìga and Çré Çré Rädhä Govinda, and outside on the four sides were altars to Çré, Brahma, Rudra, and Chatuù-Sana, as well as the four ächäryas of the four Vaiñëava sampradayas, Çré Rämänujächärya, Çré Madhvächärya, Çré Viñëuswämé, and Çré Nimbarkächärya.
	Later Çréla Prabhupäda went to Puré Dhäm with many devotees for Çré Jagannath’s Ratha-yatra (chariot festival), and following in the footsteps of Çréman Mahäprabhu, he sang and danced in front of the chariot of Çré Jagannäth in the mood of separation. Later he lectured to a huge crowd consisting of many distinguished gentlemen from Calcutta. He also sent some disciples to preach in Oòissä and Mädräs.

Publication of Scriptural Texts, 1923

	In 1923 Çréla Prabhupäda started printing Çrémad Bhägavatam at the Calcutta Gauòéya Printing Works. Eventually all twelve cantos were published, with summaries of each chapter and various commentaries.

The First Vyasa-Puja, 1924

	On February 24th, 1924, the ?ftieth birth anniversary of Çréla Prabhupäda, his disciples celebrated his Vyäsa-püjä for the ?rst time. In response to their homage, Çréla Prabhupäda gave a speech. That speech is regarded as a jewel in Vaiñëava literature. In it he addressed his disciples as “ämär vipad-täraë bandhu-gaë” (“my friends who rescue me from danger”).

Preaching, 1924

	The same year, during Gaura-Purëémä, the ?rst edition of Çré Chaitanya Bhägavat, by Çré Våndävan Däs Öhäkura, was edited by Çréla Prabhupäda and published by Çré Mädhva-Gauòéya Maöh, Dacca. In July, Çréla Prabhupäda established Tridaëòi Maöh in Oòissä. Later he established the Säraswat-Äsan in Çré Gauòéya Maöh, a devotional school in which the devotees could study scripture and study and distribute Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura’s books. In October, he went to Dacca for the ?fth time. There he gave an erudite lecture about Çré Mädhva-Gauòéya sampradaya and its concept of Vaiñëavism. On December 16th, he gave a lecture at the Benares Hindu University on “The Place of Vaiñëavism in the World of Religion”. This lecture was very much appreciated by such distinguished professors of Oriental Studies as Prof. Pramathnäth Tarkabhuñaë and Prof. Phanébhuñaë Adhikäré. He searched for the places in Benares that were visited by Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu. Later he indicated to his disciples the location of the Dasäçvamedha Ghäö in Prayäg where Çréman Mahäprabhu instructed Çré Rüpa Goswämé. He went to preach in the village of Äòäil, which had previously been visited by Çréman Mahäprabhu.
	Two of Çréla Prabhupäda’s brahmachäré disciples, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Pramod Puré Mahäräj) and Çrépäd Nandasunu Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Håday Ban Mahäräj), visited one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s gåhastha disciples, Çrépäd Vaikuëöhanäth Däsädhikäré, for a few days, to attend a preaching program in his house. During this time, Çrépäd Vaikuëöhanäth Prabhu’s eleven-year-old son would always stay close to the brahmachärés, listening avidly to their spiritual discussions. He seemed to have a voracious appetite for devotional topics. So the brahmachärés told his father, “Your son is very extraordinary. Unlike other children of his age, he is not so interested in playing as in listening to hari-kathä.” Çrépäd Vaikuëöhanäth Prabhu said, “This is how he has always been. Would you like to take my son to the maöh?” The brahmachärés answered, “We would love to have a boy like this in our mission.”
	So the parents decided to send their son to the maöh with the brahmachärés. Even though the boy was the beloved child of a wealthy landholder, he was very happy at the prospect of a life in the maöh. When the time came for the brahmachärés to leave, the parents did not deviate from their decision. Referring to this incident, later the brahmachärés said it reminded them of how little Dhruva Mahäräj was dressed by his own mother as she bade him go to the forest to meditate on Çré Kåñëa.
	Çréla Prabhupäda became very fond of this boy (who later became Çrémad Bhakti Kumud Santa Mahäräj). He sent him to school, but he himself also tutored him. Later Çrémad Santa Mahäräj became known for his powerful preaching.

Devotees Attacked: Gaura-mandal Parikrama, 1925

	On January 29th, 1925, Çréla Prabhupäda took many devotees and went on a parikramä of the whole Gaura-maëòal to visit and preach at the various places where the pastimes of Çréman Mahäprabhu and his associates took place. Everywhere Çréla Prabhupäda preached about the pure devotional concept of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism. The imitators of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism (the Sahajiyäs) and the commercial exploiters of the Vaiñëava concept were intimidated by Çréla Prabhupäda’s powerful preaching and his ever-increasing following. That year, in Navadwép, they made plans to launch a vicious attack on the saìkértan party. 
	Hundreds and thousands of devotees assembled at Poòämätalä, Navadwép, for preaching and saìkértan. Their Lordships Çré Çré Rädhä Govinda were placed on the back of a decorated elephant and were guarded by two devotees. Sannyäsés were giving lectures and many people assembled to listen to the Hari-kathä. Unbeknownst to them, some carriages which had been ?lled with broken bricks and draped with cloth were waiting nearby. 
	Suddenly the thugs started throwing these broken bricks at the assembled devotees. Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod, who was on the elephant, immediately guided the elephant away from the scene, to protect Their Lordships. The devotees ?rst tried to appease the thugs by reasoning with them, but this didn’t work. Many of the devotees were wounded and began bleeding. All of them tried to look for shelter in the nearby homes, especially for Çréla Prabhupäda. But all the nearby homeowners had been ordered beforehand not to open their doors. They were also afraid that they too would be attacked by the thugs. Amidst the shock and confusion, somehow Çrépäd Vinod Vihäré Brahmachäré managed to take Çréla Prabhupäda inside a house. There he exchanged his white clothes with Çréla Prabhupäda’s saffron clothes so Çréla Prabhupäda wouldn’t be recognized. Then he very quickly took Çréla Prabhupäda away to a safer place. Thus Çrépäd Vinod Vihäré Prabhu managed to protect his spiritual master by his extraordinary dexterity and presence of mind. He risked his own life in order to do so.
	Some of those present were completely shocked, and one local resident wrote in the Änanda Bäzär Patrikä of Calcutta, “I witnessed the reenaction of what Jagäi and Mädhäi did to Çréla Nityänanda Prabhu more than four hundred years ago.” All over Bengal, many distinguished people protested  in magazines and newspapers against this incident. As a result the Chief Inspector of Police of Navadwép was ?red, and the next year the police department sent 36 police of?cers to escort the devotees on parikramä in Navadwép.

Srila Prabhupada’s Concern for Women Devotees

	On September 21st, 1925, Çréla Prabhupäda gave a long lecture to the devotees assembled at the Gauòéya Maöh about how to lead an exemplary devotional life. An excerpt from that lecture follows:

All of you please perceive everything of this world as ingredients for serving Kåñëa; everything of this world is actually meant for Kåñëa’s service. Please see the whole race of women as beloved consorts of Kåñëa, and help them to always engage themselves in the service of Kåñëa. Please do not consider them as objects of your sense enjoyment. They are to be enjoyed by Kåñëa; they are never to be enjoyed by the living entities. Please do not see your fathers and mothers as a means to your own sense grati?cation, but see them as Kåñëa’s fathers and mothers. Please do not see your sons as a means to your own sense grati?cation, but see them as belonging to the group of servitors of Bäla-Gopäl. With your eyes please see the kadamba tree, the river Yamunä and its sandy bank, and the beauty of the full moon. You won’t have any more mundane feelings; you will see Goloka, and the beauty of Goloka will be manifest in your home. Then you won’t have any material feelings for your home. You will be relieved from the propensities of householder life.
	Our maöhs are being built at many places, and many sannyäsés, vänaprasthas, gåhasthas, and brahmachärés are living there all the time and receiving the opportunity to learn spiritual conduct. But we have been trying for a long time to also give the mothers [women] the opportunity for devotional service. Of course, those who have the facility and opportunity for devotional service in their own homes do not need a separate residence. But very often we hear that many of them get impeded in their devotional service due to bad association. It will be very bene?cial for them if we can build Çré Viñëupriyä-pallé [”pallé” means “neighborhood”] in Çrédhäm Mäyäpur near the residence of Çréman Mahäprabhu, and if they can live there separately from their families and render devotional service. They actually belong to the group of Çré Viñëupriyä Devé [the wife of Çréman Mahäprabhu, who was left behind in Navadwép when He took sannyäs]. Therefore it is proper for them to live in the house of Çréman Mahäprabhu and to serve Him under the shelter of Çré Viñëupriyä Devé. There should not be any bad association or mundane male association for them there. Only a few devotees like Éçän [the old devotee servant who took care of Çré Çachédevé and Çré Viñëupriyä Devé after Çréman Mahäprabhu left] would stay at a distance and take care of them. It is necessary to have such an exemplary neighborhood so that the mothers [women] can read scripture every day, discuss devotional topics with each other, and have iñöa-goñöhé about devotional topics, so they can give up all luxury and live an exemplary, saintly life and always chant the holy name and take care of the ingredients of Çréman Mahäprabhu’s service and serve him in every way.
—Saraswaté Jayaçré, p. 339

Festival of Sri Nityananda, Preaching,
and Publication of Nadiya Prakash, 1926

	In 1926, Çréla Prabhupäda held näma-saìkértan for three days to celebrate the appearance day of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu. Thereafter this became an annual tradition.
	One of Çréla Prabhupäda’s dear disciples, Çrépäd Bhägavat Janänanda Däs Brahmachäré, had disappeared the year before. In April 1926, Çréla Prabhupäda established a maöh in Chiruliyä in his memory and named it “Bhägavat Janänanda Maöh”. Then he preached at different places in Bengal and sent his sannyäsé preachers to different places in Bengal, Bihär, Oòissä, and northern and western India. He himself also travelled all over India to preach the message of Çréman Mahäprabhu, to have discussions with scholars of religion, and to collect facts about the religious traditions of India. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda also established the Paramahaàsa Maöh in Naimiñäranya, and he established Paravidyäpéö in Çré Mäyäpur. He installed the Deities of the Ächärya and Their Lordships Çré Çré Rädhä-Govinda in the newly built temple of Çré Chaitanya Maöù.
	In October 1926, Çréla Prabhupäda began publishing a new weekly spiritual magazine, Nadiyä Prakäç, in both Bengali and English, at Çré Bhägavat Press, Krishnanagar. The joint editors of Nadiyä Prakäs were Paëòit Çrépäd Pramod Bhüñan Chakravarté (Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré) and Paëòit Çréyukta Chaëòécharaë Mukhopädhyäy. In its second year, Çréla Prabhupäda turned it into a daily spiritual newspaper. From this time to its fourth year, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré was its editor. Then in 1930 Çréla Prabhupäda made Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré joint editor of Gauòéya, so Çrépäd Aténdanäth Bandyopädhyäy and Çré Kåñëakänti Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Kusum Sramaë Mahäräj) became joint editors of Nadiyä Prakäç.

Travelling All Over India
and Publishing The Harmonist Magazine, 1927

On June 15th, 1927, Çréla Prabhupäda started publishing Sajjan Toñaëé in English, Sanskrit, and Hindi. The English version was called The Harmonist. Its editor, Professor Niçikänta Sännyäl (Çrépäd Näräyaëdäs Bhaktisudhäkar) of Ravenshaw College, Cuttack was a learned scholar and a talented writer. Çréla Prabhupäda was extremely fond of him. Çrépäd Bhaktisudhäkar Prabhu used to offer his entire salary to Çréla Prabhupäda each month. Çréla Prabhupäda would then give it to Çrépäd Narahari Prabhu and tell him, “Now you manage your household [Çré Chaitanya Maöh, Mäyäpur] with this.” 
	Under the expert editorship of Çrépäd Bhaktisudhäkar Prabhu, The Harmonist enjoyed the same fame and popularity as Gauòéya. Çréla Prabhupäda considered Çrépäd Bhaktisudhäkar Prabhu a strong pillar of his preaching mission, and before he left this world he expressed his gratitude to him. Many devotees who were pro?cient in English, such as Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Håday Ban Mahäräj, and Çrémad Bhakti Saraìga Goswämé Mahäräj, regularly contributed to The Harmonist. The British editor of a British-run newspaper of Calcutta sent a letter of appreciation to the editor of The Harmonist.
	The following letter appeared in Gauòéya, Vol. 14, No. 24, p. 383:

The Biosophical Institute
250 West 100th Street
New York City
December 10, 1935

Dear Sir,
	Since we have been receiving your magazine The Harmonist, each issue has given us new joy and inspiration. The spirit pervading the whole magazine is a most unusual one.

Sincerely yours
Sd/ Sylvia Goodwin,
Secretary to Dr. F. Kettner

	In September 1927, Çréla Prabhupäda set forth to preach in North India in different places. Among them were Käçé, Känpur, Lucknow, Jaipur, Galatäparvat, Salimäbäd, Puñkar, Ajméò, Dwärkä, Sudämäpuré, Girëär Parvat, Prabhäs, Avanté, Mathurä-maëòal, Indraprastha, Kurukñetra, and Naimiñäranya.

Preaching, Kurukshetra, Sri  Chaitanya Padapith, 1928–1929

	In 1928, Çréla Prabhupäda edited the fourth edition of Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta. He went to preach in different places of Ässäm. On November 4th, during the solar eclipse, he went to Kurukñetra and, following the mood of separation of the gopés and Çréman Mahäprabhu, he preached the message of Çréman Mahäprabhu to millions of devotees who assembled there. At that time he installed a Deity of Çréman Mahäprabhu at Çré Vyäsa Gauòéya Maöh in Kurukñetra and opened a spiritual exhibition (“Bhägavat Pradarçané”) there. He gave Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj responsibility for the Kurukñetra maöh.
	In 1929, Çréla Prabhupäda established the Ekäyan Maöh in Krishnanagar. In January he discussed Vaiñëava religion extensively with Professor Albert E. Suthers of Ohio State University. Çréla Prabhupäda presented the concept of Vaiñëavism as extended and perfect Christianity. At ?rst Professor Suthers was very skeptical and argumentative, but after long discussions he was very impressed by Çréla Prabhupäda’s deep, scholarly, and logical presentation. As a result he decided to visit Çréman Mahäprabhu’s birthsite before he left. Later Çréla Prabhupäda established a Gauòéya Maöh in Delhi.
	Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to establish all the sites which Çréman Mahäprabhu had visited as places of pilgrimage. He called them “Çré Chaitanya Pädapéöh” and selected 108 such places. He began this task in October 1929 and established the ?rst two sites at Känäir Näöçälä and Mandar. Later that year he preached extensively in Bihär, in such places as Bhägalpur, Nälandä, and Räjgiri. Subsequently he went to Benares and interpreted Çré Sanätan-Çikña (Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu’s instruction to Çré Sanätan Goswämé). Then Çréla Prabhupäda set forth once more on his North Indian preaching mission, and visited such places as Faijäbäd, Ayodhyä, Naimiñäraëya, Karauëä, Miçrik, Sétäpur, and Lucknow. Throughout North India, many people took initiation from him.
	On June 1st, 1929, the first post of?ce had opened in Mäyäpur. At this time, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples had arranged to have electricity at Içodyän and electric lights on the domes of Çré Chaitanya Maöh. 

The Mayapur Exhibition, 1930

	On February 3rd, 1930, Çréla Prabhupäda arranged a spectacular spiritual exhibition at Mäyäpur, which went on until March 17th. The famous chemist, Sir Prafulla Chandra Räy, opened the exhibition. Thousands ?ocked to see the exhibition, which contained many stalls depicting stories and lessons from Çrémad Bhägavatam through dioramas and paintings.
	Çré Jagabandhu Datta, a rich businessman of Calcutta (originally from Bänarépäòä, Bariçäl), had the good fortune of associating with some of Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples. He was an experienced and prudent man in many ways, and he watched the activities and conduct of the devotees at the Gauòéya Maöh with a keen eye. Previously he had seen and heard so-called devotees concocting their own philosophy to gratify their senses. Within a short time, he realized this was not the case here. Even though he was wealthy and successful, in the late 1920’s he was overwhelmed with physical and emotional problems. He wanted some relief from his material miseries, and he came to visit Çréla Prabhupäda.
	Çréla Prabhupäda was very merciful to him and spent many hours with him, speaking hari-kathä and explaining many things. Çré Jagabandhu Datta was extremely impressed by Çréla Prabhupäda’s explanations. He began to have a clear concept of Çréman Mahäprabhu’s message of pure devotion. He said of Çréla Prabhupäda, “What I have heard from him, I have not heard from anyone else.” Sometimes he would invite Çréla Prabhupäda to his home to deliver Hari-kathä to his friends and relatives. Following is an excerpt from one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s lectures at Çré Jagabandhu Datta’s house:

Çré Gaursundar lived in his own house in Navadwép only to arouse the devotional consciousness of the people who were attached to their family life. Again when he displayed his pastime of leaving home, that was also to enlighten the ignorant souls. He told his mother and his wife, ‘Know Kåñëa as your only son and husband.’ Leaving his mother grieving for her son, and his helpless young wife grieving for her husband, he set forth for the eternal welfare of the poor, miserable, and fallen souls of the world. Giving up all his material duty and the vows he had taken at his wedding, he went for kåñëa-kértan. 
	Çréman Mahäprabhu’s sannyäs-lélä, departing from his household life, was not the same as Çäkyasiàha’s [Gautama Buddha’s] departure from his house, as Çäkyasiàha was motivated by the sel?sh desire to attain liberation for himself. Çréman Mahäprabhu displayed his pastime of sannyäs only to eradicate the eternal poverty of all created beings and to give them an eternal and unequalled gift. He himself was not lacking in anything. He is the only husband of the eternal race of women; He is the only son of the eternal mothers and fathers; He is the eternal friend and master of His servants. 
	It is not that Çréman Mahäprabhu’s magnanimous gift will remain con?ned within the perimeters of Bengal; nor is it due only to those who are born in brähmaë families. People of all races—irrespective of whether they are sinful or pious, Hindus or non-Hindus; indeed, all the living entities of the whole world—can accept this magnanimous gift, which was never offered before, if they can give up their pride.
—Saraswaté Jayaçré, p. 356

The Bagbazar Gaudiya Math, 1930

	Çré Jagabandhu Datta begged Çréla Prabhupäda to give him initiation, and Çréla Prabhupäda granted his request, giving him the name “Jagabandhu Bhaktiraïjan”. Çrépäd Bhaktiraïjan Prabhu had no children to inherit his wealth, and he wanted to offer his wealth to serve Çréla Prabhupäda’s mission. He wanted a speci?c service in which his wealth could be utilized, and he begged Çréla Prabhupäda to give him that service. Çréla Prabhupäda had been thinking of having a bigger building in Calcutta, where more devotees could stay and more people could come to attend lectures and saìkértan. He also wanted to have a printing press on the premises. So he expressed this desire to Çrépäd Bhaktiraïjan Prabhu. 
	Çrépäd Bhaktiraïjan Prabhu was ecstatic to have the opportunity to ?nance the new Gauòéya Maöh temple. This service became his life and soul. He bought a sizeable piece of land in the heart of Calcutta. It was located near the Gaìgä, on Käliprasäd Chakravarté Street in Bägbäzär. Within two years construction of the new temple was ?nished. It was a beautiful, palatial marble temple, with many rooms, a conference hall, a library, large kitchens, and a hall for the printing press.
	On October 5th, 1930, Their Lordships Çré Çré Guru Gauräìga Gändhärvikä Giridhäri were taken on a chariot from the Gauòéya Maöh at No. 1 Ulöodiìgé Junction Road to the new Bägbäzär Gauòéya Maöh. A big saìkértan procession escorted Their Lordships all the way. A large crowd followed the procession. It was a major event in Calcutta. It was described thus in Gauòéya: 

The city of Calcutta has been overwhelmed with joy today. Everyone forgot their daily tasks of earning their livelihood. When the tumultuous sound of kértan was heard on the streets of Calcutta, all the people, attracted by that sound, left whatever they were doing and came running into the street. The devotees following the chariot, headed by the sannyäsés, were singing a special song composed [by Çréla Prabhupäda] for this occasion, “pujala raga patha gorava bhange, mätala harijana viñaya raìge”.
—Gauòéya, Volume 9, No. 8

The gist of the song was as follows: “Today, the servants of Hari have become intoxicated by the joy of his divine pastime. They worshiped with great reverence the street on which He rode His chariot.”
	So many people came to the Gauòéya Maöh that day that as people went up the stairs, the iron banister was bent by the pressure of the crowd. Great festivities took place following the Deity installation, ärati, Hari-kathä, and prasädam. Thousands of destitute people were also fed sumptuous prasädam that day. Çréla Prabhupäda said in his hari-kathä:

Now we have only procured a seat [for Hari-kathä]. We have built a castle to preach about the Lord by spending someone’s entire savings of a lifetime. But we have to protect ourselves in this castle from the association of materialistic people; we have to defend ourselves from the confusion of this age of Kali (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy). So we have to publish and distribute many more books. Only if we can construct the temple in the form of books and in the form of ideal lives can the idea of devotional service remain permanently in this world.

	In the Bägbäzär Gauòéya Maöh, Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching mission gained new momentum. More devotees were staying at the maöh now, and more people were coming to listen to hari-kathä. The professors and students from prestigious nearby colleges, such as Scottish Church College and Presidency College, were coming to listen to Çréla Prabhupäda’s lectures. Çréla Prabhupäda had a core group of eighteen sannyäsés for preaching and organizing. The sannyäsés were always travelling and preaching, and they only stayed at the maöh for a few days at a time while en route to their next destination.
	Shortly after the construction of the Gauòéya Maöh temple, on November 19th, Çrépäd Jagabandhu Bhaktiraïjan left this material world. Çréla Prabhupäda was deeply saddened by the departure of his dear disciple. By his instruction, every year the Gauòéya Maöh would celebrate the disappearance day of Çrépäd Jagabandhu Bhaktiraïjan Prabhu, and the Gauòéya would publish a special issue dedicated to his memory. As long as Çréla Prabhupäda lived in this mortal world, he glori?ed Çrépäd Jagabandhu Prabhu with great affection in many of his letters, speeches, and articles.
	Before he left this world, Çrépad Jagabandhu Prabhu wrote a poem to Çréla Prabhupäda. The translation of that poem is as follows: “What can I give you Gurudeva? The wealth I can give you is yours. You are my treasure and I belong to you. By giving you your property I have nothing to lose. You knew about the sadness in my heart, who else could I talk to? By giving you what belongs to you, I become yours. Jagabandhu däsa says, ‘O you who are the land of nectar personi?ed, you have everything. All I have is you.’”

 South India, 1930

	In December 1930, Çréla Prabhupäda went on a preaching mission in South India. Among the places he visited were Kurmakñetra, Siàhächal, Kabhur, and Maìgalgiri. He established Çré Chaitanya Päda-péöh at Maìgalgiri. Many distinguished high of?icials, scholars, and professionals were attracted to the message of Çréman Mahäprabhu as preached by Çréla Prabhupäda.

Emphasis On Book Publication

Çréla Prabhupäda called his printing press Båhat Mådäìga (the big clay drum). During saìkértan the sound of the ordinary clay drum (mådäìga) can be heard only in the immediate vicinity. But the divine message of Çréman Mahäprabhu can be spread all over the world through the publication of books.
	At the opening ceremony of the Bägbäzär Gauòéya Maöh, Çréla Prabhupäda said, “…to establish internal hari-bhajan in this world quite a few books have to be written and published. The temple which is within the books and the temple which is within the devotees are more important than the temple built with bricks and stones, because by constructing such temples hari-kathä can be preached in this world much longer.”
	Çréla Prabhupäda had among his disciples a very talented team of writers and editors, who dedicated their lives to his publication mission. Among them were: Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod, Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna, Çrépäd Bhaktisudhäkar Prabhu (Professor Niñikänt Sannyäl), Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj, and Çrépäd Pranavänanda Pratnavidyälaìkär (later Çrémad Bhakti Pramod Puré Mahäräj).
	After the disappearance of Çréla Prabhupäda another name would be added to this list, that of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedänta Swämé Mahäräj, who published beautifully designed English translations of Bhagavad-gétä (as Bhagavad-gétä As It Is), Çrémad Bhägavatam, Çré Bhakti-rasämåta sindhu (as Nectar of Devotion), and Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta. These books would capture the hearts of thousands of people all over the world.
	The printing presses of the Gauòéya Maöh were busy night and day printing books, magazines, and pamphlets. It is not possible within the narrow scope of this chapter to list all the books published by the Gauòéya Maöh.

The Bhaktivinod Institute
and the Sat-Shiksha Exhibition, 1931

	On April 3rd, 1931, Çréla Prabhupäda opened a new high school in Çrédhäm Mäyäpur, called the Bhaktivinod Institute. At a large assembly there he gave a lecture about material education and spiritual knowledge. Later he went to preach at the resort of Därjeeliìg in north Bengal, in the foothills of the Himälayas. On September 6th, during the celebration of the Gauòéya Maöh’s anniversary, Çréla Prabhupäda opened a big exhibition in Calcutta, the Sat-Çikñä exhibition. 

Rejection of Sahajiya Imitationists

	Çréla Prabhupäda preached against the abominable practices and concepts of the pseudo-Vaiñëava sampradayas (sahajiyäs). Inside the Gauòéya Maöh as well, he kept a vigilant eye out against any potential for imitation in the path of devotion. Çréla Prabhupäda preached in very forceful language against any false external display of devotion. He made it very clear in his lectures that devotion for the Supreme Lord is not some cheap sentiment. Devotion means submission to Gurudeva, self-discipline, self-sacri?ce, and wholehearted effort to render devotional service. Unless one is an eternally liberated soul, one cannot attain the platform of spontaneous love (rägänugä bhakti) without ?rst going through all the stages of regulated practice (vaidhi bhakti).
	Even though Çréla Prabhupäda wanted his disciples to become knowledgeable about scripture, so they could become expert preachers, he did not encourage new devotees to read the intimate pastimes of Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa. He made it clear that if a devotee prematurely enters that realm of Kåñëa’s pastimes which can be understood only by advanced devotees, then such an act of trespassing will do more harm than good to his bhajan life. If one with a propensity for sense-grati?cation reads about Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa’s intimate pastimes, then his enjoying propensity will only increase, because he will not realize their transcendental nature. This will be very detrimental to his devotional life. Çréla Prabhupäda did not even encourage new disciples to read the tenth canto of Çrémad Bhägavatam. He also disapproved of indiscriminate displays of paintings of rädhä-kåñëa-lélä. An article on this subject, entitled “Älekhya”, appeared in Gauòéya, Volume 13, No. 41. Çréla Prabhupäda made it very clear that Kåñëa consciousness is not an object of sense enjoyment, but the object of worship and service.
	Every spring a festival called “Vasanta-gän” (“Songs of Spring”) or dhulaö used to take place in the town of Navadwép. In different public places of Navadwép, music concerts would be held in which professional singers would sing songs about the intimate pastimes of Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa. These concerts were attended by many local people as well as people from East Bengal. During the concerts, members of the audience would become emotionally aroused and start to dance, roll on the ground, and so forth. Every year some scandals would arise in connection with these concerts. When the festival ?rst started, the audience consisted mostly of uneducated women. Subsequently some educated people, such as writers, also started attending these concerts. They tried to rationalize listening to these songs with the excuse that Çréman Mahäprabhu used to like the songs of Jayadev, Chaëòidäs, Vidyäpati, Bilvamaìgal Öhäkura, and Räya Rämänanda. But Çréla Prabhupäda quoted from the scriptures written by the Goswämés, and cited the examples of the conduct of Çréman Mahäprabhu and his associates, to establish that if one who is in an illusioned state listens to these songs composed by liberated souls, it is only sense grati?cation in the name of çravan-kértan. He particularly mentioned the history over the previous few hundred years of the community of sahajiyäs, which con?rmed this fact. For some people these music concerts were a means to develop reputations as bhaktas (devotees) or rasiks (connoisseurs of rasa), and for others they were a means for commercial exploitation of ignorant people. But by indulging in these practices, one can be deviated from the path of bhakti, which is the supreme goal of life. This was discussed in detail in an article called vasanta-gän which appeared in Gauòéya, Volume 1, No. 22.
	Just as Çréla Prabhupäda was opposed to the enjoying mentality, he also rejected the idea of renunciation for its own sake—without consideration of whether it is favorable for one’s devotional service. Instead, he propagated the principle of yukta-vairägya (positive renunciation), according to which one gives up his enjoying propensity but accepts everything that is favorable for devotional service.

North India and Publishing in Hindi, 1931

	In October, Çréla Prabhupäda was invited to preach in Benares at the Mint Palace. Later he went to Lucknow and introduced a new Hindi magazine, Bhägavat. In November he sent one of his sannyäsé preachers to the Viceroy of India, Lord Willingdon, in New Delhi. On November 17th, he celebrated the anniversary festival of the Delhi Gauòéya Maöh for the ?rst time. On December 6th, he installed Their Lordships Çré Çré Rädhä Govinda there.

Vehement Opposition to Impersonalism

	Following in the footsteps of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura, Çréla Prabhupäda spoke out against impersonalism through his preaching mission. The impersonalist religious sect of Bengal, called the “Brahma Samäj”, which was founded by Räjä Rämmohan Räy in the 19th century, was the greatest opponent of Vaiñëavism and the idea of a personal God. 
	Once the instructor of the Sädhäraë Brahma Samäj of Calcutta, Çré Hemchandra Sarkär, came to the Gauòéya Maöh to ?nd out about Çré Chaitanya Deva and His successor ächäryas from Çréla Prabhupäda. During the discussion that followed, Çréla Prabhupäda said, “It is the concept of the Brahma’s that is based on idolatry. They have opposed gross idolatry but they have accepted subtle idolatry. The idol that is made by the material mind on the basis of a material concept of the formless Brahma is more dangerous than the idolatry of demigod worshippers. Real Vaiñëavas are not such idolaters. Gauòéya Vaiñëavism is clearly different from the two kinds of idolatry: iconolatry and iconomachy. The pure Vaiñëavas never worship some doll made of wood or clay or a doll fabricated by the material mind. The worshipable Lord of the Vaiñëavas is not some imaginary temporary thing.”
	Hearing this, Çré Hemchandra Sarkär said, “Then don’t you worship idols?” Çréla Prabhupäda said, “We do not worship any imaginary form or doll whom we are going to break later. We worship the eternal deity form that is manifested by the transcendental knowledge potency of the Supreme Lord, whose potencies are inconceivable.” 
	Then Çréla Prabhupäda made Çré Hemchandra Sarkär understand the difference between idolatry and deity worship through a logical presentation. Finally Çré Hemchandra Sarkär said, “But we see that the Vaiñëavas in our village worship many demigods.” Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Considering them to be real Vaiñëavas, you criticize us, but they cannot touch the real Vaiñëavas or real Vaiñëavism. To ascertain the real form of Vaiñëavism on the basis of its degenerated form is not an intelligent act. Vaiñëavas never become gross or subtle idolaters by worshipping some imagined gross temporary form, as the demigod worshippers do, or some imagined and temporary subtle form or idea, as the impersonalists do. One imagines the absence of God’s embodiment of eternity, knowledge, and bliss and of His inconceivable potency by giving him an imagined form based on a material concept or making him formless. This is against the injunctions of the Vedas. Humans have no right to expand their imaginations by thinking that just because God does not have material senses or form, He cannot have transcendental senses or form. Just because the Vedas have denied the material form of Brahma, some people have thought the Supreme Lord cannot have a transcendental form which is an embodiment of eternity, knowledge, and bliss either. On one hand they are saying ‘Brahma’, indicating that this worshipable truth is greater than themselves, but on the other hand they are trying to measure that great reality. Räjä Rämmohan Räy has protested against the ignorant concepts of someone with the title of ‘Goswämé’. But he did not hear about Vaiñëavism from a real Vaiñëava ächärya—this we can prove with hundreds of logical statements.” (Saraswaté Jayaçré, pp. 348–350)

Preaching  in South India, 1932

Çréla Prabhupäda went on an extensive preaching mission in South India in 1932. He had already sent some of his disciples to preach in South India. Among them were Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj and Çrépäd Hayagréva Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Dayita Mädhav Mahäräj).
	On January 10th, 1932, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Mädräs with twenty disciples. A large party of high government of?cials were waiting to receive him there. Among them was the mayor of Mädräs, Mr. T. S. Rämaswämé Äyar. A large saìkértan procession accompanied Çréla Prabhupäda to the Mädräs Gauòéya Maöh in Gopälpuram, and there some of the of?cials gave speeches honoring Çréla Prabhupäda. On January 23rd, Çréla Prabhupäda installed deities at the Mädräs Gauòéya Maöh. He also laid the cornerstone of the new temple at Rayäpeööä. On January 27th, the governor of Mädräs, Sir George Frederick Stanley, came to the Mädräs Gauòéya Maöh to lay the cornerstone of Çré Kåñëa Kértan Hall.
	Çréla Prabhupäda preached with great success in Mädräs and surrounding areas of South India. Many people took initiation from him. Then he went back to Mäyäpur in time for Çré Navadwép parikramä. This year, his disciples took such examinations as the Bhakti-çästri. The purpose of these examinations was to make Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples familiar with the intimate details of all aspects of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism.
	On May 23rd, Çréla Prabhupäda returned to Mädräs. This time he met with the ächäryas of different sampradayas and explained Gauòéya Vaiñëavism to them. Later he also preached at Uökämand, Mysore, and Kabhur.

Glori?cation of Srimati Radharani

	When asked “Who are the Gauòéya Vaiñëavas?”, Çréla Prabhupäda replied that they are the devotees of Çrématé Rädhäräëé (Çré Upadeçämåta, p. 236). He called himself Çré Värñabhänavé-dayita däsa (the servant of the beloved of Çrématé Rädhäräëé). 
	He said that Çrématé Rädhäräëé, who is the transcendental energy of Çré Kåñëa and the personi?cation of Çré Kåñëa’s pleasure potency (Hlädiné-svarupä Parä Çakti), is the spiritual master of all devotees. Indeed, She is even Kåñëa’s Guru: Kåñëa learns to be an actor and dancer as Her disciple. All the pure devotees who are not worshipping Çré Kåñëa in the mellow of conjugal relationship (madhura rasa) know Lord Nityänanda to be their original spiritual master. But the original spiritual master of those who worship Çré Kåñëa in madhura rasa is Çrématé Rädhäräëé. (Çré Upadeçämåta p. 27)
	Çréla Prabhupäda said that Çrématé Rädhäräëé is Çré Kåñëa’s eternal consort; She is the crest jewel of the gopés. No one is more dear to Kåñëa than Çrématé Rädhäräëé. Çrématé Rädhäräëé is not inferior to Çré Kåñëa in any way. It is Çré Kåñëa Himself who enjoys Himself in two separate forms, as the enjoyer and the enjoyed. Çré Kåñëa’s beauty is so stunning that He Himself becomes enchanted by His own beauty. But if the beauty of Çrématé Rädhäräëé were not greater than that of Çré Kåñëa, She could not enchant Kåñëa, who can enchant the whole universe. That is why She is called Bhuvan-mohan-mohiné. She is the effulgence of Çré Kåñëa, who is like the full moon (Kåñëachandra). Çré Kåñëa is the sum total of all ecstasy, all beauty. He is the original reservoir of all wealth, prowess, and knowledge. So the greatness of Rädhäräëé, who is the äçraya and viçaya of this most perfect Person, Çré Kåñëa, is beyond the limit of human knowledge—even beyond the limit of understanding of many liberated souls. (Çré Upadeçämåta pp. 330–1)
	Whenever Çréla Prabhupäda talked about Çrématé Rädhäräëé, he would become overwhelmed with the symptoms of deep loving ecstasy. Çréla Raghunäth Däs Goswämé’s famous composition Viläp-Kusumäïjali consists of verses addressed to Çrématé Rädhäräëé in the mood of intense separation, as Çréla Däsa Goswämé is an intimate servitor of Çrématé Rädhäräëé in his eternal identity as Çré Rati-maïjari. (The maïjaris are young pre-teen girls who serve Çrématé Rädhäräëé.) Çréla Prabhupäda could quote from memory all 104 verses of Viläp-Kusumäïjali, and tears would ?ow from his eyes. He was always in a mood of separation from Çrématé Rädhäräëé.
	Every Rädhäñöamé day (the appearance day of Çrématé Rädhäräëé), Çréla Prabhupäda would display the symptoms of deep ecstasy while talking about Çrématé Rädhäräëé. Following is an excerpt from a lecture given by Çréla Prabhupäda on the day of Rädhäñöamé in 1931 at the Säraswat Näömandir of Çré Gauòéya Maöh.

Let that personi?cation of supreme magnanimity, Çrématé Rädhäräëé, who is always eager to collect the mercy of the Supreme Lord on behalf of all living entities, appear in our hearts and make Her presence known. Let Her appearance be our object of worship. Without submission to the one whom Govinda considers to be everything to Him (sarvasva), we do not realize the meaning of the word “sarva”. “Govinda sarvasva”—“sva” means “one’s own”, “sva” means “wealth”. If we have the one who is Govinda’s own wealth—the one who makes Him wealthy; that wealth is everything to Govinda—if She becomes the object of our worship, then we will understand what worship is. If after reading the 18,000 verses of Çrémad Bhägavatam we do not come to know about Her, then our reading was in vain.
	If by some unknown sukåti we get the association of those who are close to Çré Våñabhänunandiné (Çrématé Rädhäräëé), if we are are fortunate enough to hear about Her, then we can get the inspiration to proceed towards our supremely bene?cial goal. She is everything to the son of Nanda who is the reservoir of all ecstasy, and we will never attain devotional service to Govinda without serving Her and Her servitors.
—Prabhupäda Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté, pp. 99–100

Sri Vraja-Mandal  Parikrama, 1932

	It is in this mood of separation from Çrématé Rädhäräëé that Çréla Prabhupäda went on Vraja-maëòal praikramä. In October, Çréla Prabhupäda started his Vraja-maëòal parikramä with many devotees. He circumambulated the Vraja-maëòal along its 32-mile perimeter. At each place of Kåñëa’s pastimes, he gave Hari-kathä. For the bene?t of people who spoke other languages, he himself and many of his followers gave hari-kathä in different languages. Çréla Prabhupäda explained Çré Rüpa Goswämé’s Upadeçämåta to the assembled Vrajaväsés and scholars. 
	On November 4th, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Haridwär to lay the cornerstone of the Säraswat Gauòéya Maöh. By his request, the governor of Yukta Pradesh, Sir William Malcolm Haley, laid the cornerstone of Çré Rüpa Gauòéya Maöh.

Preaching  Mission to the West, 1933

	In 1933, the English book Çré Kåñëa Chaitanya, by Professor Niçikänt Sännyäl, was published in a beautifully bound edition. It was Çréla Prabhupäda’s desire to send a preaching mission to Europe now. Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to preach Mahäprabhu’s message all over the world. He used to tell his disciples, “We’ll go on our preaching mission, riding horses, elephants, trains, boats, and airplanes.” His dream of preaching all over the West was later greatly ful?lled by his disciple, Çrémad Abhay Charaëäravinda Bhaktivedänta Swämé, who took initiation from Çréla Prabupäda in 1933 in Ällähäbäd.

Bon Maharaja with Lord Zetland

	On March 18th, 1933, Çréla Prabhupäda gave instruction to Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Håday Bon Mahäräj, and Çrépäd Samvidänanda Däs Bhakti-çästri as they were departing to preach in Europe. At a meeting that was arranged to see them off, Çréla Prabhupäda gave a farewell address entitled Ämär Kathä (“My Message”). 
	In the beginning of May, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples established a preaching center in Kensington, London. At the end of that month, Çréla Prabhupäda got letters inquiring into spiritual matters from Lord Zetland, who had formerly been the governor of Bengal, and the Marquis of Ludian, to which he replied. In June he got letters of appreciation from Lord Irwin’s secretary, the Marquis of Ludian, the editor of the London Times, and Sir Stanley Jackson. In July, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples met with King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace, and also with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
	In November, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples went to preach in Germany and France. At the end of December they returned to London. As one can imagine, this was not a very favorable time to preach Çréman Mahäprabhu’s mission in Europe. Traumatized by the First World War, the West was plagued by the Great Depression, international tension, and the rise of totalitarianism. Furthermore, all of these factors had combined to create a deep cynicism about God and spirituality, which was manifest in the popularity of thinkers such as Nietzsche and Freud. The atmosphere, particularly in Germany, was one of extreme anxiety, due to the recent collapse of many aspects of the predominant worldview, from the way war was waged to the workings of the universe.

Contribution of the Gaudiya Math

	In the meantime, preaching in India was going on in full swing, in the midst of the great national current of the freedom movement. In the same year the Bägbäzär Gauòéya Maöh was opened (1930), throughout India Mahätmä Gändhi’s followers took an uncompromising stand upholding his nonviolent noncooperation with the British Government. That year Gändhi went on his famous Salt March, which was a decisive turn in the march towards freedom. In Bengal, the guerilla groups also carried on their subversive activities. That same year three young Bengali freedom ?ghters—Binay, Bädal, and Dinesh—launched an open attack on British of?cials at the Writers’ Building in Calcutta. In the chaos that followed, two of them were captured (and later executed) and one shot himself to death. In the heart of Bengal emotions were running high against the British. It might be considered amazing that at a time like this, the Gauòéya Maöh managed to win such a favorable position among the educated people of Bengal—that so many people came forward to somehow participate in this mission of pure devotion. Çréla Prabhupäda hoisted the ?ag of the Gauòéya Maöh to a great height, and he upheld its goal as the most sublime destination of human birth.
	Regarding the contribution of the Gauòéya Maöh, Çréla Prabhupäda said:

In the history of spirituality, how many other historical events of great revolution, like the preaching of the Gauòéya Maöh, have taken place, the historians of spirituality will determine. What a great revolution this is, that everyone in the Gauòéya Maöh is dedicating themselves to preach something that at ?rst sight seems completely unique in the history of the human race. They [the devotees] are not afraid of thousands of people who are proud of their knowledge. Nor are they ready to indulge the deceitfulness and debauchery of the lecherous. The Gauòéya Maöh is ready to put to death the mentality of the innumerable living entities of the world who are averse to Kåñëa and who are devising many plans to steal the property of the Supreme Sovereign. They [the devotees] do not want one penny from this world [for themselves]; they want to give the world that which is complete. They want to completely give them Chaitanya Deva, who is the full transcendental consciousness.

Preaching in India, 1933

	That year, Çréla Prabhupäda preached extensively in Bombay, and the Bombay Gauòéya Maöh preaching center was established on Bäbulnäth Road. In August, Çréla Prabhupäda gave a lecture about one of his books, The Vedänta: Its Morphology and Ontology. Later he preached in Navadwép. In November he preached extensively in Bihär and Oòissä. At the same time, preaching went on in Karächi, in present-day Päkistän.

Building a New Temple At Yogapith
and Preaching All Over India, 1934

	In January 1934, the King of Tripurä, Mahäräja Vérvikramkiçor Devavarma Mäëikya Bähädur, came to the Gauòéya Maöh with his retinue and gave a lecture in appreciation of the Gauòéya Maöh’s preaching mission. On February 4th, on the occasion of Çréla Prabhupäda’s Vyäsa-püjä, a seminar took place in London, over which Lord Zetland presided. On March 18th, Çréla Prabhupäda laid the cornerstone of the new Yogapéöh temple in Mäyäpur. On April 24th, Lord Zetland opened the Gauòéya Mission Society in London. On May 6th, the well-known archeologist, Sir Ramäprasäd Chanda, gave a lecture at the Gauòéya Maöh called “Navadwép At the Time of Çré Chaitanya”.
	One of Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples, Çréyukta Sakhicharaë Räy Bhaktivijay, ?nanced the construction of the Yogapéöh temple in Mäyäpur. Çréla Prabhupäda greatly appreciated this service. Before he left this world, Çréla Prabhupäda told Çrépäd Sakhicharaë Räy Bhaktivijay that his life was successful, as he had done a great service to Çrédhäm Mäyäpur.
	On June 13th, while the foundation was being excavated, a four-handed Deity of Lord Viñëu manifested Himself from the ground. Çréla Prabhupäda expressed his opinion that this deity was worshiped by Çré Jagannäth Miçra. The archeologist Ramäprasäd Chanda declared the Deity to be quite ancient.
	On August 14th, deities were installed at the Päönä Gauòéya Maöh. On September 1st, on the day of Çré Kåñëa Janmäñöamé, Saraswaté Jayaçré, a biography of Çréla Prabhupäda, was published. Different sections of the book were written by different disciples, and the descriptions of many incidents were quoted from the memoirs of other disciples and from Gauòéya. The principal writers of Saraswaté Jayaçré were Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna, Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhüñan, Çrépäd Ananta Väsudeva Prabhu, Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod, and Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj.
	In October, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Mathurä with many devotees to observe Kärtik-vrata, and he established the practice of çravan-kértan of añöa-käléya lélä (hearing and chanting of Kåñëa’s pastimes during the eight periods of the day). On December 6th, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciple from Andhra Pradesh, Çréyukta Y. Jagannätham, published Çré Chaitanya Çikñämåta in Telegu.

Extraordinary Preaching Organization

	Çréla Prabhupäda’s unique and unprecedented contribution to the world of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism did not consist solely of his own greatness, but also included the extraordinary preaching organization that he envisioned, built, and nurtured. He alone could bring a spiritual revolution to Bengal and to India—indeed, to the world—but he wanted to leave behind a magni?cent spiritual legacy, in the form of a group of dedicated souls who would carry on his mission in his absence in the face of seemingly insurmountable dif?culties. He attracted these pure hearts, taught and trained them, and left them behind him to spread his movement throughout the inevitable advancement of Kali-yuga in future decades. Even under the shelter of Çréla Prabhupäda’s lotus feet, they had to face many tests and trials, but with Çréla Prabhupäda’s divine guidance, ultimately fate always favored them.
	Anyone coming to the Gauòéya Maöh would be awed by the divine personality of Çréla Prabhupäda, and then impressed by his team of dedicated disciples. The disciples of a guru are known as his vaibhav (wealth), and Çréla Prabhupäda was certainly a very wealthy spiritual master. This wealth of his was “in the form of ideal characters”. Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples were known for their unending enthusiasm for preaching, their undefeatable scholarship, their sincere humility, their strong moral character, and their total dedication to serve the mission of Gurudeva. All Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples who stayed at the different maöhs were intelligent, talented, hardworking, and knowledgeable about scripture. 
	The core of Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching mission consisted of eighteen sannyäsés: Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Håday Ban Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Sarvasya Giri Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Sambandha Turyäçramé Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Vivek Bharaté Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Çrérüp Puré Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Prakäç Araëya Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Viläs Gabhastinemi Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Bhüdev Çrauté Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Svarüp Parvat Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Prasun Bodhäyan Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Gaurav Vaikhänas Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Sambal Bhägavat Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Vijïän Äçram Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Sudhér Yächak Mahäräj, Çrémad Bhakti Vaibhav Sägar Mahäräj, and Çrémad Bhakti Vardhan Sägar Mahäräj.
	They were all expert preachers, and some of them were great scholars, such as Çrémad Bhakti Gaurav Vaikhänas Mahäräj, who had been the court paëòit of Oòissä and whom Çréla Prabhupäd sent to speak with the Viceroy of India. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda called Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj “Çästranipun [expert on scripture] Çrédhar Mahäräj”. Çrémad Çrédhar Mahäräj was a talented writer of Bengali, English, and Sanskrit. When he wrote his glori?cation of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura, Çréla Prabhupäda described his style as “happy style”. Çréla Prabhupäda also said of this verse to Çrépäd Apräkåta Prabhu, “I am satis?ed that what I came to say will remain after me; I ?nd in this verse the siddhänta (perfect theological conclusion).” Çréla Prabhupäda noted the highly philosophical content of Çrémad Çrédhar Mahäräj’s lectures, and when he himself delivered Hari-kathä it would always give him great satisfaction to see Çrémad Çrédhar Mahäräj in the audience.
	Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj was also noted for his scholarship. He translated the Bhagavad-gétä into English, and wrote quite a few other books in English. His powerful lectures in Dacca became legendary. Çréla Prabhupäda sent him to preach in the West, along with Çrémad Bhakti Håday Ban Mahäräj. Çrémad Ban Mahäräj’s English lectures were so well-reputed that the mere mention of his name would attract high government of?cials to attend Hari-kathä.
	Çrémad Bhakti Saraìga Goswämé Mahäräj was also famous for his scholarship and his lectures. Çrémad Yäyävar Mahäräj was known for his ability to quote scripture. Among the brahmachäré preachers, Çrépäd Hayagréva Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Dayita Mädhav Mahäräj) and Çrépäd Siddhasvarüp Brahmachäré were known for their preaching ability. Çrépäd Hayagréva Brahmachäré was instrumental, along with Çrémad Çrédhar Mahäräj, in opening maöhs in Ässäm and Mädräs.
	Çrépäd Svädhékäränanda Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Kåñëadäs Bäbäji Mahäräj) was also an expert preacher. He was known for his extreme simplicity, incomparable humility, and very austere lifestyle. He was always chanting and singing, and was always in an extremely happy mood. It was impossible to offend him in any way. Pride and anger could not come anywhere near him. Everybody loved him and he loved everybody. He used to make small, cheap pamphlets of Çréla Prabhupäda's lectures and so forth, and distribute them widely during his preaching trips. He was very dear to Çréla Prabhupäda. He was a very expert singer, and knew many songs and verses by heart. Çréla Prabhupäda said in one poem, "kanaka käminé, pratiñöhä bäghiné, chhäòiyächhe yäre sei ta' vaiñëava"—"one who has been released from the clutches of the three tigers representing money, women, and personal ambition is a Vaiñëava". By the light of this statement, every devotee who met Çrépäd Svädhékäränanda Brahmachäré thought of him as a Vaiñëava.
	Çréla Prabhupäda always stressed the importance of preaching. Once Çrépäd Hayagréva Brahmachäré asked Çréla Prabhupäda whether they should learn the local language while preaching in South India. Çréla Prabhupäda replied, “You have to preach in the language you know [in common with the South Indians, e.g., English and Hindi]. I cannot let you waste your precious time learning a new language.” Çréla Prabhupäda sent his preachers all over India and Burma, and to England, France, Germany, and the United States.
	Çréla Prabhupäda told his disciples: 

Please preach the kértan of the Supreme Lord, even if in doing so you have to incur debt; then in order to pay off that debt, you will have to be even more engaged in sevä. When your creditors put pressure on you, you will be forced to beg more for alms. Again, as the pious householders will not give you alms unless your character and conduct are pure, you will be forced to preserve a pure lifestyle with great determination and care. I will not leave one penny for you, so that in future you won’t indulge in laziness and you won’t be able to give up your devotional lives full of Hari-kértan and Hari-sevä.
	The maöh is the center of Hari-kértan, and Hari-kértan is life and consciousness. To ensure that there is no place for laziness, bad conduct, trivial thought, gossip, or vulgar desire in the maöh, you have to go from door to door, where your Hari-kértan will be tested by the public. When the public will think that they are the givers of alms and you are the receivers of alms—in other words, that their status is higher than yours—they will criticize you in many ways, thinking you are objects of their mercy. Perhaps some of them will also be ready to kick you out. Then, on one hand, you will be able to become “tånäd api sunécha” (“humbler than a blade of grass”) and “mänada” (“respectful to others”), and on the other hand, you will take great care to make your lives and characters pure and exemplary. Furthermore, what will be bene?cial for you is this: as you will correct the mistakes of the common people by citing the message of sädhu, çästra, and guru-varga, you will not make those same mistakes.
	Please do not be upset if someone criticizes you personally. But your guru-varga, çästra, and mahäjans are completely faultless, supremely liberated, and eternal associates of the Lord. If, due to ignorance, someone criticizes them, then you should correct that person’s mistakes by telling them the real truth. This will be very bene?cial for both you and the ignorant people. If you become lazy about begging for alms from door to door to collect ingredients for Hari-kértan, and if you indulge in laziness and bad habits, preferring reclusive bhajan so you can escape others’ criticism, then your character will not be puri?ed. You will not have the life of devotional practice. I will never give you any opportunity to become deceitful in the path of devotion in the privacy of your own home; I will never give you any opportunity  to live in a reclusive place so that you can become undisciplined in your heart, thinking no one will come to see or hear you there. You are my dearmost friends. I will never allow you to get into trouble. I will never allow you to give up the path of pleasing the senses of the Lord so you can please the senses of the people of the world, as well as your own, because you received some temporary position or you could not tolerate some temporary criticism.

Preaching  on the Radio and Welcoming German Devotees, 1935

	On January 15th, 1935, the Governor of Bengal, Sir John Anderson, came to Çrédhäm Mäyäpur, visited the holy places of Çréman Mahäprabhu’s pastimes, and gave a speech. On February 23rd, on the occasion of Çréla Prabhupäda’s 61st appearance anniversary, a big gathering was arranged in Çré Puruñottam Maöh, Puré. The King of Oòissä, Gajapati Çré Rämachandra Dev himself, presided over the gathering. Before Gaura-purëémä that year, Çrépäd Sakhicharaë Bhaktivijay brought electricity to the Yogapéöh temple. On March 20th, on the auspicious occasion of Çré Gaura-purëémä, the King of Tripurä came and opened the newly built temple at Yogapéöh. In April, Çréla Prabhupäda established the Gayä Gauòéya Maöh. On April 13, he sent a few preachers to Burma to spread the message of Mahäprabhu. On June 9th, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples preached Mahäprabhu’s message on the radio for the ?rst time, at the Indian Broadcasting Service, Calcutta. Among those who delivered hari-kathä on the radio were Çrémad Bhakti Håday Ban Mahäräj and Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod Prabhu. Çrépad Pranavänanda Pratnavidyälaìkär (later Çrémad Bhakti Pramod Puré Mahäräj) sang the collection of verses entitled "Gopénäth-vij–apti" by Çréla Bhaktivinod  häkur. At this time, Çréla Prabhupäda was in Darjeeling, North Bengal. But he and his other disciples heard the broadcast from there. When Çréla Prabhupäda returned, he requested Çrépäd Pranavänanda Prabhu to sing "Gopénäth-vij–apti" again for him.
	On July 8th, he installed deities at the Bombay Gauòéya Maöh. At this time, Çréman Samvidänanda Däs, M.A., received a Ph.D from London University in Vaiñëava history and literature. 
	On September 12th, the twelve cantos of Çrémad Bhägavatam with the commentaries of Çréla Prabhupäda were completed and published. The summaries of each canto up to the ninth canto was written by Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré, the summary of the tenth canto was written by Çrépäd Navén Kåñëa Vidyälaìkär, and the summaries of the eleventh and twelfth cantos were written by Çrémad Bhakti Bhüdev Çrauti Mahäräj.
	On September 18th, the devotees in Gauòéya Maöh and many distinguished citizens of Calcutta welcomed two German devotees, Ernst George Schulge and H. E. von Queth, who came to Calcutta with Çrémad Bhakti Håday Ban Mahäräj to see Çréla Prabhupäda. They were each given a decorated cloth scroll welcoming them at a lavish reception in their honor. In October Çréla Prabhupäda went to Mathurä and observed Kärtik-vrata at Çré Rädhä-kuëòa. On November 7th, he went to Delhi, and from there he went to Gayä. At this time, preaching in Burma was going on very successfully.

Preaching  in the West, Burma, and India, 1936

	On February 12th, on his 62nd appearance anniversary, Çréla Prabhupäda established the Bhaktivinod Research Institute. In London his appearance anniversary was also celebrated at a special gathering. In the meantime, Çrémad Bhakti Sarvasya Giri Mahäräj and Çrémad Bhakti Viläs Gabhastinemi Mahäräj were preaching in Burma with great success, and on March 8th, a Gauòéya Maöh preaching center was established there with the help of the education minister, Dr. Bame, on 29 Brookings Street, Rangoon. On March 15th, Çréla Prabhupäda installed deities in Sarbhog Gauòéya Maöh, Ässäm. On March 29th, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Puré, where a saìkértan festival was held for seven days. In June and July, Çréla Prabhupäda preached at different places in Bengal. Among them were Bäliyäöi, Godruma, Därjeeliìg, and Baguòä. On June 13th and 14th, at Dacca University and the Bar (law) Library of Dacca, Çréla Prabhupäda’s sannyäsé disciples and the two German devotees preached hari-kathä. In August, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Mathurä to observe Puruñottam-vrata. On September 9th, he came back to Calcutta Gauòéya Maöh.

Meetings with Scholars and Indologists

	Throughout his preaching mission, Çréla Prabhupäda met with many scholars, national leaders, and Indologists from abroad who were visiting India. At one time or another, Çréla Prabhupäda met with all the most famous men of Bengal. He also met with high government of?icials and scholars of religion from all over India. They listened to Çréla Prabhupäda’s Hari-kathä for hours, took part in discussions, and asked him spiritual questions. All of them left him with a sense of reverence for his divine personality and a favorable impression of Vaiñëavism. This should not surprise anyone, as Çréla Prabhupäda’s scholarship was unquestionable, his logic was razor-sharp, his concepts were deep and sublime, and his expressions were strikingly beautiful.
	It is not possible to mention here all those he met, but following are the names of some of them:

Räut Räy Säheb, His Excellency General Puëya Samaser Räëä Jaàbähädur of Nepäl, Manmathanäth Mukhopaddhyäy (Calcutta High Court Justice), September 1924, Paëòit Pramath Näth Tarkabhüñan, Professor Phanibhüñan Adhikäré, December 1924, Paëòit Madan-mohan Mälavya, April 1925, The Mahanta Mahäräj of Çré Näthdwär, Gokulnäth Goswämé Mahäräj of Bombay, the Ächärya of Madhvächärya Maöh of Uòupi, the Ächärya of Gädir Maöh of Salimäbäd, 1926, Professor Albert E. Suthers (University of Ohio) 1929, A.P. Sen, Professor Rädhäkumud MukhopaddhyÅy, Dr. RÅdhÅkamal Mukhopaddhyäy, Dr. A.N. Sengupta 1929, Sir P.C. Roy (famous chemist) 1930, Dr. Kälidäs Näg (famous historian and professor at the University of Calcutta), Çré Jaténdra Näth Basu, Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen (famous writer and professor at the University of Calcutta), Çré Birajmohan Mukhopaddhyäy (Vice Principal of the Law College of the University of Calcutta), Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (German scholar and world traveller), Dr. Stella Kremrich, A.J. Jacob (American world traveller), Col. Dwärakä Prasäd Goel (Principal of Calcutta Medical College), Dr. Gaìgänäth Jhä (Vice Chancellor of Ällähäbäd University), Vasanta Kumär Chatterjee, 1931, Justice Sundaram Cheööiyär of Mädräs High Court, Sir P.S. Shiva Swämé Aiyar, Sir George Frederick Stanley (Governor of Mädräs), Professor K. Païchapagesan of Purukote College in Mädräs, Dr. Suniti Chatterjee of the University of Calcutta, Sir William Malcolm Haily (Governor of United Provinces), Dr. Sudhindu Kumär Däs (Professor of Krishnagar College), Çré Viçwambhar Vyäkäraë Tértha Vedänta Çästri of Rädhäkänta Maöh of Puré, 1932, Çré Satiç Chandra De (Principal of Howrah Narsiìgha College), Professor Ranada Charaë Chakravarté, Çré Sanjév Kumär Choudhury (professor from Nepäl), Çré Ganeç Chandra Chanda (Superintendent of the Archaeological Division of Bihär), 1933, Räi Bähädur Rämprasäd Chanda, Çré Änanda Mahäpatra (Senior Professor in the Äyurveda Department of the Sanskrit College in Puré), Mr. Junakar (Professor at Dacca University), Khagendra Näth Mitra (Professor at Presidency College, Calcutta), 1934, Sir Jadunäth Sarkär, Dr. Henry Hand and Mr. S.V. Rosetto of California, Mr. S.N. Rudra Bar-at-law, Indirä Devé (Queen of Cochbihär), Mme. M. Potters (French scholar), 1935

Correspondence With Western Representatives

	Çréla Prabhupäda maintained a steady correspondence with his representatives in Europe. Following are excerpts from some of his letters to Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj.

April 4, 1933
	“Your conversation with the cultured people of the west following the words of the Divine Lord will surely be appreciated by all sincere souls amidst their busy life. I don’t know any body who was more delighted than myself to hear that at last the Gauòéya Maöh Of?ice has been opened in the British Isles.”

May 5, 1933
	“By delivering Hari-kathä to many people, maybe one or two good people will become interested in devotional topics—this is my expectation.”

June 27, 1933
	“The esoteric representation need not be placed on the table at the sacri?ce of the exoteric code and exposition, as the people are found to be very hasty to judge a person by his external appearance.”

July 26, 1933
	“We are no mediators, but on the other hand solicitors of congregational meetings. So shifting from the centre of London is now out of the question.”

August 21, 1933
	“I have much enjoyed learning that the senior Tridaëòi Swämé has been honored and received by Her Majesty, the Queen of England. This unforeseen chance is really a very rare opportunity that hardly falls to the lot of a monk with his triple staff and bowl in his hand.
…
	“We take pride that you are acting as our proxy in a distant land, which our crippled movements have not yet approached.”

August 28, 1933
	“I learn with great delight that the City of London has found you keeping the fast on Janmäñöamé day and am more glad to learn that you could make ‘päräyaë’ (completion) of Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta on that day.”

February 23, 1934
	“Though we are distantly placed by the will of Providence, still the symbolic sounds in letters will not keep us at such a distance.

	“One does not receive a letter from the Supreme Lord. We hear about Him only from His devotees, and our news also can be sent to Him through His devotees. Such communication took place long before telegrams, air-mail, or radio.
	“The benign hand of Çré Kåñëa is a better judge than our silly selves. We should ever be in the service of the Supreme Lord Kåñëa, whatever troubles we meet in our journey of life.”

The Final Days, 1936

	On October 24th, 1936, Çréla Prabhupäda bade farewell to Çrémad Bhakti Çäraìga Goswämé Mahäräj and sent him to preach in England and then in America. At this time Çréla Prabhupäda blessed him and gave him çälagräma-çélä, gomaté-çélä, and govardhan-çélä. That same day Çréla Prabhupäda set forth from Calcutta for Puré Dhäm. He arrived the following day with many of his disciples accompanying him. Among them were Çrépäd Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj, Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu, Çrépäd Hayagréva Däs Brahmachäré (later Çrémad Bhakti Dayita Mädhav Mahäräj), Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna, and Çrépäd Sajjanända Brahmachäré.
	Many devotees came to the train station to welcome Çréla Prabhupäda, and they brought a decorated car for him. When Çréla Prabhupäd arrived at the Puruñottam Maöh, a big crowd was assembled there to have his darçan.
	Çréla Prabhupäda seemed to be in a meditative mood of deep devotion in Puré. He showed transcendental symptoms of divine ecstasy. From time to time he would tell the devotees, “It is in this life that we have to serve our Lord, so we can gain eternal service at the lotus feet of our eternal Lord. We should not waste any time!”
	People started coming from all directions to hear Çréla Prabhupäda. Çréla Prabhupäda expressed his desire to celebrate the Annakuta festival at Chäöak Pravat. There was not much time left before the festival, but his dedicated disciples made all the arrangements very quickly. The following description was printed in the Gauòéya, 15th Canto, No. 16:

Tridaëòi Swämé Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj, Çrépäd Hayagréva Brahmachäré, Çrémad Sajjanänanda Brahmachäré, and others took great care to bring sumptuous foodstuffs for the festival and to decorate the place. Sädhuniväs was beautifully decorated with fruit, ?owers, mango leaves, banana trees, coconuts, and waterpots. On the altar was a very beautiful embroidered canopy. All of the way from the street to Chäöak Parvat was decorated with ?ags, banana trees, waterpots, and arches. Different foodstuffs, such as white rice, yellow rice, sweet rice, khichuri, rice pudding, chäpäöis, puris, and so forth were arranged in the shape of a mountain. There were other mountains of foodstuffs, such as the Bengali delicacies described in Chaitanya-charitämåta, the delicacies of Vraja described in Çré Govinda Lélä, and all the favorite offerings of Lord Jagannäth. Also an immeasurable amount of mahäprasäd, consisting of many vegetable and grain preparations and sweets, came from the Jagannäth temple. Tulasé maïjaris were placed on all the offerings, and Çréla Prabhupäda, singing the songs of Çré Rüpa and Çré Raghunäth, worshiped Çré Govardhan. The festival opened with saìkértan. Then, by Çréla Prabhupäda’s instruction, Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod read about Çrépäd Mädhavendra Puré’s Annakut Festival from the fourth chapter of Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta: Madhya-lélä.
	Hundreds of people were fed mahäprasäd that night, and the next morning hundreds of beggars and destitute people were fed.

	One day Çréla Prabhupäda, sitting in his bhajan kuöir, told the devotees, “All the residents of the maöh should always be engaged in the service of Çré Hari, Guru, and Vaiñëava. They should always be engaged in hearing Hari-kathä and discussing Hari-kathä. If one becomes averse to hari-kathä and hari-sevä then one will again be entangled by one’s material desires. Then one’s time will be spent in gossiping, criticizing others, ?ghting with others and gratifying one’s senses. If the residents of the maöh do not understand that Vaiñëava-sevä is the most bene?cial thing, then they will not make progress in the realm of devotion. One has to cultivate one’s Kåñëa-consciousness by sincerely serving the Vaiñëavas and by endeavoring to please the Vaiñëavas with body, mind, and soul.
	“’By the petition of a Vaiñëava, merciful Kåñëa will give His mercy to this sinful soul.’ This we have to remember all the time.
	“If a Godbrother falls from the platform of service to Hari, Guru, and Vaiñëava, then you should think that your own brother is falling down. Then you have to openly advise him about hari-bhajan and nicely make him understand the situation. Sing the bene?cial message of Guru and Gauräìga to him. If you merely comment on his downfall, then you are not his well-wisher. You have to be merciful to him by talking to him about the Lord. By doing this you will bene?t yourself as well as him, and your goal of living in the maöh will be accomplished. We are living together to help each other serve the Lord.
	“We will not live in this world very long. If we can die while continuously doing hari-kértan, then our birth will be successful. We have not come to this world to be carpenters, to deal with wood and stone. We are only the carries of the message of Çré Chaitanyadeva.”
	On December 7th, 1936, Çréla Prabhupäda left Puré for Calcutta. The next day a huge crowd of devotees was waiting at Howrah Station to welcome Çréla Prabhupäda. Çréla Prabhupäda’s car was decorated with ?owers, and it went to the Gauòéya Maöh amid a saìkértan procession. While in Puré, Çréla Prabhupäda had displayed his pastime of illness. So his disciples had engaged the most famous physicians in Calcutta, such as Sir Nélratan Sarkär, Dr. Shivapada Bhattächärya, Dr. Indubhushan Basu, Dr. P. Brahmachäré, and Dr. Nagendra Gopäl Biçwäs, to take care of Çréla Prabhupäda full-time. As instructed by the doctors, Çréla Prabhupäda’s disciples requested him not to speak for very long at a stretch. When asked how he was, Çréla Prabhupäda would say that his only problem was that he was not allowed to do Hari-kértan.
	Çréla Prabhupäda told the assembled devotees, “One should not make many disciples. I have not made any disciples. They are all my Gurus. I learn something from all of them. May they give me the opportunity to follow the example of their pure devotion. This is my prayer.”
	
His Final Instructions

	On December 23rd, Çréla Prabhupäda gave his ?nal instruction to the assembled devotees: “I have caused anxiety for many people. Perhaps many people have considered me their enemy, because I was compelled to tell the unadulterated truth. I asked them to serve the Lord with all sincerity. I have given much anxiety to many people only because I wanted to inspire them to serve Kåñëa sincerely without material desire and duplicity. One day they will understand this. 
	
Preach  about Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunath

	“All of you please preach about Çré Rüpa and Çré Raghunäth with great enthusiasm. The supreme goal of all our desire is to become specks of  dust at the lotus feet of the followers of Çré Rüpa Goswämé. All of you remain united in the shelter of the äçraya-vigraha in order to satisfy the transcendental senses of the Supreme Entity of non-dual knowledge. All of you somehow live simply in this temporary world with the single goal of serving the Lord. Please do not give up your devotional service in spite of hundreds of dangers, insults, or persecutions. Please do not be discouraged by seeing that most people of the world are not listening to the transcendental topics of devotional service. Please do not give up çravan-kértan of kåñëa-kathä, which is your own bhajan and your sole property. Please always chant the name of the Lord, being humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree.
	
The Fire of Sankirtan

	“We only cherish one desire in our hearts: to sacri?ce this body, which is only a lump of matter, in the ?re of the saìkértan yajïa of Lord Çré Kåñëa Chaitanya and his associates. We do not wish to be heroes by dint of our action, bravery or religiosity. But let this be our real identity life after life: that we are specks of dust under the lotus feet of Çré Rüpa. Let that mean everything to us. The Bhaktivinod current will never be stemmed. Please take up the mission of preaching the desire of Bhaktivinod with greater enthusiasm. There are many quali?ed and accomplished people among you. We have no other desire; our only message is this:

‘Taking a blade of grass between my teeth, I fall down and pray again and again that I may become the dust at the feet of Çré Rüpa birth after birth.’ 
	“Living in this world, one has to face many kinds of dif?culties. It is not our job to try to remove those dif?culties. Nor should we become depressed by them. After these dif?culties are gone, what shall we gain? What will our eternal lives be? While staying here we should have some idea of that. All the things that attract us or repel us, what we want and what we do not want—we have to resolve these things in our minds. The more we distance ourselves from the lotus feet of Kåñëa, the more these things will draw us in. The joy of Kåñëa-sevä can be realized when one is attracted to His divine name after transcending the happiness and misery of this world. At present, the topic of Kåñëa is startling and perplexing to us. The continuing events of our lives pose obstacles to the realization of our eternal ful?llment. Knowingly or unknowingly, all human beings are struggling to eliminate these. Our only need is to enter that realm of eternal ful?llment, transcending all duality.
	“We have no attachment or hostility towards anyone in this world. All arrangements of this world are temporary. Everyone has an indispensable need for the Absolute Truth. May all of you with one goal, and in harmony with each other, attain the right to serve the original äçraya-vigraha. Let the currents of thought of the followers of Çré Rüpa ?ow in this world. May we never under any circumstances show antipathy towards the seven-tongued ?re of Çré Kåñëa saïkértan-yajïa. If we have an increasing attachment for it, then all our goals will be ful?lled. All of you please preach fearlessly about Çri Rüpa and Çré Raghunäth with great enthusiasm, under the guidance of their followers.”
	Then Çréla Prabhupäda displayed his pastime of illness. At the same time he was incessantly chanting and meditating. Çrépäd Kuïjavihäré Prabhu made up a duty roster for some of the devotees who were present, so one of them would be with Çréla Prabhupäda every hour of the day and night. Among those who had this service were Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré, and Çrépäd Kåñëänanda Brahmächäré.
	
Requests Song Sri Rupa Manjari Pada

	In the morning of December 31, 1936, Çréla Prabhupäda requested Çrémad Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj to sing the song çré rüpa-maïjari-pada sei mora sampada by Çréla Narottam Däs Öhäkura. He also asked Çrépäd Navén Kåñëa Vidyälaìkär to sing the song t?uhu dayä sägar tärayite präëé by Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. Then Çréla Prabhupäda expressed his appreciation to some of his disciples for their service, and gave some instructions for the future. Finally he said, “Love and rupture both should have the same end in view. Çréla Narottam Däs Öhäkura lived by the concept of Çré Rüpa and Çré Raghunäth. We should also live our lives according to that concept.” Then Çréla Prabhupäda told everyone, “All of you who are present here, as well as those who are not present, please accept my blessings. Please remember that our only duty and religion is to propagate the service of the Lord and His devotees.”
	
Divine Disappearance

	At about 5:20 the next morning, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré was at Çréla Prabhupäda’s bedside. Suddenly Çréla Prabhupäda came out of his deep meditation and said, “Who is here?” Çrépäd Pranavänanda Prabhu said, “It’s me, Pranavänanda, Prabhupäda.” Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Oh, Pranavänanda Prabhu?” Çrépäd Pranavänanda Prabhu asked him, “How are you feeling, Prabhupäda?” Çréla Prabhupäda said, “What can I say? Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa!” These were his last words. As it was time for the next devotee, Çrépäd Kåñëänanda Prabhu, to take up his post at Çréla Prabhupäda’s bedside, Çrépäd Pranavänanda Prabhu went back to his room. He sat there thinking, “Is Çréla Prabhupäda going to leave us now? What will happen if he leaves us now, what shall we do?” His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. It was Çrépäd Kåñëänanda Prabhu. He said, “Come quickly! I think the great disaster has happened to us.” Then there was the tumultuous sound of crying all over the Gauòéya Maöh, and amazingly enough, all the clocks in the maöh stopped.
	At 5:30 AM, on Thursday, January 1st, 1937, Çréla Prabhupäda left this material world to enter Çré Çré Rädhä-Govinda’s niçänta-lélä. At the pre-dawn hour when Çré Çré Rädhä-Govinda are united as One, when the divine pastime of Çré Gaursundar is eternally manifest, the most worshipable lord of the Gauòéya Vaiñëavas, Çréla Prabhupäda, who called himself Çré Värñabhänavé-dayita däsa (the servant of the beloved of Çrématé Rädhäräëé), entered the abode of his eternal pastime. The grief and lamentation of the devotees at the Gauòéya Maöh were beyond description. Some were sobbing as if their hearts would break, some were chanting loudly with eyes ?ooded with tears, some were falling at Çréla Prabhupäda’s lotus feet, some were falling on the ground and chanting with their heads bowed down, and some were hitting their foreheads and saying “Oh Prabhupäda! Oh Prabhupäda!” Even though the sun had just risen, it seemed that in the sky of the Gauòéya Vaiñëavas the sun had just set. 
	The devotees started performing the Vedic rites with great care, in spite of the intolerable burning pain of separation. First of all they bathed Çréla Prabhupäda with sandalwood water. Then they dressed him in new clothes and decorated him with ?owers, garlands, and sandalwood. Crying incessantly, they put tilak on twelve parts of his body. Then Çréla Prabhupäda was laid on a new bed in front of the Deities. The devotees circumambulated him and performed püjä, bhoga, and ärati to him amid tumultuous saìkértan. Thousands of people started coming to have their last darçan of Çréla Prabhupäda. Flowers and tears were everywhere. Then Çréla Prabhupäda was taken to Çeäldäù Station amid a saìkértan procession of thousands of people. A devotee of Çréla Prabhupäda called Çré Yämiëé Mukhopadhyäy arranged for a special train for Çréla Prabhupäda. The train was fully occupied with thousands of devotees, both men and women. The destination was Krishnanagar, but all the way from Calcutta to Krishnanagar, thousands of people were waiting at every station to see Çréla Prabhupäda. The devotees were displaying photos of Çréla Prabhupäda from the windows of the train, and the crowds were offering ?owers to those pictures. At Krishnanagar Station, all the high government of?cials were waiting to offer their obeisances to him. Then he was taken to Navadwép Ghäö by car, and then they crossed the Gaìgä on boats to arrive at Mäyäpur. A big crowd was already waiting at Mäyäpur. When the Calcutta devotees met the Mäyäpur devotees, another wave of grief engulfed them.
	First Çréla Prabhupäda was taken to Çréman Mahäprabhu’s birthplace in Yogapiöh. More devotees were waiting there. Then they laid him down in front of the Deities and offered him püjä and ärati. Both the Hindus and the Muslims of Mäyäpur were singing his glories with tears in their eyes. Çréla Prabhupäda was given the garland which had been offered to Çréman Mahäprabhu. Next he was taken to Çréväs Aìgan, Çré Adwaita Bhavan, Çré Bhakti Vijay Bhavan, the samädhi mandir of Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj, and ?nally Çré Chaitanya Maöh; at each stop he was offered püjä and ärati. When he came to his own Çré Chaitanya Maöh, the devotees’ hearts broke with unbearable pain.
	They decided that the place of his samädhi would be in between Çré Chaitanya Maöh and Çré Bhakti Vijay Bhavan. Singing saìkértan, sannyäsé, brahmachäré, and gåhastha devotees together began digging the foundation of the samädhi mandir. Çréla Prabhupäda was bathed in Gaìgä water, dressed in new clothes, and decorated with sandalwood. Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj wrote the samädhi mantra with sandalwood, following the injunction of Çré Gopäl Bhaööa Goswämé. Now Çréla Prabhupäda was brought to the place of samädhi, and amid obeisances, prayer, glori?cation, and offering of ?owers, he was seated on a marble throne covered with delicate cloth. The tumultuous sound of glori?cation and saìkértan resounded as sandalwood, ?owers, garlands, and ärati were offered at his lotus feet. Devotees were rolling on the ground, crying “Jaya Prabhupäda!” and singing his favorite songs, çré rüpa-maïjari-pada, svänanda-sukhada-kuïja manohara, and yaçomati nandana.	
	Çréla Çrédhar Mahäräj and Çrépäd Pranavänanda Brahmachäré offered a ?re sacri?ce. Çréla Bhärati Mahäräj read the disappearance pastime of Çréla Haridäs Öhäkura from Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta, and the devotees circumambulated the samädhi, singing yei änilo prema-dhana and gurudev kåpä bindu diyä. Then they sang Çréla Prabhupäda’s pranäm mantra (nama oà viñëu-pädäya kåñëa-preñöhäya bhü-tale çrémate bhaktisiddhänta-saraswatéti nämine):

	“I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté, who is very dear to Lord Kåñëa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
	“I offer my respectful obeisances to Çré Värñabhänavé-devé-dayita Däs, who is favored by Çrématé Rädhäräëé and who is the ocean of transcendental mercy and the deliverer of the science of Kåñëa.
	“I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the personi?ed energy of Çré Chaitanya’s mercy, who deliver devotional service which is enriched with conjugal love of Rädhä and Kåñëa, coming exactly in the line of revelation of Çréla Rüpa Goswämé.
	“I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the personi?ed teachings of Lord Chaitanya. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. You do not tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Çréla Rüpa Goswämé.”

Epilogue

	Çréla Prabhupäda is the most magnanimous giver of the message of Mahäprabhu in this age. He took the treasure which had been safeguarded by a few and gave it to many. He revived the saìkértan movement of Mahäprabhu by enabling devotees to joyfully assemble together in a modern institution. Now that Vaiñëavism was no longer in constant danger from oppressive regimes and reactionary brähmaës, and now that the permanence of printing could protect the sanctity of the true and pure Vaiñëavism of Mahäprabhu from the corruption of Sahajiyä interpretation, it could be given out again, freely. 
	Before Çréla Prabhupäda began the Gauòéya Maöh, the general public had come to regard sannyäsés with contempt or, at best, apathy, for their personal conduct and spiritual backgrounds were considered questionable. But Çréla Prabhupäda conquered the public’s apathy towards sädhus and religion. He defeated the sahajiyäs, who wrongly imitated the pastimes of the Lord, and the impersonalists, who belittled the path of pure devotion. He protected Çréman Mahäprabhu’s mission from those who would dilute and distemper it in the name of adaptation.
	Çréla Prabhupäda knew that while the mundane world had changed greatly since Çréman Mahäprabhu’s time, the path of Vaiñëavism was eternal and required no modernization. Instead he modernized its institutions: devotees could assemble freely, to do saìkértan in the halls of the Gauòéya Maöh and Hari-kathä in the pages of Gauòéya. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda saw and appreciated the contraptions of the modern world the way he appreciated anything—as items to be utilized in Mahäprabhu’s mission, for devotional service. He preached through the printing press, while simultaneously using it to protect the sanctity and authority of pure Vaiñëavism from corruption and misinterpretation. He himself wrote more than 108 essays and books; published the magazines Sajjan Toñaëé, Gauòéya, Nadiyä Prakäç, Bhägavat, Paramärthi, and Kértan; and established the presses Bhägavat Yantra, Gauòéya Printing Works, Nadiyä Prakäç Printing Press, and Paramärthi Printing Works. He published Bhagavad-gétä, Çrémad Bhägavatam, Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta Çré Chaitanya Bhägavat, and Çré Brahma-saàhitä with commentaries.
	Çréla Prabhupäda established 64 temples, introduced devotional exhibitions, conducted radio broadcasts, and established organized parikramäs of the holy Dhämas. He was the ?rst ächärya to research and compile information on the four Vaiñëava sampradayas and emphasize their common ground.
	Çréla Prabhupäda won the respect and admiration of all by inspiring excellence in every spiritual endeavor: the scholarship, integrity, and re?nement of the Gauòéya Maöh were unquestionable. His standards were unassailable. He was so formidable in debate that he was never defeated. The strength of his conviction and ?erce determination earned him the title of siàha guru, or “lion guru”.
	Çréla Prabhupäda was not, however, merely a teacher of strict austerity. He spread compassion and devotion around him like a fountain; he nurtured his disciples with divine affection. As Çréla Bhakti Kusum Çramaë Mahäräj wrote in his biography of Çréla Prabhupäda, Prabhupäda Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura, “Wherever he appeared, many people had come there before him in order to see him, and as soon as he arrived the sound of saìkértan would reverberate in all directions. Even when he was walking, he was absorbed in the ecstasy of hari-kathä kértan. An unearthly, indescribable current of joy would follow Çréla Prabhupäda everywhere.”
	The greatest gift of Çréla Prabhupäda was that he gave the highest concept of devotion to thousands of surrendered souls who took shelter at his lotus feet. Those who came to inquire from him about kåñëa-prema, the ultimate goal of their lives, were overjoyed to ?nd out that whatever concept of pure devotion they might have had before, Çréla Prabhupäda's concept was in?nitely higher than that. His disciples saw him as their supreme source of the highest devotion. Çréla Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar Mahäräj has expressed this very beautifully in his “Çré Çré Dayita Däsa Daçakam" verses:

	“From his lotus feet, the nectarine river of divine love ?ows throughout the universe; his servitors, like bees, maintain their lives drinking the honey that falls from his lotus feet; and the pure devotees in the shelter of the con?dential mellows of Vraja revel in the bliss of singing the glories of his lotus feet.
	“Parental affection, so highly esteemed in the world, is a colossal hoax. And without a doubt the reciprocation of conjugal affection shared in matrimony is legal dacoity. And worldly friendship and family relationships are simply cheating in disguise. I have gleaned these thoughts from the rays of light that emanate from the toenails of the holy feet of that great personality, the embodiment of supramundane affection.”
	Çréla Prabhupäda said, “The Bhaktivinod current will never be stemmed”, and indeed his movement has ?owed all over the world, brought and carried on by his disciples. Çréla Prabhupäda is the personi?cation of Çréman Mahäprabhu’s causeless and perfect mercy. He is the desire tree (kalpa-våkña) of the Gauòéya Vaiñëavas. Not only has he attracted them to Çréman Mahäprabhu’s movement—through his own preaching or the preaching of his followers—but, through his message and the example of his personal conduct, he is also able to provide them with everything they need for devotional service, eternally.

Bibliography

Bhaktiçästré, Çré Hari-kåpä Däs Brahmacharé, Prabhupäd Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté, Bombay: Çré Gauòéya Maöh, 1980.

Mähäräj, Çréla Bhakti Änand Sägar, Çréla Guru Mahäräj: His Divine Pastimes & Precepts in Brief, Navadwép: Çré Chaitanya Säraswat Maöh, 1994.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Kusum Çramaë, Prabhupäda Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura, Mäyäpur: Çré Chaitanya Maöh, 1940.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Pramod Puré, lectures and discussions on audio-cassette, Mäyäpur: Çré Gopénäth Gauòéya Maöh Archive.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Pramod Puré, Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura, Mäyäpur, Çré Gopénäth Gauòéya Maöh, 1992.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Rakñak Çrédhar, lectures and discussions on audio-cassette, Navadwép: Çré Chaitanya Säraswat Maöh Archive.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Vallabh Tértha, Çré Gaura-pärñad o Gauòéya Vaiñëavächärya-gaëer Saàkñipta Charitämåta, vol. 2, Calcutta: Çré Chaitanya Gauòéya Maöh, 1994.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Vallabh Tértha, Çré Çrémad Bhakti Dayita Mädhav Goswämé Mahäräj Viñëupäder Püta Charitämåta, Calcutta: Çré Chaitanya Gauòéya Maöh,

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Viläs Tértha, Çré Chaitanya-darçane Prabhupäda Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura, vols. 1–2, Mäyäpur: Çré Chaitanya Maöh, 1974.

Majumdär, R.C., History of Modern Bengal: Part Two, Calcutta: G. Bharadwäj & Co., 1981.

McKay, John P., Bennet D. Hill and John Buckler, A History of Western Society, vol. 2, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991.

Prabhupäda, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura, Çré Çréla Prabhupäder Upadeçämåta, ed. by Çréla Bhakti Mayükh Bhägavat Mahäraj, Mäyäpur: Çré Chaitanya Maöh, 1990.

Prabhupäda, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura, Çréla Prabhupäder Harikathämåta, ed. by Çréla Bhakti Viläs Tértha Mahäräj, vol. 1, Mäyäpur: Çré Chaitanya Maöh, 1955.
Saraswaté Jayaçré, ed. by Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod, Calcutta: Çré Gauòéya Maöh, 1934.

Sen, Sailendra Näth, History of Modern India: 1765–1950, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Ltd., 1979.

Sen, Çré Sukumär, Bäìgälä Sähityer Itihäs (History of Bengali literature), vol. 4, Calcutta: Änanda Publishers Ltd., 1940.

Gauòéya, 1924, 1925, 1934, 1935

Gaur Kishore Das Babaji

	Srila Gaur Kishore Das Babaji Maharaja, the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad, was the personi?cation of pure devotion in the mood of Srimati Radharani. He was the embodiment of Vipralambha, the intense mood of separation from Krishna. Everything we know about his life points only to to this one central theme; all other details have been lost to us.

The exact date of his appearance is not known, but it was in the early part of the nineteenth century. He was born in the village of Bägjän in the district of Faridpur in East Bengal (now Bäïglädesh) near a place called Tepäkholä on the bank of the river Padma. The names of his parents are not known. But they named him “Vaàsidäs”. He earned his living as a grain merchant. Although he was married early, probably when he was a teenager (according to the prevailing social custom of the day), he was not attracted to family life and spent most of his time in devotional practices, in an introspective mood of devotion. After the death of his wife he left his family and his village and went to Våndävan. He became completely absorbed in his bhajan and, while living in great austerity and renunciation, rendered devotional service to his Lord in the mood of pure devotion. Shortly after coming to Våndävan, he took shelter of Çrémad Bhägavat Däs Bäbäji, who was an intimate associate of Çréla Jagannäth Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj, and received the Veñ, the garb of a Bäbäji (a reclusive renunciate Vaiñëav), from him. Henceforth he was known as Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji. For thirty years he lived in different places in the Vraja-maëòal and intensely practiced his bhajan. He used to beg for alms (mädhukaré) and spend his nights under trees. He considered all Vrajaväsés as eternal associates of Krishna, and would bow down to the trees and animals of Våndävan. From time to time he went on pilgrimage to different holy places of North India and the Gaur-maëòal. During these pilgrimages, he met with Çré Swarüp Däs Bäbäji in Puré, Çré Bhagavän Däs Bäbäji in Kälnä, and Çré Chaitanya Däs Bäbäji in Kuliyä.
Around 1894, when by the divine effort of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura, the true birthplace of Çréman Mahäprabhu, Çré Mäyäpur Dhäm, manifested itself, Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj came to reside in the Gaura-maëòal at the instruction of Çréla Jagannäth Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj. From then until his disappearance he stayed in different places in Çré Navadwép Dhäm. He looked at Çré Navadwép Dhäm with his transcendental vision and considered its residents Dhämväsés. He would collect the abandoned clothes of dead people who were cremated on the banks of the Gaïgä, and then he would wash them and wear them. He would cook plain rice in abandoned clay pots, offer it to his Lord, and take prasädam. Day after day he would just live on plain rice and a few green chilis. Sometimes he would live only on the water of the Gaïgä, and sometimes he would just fast. But day and night he would chant the holy name. He was completely detached from any kind of mundane association, and most of the time he would be alone in a deep mood of divine love. Sometimes he would chant on Tulasémälä, and sometimes he would chant on some rag that he had knotted himself. Sometimes he would dance on the bank of the Gaïgä, crying “Gaur! Gaur!”, and then faint. Sometimes he would wander around the different places of the Dhäm, remembering Mahäprabhu’s pastimes in an ecstatic mood.
Seeing Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräja’s extraordinary renunciation and pure devotion, Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura was always amazed. Sometimes Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj would come and visit Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçay in his residence, called Svänanda-sukhada Kuïja, in Godrumadvép and discuss Çrémad Bhägavatam with him. Together they would spend many hours discussing hari-kathä. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj was especially fond of two books, Çréla Narottam Däs Öhäkura’s Prärthanä and Prema-bhakti-chandrikä. Like that of Çréla Raghunäth Däs Goswämé, his renunciation was colored with his deep love for Krishna.
In 1898 Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura ?rst came in contact with Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj in Svänanda-sukhada Kuïja. At that time Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura heard Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj singing a song dedicated to Çréla Raghunäth Däs Goswämé in a deep and earnest mood of love. Hearing that song sung by Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura became overwhelmed with love. The theme of the song was the way in which Çréla Däs Goswämé was looking for Çrémati Rädhäräëé and asking for Her mercy. Çréla Prabhupäd wrote down that song and made it available for devotees of later times.

Initiation

In 1900, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura got initiated by Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji, at the instruction of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura was Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj’s only disciple. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj was absorbed in his pure devotional bhajan and had had no desire to make any disciples. But due to the exclusive devotion and sincerity of Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj had to change his mind. It has been said that after being repeatedly requested by Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura for initiation, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj told him he would give him initiation only if he received Mahäprabhu’s permission. Then the next time Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura approached him he said he had forgotten to ask Mahäprabhu for His permission. Instead of being discouraged, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura came again and humbly submitted his request. Then Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj said, “Morality and scholarship are not the prerequisites for being favored by Krishna. One does not become quali?ed for initiation, through having those qualities.” Being repeatedly rejected in this way, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura did not give up his determination to receive Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräja’s mercy. Çréla Rämänujächärya had been rejected by Çréla Goñöhépürëa eighteen times before ?nally being accepted by him. When Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura requested Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj again and again with great humility and sincerity, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj became very pleased with him, and with great affection gave him initiation. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj never allowed anyone to touch his lotus feet. If someone tried to take the dust of his lotus feet he would curse them: “Everything will be ruined for you.” So insincere materialistic people were afraid to touch his lotus feet. But at this time he himself gave Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura the dust from his lotus feet. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura’s initiation is reminiscent of Çréla Narottam Däs  Öhäkura’s initiation by Çréla Lokanäth Däs Goswämé. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj instructed Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura to preach Mahäprabhu’s message all over the world.
Many good people were very eager to render some service to Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. But it was almost impossible for anyone to get an opportunity to do so. Once the king of Käçim Bäzär, Räjä Maëéndra Chandra Nandi, sent a distinguished gentleman to invite Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj to come to his palace. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj responded, “If I go to the palace of a king I may become greedy for money. Then my relationship with the Räjä will become unfriendly. Therefore it will be better if he leaves his wealth and family and friends and comes here to stay with me. I will build a home for him here like mine, out of another chhai (the covering of a boat), and together we will spend our time in hari-bhajan with great ecstasy.”
Even during cold winter nights, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj slept outdoors, on the bank of the Gaìgä, under his  chhai—the semi-cylindrical wooden covering of a boat, open at both ends. One can imagine how the cold night wind from the river would pass through the chhai. Thinking of this hardship someone insisted on leaving a quilt for Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. But instead of covering himself with the quilt, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj hung it on the inside wall of the chhai. When asked the reason for this, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj replied that just by seeing the quilt, he would not feel cold.
Sometimes some sincere Vaiñëav would come and stay with Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj as his servitor. Once he told his servitor, “Tomorrow we will observe the festival of Çréla Sanätan Däs Goswämé s disappearance day (tithi).” The servitor asked, “Where shall we ?nd the paraphernalia for the festival?” Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj said, “Do not tell anyone anything. Instead of eating our meal tomorrow, we will just chant Harinäm all day, without interruption. That is a festival for destitutes like us.”
The wife of Girish Bäbu (“Bäbu” is an honori?c), the owner of the Navadwép Dharmaçälä (guesthouse for pilgrims), wanted to build a cottage for Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj said, “I have no problem living under the chhai. My only problem is some insincere materialistic people always come to me and ask for my mercy. They do not want what is good for them, they only disturb my bhajan. If you let me live in one of your outhouses then these people will not go there and bother me.” Since Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj insisted on living in one of their outhouses, Girish Bäbu ?rst puri?ed it, then demolished it and had a new room built in its place.

Money Money!

Some people praised the interpretations of a famous speaker of Bhägavatam to Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. But Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj knew in his heart that the speaker was accepting money in exchange for bhägavat-kathä. So he said, “No, he is not interpreting Bhägavatam, he is talking about sense enjoyment. He is not saying ‘Krishna, Krishna’ or ‘Gaur, Gaur’, he is saying ‘money, money’! Kåñna-kathä does not manifest in one s mouth, when it becomes a means of earning a living.”
One person dressed as a Vaiñëav came with a companion to see Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. The companion started praising this person to Bäbäji Mahäräj. He said, “My prabhu here goes from one place to another to deliver the fallen souls. If he does not go to some place then what will happen to those people?” Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj became irritated and said, “If he travels to get some name, fame, power, position, and money in the name of delivering the fallen souls then he himself will become fallen. Instead of delivering the world, he will deceive the world.”
Once Çré Narendra Kumär Sen of Ägartalä came to Bäbäji Mahäräj and begged for Siddha Praëälé (revelation of one s eternal identity in the spiritual world). But Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj said, “One cannot know the Supreme Lord through imagination. When devotees sincerely chant Hari-näm, gradually the Lord reveals His real identity to them through the syllables of the holy name. At that time the devotees also come to know their own identities, and their favorite service also becomes manifest in their heart.”
One time a newly renounced person dressed in a loincloth succeeded in collecting a quarter of an acre of land in Çré Navadwép Dhäm from an employee of a rich landlady. Hearing this, Bäbäji Mahäräj became very angry and said, “Çré Navadwép Dhäm is a transcendental place. How is it possible for a materialistic landholder to own so much land here that this renunciate can be given a quarter of an acre? All the wealth of the world is not equal to one grain of sand in Navadwép. What is the spiritual asset of this person that he could acquire so much land in Çré Navadwép Dhäm?”
Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj had great insight, intuition, and vision. He could see inside people’s hearts, and he could also see, with his transcendental vision, things happening in far-away places. Once, as he was chanting and meditating on the bank of the Gaìgä, he suddenly started shouting, “Hey! Hey! Look what is happening! A dog is entering the Madan-mohan Temple!” Later the devotees there found out that a dog had indeed entered the Madan-mohan temple in Våndävan that day!

Bhagavat Business

One day one renunciate Bäbäji, Padmanabha Däs, came to Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj and asked for his permission to read from Çrémad Bhägavatam to the general public. But Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj remained silent. When Padmanabha Däs saw that Bäbäji Mahäräj did not give permission, he thought in his mind, “If I can study Bhägavat from someone who is dear to him, then perhaps I will get his permission.” So he approached Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura Prabhupäd and humbly requested that he teach him about Bhägavat. Çréla Prabhupäd said, “I cannot say anything without asking Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj ?rst.” Then Çréla Prabhupäd asked Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj about this, and Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj said, “This person is an insincere businessman. Even now he keeps a plate for collection when he reads from Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta. Then after he learns Bhägavat, he will start his Bhägavat business. This will be very harmful for him. You keep your door closed.” So Çréla Prabhupäd did not give Padmanabha Däs any instruction about Bhägavat. Eventually Padmanabha Däs went away. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj called Çréla Prabhupäd and told him, “Siddhänta Saraswaté Prabhu, come and sit near me.  I wasn’t angry with you. If Padmanabha Däs had gotten instruction from you and become a businessman, he would invite inauspiciousness to himself and to others. I did not want you to support that. That is why I asked you to keep your door closed.” Hearing this, Çréla Prabhupäd was very happy and offered his obeisances to Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj gave Çréla Prabhupäd the dust of his lotus feet and blessed him with great happiness.

Marriage and Devotion

One gentleman called Çré Çambhunäth Bandhopädhyäy, or Çambhu Bäbu, used to come to Çréla Prabhupäd and listen to his hari-kathä. After Çambhu Bäbu got married, he asked for Çréla Prabhupäd’s advice on how he could practice his devotional life while married. Çréla Prabhupäd told him there would be many obstacles to devotional practice for a married person. Hearing this, Çambhu Bäbu seemed very saddened. A few days after that, Çréla Prabhupäd came to see Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj along with some of his disciples such as Çréla Paramänanda Vidyäratna and Çambhu Bäbu. When Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj heard about Çréla Çambhu Bäbu’s marriage, he said, “Well, it is good that Çambhu Bäbu got married. Now every day he himself should cook for Krishna, and after offering it to Krishna, he should serve that prasädam ?rst to his wife. Thinking of his wife as a Vaiñëav, he should accept her remnants. Instead of thinking of her as someone to be enjoyed or exploited by him, if Çambhu Bäbu thinks of her more or less as his worshipable guru, then it will be very bene?cial for him. The whole world—all the money, wealth, men, and women—only exists for Krishna’s enjoyment. He should use Krishna’s property for Krishna s service. He should not think of his wife as his servitor. But he should respect her as the servitor of Krishna.” 
Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj was very much against any kind of insincerity or deceitfulness on the part of a devotee. He would call insincere devotees  monkey renunciates  (markaö vairägi). A monkey eats fruit and vegetables and roams in the forest wearing no clothes. So he bears some similarity with a renunciate. But actually he is very aggressive, greedy, and lusty. Those who take the garb of a renunciate and, forgetting how Çréman Mahäprabhu punished Chhoöa Haridäs, secretly engage in sense grati?cation and debauchery are called  monkey renunciates . Seeing so many monkey renunciates in the places of Vaiñëav pilgrimage, Çòéla Bäbäji Mahäräj became very unhappy. As if to express his own feelings about this, one day Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj wore a very fancy and expensive dhoti and chädar and appeared in Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura’s residence. Seeing Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj in these fancy clothes, Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura was very surprised. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj said, “It is better to wear fancy clothes than to wear the garb of a renunciate and secretly engage in sense grati?cation. Just see how these monkey renunciates have so much power and position. They are oppressors of the real Vaiñëav practice.”

How to See the Vaishnava

Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj usually would not give any instruction. But just by seeing him people felt their hearts were puri?ed. He preached by his own conduct or devotional practice (ächär). But sometimes he would deceive those materialistic people who would go to him with some ulterior motives; because they were not interested in hearing hari-kathä, he would not deliver hari-kathä to them. Instead he would let them speak about mundane things and they would leave without realizing that they had not received his mercy. Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura Prabhupäd wrote of him:
	Even after seeing Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji, many people—the immature and the clever, the young and the old, the scholarly and the foolish, those lacking devotion and those proud of their devotion—did not have the proper transcendental vision to see him. This is the transcendental power of a pure devotee. Hundreds of people came to him for his instruction, to ful?ll their material desires. But that instruction was actually deceiving them. Many people take the garb of sädhus, and many people outwardly act like sädhus, but in reality, not only are they not sädhus but they are very far from any sädhu. But there was no such impurity in my lord. By his own example he demonstrated that purity was truth. His genuine affection was incomparable to anything in this world. One who received that affection would consider the eight kinds of yogic perfection to be of no value. He had no dislike for his competitors or his enemies. Even to those who received his mercy, he did not demonstrate any external favor. He used to say, “In this world there is no one who is the object of my liking or disliking. I consider everyone to be respectable.” Another inconceivable thing was that some deceitful, materialistic people, whose mood was unfavorable to pure devotion, always used to surround my Gurudev without understanding his real position, and considering themselves objects of his affection, kept their attachment to petty things. But he did not outwardly make any effort to get rid of them, nor did he accept them in any way.
	
Divine Madness

	In The Madness of the Saints, University of Chicago Professor June McDaniel writes of Srila Babaji Maharaja,:
	“Although he wore his begging bowl as a hat, did his worship in an outhouse, and would beat with an umbrella Vaishnavas who wanted initiation from him, he was greatly respected by the Vaishnava community for his detachment and devotion. He spent thirty years in a state of intense love for Krishna, roaming about the various groves of the heavenly Vrindavan as a confidante of Sri Radha. He became well known as a perfected renunciant (siddha bäbaji) and liberated soul (paramahamsa) in Vraja and Navadwipa.
	 He wandered for many years through the villages in Vrindavan, continuously worshiping Krishna in the mood of rägänuga bhajan (spontaneous devotional love).
	In the year 1894, Jagannath Das Baba ordered him to leave Vraja and go to Bengal. He lived in Navadwipa from that year until his death. His behavior was considered unusual in Navadwipa. He would beg dry foods from householders and offer it as ritual food to Bhagavan. He would cook in used and rejected clay pots and would cover himself with the clothing of corpses left on the banks of the Ganges. He ignored the opinion of others (who felt this behavior to be impure) and would use rejected and unwanted things. Sometimes he would wear a rosary of tulsi beads around his neck or have it in his hands for counting the Holy Name; at other times he would use a rosary (mala) made of torn cloth with knots. He often roamed about naked or with his loincloth half untied.
	In his ecstatic moods (bhavas), distasteful foods became delicious to him. He would eat raw rice, or other grains, soaked in water or in Ganges mud. Srimati Lalita Didi of Radharamanbagh witnessed him at worship:
	“One day he picked up an unripe eggplant from the market and sat down at the base of a jhao tree at Baganbari. He cut the eggplant into pieces and dipped them into Ganges water and put a tulsi leaf on them. He offered them to his istadevata [personal deity] and sang a song of offering: “Bhaja patita uddharana, Sri Gaura Hari.” He then said, “I don’t know the right method of cooking this, but please eat a little of this food.” As soon as he said this his voice became choked, and his body turned bright red and began to swell, while tears flowed from his eyes in streams, soaking his face and chest. Seeing these signs of love, Lalita-didi was amazed. When the bhäva subsided nearly an hour later, he again sang a song. Putting Sri Gaura to sleep, he ate the unripe eggplant. His faced showed expressions of great pleasure and happiness, more intense than one would make if tasting païcämåta (nectar).”
	He would roam around Navadwipa with an iron pot, begging  for food. Often he wore the pot on his head. He went along the road saying, “Jaya Rädhe!” and the local people thought he acted like a madman (unmatavat). Little boys would run along behind him, and he would play with them: “When he saw a boy who was dark, he would think of him as Krishna, and the fair boy he thought of as Gaura. When the children would touch him, he would say, ‘Look Ma Yasoda, your Gopal has punched me!’ or  ‘Look Ma Saci, your Gaura is making a face at me!’”
	
13 Days of Ecstasy

	He would often fall into trances, madly calling out the name of Krishna. Once when he was living at the Ranis dharamsala (shelter), he began to shout loudly, “Ha, Krishna Chaitanya.” Other Vaishnavas heard him yelling only these words for hour after hour. They thought that, unless they could change his mood (bhäva), his throat would become torn and bloody. Several of them got together and began to shout, “Naraharir prana Gaura.” This changed the mood of Siddhababa, who began to shout, “Raghunandan, Raghunandan!” and then calmed down. Another time in that bhava, he locked the door of his meditation hut from within, and he stayed for thirteen days yelling, “Ha, Krishna Chaitanya,” crying continuously, slapping himself on the chest, and tearing at this hair.
	When he went for his bath, he would tie up, in a cloth, about or ten kilos of Ganges dust, and would do ritual worship while keeping it on his head. One day, Srijukta Radhadasi Mata of Baralghat asked him, “O Bäba, what is that on your head?” He smiled and replied, “Just see, Ma your crazy child. It is not certain when or where he will die, and for that reason, he keeps this Navadwipa Ganges dust on his head. If the body goes in any other place, then this dust of Gaura’s Ganges will be there.”
	Because he was disturbed by the people around him, he took to doing his meditation in unlikely places. For some time he stayed in the outhouse of Girishbabu and did his worship there. He also did his worship in the Rani’s outhouse, and purified it:
	
Bricks and Stones Singing Krishna’s Name 

	A devotee went to do his worship where Gaura Kishore did his—in the outhouse of the Rani’s dharamsala [a shelter for religious practitioners]. He perceived [anubhäva kore] that the bricks and stones were all singing Krishna’s name  [harinäma]. Seeing that by the power of Babaji’s chanting the name of Krishna, consciousness [chaitanya] had been infused even into unconscious objects, he left in amazement.”
	Gaura Kishore spent much time avoiding persons who wished to be disciples. He refused to have servants, and he cursed at his visitors, he would hit people who wanted to take initiation from him. Kedarnath Bhaktivinoda greatly desired initiation, and Gaura Kishore would hide from him—often in the veranda of a prostitute’s house near the bazaar. He considered it great fun to elude his pursuers.
	Gaura Kishore could not tolerate unsuccessful bhajana: “When there was no näma-spurti [manifestation of the name in meditation], he would often go to throw himself into the Ganges. He entered the water up to his neck and would only come out again when the name would appear.”
	He would also threaten suicide when his readings of sacred text were disturbed by outside noises. He was intensely emotional, with moods of strong joy and sorrow.
	In Navadwipa, at times he would worship with Thakur Bhaktivinode at the birthplace of Chaitanya, which had been recently found by Bhaktivinode and restored with images of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya and his wife, Vishnupriya. They would sing and dance, with their bodies undergoing the eight sättvika bhävas:

My dear mind, sing aloud
The blissful names of Nitai and Gaur
Delight O my mind
In the vision of Rädhä-Krishna’s
Sport in Vrindavan
Revealed to us through the mercy of Çré Gaur.
Everyone chant, Nitai-Gaur!

	Gaur Kishore’s divine madness was not recorded during childhood and adolescence—it is only described after he joined a renunciant Vaishnava order. His purity was proved by his immunity to impurity, or even his conquest of it (such as causing an outhouse to resonate with krishna-nama). He had inborn devotional love, like Krishna’s gopis, and its spontaneous nature was shown in his asastriya (not according to sastras or rules) behavior. He reversed many Vaishnava rules about purity and proper worship techniques, but thought constantly of Radha and Krishna, so he was a pure devotee and a liberated soul (paramahaàsa), beyond the rules of even Vaishnava society, and his madness was a participation in Radha’s state of divine passion (divyonmada).
	Gaura Kishore Das Babaji did not discuss his inner experiences. The reality of his handmaiden identification was deduced by the experts in the science of rasa and sometimes exhibited as his irrational and peculiar actions, which were seen as divine madness because of their focus on Krishna and Chaitanya. Unlike many sahajiya imitationists, he also had traditional Vaishnava initiations and was part of an accepted lineage; thus behavior not specifically Vaishnava (such as wearing his begging bowl on his head) was interpreted as eccentric rather than mad. Even his apparent impure behavior shows only the detachment of the liberated paramahamsa.”’
	There are two types of Vaishnavas, the viviktakänandi who lives the life of a recluse, internally absorbed in Krishna consciousness with few or no followers, and the gosthyänandi who extends his inner conception outward and as a result may inspire thousands of disciples. It is a question of inspiration and inspiration. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur considered himself a humble servant of Gaur Kishore Das Babaji and viewed his disciples  as extensions of his guru come to help him in his guru’s divine service.

Guru Sees Disciple As Guru

	Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj had inconceivable love and respect for his only disciple, Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura Prabhupäd. He told Çrépäd Jagadéç Bhaktipradép (later Çréla Bhaktipradép Tértha Mahäräj), who received his Harinäm initiation from Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura and his Dikñä initiation from Çréla Prabhupäd, “You should always associate with Saraswaté Prabhu. He is my spiritual master and an ideal Vaiñëav. Just see what kind of example of renunciation he has set, despite being the son of a wealthy person. Abandoning all kinds of bad association, he is earnestly serving the holy name, taking refuge in Çrédhäm Mäyäpur. His renunciation is incomparable. He is an intimate associate of Çré Rüpa and Çré Sanätan and my Mahäprabhu. You should also serve the Vaiñëavs with body, mind, and words. Always engage in näm-saìkértan—chant the holy name very loudly.” He referred to Çréla Prabhupäd as “my master” (ämär prabhu). If anyone came to him with an offering of some fruit or vegetable from Çréla Prabhupäd, Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj would accept that with great happiness and ask the devotee about Çréla Prabhupäd with great reverence and affection. One of Çréla Prabhupäd’s most dear and intimate disciples, Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna Prabhu, has left the following account: One day in 1911, by the order of Çréla Prabhupäd, I went to the Nutan Chaòä [on the bank of the Gaìgä] of Çré Navadwép Dhäm to have darçan of Oà Viñëupäd Çréla Gaurkiçor Bäbäji Mahäçay, with some green chilis to offer him. Bäbäji Mahäräj was an effulgent personi?cation of intense renunciation in the mood of pure love for Krishna. He would soak some rice or beans one day and eat that for up to seven days with some green chilis. When he heard that I had come from Çré Mäyäpur, he asked me, “How is my master? Please offer him my daëòavat. Please tell my lord he should set aside everything else and preach about Ñaö Sandarbha.” At that time I saw Vanamälé Bäbu in his association. In the afternoon many people came for his darçan. I heard that every day at that time many people would come to have darçan of his lotus feet. He would sit in front of his chhai and grant everyone the good fortune of having his darçan. I saw Bäbäji Mahäräj chanting Harinäm on a rag that he had knotted himself and turned into a mälä. He chanted Harinäm loudly for some time and ordered everyone present there to do so as well. Being so ordered by him, everyone chanted Harinäm loudly. Before evening I bowed down at his lotus feet and came back to Çrédhäm Mäyäpur. Translated from Saraswaté Jayaçré, Vol. I, p. 154 The songs written by Çréla Narottam Däs Öhäkura were very dear to Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj. He used to sing one of them all the time. The essence of all instruction is in that song: that song: gorä pa hu nä bhajiyä mainu
prema-ratana-dhana heläy häräinu

gorä pa-hu nä bhajiyä mainu
prema-ratana-dhana heläy häräinu

adhane yatan kari  dhana teyäginu
äpana karama-doñe äpani òubinu

sat-saìga chhäòi  kainu asate viläsa
te-käraëe lägila ye karma-bandha-phä?sa

viñaya viñama-viña satata khäinu
gaura-kértana-rase magana nä hainu

kena vä ächhaye präëa ki sukha lägiyä
narottam däsa kena nä gela mariyä 

“I am dying due to not worshipping Gora (Çré Gaurä–ga Mahäprabhu). Due to my negligence, I lost the great wealth of prema (Divine Love). Trying to take care of useless things, I lost my wealth. I am being drowned due to the reaction of my own bad karma. Giving up good association, I was enjoying sense pleasure in bad association, and for that reason the entanglement of karmic reaction became a noose around my neck. All the time I drank the terrible poison of material life. I did not absorb myself in the sweet nectar of Gaura-kértan (songs glorifying Çré Gaurä–ga Mahäprabhu). Why do I still have life? In the hope of what happiness am I still living? Why didn’t Narottam Däs just die?” Leaving the eternal glory of kåñna-prema in this world through his own unforgettable pastimes, Çréla Gaurkiçor Bäbäji Mahäräj disappeared from this world in the year 1915 (on the 30th of Kärttik) at the predawn hour to enter his eternal pastime.

Bibliography

Däs, Çré Hari-kåpä, Param Gurudev Prabhupäd Çré-çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté. Bombay: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, 1980.

Däs, Çré Hari-kåpä, Çré-çré Gaura-pärñad Charitävalé. Bombay: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, 1977.

Mahäräj, Çré Bhaktikusum Çramaë, Prabhupäd Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura. Mäyäpur, Nadiyä: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, 1940.

Mahäräj, Çré Bhaktivallabh Tértha, Çré Gaura-pärñad o Gauòiya Vaiñëav-ächärya-gaëer Saàkñipta Charitämåta. Calcutta: Çré Chaitanya Gauòiya Maöh, 1992.

Saraswaté Jayaçré, edited by Çré Sundaränanda Vidyävinod. Calcutta: Çré Chaitanya Gauòiya Maöh, 1935.

McDaniel, June, The Madness of the Saints: Ecstatic Religion in Bengal. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989.

Bhaktivinode Thakur

vande bhakti-vinodam sri gaura-shakti-svarupakam
bhakti-shastraj–a-samrajam radha-rasa-sudha-nidham

“I bow to Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur,
the personi?cation of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s potency,
the king of all those who know the scriptures and the ocean of the sweet rasa
which comes from Srimati Radharani.”

—Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami

	The ancient Vaiñëava line of pure devotional service which was spread by Madhvächärya in the thirteenth century was inconceivably enriched by Çré Kåñëa Chaitanya Mahäprabhu, the supremely merciful incarnation of Lord Kåñëa. Çréman Mahäprabhu appeared in 1486 in Navadwép, West Bengal to deliver the sinful living entities of Kali-yuga, the present age of hypocrisy and quarrel. He spread His movement of devotional love through congregational chanting of the holy name of Kåñëa (the Hare Kåñëa Mahämantra) and pure devotional service. Çréman Mahäprabhu is known as the most muni?cent incarnation, as He distributed pure love of God to innumerable people throughout India without consideration of their quali?cation. He predicted that one day His message of pure devotional love would spread all over the world. Under His guidance and instruction, His intimate associates and followers have given the world an immense wealth of Vaiñëava literature: the six goswämés (headed by Çréla Rüpa Goswämé) left a myriad of works, from the Bhakti-rasämåta Sindhu (a treatise on devotion) to the Hari-bhakti Viläs (a treatise on Deity worship); Çréla Våndävan Däs  häkur wrote the ?rst major biography of Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu, Çré Chaitanya Bhägavat, focusing on the early part of Çréman Mahaprabhu’s life; Srila Kåñëadäs Kaviräj Goswämé wrote the Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta, focusing on Çréman Mahäprabhu’s later pastimes. These are just a few examples, and the full extent and content of the Vaiñëava literature produced by Mahäprabhu’s followers are still known to only a few fortunate souls. 
	This pure devotional movement remained vibrant and continued even after the disappearance of Çréman Mahäprabhu. In fact, it brought one of the greatest spiritual awakenings in India for hundreds of years, leading to a renaissance of ancient Vedic culture. Unfortunately, the theology and practice of this pure devotional line were buried in ignorance and misconceptions during the nineteenth century in Bengal, Çréman Mahäprabhu’s birthplace. As many as thirteen pseudo-Vaiñëava groups (apasampradayas) claimed to be Vaiñëavas but did nothing more than arouse hatred and prejudice against Vaiñëavism in the minds of the general public, because of their practice of sense enjoyment in the name of religion. Such pseudo-Vaiñëavas are called Sahajéyäs (those who cheapen). Nineteenth-century India was under British Rule, and the oppressive and exploitative ruling class cared very little for the material prosperity or intellectual awareness of its subjects. In addition, some of the prominent intellectual representatives of the ruling class displayed extreme religious and cultural chauvinism, looking down upon the “native” culture and religious concepts as something that should be suppressed for the bene?t of all.  The so-called Brähmaë class, ignorant of their own spiritual heritage and morally weak, relentlessly imposed their sel?sh concocted religious edicts over all the other classes of India’s Hindu majority—a people already morally, socially and ?nancially feeble after more than four centuries of Muslim dominance. The spiritual and moral conciousness of the populace had fallen to new depths. Many educated and in?uential Bengalis were turning away from their own spiritual and cultural heritage. Some of them had joined the impersonalist religious cult called the “Brahma-Samäj”, founded in 1826 by Rämmohan Räy, and others were looking to the west for intellectual and social reform. But a new and great cultural and intellectual renaissance, yet to be recognized, was slowly taking place in Bengal. This is the background of the appearance of one of the greatest saints of the pure Vaiñëava line of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism—Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura.

Excerpt from the Autobiography  of  Bhaktivinode  Thakura

“I began to feel like my life had been spent uselessly. I had not accomplished anything. I had not been able to taste the nectar of the joy of serving Sri-Sri Radha-Kåñëa, the personification of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. If I could, I would have liked to retire from my job in a few years. Then I would go to Mathurä/Våndävana, and somewhere in the woods on the bank of the Yamuna I would make a little shelter for myself, so I could be a recluse and engage myself in devotional service. But due to my old habits, it would probably be hard on my body, so I should not live there alone. Perhaps I would have a companion.  Then I went to Tärakeswar on some errand. 
While I was sleeping there, Mahaprabhu came to me at night and said, “You are thinking of going to Vrndavana, but what about the work you are supposed to do in Navadwip, which is close to your home?”
	After I came back from Tärakeswar, every Saturday I would go from Krishnanagar 
to Navadwip to look for the places of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes. But I could not find anything, and that made me very sad. The people there are very concerned about making their own living. They do not make any effort to find the places of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes.
	One evening my son Kamal, a clerk, and I were standing on the rooftop looking around. It was about 10 o’clock at night, and it was dark and cloudy. Suddenly we happened to see a brightly lit mansion across the Ganges, to the north. When I asked Kamal he said he had also seen it. But Kerani Bäbu (the clerk) said he did not see anything. I was very amazed.
	In the morning I looked in that direction again from the rooftop of that house (the queen’s mansion) and noted that there was a palm tree there. When I asked the local people they told me that that place is called “Ballal Dighi” (the lake of the Ballälls). There is an old ruin there of the fort built by King Lakshman Sen. The following Monday I went to Krishnanagar, and the following Saturday I went to Ballal Dighi. Again that night I beheld that amazing sight. Later I went all around that place on foot, and by talking to the older residents I found out that this was Mahäprabhu’s birthplace. Eventually I visited all the villages where Mahäprabhu’s pastimes took place which are described in the Bhakti Ratnäkar by Srila Narahari Chakravarti and also in the Caitanya Bhagavat. I wrote Sri Navadwip Dhama Mahätmya and sent it to Calcutta to be printed.
In January of 1894 we had a big meeting in the Krishnanagar A.V. school. Many learned, rich and famous Bengalis came to that meeting. Dvärik Babu (the chief engineer of Nadia District, Dwärakanäth Sarakär) and I presented all the facts about Sri Mayapur in our speeches to all of those present. Everyone agreed with us and gave their blessings for starting devotional service in Mäyäpur, to recognize Mäyäpur as the birthplace of Mahäprabhu.”

Biography

	Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura, the son of Çré Änanda Chandra Datta (belonging to the famous lineage of the descendants of Çré Puruñottam Datta) and Çrémati Jagat-mohiné Devé, was born on Sunday, September 2nd, 1838, in Bérnagar (also known as Ulä Gräm) in Nadéyä district, West Bengal, in the house of his rich and famous maternal grandfather, Çré Éçwar Chandra Mustauphi. His parents named him “Kedarnäth”.
	Most of his childhood was spent in the opulent household of his maternal grandfather in Bérnagar. Bérnagar was a very beautiful and prosperous village, with a happy and carefree populace. The sounds of laughter, music, poetry, and storytelling could be heard in all the neighborhoods, garden paths, and bathing ghäös. Çré Kedarnäth was a lovable child who made friends with a lot of people in his household and in the village. As an extremely intelligent child, he made friends with a lot of adults and asked them a lot of questions. He was very inquisitive about spiritual matters, and most of his questions were about the nature of Divinity, the nature of the living entities, and the relationship between the two. Unfortunately, almost all his spiritual inquiries were met with half-baked, confusing answers. 
	From early childhood his unusual talent for writing was noticed. He would go anywhere if he could hear about the Rämäyaë and the Mahäbhärat. By the time he was six years old he had mastered the facts and history therein. When he was nine he started studying astrology. 
	Ten-year-old Çré Kedarnäth was full of spiritual questions which he would ask many different people—the person who crafted the deity form of Goddess Durgä, the Muslim guard of his grandfather’s treasury, his teacher in school, his uncle at home, and so forth. He has written about these conversations in his autobiography, in his own unique, interesting, lucid, storytelling way. It seems that he had some deep conviction in his heart about a monotheistic personal God, and he knew that God to be Räma, or Kåñëa. As a little boy he was very attached to the chanting of the name of Räma.
	He lost his father at the age of eleven and when he was twelve, he was married, according to his mother’s desire, to his ?rst wife, the daughter of Çré Madhusudan Mitra. He referred to the  arrangement of his childhood marriage (not uncommon in those days) as “playing with dolls”. Even though he viewed the situation this way, he did not protest.
	He was ?rst educated at a Sanskrit öol (elementary school) where he learned Sanskrit, Bengali, and arithmetic. Lather, when he was seven, his grandfather Çré Mustauphi Mahäçay sent him to an English-medium school in Krishnanagar, called “Krishnanagar College”. Çré Kedarnäth excelled in English, and received a class promotion and an award. Some time later, some educated men organized an English school in Ulä in the parlor of Çré Kedarnäth’s uncle’s house. Again Çré Kedarnäth excelled in reading and reciting, and learned Bengali and mathematics as well. In his mind he always pondered over spiritual matters. Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura wrote, “Even while Father was living I began to become a little thoughtful. ‘What is this world? Who are we?’ These two questions were in my mind when I was ten years old. On some days I thought I had the answers, on other days I had none.”
	When Çré Kedarnäth was fourteen his maternal grandfather, Çré Mustauphi Mahäçay, passed away. So, he went to Calcutta with his mother, Çrématé Jagat-mohiné Devé. His maternal uncle, Käçiprasäd Ghosh, requested Çrématé Jagat-mohiné Devé to come to his house near the corner of Heduä and Beadon Street along with her children. She did not want to live in Calcutta, so she left Çré Kedarnäth with his uncle and went back to Ulä. Çré Käçiprasäd Ghosh was highly educated and was well-known in the intellectual society of Calcutta. He enrolled Çré Kedarnäth at the local school, called Hindu Charitable Institution. Çré Kedarnäth studied there for four years, and at this time displayed his mastery of the English language. Some of his articles in English were published in “Hindu Intelligence”, a prestigious newspaper.
	In 1856 Çré Kedarnäth enrolled in the Hindu School, which became the University of Calcutta. Among his classmates there were Çré Satyendra Näth Tagore and Çré Ganendra Näth Tagore (brothers of the famous poet Çré Rabéndra Näth Tagore, who became a Nobel laureate in 1913). While Çré Kedarnäth was at the Hindu School, various intellectuals—such as Professor Clint, Reverend Duff, and Keçav Chandra Sen (who afterwards became a leader of the impersonalist cult, the Brahma Samäj)—were attracted to him because of his literary talent and his mastery of the English language. At this time he also came in contact with a member of the British Parliament, George Thompson, who taught him how to be an effective orator.
	In 1856, Çré Kedarnäth published his book of English poetry, Poriyed. Reverend Duff and others praised it highly and encouraged him to continue writing. Some of his English poems were published in the magazine called the Library Gazette. He read extensively from Sanskrit and Bengali literature, as well as the writings of various European authors. Among them were Addison, Carlyle, Hazlitt, Macaulay, Goethe, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, and Voltaire. The members of the British Indian Society were very impressed by his scholarly speeches. 
	He also studied the impersonalist Brahmo religion, Christianity, and Islam. In particular he studied the Bible and the Koran, and he also studied the work of Channing, Newman, and Theodore Parker. Çré Kedarnäth wrote in his autobiography that he preferred Christianity to Brähmoism because of the idea of a personal God. The eldest son of Maharñi Debendranäth Tagore, Çré Dwéjendranäth Tagore (the eldest brother of the poet Rabéndranäth Tagore), was a close friend of his. Together they studied many books about philosophy and religion. Çré Kedarnäth called Çré Dwéjendranäth Tagore “Baòa Dädä” (“big brother”), and in his autobiography, Çré Kedarnäth has mentioned that he appreciated Baòa Dädä’s liberal character and they had mutual affection for each other. Later he refuted many of Baòa Dädä’s impersonalist arguments in his spiritual novel, Prem Pradép.
	In 1858, Çré Kedarnäth set forth for Puré. On the way, he stopped at Chhuöégräm to visit his paternal grandfather, Räjvallabh Datta. Çré Räjvallabh Datta blessed Çré Kedarnäth, saying that one day he would become an exalted Vaiñëava. Shortly after that, he passed away. Then Çré Kedarnäth went to Çré Jagannäth Puré, where he passed the teaching examination. Then he got a job as a teacher in Cuttack.
	Later the famous Bengali scholar, educator, and social reformer, Éçwar Chandra Vidyäsägar, who was Çré Kedarnäth’s teacher and mentor, recommended him for the job of headmaster in the high school in Bhadrak. It was in Bhadrak that his ?rst son, Annadä Prasäd, was born. In 1860, he wrote his Maöhs of Orissa in English, which was praised by the historian Sir William Hunter. His next work was Bijaìgräm, written in Bengali in amiträkñar chhanda, unrhymed meter. This is the ?rst work ever published in unrhymed meter in the history of Bengali literature, contrary to the notion that Michael Madhusudan Datta was the ?rst to use it in Bengali. This long poem was written after Çré Kedarnäth went to see the devastation of his childhood village of Ulä by an epidemic. The former beauty, prosperity, and joyfulness of Ulä were contrasted with its destruction by disease and subsequent desolation. Due to his mastery of imagery and narration, the poem makes a very vivid and lasting impression on the reader’s mind.
	Çré Kedarnäth entered the civil service and, in 1866, at the age of twenty-eight, became Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector at Chhäprä. There he found a Muslim teacher to teach him Urdu and Persian. In March of 1868, he was appointed Deputy Magistrate at Dinajpur.
	The local zamindar of Dinajpur, Kamal Lochan Räya, was a descendant of Rämänanda Vasu, who was a follower of the path of Vaiñëavism as propagated by Çréman Mahäprabhu. Therefore Kamal Lochan Räya favored the concept and practice of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism. Çré Kedarnäth was very happy to associate with the Vaiñëavas there, and to ?nd copies of Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta and a Bengali translation of Çrémad Bhägavatam, as well as Bhakta-mälä. By reading Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta again and again, he became very attracted to Çréman Mahäprabhu and spent many hours studying and analyzing the path of pure Vaiñëavism. In his autobiography, he has written, “From this time, I started thinking of Çré Chaitanya Dev as the Supreme Lord. The seed of faith in Vaiñëava religion in my heart fully sprouted at this time. I loved to read Vaiñëava scripture night and day.” At that time he used to submit his questions to the Supreme Lord with great sincerity and pray for His mercy. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to Champäraë for a few months, and then to Puré. There his dedication to Çréman Mahäprabhu’s path grew very intense. (Actually, to a student of Vaiñëavism, it is readily apparent that Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura was an eternally liberated soul, and an eternal associate of Çréman Mahäprabhu. So one should not assume that he became a great devotee of Çréman Mahäprabhu at one particular point in his life, even though externally it might seem that way. Also not very much time elapsed between his ?rst contact with Çréman Mahäprabhu’s associates and the beginning of his writing and preaching about pure Vaiñëavism, and yet his knowledge and realization of Vaiñëavism were practically endless. It was not humanly possible to know and realize so much in such a short time.)
	When Çré Kedarnäth went to Puré with his family, he was deeply absorbed in his study and meditation on Çréman Mahäprabhu. Therefore he was looking forward to going to Puré, where Çréman Mahäprabhu performed the last twenty-four years of His pastimes. The books on Çréman Mahäprabhu’s pastimes, such as Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta and Çré Chaitanya Bhägavat, were Çré Kedarnäth’s constant companions. He also studied other Vaiñëava scriptures, such as Çrémad Bhägavatam and its commentary by Çrédhar Swämé. At this time, other scholars of Puré, such as Gopénäth Paëòit, Hariharadäs Paëòit, and Märkendeya Paëòit, who had previously studied the Nyäya and the Vedänta, started associating with Çré Kedarnäth and studying Çrémad Bhägavatam with him. Çré Kedarnäth also studied the Vaiñëava literature written by the six goswämés. Scholars and spiritually inquisitive people listened with great interest to his discussions of Vaiñëava philosophy at the daily meetings held at the temple of Çré Jagannäth. In 1874, Çré Kedarnäth’s fourth son, Çré Bimalä Prasäd (Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda) was born in Puré. Altogether Çré Kedarnäth remained in Puré for ?ve years.
	Subsequently he was transferred to different places in Bengal, and he visited the principal Vaiñëava holy places. In 1878 he was transferred to Naòäl, in Jessore district, where he became very popular as a great Vaiñëava magistrate. Many kértan singers used to come to sing their songs to him. There he published his Kåñëa Saàhitä in 1880 and Kalyäëa Kalpataru, a collection of his own poems, in 1881. Kåñëa Saàhitä was highly praised throughout India. In Naòäl Çré Kedarnäth was initiated by Çré Bipië Vihäré Goswämé. He followed all Vaiñëava practices very strictly. He decided to interest educated people in Gauòéya Vaishnavism, and therefore started a Bengali monthly, Sajjana Toñaëé, the ?rst Vaiñëava newspaper. After three years in Naòäl he went on a pilgrimage for three years to Ällähäbäd, Ayodhyä, Benares, Våndävan, and so forth. In Våndävan he met Çréla Jagannäth Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj, who was considered the leader of the Gauòéya Vaiñëavas. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj became his religious guide and helped him with his missionary work. In 1886 the goswämés of Våndävan gave him the title Bhaktivinod. Previously, he had written Çré Chaitanya Gétä under the name of Sachchidänanda Premälaìkara, and so he became known as Çréla Sachchidänanda Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura.
	Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura began the greatest mission of his life: preaching Gauòéya Vaiñëavism through books and lectures. He founded the Vaiñëava Depository, a printing press. The books which set forth Vaiñëava philosophy were in Sanskrit. He undertook the exposition of the Gauòéya Vaiñëava philosophical system to the educated public in a simple and readable form. His style was sweet, free-?owing, lucid, and readable. He was a great master of Bengali prose, and in his hand it became a perfect medium for scholarly concepts expressed in a simple and attractive way. One retired professor from the University of Calcutta, who is well-known by his pen name, Vänärasénäth Bharadväj, wrote a book about the extraordinary contribution of Çré Kedarnäth Datta to nineteenth- and twentieth-century Bengali literature. He called him “the undiscovered literary genius of Bengal”. Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura’s work Çré Chaitanya Çikñämåta demonstrates his integration of Gauåiya Vaiñëava philosophy with that of other schools. Subsequently he published Bhagavad-gétä with its commentary by Viçwanäth Chakravarté and his own Bengali commentary, Rasik-ra–jana, as well as Gunaräj Khän’s Kåñëa Vijaya. Many educated people from all classes became his disciples. 
	Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura had a dream in which Çréman Mahäprabhu commanded him to render service to Navadwép, the birthplace of the Lord, which had fallen into obscurity. Very soon thereafter Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura was transferred to Krishnanagar as Subdivisional Magistrate. He went there with great joy, hoping to ?nd the place where his beloved Çréman Mahäprabhu had been born. While in Puré he had obtained Narahari Chakravarté’s Bhaktiratnäkara and a book by Paramänanda Däsa, which greatly aided his archeological investigation. After much effort, he succeeded in ?nding the birthplace of Çréman Mahäprabhu. With the help of the scriptures and his own research, conducted by asking the local people about the history of the surrounding place, he was able to pinpoint the very birthsite of Çréman Mahäprabhu. He also got help from government surveyors and engineers and consulted government maps. His ?ndings were supported by the most revered Vaiñëava devotee of the time, Çréla Jagannäth Däs Bäbäji Mahäräj. At a meeting in Krishnanagar attended by many Vaiñëava devotees, scholars, and inquisitive educated people, Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura presented his ?ndings about the birthsite of Çréman Mahäprabhu. Everyone was completely satis?ed with his ?ndings, and very respectfully agreed to help him to establish the site.
	Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura then composed his Navadwép Dhäm Mähätmya, glorifying each place within the boundary of Navadwép, which was published in the same year. He established “Çré Navadwép Dhäm Prachäriëé Sabhä” (Society for the Glori?cation of Çré Navadwép Dhäm) in 1894, with the ruling prince of Tripurä as its president. The society established a temple at the birthsite of Çréman Mahäprabhu and installed the deities of Çré Çré Gaura-Viñëupriyä there. From then on daily deity worship as well as periodic festivals were maintained. On this occasion, a great festival took place, which was attended by thousands of devotees. Çréla Öhäkura Mahäçay established “Çré Mäyäpur Sevä Samiti” (Organization for the Service of Çré Mäyäpur), and exalted Vaiñëava devotees, as well as many distinguished citizens from all over Bengal, became members of this society. Thus he established Çrédhäm Mäyäpur as the bona ?de birthplace of Çréman Mahäprabhu. All his life he stressed the importance of developing Çrédhäm Mäyäpur, and by his effort, and the effort of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté  Öhäkura Prabhupäda, Çrédhäm Mäyäpur later was developed into a town of temples. 
	In 1896, Çréla  Öhäkura Mahäçay started travelling on his preaching mission. First he went to the state of Tripurä, on the invitation of the Mahäräja of Tripurä, and gave lectures to the assembled scholars and intellectuals. On the ?rst day he talked about pure Vaiñëavism and the glories of Harinäm, and on the following two days he talked about Çréman Mahäprabhu’s pastimes. The spiritually inquisitive people of Tripurä, who had never heard such a presentation, realized the beauty of Vaiñëavism. After returning from Tripurä, Çréla  Öhäkura Mahäçay preached in the villages of Bengal and the areas surrounding Calcutta. At the same time, he wrote and published much Vaiñëava literature. His books were widely read and appreciated, and he was given the honor of being made a Member of the Royal Asiatic Society (MRAS) in London.
	The famous scholar and writer Shishir Kumär Ghosh, who was the founder and editor of the Amrita Bäzär Patrikä of Calcutta, read some of the books written by Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura. He became a great admirer and follower of Çréla Bhaktivinod  häkur, and began coming to him to listen to his hari-kathä. He requested Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura to preach widely in Calcutta. Shishir Kumär Ghosh, who had great in?uence over the intellectual section of Calcutta, called Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura “the seventh Goswämé”. Very soon Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura became known for his simple and saintly character, his unlimited knowledge of the scriptures, and his uncompromising stand on the pure Vaiñëava concepts, which he upheld through his own conduct and preaching (ächär and prachär).
	Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura was a proli?c writer of Vaiñëava literature. His poetry and prose bear testimony to his extraordinary literary talent. In his literary style, Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura was much ahead of his time. No other ächärya has presented so much Vaiñëava philosophy in such simple, and yet extremely attractive, Bengali prose. Even today, his books are easy for the common people to understand. He has systematically explained many Vaiñëava practices that all Vaiñëava devotees must know and follow in their personal lives.
	In the beginning of the twentieth century, Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura established his own Bhakti Kuthi in Puruñottam Dhäm (Jagannäth Puré) in order to preach and practice pure devotion. Later he established another bhajan kuöir in Çré Godrum, Navadwép Dhäm, called Çré Svänanda-sukhada-ku–ja. Çréla Gaurkiçor Däs Bäbäji, who had great respect for Çréla  Öhäkura Mahäçay, used to come there and spend many hours discussing hari-kathä with him. Çréla Bäbäji Mahäräj also encouraged other devotees to surrender unto the lotus feet of Çréla  Öhäkura Mahäçay. Çréla  Öhäkura Mahäçay saw Çréla Saraswaté  Öhäkura as the next ächärya in the Gauòéya Vaiñëava line, and he greatly encouraged Çréla Saraswaté  Öhäkura in his preaching work by giving him instruction and inspiration.
	In 1908, Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura accepted the paramahaàsa veñ (the garb of a Vaiñëava renunciate). On June 23rd, 1914, on the disappearance day of Çré Gadädhar  Öhäkura, Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura left this material world to enter the afternoon pastime of Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa. 
	Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura captured the hearts of the people of Bengal and interested them in Vaiñëavism through his sweet transcendental personality, his powerful writing, and his extensive preaching. Throughout Bengal great sadness was felt at his disappearance, but the Vaiñëava devotees knew that Çréla Bhaktivinod  Öhäkura’s message would be carried on by his worthy successor, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda.

Bibliography

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Vallabh Tértha, Çré Gaura-pärñad o Gauòéya Vaiñëavächärya-gaëer Saàkñipta Charitämåta, vol. 2, Calcutta: Çré Chaitanya Gauòéya Maöh, 1994.

Mahäräj, Çréla Bhakti Viläs Tértha. Introduction to Jaiva Dharma, by Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. Mädräs: Çré Gauòéya Maöh, 1976.

Saraswaté Jayaçré, ed. by Çrépäd Sundaränanda Vidyävinod, Calcutta: Çré Gauòéya Maöh, 1934.

Vidyäratna, Çrémad Paramänanda, Çréla Bhaktivinod  Thäkur, Mäyäpur: Çré Chaitanya Maöh, 1976.

Bhaktivinode  Thakur’s  Vision

	As an example of the quality of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura’s books and his unparalleled spiritual depth, the following are his concluding words to the Bhägavata-arka maricimäla, The Brilliant Rays of Çrémad Bhägavatam:
	 “How I got the inspiration to compile this book is a divine mystery. At first I felt it improper on my part to disclose this, as it might be bridging spiritual conceit. But subsequently, I realized that it would be a slight to my spiritual master, which might stand as an obstacle on the path of my spiritual progress. Therefore, without any shame I record the fact that while under the benediction of my Guru, Çré Bipin Behari Goswämé, who belonged to the great heritage of Öhäkura Vaàçévadänanda, a faithful follower of my Lord Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu, I would read Çrémad Bhägavatam. One day, while I was deeply penetrating Çrémad Bhägavatam, I had a vision of Çré Svärupa Dämodara, the right-hand personal adherent of Mahäprabhu.  He instructed me to compile slokas of Çrémad Bhägavatam in accordance with the principles of sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana, as laid down by Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu. In this way that book would be easily understood,  extremely interesting, and absolutely delightful to the loving devotees of the Lord. Çré Svärupa Dämodara Prabhu further guided me by giving a wonderful explanation of the first sloka of Çrémad Bhägavatam, and also showed me how to explain the slokas in the light of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy.
	Therefore, under the direction of Svärupa Dämodar Prabhu I, Bhaktivinod, humbly compiled this book. With the utmost humility and sincerity, I crave the blessings of the readers, as well as the listeners, of this holiest of holy books.
	Finally, I dedicate this work to the lotus feet of Çré  Krishna Chaitanya Mahäprabhu.”

Prabhupada’s Precepts
Guru Puja—Worship of Sri Guru

	We have taken upon ourselves the responsibility of welcoming this grave charge. Everyone in the audience has accepted an ordinary seat, I alone have been provided with a lofty sitting place. Everyone is being told in effect, “Do have a look at a big animal from the zoo-gardens. What arrogance! So foolish! So wicked! Have you ever seen such a big brute! Garlands of flowers have been put around his neck! What laudations! What bombastic long-drawn, and hyperbolic adjectives! And how complacently too he is listening to the praise of his own achievements, how intently, and with his own ears! He also evidently feels delighted in mind! Is he not acting in plain violation of the teaching of Mahaprabhu? Can such a big brute, so selfish and insolent, ever be reclaimed from brutishness?”
	
By My Command, Be Guru, Deliver this Land

	I happen to be one of the greatest of fools. No one offers me good advice an account of my arrogance. Inasmuch as nobody condescends to instruct me I placed my case before Mahaprabhu Himself. The thought occurred to me that I would make over the charge of myself to Him and see what He would advise me to do. Then Sri Chaitanyadeva said to me, “Who-so-ever you meet, instruct him regarding Krishna, by My command, be guru; deliver this land. In this you will not be obstructed by the current of the world. You will have My company again at this place.”
	In these verses is to be found the proper explanation of the apparent inconsistency noticed above. He whose only teaching is humility greater even than a blade of grass, said - “By My command, be guru ; save this land!” In this instance Mahaprabhu Himself has given the command. His command being, “Perform the duty of the guru , even as I perform it myself. Also convey this command to whom ever you chance to meet.” Chaitanyadeva says, “Tell them these very words, viz. ‘By My command, be guru ; save this land. Deliver the people from their foolishness.’” Now whomever would happen to hear these words would naturally protest with folded palms joined. “But I am really a great sinner; how can I be guru ? You are Godhead Himself, the Teacher of the world. Only you can be Guru.”
	To which Mahaprabhu replies, “In this you will not be obstructed by the current of the world. You will have my company again at this place.” Therefore, in this case, in telling others about Krishna, there is no risk of forgetting Him.
	This thing called the world troubles us; color, taste, smell, touch, and sound dash themselves against us in mighty waves. For this reason it does not pay to be worldly minded. Sri Chaitanya said, “Those who wish to get across the sea of worldliness, those who are intent on serving God, and are free from desire for all other objects, the very sight of worldly people and looking at the opposite sex with the spirit of enjoyment is worse than swallowing poison.”
	
God is shut out

Those who want to be employed in the service of God should never cast a covetous eye on any worldly object. By the vision of the partial, external, physical world the vision of God is shut out. No sooner does the world, or, in other words, anything perceivable by the senses, present itself, than it at once causes forgetfulness of the Lord; and all of those persons who are connected with the absolute truth begin to look small. One who is moving forward on the path of devotion with the object of serving Krishna should, therefore, by all means avoid worldly persons.
	It is necessary for the best to scrutinize one’s ineligibility. Why should a person be anxious to pry into defects of others when he does not seek to scrutinize his own conduct? On the other hand, even those who are low on the scale of service, meaning less committed, may attain a higher level. Let us remember the instruction, “Not to speak ill of persons who listen to and remember with care the instructions of the spiritual scriptures and the saints. Even those who live by sin can know Krishna and prevail over His deluding power if, they follow the conduct of the devoted servants of the Lord who covers all the worlds by His wonderful strides.”
	
Do Not Imitate the Vaishnava

	Those who are fit possess abundant power of devotion. They are strong. I should not apply myself to find out the shortcomings of the Vaishnavas, or to condemn the service of Lord Krishna or to seek to establish my own point of view by neglecting the method by which I may be enabled to serve the Lord and His devotees. No language can describe the havoc that is wrought in human life by such arrogance. We make this submission with all humility, “May you kindly refrain from merely imitating the conduct of the Vaishnavas. May you always follow in their line of thought.” There is no relationship for us other than with the devotees of Krishna. Relationship with other persons can only aggravate the desire for sensual gratification.
	Do not practice the craft of being guru  for the purpose of injuring others through malice. Do not adopt the trade of a guru in order to get immersed in the slough of this world. But if you can, indeed, be My guileless servant; you will be endowed with my power - then you need not fear.” I have no fear, my gurudeva has heard this from his gurudeva. And it is for this reason that my gurudeva  has accepted even such a great sinner as myself and has told me, “By My command, be guru ; save this land.” It is only those who have never heard these words of Gaurasundara who say, “How odd! To listen to one’s own praise!
	While the guru  is instructing his disciple in the eleventh skandha  of the Bhagavatam  what a great sin, in their opinion, he is perpetuating! What is the acharya to do when he has to explain the sloka: acharyam am vijaniyam, “Never disregard the acharya . Never entertain that the acharya  is your equal in any sense.”
	These are the words of Sri Krishna Himself by which the jiva  is to be benefitted. Is the guru  to desert his seat – the seat of the acharya  – from which these words are to be explained? That office his gurudeva  has conferred on him. If he does not act up to its requirements he is doomed to perdition by reason of his offense against the holy name in the shape of disrespect towards the guru . He has to do it in spite of the fact that such procedure is apparently open to the charge of egotism. When the guru  imparts the mantra  to the disciple should he not tell him by this guru-gayatri-mantra  to worship the guru ? Should he say instead, “Give the guru  a few strokes of the shoe or horse whip?” The guru  is never to be decried. The guru  is the abode of all the gods. Should gurudeva  abstain from communicating these words to his disciple while reading the Bhagavatam  to him? “To him alone who possesses guileless spiritual devotion, similar to the transcendental devotion that is due to Krishna himself, to the gurudeva, the holy mysteries are manifested.” Is the gurudeva  not to tell these things to his disciple?
	Gurupuja , the worship of the guru, has precedence over all others. The guru  is to be served just as Krishna is served. The guru  is to be worshiped in a particular way. Is the guru  to desert his seat without telling all these things to the disciple? In the emancipated state no defect is possible, this simple truth ordinary foolish people entirely fail to grasp.
	In a sense guru  is like the hand attached to the body of God. Who is all-existence, all-intelligence, and all-bliss (sat-chit-ananda-vigraha ). With His hand God rubs His own feet. The hand of God is His own limb. In this case God is serving Himself. God, Himself appears as the guru  in order to teach how to serve Himself. Our gurudeva  is also one with the body of God. There is God to be served, there is also God who serves; God as object and God as support. Mukunda is God to be served, He is the object, God. The most beloved of Mukunda, Sri Gurudeva, is serving God the support. There is no one so dearly loved by God as our gurudeva . He alone is the best beloved of the Lord.
	Our gurudeva  has said, “Oh my mind, whether it be religion that has been prescribed, or irreligion that has been forbidden by the Vedas, you need perform neither. Placed as you are in this world, propagate the unstinted service of Sri Radha-Krishna in Vraja and recollect unceasingly the darling son of Sri Saci, Sri Gaurasundara, knowing Him to be non-different from the son of Nanda, Krishna, and the guru , know Him to be the best beloved of Krishna. In the gossta, in Navadwipa-Vaikuntha-Swetadwipa—Vrndavana, never stint in your regards for the denizens of Navadwipa and Vraja inasmuch as they are the servitors of Gaura Krishna. Do not condemn the Vaishnavas nor the brahmins .”
	For example, if having sat down to a meal, assuming gentle manners, we choose to take insufficient food, thereby the belly will not be filled; if we cheat the smith in the matter of steel; if not being able to understand how to do a sum in Mathematics we feel ashamed and do not confess our ignorance to our teacher—in any case no success will be gained. Likewise if we desire the service of God but have no regard for His dearmost then we will never be satisfied.
	Hypocritical sectarians, pseudo-Vaishnava sects, those sects that cherish internally the longing for earthly fame, and others naturally think, “What a shame it is for one to listen to the eulogies of disciples occupying the seat of the guru.” But every Vaishnava regards everyone of the Vaishnavas as the objects of his veneration. I am doing the duty of the guru, but if I preach that no one should shout, “jaya!” to me, it would be nothing short of duplicity. Our gurudeva  has not taught such insincerity. Mahaprabhu has not taught such insincerity. The word of Krishna has come down to gurudeva . I have to obey it in all sincerity. I will not disrespect the guru at the insistence of any foolish or malicious sectarians. Especially as Sri Gurudeva has directed me saying, “By my command, be guru ; save this land.”
	If I disobey the law which has come down to me through the chain of preceptorial succession, the offense, due to omission to carry out the command of the guru, will sever me from the lotus feet of Sri Gurudeva. If, in order to carry out the command of the guru , I have to be arrogant, brutish, to suffer eternal perdition, I am prepared to welcome such eternal damnation and even sign a pact to that effect. I will not listen to the words of other malicious persons in lieu of the command of the gurudeva. I will dissipate, with indomitable courage and conviction, the currents of thought of all the rest of the world, relying on the strength derived from the lotus feet of Sri Gurudeva. I confess to this arrogance. By sprinkling a particle of the pollen of the lotus feet of my preceptor, crores of people like you will be saved. There is no such learning in this world, no such sound reasoning in all the fourteen worlds, no mangods, that can weigh more than a solitary particle of the dust of the lotus feet of my gurudeva. Gurudeva in whom I have implicit trust can never spite me. I am by no means prepared to listen to the words of any one who wants to hurt me or to accept such a malicious person as my preceptor.
	In the presence of Sri Chaitanyadeva, Sri Swarupa Damodara said, “Oh ocean of mercy, Sri Chaitanya, on the manifestation of your mercy the dust in the shape of mental disquietude is easily wafted from the heart and the heart quickly becomes cleaned of any impurities. Then is manifested, in the clean heart, the highest bliss born of devotion to Sri Krishna. The conflicting interpretations of the sastras  give rise in the mind to opposing speculations which only cause perpetual strife. Only by obtaining your mercy is the favored heart intoxicated with the elixir of the devotion to God whereupon the wranglings of the shastra  cease to disturb. Your mercy promotes perennial devotion, in other words, directs all jiva  souls from hankering after objects other than Krishna, conducting them to the very pinnacles of beatitude. Oh ocean of kindness, Sri Chaitanya, may that non-evil producing mercy of yours be poured down upon me.”
	When Sri Swarupa Damodara speaks these words to Sri Chaitanyadeva, the Lord does not avoid listening to them. Yet in order to teach humility to foolish people, He exhibits at times another line of conduct, observing, “Such words should not be addressed to me,” but not for the purpose of teaching duplicity. Ignorant people naturally entertain doubts. I have learned from my gurudeva  that, “I am certainly as contemptible as the maggot in stool.” But when our gurudeva , by command of his guru , by command of Mahaprabhu, conducts himself in the aforesaid manner, may no one cast offense at his feet.
	It is only when we have occasion to listen to the praises of the Supreme Object, and they react in our hearts, that we may learn about our utter worthlessness. The Vaishnavas’ profound humility and obedience teach us that it is never possible to approach God and His devotees except by such humble submission. If we learn to be arrogant, we will surely be deprived of the service to God and His devotees for good. “There are persons who do not worship His devotees while worshipping God. Verily they are arrogant persons and not worshippers of God at all.” In the matter of worship, God and His devotees are to be equated. If the same devotion with which we worship God is not aroused in our hearts to the feet of His devotees, we are rendered perfectly worthless, and we have lived in vain.
	All of them are instructing me about the highest service of God. May we be ever ready to sweep away from our hearts, by the rough application of hundreds of thousands of pointed broomsticks, the wicked design of desiring to be honored above other persons by the devotees of the Lord. Krishna will be merciful to us and we shall be blessed with the gift of devotion to His Divine Feet the very day that we are delivered from the evil desire of seeking advantages and honors from others. A person is relieved from all ineligibilities by being imparted fitness for the service of God. Immoral men and women, sudras, and the rest may look condemnable and contemptible in the eyes of the world for their evil deeds. But even such persons are enabled to attain the eternal good by noting the model disposition of the devotees of God, who honor all persons without requiring to be honored, and by following their conduct and teaching. Let us end with the text already quoted, “There are those who worship God but do not worship His devotees. Verily such persons are arrogant sinners. They are not worshippers of God at all. Let the censorious people calumniate us to their heart’s content. We will not mind them. Let us roll in the dust and forget everything in the ecstasy of intoxication by excessively drinking the strong and tasty wine of the love of Lord Hari.”

Preaching in the West
The Beginning 

	The happy day has come when we are destined to spread the message of our Great Master to distant corners of the earth. The spiritual service to which we are dedicated has now passed the bud-stage and blown fully into a flower whose aroma we have to carry across the seas with that willingness which characterized Sri Hanuman when he leapt over the wide ocean with the message of Sri Rama. This extension of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s spiritual gift to foreign countries is our humble offering at His Feet.
	The Words of instruction of Sri Gaursundar are verily His beautiful body; the preachers of His Word through the ages are His secondary limbs; the teaching of Sri Gaurasundar is His potent weapon; and the Grace of Sri Hari Himself established in the Word of Sri Chaitanya is His eternal associate. Therefore, for the purpose of truly presenting Sri Gaurasundar, the Lord of the Gaudiya, to the aliens, I am addressing these few words of mine to the preachers who are about to proceed to countries beyond India:
	The crest-jewel of the order of the sannyasis  of the triple-staff, Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati Goswamipad, instructed those who have assumed the triple-staff of renunciation, in the following words: “I say this, by holding the straw between my teeth, by falling at your feet and uttering hundreds of the humblest entreaties: All ye good souls, by throwing off everything to a distance, practice love to the Feet of Sri Chaitanya Who is so surpassingly Beautiful.” Following in the foot-steps of all the former devotees, I am making my submission to them to pursue the identical method of propaganda.
	Sri Krishna Chaitanya Deva is the Supreme Teacher of all teachers of this world and the ideal Possessor of Intelligence that is the highest of all. It should be our only duty to constantly chant those words regarding the cleansing of the mirror of the heart of which He speaks in His Eight Precepts, Shikshastakam. We are only the bearers of the Transcendental Word. We shall never in any way hesitate to offer every honor and facility, for which they are eligible, to all persons of this world. We must pray to all for the boon of aptitude for the service of Krishna. We shall come across many persons in this world, possessing an endless variety of characters, disposed or hostile to the service of Krishna. But we should not slacken in our loving service of the Lord of our hearts and should offer due honor to all persons.
	Those nations to whom you are going for the propagation of the chant of Hari are mounted on the summit of proficiency in all affairs of this world. They are practiced in the exercise of their rational judgement, are endowed with the quality of good manners and are superior and glorious in many respects. Therefore, we should maintain our hope unshaken that they will prove to be worthiest recipients of the heard transcendental Voice if we unlock to them the gates of the natural exhibition of abiding argument and enduring judgement. If we unpack our baggage of the genuine discourse of Hari by relying on the qualities of forbearance it will certainly receive the garland of welcome from the hearts of nations gifted with keen intelligence.
	We must not look at the world by being weighed down with the mentality that is oppressed with the sense of deficiency or otherwise, by the poverty or otherwise, of the display of worldly erudition, rank, etc. by any particular person. This is the state of forgetfulness of our real selves. All persons of this world are really superior to us in every way as far as this world is concerned. All those matters are not any commodities that are fit to be coveted by us. We are merely beggars with the triple-staff of renunciation devoted to the chanting of the Words of Sri Chaitanya. We have no more nor any higher desirable object than the Pleasure of serving Sri Hari-Guru-Vaishnava.
	We are not the operators of the instrument, but we are only the instruments. We must always bear this in mind. The triple-staff Bhiksus are the living mridangas  of Sri Chaitanya. We  must constantly give forth our music at the lotus feet of Sri Guru. We should practice the function of the peripatetic preacher, pari-vrajaka , of carrying aloft the victorious banner of the Commands of Divine Sri Gaurasundar by constant submission to Sri Guru and the Vaishnavas, fixing our eye on the pole-star of the heard transcendental Voice. We must always bear in mind that we have been initiated in the vow of the peripatetic preacher for the sole purpose of promulgating the Heart’s Desire of Sri Guru and Gauranga. If we are constantly inspired with the duty of discoursing about the Truth under the guidance of Çrî Guru, no hankering after travelling, nor any veiled form of desire other than chanting of Hari-Nåma, will ever strike any terrors into our hearts.
	The vowed service of the Name, the Transcendental Abode and the Desire of Çrî Gaurasundar, is our only eternal function. We are Bhikßus of the triple-staff. The in-gathering of the smallest alms, even such as are gathered by the bees, is our only means for serving the manifestation of the Manifestive Divine Form of Sri Chaitanya Math all over the world. We are neither enjoyers nor abnegators of mundane entities. We recognize as our highest objective the desire for carrying with veneration the shoes of the order of the Paramahaµsas .
	It will be our only duty, to proclaim to all the people that complete reliance on the Transcendental Absolute Truth is by far the highest form of freedom and one that is infinitely superior to the partial independent mastery over the distorted reflected entity in the shape of this mundane world. By holding the straw between our teeth in supplication we shall carry aloft the banner of that real freedom to all persons. We should be constantly engaged in chanting the exhilarating Name of Sri Hari by adopting as our fundamental enlightening principle that the highest path is the path of submission, endorsed by Sri Rüpa with the further exhortation to cherish the unwavering faith that He will always protect us.

Gaudiya Math in England

My Lord Marquess,
	It is with feelings of great joy that I, on behalf of the members of the GauÎÈya Mission in India, do hail this opportunity of conveying our hearty and most respectful congratulations to Your Lordship for kindly accepting a prominent position in the British Cabinet as the “Secretary of State for India”. Being purely and thoroughly religious people, although we are not very conversant and very keenly concerned with political issues, we may make bold to state this much: that Your Lordship is perhaps the only person in the whole of Great Britain who enjoys the most un?inching con?dence of the vast people of this country and who can most ably guide their destinies in this critical moment, and we are sure many of their legitimate aspirations will be ful?lled so as to tighten more closely the silken tie of friendshiip and goodwill between the British and the Indians.
	So far as we are concerned, Your Lordship being the most distinguished patron and President of our London GauÎÈya Mission Society, it is a proud occasion of great importance and honour to us to express our most heart-felt felicitations for the signi?cant appointment. May the Supreme Lord grant Your Lordship a long life and glorious success in Your Lordship’s mission, and may He bestow His choicest blessings on Your Lordship.
	With the kindest regards to Your Lordship,
	In the service of the Supreme Lord,

		ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

(quoted in GauÎÈya, Vol. 35, No. 44)

“We had several very earnest and important discussions with His Lordship who had from the very beginning of our activities in London encouraged and hellped us in all possible ways. His Lordship has presided over several of our lectures and has very kindly become the President of the Society we have recently started in England with its headquarters in London. His Lordship has also very kindly taken a good deal of trouble in going through the manuscript of my ‘Lectures’ and has kindly consented to write a foreword to it. We have received many letters from His Lordship and in most of those letters he assured me of his perpetual sympathy, in such encouraging words as ‘I need hardly assure you, that you have my continual good wishes for your work in this country.’”

(ßrÈla Bhakti HÂday Ban MahÅrÅj, “First Year in England”, as quoted in ibid.)

	“The 60th anniversary of the birth of the President of the GauÎÈya MaÊh, Calcutta, was celebrated at a reception at Grosvenor House, given by Bhakti HÂday Ban and members of his Mission in London.
	“The Marquess of Zetland, offering the Mission his best wishes, commented on the fact that India had always been the home of spiritual movements and expressed the opinion that in times like the present, when the minds of men were distracted by a multiplicity of material considerations, it was a matter for congratulation that, whether from India or any other country, there should still be this great spiritual force.
	“The MahÅrÅja of BurdwÅn hoped that the advent of the Mission would result in continued goodwill and good fellowship bettween India and Britain, of which there was a very great need at present.’

(quoted from Reuters, February 2nd, 1934, in ibid.)

Bon Maharaja in Berlin

Berlin, November 10, 1934

	TridaˆÎi SwÅmÈ B.H. Ban, Preacher-in-charge of the London GauÎÈya MaÊh, delivered a most erudite and interesting lecture on MahÅprabhu’s philosophy in German at the Berlin University in the presence of a large gathering of scholars and men of learning. It was appreciated by the audience. SwÅmÈji is receiving sympathies from all quarters. British ambassador in Berlin is much impressed and has arranged for interview of SwÅmÈji with high of?icial on his return from lecture tour on December 20. He starts on Monday, the 12th of November for Leipzig to deliver a lecture at Leipzig University.

(ibid.)

THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS

Thirty years after the disappearance of ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ †hÅkura, his disciple ßrÈla Bhaktivedanta SwÅmÈ MahÅrÅja left the holy land of VrndÅvana, India and sailed to New York City to introduce Krishna consciousness to the Western world. In 1966 he established ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Within ten years the name of Krishna was known internationally.
	This extraordinary empowerment is unequalled and unimaginable. He attributed his success to humbly following the divine order of his gurudeva, PrabhupÅda ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ †hÅkura, who wanted his disciples to preach the message of ßrÈ Chaitanya MahÅprabhu in the West. In ßrÈ Chaitanya-CaritÅmrta it was predicted by Chaitanya MahÅprabhu Himself:

prithivite Åche yata nagara Ådi grÅma
sarvatra prachÅr hoibe mora nÅma

“One day My name will be sung and preached in every town and village in the world.”

	In appreciation of ßrÈla A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwÅmÈ MahÅrÅja’s worldwide preaching success, ßrÈla Bhakti Rak›aka ßrÈdhara MahÅrÅja spoke the following on behalf of all of the GauÎÈya Vai›ˆavas around the world: “I consider him to be saktyÅvesa avatara, and it is confirmed in his writings on his spiritual journey through the Atlantic. How he landed there in America, and the nature of his beginning the movement, his intense degree of dedication to Krishna and dependence, and how much he made himself empty of any other desire than the order of his gurudeva— so emply that Krishna came down to help him, and it is corroborated that Krishna worked on his behalf.
	In his poem, Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, we find him pleading with Krishna, “My dear Brother, Your good fortune will come to you only when ßrÈmatÈ RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ becomes pleased with You.” Seeing our gurudeva, ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ †hÅkura, as RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ’s delegation and his order as Her divine service, he humbly submitted that he did not feel himself worthy or fit to discharge his divine service, yet he dedicated himself to that purpose. He was so earnest in his prayer to Krishna to discharge the duty that he had been given by ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ †hÅkura, that divine power came down to help him.
	Otherwise, it is impossible. It is not a thing of the ordinary level that anyone can do. The highest thing has been taken down to the lowest position so extensively. It cannot but be divine power, embodied and in a great intensity and magnitude. So, saktyÅvesa-avatÅra, I cannot but take him to be so.

The Banner of Divine Love

	Our Guru MahÅrÅja wanted to spend the next ten years of his life preaching in the West, but left this world and was unable to do so. But ßrÈla A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwÅmÈ MahÅrÅja gave him those ten years, with his unparalleled success in fulfilling our Guru MahÅrÅja’s dream of spreading Krishna consciousness in the Western world. We are happy, we are pleased, we are proud.”
	PrabhupÅda ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ †hÅkura wanted every man woman and child to be brought under the banner of ßrÈ Krishna Chaitanya MÅhaprabhu. To this end, all of his sincere followers are preaching his message of divine love all over the world.

Interview: Professor Suthers
Of Ohio State University January, 1929

Professor Suthers: Did the worshippers of Krishna ever encourage the obscenity of the engravings we see on many Hindu Temples?

Saraswati Thakur: Those who are actual worshippers of Krishna do not promote obscenity. All decency and morality emanate from the lotus feet of Krishna. The highest sense of morality of the soul, in its pure unadulterated condition, is manifested as love towards the Supreme Soul.The culmination of this pure love is found only in the devotees of Krishna. The highest morality taught by the noble Jesus, does not even come near the principles of amorous love enshrined in the devotees of Krishna.

Professor Suthers: Your Holiness seems to have taken a biased view in saying that the good moral precepts of Christ come nowhere near the morality of amorous love of the devotees of Krishna.

Saraswati Thakur: Certainly not. In fact, we claim to be greater, and better Christians than Westerners. Our judgement is not restricted to secular morality. The morality of spiritual love transcends supranatural morality, which again surpasses secular morality. If Christian morality can be nourished with amorous love for Divinity, then it may be perfected. To a pure soul, one who has transcended mundane morality, and entered the plane of divine love, secular morality is dwarfed in comparison.But he feels no apathy or attachment to mundane morality. On the other hand, morality waits like a maidservant to assist spiritual morality in the service of the Lord of Transcendental Love.
	At the same time we should understand that the character of one culturing spiritual love is never devoid of morality. One hostile to morality of fallen from it can never be a spiritual man. In the blazing core of the teaching of Shri Chaitanya Deva’s ideal—debauchery is not devotion. The evidence is abundant when reflecting on the character of Shri Chaitanya Deva and his followers. Secular moralists concerned with worldly enjoyment, or its renunciation, are unable to grasp in their tiny brains that the pinnacle of morality is realized in the Amorous Sports of Krishna.  And it has been adored and glorified by the highest realized souls who are the intimate followers of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, namely Shri Rupa Goswami and his associates and followers.

Professor Suthers: How can your statements be reconciled with the descriptions that are found about Krishna’s amorous sports?

Saraswati Thakur: Krishna’s Amorous Sports are not temporal, lustful sports of dramatic heroes and heroines like Romeo and Juliette, or even that of ideal spouses. The lust of this world is a mental passion. But lust as it exists in the transcendental region of Krishna, has a different form.  Here, lust is always goaded by the enemy, one of the six passions; whereas in the transcendental region of Krishna, the loveliness of the spiritual body of Krishna ever drives  a lust for Krishna, which takes form as sublimated love, or the desire to gratify the immaculate senses of Krishna. The conductor of worldly lust is the enemy (passion), and the conductor of love is Krishna. It is the Amorous Sports of Krishna that are appropriate; but there is no such consistency in the lust born of the body and mind of the Jiva (creature). Krishna’s Amorous Sports should not be considered indecent, because it is Krishna who is the only unrivaled enjoyer, the Embodiment of the Real Truth and the Spiritual Despot.

Professor Suthers: What other conception can be better than the Fatherhood of Godhead? It is only Jesus who has taught us to call God as “Father”. No other feeling can there be better in the religious world than the love that arises in the mind when God is called “O God, Thous art the Great Father.”

Saraswati Thakur: Yes, it is true that the Fatherhood of God is a special feature of Christianity. Why in Christianity alone, the Parenthood of God is found in some Indian religious conceptions too. But if we consider with a scrutinizing scientific analysis, we can find that this Parenthood has been attributed to God from the inductive point of view, i.e. out of gratitude to God whose kindly presence we admit on the analogy of the worldly father or from some desire to get some worldly benefit from Him. There is only to be traced the attitude of gratefulness of a being or that of an indifferent spirit of his, when the different religions of India too call Him as the “Creator”, “Sustainer of the Universe”, “Protector of the World”, “Controller of the Universe”, “Great Father”’ etc., from the angle of vision of the attributes of Nature on the one hand, or Brahman, etc., from the angle contrary thereto, on the other. And so such conceptions are only indirect or secondary instead of being the principal or chief ones. But in the indirect conception there is no attachment or love. This point has to be understood carefully.
	Though there is no connection between the attributes of Nature and the Names of God like “Narayan”, “Vasudeva”, “Hrishikesh”, etc., as prevalent in the Vaishnava Philosophy, yet they are indicative of His Majesty. There is a spirit of regard and reverence behind these. But where there is no such restriction of reverence, rather where, in spite of some reference to His Supreme Majesty, there is a want of the rise of such reverential spirit, the innate loving spirit remains steady and does not become slackened. The conception of Sonship of God has its basis on the feeling of such sweetness of the highest Love.
	Vasudeva and Devaki were told by Krishna: “I reveal My Majesty before you that you may know Me to be God; or else you would have known Me as a human being.” God told Arjuna too: “Just see My Majestic Form.” Vasudeva told Krishna: “You are not our son, but the Over-Lord of Divine Spirit and nature.” Arjuna in the Gita asked pardon of Krishna for having called Him as his Friend, etc. In both these examples God’s Majesty has been indicated. But such was not the conception of Nanda and the ladies of Braja. They regarded even that God as their Son and Lover, as the case might be, whose Lotus Feet are adored by all the scriptures, by deities like Brahma, Shiva, etc., men, gandharvas, etc., and worshiped with low salutations. Nanda, Yashoda, etc. did not look upon Krishna as the Supreme Father or the Highest God. If a person becomes the overlord or the wealthiest millionaire of the world, his parents do not stand like other people before him with folded palms in awe and reverence, offering prayers and expressing gratitude, nor do his friends hesitate to be jocular as ever in his presence, nor does his wife deal with him with special veneration like the other people of the outside world and stay at a respectable distance. When the cowherd boys, His friends, reported to mother Yashoda, that He had put some earth into His Mouth, she rebuked him. She could not do so if she had the idea that Krishna, the Supreme Father, was the object of her reprimand. She was able to regard the Highest Entity as her own object of so close and affectionate love that due to the depth of that love she could chide or even beat Him and think of the Sole Maintainer of all maintainers as worth maintenance and nourishment at her hands. This is not intelligible to the mere theorists of gratefulness who are foreigners to affectionate love towards God. When chidden by His mother, Krishna, afraid as it were, of her, opened His Mouth to prove His innocence; and she saw the limitless universe within It. Yet her feeling towards Him as her son was not removed, such was the depth of her affectionate love for God.

Professor Suthers: So far it has been the effusion of emotionality only. Please convince me rationally how the conception of God’s Sonship is superior to His Fatherhood.

Saraswati Thakur: It appears as if you were either inattentive for a while, or unable to closely follow me. I was all this time giving you scientific reasonings. In the Vaishnava Philosophy there is no place for material emotion of any kind. The ephemeral emotionality relating to matter is no devotion: it is only the property of the mind. Our conception is that of the property of the soul. I was so long adducing reasons and examples to convince you how the natural love of the soul for God reached its climax in the conception of His sonship as the  Son of Shri Nanda. You will not be able to easily get that idea with the help of reasoning only. You should not think of material emotionality when the actual example is given. With innumerable reasonings I shall show you that the conception of the Fatherhood of God emanates only from a sense of gratefulness. Fatherhood has been attributed to God more or less in accordance with such conceptions as God has created us, He has been sustaining us with the various gifts of nature, and for these He is Father and we should be paying Him reverential homage on that account.

Professor Suthers: Our Jesus Christ has called God as Father not exactly on these grounds; Jesus introduced himself as God’s son for something else.

Saraswati Thakur: Yes, about Jesus’ sonhood you say: “The Son is the complete revelation of the Father whose nature he shares, and of whose powers he is the sole heir, the only begotten son, and he is in absolute dependence on the Father. “My Father and I are one. My Father worketh hitherto and I work.” The son can do nothing except what he seeth the Father do. As son, he knows the Father; as God, he can speak for God. As wholly dependent on the Father, and wholly obedient to His will, the message is true.”
	Now the ideal regard based on the sense of gratitude of the son to the Supreme Father is not absent because of the conception of Jesus’ sonhood of God on account of his being His heir in respect of His nature, power and attributes. I think that you conceive of God as the Supreme Father in imitation of Christ, His son, and read hymns to Him with various praises indicative of gratefulness. In our Gaudiya Philosophy there is no sense of gratitude or any other cause at the root of the love or attachment towards God. Where there is some cause, the Gaudiya Philosophy does not call such love causeless or motiveless. The attribution of Parenthood to God must have some cause behind it. Him or her whom we call father or mother and who are adorable, we cannot worship when, averse to God, we stay in the mother’s womb; even after being born we cannot do so in our infancy or childhood. Rather we being their indulged pets treat them as our servants. There is no devotional piety during those periods when instead of worshipping them, we demand and accept service from them. It is no mean outrage on such adorable parents to convert them to servants. This is the effect of our desires. Thus we see that human or other beings do not acquire fitness for serving parents from the very beginning. Though with the growth of intelligence we show some efforts to serve them, generally this has its origin in a retributive sense of gratitude or dutifulness in return for the benefit received from them. Often we show such efforts in order to inherit the property earned by them with labor and left behind by them. Under the circumstances it is the sense of gratitude or obedience to established order originating from motives, that is at the root of the conception of parenthood; there is absolute want in it of causeless or motiveless love.
	The offering of service to the master in consideration that if the money paid by him as wages is not discharged, there will be sin committed—amounts to trafficking. The service of God or attribution of Parenthood to Him or calling Him as the Sustainer, Protector, Savior, Affectionate, Gracious, etc., arising out of the sense of awe, hope, dutifulness or gratitude,—all these originate from some motive or cause and as such, are far from His service and worship arising from the natural love of the soul towards Him.

Professor Suthers: I have just listened to many subtle truths in the science and philosophy of religion. Please let me have a conception of these intricate matters.

Saraswati Thakur: The essential principle of Vaishnavism is that, how-so-ever great a scholar and intellectual giant a man may be, he will not be able to appreciate even the easiest points of the Vaishnava philosophy, until and unless he has entirely surrendered himself to an Acharya whose character is the embodiment of the Vaishnava Philosophy. You must have heard about the Indian scripture named “Gita”, which has been translated into different languages in the civilized world. There is a shloka in it which says that the Vaishnava Philosophy is understandable only with unconditional surrender, honest inquiry, and serving temper. It is only to such an approach the professors of Vaishnava Philosophy with these three as the preceptorial fee, that they may give instructions about the correct philosophical truths. These professors are never to be tempted by any type of worldly fees.

Professor Suthers: The Gita has admitted the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul. What does your Vaishnava Philosophy say about this?

Saraswati Thakur: The “Gita” is not separate from the Vaishnava Philosophy. The Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine, viz. that of changes of births for the soul. Christianity has disregarded the principle of change of births on the alleged ground that if it is accepted, men will not restrain their sinful propensities, rather they will indulge in vices at their sweet will in their present life, on the expectation that they will be able to make good their sins, guilts, and wrong doing of this life in the course of the following ones. But the Srimad Bhagavatam has crowned the principle with its true significance by means of a much fuller scientific and philosophical meaning, by instructing the urgent necessity for ardently taking up and culturing devotion to God even while the human form of life, not easily available in the after-lives, is at our disposal, without spending a single moment thereof in other useless pursuits. If we do not accept the doctrine of transmigration of the soul and adopt the instruction of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we shall not be able to get over the all-devouring disaster of regarding matter as the sole object of our concern, which has kept its mouth wide open.
	Though most of the Christians do not admit transmigration, yet many of the intellectual giants of the Christian world have shown several instances of their acceptance of the doctrine. Even in the Bible in St, John 9.1.2, we find, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, “Master, who has committed the sin? This man or his parents, that he was born blind from his birth?” It is seen that even some Christian Fathers clearly gave instructions about transmigration. Origen said: “Is it not more in conformity with reason that every soul for certain mysterious reasons is introduced into a body and introduced according to its deserts and former actions.?” And Goethe says, “I am sure that I, such as you see me here, have lived a thousand times and I have to come again another thousand times.”
	What the Greeks called metempsychosis and is called transmigration in the English language was at one time, more or less, admitted in ancient Greece, Egypt, and many places in the west. Some say that the apostles of Christ the Great, failing to reconcile their previous and subsequent conclusions with the doctrine of transmigration, were compelled to discard it. Yet no rationalist among the Christians has been able to refute the doctrine on the basis of sound reasoning; on the other hand, most of them have had to admit it even. Heredotus, Pindar, Plato etc. have all accepted it. Huxley, the illustrious scientist of the nineteenth century, has written in his religious work, Evolution and Ethics: “None but very hasty thinkers will reject it on the ground of inherent absurdity, like the doctrine of evolution itself, viz., that of transmigration which has its root in the world of reality and it may claim such support as the great argument of “Analogy” is capable of supplying.”
	Professor Lutoloski has said, “I cannot give up my conviction of a previous existence before my birth, and I have the certainty to be born again after my death, until I have assimilated all human experiences, having been many times male and female, wealthy and poor, free and enslaved, generally having experienced all conditions of human existence.” But such transmigration theories of the empiricists of the west or those of the western philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries like Franciscus Mercurius Helmont, Leichtenbourg, Lessing, Herder, Schopenhauer, etc. or of Jalaluddin Rumi of the Sufi sect of Persia, or of the Theosophists, or of the Indian Nyaya Philosophy under the aphorism: “From the desire for the mother’s breast milk due to the habit of the previous life,” or of the Buddhistic doctrine of annihilation in matter—these are assailable by various hostile reasonings and, having their origin in inductive concepts are incomplete and imperfect. But the conclusion in this respect of the Srimad Bhagavatam is fully flawless and significant. The Vaishnava Philosophy having shown the royal road to the acquirement of the highest blessedness even in the present life, there is no need for waiting for future lives. As such, the Vaishnava Philosophy is thoroughly aloof from all wrangling full of useless riddles over the doctrine of transmigration.

Professor Suthers: I am able to feel the super-excellence of the Vaishnava Philosophy among the Indian Philosophies. But to my mind the acceptance of idolatry in the Vaishnava Philosophy like the other Indian philosophies seems to be a stigma in it.

Saraswati Thakur: Idolatry has never been accepted in the Vaishnava philosophy: on the other hand, it has been more or less accepted in the other philosophies, at least mentally, if not in so many words. In the very word “Bhagavan” (God) have accumulated all the excellences that there are in the human and suprahuman conceptions. The existence of Majesty, viz. the furthermost limits of both vastness and minuteness, is a characteristic of God. The second characteristic is His Omnipotence. If one understands the word “omnipotence” to mean what is conceivable by the human intellect or what is possible for man, one is wrong. God is Omnipotent, because what is impossible according to the human intellect is within the ambit of the inscrutable power of God. Due to His inscrutable power, He is simultaneously both with and without Form. It will be the denial of His inscrutable power, if you say that He cannot have His form, or He has not His Eternal Form, only having a Form for the time being, none in the end. By dint of his inscrutable power, He is with His Eternal Sportive Form before a liberated soul conversant with the service of His potencies. Contemplation only on formlessness is rather unnatural and devoid of differential excellence. God is always All-Good, All-Glory, and All-Beauty. His Beauty is visible only to the transcendental eye. God is the Transcendental Reality, Pure, Full and Sentient in essence and Sentient Essence in His Form.
	It is true that God has no material body, but He has His sat (eternal) Chit (All-Sentient) Ananda (All-Blissful) Transcendental Body visible only to the eye that is clear (devoid of matter). To the material eye, God is Formless, but to the transcendental eye He is with His Body of Chit or All-Sentience. The Murtis (forms of body) prepared and worshiped by those who have not seen this Chit-Body of God with their true and eternal eye cleansed with the collyrium of the love of God are of course idols and all the worshippers of those idols must be idolaters. The worship of murtis of God prepared from imagination may be called idolatry. Suppose I, who have not seen Jacob make a murti of his out of imagination, this murti is not the replica of his form. Besides, if Jacob is a creature of this world, whose body, mind, and soul are different from one another, his photograph being only the replica of his material body is different from his eternal and intrinsically true form. But God with his sat-chit-ananda Body is not such a thing; His body and Soul are not different from each other; nor are His Name and Soul, His Figure and Soul, His Attribute and Figure. His Attribute and Soul, His Sport and Soul, His Sport and Figure, His Sport and Attribute, different. If a pure entity or unmixed soul sees that eternal Form of God and receives It in his own pure receptacle and then places this Transcendental Form in the world from his heart as illumine the intrinsically and essentially true Form of God, that never deserves to be called an idol. Just as even by coming down to this phenomenal world, God remains untouched by the influence of maya by dint of His inscrutable  power, so does His true Form too, as revealed to the unmixed entity of His devotee, remain above it, even though brought down here, For this reason the Vaishnava Philosophy terms Sri Murti as His “Archavatara” (Worshippable Descent).
	The conception of God without Form in contradistinction to His Essential Form is as calamitous as is the falsely imagined Form of God for one competent to see His True Form. Such insignificant processes occur before attaining to the Real Entity and do only grope in the darkness. The Sri Vigraha of the Vaishnava Philosophy cannot but be the direct indication of the Essential Form of God. By way of an imperfect comparison it may be said to be the proxy of the essential Form of God which is beyond the cognizance of the material eye, just as there are, in art and science, crude representations of invisible matter.
	How can those, that have not in their heart love of God which is the true function of the soul and is the science of the true knowledge of realities, think of the Sri Murtis (Sri Vigraha) as other than idols? The deliberations of the Vaishnava Philosophy are very fine. These have shown by true scientific analysis that they are all, more or less, idolaters who declare themselves as partisans either of the doctrine of no Form of God or that of His material Form. Just as those who attribute Godship to matter and worship it like the fire worshippers among the uncivilized people or the worshippers of the planets, such as Jupiter, Saturn, etc. of Greece, are crude idolaters, in a similar manner the others, who declare everything beyond matter as formless, and become exponents of the doctrine of non-distinction, are equal or even greater idolaters. The Henotheists or worshippers of one of the Vedic deities or the worshippers of the five deities (called panchopasakas) worship many icons, considering them as God. According to them, God has no sat-chit-ananda-vigraha, and as without some form there can be no subject for contemplation, to make it easy to meditate on Him, some form has got to be imagined. They are all idolaters. So also is the conduct of some of the Yogis and others to be regarded as idolatry, who, for purifying their heart or improving the function of the mind, imagine a God and perform practices of contemplation, etc., of some imaginary form of His. Those who consider jivas as God are the most blasphemous idolaters, because to imagine any worldly thing or form as God is idolatry.
	There is a world of difference between the worship of Sri Murtis as ordained by the Vaishnava Philosophy and the doctrines of God with Form and without Form of other thinkers. Mahaprabhu Shri Chaitanya Deva has refuted all sorts of idolatry and instructed the service of the Archavatars of the All-merciful God of Inconceivable Potency.

Professor Suthers: I am truly astonished to hear from your Holiness these mysteries of the Vaishnava Philosophy and their scientific analysis with the most reasonable arguments. I never knew that Vaishnava Philosophy provides such excellent solutions, corroboration and elucidation to the problems we in the west perceive in Indian Philosophy.

Saraswati Thakur: The Vaishnava Philosophy speaks about true wisdom. True wisdom is not subject to an attack from any rival camp like the changeable and fluctuating knowledge of the empiricists; this is the special feature of Vaishnava Philosophy. The philosophies that have been, are being will be built on the foundation of empiricism will be enlarged and altered and ultimately abandoned along with the increase and decrease of experience. Before the civilization five-thousand years old, the three-thousand year old civilization is imperfect; and the seven-thousand year old one is more enlarged; and in ten thousand years it will be still further changed and enlarged. The Vaishnava Philosophy built, as it is, upon the strong unalterable foundation, of true and perfect wisdom is not fit for change and reformation through scuffling and disputes like a football being kicked to and fro.
	The Srimad Bhagavatam which is the essence of all the Vedas and Vedantas speaks of the real Truth. This scripture describes something which is beyond the regions of human civilization and all the rules and regulations of society, and speaks about the attainment of another spiritual body by the soul. Some empiricists of the inductive school do not recognize this change of body for the soul. There are others who try to prove such a change by various mundane reasonings. Some of them cite the example of the tendency of the newborn monkey to grasp the branch of a tree, or that of a newborn rhinoceros to fly away from the mother, considering which they say, every one must have to admit the previous life of the creatures and cannot disbelieve the transmigration of the souls. As a baby rhinoceros is born, it runs away from the mother lest the mother should lick its skin. Her tongue is so sharp that the bark of a tree licked by her is removed. The baby comes to the mother only when its hide gets hardened in the course of a few days. Seeing these, the empiricists realize that this habit of the baby rhinoceros is indicative of its previous birth.
	The Vedic scriptures, however, have given a scrutinizing analysis of the mutual difference of the soul, the mind and the body as the atomic sentience, pseudo-sentience, and matter. The soul (atma) is the owner of the body and the mind. These two are the properties of the soul which again is the property of the Suprasoul (paramatma). The Suprasoul is the causal sentience and the soul (jivatma) is the effectual sentience. The soul has two bodies or distinguishing properties; one is the subtle one or mind and the other the crude one i.e., material body. The outer body is the aggregate of atoms of the five elements of matter; the inner or mental body is the conductor of the outer body. The soul in its conditioned or bound state is connected with foreign properties through the mind. The soul is now asleep and inattentive to the service of the SupraSoul. Seeing the owner asleep, the subordinate workers, mind and body, are busy about their mean self-interest, instead of looking after the interest of their owner. All the universe, animate and inanimate, is included within the SupraSoul; in reality every creation is animate. Our scriptures have proved this since time immemorial. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose has proved, even by the inductive process, before the empiric school, that there exists animation [spirit, consciousness] even within the grass shrubs, creepers, etc.. 

Professor Suthers: I shall some time soon see Dr. Bose. Is the conception of our difference from the Supra-Soul born of our ignorance?
Saraswati Thakur: We shall consider how in our conditioned state we have been enveloped by the two distinguishing properties, and how again we shall be liberated therefrom. These two are non-souls. Even in this conditioned state we are animate, not sentient. The non-souls, viz. the body and the mind, are connected with the outer and mental worlds. We have yet to attain to what is beyond the body and the mind. By “jiva” is meant “soul”, “mind” and “body”. According to Sri Ramanujacharya the Supra-Soul is indeed on Sentient Body. He has two bodies; in His mental body there is the aggregate of jivas; the outer Body is the material world. The different parts of the mental Body of the Supra-Soul are the jivatmas or atomic sentience. When the jivatama or atomic sentience feels himself as a protege of the Full Sentience or Supra-Soul and becomes steady in His eternal service, his nescience or ignorance becomes extinct. It is this contact through service between the Supra-Sentience and the atomic sentience as the Asylum and the dependent respectively that amounts to the absence of the material conception of differentiation.
	In the all-world philosophical conception, the Sonship to Nanda of the Plenary Gad as found in the Vaishnava Philosophy is entirely a novelty. there is no such highest conception about Godship, so nice in every respect, in any other philosophy. The other philosophies can conceive of only the Fatherhood of Godhead. But the excellence of the Sonhood of Godhead in which has been manifest the climax of love of God, has not found place in the brain of any other philosopher.

Letters from His Divine Grace
With My Eternal Blessings, Sri Siddhanta Saraswati

ßrÈ Chaitanya MaÊh, ßrÈ MÅyÅpur
December 22nd, 1927

I received your letter yesterday from ——.  Quite a while ago, before I even went to the western states, I received another letter from you.  Since I was travelling all the time, I could not send a timely reply. You have probably read in the GauÎiya magazine about our festivals at different places in the western region.  You may have heard about them from some devotees also.  Everywhere all the good people were very happy to hear about ßrÈ MahÅprabhu.
	ßrÈ NavadvÈp DhÅma is the most cherished place in the hearts of the devotees of the Lord.  Everywhere in this place one remembers the Lord.  That is why we feel this great desire to live here for quite a while.  If I am needed elsewhere for the service of the Lord then I have to go there, to Calcutta for example.  ßrÈman MahÅprabhu is extremely merciful; that is why even in a place like Calcutta he has kept many devotees.  At the GauÎiya MaÊh there is always hari-kathÅ, and everyone there is always intoxicated with devotional service.  Just as MahÅrÅja Parik›Èt listened to the ßrÈmad BhÅgavatam in his last days, in the same way, I desire the association of these devotees in my last days.  Where there is no hari-kathÅ, it does not matter how many friends and relatives are there or how comfortable that place is; in my last days, such places and such association seems extremely unnecessary and undesirable to me.  By the mercy of the Supreme Lord I see everywhere, in all the maÊhs, the inclination to serve the Lord, and I think of the mercy of MahÅprabhu.  How I was spending my life enjoying material pleasures before!  Instead today I have been granted the association of devotees and the opportunity for devotional service, everywhere I go.  If we can spend the rest of our lives, the last days, in this way, then we do not have to live a painful life, averse to devotional service.
	You have said that you cannot thank your luck because you cannot hear Hari-kathÅ from those who are eager for devotional service.  But it is only your constant desire to serve the Lord that is keeping you separate from others, for the time being.  Please always read the GauÎiya magazine and other books written by devotees—that will have the same effect as hearing Hari-kathÅ directly from devotees.
	Even though in this world we don’t get to meet many devotees from the spiritual world, the conversations and pastimes of the devotees of MahÅprabhu’s time eternally exist in the form of books and sound, and that is why we do not feel so much pain from material troubles.  If we live here in the association of the words of the spiritual world, then the memory of this association will keep us at a distance from material misery.
	Wherever you may live, topics of the Supreme Lord will never leave you.  In every material situation, you can remember the Supreme Lord and you can understand what is devotion.  When the Supreme Lord will be willing, you will get the opportunity to come back here.  Then you will once more get the opportunity to hear Hari-kathÅ.  Whatever situation the Supreme Lord keeps His devotee in makes him happy; we should stay in that situation, forgetting our own miseries.
	The ordinary people of this world cannot understand the topics of the Supreme Lord, of ßrÈman MahÅprabhu, of the transcendental character of the devotees.  When the desire to serve the Lord manifests itself in the heart, then one can remember the Lord under all circumstances.
	You are always endeavoring to attain what is spiritually bene?cial; that is why the Lord, through his books, is revealing himself in your heart.  In ßrÈ Chaitanya BhÅgavat it is written

yata dekha vai›ˆavera vyavahÅra-duÓkha
niÍcaya jÅniha sei parÅnanda-sukha

“Whatever is externally seen as the misery of a Vai›ˆava you should know to be his supreme happiness.”  To test us the Lord is always residing behind this material world.  If we notice his appearance behind each thing then our belief in the external will decrease.

adyapi sei lÈlÅ kare gaura-rÅya
kona kona bhÅgyavÅn dekhibÅre pÅya

“Even today Lord GaurÅ/ga is performing his pastimes, but only a few fortunate souls can see that.”  When will we have such good fortune that we will follow ßrÈ Gaurasundar everywhere and, by following his instruction, become travellers on the path of bhakti?
	This world is the place where the Lord tests us.  To pass the test we have to hear kÈrtan from the devotees of the Lord.  You are hearing that kÈrtan through the books.  Therefore you should not think you are lacking in anything.
	Once Hiranya-kaÍipua concluded that the Supreme Lord does not exist in this world.  He tried in many ways to convince PrahlÅd of this, and he presented many arguments against the Lord’s existence.  But ßrÈ NÂsi˜hadeva appeared from a pillar, and Hiranya-kaÍipu and the whole world was bene?tted.  The devotee sees the Lord everywhere, and the non-devotee cannot feel his presence anywhere.
	We are situated in the middle; sometimes we show our attraction for devotional service, the next moment we engage ourselves in material enjoyment.  It is by the desire to serve the Lord that we can control the desire to enjoy the world.  In material enjoyment there is temporary happiness and temporary misery.  But in service to the Lord, our eternal devotion brings joy to the Lord.  To bring him that joy, we can always be engaged in service.  I do not know if you will gain some bene?t for the time being by reading this long letter.  I am quite incapable of expressing myself in articulate language.  Sometimes I remain silent only because I am incapable of making everyone understand everything.
	The work that needs to be done before the festival at the ßrÈ Chaitanya MaÊh is being done now.  At the house of MahÅprabhu, on the south side of Gaura-kunÎa a house is being built with lions at the door.

With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

Patiala House, Delkhusa
4 Hope Road, Lucknow, Cant

November 3rd, 1931

I have received your long letter.  I have also received four or ?ve letters from —— MahÅrÅja.  The people there are very materialistic, therefore their conduct is also like that.  If we patiently tolerate that, then they will eventually regret their bad conduct.
	None of you should be afraid of the upcoming troublesome monsoon or any diseases.  If diseases come, please embrace them and in due course of time bid them farewell.  ßrÈla JagannÅtha DÅsa BÅbÅji MahÅrÅja used to say, “If painful diseases arrive in our body, they will automatically run away very soon, for lack of sumptuous foodstuff.  Only in the bodies of rich, comfort-loving people do they always reside a long time, because they get a lot of indulgence.”  Please try very hard to ?nd provisions for the upcoming festivals of the MaÊh.
With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

ßrÈdhÅma MÅyÅpur
March 15th, 1915

I have received your affectionate letter dated March 9th, 1915, and gotten all the news.  You please stay where you are and keep chanting ßrÈ HarinÅm regularly.  Also read ßrÈ Chaitanya BhÅgavat and ßrÈ Chaitanya CharitÅmÂta.
	The very language of your letter, which is soft with humility and lively with devotion, is a reflection of your great heart and your devotional service.  ßrÈ ßrÈ Gaurasundar is especially merciful to those who are humble and helpless.  Many of us have been extremely happy perceiving your humble demeanor, your gentle nature, your devotion to the Lord, and your inclination for devotional service with indifference to the world.  I am also praying at the lotus feet of ßrÈman MahÅprabhu that your enthusiasm for devotional service may increase day by day, you may be respected by everyone, you may progress in spiritual life and you may worship the Lord continuously.  All the devotees here are offering their daˆÎavats to you.  I will be very happy to know that by the mercy of the Lord you are chanting HarinÅma without any obstacles.

Your insigni?cant well-wisher,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

ßrÈ GauÎiya MaÊh, Calcutta
June 26th, 1927

Surrounded by enemies, we are engaged in serving the Lord and his devotees with great determination.  Each of us, more or less, becomes forgetful of service to Krishna, being servants of our six enemies (lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride, and envy).  My prayer to you all is that all of you, please be united and serve the Lord together in a spirit of friendliness and cooperation, having the same goal in your heart.  “EkÅkÈ ÅmÅra nÅhi pÅya bala” (“When I am alone I have no strength.”)—remember this line and perform kÈrtan-yajña in union.  The indispensable quality expected of those who are in charge of the kÈrtan-yajña is that they will have friendship with all Vai›ˆavas; they will engage themselves in devotional service by pleasing all Vai›ˆavas.  I hope with that good quality you will perform all your activities for the festival.
With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

ßri Gaudiya Math
Calcutta
July 28th, 1935

Yesterday morning I arrived here from Bombay and received your letter dated the 26th.  We are extremely grief-stricken to hear that —— has left this world to go to his eternal abode.  Everything happens by the will of the Lord.  The Lord picks up first those who are closest to him.  We have no objection to that.  We are suffering due to our own misfortune and lack of quali?cations.  By remembering his attachment for devotional service, we can also gradually enter his destination.  It is necessary to write about him in great detail in such magazines as the Gaudiya and we are planning to provide a memorial spread.  There should also be a ?tting memorial for him, in the form of a service.
	I have not ?nished reading your article yet and have not given it to Pranavananda Prabhu.  Very soon I will give him an article about the New Year.
With my eternal blessings,

ßri Siddhanta Saraswati

ßrÈ Puru›ottam MaÊh, PurÈ
February 20th, 1935

I received your letter written in pencil.  If one has devotion to the Lord then there will be no cause for dissatisfaction.  In this world, we become subject to our own karma by being averse to devotional service.  Due to our past karma, sometimes we enjoy happiness, sometimes we become loving to others, sometimes we suffer misery and sometimes we become inimical to others.  But when we feel the necessity for devotional service, then all material troubles and the desire for happiness do not make any difference to us.  Please engage your mind in devotional service at all times.  Then no one can harm you in any way.  If you live in this world in a ?ckle-minded way, if you show enmity to anyone, then you will not remember to serve the Lord.  Verbal ?ghts, physical ?ghts, mental ?ghts in the form of dissatisfaction, will not let you serve the Lord.  Therefore please become as tolerant as a tree and live in ßyÅmanta Pañcak to carry out the desire of the Lord; then you will be bene?tted.  Please wait patiently for the day ßrÈ Gaurahari will take you somewhere else.
With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

c/o A.K. Sarkar
Benares Cantonment

May 10th, 1926

I received your affectionate letter dated May 3rd and got all the news.  We have heard that —— has passed away.  Now we have to pray for the well-being of his soul.  Malice towards Vai›ˆavas brings both material and spiritual disaster to the living entity.
	It has become quite hot here in the last few days.  My health is not good.  ßrÈpÅd TÈrtha MahÅrÅja has been preaching Hari-kathÅ at MurÍidÅbÅd [in West Bengal state], BhÅgalpur, Munger, JÅmÅpur, PÅtnÅ [in BihÅr state], etc., with great success.  He has been here in Benares for the last week and has been giving Hari-kathÅ at the DasÅÍvamedha GhÅÊ.  Everyone has been listening to his lecture with great appreciation and enthusiasm.  There is an effort now to establish a GauÎiya MaÊh in Benares.  Only by the desire of ViÍvanÅth [Lord ßiva, the presiding deity of Benares) will it be possible.
…
ßrÈman —— is eager to establish a maÊh in Benares, but because of the excessive heat right now, he does not think this is the right time.  I do not know how long I will stay here.…This world that is averse to the Lord is a place for painful tests.  Tolerance, humility, and praise for others are some of the things which will help us to serve the Lord here.

With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

Limekhera, Shillong
October 17th, 1928

Yesterday the professors arrived here safely.  At this time all of us should have gone to Kuruk›etra on the occasion of the solar eclipse and attended to our duties there.  But because of NimÅnanda Prabhu’s enthusiasm and earnest request, I was forced to come to Assam state.  Letters and telegrams are coming from Kuruk›etra, one after the other.  You all should go there immediately, without any delay.  What has to be done in Assam can be done later.
	There are only twenty-five days left before the solar eclipse.  People all over Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and central India are quite aware of the festival at Kuruk›etra on the occasion of the coming solar eclipse.  Our estimate is that about two million people will gather there.
	We are preparing a chariot.  We also need tube-wells and temporary tents there.  We also need to send a Medical Relief Mission.  After a long time a solar eclipse will occur.  I will write in brief the significance of this solar eclipse according to GauÎiya Vai›ˆava philosophy.
	It is a very ancient religious practice to bathe at BrahmÅsar at Kuruk›etra during the solar eclipse.  Krishna went there with BalarÅma on a chariot.  The Vraja-vÅsÈs also went there for the purpose of bathing at BrahmÅsar on the occasion of the solar eclipse.  Therefore the GauÎiya devotees, who desire to unite ßrÈ-ßrÈ RÅdhÅ-Govinda, will take great care to perform their service of worship there.  Remembering this pastime at KurukÍetra, ßrÈ Gaurasundar sang in front of Lord JagannÅth’s chariot to express the intense mood of separation of the gopÈs.  For the karmis (fruitive workers) this practice of bathing during the solar eclipse is recommended so their sins will be nulli?ed and they will get the opportunity to take the holy name at a very auspicious moment.
	The jñÅnis (the seekers on the path of knowledge) have a desire to merge with the Supreme Lord, who is our goal.  But even though Krishna is the object of the gopÈs’ intense hankering and the gopÈs are always absorbed in the thought of Krishna, they still want to remain as separate entities from Krishna.
	All kinds of people should be present there.  Please tell TÈrtha MahÅrÅj about this letter.  Both of you please endeavor to make all arrangements for the service of the union of ßrÈ-ßrÈ RÅdhÅ-Govinda with great enthusiasm.
	We will be here for another ?ve or six days.  After that we will go to Calcutta via GoÅlpÅrÅ and DhubÎÈ.

With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

ßrÈ GauÎiya MaÊh
Calcutta

October 9th, 1934

	I received your letter dated the 5th and learned of your physical illness.  My prayer to Krishna is that you may feel better and serve Krishna, by his mercy.  We have to accept whatever situation we ?nd ourselves in by Krishna’s arrangement.  To desire physical well-being only to serve Krishna is also favorable for devotion.  What the non-devotee wants when he tries to get some service from the Lord, by getting a cure for his illness so he can continue his bad habits, is not acceptable to us.  But it is de?nitely an adorable practice to pray to Lord NÂsi˜hadeva, who destroys all obstacles, and Lord GaneÍa, who gives success by destroying obstacles—for the purpose of continuing one’s service to Krishna.
	You should know that your name is ßrÈ DayÅmaya BhÅgavat DÅs AdhikÅrÈ (“one who has attained the privilege of serving the merciful Lord”).  We are going to MathurÅ the day after tomorrow to observe UrjÅ-vrata.  I hope you are rendering your service without trouble.
With my eternal blessings,

ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

ßrÈ GauÎiya MaÊh
Calcutta

July 29th, 1935
Yesterday morning we arrived at Calcutta from Bombay.
	I see that some difference is arising between the concept of the devotees and that of the householders who consider themselves superior devotees.  We can see from the realization that was expressed by ßrÈdhar MahÅrÅj from Delhi that our only worshippable objects are the Supreme Lord and His devotees.  Only by serving the Supreme Lord and His devotees can our inclination to serve our own families be decreased.  But those who are residing in ßrÈdhÅma now may become so-called “superior devotees” by following the sahajiyÅs of KuliyÅ.  Then they may think that the servitors of the maÊh are their servitors.  Then these residents of ßrÈdhÅma, may think they are the worshippable objects of VaikuˆÊha, instead of thinking of how to serve the holy dhÅma.  One resides in ßridhÅma only to serve the devotees.  Therefore if instead of serving the Lord and His devotees, they harbor some expectation from the devotees and express dissatisfaction with them, then instead of doing ßrÈdhÅma-sevÅ (serving the holy dhÅma) they commit the offense of ßrÈdhÅma-bhoga (enjoying the holy dhÅma).  Instead of enjoying the holy dhÅma one should live in some other enjoyable place and serve the devotees of the holy dhÅma from a distance.  If the devotees of the maÊha do not have the means right now to pay off their ?nancial debt to those who want to enjoy the ßrÈdhÅma, then in the future the devotees may try to give these people their money back, so they can live in comfort.  A list should be made of the amount each of them has spent in their effort to enjoy the holy dhÅma.

With my eternal blessings,
ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

Delhi GauÎÈya Math, New Delhi, December 4, 1931

	I received your card dated November 26 and another letter following that. ßrÈmad BhÅgavatam has instructed us not to praise or criticize others’ nature or activities. It is said also in ßrÈ Chaitanya BhÅgavata that one goes to hell by criticizing others. My instruction to you is not to criticize others, but to correct and purify yourself.
	I am forced to criticize my own disciples and those who have come to me for instruction. I do not understand why you would go out of your way to try to perform such a difficult task.

The servant of the Harijans,
ßrÈ SiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ

ßrÈ EkÅyan MaÊha, Krishnanagar, July 13, 1930

	I completely support the work you are doing in the state of åssÅm to distribute the mercy of ßrÈ Chaitanya MahÅprabhu. Indeed you have received the mantra of the holy name. As a result of that you will realize the meaning of the message of ßrÈ Chaitanyadeva—ÅmÅra

PAGE 92 MISSING, TO BE ADDED

Translated from the Bengali:

PrabhupÅda, ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ, PrabhupÅder PatrÅvali, 5^th ed. Vols. 1-3, MÅyÅpur, NadiyÅ: TridaˆÎi-Bhik›u ßrÈ Bhakti PrajñÅna Yati MahÅrÅja, ßrÈ Chaitanya MaÊha, 1991.

Questions & Answers
Srila Prabhupada Answers Questions from his disciples

Question: Everything I know is based on my experience of this world.  So how will I know about anything which is transcendental?

Srila Prabhupada: It is true that in our present state it is very difficult for us to know about something which is transcendental.  But it is also true that there is a way of knowing these things.  If we have friends and relatives in a faraway place then a messenger will bring us their news.

Question: But the messenger does not come to everyone, does he?

Srila Prabhupada: Those who are not visited by the messenger are very unfortunate.  But there is one thing—you will see that the messenger will de?nitely bring the news to those who are really hankering for this news.

Question:  How will we recognize the messenger from VaikuˆÊha?  How will we know which message is true and which is not?

Srila Prabhupada:  If my prayer is sincere, then by the mercy of the omniscient God, everything will be revealed.  One who wants to be educated will only come to know an educated person by the kindness of the latter.  The Supreme Lord, who is in my heart, will help me in every way; all I have to do is depend on him.
	In this world, there are two ways of gathering knowledge.  One is to know things by experiencing them in this world.  Another is to understand that the experience of this world is incomplete and insuf?cient.  Therefore, to gather the knowledge which belongs to another world, we have to completely surrender ourselves to a saint who has descended from that world, and hear from him.

Question: Material experience is all we have.  How can we give that up and surrender to something transcendental?

Srila Prabhupada: We should not be afraid of it, thinking it will be very dif?cult.  One has to have great strength of mind to know the truth.  If one wants to learn to swim he must not be afraid of water.  At the same time one should know that ÍaraˆÅgati or the path of exclusive surrender is not a dif?cult thing.  In fact it is very easy and natural for the soul.  Anything which is opposed to it—that is unnatural and painful.

Question: How can we have such courage?
Srila Prabhupada: We have to hear about the Supreme Lord from his own agent.  When we hear those things then all material experience and the inclination to make false arguments have to be locked up.  When we hear about the Supreme Lord from a living sÅdhu who can deliver these talks in a bold, lively, inspiring way, then all weakness will disappear from our hearts, we will feel a kind of courage which was never there before, and the soul’s natural tendency to surrender to the Lord will fully manifest itself.  In that surrendered heart the eternally manifested truth of the transcendental world will spontaneously reveal itself.

Question: Are the path of exclusive surrender and ?rm determination, the two very important things for us?

Srila Prabhupada: Absolutely.  One should have such ?rm determination also to worship the Lord—“I must receive his grace, I must not go astray.  I must always go on chanting his name.  God will undoubtedly help me, if I am a bona fide seeker.”
	If one fully surrenders himself at the lotus feet of his Guru then he will de?nitely attain all success.  The mercy of ßrÈ Gurudeva, who is non-different from ßrÈ RËpa, will be our only capital.  Only that will be bene?cial for us.

Question: Can one worship Krishna without being under the guidance of Gurudeva?

Srila Prabhupada: Never.  Our only aim in life is to cultivate Krishna consciousness.  This can only be done under the guidance or instruction of a devotee of Krishna.  ßrÈ VÅr›abhÅnavÈdevÈ (ßrÈmati RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ) is most favored by Krishna.  Worshipping her is most favorable for worshipping Krishna.  No one is more favorable than ßrÈ RÅdhÅ.  Those who are very dear to ßrÈmati RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ are all our spiritual masters.  We the GauÎiya Vai›ˆavas are the worshippers of Krishna, who belongs to RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ.  The GauÎiya Vai›ˆavas are more on the side of RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ than on the side of Krishna.  ßrÈ Gurudeva is non-different from ßrÈmati RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ.
	Only by getting the favor of the most favored is it possible to cultivate Krishna-consciousness.  When one is not under the guidance of the most favored, one will not ?nd anything favorable for the cultivation of Krishna consciousness or for the pursuit of Krishna’s happiness.  Instead one will ?nd that one’s heart is dominated by the demoniac desire for one’s own happiness.  One has to give up such tendencies, which are unfavorable for devotion, and one has to give up all pride and arrogance.  A devotee can ?nd all opportunity to serve Krishna only when he wants to serve Krishna under the guidance of Gurudeva.  But unfortunately we have forgotten to make any effort to make Krishna happy; instead we have become busy in pursuit of our own happiness.
	Alas!  Instead of making Krishna the head of our household, we are acting in the role of the householder and we have become attached to our family life.  But if we want what is good for us then we have to become careful, while we are alive in this human body.  Otherwise we will be deceived; we will miss our golden opportunity.

Question:  Will it be more helpful if we become sannyÅsÈs?

Srila Prabhupada:  Never.  The external garb of a sannyÅsÈ will not help anyone.  If a devotee thinks that Gurudeva is his life and soul and serving Gurudeva is his life’s purpose, then he will become a real sannyÅsÈ.  One has to become a devotee-sannyÅsÈ by being attached to Gurudeva and the holy name.  But those who will not serve Krishna under the guidance of Gurudeva and will have bad association, will face disaster.  They will never know the Supreme Lord, nor will they ever be able to serve him.
	In this world it is possible to take the garb of a sÅdhu and deceive other men.  But the omniscient Lord, who is the giver of the result of karma, will not let them get away with it.  Those who are taking the garb of a sÅdhu and spending their time in bad association are only hurting themselves.  Those who rely on others instead of relying on God face only misery.

Question:  Whom does Krishna attract?

Srila Prabhupada:  The personality called “Krishna” attracts the three worlds.  It is reality which attracts.  Whom does Krishna attract?  Magnets attract iron; they will not attract wood.  Similarly the worshippable Lord attracts the servitors, who are eager to serve him, to worship him.  The servitors are attracted by the charm of service.  But on his path, if the servitor is distracted by something else, then this original attraction will evade him.  On one side there is the attraction of the material world, which is the cause of all bondage; on the other side there is the attraction of Krishna, which is the cause of all bliss.  In this world the objects of the senses—the form, the smell, the touch, the sounds of external objects—are very close to me.  That is why I, the weak person, become attached to them.  Under the circumstances, only if we can continuously hear about the Supreme Lord from Guru and sÅdhu can we be protected from these nearby enemies.  If we are not attracted by the lotus feet of Krishna then we will de?nitely be attracted by mÅyÅ.  When Krishna’s name, form and pastimes will attract us, we will get some relief from our present role as the enjoyer, as “Krishna”.  The more we discuss topics of Krishna, the more we will get rid of this false identity of ourselves as the enjoyer.  Then Krishna will really attract us.
Question:  Why are we not feeling any closeness to Krishna?

Srila Prabhupada:  The living entity is constitutionally a servitor of the Supreme Lord.  But if we do not always associate with the Lord and his devotees, and do not always serve them, then how can we feel close to the Lord?  If we are busy with worldly matters then how can we hear the Lord?  At present we are enchanted by false hopes, which have resulted in wrong judgement.  Thus we are heavily preoccupied with this world.  We have become subject to wrong judgement, because we have gone far away from the Original Fountainhead of our life.  One who steps in quicksand will drown very quickly.  Similarly that on which we are depending has a treacherous foundation, and that is why we are drowning in this material ocean.  Instead of being on the path of Krishna we are spending our time in material endeavors, being possessed by wicked desires.  Vi›ˆumÅyÅ or the illusory energy of the Lord is imprisoning us by letting us become material enjoyers or fruitive workers.  Therefore we should be cautious.  We should know that we require guidance at every step.  We should be extra careful.  We need instruction at every step; we need the guidance of Gurudeva at every step.
	Serving the devotees is more bene?cial for us than serving the Lord.  The living entity is bene?tted more by associating with devotees than by associating with the Lord.  The abode of a devotee, meaning the abode of Gurudeva, is more favorable for pure devotional service than the abode of the Lord.  ßrÈla Bhaktivinode †hÅkura has said “yethÅya vai›ˆava-gaˆa sei sthÅna vÂndÅvana” (“Where Vai›ˆavas are living—that place is VÂndÅvana”) and we have to try to understand the full meaning of these words.  But if we become indifferent to the service of Gurudeva, then we cannot become servitors.  We will remain proud and arrogant.  We will remain entangled in external thoughts.
	There is no higher thought in the theistic world than service at the lotus feet of ßrÈ-ßrÈ RÅdhÅ-Govinda.  Therefore we have to constantly hear Hari-kathÅ, so we will not be deprived from the service of the Lord, who is Adhok›aja or beyond the senses; so we will not become dependent on our senses and on the path of false logic.  We have to pay great attention to devotional service, because we have spent many lifetimes doing these other things.  We have to become very mindful so we can fu?ll our greatest necessity in this very life.  If a devotee always serves Guru and Krishna with great care, with great attachment and love, then he will de?nitely feel Krishna’s association.

Question:  Why is there so much misery in this world?

Srila Prabhupada: The Supreme Lord is saying, “I have arranged so much misery, so much pain, so much trouble and danger, not to make you suffer, but to teach you that all this misery is unnecessary; so you will search for the happiness that is eternally desirable, the joy that is eternally adorable.

Question:  Why are trivial talk and gossip (grÅmya-kathÅ) unfavorable for devotion and harmful for us?

Srila Prabhupada: ßrÈman MahÅprabhu has said, “Do no hear grÅmya-kathÅ and do not speak grÅmya-kathÅ.  Do not eat sumptuous food and do not wear fancy clothes.”  He said those words for those who are very attached to devotional service.  If one eats sumptuous food one only harms oneself.  This does not create any problem for others; it does not cause any disturbance in anyone else’s devotional life.  But it is much more harmful to wear fancy clothes.  People wear fancy clothes only for the sake of others.  How for the sake of others?  The only purpose behind wearing fancy clothes is to distract others’ eyes and mind from devotional service to the Supreme Lord.  It is also not bene?cial to indulge the tongue.  “If one runs here and there to satisfy his tongue, then such a tongue-indulgent person does not attain Krishna.”  MahÅprabhu also said this.  If one hears grÅmya-kathÅ, one hurts oneself more than by eating sumptuous food, and if one speaks grÅmya-kathÅ, one hurts others more than by wearing fancy clothes.  ßrÈla RaghunÅth DÅs GoswÅmÈ said that to hear or speak harmful things (things which are untrue, gossip, things which are distasteful or things which are very trivial) is the same as associating with a prostitute.  Such talk distracts the mind and contaminates the consciousness, and thus creates a great obstacle to devotional service.  You should know that those who are attached to such talk automatically will be unattracted by Hari-kathÅ.
	If ?ve ordinary people get together then invariably they will talk about trivial things.  This is why devotees constantly talk about the Supreme Lord.  Where there is hari-kathÅ, there no one gets a chance to gossip or talk about trivial things.

Question:  What is the process for attaining happiness?

Srila Prabhupada: When a devotee is ?rmly situated at the lotus feet of his Gurudeva, then he gets Gurudeva’s association, through his service.  Then he gets relief from fear and grief and becomes really happy.  If one is always engaged in the service of Gurudeva, with body, mind, and soul, then one soon attains the mercy of Gurudeva.  When Gurudeva is pleased then one’s inclination to serve Gurudeva increases day by day.  This is the highest bene?t and the only desirable thing.

Question:  What is devotion?

Srila Prabhupada:  To endeavor for the happiness of the Supreme Lord—that is devotion.  When on has devotion then the only thing which has any meaning, any signi?cance for him, is Krishna’s happiness.  A devotee never seeks his own happiness.  This is the soul’s natural inclination.  When the living entity ?nds his real identity, then he sees that his eternal and spontaneous tendency is to seek Krishna’s happiness.  In his real identity, he has no other business.  The mundane, inferior urges are not the property of the soul; they are not the property of the real person, but the property of the perverse person.  That is why these urges change all the time; they are temporary.  Only devotion gives relief from fear, illusion, and grief.  Fear, illusion, and grief originate from a second interest, interest in things other than Krishna.  Devotion has only one root, one purpose, one shelter, one destination.  Devotion means sole attachment for the Lord, undivided attention to Krishna.

Question:  Does God interfere with the independence of the living entity?

Srila Prabhupada:  The living entity is a minute particle of the in?nite transcendental consciousness, the Supreme Lord.  The property of the body of water which is the ocean is also present in a drop of water.  The Supreme Lord is completely independent; the living entity, who is a minute particle of consciousness, also has minute independence.  The living entity is not a created thing; it is eternal.  The living entity is not part of matter; it is part of consciousness.  The independence of the living entity is not given to him by somebody on this plane.  Independence exists automatically in the soul of the living entity.  It is by misusing this independence that the living entity is suffering.  God does not interfere with anyone’s independence.  He is not a killer of consciousness.  The Supreme Lord is an ocean of mercy.  That is why he just lets the conscious souls know what is good use and what is bad use of their properties deriving from consciousness.  One who worships the Lord according to those instructions which come from Him and the scriptures uses his independence in the proper way, and he is supremely bene?tted.

Question:  What is mÅyÅ (the illusory energy)?

Srila Prabhupada:  MÈyate anayÅ iti mÅyÅ.  That which can be measured is mÅyÅ.  MÅ + yÅ = mÅyÅ.  That which is not, is mÅyÅ.  What is temporary and destructible is mÅyÅ.  What is not centered on BhagavÅn is mÅyÅ.  BhagavÅn is the controller of mÅyÅ; he cannot be measured.  According to Christianity, the Lord is one entity, and Satan is a separate entity.  But the mÅyÅ which is described in the ßrÈmad BhÅgavatam is not like that.  According to the BhÅgavat school, mÅyÅ resides in the Supreme Lord in a condemned state; mÅyÅ is a part of Krishna.  It exists to correct those living entities who are averse to Krishna, by punishing them.

Question: How are we to live in this material world?

Srila Prabhupada:  If a man is tied to a rod and beaten, then he will be forced to suffer the beating, but that is not his real desire.   Similarly we have to live in this world in a spirit of rejection.  Otherwise, misery and disaster will be unavoidable.

Question: Who will be delivered from this material world?

Srila Prabhupada:  If one gives one hundred percent then the Lord will de?nitely deliver him.  If the association of the sÅdhus and Guru, service to the sÅdhus and Guru, does not become an integral part of our life, then this desire to give one hundred percent does not arise within us.  On the other hand, it is not possible to attain the Lord who is complete, unless one completely dedicates himself.  God is complete and perfect.  He wants what is complete and perfect—complete love, complete surrender.  The complete can be attained only by giving completely.  One receives according to what one gives.

Question:  To whom does God not reveal himself?

Srila Prabhupada:  God is in?nite consciousness and the living entity is minute consciousness.  If someone wants to keep back some part of this minute consciousness, if someone thinks, “I do not want to give God all of it,” then the in?nite consciousness does not want to reveal himself to that person.

Question:  If I serve Krishna, according to my liking, is that devotion?

Srila Prabhupada: No.  To serve Krishna according to His liking is devotion.  What I like is a reflection of my material desire; that is not devotion.  This is why I cannot be an enjoyer, nor can I be a renunciate; I have to become a devotee.  I have to give up my independence, take shelter in him, and take great care to make him happy.

Question: Why are we not making any progress in our bhajan?

Srila Prabhupada: How is that possible? We are occupied only in dealing with the external world. That is why external thoughts, thoughts of the material world, are dominating us. It is necessary to look inside, instead of looking outside or looking for objects of sense grati?cation. Are we not supposed to be extremely eager to serve the Lord who is residing in our heart? But we are not doing that; so how can we make progress in our bhajan? Is it possible to make any progress in our bhajan if we are eager to increase our own comfort or to improve the comfort of our family? How can we have any enthusiasm or eagerness to serve our eternal friends—Krishna and Guru—when we are enthusiastically busy to make those robbers who are known as our friends and relatives happy? It is not possible to go towards the East when we are walking towards the West. I am saying so many things, yet people’s illusion, that those who are far from them are actually close to them, is not going away. It is their destiny to be miserable. So, what can I do?

Question: What is the dharma (property or characteristic) of prÈti (love or affection)?

Srila Prabhupada: The characteristics of prÈti and aprÈti (absence of affection) are never the same. The property of the soul is the property of prÈti and the property of the mind is the property of aprÈti. There is no con?ict between the dharma of prema (love), the dharma of bhakti (devotion), the supreme dharma, the dharma prescribed in the BhÅgavat, and the dharma of sevÅ (service). There is harmony in all that. Only when we fall from the practice of this loving devotion do we think of each other as objects of exploitation. Humans can have no problems when they know every human being to be a servitor of Krishna. Then a person can realize that he is a Vai›ˆava. Then the spontaneous affection of one Vai›ˆava for another automatically awakens in his heart. Nowhere in this world does this prÈti dharma exist; everywhere there is the dharma of con?ict, which is full of the ?ghting propensity.

Question: How does a devotee see this world?

Srila Prabhupada: A mahÅbhÅgavat sees the whole world as the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Mercy is something to be worshiped. We cannot be the masters of this mercy, nor can we control it. If we think of this world as an object of our enjoyment instead of seeing it as an object of Krishna’s enjoyment or as a manifestation of Krishna’s mercy, then we have to be punished for that, we have to face some misery.

Question: What kind of ?rm faith should we have in the lotus feet of ßrÈ Gurudeva?

Srila Prabhupada: A true disciple knows his Gurudeva to be someone who is extremely dear to Krishna, who is sent by Krishna, and who is the Servitor Lord (Sevaka BhagavÅn). A sincere disciple has the same devotion for his Gurudeva that he has for the Supreme Lord. And he worships and serves him the same way. Those who do not serve their Gurudeva this way fall from their position as a disciple. No one can chant the holy name purely unless they see Gurudeva as non-different from Krishna, as Krishna’s manifestation.
	I shall serve ßrÈ ßrÈ Guru and GaurÅ/ga with simplicity and sincerity under the guidance of Gurudeva. My Gurudeva has the words of the Supreme Lord, and I will be obedient to that word in the proper way. I will not disrespect my Gurudeva under the in?uence of anyone in this world. If I have to become proud, if I have to become a beast, if I have to go to hell, by carrying out the order of Gurudeva who is sent by Krishna, then I want to sign a contract to go to hell for all eternity. I will not listen to anything anybody says, other than the order of my Gurudeva. By the power that has come to me from the lotus feet of Gurudeva, I will throw out all other currents of consciousness of the world with a punch of my ?st. If a throw a particle of dust from the pollen of the lotus feet of ßrÈ Gurudeva, then millions of people of this world will be delivered. There is no scholarship, there is no good concept in the fourteen worlds that is heavier than a particle of dust from the lotus feet of my Gurudeva. A true disciple will have this kind of ?rm faith and determination.

Question: To be MahÅprabhu’s associate and to be His devotee—is this the same thing?

Answer: No.  One who is His associate is called His “Sa/gi”.  “Sa/gi” means one who goes with Him everywhere.  Those who do not associate with Him all the time cannot be called His “Sa/gis” or associates.  At the same time ßrÈ Narottama DÅsa  hÅkura was MahÅprabhu’s associate, even though he did not appear when MahÅprabhu manifested Himself.  But Narottama DÅsa  hÅkura descended to this world only to ful?ll MahÅprabhu’s desire.  He is eternally engaged in MahÅprabhu’s service; in his heart MahÅprabhu’s desires manifest themselves.  Narottama DÅsa  hÅkura nurtures the mood of intimate service.  Therefore he is an eternally liberated associate of MahÅprabhu.

Question: The following is considered to be the most signi?cant verse of the Bhagavad-gÈtÅ:

sarva-dharmÅn parityajya
mÅm eka˜ Íaraˆa˜ vraja
aha˜ tvÅ˜ sarva-pÅpebhyo
mok›ayi›yÅmi mÅ ÍucaÓ
						—Bhagavad-gÈtÅ 18.66
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.  I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions.  Do not fear.”  But MahÅprabhu said of this verse, “eho bÅhya”—this is also external.  Why is that?

Answer: Yes, MahÅprabhu said to RÅya RÅmÅnanda Prabhu that even this great verse was only external.  Devotional love for the Supreme Lord is the natural inclination of the soul.  So the Supreme Lord should not have to canvass for Himself.  He should not have to coax us to love Him.  He should not have to somehow persuade us to become His devotee.  He should not have to make us promise to love Him.  His devotees naturally engage themselves wholeheartedly to make Him happy, due to their spontaneous, uncontrollable love for Him.
	If a father has to take great trouble to make his son love Him, then everyone can understand what kind of son he has.  It is only natural that the devotee will automatically, following his heart’s desire, serve his Lord.  But in this situation it seems that the opposite is happening.  Not only has the devotee forgotten his Lord, but he has forgotten his own eternal identity.  Being forgetful of his eternal existence, he has become the master of the temporary, and he is serving the temporary.  This is why MahÅprabhu said of this great verse that it is external: to teach us about pure devotion—the supreme devotion belonging to Vraja DhÅma.

Question: Is MahÅprabhu’s mercy the highest mercy?

Answer: Of course.  There is no one more merciful than MahÅprabhu and His devotees.  The help or bene?t which has come from them is the real help.  Any other proposal of help is actually very deceiving, and a great disservice.  But the relief, the help, which comes from MahÅprabhu and His devotees, is really the supreme and eternal help.  This relief does not last only for a few days.  It is not that kind of help which will soon create some bad side effect, some unfavorable reaction.  It is not that kind of help which will be favorable to some and unfavorable to others.  We can do something good for our country, but that may have a bad effect on another country.  I might get some happiness at the expense of someone else’s misery.  Someone else may enjoy something which will create a lack in my life.  I may bene?t by riding in a horse-drawn coach, but this will de?nitely create discomfort for the horses.  MahÅprabhu and His devotees did not deceive mankind by proposing such means of relief.  The relief which they have recommended, the gift which they have bestowed, will be supremely bene?cial to all people at all times.  This relief is for the whole universe.  Therefore it is not narrow-minded help.  MahÅprabhu and His devotees were never interested in any kind of relief which was narrow-minded, sectarian and temporary.  No bad reaction ever comes to anyone from MahÅprabhu’s mercy.  This is why MahÅprabhu’s mercy is called ‘AmandodayÅ’—the faultless mercy.  This is why we say MahÅprabhu is supremely magnanimous, and His devotees are even more magnanimous.  This is not ?ction, this is reality.
	MahÅprabhu’s mercy is perfect and unlimited.  Everyone else’s mercy is limited and therefore deceiving.  All other incarnations, such as Matsyadeva, Kurmadeva, VarÅhadeva, RÅmacandra, and even Lord Krishna Himself only bestowed their supreme mercy on the surrendered souls.  But They all annihilated the opposing party.  Only MahÅprabhu distributed his mercy even to the opposing party.  He did not hesitate to bestow his faultless mercy on the KÅzi, the Buddhists, and others.

Question: Shall we always tell the unadulterated truth?

Answer: Absolutely.  We will fearlessly tell everyone the truth, without deceiving anyone.  We have to speak the kind of truth that is truly bene?cial for the living being, even if it is unpleasant.  This is not the same as creating anxiety for others (“bhutodvega”).  We have to search for reality.  We have to think about the good of all people in the world.  We have to do what is bene?cial for ourselves and others with great determination.  We have to try to work not just for the welfare of the people of this age, but for the eternal bene?t of people of every era.  We have to tell everyone about that joyful abode of the Lord, the land of the in?nite, from which no one has to come back.  But to tell others about that transcendental world it is absolutely necessary for us to get the shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master.
	We will always serve ßrÈ Gurudeva, who is the giver of transcendental knowledge.  If we live in our own house then we should serve him together with all our family members.  We will keep the Lord and His devotees in nice houses, and we ourselves will live in simple quarters or in thatched cottages.  If we feed the Lord without feeding ourselves, then we will de?nitely receive His mercy.
	We must think at all times, “Everything belongs to the Lord.”  Our lives will be successful if we can use everything in the world in the service of the Lord. All these concepts have to be preached by ?rst following them oneself.  ßrÈ-ßrÈ Guru and GaurÅ/ga will not be pleased until we can speak the truth fearlessly.
	If I am afraid that if I tell the truth objectively, it may become unpleasant, and so I do not speak the truth, then that means I have given up the path of revealed truth and I have accepted a path which is not bona ?de; then I am an atheist and a cheater.

Question: Who is attached to household life?
Answer: One who thinks of oneself as a man or woman is attached to household life.  Such a person is an illusioned householder (“gÂhavrata”). The illusioned householder  is greedy for money, relations with the opposite sex, and name and fame (“kanaka, kÅminÈ, prati›ÊhÅ”).  One who has the tendency to enjoy these three things is an illusioned householder or “gÂhavrata”.
	A gÂhavrata thinks, “I need others to serve me.  The goal of my life is to be the owner of my household and to gratify my senses in any way I like.”
	We are living on the level of consciousness centered on the body.  We are pretending to be masters, by becoming gÂhavratas.  We are getting into trouble by looking at this world through the eyes of enjoyment.  Until we have the proper intelligence to see that the whole world is meant to serve the Lord, we will remain on the level of the illusioned householder; we will never know about our real bene?t.  Those who resolve to take the path of enjoyment or the path of complete renunciation lose everything.  They never get to know the Supreme Lord.
	By depending on this temporary world one can only get misery and death.   Actual death and the suffering of the three-fold miseries result from a materialistic lifestyle which is averse to Krishna.
	All the thoughts and efforts of this material world are actually leading to death.  The gÂhavrata does not think, “These kinds of thoughts and tendencies are taking me to hell day by day, and they can only give me more and more misery, now and in the future.”

Question: How should one live in one’s house?

Answer: One can destroy his tendency to fall into the dark pit of materialistic household life by having the bene?cial association of the great saints.  Only by associating with liberated souls does one achieve the quali?cations to become a transcendental householder (“pÅramÅrthika gÂhastha”).  Those who do not associate with the devotee bhÅgavata (the Lord residing in His devotee) and the book bhÅgavata (the Lord residing in the scripture BhÅgavat), which are non-different, cannot have a bene?cial life, living in their own homes.
	It is good to live in one’s own house with the desire to serve the Lord; then one can serve the Lord properly.  But this is not possible for the illusioned householder attached to money, the opposite sex, and name and fame.  One should enter into his house resolving to serve Krishna.  That is much better than false renunciation.  Nothing good can come from false renunciation.  If one’s household life is favorable for devotional service then that is acceptable; on the contrary, if it is unfavorable for devotional service, then such a deep, dark pit called “home” should be given up.  But if one wants to show off his desire for renunciation and shows some detachment then that is not bene?cial.  Such an immature renunciate will fall from his position in a few days.
	The tendencies of the illusioned householders can only be destroyed by associating with the devotees of the Lord.  Those who enter into household life following the rules of the external world will be more and more absorbed in the illusioned condition.  Just as the devotees of the Lord need to enter into the sannyÅsa ÅÍrama (the lifestyle of a renunciate), in the same way they need to enter into the gÂhastha ÅÍrama (the lifestyle of a householder).  The festival known as “gÂhapraveÍa” (entering a house for the ?rst time) should be celebrated only by a devotee householder, not a non-devotee householder.  When a devotee enters his house we should know that he has actually entered his maÊh.  For a devotee, there is no difference between entering his house and entering a maÊh.  But there is a heaven-and-hell difference between a devotee’s entering his house and a non-devotee’s entering his house.
	One should enter one’s house only to always engage oneself in the service and thoughts of Krishna, and to have everything favorable for that.  The householder should always stay away from bad association and gossip.  He should nurture with great care such qualities as enthusiasm, determination, and patience, and such devotional practices as hearing and chanting (“Íravana-kÈrtana”).  To serve Hari, Guru, and Vai›ˆava, to chant ßrÈ NÅma, to associate with the sÅdhus, and to hear about the Lord are the essential duties of householders.  If all their endeavors are directed toward the service of the Lord, then they will de?nitely bene?t, they will be protected and their lives will be ful?lled.

Question: When something happens, how should we perceive it?

Answer: If you see it from the other side, from Krishna’s side, then you will see that everything is all right.  But if you see it from this side, from your own or someone else’s controlling position, then everything will be topsy-turvy.
	So to see things from the other side is to take knowledge from the descending path, the path of revealed truth.  This is to see things through a deductive process.  This is the proper perspective.  But to take knowledge from the ascending path, to see things through an inductive process, is to see things with a calculating mentality.  The we do not see the Lord as the controller.  We think we are the controllers and see everything with that egotistical vision.  The result of this is misery.

Question: When a devotee is born in a family, does that family bene?t from his or her birth?

Answer: When a great saint, a pure devotee, appears in a family, then his ancestors and descendants for a hundred generations each are elevated.  When a devotee of the middle stature (madhyama bhÅgavata) appears in a family, then his ancestors and descendants for fourteen generations each are elevated.  When a neophyte devotee appears in a family, then his ancestors and descendants for three generations each are elevated.

Question: Why are devotees sometimes born in low-class families?  If devotees are not subject to the results of their actions (karma) then why are they sometimes illiterate or disease-ridden?

Answer: Devotees are never subject to the result of their karma.  It is by the will of the Lord that they take birth and perform other pastimes.  But when it is seen that they are born in low-class families, are illiterate, or are disease-ridden, we should know that there is a great or noble purpose behind it.  If people saw that devotees were always born in high-class families or were always strong or educated, then they would become discouraged.  So the merciful Lord, in order to bene?t people of all classes, sends His devotees to different classes of society to give His mercy to other living entities.  This is something like catching a wild male elephant by sending a trained female elephant.  ßrÈla VÂndÅvana DÅsa  hÅkura has said in the Chaitanya BhÅgavat that a Vai›ˆava delivers everyone just by taking birth.  In a land and in a family where a Vai›ˆava descends, many hundreds of miles around that place become puri?ed by his in?uence.  Even if you see some external misery in a Vai›ˆava’s life, you should know that he is in great ecstasy.  Those who are blinded by pride in their material possessions do not know any of these things.  Intoxicated with pride in their education, money, and family, they do not recognize a Vai›ˆava.
	If a devotee appears in a low-class family, then we should not think that it is a result of his sin, that he was subject to the result of his action.  Rather, we should know that he has puri?ed a low-class family.  If a good person becomes successful only in the devotional process, then we should consider him a great soul.

Question: Where there is Hari-kÈrtan, is that considered to be DhÅma (a holy place)?

Answer: I cannot think of the places where devotees of the Lord reside or congregate and always chant and discuss the holy name and pastimes of the Lord as anything other than ßrÈ DhÅma.  These places are partial manifestations of the eternal holy DhÅmas.  ßrÈ Vi›ˆu is residing in the heart of every living soul, in every atom.  Thus every place is ßrÈ DhÅma.  The day the mercy of ßrÈ Gurudeva is manifest in one’s heart, one achieves this kind of vision.

Question: What is the difference between weakness and deceitfulness or hypocrisy?

Answer: Weakness is one thing and deceitfulness is another thing.  They are not the same.  Good things happen only to a person free from deceitfulness.  A deceitful person does not get any bene?t.  Another name for straightforwardness is “Vai›ˆavatÅ” or the quality of a Vai›ˆava.  A straightforward person can be weak, but he is not deceitful.  A person who is deceitful says one thing and thinks another.  A weak person is always ashamed, sorry, and morti?ed because of his own inadequacies, but a deceitful person is proud of his own tricks.
	“I will deceive the åchÅrya; I will fool the doctor; I will hide the poisonous snakes of my bad tendencies in the dark recess of hypocrisy, I will not let anyone know about them—but I will get some name and fame from other people by pretending to be saintly,”—this kind of mentality is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of terrible deceitfulness.  Such people will never bene?t.  One gradually receives the grace of God by listening to the pure words of a sÅdhu in a humble, sincere mood.  If we put on the garb of a devotee and become busy with non-devotional activities, if we are absorbed in material enjoyment and that becomes a priority, or if we take the tridaˆÎa and want to kidnap SÈtÅ, like RÅvana, then we are stabbing ourselves to death.  We are doing something terrible in the name of Hari-bhajana.  If for millions of births we have some weakness, some bad habits, that is not so harmful.  But if once we take to the path of deceitfulness—we pretend to be devotees, but secretly engage in sinful enjoyment—then all troubles will remain with us.  It is better to take birth among millions of other species, as a bird or a beast or an insect.  To take the path of deceitfulness is never good.

Question: Is it proper to think of a non-devotee as a devotee?

Answer: No.  ßrÈ Gurudeva is NÅmÅchÅrya; he is ßrÈnÅma-kÈrtana-kÅri (the chanter of the holy name).  One who is an offender to the holy name should not be considered Guru.  A bona ?de Guru does not make provision for anyone’s sense grati?cation, nor does he say anything with the purpose of pleasing anyone.  One who is on the path of pleasure does not like the words of those who are on the path of the highest goal.  Such people are in search of something pleasing to them; that is why they are deprived of what is really bene?cial.
	To think of a non-devotee as a devotee and to think of false devotion as devotion is only self-deception.  When one does not have the good fortune of serving or honoring a devotee, then he has this desire to accept a non-devotee as a devotee.  But can a crow become a peacock by attaching some peacock feathers to its body?  Can a disguised jackal become a lion, the king of beasts?  How long can this deceitful trick be covered up?  The truth will always be manifest.  Those who serve Krishna are not weak; only they are strong and determined.  Only by one’s good fortune can one understand that the highest thing is devotional service to Krishna, that the great person is a servitor of Krishna.  Due to attachment to the external, one can admire someone’s petty pride in money, or insigni?cant pride in education, or meaningless pride in beauty, and then one one will be in great danger due to one’s indifference to the service and servitor of Krishna.

Question: Are sin and offense the same?

Answer: No.  One commits sin by disobeying the rules of human society, but one commits offense by showing disrespect to the lotus feet of Vi›ˆu and Vai›ˆava.  Offense is a million times more dangerous than sin.  Sin can be destroyed by atonement, but offense cannot be destroyed that way.  Only by taking the all-bene?cial names of ßrÈ-ßrÈ Gaura-NityÅnanda, the friends of the fallen, can one make offense go away.

Question: Is anger towards someone who is malicious to devotees a part of devotion?

Answer: We have to be angry at someone who is malicious to devotees; that is part of our devotional practice.  To do otherwise is improper.  But who is malicious to devotees?  That concept has to be very clear.  Those who do not serve the Supreme Lord, Who is the friend of the whole world, Who is supremely joyful, and Who is in the heart of everyone, cannot do anything good for themselves; rather they invite danger and inauspiciousness by being malicious to Krishna and His devotees.  Those are the ones who are malicious; we cannot show mercy to them.  We have to show our indifference or anger to those who are intoxicatedly absorbed in the worship of akÂ›ˆa (non-God).  But ?rst of all I have to see if I myself am an enemy of the devotees.  It is essential to ask, am I serving Krishna or am I doing something else in the pretense of devotional service, how much love do I have for Krishna, do I want to cheat Krishna, and do I want to enjoy what is meant for His enjoyment?
	I see that I, with my body which is greedy for enjoyment, am a great enemy of Krishna and His devotees.  Instead of always remembering the lotus feet of Krishna and thinking of His happiness I am engaged in the search for my own happiness, in gossip and fault-?nding.  I am not looking at myself at all; I am not seeing my own fault.  Therefore, ?rst of all I have to express anger at myself—I who am such a great enemy of the devotees.  I have to show anger to myself by beating my mind with a pair of shoes.  I have to purify myself.  I have to try in every way to have an exemplary character and to sincerely serve Hari, Guru, and Vai›ˆavas.  Only then will I bene?t.  I have to constantly remember that everyone is serving the Lord; only I could not serve the Lord and I may die at any moment.
	?rst of all I have to express anger towards my bad tendencies that are unfavorable for devotion, such as desire for material gain, prestige, and position, and my tendencies towards deceitfulness.  This way I have to control them.  I have to look at my own interest ?rst.  Otherwise great danger will come my way.  Then I have to express anger towards my friends and relatives, related to my body, who are against Guru and Krishna, who want to see me as an enjoyer and thus are attracting me to mÅyÅ.  Only then will I be safe and the highest good will come to me, not otherwise.

Question: Who is Guru?
Answer: One who can protect me from the death that is this material life, is Guru.  One who can protect me from the fear of death, is Guru.  One by going to whom I do not have to go to anyone else, by listening to whom I do not have to listen to anyone else, is Guru.  The reservoir of grace whom the Supreme Lord, the personi?cation of the supreme good, has made responsible for looking after my welfare, is my Guru.  One by whose grace I can get rid of my controlling ego, is Guru.  One who brings the revealed truth to us, who by showering us with such truth can make us humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree, is Guru.  One who makes us respectful to others without having any desire for respect from others, who can manifest transcendental kÈrtan in our mouths by transferring his own potency, who himself is the personi?cation of the potency of the Lord, is Guru.  Only the lotus feet of ßrÈ Guru can free us from the shackles of illusion.
	One who gives me the transcedental knowledge that all the people of the world are respectable and worshipable by me, that the whole world is meant for service to Guru and everyone is my Guru, that I am a servitor of Krishna, and that service to Krishna is my only duty, is ßrÈ Guru.

Excerpts translated from the Bengali book:

PrabhupÅda, ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ †hÅkura. ßrÈla PrabhupÅder UpadeÍÅmrta (Nectar of ßrÈla PrabhupÅda’s Instructions), collected by TridaˆÎi SwÅmÈ ßrÈmad Bhakti Mayukha BhÅgavata MahÅrÅja, ßrÈ Chaitanya MaÊha, 1990.

Bhaktisiddhanta Vani
Excerpts from lectures  and essays

My Gurudeva is residing in many different personalities. If he does not reside in many different personalities, then who will protect me? Those whom my Gurudeva considered close to him are my saviors. But I hope I never have to see the faces of such evil-doing rascals as those who have criticized the lotus feet of my Gurudeva, or those who have somehow supported such criticisms.

i
By attributing fatherhood to Divinity, we can only demand some service from Him and later express some gratitude. But expressing gratitude is not rendering devotional service, nor is it a symptom of love. The concept of service from the father on one hand and of expressing gratitude on the other, is founded on partial realization. This is not the same as having the unalloyed desired for the happiness of the Lord; this is not devotional service.
	In the concept of demanding service and expressing gratitude, there is an inherent element of calculation, of give and take. The causeless and uninterrupted desire to serve the Lord cannot develop from this. This underdeveloped concept of theism can blossom fully when one attributes sonhood to Divinity. In the concept of [the Lord's] fatherhood the son's true identity [as the eternal servant of the Lord] is not revealed, but in the concept of [the Lord's] sonhood the father's identity [as His eternal servant] is fully included. "åtmÅ vai jayate putraÓ"—"It is the ÅtmÅ (the father) who gives birth to the son." The son cannot serve his father from the beginning, but the father can serve his son from the beginning.

i
Mundane renunciation, sacri?ce and austerity are not the symptoms of saintliness. The ant may say, "The elephant eats a lot; I do not eat so much, I eat very little." Then the ant becomes a greater sÅdhu than the elephant! But the elephant carries Krishna to Syamanta Pa–caka (in Kuruk›etra, where RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ sees Krishna again) and the ant may bite Krishna. In spite of eating a lot the elephant is carrying Krishna, serving Krishna, and in spite of eating a little the ant may bite Krishna.

i
I who am subject to the three modes of material nature am de?nitely faulty, but the I who can transcend the three modes of material nature is the eternal truth, an attractive and enjoyable entity. If by considering the enjoyable entity (the liberated servant of the Lord) to be the same in quality as the unenjoyable entity (the conditioned soul) the idea of the enjoyable entity is given up, then the resulting inactive condition can be found even in such inanimate objects as stones. The argument or endeavor to give up transcendental qualities in order to give up material faults is only stupidity or self-deceit. For example: suppose I have a boil on my body. I go to a doctor to consult him about how to get relief from this pain. He tells me, "Stab yourself to death, then you will get eternal relief from your pain." What I need is a cure for my boil; I do not need to commit suicide. The mÅyÅvÅdis commit suicide in order to get rid of the boil. We have to solve the problems of this world of duality. But the faulty argument that in order to do so it is also necessary to destroy the eternal individualty of the soul is only stupidity. The devoteees of the Lord will never accept such advice. To destroy the property of the self, of consciousness, can never be a justi?ed principle. It is the existence of that which is not the real identity of the self that should be destroyed. The element of consciousness which seeks the eternal truth always forbids and scorns self-destruction. No intelligent person can desire the imaginary peace that comes from self-destruction. The eternal desire of the soul is to cultivate its loving relationship with the Lord.

i
The full realization of Ånanda (bliss or joy) is our supreme goal. Mere relief from pain is not our need. We have to find our wealth in a positive liberation. But we have to make sure that we do not look for the wrong thing. One has to be very cautious about this. We have to do the preparatory groundwork before death. We will accept the help, knowledge and intelligence of our friends, of science, or any other source only if that helps us to serve the devotees of the Lord. But we will not cultivate any tendency to carry our burdens and trash from here to the other world.
	To be under the shelter of the Lord is the only safe path. If we know how to do some arithmetic, we can understand how much endeavor was needed to meet the temporary needs of one hundred years, so in that ratio, how much more endeavor is needed to meet the needs of our eternal life. That effort has to start in this life, because only this human life can facilitate the pursuit of the eternal goal. If human beings can understand this simple mathematics, then they will not pursue any activity in this life other than cultivating Krishna-consciousness. Our every step, every breath, every action should be aimed at establishing our relationship with Krishna.

i
ßrÈ Gurudeva has said, "Come, we shall all serve the Lord together." When he said "we", he did not mean any one person. Some people become sel?sh and they think, "I alone will serve; it is my service alone, no one else has a right to do this." But the merciful ßrÈ Gurudeva says, "Come, give up your envy and competitiveness, let us all serve the Lord together."
	The worship of the Lord is higher than anything else. "Since this is higher than anything else, no one else can do it" or "I will not let anyone else do it"—such envy did not come from the lotus feet of Gurudeva. The kÈrtan that is done by everyone is sa/kÈrtan.
	The message of ßrÈ Gaurasundar is that in order to pray to the Lord for his help, we have to become "tÂnÅdapi sunÈca"—humbler than a blade of grass. One does not ask for the help of someone else unless he understands his own limitations. When we consider ourselves helpless, when we realize, "Things are not getting done by my own endeavor; I have no choice but to accept help from others," then only will we pray for such help. The work that has to be done by many can never be done by one's own effort.

i
If I proclaim myself to be superior to others, no one will listen to me. They will slap me in the face and knock me down off my pedestal. If I do not have the tendency to give respect to others, then I should not tell others about the Supreme Lord. If the only goal of my life is to serve the Lord, then I should not humiliate and disrespect anyone in this world. If the world belongs to the Lord, then I should know what my relationship is with His world
.

i
Just as this great external mansion, the GauÎiya MaÊh, has been built, similarly to establish internal Hari-bhajan in this world quite a few books have to be written and published. The temple which is within the books and the temple which is within the devotees are more important than the temple built with bricks and stones, because by constructing such temples Hari-kathÅ can be preached in this world much longer. Now we have only procured a seat [for Hari-kathÅ]. We have built a castle to preach about the Lord by spending someone's entire savings of a lifetime. But we have to protect ourselves in this castle from the association of materialistic people; we have to defend ourselves from the confusion of this age of Kali (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy). So we have to publish and distribute many more books. Only if we can construct the temple in the form of books and in the form of ideal lives can the idea of devotional service remain permanently in this world.

i
Those who are transcendental householders work very hard for devotional service just as they work hard to maintain their families. The transcendental householders are completely indifferent to material enjoyment. They are engaged 24 hours a day in devotional service and all their endeavours are aimed at pleasing Krishna; in so many different ways they are serving the Lord all the time. These householders have great respect for transcendental morality and for devotional injunction. They have no attachment for or hostility towards social rules. Since their consciousness is directed towards devotional service, they transform all moral injunctions into devotional injunctions. 

Fruitive activities (karma kÅˆÎa) can never be bene?cial for the living entities. They take the living entities upward this moment and downward the next moment and make them very restless, like soccer balls. When one gets very severe punishment due to one's past sins, one wants to become pious again. And when one enjoys the fruit of pious activities, one fantasizes about more enjoyment and inclines towards sinful activities. This is why the path of renunciation that includes the renunciation of liberation is known as the only favorable path for devotion.

i
Those who can perceive the immediate benefit of material life think, "Let me now live my life the way I please. When everything is going to be extinguished after death, why should I be deprived of this present happiness?" The concept that consideration for the afterlife is only stupid and a waste of time has been imported into India as a bad effect of Western education. Then there are those who are in favor of learning tricks which will protect them from the law of the land. By confronting the law one may bring obstacles to one's material enjoyment, therefore some people consider those activities moral which do not con?ict with the law.  But there is a great lack of simplicity, honesty and sincerity in this kind of mentality, which is geared towards protecting oneself from the legal system. This kind of insincerity is not favorable for someone who wants to live his life on an elevated level, whether he is an Indian or a Westerner. There is no such lack of sincerity in devotional morality. Nowadays in India, there is hardly any effort to cultivate an attachment for morality and devotional consciousness. I have travelled from the HimÅchal (the foothills of the Himalayas) to KumÅrikÅ (the southern most tip of India), and from Assam and East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to DwÅrakÅ, Bombay and Goa—and everywhere I noticed a lack of interest in morality and devotion. People are getting many kinds of education and they are learning many techniques to improve their material lives, but everyone is indifferent to the real object of learning. NÅrada PancharÅtra says

ärädhito yadi haris-tapasä tataù kià
närädhito yadi haris-tapasä tataù kim
antar-bahir yadi haris-tapasä tataù kià
näntar-bahir yadi haris-tapasä tataù kim

"If the Supreme Lord Hari is worshipped without practicing any austerity, than what is the need for such practice? If by practicing austerity the Lord is not worshipped then what is the use of such practice? If without practicing any austerity one finds the Lord manifest in his heart and his surroundings, then what is the need for such practice? If by practicing austerity one does not find the Lord manifest in his heart and surroundings, then what is the use of such practice?"

i
Only devotion is happiness; everything else is lack of happiness. When one thinks, "Let me be happy. Let everyone else experience some inconvenience or discomfort. But let me be happy at others' expense. I dispossess you for my own gain," one is on the path fruitive action, or the path of knowledge, or the path of mundane interest.
	Only one who is on the path of devotion thinks, "Let us not deceive or dispossess anyone, but let us all get together to serve and chant the name of the Lord, 24 hours a day." On the path of pure devotion nothing is needed except chanting (kÈrtan); no other irrelevant austerity is needed or accepted. KÈrtan is the only neutral and failproof weapon. First one has to hear through one's ears. Gradually all other senses will act in a favorable way.
	Devotion is not based on blind faith. One who has taken shelter of devotion has to go beyond the highest limit of human intelligence. We cannot be interested in any concept created by human beings. This is neutrality. To be influenced by any concept which has come from humankind or from the demigods, which has come from any particular nation or country, is to become shallow—to be on the relative platform. To indulge in one's own imagination or in the state of consciousness that is a result of a deteriorated mind is to become very shallow—to live on a relative level. We will not be tempted by our previous experiences. We have to hear. We are the worshippers of the revealed truth. We have to hear those words that would pierce through our ears. The åcÅrya will give us those words that will pierce through our ears, and we will go to him with our offering of self-surrender.

i
The kinds of gifts with which we are familiar in this world are temporary and inadequate. Moreover, the number of givers in this world is very small. If the receivers of gifts have high expectations, then the givers cannot meet those expectations. The learned cannot give to the uneducated, the rich cannot give to the poor, the healthy cannot give to the diseased and the intelligent cannot give to the foolish as much as they expect. But humankind could not even expect or pray for such a gift as ßrÈ Gaurasundara has given. They could not hope or expect that such a great gift could come to this world. They could not hope or expect that it was in their fate to be showered with such a gift. The gift that ßrÈ Gaurasundara has given to humankind is pure love of God. There is a great lack of love in this world. That is why envy, hostility, greed, etc., are causing so much pain to the living entities. People who are as good as demi-gods—and even the demigods themselves—are prepared to impede those who are desirous of serving the Supreme Lord.
	Each of us is in great need; each of us has very limited vision. Being hounded by the three modes of material nature, we cannot search for reality, the Absolute Truth. This is why the bait of false concepts comes to tempt us. If we give in to that then the goal of our human life is not ful?lled.  
	From which sacred source did this gift of Gaurasundara spring? ßrÈla MÅdhavendra PurÈ is that gift of Gaurasundara. He is the trunk of the giant tree of love (Krishna Prema), the highest fulfillment of human life. SrÈ MÅdhavendra sang the original mantra which is the key to that love which is the only goal of life the only need of the uncontaminated soul. ßrÈ ^Íwara PurÈ heard that song. MahÅprabhu displayed the pastime of hearing that song from ßrÈ ^Íwara PurÈ. This is that song:

ayi dÈna-dayÅrdra-nÅtha he mathurÅnÅtha kadÅvalokyase
hÂdaya˜ tvadalokakÅtara˜ dayita bhrÅmyati ki˜ karomyaham
—ßrÈ Chaitanya-charitÅmÂta: Madhya-lÈlÅ, 4.127

"O my Lord! O most merciful master! O master of MathurÅ! When shall I see You again? Because of my not seeing You, my grieving heart has become restless. O most beloved one, what shall I do now?"
	ßrÈ MÅdhavendra PurÈ gave this gift to India. We do not know whether he gave this anywhere beyond India. Any Indian who has heard this original mantra which is the giver of Krishna Prema has attained all his goals in life. And those who have not heard it are attached to petty things. The human life of one who does not undersand the value and necessity of this mantra is wasted. To sing this song of separation is the nature of the uncontaminated soul—this is our spontaneous propensity.
	†hÅkura Bilvama/gala at one time displayed the pastime of being attached to vulgar things. When LÈlÅÍuk (Bilvama/gal  hÅkur) became engaged in the service of ßikhipicchamauli (the Lord with the peacock feather on His head), he wrote Krishna KarˆÅmÂta, in which he also more or less sang the song of separation. Let us discuss that subject about which Sri Gaurasundara came to enlighten humankind. Even though we are proud of being Bengali, we are still engaged in material activies. This is such poverty that it cannot be expressed in human language. To eradicate this poverty ßrÈ MÅdhavendra PurÈ sang this song of separation—"ayi dÈna-dayÅrdra-nÅtha…".
	With great sadness sometimes we jokingly call someone our "beloved" ("dayita") even though he does not undersand our hankering, our grief. When the Supreme Lord left the VrajavÅsÈs (the residents of Vraja) they called the son of Nanda "Dayita". And they called Him MathurÅnÅtha (the Lord of Mathura), they did not call Him VÂndÅvanapati (Lord of VÂndÅvana). Many of you have heard of 'MÅthuragÅn' (the songs of separation sung when Krishna was in MathurÅ). The words of these songs signify the sentiments of separation. What is known as "viraha" (separation) is called "vipralambha" in the Sanskrit Ala/kÅr ßÅstra (the study of linguistic ornamentation). The VrajavÅsÈs, in their mood of separation, are telling Krishna, "Yes, you are 'Dayita', but You are now the Lord of MathurÅ. You have severed Your relationship with us and have gone away.  We are destitute: You are everything to us, and today we have been dispossessed of everything.  So how else can we express our grief except jokingly? You are the apple of our eyes, now You are hidden from them. Leaving us in great anxiety You have gone to Mathura.
	"O son of Nanda, will You always remain beyond our senses? Will we never be able to see Your exquisite form and sweetness? You are attained by knowledge. Because we have no knowledge we cannot see You. For we are ignorant, childish, na ve. Because we have not spent thousands of years performing austerities, You have gone to the level of knowledge, where our senses do not go. You are our only support—and Your heart is moist with mercy. When will we be able to see You again? Once You showed Yourself to us and our hearts have been stolen by that vision of You. You took everything from us and now You have gone away to MathurÅ . Our hearts are aching from not seeing You."
	 For the heart that is af?icted by the disorienting disease of separation from Krishna—the heart that is so pre-disposed—what is the medicine? That medicine is ßrÈ Gaurasundara's original mantra.

ayi dÈna-dayÅrdra-nÅtha he mathurÅnÅtha kadÅvalokyase
hÂdaya˜ tvadalokakÅthara˜ dayita bhrÅmyati ki˜ karomyaham

Gaurasundara said, "O human race, you who are absorbed in matterial matters, when you get tired of carrying the trash of your worldly affairs on your heads like porters, how will you find what is beneficial for you, how will you come to the destination of your life? In order to do that accept this instruction: please be engaged in ßrÈ-kÂ›ˆa-sa/kÈrtan."

ceto-darpaˆa-mÅrjana˜ bhava-mahÅdÅvÅgni-nirvÅpana˜
ÍreyaÓ-kairava-candrikÅ-vitarana˜ vidyÅ-vadhË-jÈvanam
ÅnandÅmbudhi-vardhana˜ prati-pada˜ pËrˆÅmÂtÅsvÅdana˜
sarvÅtma-snapana˜ para˜ vijayate ÍrÈ-kÂ›ˆa-sa/kÈrtanam

"Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord KÂ›ˆa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and extinguish the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of KÂ›ˆa expands the joyful ocean of devotional life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step."

i
Before ßrÈman MahÅprabhu, only two and a half of the ?ve kinds of relationships with Krishna were being discussed: sÅnta, dÅsya, and the lower half of sakhya. The lower half of the sakhya relationship is full of awe and reverence. If we approach our friend with a sense of awe and reverence then that friendship is reverential—he is our revered friend. ßrÈman MahÅprabhu has shown us a closer relationship with God, which people cannot easily understand. It is He who ?rst showed us the transcendental relationships of parenthood and consorthood with God. He has revealed a greater scope of the concept that was existing before in human society. Before, people did not know that there is a mode of service to God in which they could think "I can serve You more than You can serve me." People will be amazed that the servant of the Supreme Lord can render more service than the Lord Himself. Krishna's cowherd friends climb on His shoulders to get the fruit from the palm tree. First they taste it themselves, then the portion they like best they give to Krishna, even though they have already eaten from it. They do not consider that Krishna is the Supreme Lord and they are minute souls. They are serving Krishna with intense love. They have such great con?dence in their relationship. They think, "If we do not feed him then who will feed him?"
	Previously the AjÅ concept of God (the concept of eternity—"beyond birth") was prevalent. But that is not real theism, that is contrary to theism. To think of God as our father and mother is to think of Him as our servant. Our father and mother serve us from the beginning, when we cannot serve them—that service is not there in the beginning of our life. Therefore that service is not eternal. We will take the initiative to serve our parents after a lot of material experience. First we observe others' behavior, then gradually we consider them worshipable. If we consider the Lord as our parent then we have this rotten concept that He is our servitor and we are the enjoyers—He is only our servant.
	I worship that Nanda in whose courtyard the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, is crawling. I offer my obeisance to him whose parenthood the Lord has accepted and whose service as a father the Lord has accepted. It is not up to me whether that eternal in?nite being will take birth in my house. It is impossible for me to approach Him. But if He comes to me on His own, then I will serve Him as His father. If one cannot have the potency to come down to me because he has eternity, then let him have that eternity; my relationship with him is unnecessary.

i
MathurÅ is higher than VaikuˆÊha because Krishna took birth there. Higher than MathurÅ is VÂndÅvan, where Krishna has performed his RÅsa-lÈlÅ. Higher than VÂndÅvan is Govardhan Hill, where GiridharÈ played his pastimes with GÅndhÅrvÈkÅ (RÅdhÅrÅˆÈ). Higher than Govardhan is RÅdhÅ-kuˆÎa, which is ?owing with the nectar of the love of the Lord of Gokul. One who makes his bhajan grove in any other place than this Govardhan and RÅdhÅ-kuˆÎa is the greatest fool. The bank of RÅdhÅ-kuˆÎa is the best abode of divine love.
	Unless one's theistic devotion and spiritual propensity have blossomed, one cannot understand these topics. Where the Supreme Lord who is situated in in?nity resides, in a place beyond the boundary of this universe where He is the central personality—that place can be called VaikuˆÊha. But the servant of ßrÈ Chaitanya, ßrÈ RËpa, says that MathurÅ where the in?nite Lord takes birth is higher than VaikuˆÊha, which is the transcendental plane where the Lord who is eternal and in?nite, to whom no concept of the third dimension can be ascribed, is residing. ßrÈ Krishna took birth in MathurÅ in the house of Nanda—He did not want to be restricted by his eternity (birthlessness); ignoring His eternity He took birth. That plane is not just VaikuˆÊha. But VÂndÅvan, where the RÅsa-lÈla took place, is higher than that. VaikuˆÊha is situated in the lower half of Goloka. In the upper half of Goloka these things can be seen. Higher than VÂndÅvan are Govardhan and RÅdhÅ-kuˆÎa. This is not a vague idea of the transcendental region, this is something higher than that.
	We can see half of VaikuˆÊha from here. When we are down here and we are looking at it with reverence, it is half exposed to us; the other half is invisible to us. From here we can only see the lower half. Our present eyes can see 180 degrees of the horizon. By seeing half, by seeing Vi›ˆu or NÅrÅyaˆ, we are situated in Santa Rasa. Gradually it develops into the servitor relationship (DÅsya Rasa). Then we realize that millions and millions of servants like ourselves are eager to serve Him. Then we start seeing His friends who feel His glory by serving Him. We only see half of this relationship—we do not see the intimacy of this relationship.
	One who can realize this is a Vai›ˆava. By standing on this lower platform, we can comprehend these two and a half kinds of relationship. Then we can reach up to the point where we can ?atter the Lord. We still cannot go to that platform where intimacy and con?dence are needed. The ecstasy that comes from these two and a half kinds of relationship is a lower kind of ecstasy. One who is situated here does not have the right to enter the higher realm of Unnata Rasa.
	ßrÈ Gaursundar said, "Why are you curtailing your relationship with the Lord by not reaching for the other two and a half parts of it?" Then he explained the other two and a half kinds of relationship. By His mercy it is possible to see the Lord in these ?ve relationships. He has given us Unnata and Ujjval Rasa. The supreme perfection of Ujjval Rasa is in consorthood. ßrÈ Gaursundar has distributed the ecstasy of that relationship (rasa) to this world. No other incarnation before Him distributed this Unnata Ujjval Rasa of ßrÈ ßrÈ RÅdhÅ-MÅdhav. Being merciful to the living entities of this age of Kali, ßrÈ Krishna Chaitanya MahÅprabhu has distributed it indiscrimnatingly. If we can earnestly surrender ourselves at His lotus feet, then when we become self-realized after getting rid of our bad habits, we can taste the nectar of this relationship. ßrÈ Gaursundar has taught the miserable souls how to nicely serve the Supreme Lord Krishnachandra by His own conduct. The perfection of service in the relationship of consorthood (Madhura Rasa) can only be found in the teachings of ßrÈ Gaursundar.

Bibliography

PrabhupÅda, ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ  †hÅkura, ßrÈ-Caitanya-darÍane PrabhupÅda ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ  hÅkur, vols. 1–2, ed. by ßrÈmad Bhakti VilÅsa TÈrtha GoswÅmÈ MahÅrÅja, MÅyÅpur, NadÈyÅ: ßrÈ Chaitanya MaÊh, 1974

PrabhupÅda, ßrÈla BhaktisiddhÅnta SaraswatÈ  †hÅkura, PrabhupÅdera Hari-kathÅmÂta, vols. 1–3, ed. by TridaˆÎipÅda ßrÈmad Bhakti VilÅsa TÈrtha MahÅrÅja, MÅyÅpur, NadÈyÅ: ßrÈ Chaitanya MaÊh, 1955

The Erotic Principle
and Unalloyed Devotion

	The Pastimes of Shri Krishna with the milkmaids of Vraja as explained by the Srimad Bhagavatam are neither history nor allegory. They are not history because they are transcendental, whereas our so-called history is only a record of our experience of this world in terms of the egotistic principle. They are not allegory for the reason that they happen to be the actual Concrete Reality of which this world is the perverted reflection. As a matter of fact, it is this world, and its happenings, that are really allegory which misrepresent our function, and deludes us into the acceptance of this perverted existence. The proper function of our souls is to serve the Absolute in obedience to the commands of Himself, conveyed through Himself. in the Form of His devotees.
	The sexual principle is a misunderstood symbol of Reality. It can no more be banished from our consciousness than consciousness itself. The male and female forms are also not the sole and distinctive possessions of this world. There is Reality behind them as well. The soul has a body which is symbolized by the female form and which is absolutely free from any unwholesome material association. Our present objection to the female form is due to the egotistic principle which for the same reason does not object, or rather, readily enough adopts the male form as more properly representing the pure little soul. This repugnance to the female form prevents us from an unprejudiced examination of the female sex as a necessary factor of our conception of amorous love. This amorous love is the highest subject of human poetry and the most powerful factor in all human activities. Its worthlessness is not established by the mere refusal to recognize it as a part of our nature. It would be much more to the purpose to try to understand what it really is. The Srimad Bhagavatam is the only book that furnished a satisfactory answer to this all-important question.
	The worship of Shri Radha Krishna is held by some modern thinkers to be dangerous, and even immoral. They apparently take exception to the erotic element, which is the prominent aspect of the highest worship of Shri Radha Krishna.
	Sri Krishna Chaitanya teaches us that it is obligatory for everyone to pay homage to spiritual amour which characterizes the highest service of the Divine Person. This is the central topic of Srimad Bhagavatam which treats of the transcendental service of the Personal Absolute.
	Spiritual amour is the best mode of service of the Fullness of Divine Personality. In other words, the real Nature of Divine Personality can never be fully understood by those who are unable to appreciate the pre-eminent excellency of His Service by amorous love.
	The conception of personality that is available to us in this world necessarily refers to the gross human physique joined to the convention-ridden human mentality. These two are the definite contents of the conception. The functions of such personality can have meaning only if they, supply the needs of such body and mind. man is connected with the entities of this world by five varieties of relationship for the satisfaction of the needs of his body and mind. These five modes exhaust all possible forms of such relationship. A person may stand in the relationship of impartiality to other human beings. he takes the help of non-animate entities in a spirit of strict impartiality. The emotional forms of relationship may be said to begin with the relationship of the servant towards his master. This is characterized by the sentiment of distant respect for the master. The relationship of friendship is closer than that of servitude. Parenthood is still more intimate. Consorthood as of the wife or mistress to her husband or lover is the most intimate and comprehensive form of relationship possible with another entity. The chain of relationships is completed by the reciprocal relationships of master to servant, of friend to friend, of son to his parents, of husband or lover to his wife or sweet-heart.
	There is no reason for disbelieving that the aforesaid five forms of relationship are also inseparable concomitants of the personality of the Absolute free Being from the fetters of the gross physical body and materialized mind. The personality of the absolute infinitesimal or the unalloyed soul should also be in a position to function in a fully wholesome and unrestricted manner, in terms of his spiritual body and mind.
	Spiritual Personality is identical with the principle of unobstructed cognition. As complete intimacy must necessarily characterize the complete scriptural relationship, the condition of a wife or mistress is thus traced to be the highest natural state, and one that is also realizable only in the predominated Absolute Infinity and also, by incorporation with the latter, in the absolute infinitesimal.
	It is not, or course, possible for the mind of man to have the true conception of the actual nature of the unalloyed spiritual function. Such spiritual realization is possible only through the spiritual senses of the unconditioned soul. The functioning of the spiritual senses, in its turn, ensures the freedom of the soul from all unwholesomeness and limitation in a way that is exactly the opposite of the activities of the present senses which create and multiply the restrictions of the conditioned state.
	The fully wise man of this world is a spiritual zero. This has been established in strict conformity with empiric logic, by Buddhistic thought. The goal of all activities on the mundane plane is represented by the balanced neutral state as the resultant of simultaneous working of an infinity of mutually hostile tendencies.
	Consorthood, as of the wife or mistress of this world, is not eligible by itself to set the tune for other relationships. Mundane consorthood is compelled to shrink at least outwardly, into the strictly private and personal corner of the affairs of this world. It is not welcomed for influencing other activities in an explicit manner. It can act openly only within the limits of extreme privacy. It is regarded as a sign of abnormality to be influenced in the greater affairs of life by the advice of wife or mistress on the score of amorous relationship.
	Consorthood is nevertheless recognized as imparting its deepest charm to life in a world in which it would not be worth living being devoid of this form of relationship. Every one in this world is however, compelled to repress, more or less, the working of this admittedly deepest principle of his individual nature on account of the opposition of the uncongenial environment in the shape of the defective natures of organs through which and the objects towards which if has to be excercized. But this cannot condemn the principle itself which is, as a matter of fact, the ruling force of life. It operates with no less of predominance, but with less weight of responsibility, by being driven underground by the blind opposition of an unsympathizing environment and instrumentals.
	Should we deliberately deny ourselves the benefit of the guidance of well-considered opinion in this most vital and important affair of life? But as a matter of fact, all the great religions scrupulously avoid and forbid any examination of this all-important subject. The worship of Sri Radha-Krishna is the only exception to this rule.
	The worship of Sri Radha-Krishna has been subject to much easily avoidable misunderstanding that has been bred by sheer misunderstanding and of sheer ignorance, and easily welcomed prejudices. The personality of Sri Krishna, the Eternal Divine Lover of Sri Radhika, the premier spiritual male of the Realm of Vraja which is the Eternal Abode of the Divine Pair as depicted in Srimad Bhagavata, has been supposed as an unworthy conception of the Absolute Personality, and even as of historical survival of the myth of a national hero of the times of promiscuous sexuality and primitive barbarism.
	Hostility to the Divinity of Sri Krishna is entertained on the ground that morality should constitute the kernel and pervading principle  of religion. We should not, however, forget that this advertised morality is at best only a regulative and restrictive principle. We are so much wedded to the indispensible nature of this moral regulation that it requires no small effort of the imagination on our part to admit that the moral intervention would be uncalled for and harmful but for the actually defective nature of our present environment and sense organs. It would be irrational to seek to do away with moral regulation so long as we are compelled to remain in our present defective condition. But there must surely be a plane which is free from all defects, being the natural and eternal sphere of the activities of our unadulterated spiritual nature. The plane of Divinity is superior to that of our unconditioned souls. There is no need for any form of restrictive morality in the spiritual world where the soul is not subject to the limiting operation of his present material and mental adjuncts. The stream of Viraja encompassing the mundane sphere effectively prevents the importation of any mundane defects into the Transcendental Realm. In the stream of Viraja morality and immorality are alike washed off the spiritual form of the soul. It is the plane of salutary sterilization of all mundane qualities.
	The moral principle presupposes the existence of a strong and spontaneous tendency to evil as being innate to human nature. The good in this world is in a state of perpetual conflict with dominating evil. Moral regulation thus becomes the indispensible and permanent outward expression of the suppressed good life.
	On further analysis, however, we discover that the moral judgement can take its stand only on an attenuated form of the evil which its ostensibly seeks to eradicate. It does not advocate the acceptance of the substantive good. What it chooses to call goodness is only relatively and tentatively lesser evil. The substantive good has remained and will also ever remain an open issue, if we are content to be finally guided by a purely restrictive moral code. The above difficulty and insufficiency of the immoral code are most clearly realized in practice by every sincere person. To tell the truth it can never be good in itself. Empiric morality, as synthesis, is a counsel of expediency for the establishment of a certain radically defective kind of social living. Does not the existence of such positive regulation obstruct the practice of real goodness? The goodness that is producible by the so-called moral regulation is not substantively different from wickedness.
	It is necessary to fix our attention on this positive issue. Is the act of procreation of offspring good or evil? Is amour to be condemned or acclaimed? Can a questionable principle of blind regulation supply the answer to these real problems of life?
	Amour is a hard fact of life. It is probably the controlling fact. Why should it be capable of doing harm? Or, should it be checked because of the inopportune character of our present organs and environment? Can a policy of repression of a really good principle be sanitary in the long run? Is it not tantamount to refusal to think about the proper solution? Would it be honest or helpful, for humoring this criminal indolence, to gag those who put forward sound proposals for the real solution?
	True, the religions have systematically avoided to think positively on this fundamental issue. They have prescribed only regulations of the present evil life engendered by the uncongenial nature of the present environment and the defective character of our mind and body. This is not even a negative help, if it be the only provision. The disease is marked, but no effort is made for its cure. But disease cannot be healed by a policy that refuses on principle to contemplate the restoration of healthy activity.
	The question thus resolves itself into enquiry, “How can the fullest or natural use of this amorous aptitude be secured.” Aesthetics does not provide the answer. Aesthetics cannot overlook nor heal the really unwholesome side of the mundane principle that is the only subject matter of its examination. The ethical answer, which is more to the point in one respect has already been considered and rejected.
	Medical science, Biology and Eugenics confine themselves to the bodily consequence of the principle of amour and the reaction of these on the mind. They also cover much less ground than Ethics.
	The positive answer of the whole issue, which is given only by Srimad Bhagavata, has been accepted and explained by Sri Krishna Chaitanya. That answer elucidated by the Teachings of Sri Krishna Chaitanya is prevented from being misunderstood by His Own Illustrative Career.
	Any person, who has taken the trouble of reading the accounts of the Career of Sri Krishna Chaitanya penned by His associates and their spiritual successors, must be struck with the total absence of the erotic element in His Career. Sri Krishna Chaitanya never mixed with women on the footing of sexual intimacy. His conduct is disappointing to those who expect to find a rich harvest of erotic activities from the fact that He poses as the Teacher of the amorous service of Divinity, by His Own Practice. The same characteristic trait is also noticeable in the careers of all bona fide followers of Sri Krishna Chaitanya. Sri Krishna Chaitanya categorically distinguishes the function of spiritual service or bhakti from karma (fruitive activity) and jnana (gnostic asceticism). He tells us that the methods of work and knowledge are the complementary aspects of the deceiving worldly function; that neither of them has anything to do with bhakti which is the proper function of the soul of his own transcendental plane. The conduct of a bona fide devotee has only external resemblance is due to the fact that the spiritual principle is distortedly reflected in the latter. When the spiritual activities of the unalloyed soul manifest themselves for the same reason, to the mundane vision of conditioned souls, in the forms of the corresponding mundane activities.
	Spiritual manifestation on the mundane plane does not involve the transformation of spiritual activities into mundane. Those activities retain their uncontaminated transcendental character even when they chose to appear to the view of the people of this world apparently in the identical forms of the events of this world. The impression, that is naturally received by the conditioned soul from the experience of such manifestation of spiritual events, does not appear as that of transcendence to the mundane aptitude of the person experiencing the same. That is to say it does not appear to him as different from ordinary mundane occurrences. But, even this direct testimony to the contrary notwithstanding, spiritual events ever remain what they are viz. transcendental and inaccessible to the eclipsed cognitive faculty of the conditioned state, even when they are enacted on this mundane plane in the view of the people, and do not seem to differ in their judgement in any way from ordinary mundane occurrences.
	 The correspondence between the two must be both possible and inevitable, if we bear in mind the fact the Reality is necessarily One. The Transcendental Realm is the recognizable face of the Reality. The mundane realm is the same entity offering its deluding face to the unnatural approaches of perversely disposed souls. The mundane world is not unreal. The deluding power of the Reality has also got its own plane of activity. But the plane of activity of the deluding face of the Divine Power is different  from the plane of operation of the enlightening face of the same. There is an inconceivable correspondence is expression between the two faces of Power which is one at bottom.
	Therefore, when Divine Power really exposes the spiritual face of her activities to the view of spectators who happen to be under the power of Deluding Energy, the latter receive the impression of the identity of such manifestation with their experience of the operations of the deluding face of Divine Power. The vision of mundane spectators is not relieved of its mundane quality by the actual unenlightened vision, on their own plane, of revealed spiritual activity. They, indeed, witness the real spiritual activity but in an unnatural way by the operation of a specific aspect of Divine Spiritual Potency which does not admit any perversely disposed spectators to the uneclipsed vision of the Truth.
	In order to obtain the uneclipsed view of spiritual entities, when they choose to reveal themselves to the eclipsed vision of conditioned souls, appearing to the latter in the forms of the corresponding mundane occurrences but being nevertheless categorically different from the same, it becomes incumbent on the conditioned soul to seek the help of the only method viz. that of being restored to his unconditioned state by being relieved of his obstructive mundane aptitudes.
	As soon as the rational hankering for the adoption of such course arises in the conditioned soul, he is disposed to avail of the offered help of the spiritual entities themselves for being enlightened regarding the method to be pursued for obtaining his liberation from the abject, insurmountable thraldom of the deluding face of power. It is possible for the conditioned soul to find the true course only by the further special mercy of those very transcendental entities who so causelessly present themselves to his eclipsed vision. They have the power of showing their spiritual forms to him in such way that it would leave no doubt in his mind about the reality of their transcendental nature. It is only by such mercy that the conditioned soul is enabled to avail himself of the help placed within his reach by the descent of spiritual entities to this mundane plane for the purpose of bringing about his deliverance.
	Spiritual Amour in the same way displays itself to the eclipsed view of mundane spectators in the forms of mundane events. But such revelation should not be accepted by the mundane faculties for reasons that should be quite obvious even to the unenlightened judgement of conditioned souls. Sri Krishna revealed His Amorous Pastimes in the Cycle of the Dwapara Age to the eclipsed view of the people of this world. But that did not enable them to recognize His Divinity, due to their nonacceptance of the proper method of approaching them.
	We find from the Bhagavatam that the great devotee Sri Uddhava made his obeisances to the Gopis of Vraja saying, “These Damsels of Vraja are indeed most fortunate in this world and have made a real success of their lives here because they have achieved supreme Prema in Lord Govinda alone, Who is the Life of all beings. The salvationists who are afraid of births and deaths in this world, the Munis who have attained freedom from earthly bondage, and even we who are fortunate to have attained the company of Lord Sri Krishna, we all aspire after this Prema but we are not eligible for it. What use is there, therefore, of being a Brahmana by birth or by sacred-thread-ceremony or by Vedic sacrifices, or even being born as Brahma the creator of this Universe? For those who have attained Krishna-Prema are superior to all, even if they be born in any inferior caste!” From these utterances of Sri Uddhava it is proved that the Erotic-Love of the Vraja Gopis is the highest form of Prema.
	Secondly the Rishis of Dandakaranya when they saw Beautiful Rama, there flared up in the hearts of these Rishis, who were practicing extremely hard penances, desires in the wake of the sentiments of association of the Vraja Gopis for enjoying the Person of Lord Krishna Whose charm and beauty far surpassed in near future Dvapara Age. Those Maharishis also prayed to Lord Rama in their mind that they might be born in Gokula females when the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna would make His Divine Descent, in Dvapara so that they might enjoy the Lord’s Charming Person. Lord Rama also, blessed them for the fulfillment or their mental prayer! They were thus born as females in the womb of the Gopis in distant Gokula, and somehow reached the famous Gokul of Lord Krishna and gained aprakrita bodies from the Vraja Gopis and attained Lord Krishna, Whose charm and beauty far excelled Those of Lord Rama.
	Empiricists, although they seem to recognize the necessity of being taught and trained in the affairs of this world, are unduly skeptical in regard to such training in spiritual matters, where its necessity is very much greater, because we happen to possess absolutely no knowledge of it. In the terra incognita of the spirit, it is indispensible to have a guide unless indeed, we persist to confuse the spiritual with the material end retain our faith in empiric efforts. But as a matter of fact, all predeliction for the limited shuts out the unlimited, not partially but radically, not quantitatively but categorically. Srimad Bhagavata asks those who really want to serve Krishna to forego all thoughts of any advantage in the worldly sense, the conscious or unconscious, direct or vicarious, pursuit of which is the cause of all impurity and ignorance. This reform of life is the indispensible preliminary condition for obtaining any real knowledge of the Absolute and the nature and imperative necessity of such reform and also its practicability are clearly realized by close spiritual association with the good preceptor. It cannot be realized, unless and until one agrees with the sincerity of real conviction to receive it at his hands as a favor to which he can lay no claim on the strength of any worldly merit or demerit. It is only by such reasoned submission of the will to the process of enlightenment from above that any clouded vision can be cleared up. The Guru is not a mortal, erring creature like ourselves. He is the eternal servant of Krishna whom He sends into this world for the deliverance of causeless Divine mercy, in order to help us rise out of the depths of sin to our natural state of absolute purity by methods which are perfectly consistent with the principles of our really unbiased reason. So long as we refuse to listen to him, we are doomed to misunderstand everything.
	In our present sinful state sex suggests the idea of sensuous impurity because our present itself is sensuous. The sense of impurity is really nothing but that of incongruity of any material, limited, unconscious substance with the nature of the human soul, we are not on the same plane with the object of our thoughts but are yoked to it in a most unnatural way. This longing is the feeling of impurity or repugnance. So long as we continue to look upon sex with an eye of longing we can never think of it in any other way. But this longing is also part of our present acquired nature and cannot leave us till we are enabled to lay this secondary nature itself. With this reform of nature our relation to the principle of sex also undergoes a complete transformation which is, however, otherwise incomprehensible to our present understanding. The female form of the human soul and Shri Krishna is not the relation between the material female form and its corresponding male form. The amorous Pastimes of Shri Krishna with the spiritual milkmaids of Vraja are not the amorous pastimes between male and female of this world. The amorous Pastimes of Shri Krishna are not a connection of the dismissed brain of the sensualist. The amours of this world could have no existence unless the substantive principle exists in Shri Krishna. But no one denies the existence and importance of the principle of amour in the realm of the Absolute in the perfectly wholesome form.
	It is because we choose to regard as material the female form of the soul that we are shocked at what we suppose to be shameless sensuous proclivities of the transcendentalists. This is inevitable so long as we deliberately choose to nurse the error that the sex of our experience is the real entity and not its perverted reflection and imagine that we have been able to solve the problem of sex by transferring our sensuous activity from the body to the mind and by condemning as impure the excesses of the external sexual act on no consistent principle. Such bungling philosophy has not confined and will never convince anybody of the real nature and purpose of the sexual act. This is so because the sexual act is the eternal concomitant in this sinful world of the highest function of the spirit which can, therefore, be never minimized or abolished by all our empiric endeavors but the right understanding of which can alone save us from the terrible consequences of our present suicidal sexual follies.
	The Personality of Sri Krishna Chaitanya is identical with and yet distinct from Shri Krishna. the Activities of Shri Krishna Chaitanya are, therefore, also identical with and yet distinct from the Amorous Pastimes of Shri Krishna. The Activities of Shri Krishna Chaitanya appear in the from that alone is capable of being received by the conditioned soul without any chance of muddling by his conditioned judgement.
	The Mercy of Shri Krishna Chaitanya and His followers is lavished on all mundane entities in such unstinted profusion that no one should have any chance of missing the knowledge of the descended transcendental entities from whom the conditioned soul is to learn the method of his deliverance.
	This mercy expresses itself in the visible form as the Activities of Shri Krishna Chaitanya and His bona fide followers. They teach conditioned souls the complete service of the Divinity by displaying to the eclipsed vision of the latter their own transcendental activities identical with the amorous performances of the spiritual milkmaids of Vraja. Those, therefore, who misunderstand the Doings of Shri Krishna Chaitanya and His associates, have to do so either through laziness, or by deliberate irrational hostility to manifest truth.
	The perfect chant of the Name of Krishna is available to all souls, and it is identical with the amorous service of the spiritual milkmaids of Vraja. This is the sum and substance of the Teachings of Shri Krishna Chaitanya. Conversely, those, who do not perform the congregational chant of the Name of Krishna in the manner to realize the nature of Divine amour. Those who miss such realization, remain subject to the object thraldom of mundane lust.
	The epistemology, that helps us to realize the truth of the above conclusion is in conformity with the requirements of the Absolute as distinct from the pursuit of the deluding knowledge of non-absolutes. In order to realize the nature of the spiritual function, it is only logical to use also spiritual means. The descent of the Divinity and His eternal servitors provide us with the requisite spiritual means in the available form. Shri Krishna Chaitanya teaches us how to avail of this help when it actually comes within our reach of its own accord.
	The service that is offered to the Divinity and His servitors, when they choose to be accessible to us on the mundane plane, is no way different from what is offered by the fully liberated soul on the plane of transcendence. The function of the soul on the superior plane is distortedly reflected even in the unwholesome functions of the conditioned state. But until the constructive grossness of mundane corporeality and mentality are eliminated, they continued to obstruct the function of the soul on his own proper plane. This elimination is effected by the Grace of Godhead when He appears on this lower plane, and is inclined to confer His service on the conditioned soul. Those, who are not allowed by Godhead to approach Him, cannot recognize Him even when they see Him. Nobody can see Him as He is, even when he exposes Himself to the view of mortal eyes. This apparently self contradictory statement explained by the fact that there is actual correspondence between the formal aspect of mundane and spiritual experience. The conditioned soul also see the Divinity as He is, but only when He chooses to remove the barrier from the path of his vision and also by simultaneously manifesting His Descent to the mundane plane, and not otherwise.
	The conditioned soul fails to see the Divinity when He exposes Himself to his view if he chooses quite irrationally to suppose Godhead to be a mundane entity i.e. an object which is capable of being approached for the practice of any of the five forms of mundane relationship by his mundane senses. The mistake is inevitable under the circumstances, unless Godhead chooses to relieve the spectator of the fetters of his limited existence.
	For the purpose of the deliverance of the conditioned soul it is not necessary for the Divinity to end the worldly sojourn of the latter. That would be opposed to the Purpose of Divine Descent. Just as Godhead becomes visible to the conditioned soul without being transformed into any object of this world, in an exactly similar way the conditioned soul if lifted to the place of transcendence while continuing to appear as mundane to the external vision of mundane spectators.
	One, who is enabled to have the real vision of the Divinity no longer need misunderstand the transcendental nature of His service. He is in a position also to render such service by his spiritual senses. But his activities still continue to appear as mundane to ignorant observers. This mistake is, however, capable of being removed if such activities of the real devotee are observed by a person with humility and by no other method. It is for affording the conditioned soul of this world the chance of thus observing the activities of Himself and His devotees that the Supreme Lord chooses to manifest His Appearance in this world.
	We should now be in a some what better position to understand how the chanting of the Name Krishna in the company of transcendental devotees is identical with the performance of the amorous service of the spiritual milkmaids of the Realm of Krishna. The amorous service becomes realizable as the transcendental ward to the spiritual ear of the soul. There is no way of having access to the same as long as Krishna is not pleased to relieve us fully of the perverse inclinations of the conditioned state. But the chanting of the Holy Name without offense, that is in the company of self-realized souls and by the method followed by them, has the power to destroy the effects of our past atheistical activities and to relieve us from reversion to the mundane plane by imparting to us the positive eternal service of the Divinity, tentatively and symbolically during the mundane sojourn and fully on the termination of the allotted span of our mundane life brought about by the Will of Krishna.
	The objections of certain Indians to the worship of Radha Krishna by the method of amorous love as practiced by the spiritual milkmaids of Vraja, will be found to be inapplicable if we seek to be enlightened about the actual meaning of the function by reverently listening to the account of the career of Shri Krishna Chaitanya from the holy lips of self-realized souls, without unduly relying on our mundane judgement which has no access to the plane of transcendence.

CHAITANYA LILA—KRISHNA LILA

	The unprejudiced study of the Career of Shri Krishna Chaitanya offers the required help in the fullest measure. The esoteric reason of this is that Shri Krishna Chaitanya is Shri Krishna  Himself. The associates of Shri Krishna Chaitanya are the same as the spiritual milkmaids and other servitors of Shri Krishna in Vraja. The Activities of Shri Krishna Chaitanya and His associates are also identical with and yet distinct from the Pastimes of Shri Krishna in Vraja. They can also show themselves to us if they choose to do so. They can come down to this plane for the purpose of showing themselves to us in the only form that is not capable of being misunderstood viz. as the activities of the self-realized souls. The speciality of the Appearance of Shri Krishna Chaitanya consists in this that Divinity Himself and His associates take the initiative for disclosing themselves to us by enabling us to regard them from the point of view that is necessary for such realization. The only thing needful is merely to adjust ourselves to the requirements brought home to us by such vision. Such adjustment is impossible under the guidance of deluded souls. The chance for self-deception is minimized if we avail ourselves of the interpretation of the career of Shri Krishna Chaitanya offered by the lives and writings of His associates and by those pure souls who faithfully live up to the Teaching handed down in their works for our eternal well-being.

RAGANUGA BHAKTI

	So long as one is in the fetters of Maya and misidentifies oneself with one’s physical body and changeable mind, one must necessarily undergo the rudimentary way of Vaidhi Bhakti, controlled and guided by scriptural prescriptions supported by favorable arguments and reasons. Such a spiritual novice when he makes tangible progress in the long and scripturally controlled path of Vaidhi Bhakti may develop, listening to the Bhagavata and allied scriptures that deal with the transcendental Pastimes of the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna, a spontaneous and intensely eager craving in his or her heart for being enabled to follow in the footsteps of any of the Four Categories of the dearmost Associates of Lord Krishna in Vraja in regard to Their feelings and applied sentiments to the Dearest Shri Krishna, viz. Dasya (as a servant) Sakhya (as a friend), Vatsalya as parents or Madhura (as consorts). When such a longing for Vraja-Bhava is strongly and genuinely achieved, such an individual is no more bound by the restrictions of scriptural injunctions or human reasoning and arguments. The soul soars in the higher realm of burning feelings for the service of Lord Krishna in subordination to any of the Bhavas of the four categories of the eternal Associates of the Lord of Vraja, which may awaken normally in the heart without any forced imagination. Such a sadhaka i.e. practicing spiritual life, is no more and cannot be kept any more restricted by scriptural regulations and mere human waves of feelings. In this stage, the individual serves by words and deeds the Supreme Lord and His dearest Associates like Shri Rupa and Shri Sanatan in the same manner in which they had lived in this world, consonant with the basis directions of the scriptures, by chanting and listening to such scriptures like the Bhagavat that deal with the transcendental Pastimes of Lord Krishna in the company of His dearmost Associates. While maintaining a normal and restricted life of spiritual practices in body and words, the individual, in whom the intense longing for the bhavas of Ragatmika-Eternal-Associates of the Lord is awakened, conceives mentally, in accordance with the genuinely awakened Vraja-Bhava either as that of Gopi or Nanda-Yasoda or Sridham-Sudham, Citraka-Patraka, a siddhadeha—a permanent spiritual body, which shall correspond to and be favorable and fit for serving the Lord under guidance of the dearest one of the dearest Associate of Lord Krishna, for whose bhava a craving has been aroused in the heart of such individual so that he or she may engage himself or herself in the service of Lord Krishna and His dearest Associates in the particular sthayi-bhava as a servant or friend or as a maid, and such services are rendered mentally in the siddhadeha or spiritual body so conceived. Thus an individual, whether a man or a woman, in the stage of spiritual both in Vaidhi-Bhakti and Raganuga-Bhakti in the Sadhana stage, must necessarily serve God and His devotees by words and deeds in the  physical body by chanting and listening to the Name of God, listening to the scriptures and by worshipping in the temple as prescribed by the scriptures.

The Service of Sri Radha
 Radha Dasyam

	Sri Radhika is not specifically mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavat. But in the description of the Circular Amorous Dance; viz., the Rasa Pastime, Shri Krishna is represented as leaving the circle of the dancing milkmaids in the company of a female who is more favored than all the rest. The milkmaids who were thus abruptly abandoned in the very midst of the dance praised the genuine devotion of the unnamed female who could induce Shri Krishna to prefer her sole company to the combined attractions of all the others.
	But although the Shrimad Bhagavat mentions the above incident, the subject is not further developed in that work. This has been explained by the Goswamis of Vrindaban, apostles of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as due to a deliberate resolve on the part of Shri Sukadeva who is the narrator of the Bhagavata, to avoid disclosing to his miscellaneous audience the “hidden matters” of the scriptures. The ‘hidden matters” can only be known by the special Grace of Shri Krishna and not otherwise. They are not to be divulged to all persons indiscriminately.
	This explanation offered by the Goswamis is not opposed to the open treatment of the same subject by Shri Jayadeva and other writers. In spite of the Gita Govinda and its companion works the subject of the relationship of Shri Radhika to Shri Krishna remains shrouded in impenetrable mystery. No language can convey to the lay reader any but a wholly misleading idea of the nature of the subject on which Shri Sukadeva maintained such discrete silence. This result is hailed with unmistakable joy by Shrila Krishna Das Kaviraja Goswami, author of Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita. Kaviraj Goswami pertinently observes that no joy can excel that of the narrator of the hidden subject when he realizes that those very persons are wholly and automatically barred from all knowledge of the subject who are sure not to appreciate the same for fear of whose neglect the writer is afraid to narrate fully.
	Shri Sukadeva’s hesitation to divulge the secrets of the Vedas is well-founded. The conduct of Shri Jayadeva Goswami un speaking out without reserve is equally in order if we remember that his book cannot be understood at all by those who are lacking in the highest spiritual culture.
	Certain uncritical writers have not, indeed, scrupled to throw mud even at the author of the Geeta-Govinda; but they are the exceptions. The generality of writers have thought it wise to avoid all reference to the subject for the honest enough reason that they have failed to understand how a book which has a most obscene exterior could be cherished by all the great devotees of the country whose conduct is universally admitted to have been free from any taint of causality. It is this paradox that has always exercised a salutary restraining influence on the saner sections of writers in regard to the treatment of this unintelligible subject.
	
Male and Female Spiritual Forms

	Shri Radhika is realizable as the Counter-Whole of the Personal Absolute. She is the Predominated Moiety of the Absolute-Whole. Shri Krishna, in regard to Shri Radhika is the Predominating Moiety. The conception of Male and Female refers to the principle of Personality. As both Personalities are fully Divine, no grossness or inadequacy of the corresponding mundane conception need be imported into the subject. But it is imperative to admit the absolute logical validity, under the reservation of inconceivability by our present understanding of the conception of the Divine Pair possessing actual Male and Female Spiritual Forms.
	If this is not admitted the Absolute Realm is at once divested of the supreme cementing principle for holding together its diverse atomic personalities, Predominating and the other the Predominated Moiety is the Absolute Cognition. The Predominated Moiety is simultaneously distinct from and contained in the Predominating Moiety. The Predominating Moiety can be but One. The Predominated Moiety alone may possess a plural nature without upsetting the principle of real Monotheism. The individual human souls are dissociable particles of the Predominated Moiety. The Predominated Moiety is of the nature of the Power of the Predominating Moiety Who is the Possessor or Proprietor of Power. The Predominating Moiety is the Male Absolute. The Predominated Moiety is absolute female possessing the aptitude for obeying every direction of the Predominating Moiety for supplying all conditions of the Activities of the Predominating Absolute.
	This is the dry philosophical idea so far as it is possible to express the ultimate Transcendental Reality by means of the language of mundane thought. The real entity lies entirely off the plane of all mental speculation. Shri Radhika is the Eternal Associated Counter-Whole of Shri Krishna, Her Male Consort. Shri Radhika is the source of all individual souls whose function is to be employed in the service of Shri Krishna by the alternative methods of loyal conscious submission, neutrality or actual opposition. The individual souls serve Shri Krishna as constituents of Shri Radhika. When they forget that they are constituents of Shri Radhika they forget the nature of their own selves, and engage in the abnormal activities of the mundane plane.
	The relation between one individual soul and another is that of obeying each other as constituents of Shri Radhika in the performance of their allotted service of Shri Krishna. To use a mundane analogy all individual souls are spiritual females in a subordinate position to Shri Radhika, whose service of Shri Krishna they naturally share by their nature as constituents. The objects of endeavor of the individual souls is to learn to obey Shri Radhika. Only by obeying Shri Radhika can they serve Shri Krishna.
	Shri Krishna is the only Object of all worship. Shri Krishna alone is the Recipient of all service. No individual soul can be the recipient of any service on his own account or on account of any other individual soul. This points to the true significance of the scriptural injunction abstain from sexual activity and avoid the company of all sensual persons, for qualifying for the service of Shri Krishna on the spiritual plane. No idea of the positive nature of the function of the higher plane corresponding to the sexual activity of this world can be conveyed to those who are not completely freed from the disease of mundane sexual desire. It is for this reason advisable to abstain from all empiric study of the descriptions of the Amorous Activities of Divinity until one has been actually freed from every worldly passion by the preparatory service of Shri Krishna under the direction of the bonafide Acharya.
	Shri Krishna alone is Godhead. Shri Radhika alone serves Shri Krishna. This is the only Absolute Truth. Shri Krishna is the Ultimate Source of all real Receivers of service. Shri Radhika is the Ultimate Source of all real renderers of service. The infinite variety of the Pastimes of Shri Radha-Krishna constitutes the only Reality.
	Shri Radhika is the Predominated Moiety of the Absolute. In other words, the Predominating Moiety of the Absolute is not the full Integer. The Absolute Nature of the Personality of Shri Radhika is fully on a level with the Absolute Personality of Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna is the Consort of Shri Radhika. The Absolute is both Pair and Singular Person.
	Monotheism is so dear to the heart of all rational persons in this age that very few people would agree to accept Two Gods, even if they are assured that They are complimentary to Each Other. The numerical reference is illogically allowed to limit the Absolute. It is considered to be binding on the Absolute to be a singular Entity in the ordinary sense. But the pseudo-monistic view is calculated to destroy the Personality of Godhead into Void of the Undifferentiated Brahman. No theist should be prepared to reduce the Divinity, Whom he is to worship, to the Absolute Zero.
	The only solution of the fundamental problem of Theism is offered by the fact that Shri Krishna is eternally Couple. He is both Shri Krishna as well as Shri Radhika. Shri Radhika is as Absolute as Shri Krishna Himself. Shri Radhika is at once identical with and distinct from Shri Krishna.
	Shri Radhika is eternally distinct from Shri Krishna. Shri Radhika is the Predominated Moiety of the Absolute, whereas Shri Krishna is the Predominating Moiety. Shri Krishna is Male, Shri Radhika is Female. They are Two Distinct and Complimentary Persons. But neither of Them are Male or Female in the limited worldly sense. The Absolute Male and the Absolute Female are from the worldly point of view a sheer contradiction in terms. But this apparent contradiction is also really accommodated in the Absolute in defiance of all canons of our so-called rational judgement. It is this astounding fact that makes the Absolute the concentration of all mellowness, instead of making Him devoid of all mellowness. The empiric singular conception of Godhead would relegate all mellowness to the fractional parts and make the Integer the Embodiment of all insipidity. Formal logic does not really admit any existence to any entity.
	Those who are so anxious to discover any pretext for denying the Absolute Nature of the Personality of Shri Radhika as female Consort of Shri Krishna, are themselves left without any standing-ground for establishing any kind of relationship with the Absolute. In the Predominating Moiety the singular numerical reference is also logically and really admissible. The Absolute Master has really no co-sharer in His Mastership. Many Masters would lead to a loss of mellowness in the Predominating Absolute. He would not be in a position really to predominate over every entity. Plurality of females is not really opposed to infinite mellowness. Singularity of the Predominated Moiety would deny the admitted infinite scope of Mastership of the Predominating Moiety.
	Shri Radhika is the absolute source of all Consorts to Shri Krishna. The services of all the Consorts are associated aspects of the Service of Shri Radhika. Shri Krishna left the Dancing Circle of the milkmaids of Vraja as soon as Shri Radhika withdrew Herself from the same. In other words the aggregate of the milkmaids of Vraja fall short of service of Shri Krishna except in association with Shri Radhika and under Her direction.
	
Consorthood of Shri Krishna

	The Consorthood of Shri Krishna must not be confounded with any analogous mundane relationship. The Predominating Absolute is the only Master of all entities. He is also the Master of Shri Radhika Herself. But Shri Radhika is also the the only absolutely dominated Entity. She is the only Absolute Female. There are real partial and real counterfeit males and females of an infinite variety. All real and unreal masculinity is representative of Shri Krishna. No masculinity can exist except in relation of supposed of real mastership to associated femininity. So in every entity these two aspects of personality are conjoined. All femininity involves the co-presence of masculinity as master.
	
Jiva—Feminine Entity

	The individual soul (jiva) is a feminine entity by her proper nature. This is so because all entities, except the Divinity, are subservients. The singularity of the Predominating Absolute has to be recognized without reservation. There is, however, also an Infinity of Divine Personalities. But all Divine Personalities are fully Divine. None of Them have got any Master. The milkmaids of Vraja are the expanded forms of Shri Radhika and identical with Her. But the jiva does not belong to the category of the associated constituent counterwhole of Shri Radhika. The jiva soul belongs to the decentralized plane of manifestations. Shiva is the divine Centre of the Principle of this decentralized existence. Shiva is consorted for this purpose with Mahamaya. Shiva and Mahamaya are closely connected with jiva. But the connection of jiva with Shiva and Mahamaya is not identical with his connection with Shri Krishna and Shri Radhika. The connection of jiva with Shiva and Mahamaya is established only when he is disassociated from the service of Shri Radha-Krishna.
	Neither Shiva nor Mahamaya can give the jiva the service of Shri Radha-Krishna. On the contrary, their function is to delude the jiva into desiring certain covetable things of this world for his own advantage. Shiva is independent of Krishna. Shiva is a divine person. In this sense Krishna and Shiva are identical. Shri Krishna never consorts with His deluding potency. The Divinity of Shiva is adulterated with non-divinity whereas Shri Krishna is eternally unadulterated with maya. The service of Shiva and Mahamaya is not only incompatible with the service of Shri Radha-Krishna but implies positive aversion to the service of Shri Radha-Krishna. It also implies aversion to the service of all Divine Personalities who are uncontaminated by association with maya. The different Avatars of Vishnu cannot also be worshiped by any mundane reference.
	All misunderstanding regarding the nature of the worship of Shri Radha-Krishna is traceable to different degrees of willing affinity with the various concerns of this mundane plane. The so-called worship of Shri Radha-Krishna that is unfortunately practiced now-a-days on such a large scale by the different sects of philanthropists in this country is a greater offense to the Feet of Shri Radha-Krishna than even the open hostility of the worshippers of Shiva and Mahamaya. The real worship of the milkmaids of Vraja is located on the highest plane of spiritual service which transcends all conceptions of mundane worship that are put into the brains of conditioned souls.
	The subject of Divine Amour requires to be approached with the attitude of confidential submission. There is the bond of Love between Shri Krishna and Shri Radhika. There is an Agency who brings about union of the Divine Pair. The Intermediary possesses a Personality that is connected with Both by the relationship of Identity. All this is logically necessary.
	
Unlawful Love

	To the above is added the stigma of unlawful love as to a paramour Shri Radhika loves Shri Krishna in defiance of all sumptuary principles of mundane loving intercourse. This is not accidental but deliberate. It is this characteristic of the function that bears a distant analogy to the illicit love for a paramour. Shri Radhika habitually sacrifices, and makes it a point to sacrifice every other interest to Her Love for Shri Krishna. This is also the characteristic of the Service of the milkmaids of Vraja of whom Shri Radhika is the foremost.
	The relation to a paramour is a most unfortunate analogy, from the point of view of the moral people of this world; illicit mundane love is properly enough countenanced by no religious creed of this world. The sanctity of the tie of wedlock is also universally regarded as the seal and crown of the civilized intimacy between the sexes. Free sexual love is likewise universally denounced as the sign of unreclaimed animality. We have no idea of contradicting these undoubtedly proper views in regard to the legitimate form of sexual relationship of all civilized societies. But although it may sound paradoxical it is nevertheless true that what is most unwholesome in this world is analogously the most wholesome in the Realm of the Absolute, although everything is perfect there. There is no such institution as that of conventional marriage in the Spiritual Realm of Shri Krishna. The milkmaids of Vraja are Absolutely free from all taint of sensuousness. They possess spiritual bodies which are so formed as to be capable of being fully used in the exclusive service of Shri Krishna.
	The real difficulty in the way of our realization of the nature of transcendental Amour is that we cannot have the necessary basic conception of the nature of the spiritual body itself. We are thus under the necessity of the physical body to the relationships of pure souls who are not encumbered by the grossness and limitations of the defective physical coils. The ideas of grossness, immorality, etc., apply only to the mundane plane. The spiritual personality of the spiritual milkmaids of transcendental Vraja requires to be realized instead of being criticized by the admittedly inadequate sources of our mundane experience.

Pseudo Preachers

	The fact that a considerable number of persons have actually been mislead in trying to follow the preachers of the religion of unconventional spiritual Amour, cannot properly be laid at the door or religion itself. There have been unfortunately many pseudo-preachers of the religion who make use of the teachings of the Bhagavata for condoning and encouraging illicit carnality.These preachers are no doubt a great nuisance and come under the penal clauses of the Civil Law for safeguarding decency and morality. But these pseudo-preachers also represent a really existing popular demand for the pernicious doctrines which they spread among the people. It will not do to simply ignore this really deplorable state of affairs, nor to allow the growth of the tendency. In a democratic and rationalistic Age it becomes necessary to provide the right direction for a natural aptitude by means of an intensive counter propaganda.
	All the current religions are practically silent about this particular subject. But it has not become unimportant by being ignored by the religionists. The preventive and discouraging methods do not offer any positive cure and have as a matter of fact, been found to be practically useless.
	
The Mental Speculation of Sri Radha

	The truth is that there is a real plane for the wholesome exercise of the Amorous disposition that is part and parcel of our soul. It is necessary to realize the nature of this plane in order to be relieved of our harmful errors in regard to sexual relationship. Some sort of conviction must precede the actual adoption of any proposed method. The personality of Sri Radhika supplies the solution of this problem. Shri Rupa Goswami has offered the detailed exposition of the subject in his monumental works. Shri Jiva Goswami has explained the real meaning of those works. Namashrestham manumapi sachiputra matra swarupam, rupam tasyagraja marupurim mathurim gostha-vatim. It is by surrendering ourselves to the Preceptor’s feet that we can have abode in Mathura. Other wise we cannot get an entrance into the transcendental Region. We should approach the Guru who will confer on us the eight things i.e., Nama Mantra, etc. The Nama is the Transcendental Sound and the Mantra are the incarnations. The Name is identical withe the Namee. The Mantra is required in order to reach the situation in which the Name can be properly chanted. The Son of Sachi is the Supreme Lord Himself. Damodar Swarup is the head of the Gaudiyas or the transcendental servitors of Shri Krishna Chaitanya. Rupa and Sanatan were sent to Mathura by Shri Krishna Chaitanya to disseminate transcendental knowledge. There are several Puris which can give salvation and among them Mathurais the acme. Gosthavati is where Shri Krishna is feeding His cows. The next thing is Radha Kunda, which is the tank where Krishna got rid of the sin He incurred by killing a cow named Aristanemi. He killed Aristotelianism or the rationalistic process of reasoning of this imperfect world. This Aristanemi was the incarnation of mundane knowledge, and Krishna killed him for which act He expiated by taking a dip in the Radha Kunda. This Kunda is the mental speculation of Radha. The eternal land of our abode should be Radha Kunda. By the border of Radha Kunda we should have our groves.

A Handmaid of Sri Rupa Manjari

	Mädhura-rati is the highest form of prema, and an individual soul even in the stage of rägätmikä bhakti considers herself a maid called maïjaré whose service is guided by the dearest Rüpa Maïjaré and others who in turn are subservient to the eight sakhis— Çré Lalita, Viçakhä, Citra, Indulekhä, Campaklatä, Rangadevé, Tungavidyä, Sudevé— who are the counterparts of Çré Rädhikä. They are all engaged in the aprakrta services of their beloved Çré Krishna for His absolute pleasures, and no one else. Their complete satisfaction lies in the absolute pleasure of their beloved.
	The physical body of this world can never reach the lotus feet of the Lord. Hence a sädhaka in rägänuga bhakti, who may be a man or a woman in this physical world, develops the aprakrta body of a gopé called a maïjaré if his or her raga is awakened in the wake of the Vraja gopé. Specifically, she is a maïjaré, with a particular name, conception of her form and beauty, particular age, costume, specialized service (seva), and grove (kuïja) where she receives and serves the Divine Couple Çré Rädhä-Krishna. The individual in rägänuga bhakti meditates inwardly, looking upon himself or herself as a handmaid of Çré Rüpa Maïjaré, who is the personification of the rupa— beauty of Çré Rädhä, which beauty is the projected Absolute Beauty of the Absolute Lord Çré Krishna. Çré Rüpa Maïjaré guides the individual handmaid in the fold of Çré Lalita Sakhi, who in turn engages the handmaid in the specialized services of Çré Rädhä-Krishna.

Remembering the Lotus Feet
Memoirs of the Disciples and Grand-disciples of Srila Prabhupada

Let me tell you about an incident from the time when I [Bhakti Rakñaka Çrédhara Dev Goswämé]  ?rst came to the Maöh to be at the lotus feet of my Guru Mahäräja, Çréla Prabhupäda. The temple in Çré Mäyäpura had been opened and the Deities were installed there. The circumambulation of Çré Navadwépa Dhäma on the occasion of Çré Gaura Pürëimä had also taken place. At the end of the festival, everyone was going back home. Çréla Prabhupäda was sitting on a canvas chair on the front porch.
All the devotees were coming to him to offer their daëòavats before going home. Eager to hear what he was going to say, I came and sat behind him. Prabhupäda told the devotees, “Please do not deceive me.”   I became very alert. The festival had ended, everyone was going home, how were they deceiving him? Prabhupäda said, “You gave assurances that you would do Krishna-bhajan. I also became attached to you in this relationship. You came for a few days, and now you are going back to that material world. Then I am deceived. If you say, ‘No, Prabhupäd, we did not deceive you.  We still have a few days’ work to complete, a few responsibilities to take care of. After we ?nish that we will come back to you and then whatever you will say, we will do,’ I will say ‘There is no need for all of that.’ If someone says, ‘My house is on ?re, let me put out the ?re and then I will come,’ I will say, ‘There is no need for that.’ The destination of your, our, and everyone’s self-interest is Çré Krishna. The living entity has no other duty than to serve Him. If the whole world is destroyed by ?re, it does not do you any harm: you are the transcendental, eternal soul.   You have no duties other than serving Krishna. All your full?llment lies in the lotus feet of  Krishna.”
At that time I ?nally surrendered at his lotus feet. I realized that it is true that we want happiness, peace and bliss—but whatever we want, through that we unconsciously want only Krishna, because He is the reservoir of all bliss. It is bliss, it is joy, that is the medium. Just as the standard of all currency is gold, similarly the standard of all ful?llment—whether it is on a theistic or an atheistic basis—is bliss or joy. Where shall we ?nd that in this world? We can only ?nd it by exclusive surrender to the Sweet Absolute, because Vedänta has said, “Raso vai saù”—“He is the personi?cation of in?nite joy. He is Reality the Beautiful.”

Excerpt translated from the Bengali:

Goswämé, Çréla Bhakti Rakñaka Çrédhara, Amåta-Vidyä, ed. by Çréla Bhakti Sundara Govinda Mahäräja, Çré Navadvép Dhäm: Çré Chaitanya Säraswat Maöh, 1985.
Around 1878 or 1879, when Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura was the Deputy Magistrate of Naräl, my father was a classmate of his oldest son, Annadä Prasäd Bäbu, at Naräl High School. Sometimes my father would go to Annadä Bäbu’s house and have the good fortune of having the darçan of Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura. I have heard from my father that Çréla Öhäkura, while residing at Naräl, used to travel to nearby places on his houseboat—such as Käléya, Lohägarä, and Lakñmépäça—to inspect the local proceedings and attend trials at law. At these times many fortunate people were able to hear about the pure devotional path of Gauòiya Vaiñëavism from him.
Once Çréla Öhäkura went to inspect the condition of the Kanyädaha canal irrigation system, having been so requested by many of the local residents. He left his houseboat at our ghäö and went there on horseback. I heard that my Gurudeva (Çréla Prabhupäda), who was a very young child at that time, also came with his father in the houseboat. Our household sent some milk and sweets made of coconut and kñéra (evaporated milk) to the travellers on the boat. In later years the holy association of these Ächäryas helped my father to sincerely surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.
One night in the spring of 1910, around 3 AM, I departed from my house with the goal of going to live in Håñikeça after visiting the birthplace of Çréman Mahäprabhu, Çré Navadwép Dhäm. I went on foot for about ?fteen miles and then I travelled further by boat. Eventually I arrived at the Siìgiä railroad station. This was the ?rst time I saw a train. One gentleman bought me a ticket and helped me board the train. I changed trains at Baìgä and Ränäghäö and arrived at Krishnanagar at midnight the next day. Then I took a horse-drawn coach to the ghäö, took a boat across the Gaìgä, and reached the town of Navadwép during the pre-dawn hours. In the morning, on inquiring about “Mahäprabhu’s house”, I was sent to a temple. I was told this was the main temple of Mahäprabhu in this town. As I was about to enter a man yelled in a rough voice, “You have to pay an entrance fee of three annas (about eighteen paisa).” Shocked, I left the temple. Sitting on the front porch of a run-down temple of Lord Çiva at Porämatalä, I started pondering what I should do next. Çréman Mahäprabhu was the deliverer of fallen souls. He went from door to door instructing so many souls who had been burnt by the ?re of material life about the supreme bene?ts of devotional life, and look what had happened here today when I tried to have His darçan. This thought profoundly disturbed even a young boy like myself.
Two gentlemen who were returning from bathing in the Gaìgä passed by, talking about Çrédhäm Mäyäpur, the birthplace of Çréman Mahäprabhu. Hearing them talking about Çrédhäm Mäyäpur, I remembered what I had heard before [that Çréla Bhaktivinod Öhäkura had discovered the true birthplace of Mahäprabhu, in Çrédhäm Mäyäpur], and immediately got up to go to Mäyäpur. I asked the local people how to get to the Gaìgä and then crossed the river. At that time, the pujäri (priest) in Çréman Mahäprabhu’s house in Mäyäpur was Räjäräm Tewäri, the guard was Satyäräm, and the treasurer was Padmanabha Brahmachäré. The brahmachäré told me, “In Vrajapattan, which is nearby, lives Çréla Siddhänta Saraswaté. He is a brahmachäré from childhood. Every day he chants the holy name 300,000 times, and his knowledge of the scriptures is limitless. Please take some prasädam, and then let’s go visit him. Please stay here for a while. Your health will get better here and you will have the opportunity to hear about many spiritual topics.” A little later, when I went to take prasädam, I had the darçan of the lotus feet of Çré Mätä Öhäkuraäëé (Çréla Prabhupäda’s mother). She sat next to me and personally served me prasädam, and then she sent me to Çréla Prabhupäda in Vrajapattan with Padmanabha Brahmachäré.
Arriving at Vrajapattan, I had my ?rst darçan of my most worshippable lord, the ful?llment of all my desires. At that time he was writing an article on  “Conclusions (siddhänta) about the difference between Brähmaëas and Vaiñëavas”. Seeing his soothing and pleasing beautiful face, and hearing from him such instructions as I had never heard before, I not only forgot all the troubles of my journey, but I felt as if I had arrived in a new world. So I stayed in Çré Yogapiöh. Every day I would do a little bit of service, and around 3 o’clock in the afternoon I would go to Çréla Prabhupäda in Vrajapattan and hear him read from his articles and his commentaries of Çré Chaitanya Charitämåta. Once I went home for a few days, but after I came back I started staying in Vrajapattan with Çréla Prabhupäda.
Çréla Prabhupäda would stay behind closed doors in his Bhajan-kuöir and chant for long hours. Once, the day before Janmäñtamé, no milk could be found for offering. Suddenly Çréla Prabhupäda thought, “If I could get some milk today, then I would offer it to Çréman Mahäprabhu.” As soon as he had this thought he chastised himself in his mind and thought, “Am I thinking this because I am afraid of the prospect of fasting without water tomorrow? Then this idea is very wrong.” This was the time of the monsoon. All the land around Mahäprabhu’s house was ?ooded. The only way to get around was by boat. Under these circumstances, that afternoon a milkman came to Yogapiöha, wading in water up to his neck, with an abundance of milk, kñéra, curd, butter, cream, etc. The milkman said that the rich landholder Harinäth Chakravarté had sent these things from his estate to offer to Mahäprabhu. The pujäri at Yogapiöha offered these items to Mahäprabhu and then brought them to Vrajapattan, where Çréla Prabhupäda was. It was Çréla Prabhupäda’s speci?c instruction that any sumptuous foodstuffs offered to Mahäprabhu should not be brought to him. But that day, when the pujäri brought those items to him, despite having been forbidden to do so, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Çréman Mahäprabhu and said, “How much trouble I have given you. Why did such wrong ideas come to my mind, that you had to send these things for me by inspiring someone else in his heart!”

Excerpt translated from the Bengali memoirs of Çrépäd Paramänanda Vidyäratna, as quoted in Saraswaté Jayaçré, ed. by Çré Sundaränanda Vidyävinod. Calcutta: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, Bäghbäzär, 1934.
	Çréla Gurudeva [Çréla Bhakti Dayita Mädhava Mahäräja] went from Calcutta to visit Çré Navadwépa Dhäma with a few of his young friends, including Çré Näräyana Chandra Mukhopadhyäya (later Çrémad Bodhäyana Mahäräja). They had heard about the very beautiful place called Çré Mäyäpur, where Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu had appeared and where now very beautiful Deities were being worshiped at the Çré Chaitanya Maöh. Even though some people who were against the Gauòiya Maöh had tried to confuse him about Çré Mäyäpur, due to Mahäprabhu’s mercy on him Çréla Gurudeva overcame these obstacles and went there in 1925. He could not reach Çré Mäyäpur before afternoon, and the altar was closed. Çréla Gurudeva was very disappointed. When a brahmachäré servitor saw these good-looking, educated, digni?ed young gentlemen from Calcutta he welcomed them with great warmth, very respectfully invited them to accept mahäprasäda, and requested them to wait until the altar reopened. He also told them that a distinguished doctor—Dr. S.N. Ghosh—had been initiated that day, along with his wife, and had sponsored the feast that day. (In later years Dr. S.N. Ghosh (Sujanänanda Däsädhikäré) became one of the chief supporters of the Çré Chaitanya Gauòiya Maöh founded by Çréla Gurudeva.) After honoring mahäprasäda, Çréla Gurudeva was waiting for the altar to reopen. Then the brahmachäré servitor came again and told them, “You do not have anything to do now. Our Gurudeva is here; if you see him, you will be bene?tted by hearing Hari-kathä from him, and we will also get the opportunity to hear Hari-kathä again.” Çréla Gurudeva and his friends heartily accepted this proposal and went to Çréla Prabhupäda’s bhajan-kuöéra.
Seeing Çréla Prabhupäda’s sweet, long, golden, transcendental, effulgent divine form, they were in awe and considered themselves very fortunate to be in his presence. They had been to many places of pilgrimage, but nowhere had they seen such a self-effulgent great saint. They immediately realized that he was an intimate associate of Mahäprabhu; he was a great personality from the spiritual world. Çréla Gurudeva realized that Çréla Prabhupäda must be the spiritual master whom Providence had ordained for him, by surrendering to whom his goal would be ful?lled. They offered their obeisances to Çréla Prabhupäda with great respect and sat down.
Çréla Prabhupäda asked them their names and so forth, and then asked what their purpose was in coming there. Çréla Gurudeva said he had heard the name of Çré Mäyäpur, and had heard that beautiful Deities were being worshiped there. So he came to visit the Deities. Çréla Prabhupäda asked them if they had not seen Deities anywhere else. Çréla Gurudeva answered that they had been to many temples all over India and had seen many Deities. Then Çréla Prabhupäda asked whether this had done them any good. Now Çréla Gurudeva was in anxiety. He did not know what to say; one was supposed to be truthful to a saint. Çréla Gurudeva said he did not know if it had done him any good; he only visited the Deities because he was supposed to. Çréla Prabhupäda told them in an encouraging tone, “Of course one is supposed to see the Deities, but before we see Them, we have to learn how to see Them. One cannot see Their Lordships with the eyes of desire, but only with the eyes of love.” 
Çréla Gurudeva and his friends listened to Çréla Prabhupäda’s Hari-kathä for a long time and felt an inexpressible bliss in their hearts. Çréla Prabhupäda’s transcendental form and his powerful words made a deep impression on them. They wanted to know if they could see him again in Calcutta. They were told that in Calcutta a maöh had been founded at ä1 Ultodanga Junction Road, and they could see Çréla Prabhupäda there. Çréla Gurudeva and his friends considered themselves very fortunate, and went back to Calcutta with joyful hearts.
When Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to install the Deities in the Maöh at Sarvbhog Kamroop, Assam, he sent Çréla Gurudeva and his senior Godbrother Tridaëòiswämé Çrémad Bhakti Rakñaka Çrédhara Deva Goswämé Mahäräja, along with Çré Jänakévallabha Brahmachäré and other devotees, to do the necessary arrangements beforehand. At that time Çrémad Bhakti Vijïäna Äçrama Mahäräja was in charge of that Maöh. Among the devotees in Assam, Çréla Némänanda Däsädhikäré Prabhu was a learned and charismatic householder, very expert in preaching. Everyone expected him to make all arrangements for the bhoga and paraphernalia needed for the Deity installation. They also expected that he would make arrangements for the living quarters for Çréla Prabhupäda and his entourage. When Çréla Gurudeva arrived there a few days before the festival, he was surprised to see that no such arrangements had been made. Çréla Gurudeva had such a transcendental personality, and was so determined to make all effort to do what had to be done, that nothing could discourage him. Immediately he engaged all his energies in ?nding living quarters for Çréla Prabhupäda and his associates, and he accomplished his goal with a lot of hard work. Çréla Némänanda Prabhu also came with his family to participate in the festival and found a place to stay in the Chakchakä Bazaar. 
On Sunday, the 15th of March, 1936, Çréla Prabhupäda arrived at the Sarvbhog railroad station with his associates, and they were welcomed with great festivity. Among those who came with Çréla Prabhupäda were Çrémad Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhuñana Prabhu, Çrémad Paramänanda Vidyäratna Prabhu, Çrémad Vasudeva Prabhu, Çrémad Kértanänanda Brahmachäré, Çrémad Sajjana Mahäräja, and Çrémad Krishna-Keçava Brahmachäré. In the forefront of the big saìkértan procession, which accompanied Çréla Prabhupäda and his entourage all the way from the railroad station to Sarvbhog Gauòiya Maöh, were a decorated elephant and a band. 
Çréla Gurudeva had been very anxious about not being able to collect a lot of foodstuffs for the guests. But by the sincere desire of his heart and by the inconceivable greatness of Çréla Prabhupäda, before the latter’s arrival there was a mountain of rice, dahl, vegetables, and other foodstuffs. When the religious people of Assam heard that a great saint was going to come from Navadwépa, then people started coming from six, eight, twenty, thirty, or forty miles and even further, from all directions, carrying foodstuffs on both shoulders, and they kept coming in a continuous ?ow. The whole Maöh was ?lled with foodstuffs donated by them. Çréla Prabhupäda was amazed, seeing their tendency to serve the sädhus and their simplicity. During Çréla Prabhupäda’s visit to Sarvbhog Maöh, every day there was a big festival and thousands of people were fed a sumptuous feast. 
The next day, on Çréla Prabhupäda’s request, Çréla Bhakti Rakñaka Çrédhara Mahäräja dressed the Deities, and decorated Their Lordships Çré Çré Guru-Gauräìga-Gändhärvikä-Giridhäri with ?owers, garlands, etc., inside the temple. Their Lordships were supposed to manifest in Their Deity forms after they were installed by Çréla Prabhupäda. At the auspicious moment, which was at ten o’clock in the morning, Çréla Prabhupäda arrived at the temple and saw that Their Lordships had been beautifully decorated. He then offered his obeisances to Them and said, “The Deities are already manifest.” Hearing this, Çréla Bhakti Rakñaka Çrédhara Mahäräja became very remorseful, thinking that he had done what was supposed to be done by his Gurudeva and so he must have committed a great offense. Then the Deities were installed with great Vaiñëava festivities and the appropriate rituals such as saìkértan, ?re sacri?ce, etc. At this Mahotsava (Vaiñëava festival), innumerable people were served with mahäprasäda.
At the end of the festival Çréla Bhakti Vijìäna Äçrama Mahäräja repeatedly requested Çréla Gurudeva to inform Çréla Prabhupäda that Némänanda Prabhu had not done what he was supposed to do. Thinking Çréla Prabhupäda would not be pleased to hear this, Çréla Gurudeva at ?rst refused to so inform him. But when he was asked repeatedly, then to keep the honor of his senior Godbrother, Çréla Gurudeva considered submitting this to Çréla Prabhupäda. One day, when Çréla Prabhupäda was pacing up and down the front porch and Çréla Gurudeva was following him and fanning him, talking to him about a few other things, he brought up the subject of Némänanda Prabhu. Çréla Prabhupäda immediately became angry and chastised Çréla Gurudeva. Çréla Gurudeva became very repentant, realizing this was not pleasing to Çréla Prabhupäda. Immediately Çréla Prabhupäda changed his mood and started praising Çréla Gurudeva with great affection. But Çréla Gurudeva was not happy to hear this, thinking that Çréla Prabhupäda was afraid that Çréla Gurudeva would not be able to tolerate his chastisement. Then Çréla Prabhupäda gave Çréla Gurudeva many valuable instructions and indirectly let him know that he was very dear to him. The ?rst thing Çréla Prabhupäda said was, “Why do you want so much and why do you suffer so much? It is not proper to expect that someone else should do this much service. Your service to your Gurudeva is all yours. If someone else performs some of this service, then you should be grateful to him. Rädhäräëé is the only housewife in the household of Krishna. Çrématé Rädhikä knows that all service to Krishna is to be done by Her. If someone else helps Her in some way, then She is grateful to her.”
When Çréla Gurudeva wanted to explain the glories of Çaraëägati (exclusive surrender) to his disciples, he frequently referred to one incident at the Sarvbhog Maöh. Çréla Çrédhara Mahäräja was very anxious, thinking he had committed a great offense by doing what was supposed to be done by Çréla Prabhupäda. So he requested Çréla Gurudeva to submit to Çréla Prabhupäda his prayer forgiveness for the offense that he had committed unknowingly and to let him know about the condition of his disturbed heart. Being so requested by Çréla Çrédhara Mahäräja, Çréla Gurudeva submitted this to Çréla Prabhupäda in a letter. In response, Çréla Prabhupäda wrote, “One who is surrendered never commits any offense. The Supreme Lord does not see any fault in one who is surrendered to Him. The surrendered soul is always forgiven because he is always dedicating himself to the service of the Lord, without any ulterior motive. On the other hand, one who is not surrendered and who has ulterior motives is in danger of committing offenses at every step.”

Excerpts translated from the Bengali:

Çréla Bhakti Vallabha Tértha Mahäräja, Çré Çrémad Bhakti Dayita Mädhava Goswämé Mahäräja Viñëupädera Püta Charitämåta (The Holy Biography of Çréla Mädhava Goswämé Mahäräja), Calcutta: Çré Chaitanya Gauòiya Maöh, 1986.
In February 1936, on the occasion of Çréla Prabhupäda’s 62nd appearance day, the great festival of his most auspicious Vyäsa Püjä (worship of Çré Guru on his appearance day) was held at Çréväsa Aìgana (the courtyard of Çréväsa Öhäkura, an intimate associate of Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu) at Çré Mäyäpur Dhäm, and lasted for ?ve days. No one thought at that time that this would be the last Vyäsa Püjä of his manifested pastime in this world.
Çréväsa Aìgana was reverberating with the loud sound of the Hari-saìkértana of thousands of devotees who came from all directions. The courtyard was decorated very beautifully with gates, pillars, and valances of many colorful ?owers and leaves. The joyous mood of that great festival reminded devotees of the festival at Çré Kheturé Dhäma. When Çréla Prabhupäda, surrounded by devotees, arrived from Çré Chaitanya Maöh, he ?rst entered the temple and worshiped the Deities of Çré Çré Nityänanda and Çré Çré Gaurasundara with ?owers, garlands, sandalwood, etc. He then came out of the temple and offered his prostrate obeisances. Then he went to the kértana hall and sat on his äsana, which was decorated with ?owers and garlands. The devotees kept loudly chanting “Jaya Çréla Prabhupäda”. Then Çrépäda Narahari Brahmachäré, Seva-vigraha Prabhu, performed Guru Püjä with perfume, ?ower, incense, lamp, cloth, and fans. Çrépäda Kuïjavihäré Vidyäbhuñana Prabhu performed the ?ower offering (puñpäïjali). Çrépäda Rädhä-Govinda Kavya-Puräëa Tértha Bhaktiçästré sang the invocation song. Then Tridaëòi Swämé Çrémad Bhakti Kevala Auòulomi Mahäräja read about Çré Vyäsa Püjä from Çré Chaitanya Bhägavata. After this all the assembled devotees glori?ed Çréla Prabhupäda by reading their offerings.
Rice, new clothes, etc. were distributed to hundreds of poor people. From eleven o’clock in the morning until early evening thousands of people who came from outside the Maöh were fed a sumptuous feast. The new magistrate of Nadéyä, Çré Nélakaëöha Mahädeva Äyär, came with his wife to pay his respects to Çréla Prabhupäda. In the afternoon, amid loud chanting of “All Glories!”, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Çré Chaitanya Maöh Lecture Hall and sat on his decorated chair. On top was a decorated canopy and in front the verse “näräyanaà namaskåtya” was written. There was a decorated doorway in front of the hall. 
After the offerings of everyone (those who were present, and those who were absent due to their service at distant maöhs) had been read, Çréla Prabhupäda responded to those offerings with the following words: “Today in this great assembly where many learned devotees are gathered, many devotees said many things. The audience here has spent a lot of time listening to these offerings. I do not have too many things to say. But what I wanted to say was expressed here today by the words of these learned devotees.
“Today I have learned about many things. Today the worshippable devotees here, by singing my glories, have actually taught me how to sing the glories of the Lord and the devotees. If a non-devotee is glori?ed then this becomes a cause of trouble for the both the glori?er and the glori?ed. My worshippable Gurus are trying to purify my heart by teaching me humility through their own example. I take it that they are saying to me, ‘Please always remain engaged in the service of the Lord and His devotees, and please give the same respect to others that we are giving to you.’
“I have spent many years in this world now. I have realized that I have no other shelter than at the lotus feet of the Vaiñëavas.
“One who serves the Supreme Lord always considers himself the most fallen. Only when one thinks of himself as the most inferior can he become the best Vaiñëava; only then can he talk about the highest kind of devotion. Sarvottama äpanäke héna kari mäne’—’The one who is superior to all others considers himself more inferior than anyone else.’
“We shall roll in the dust of the feet of the devotees. I have not made any disciples, nor will I make any. Otherwise I will be in?uenced by non-devotees, and I will go on a different path, in a different direction. You are all my Gurus; please have mercy on me, considering me as your disciple.”
After Çréla Prabhupäda’s speech, Tridaëòi Swämé Çrémad Bhakti Hådaya Bana Mahäräja expressed his thanks to everyone and begged for Çréla Prabhupäda’s causeless mercy on behalf of everyone. Then Çrépäda Haripäda Vidyäratna (Çrémad Bhakti Sädhaka Niñkiïchana Mahäräja) sang the song “prabhu hetuyä padye e minati mora”.

In 1920 Çréla Prabhupäda was travelling in the village of Purulia, in Jessore District in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). There was a two-day festival of Hari-kathä and saìkértana. Then Çréla Prabhupäda proceeded to the Çolpur railroad station along with the other devotees. On the way was a river. After crossing the river Çréla Prabhupäda and the devotees were going through a village. Çréla Prabhupäda was in the front of the group. By the road was a one-room cottage belonging to an old woman. When the old woman saw Çréla Prabhupäda, she became very anxious to give him something. By the time she had collected something to give and come out with it, Çréla Prabhupäda had gone quite a distance. So she went behind the group anyway and tried to give the devotees her offering of one penny and four limes. The devotees did not want to take that. Then the old woman started begging them to take it. 
The Supreme Lord is very affectionate to His devotees; in the same way, His pure devotee is also very affection to the devotees. Omniscient Çréla Prabhupäda realized the situation, and looking behind him, noticed the sincerity of the old woman. Even though by then he had gone quite a distance, he came all the way back to the old woman and with great respect and appreciation accepted her gift in his own hands. The old woman became very joyous. In a voice choked with emotion she cried “O merciful Lord” and fell at Çréla Prabhupäda’s feet. The devotees were amazed to see Çréla Prabhupäda’s mercy on the old woman. Then Çréla Prabhupäda resumed his journey and said, “Even a little gift from His devotees is considered a lot by the Supreme Lord. Today Mahäprabhu would have been displeased if we did not take this old lady’s gift for Him.”

Excerpt translated from the Bengali:

Bhaktiçästré, Çré Hari-kåpä Däsa Brahmachäré, Parama Gurudeva Prabhupäda Çré-Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté, Bombay: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, 1980.

When Çréla Prabhupäda was travelling in Orissa, one day, as he was coming back from the temple of Çäkñé Gopäla, some people on the road begged for alms from the householders who were accompanying Çréla Prabhupäda. But none of the householders were ready to give alms. Seeing this, Çréla Prabhupäda stopped, sat down, and started talking about the duties of householders. In the course of his talk, he said, “If the householders think, ‘I should not give any of my money that I consider reserved for Krishna to the poor and the destitute,’ then they are actually showing symptoms of miserliness, cruelty, and lack of compassion for others. They should not consider giving charity to the very poor as fruitive activities. This kind of mentality will make their hearts very hard, and they will suffer from avarice. As a result of this, they will not want to spend their money even in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, which is our ultimate goal in life. This will invite offense regarding service. To save us from this kind of deceitful and sinful concept, Çré Gaurasundara used to give money and so forth to poor people during His pastime as a householder. The money we have, we have earned only by the grace of the Lord. If we give some of this to begging poor people then that is not misuse of money, that is good use of money. To serve prasädam (food offered to the Lord) to others is the necessary duty of every Vaiñëava householder. Even if those others have become poor by their karma or destiny, they are still part of the Lord’s family. Therefore it is de?nitely the duty of well-off householders to help them.”

Excerpts translated from the Bengali:

Tridaëòi Swämé Çréla Bhakti Kusuma Çramaëa Mahäräja, Prabhupäda Çréla Saraswaté Öhäkura, Mäyäpur, Nadéyä: Çré Chaitanya Maöh, 1991.

	In the year 1912, I heard that the religious conference called Käçim Bäzär Sammilani would take place in Käçim Bäzär, Calcutta from March 20th to March 25th. Curious to hear those discussions, I went to Käçim Bäzär at that time. There I saw Çréla Prabhupäda for the second time. Being earnestly requested by the Mahäräja of Käçim Bäzär, Çré Maëéndra Chandra Nandi, Çréla Prabhupäda came there to deliver some Hari-kathä. At that time I had not taken shelter at Çréla Prabhupäda’s lotus feet. I went there only as an ordinary member of the audience. When I arrived there I saw that some people—such as the late Pulin Mallik, also known as Nityänanda Däs, a businessman called K.B. Sen, of Tärä Chänd Datta Street, Calcutta, and Çré Gopendu Bandhopadhyäy of Kälnä—were all requesting Çréla Prabhupäda to say something about the mätå-mandir (Mother’s temple, or the temple of Goddess Durgä) of Kuliyä. In response Çréla Prabhupäda told them, “I have come to deliver hari-kathä, so let me deliver some hari-kathä.” At that time I used to stay close to Çréla Prabhupäda most of the time to listen to his hari-kathä. I noticed that Çréla Prabhupäda would ?rst offer his daëòavat to everyone and then chant on his tulasé beads all day. I never saw him sleeping or resting. Another surprising thing I saw was that the Mahäräja of Käçim Bäzär used to send an abundance of sumptuous foodstuffs for Çréla Prabhupäda. But Çréla Prabhupäda never accepted any of it. Only one day, Çréla Prabhupäda accepted one tulasé leaf. Çréla Prabhupäda used to distribute all that foodstuff among the guests. From March 21st to March 24th, the four days that he was there, I saw him fasting like this. One day Çréla Prabhupäda instructed me, “Eating, sleeping, and acts of personal hygiene should take place far from the eyes of the public.” Even today we see that Çréla Prabhupäda has this nature. In response to my question, Çréla Prabhupäda made me understand what is wrong with the modern concocted lyric: “Bhaja Nitäi Gaur Rädhe Çyäm / Japa Hare Kåñëa Hare Räm”. By quoting from the scriptures, he explained how it was against bona ?de conclusion (siddhänta) and how it was faulty with rasäbhäs (having contradictory devotional sentiments).
	One day he was invited to give a lecture, but he was only given ?ve minutes. He started giving his lecture in a very concise way by quoting the “brahmäëòa bhramite kona bhägyavän jéva” verse from Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta, but within a few minutes they asked him to sit down. In that short time, I realized the special characteristic of his talk: its originality and deep substance. I understood that this great personality made a few objective true statements which were not pleasant to a group of people. Then I thought in my mind, “Perhaps this is why this great person is not accepting the food from the Mahäräja.” Later when I asked him, he said, “If I cannot bene?t someone, if I cannot deliver a materialistic person from the dirt of materialism, then if I accept his association by sharing his food, etc., my own mind will become dirty. Therefore everyone on the spiritual path should have the six kinds of association [as explained by Çréla Rüpa Goswämé in his Upadeçämåta] only with a devotee.”
	Çréla Prabhupäda was asked to stay in the private quarters of the Mahäräja. The Mahäräja employed one gentleman full-time to serve and attend Çréla Prabhupäda. One day he told Çréla Prabhupäda in front of me, “You are a real Vaiñëava. The others who came took Mahäräja’s hospitality, but they did not bene?t him in any way. You came to give Mahäräja the real bene?t. But our great misfortune is that his associates did not let him understand your objectivity and your concept of true Vaiñëavism.”

	In the summer of 1917, there was a Vaiñëava conference in the house of Çri Vaëamälé Poddär at Daulatpur. There I heard Çréla Prabhupäda delivering Hari-kathä night and day. Early in the morning he would start his Hari-kathä, and sometimes it would go on until afternoon without interruption. Again in the evening he would give Hari-kathä, which would go on until late at night. At this time, I heard Çréla Prabhupäda interpreting the bhakti yogena manasi samyak praëihite ‘male” verse (Çrémad Bhägavatam 1.7.4) in many ways. I remember he also interpreted the verse ätma-sevänande yadi kåñëa-sevä bädhe se änander prati bhakter hay mahä krodhe (“If a devotee sees that his joy in serving has become an obstacle to the service of Kåñëa, then he becomes very angry at that joy.”) from Çré Chaitanya-charitämåta. In this regard, he explained how Kåñëa’s charioteer Däruk detested his own ecstasy of love when, as he was fanning Kåñëa, the fan fell from his hand due to this ecstasy.
	This was the time when Rämgopäl Bäbu gave up smoking forever. Before coming to Çréla Prabhupäda, he used to smoke so frequently that life would be unbearable to him unless he could smoke every few hours. One day Çréla Prabhupäda told him, “The Vaiñëavas will bring you the best tobacco available anywhere. You take all that, go at least one hundred yards from here into a ?eld and offer it all to Kåñëa. Kåñëa has a monopoly over all intoxicating substances, and they can only be enjoyed by Him. But if the living entity tries to enjoy what is enjoyable by Kåñëa, he becomes enslaved by intoxication. What is meant for Kåñëa’s sense grati?cation can actually dull the senses of the living entity, who eventually becomes bereft of human virtues.”
	I also heard something completely new from Çréla Prabhupäda: The living entity should see himself as an object of Kåñëa’s vision, and see the world as an object of Kåñëa’s enjoyment. It is disastrous for the living entity to think that he is the seer, or that he is the enjoyer, or that he is the controller, of this world. Right now the world is going completely in the opposite direction from the consideration that “I am not the seer, but I am to be seen; I am not the enjoyer, but I am to be enjoyed.”

Excerpt translated from the Bengali memoir of Çrépäd Ananta Väsudeva, as quoted in 
Saraswaté Jayaçré, ed. by Çré Sundaränanda Vidyävinod. Calcutta: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, Bäghbäzär, 1934.

	The famous business tycoon, Çäkñi-Gopäl Baòäl, used to come to the Gauòéya Maöh sometimes and listen to Çréla Prabhupäda’s Hari-kathä. One day Çréla Prabhupäda was sitting at the Gauòéya Printing Works when Baòäl Mahäçay arrived there. Baòäl Mahäçay started glorifying the interpretations of a professional Bhägavat speaker. Çréla Prabhupäda told Baòäl Mahäçay, “Pure devotion has been described in Çrémad Bhägavatam. If one hears interpretations of Çrémad Bhägavatam from a materialistic person, then he may enjoy some taste of literature and poetry, but this cannot bring him the supreme bene?t. After hearing Çrémad Bhägavatam, one cannot have greed or attraction for material enjoyment. Only those who have become free from worldly thought can hear Kåñëa-lélä.” It seemed to us that this concept was completely new to Baòäl Mahäçay. He said, “Can somebody not bene?t people, if by hearing his interpretations they are enchanted and openly shed tears?” Çréla Prabhupäda said, “After shedding tears, why do they become attached to material enjoyment again?” This did not please Baòäl Mahäçay very much. But we did not see Çréla Prabhupäda deviate from speaking the truth as it is to please an in?uential business tycoon. We have seen thousands of examples in Çréla Prabhupäda’s life that if someone had the highest position in society because of their wealth, scholarship, or some power or position, Çréla Prabhupäda never tried to please them in any way by minimizing the honest truth. It was the specialty of his character that he would never sacri?ce the honest truth to gratify the senses of the people of this world, even if that meant that some in?uential person would become inimical to Çréla Prabhupäda’s preaching and his mission and would start persecuting him or his mission in some way. When the preaching mission of this maöh started, there was no material wealth to support this. All his life, Çréla Prabhupäda’s main weapon against materialism has been sincere Hari-kértan that was detached from all worldly matters. He always says, “It is not that one can serve God just because one has money. But if one has great determination to preach Hari-kathä and to serve the Lord, and if one’s life is sincerely dedicated to service, then everything will be accomplished. You all please don’t worry about money. A maöh cannot be preserved by money. On the other hand, the characteristic of money is that if one is not serving the Lord, it makes him intoxicated with material enjoyment.” In our practical experience also, this is what we have always seen. So many big things have happened here, and we never even had ten rupees in our possession. But just by the order of Çréla Prabhupäda, whose intentions always materialized, his blessings and inspiration made hundreds of impossible things possible.
	Another characteristic we see in him: among his followers, if he ?nds any fault with those who serve him all the time in many ways then he immediately tries to correct it by protesting strongly about it. Çréla Prabhupäda never hesitated to strongly chastise his followers—which was always bene?cial for them—thinking they would become displeased or sad. Whenever one’s words, actions, conduct, or behavior was not proper according to the true injunctions of pure devotional conclusions, we always saw Çréla Prabhupäda condemn it in forceful language. The message of Çréla Prabhupäda is this: “You should all get together and satisfy Krishna’s senses. A person or a society will not be bene?tted by personal or collective sense grati?cation.”

Excerpt translated from the Bengali memoir of Çrépäd Ku–ja-vihäré Vidyäbhüñan, as quoted in
Saraswaté Jayaçré, ed. by Çré Sundaränanda Vidyävinod. Calcutta: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, Bäghbäzär, 1934.

Here is an excerpt from a letter from Çréla Prabhupäda I received in 1931:

“The Supreme Lord is existing everywhere. If we are engaged in serving one part of HIm, then our concept of Kåñëa-sevä will be wiped out and it will become the worship of Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu. Worshipping Krishna is different from worshipping Garbhodakaçäyé or Näräyaë. If I suggest that you should serve a part of Krishna, then all your endeavor will not go towards Krishna; you will be rendering partial service, not full service. If one is not versatile in his service, then one will become eccentric, and he will become averse to the mood of Çrématé Rädhäräëé’s service, which is all-inclusive. If one has partial vision, then he cannot pay attention to all kinds of service. But Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is present everywhere; the wealth of Çrématé Rädhäräëé [all-inclusive sevä] can be attained only by the mercy of Çrématé Rädhäräëé.”
	I hope this invaluable instruction from Çréla Prabhupäda will end the wrong concept that many of us have: “It is not I but so-and-so who is appointed for such-and-such service; why is the money or ingredient meant for such-and-such service being used for some other service?” This kind of eccentric consciousness will be completely removed when we will have the all-inclusive mood of service by following the one who is very close to Çrématé Rädhäräëé [Çré Gurudeva].

Excerpt translated from the Bengali memoir of Çrémad Bhakti Pradép Tértha Mahäräj, as quoted in Saraswaté Jayaçré, ed. by Çré Sundaränanda Vidyävinod. Calcutta: Çré Gauòiya Maöh, Bäghbäzär, 1934.

	Once Çréla Prabhupäda sent his disciples to preach in a distant part of India. As the preaching was going on successfully, he instructed them to open a maöh there. So his disciples were working night and day to open the maöh on an auspicious day, as instructed by Çréla Prabhupäda. Right before the opening of the maöh and the installation of the deities, Çréla Prabhupäda would arrive there with his entourage, so there was a lot of service to be done. In the meantime, an unfortunate incident took place there. One brahmachäré devotee was seen acting improperly with a woman who was staying near the property. So his senior Godbrothers chastised him heavily. The next morning, that brahmachäré could not be found anywhere. In the middle of the night he had left without telling anyone and taken all his belongings. Çréla Prabupäda’s disciples felt sad and repentant; they thought perhaps they had been too harsh with him. They looked everywhere for him, but he still could not be found. Even though the devotees were not happy about this, they did not have too much time to look for him. 
	Çréla Prabhupäda arrived before the opening of the temple, and he was extremely happy to see the new building and all the arrangements. When he saw so many people were interested in the mission, he praised the preaching effort of his disciples. All the disciples were very happy to see that they had been able to please Çréla Prabhupäda. Suddenly Çréla Prabhupäda asked, “Where is ——? I don’t see him anywhere.” Then the devotees told him what had happened. Çréla Prabhupäda became very sad. He said, “It is so dif?cult to bring one person from the clutches of the illusory energy into the realm of devotion. One person came to us, and somehow we have sent him back to the material world. That one person means more to me than all these buildings and everything else here.” Seeing Çréla Prabhupäda’s mood, his disciples became very sad and remorseful. They talked among themselves: “We have caused some pain to Çréla Prabhupäda, and we have to rectify it. We have to look for him and bring him back here.” They thought about it a lot, but did not know how they could search him out, as they had already tried and failed. But Çrépäd Hayagréva Prabhu (later Çrémad Bhakti Dayita Mädhav Mahäräj) did not want to give up. He always had ?erce determination to carry out Çréla Prabhupäda’s wishes, and he always displayed extraordinary intelligence and resourcefulness in doing so. Suddenly he said, “I know where to ?nd him. One day a devotee’s watch broke, and he immediately repaired it. So he knows how to repair watches. He must be working for a watch repair shop. So they went to look for him in all the watch repair shops in the city. After they had gone to many shops, one shopkeeper, on being given the description of ——, said he was in the back room. So they went to the back room and found him there. Seeing them, he started crying: “Krishna has answered my prayer. I have been so miserable since I left the maöh. Yet I was too embarassed to come back. So I was praying to Krishna night and day that somehow He would take me back there, even though I didn’t know how.” So the devotees said, “Yes, you will have to come back, because Çréla Prabhupäda is missing you greatly. Please forgive us for chastising you.” Then —— said, “No, I am the one who should ask for forgiveness.” Then they were all crying, and the shopkeeper was very moved by the scene. Çréla Prabhupäda was very happy to see his lost disciple, and the disciple was completely overwhelmed realizing the glory of his merciful Gurudeva. It is he who told this story to others for the rest of his life.

—Excerpt translated from the Bengali memoir of Çrémad Bhakti Kumud Santa Mahäräj.

	Throughout his manifested pastime, we noticed that anything that Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to get done always got done. Whatever desire he expressed always was ful?lled, sometimes very miraculously. Let me tell you about just two incidents.
	The new temple at Çré Yogapéth in Mäyäpur was going to be opened in a few days by the King of Tripurä. Since there was no electricity in Mäyäpur at that time, we had ordered a generator to be shipped to Mäyäpur from Calcutta. We went to the Dhubuliä Railroad Station to get the generator. The generator had come on a railroad car from which it had to be brought down with a crane. But unfortunately there was no crane at that station at that time. So the railway clerk suggested that we send the generator back to Calcutta, so that it could come back to us in a railroad car with a door. We did not know if Çréla Prabhupäda would approve of this plan. So I went back to Mäyäpur on my bicycle to tell Çréla Prabhupäda what had happened. As we had guessed, Çréla Prabhupäda did not approve of the plan. He said there was no certainty that the generator would come back in time for us to use it at the opening. Then Çréla Prabhupäda told me, "You go and try. You will ?nd a way to get it out." 
	So I went back to the Dhubuliä Station and told my Godbrothers what Çréla Prabhupäda had said. No one could ?gure out what to do now. Suddenly Revati-ramaë Brahmachäré thought of somehow using some spare railroad ties that were there to get the generator down. So we got permission from the railway clerk to use those ties. We arranged them to form a ramp to the railroad car. Then we manhandled the generator down the ramp. Next we had to put it on our own bullock cart and take it to Mäyäpur. But our bullock cart was rather old and worn-out, and it broke under the weight of the generator. Now we were really at a loss for what to do, and there was no one else there besides us. Suddenly a man appeared there on a brand-new bullock cart. He approached us and asked us if we could give him a job. We asked him if he would take our generator to Mäyäpur on his cart, and he very happily agreed. When I went back to Mäyäpur and told Çréla Prabhupäda what had happened, he was very happy, and he told me to let him know when the generator arrived. It took the bullock cart a long time to come, but when it ?nally arrived Çréla Prabhupäda was waiting for it. He gave the poor bullock cart driver a reward that was ten times more than what he had requested.
	Everyone was very busy at the temple putting ?nishing touches on the arrangements for the upcoming opening. Besides all the devotees, all the local people who were available for work were employed there. We were working in the garden when Çréla Prabhupäda came there. He pointed at a pond and asked if there was anyone who could clean it. Cleaning the pond would be very time-consuming, and there wasn't anyone available to do that. Then Çréla Prabhupäda told us, "Perhaps it will be done anyway," and left us. All of a sudden, a group of Muslim laborers arrived there from Murshidäbäd. They asked us if there was any job for them to do. All the poor people—Hindus and Muslims alike—liked to come and work for the Gauòéya Maöh, as they knew they would be treated well and paid generously. Çréla Prabhupäda was always very generous to poor people. So the pond was cleaned in no time. Everything else Çréla Prabhupäda wanted done for the opening of the temple somehow also got done.

—Translated from the Bengali memoir of Çrémad Nayanänanda Bäbäji Mahäräj (previously Çrépäd Satprasaìgänanda Brahmachäré).

We see in Çrémad Bhägavatam that Çré Krishna went to Sändépani Muni's äçram to study the Vedas. One day, by the order of His Guru, Lord Çré Krishna went to the forest to get some wood. In the forest a rainstorm began, so Çré Krishna could not return home but spent the night in a cave. When the Supreme Lord Himself took so much trouble to obey His Gurudeva's order, then it is not surprising that other people also have to take some trouble to carry out their Gurudeva's order. It is the duty of a disciple to serve his Gurudeva and obey his order. But the conduct of the Gurudeva at the Gauòéya Maöh, Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté  Öhäkura, is rather unique. He does not order his disciples to do anything, even something very simple. If he becomes very thirsty, he will look at the waterpot, but he will not ask anyone to give him some water. Late in the day, after walking and speaking Hari-kathä, he may say he is a little bit tired, but he will not say "Please give me something to eat." He thinks saying that to his disciples would be ordering them around. He doesn't think he is superior to them, therefore he does not give them orders. He thinks that if he thinks himself superior, he will become proud. Everything about him is very unique. I am an old man now, but I have not seen anyone like him before.
	Just by seeing him one will not know how much he knows. But I have seen many scholars, and I have not seen a scholar like him. I have in my possession ?fteen interpretations of Çrémad Bhägavatam, but his interpretation is always new. One day he was explaining a verse from Çrémad Bhägavatam. He spent two hours explaining two lines. My heart, which is like a desert, absorbed the cooling nectar of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté  häkur's interpretation. If I had a great memory, I could have reproduced his interpretation. But who has interpreted Çrémad Bhägavatam as he has? If one wants to know if the rice has been well-cooked, one doesn't have to taste each and every grain of rice. By tasting one grain one knows whether the whole pot is cooked. So by hearing him once, one will know how unique his interpretations can be. 
	The reason for this is that he takes the holy name night and day. When Çréla Bhaktivinod  häkur was present, I saw that Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté  häkur used to sit nearby, but his lips were always moving. Who knows if they were moving at night as well? If it weren't so, then how could he give such interpretations, which can only be given on the strength of the holy name? The interpretation is not his own: the Supreme Lord makes him say these things. 
	When I used to subscribe to Sajjan Toñaëé and Nivedan, sometimes I used to come to Calcutta, and I saw his lips moving in this way, chanting the holy name. At that time I could not conceive that the strength of the holy name would make him so powerful, and Çréman Mahäprabhu would make him perform such great tasks. Many people take the holy name, including myself, so why didn't I become so powerful? What to speak of having such power, I cannot even comprehend his interpretations. The effulgence of his interpretation cannot stay in a heart that is dirty and sinful. Püjyapäd Bhakti Vijay Mahäçay says that although he has been staying with Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté  Öhäkura for six years, he has not heard the same interpretation twice. 
	I am not a disciple of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté  Öhäkura, so it is not that it is my duty to glorify him. But due to my good fortune, I am a dog who has eaten the prasäd of the Vaiñëava prabhus of Çré Gauòéya Maöh. 

—Translated from the Bengali memoir of Paëòit Çré Vidubhüñan Çästré, ?rst printed in Gauòéya, Vol. 3, No. 37

Spiritual Revolution
Totalitarian War Against Illusion
By Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami

Just before Srila Prabhupada’s ascent into the divine domain he called Sridhar Maharaja to his side to hear from his heart the song Sri Rupa Manjari Pada. Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaja observed that Prabhupada gave Sridhar Maharaja entrance into the group of Sri Rupa. Srila Prabhupada once remarked, “I may be leaving this world, but at least there is one man who remains behind who can represent my siddhanta, and that man is Sridhar Maharaja. He is carrying the conception of Bhaktivinode Thakur.”

	There are so many brähmaëas and karma-käëòés (fruitive religionists) who will offensively consider that the Vaiñëavas are inferior because they have not received the sacred thread; those Brähmaëas, etc., must be saved. Also, a person who is taking the Name may think that Brähmaëas are superior and the chanter of the Name holds a lesser position.
	His abhimäna or ego must also be helped to go higher: “Yes, I am said to be more than a Brähmaëa, so I shall have to become very careful about my movements, my eating and other practices.” This will help him to know that he must not go below the standard of an ordinary purificatory section. At the same time, society will also be warned to deal properly with these persons who are taking the Name of Hari, by conceiving that they are exclusively given to the chanting of the Name of Hari and are therefore superior to a Brähmaëa. This system was introduced by our Guru Mahäräja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada. He conferred the sacred thread extensively.
	That is to give the position of a Brähmaëa, outwardly. In calculation from the inner side, a Vaiñëava is above a Brähmaëa. But from the outer side also he created this particular society in which a Vaiñëava who is exclusively given to Kåñëa consciousness must be recognized as not less, but more than a Brähmaëa. He reformed the society to establish the position of the Vaiñëava, thus also encouraging him: “You must not go down; you are taking the Name of Hari, exclusively given to Kåñëa consciousness, and you must maintain your position in the external way so that even the Brähmaëas or the Vedic school will feel some reverence for the position you hold. You must be cautious in your dealings and in your practices; and also the society will think, ‘Don’t underestimate these persons who are exclusively given to Kåñëa consciousness.’” In this way, he reformed society.
	Although Mahäprabhu had not introduced this, our Guru Mahäräja, adjusted the society to bring Mahäprabhu’s teachings to the world in a broad way. 
	Previously, Rüpa, Sanätana and followers did not care to take any sacred thread. Also, in the sannyäsa system of the Varëäçrama, Çaìkara and others give up the sacred thread to the fire when they take sannyäsa, showing that they have no necessity of a sacred thread; they’re above that, above Brähmaëa. Yet their creed is ‘we are one with Brahman’ - and here is the infinite difference. The higher a Vaiñëava is, the more he will say “I am the slave of Kåñëa, and the slave of the slaves of the slaves of Kåñëa.” But the Mäyävädés identify themselves with the highest Entity. They have fallen prey to complete misconception of the Revealed Scriptures of Veda. This is the position.
	The preaching mission of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura, the Gauòiya Maöha, has declared totalitarian war against mäyä, illusion, and even all other existing conceptions of religion. And our authority is Çrémad-Bhägavatam and Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Divine love is the supreme most goal of every soul. Beauty and love is the summum bonum, our highest attainment; that is the ultimate controlling principle, and not power. And beauty and love are found at their highest position in Kåñëa in Våndävana. The ultimate conception of the Absolute Truth is that of reality the beautiful and divine love. At the same time, the difference between lust and love should be clearly realized. That should not be misconceived. The acme of dedication is demonstrated in the love of the inhabitants of Vraja.
	Preaching (saìkértana), and not counting beads (japa), is the real service of Kåñëa. But because we have taken a vow, and it is ordered by Mahäprabhu and our gurudeva, we must chant the holy name while counting beads; it is our duty. Our guru mahäräja told us, “The japa beads must not fast.” So, if we engage ourselves in preaching work, there should be no doubt that we are really obeying the order of Mahäprabhu. Although he has advised us to chant one hundred thousand names, or sixty-four rounds daily, that is a provincial saying. What is really all-important is the spirit of service. We are not told that the gopés always count the name on tulasé beads, yet they possess the highest position in the service of Kåñëa in Våndävana.
	Like Mahäprabhu and Nityänanda Prabhu, our guru maharaja wanted to attack mäyä and, like a great general, he declared totalitarian war on illusion and even all other existing conceptions of religion. “Why is there this misunderstanding and misconception?” he thought, “Everything belongs to Kåñëa: éçäväsyam idaà sarvaà. It is plain and simple and sweet. How can we think, ‘This is for me, that is for Him?’ Why should we let this misconception stand here at all? Attack it - and crush the whole thing!”
	He told us, “Kértana means to preach against misconception. As soldiers, you must go door to door and preach Kåñëa consciousness - Kåñëa’s interest - the Kåñëa conception. If they understand that everything is for Kåñëa, they will be saved. This truth is plain and simple. Why should they not understand this? Try to capture them, to release them from the world of misconception and misunderstanding where they are now suffering from reaction.”
	In this way, we are not afraid of anything. A Vaiñëava who loved solitary life once asked our guru mahäräja, “Why do you stay at Calcutta? That is the place of Satan, where fighting for selfish interest is so acute. Leave that - come to the holy dhäma.” But Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura especially chose that place, saying, “I prefer to represent Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s creed in an extremely contaminated place.” For this reason, he wanted to send men to the West. “The East is captured by the glamour of Western civilization,” he said, “so Western civilization must first be crushed. Then, its glamour will vanish and the whole world will come to join the campaign of divine love of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.” This was the same spirit with which Nityänanda Prabhu canvassed the fallen souls of this world, in His attempt to take them to the lotus feet of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.
	Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura once instructed a disciple at the time of initiation into the Hare Kåñëa mantra that Kåñëa should be allowed to land in our hearts, just as an army is landed by the navy. An army is carried by a ship, and when they have landed, the fight begins, and they capture the country, just as Julius Caesar said, “Veni vidi vici, I came, I saw, I conquered.” So, we have to allow Kåñëa to land in our hearts. Then the fight will begin.
	Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura emphasized that kértana means not only loudly singing the holy name, but preaching. Jéva Goswämé has given a definition of sankértana, bahubhir militvä yat kértanam tad eva saìkértanam: “When many people come together and glorify the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, it is known as saìkértana.” Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu came and introduced saìkértana. In this age of Kali, if the holy name is chanted congregationally, the combined efforts will be fruitful (saìgo çakti kalau yuge). There is the difference between the preaching mission of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura, and the so-called bhajana of the sahjiyäs, or imitationists.
	Once, one of our Godbrothers was the subject of our guru mahäräja’s stern remark. He was a man of good character, but his tendency was generally towards näma bhajana. He did not like to do any other service, but was only inclined to chant the name of Kåñëa on his beads. I was in charge of the Delhi temple at the time, and was intimate with him, so I wrote to Prabhupäda: “If you permit, I would like to engage my Godbrother in some preaching work here in the Delhi temple.” The letter that Prabhupäda wrote is still here. He wrote me in his letter, “If you can bring him there and make him help you in the work of preaching, then you will be doing the service of a real friend to him. I don’t recognize that sitting in the jungle of Balihati only chanting, counting beads, is kåñëänuçélanam, the proper cultivation of Kåñëa consciousness.”
	Our guru mahäräja laid the highest stress on developing a serving attitude. Otherwise it is all bogus, all imitation. And people will say, “Oh, there is no Kåñëa there. These men are hypocrites. They are only dancing and making noise, they are not surcharged with a serving spirit.” Only through service can we directly come in contact with Kåñëa. The real point is to practice how to attain the spirit of service, vaiñëava sevä. The Vaiñëava is doing service, and we must imbibe from him the methods of attaining this serving attitude.
	Sevonmukhe, serving attitude was foremost. Our Guru Mahäräja did not allow us to read much, even of the lower types of scriptures dealing with general sädhana or practices, not to speak of the higher books. Rather, we were expected to actually follow those practices by hearing from the proper source and practicing accordingly whatever was instructed from there. Serving - learn to give yourself properly. There are different methods of service: çravaëa, hearing; kértana, chanting; smaraëa, remembering; vandana, praying, etc.. Çrila Rüpa Goswämé has mentioned sixty-four kinds of devotional practices, and it has also been further mentioned that there are one thousand types of devotional practices. But practices are not very important; the very life of the practice is all-important, for this is self-dedication. This we should be very particular to learn that dedication is work under a Vaiñëava.
	Sevonmukhatä, serving attitude, means what? One day, during the latter days of his presence in the world, our Guru Mahäräja Çréla Prabhupäda said to a certain sannyäsé who had led a full twenty years of life in the mission, “You did not see me - you could not see who I am. Like a zamindar you have kept some householder servitors under you, and from them you periodically give a donation to me. You have become like a broker, but you should be wholesale mine - my agent. You are not doing that. You are dependent on those householders while maintaining some connection with me. This is not necessary. You are not a member of this world. You are mine alone. Whatever I say, you should do. You should not sell yourself to anything or any proposal of this world. You are to be wholesale my servant.” Thus, this necessary attitude is rarely to be found. We should surrender to whatever flows from the higher plane and thereby substantiate its reality.
	There was once a Bäbäjé who was thought by many to be a great devotee. Whenever he took the name, he shed incessant tears. Liquid also oozed from his nose, and he was seen to be in some abnormal meditating position. On either side of him his attendants would be constantly cleansing his tears and face with napkins, as he madly chanted the name. Some atheistic persons considered that he was displaying religious fanaticism, while common people who had some simple faith in God estimated him to be a very high-class devotee. But our Guru Mahäräja, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Goswämé Öhäkura Prabhupäda, rejected him and his antics as devoid of proper God conception.

atha niùsattväù-nisarga-picchila-svänte,
tad abhyäsa-pare ‘pi ca
sattväbhäsaà vinäpi syuù,
kväpy açru-pulakädayaù

(B.r.s. Dakñina, 3.89)

	“Whenever shedding tears, horripilation, etc., are seen in persons whose hearts are soft externally and hard internally, and who are habituated to crying, rapture, etc., even though they do not possess a semblance of divine emotion - such an imitative sentiment should be known as totally unsubstantial and lifeless.”
	Such persons are representing the Sahajiyä school. Our Guru Mahäräja wrote several poems, one of which is präkåta-rasa Çata-düñaëé, ‘one hundred defects in the Sahajiyä conception.’ The defects are innumerable, but our Guru Mahäräja put forward a hundred points of the defects in their process of ‘advancement’. Mainly they are very easy purchasers. They are not prepared to pay the real price. But the death blow to them is this:

upajiyä bäòe latä ‘brahmäëòa’ bhedi’ yäya
‘virajä’, ‘brahmaloka’, ‘bhedi’, ‘paravyoma’ päya
tabe yäya tad upari ‘goloka-våndävana’
‘kåñëa-caraëa’-kalpavåkñe kara ärohana
(C.c. Madhya 19.153,4)
	One must first cross the different gross and subtle layers of the Brahmäëòa (mundane universe); then Virajä, the extremity of the jurisdiction of Mäyä or misconception; then the Brahman conception, the halo of the real or transcendental world; then, Vaikuëöha, which is Paravyoma, a sphere of consciousness.
	There are some who are of the opinion that smaraëa (remembrance) is exclusively connected with consciousness, or more concerned with the subtle part of our existence; so that should be the most effective form of sädhana, or means to the end. But our Guru Mahäräja, and Çréla Jéva Goswämé, and also Kaviräj Goswämé Prabhu, laid stress on kértana - especially for the beginners. Guru Mahäräja says in his song Vaiñëava ke? (‘Who is a Vaiñëava?’):

kértana prabhäve,          smaraëa haibe,
se käle bhajana nirjana sambhava

	“Internal remembrance can occur by the power of kértana, and only then is solitary service possible.” Nirjana-bhajana or smaraëa, exclusive solitary devotion unconscious of the environment is not at all possible for beginners.
	Promotion is inevitable if we always try to adhere to the lower duty. Eagerness for promotion is the enemy. That is for pratiñöhä (renown), and that will undermine everything. Çréla Prabhupäda said that imitation arises from the attraction for pratiñöhä or desire to hold the superior position and acquire a name for oneself. That is the great enemy. Don’t fall prey to that pratiñöhä, eagerness to hold the higher position. Rather, dainyam - humility, is the healthy sign of a devotee.
	When our Guru Mahäräja addressed his disciples as  vipada uddhäraëa bandhu-gaëa, “My dear friends who have come to deliver me from danger”, we should, of course, recognize such a statement from both the relative and absolute standpoints. Students are a necessary part of a professor - when a professor has students, he feels the practical utility of his life has been successful. Thus, from the relative point of view, disciples can help the äcärya. But from the absolute standpoint, Kåñëa’s will is everything, and the nitya-siddha or eternally perfect great souls who inwardly know the Lord’s intentions cannot be disturbed by any danger in any respect, but outwardly such an appearance may be manifest in their dealings.
	“The Vaiñëava is all in all, and I am nothing.” Such a feeling grows infinitely in the Vaiñëava. “I am nothing, but he is everything - he is a Vaiñëava; Guru and Vaiñëava really hold Kåñëa-bhakti. They are the stockists. But I am empty-handed; I have nothing.” This is the nature of the association of the finite with the infinite. As much as we shall have a real approach towards the infinite, we cannot but consider ourselves to be the meanest of the mean. The standard of Vaiñëava qualification (vaiñëavatä) is measured in this way. And this is not lip-deep, but the sincere dealing of the innermost heart. When Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Goswämé says, puréñera kéta haite muïi sei laghiñöha - “I am lower than the worm in stool” - this is not mere imitation, but his heartfelt truth. Äcärya-abhimäna, the assertion of the Guru over his disciple, is a different posture. That is assertion, but only for the service of the Vaiñëava; the sincerity is maintained therein. The Guru’s assertion is not selfish assertion. His assertion is only for the sake of saving the public and upholding the prestige of the Vaiñëava. So that is proper adjustment with reality, in twofold senses: to establish the real position of a Vaiñëava, and at the same time to save the ordinary persons from the danger and the reaction of false attempt or false thought. So that kind of assertion is not egoistic. Rather, we should know that as sacrifice in the dynamic sense.
	In Viçva-vaiñëava-räja-sabhä, our Guru Mahäräja tactfully managed in this way: he asked one of his disciples to speak something in praise and appreciation of another disciple. And he especially asked this of disciples who were a little antagonistic to one another. He asked them. “Speak something in praise of your ‘friend.’ “Why? To try to mark the bright side, the svarüpa, and to try to ignore the apparent side. He instructed, “You try to speak something in praise of your friend, your apparent opponent.” The Guru’s order was given, and so the disciple had to speak something in praise. Necessity is the mother of invention; he had to dive deep into the bright side of the other person and try to bring that side out. Thereby, the Vaiñëava atmosphere of giving and taking was aroused and the apparent, mäyika side was gradually ignored, disregarded and dissipated. Something similar happens in kértana as well. Why is kértana so powerful? Because when we are requested to speak something, we cannot but utilize our best attention to speak. We have to assert our best ability in the attempt to gather the proper information to speak something about the Supreme Lord. So, also, in the case of the Vaiñëava, as in the case of the Lord, we must approach the svarüpa, the inner side, the inner aspect, the bright side - and ignore the apparent side; and thereby we will thrive. There, the real mutual relationship will be aroused. Once a year in the Holy Dhäma of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, it was the practice of our Guru Mahäräja to preside in a meeting under the banner of Viçva-vaiñëava-räja-sabhä (Universal Assembly of the Topmost Pure Devotees), and there his method was such: “Try to praise the Vaiñëava.”
	When we are conscious  of the real substance of Kåñëa consciousness, the real wealth we are receiving from our spiritual master, then our spiritual life cannot be sahajiyäism, imitationism.. We must be aware enough to detect our guru’s advice when we find it in another. One who is awake will see, “Here is my guru’s advice, I find it here in this man. Somehow or other, it has come here. How, I do not know, but I see my guru’s characteristics, his dealings, and behavior in this person.” When we are able to recognize a thing for its intrinsic value, then, wherever we find it, we cannot neglect it.
	There is an example of this in an instance regarding Aurobindo Ghosh, of Pondicherry. He was the first leader of the Anarchist Party and practically the founder of the revolutionary movement in Bengal. In 1928, a case against him was proceeding in Calcutta High Court. A famous attorney, Mr. Norton, was in charge of the prosecution. Aurobindo had absconded, and when the case was going on, he was not to be found anywhere. Norton was concerned. How to find him? Aurobindo’s English was very good English. He had been educated in England from childhood, and could speak English even better than many Englishmen. Norton began to search through different papers and magazines for Aurobindo’s writing. Finally, he found Aurobindo’s style of writing in the Amrita Bazaar Patrika, a Bengali newspaper. “Here is Mr. Ghosh!” he said. The editor of the Amrita Bazaar Patrika was summoned to court to find out whether Aurobindo Ghosh had written the article. Norton examined him:
“This is your paper. You must know who has written this article. You are the editor.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Do you know this man, Aurobindo Ghosh?”
“Yes, I know him. I consider him to be one of the greatest men in the world.”
“As the editor of this newspaper do you know who wrote this article?”
“Yes, I know.”
“Has Mr. Ghosh written this article?”
“I won’t say.”
Norton asked him, “Do you know what is the punishment?”
“Yes. Six months imprisonment.”
“You are ready for that?”
“Yes, I am ready for that.” Holding up the newspaper article, Norton said, “Here is Mr. Ghosh! I rest my case.”
	He saw Aurobindo in his writing, and in a similar way we must see, “Here is my gurudeva!” Our spiritual master would also sometimes say of one of his disciples who had departed, “Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura came to me, but I could not recognize him.” Those whose divine vision is awakened are always seeing signs of divinity everywhere.
	At the same time, if my own relatives do not give recognition to my guru or to the service to Mahäprabhu, I must eliminate them. Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Prabhupäda has explained the çikñä guru paramparä in this way. Wherever we find the extraordinary line of the flow of love of God, and support for the same, we must bow down. That line may appear in a zigzag way, but still, that is the line of my gurudeva. In this way it is accepted. We want the substance, not the form.
	Once an Indian political leader, Çyämasundara Cakravarti, asked our spiritual master, Prabhupäda, “Why has the Lord granted freedom to the jéva?” Prabhupäda told him, “You are fighting for freedom. Don’t you know the value of freedom? Devoid of freedom, the soul is only matter.” Freedom offers us the alternative to do right or wrong. Once, Ghandi told the British authorities, “We want freedom.” They replied, “You are not fit to have self-government. When you are fit, we shall give it to you.” But finally, he told them, “We want the freedom to do wrong.” So, freedom does not guarantee only acting in the right way; freedom has its value independent of right and wrong.
	Free will is only absolute with the Absolute Truth. Because we are finite, our free will is infinitesimal. The possibility of committing a mistake is there. Our first choice was to dominate, and so, gradually we have entered the world of domination. As a result of this first action, everything else has developed. So, in different ranks, the species have been divided, from the demigods down to the trees and stones. And watery bodies, gaseous bodies, anything that we find here has evolved in that way. The activating principle in any form of embryological development is the soul, and from the soul, everything has evolved.
	Once I asked our Prabhupäda, “Why is there a difference between Sanätana and Rüpa in their conception of the final part of kåñëa-lélä? Sanätana closed his summary of Kåñëa’s pastimes in his Kåñëa-lélä-stava in Mathurä, and Rüpa took it another step towards Dvärakä in his Lalita-mädhava. He wrote two plays dealing with kåñëa-lélä: one about Dvärakä and one about Våndävana. Vidagdha-mädhava takes place in Våndävana; Lalita-mädhava takes place in Dvärakä. But Sanätana Goswämé liked to complete Kåñëa’s pastimes in Mathurä.
	According to Sanätana Goswämé, after a long separation between Kåñëa and His family and friends, like a wheel the pastime moves from Mathurä again to Våndävana. After Kåñëa has gone to Mathurä, the residents of Våndävana, overwhelmed by separation, begin to think, “Kåñëa has been gone for such a long time. Nanda and Yaçodä have lost their child!” The separation intensifies and develops further until they begin to think, “Oh, Nanda and Yaçodä have no child!” Then they think, “They must have a child,” and begin to pray for the appearance of Kåñëa. Then Kåñëa appears as the son of Nanda and Yaçodä. The cycle is complete and everyone is happy thinking, “Oh yes, Yaçodä has got a child.” In this way Kåñëa’s pastimes again begin developing in Våndävana and move to Mathurä, where He kills Kaàsa.
	In his Kåñëa-lélä-stava, his summary of kåñëa-lélä, Sanätana Goswämé did not take Kåñëa into Dvärakä from Mathurä Maëòala. But Rüpa Goswämé, in his play Lalita-mädhava, showed the parallels between kåñëa-lélä in Våndävana and kåñëa-lélä in Dvärakä. And so, in his Lalita-mädhava, Rüpa Goswämé draws a parallel between Lalitä as Jämbavaté, Rädhäräëé as Satyabhämä, and Candrävalé as Rukmiëé. In this way, he shows the transformation between Våndävana and Dvärakä.
	I asked Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Prabhupäda about this difference between Rüpa and Sanätana. He simply said, “It is adhokñaja, beyond our understanding. So kåñëa-lélä is “un-understandable” (acintya). Everything is not bound to come within our fist. The Supreme Lord has “All Rights Reserved”. This must be understood if we at all want to be in connection with that plane of reality.
	Once, Rädhäräëé left the rasa-lélä when She saw that all the gopés were being dealt with almost equally by Kåñëa. Equal treatment towards one and all did not satisfy Her. So She decided to display a composition of singing and dancing to please Kåñëa in a most wonderful transcendental way. Rädhäräëé showed Her skill in various ways, and then at the last moment, She suddenly disappeared. And as Kåñëa was engaged in that combined singing and dancing, He suddenly found that Rädhäräëé was absent. So He left everyone to search for Rädhäräëé. He met Her on the way, and after walking for some time, Rädhäräëé told Him, “I can’t move, I can’t walk anymore. If You would like to go on, You will have to carry Me. I cannot go further.” And suddenly, Kåñëa disappeared.
	A disciple of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Öhäkura once asked him why Kåñëa had disappeared in such a way. But our guru mahäräja was very disturbed to hear such a question. In this lélä, Kåñëa is apparently showing some disregard for Rädhäräëé. So our guru mahäräja, by his very nature, could not even tolerate such a question. He had so much partiality towards Rädhäräëé that he was not disposed to hear anything against Her. And so, in a rather excited mood he answered, “Do you find any devotion here? What bhakti do you find here that you have asked me this question?” The question was rejected. He could not tolerate even an inquiry regarding that pastime.
	When this news came to me, I tried to find what Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura had written in his own words about this verse of Çrémad-Bhägavatam in his collection, Bhagavatärka-Maréci-Mälä. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura has harmonized the difficulties in the verse. He explains that Kåñëa was thinking, “I would like to see what will be the mentality of separation in Her.” Only to appreciate the depth of the separation She felt from Him did Kåñëa disappear. Then of course Kåñëa returned after some time. 
	But our guru mahäräja could not even tolerate the idea. “Where is devotion to be found here?” But Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura interpreted this pastime to mean that Kåñëa was driven to see what kind of happiness in separation Çrématé Rädhäräëé would experience. He took this as an example of how the Absolute becomes subservient to His devotee. And so we find that the negative, Çrématé Rädhäräëé, is so powerful that the positive, Kåñëa, becomes powerless near Her. It is as if the positive loses its separate existence. This is the victory of devotion. 
	Devotion is represented in the negative side, drawing from the positive. There is the juice in a fruit and the one who extracts the juice from the fruit. The highest devotion is found where the extraction is in its most intensified condition - there is the victory of the devotees: where the Absolute accepts defeat before His servitors. This reveals the real presence of devotion, dedication, surrender.
	Once Vidyäsägar wrote in a book ‘éçvara-niräkära-caitanya-svarüpa’ (‘The Lord is without any figure, and He is a mass of consciousness’). As but a young boy, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Saraswaté Goswämé Prabhupäda went to him and challenged, “What have you written here? You say ëçvara, Lord, and then you say niräkära, formless! Where have you found this? ëçvara, the Creator, the Master - He is niräkära, formless?! Where have you found that ëçvara is niräkära? He has a type of äkära, form, and that is Cidäkära, a Transcendental Form. But you say He is only a mass of consciousness and without any figure, and He is the Creator? Where have you found this?” In this way he challenged Vidyäsägar. But he was very young, and Vidyäsägar may not have cared for the challenge. Nonetheless, he did his duty. That was his temperament - he would always challenge. He had to challenge whatever was against the line of Mahäprabhu, otherwise he could have the satisfaction of having done his duty.
	No compromise. Protest. Once Rabindranäth Tagore wrote articles in some book under a pen-name, and Prabhupäda also wrote protesting against those writings, also under a pen-name.
	When Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura began the Service of the Dhäma and Mahäprabhu, he had to do many things to attract the public to accept his discovery of the Dhäma as authentic. At that time, the place was uninhabited. Gradually a brick building was made, and the worship of the Deity of Mahäprabhu was begun. 
	The Temple came later. Generally the Brähmaëa cooks he required would not stay there very long because it was an isolated place and there were violent elements nearby. To ensure that the Service continued, he had to undergo many undesirable things. For example, sometimes he had to prepare gaïjikä (hemp) by his own hand, for the cook! Otherwise, the cook would have left. At times, when ‘respectable’ persons came, he had to make arrangements for tobacco. There were many other trials.
	Our Guru Mahäräja, Prabhupäda, also did similar things, to the extreme. When Anderson, the Governor, was invited to Mäyäpur, at that time it was arranged with a Calcutta hotel to bring appropriate food for the function, including even meats. The hotelier was arranged to cater for the Governor and his entourage. And when Prabhupäda suggested some similar approach in foreign preaching also, I modestly protested that if the meat dishes, non-vegetarian dishes, were served in the Maöh area it would bring criticism to the mission; to which he replied, “No, no! I decided all these things thousands of births ago. We have to do anything and everything for the Service of Mahäprabhu.” That was his answer. vaikuëöha-våtti - no  kuëöha, no limitation: ‘I am prepared to do anything for the Service of Mahäprabhu, for the propagation of His Mission. The Grace of Mahäprabhu should be distributed throughout the length and breadth of the whole world. And for that, anything should be done. No stone unturned. Physical connection is no connection. We shall try to save our internal purity, that is all.’ And to save so many souls from impure habits and diet, Çrémad Bhaktivedänta Swämé Mahäräja also took the risk of external contamination by filthy things. He had to go to the place of that anti-atmosphere to save them. If the house is on fire, one must run the risk of burns to his body if he really wants to save the inhabitants.
	Our Guru Mahäräja’s thinking was mostly revolutionary, he once told us, “You all know that only the bogus, hollow people and men of shallow thinking like Våndävana.” I was very perplexed to hear this. I had been told that Våndävana is the highest place of spiritual perfection. I had heard that one who has not mastered his senses cannot enter Våndävana. Only the liberated souls can enter Våndävana and have the opportunity of discussing kåñëa-lélä. Våndävana is for the liberated souls. Those who are not liberated from the demands of their senses may live in Navadwépa, but the liberated souls may live in Våndävana. Now Prabhupäda was saying that the shallow thinkers appreciate Våndävana, but a man of real bhajana, real divine aspiration, will aspire to live in Kurukñetra.
	Hearing this, I felt as if I had fallen from the top of a tree. “What is this?” I thought. I am a very acute listener, so I was very keen to catch the meaning of his words. The next thought he gave us was that Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, after visiting many different places of pilgrimage, remarked, “I would like to spend the last days of my life in Kurukñetra. I shall construct a cottage near Räma-hrad and pass the rest of my life there. Kurukñetra is the real place of bhajana.”
	Why? Service is more valuable according to the intensity of its necessity. Shrewd merchants seek a market in wartime because in that dangerous position, money is spent like water, without any care for its value. They can earn more money if a war comes. In the same way, when Çrématé Rädhärani’s necessity reaches its zenith, service to her becomes extremely valuable. According to its necessity, service is valued. And in Kurukñetra, Çrématé Rädhäräëé is in the highest necessity because Krishna is so close, but their våndävana lélä is impossible. In a football game, if the ball is just inches from the goal, but again comes back, it is considered a great loss. In the same way, after a long separation, Krishna is there in Kurukñetra, so the hankering for union felt by his devotees must come to its greatest point, but because he is in the role of a king, they cannot meet intimately. The circumstances do not allow the våndävana-lélä to take place. So at that time, Çrématé Rädhäräëé needs the highest service from her group, the sakhés.
	Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura says that in that situation, a drop of service will draw the greatest amount of prema, divine love. In the pastimes of Rädhä-Govinda, there are two aspects: sambhoga, divine union, and vipralambha, divine separation. When Rädhä and Krishna are very near to each other, but can’t meet intimately, service at that time can draw the greatest gain for the servitors. Therefore, Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura says, “I shall construct a hut on the banks of Räma-hrad in Kurukñetra and contemplate rendering service to the Divine Couple. If I can achieve that standard where the prospect of service is so high, then there is no possibility of returning to this mundane plane at any time.”
	Our Guru Mahäräja was not vomitimg what he heard from others, but giving something fresh. We should never think that we have understood Krishna consciousness, otherwise we shall be deceived. We should place  our tiny faith in the Infinite, with all our sincerity, and prepare ourselves for the waves of Infinite realization that may come to us by the grace of Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Gaura Haribol!

My Lord and Master
His Divine Grace
By Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja

	Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, under the inspiration of Srila Saraswati Thakur founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1965 and subsequently established over 100 branches worldwide, publishing and distributing over 100 million books, and within 10 years made the name Krishna known in virtually every town and village in the world. Srila Sridhara Maharaja remarked, “Our Guru Maharaja wanted to spend the next ten years of his life preaching in the West, but left this world and was unable to do so. But Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja gave him those ten years,  with his unparalleled success in fulfilling our Guru Maharaja’s dream of spreading Krishna consciousness in the Western world. We are happy, we  are pleased, we are proud!”

	Whatever I appreciated forty years ago, the same principle is going on. We have no  change. What I understood from my spiritual master I am always doing that. Practically I met my Guru Maharaja in 1922  and this poetry was written in 1936. That means  fourteen years before writing this poetry, I met my Guru Maharaja. At that time I was quite a young man, twenty-five years old only, and I was posted in a very responsible position as the office manager of Dr. Bose’s laboratory. I was very fond in those days of Gandhi’s movement. In 1922  I joined Gandhi’s  movement and I gave up my educational career because one of the Gandhi’s programs was to boycott the universities. That’s a very long story. Many students gave up their educational career and joined Gandhi’s movement, and I was one of  them.
	Dr. Bose, Kartik Chandra Bose, he’s a very important man. At that time he was managing director of Bengal Chemical Company. Now there is a street in the central Calcutta, Dr. Kartik Bose Street. So he was very important man, and he was our family physician and my father’s very intimate friend. When I gave up my education and I was joining Gandhi’s movement, at that time Dr. Kartik Chandra Bose asked me to join him. So with the permission of my father I joined. At that time I was fond of  Gandhi’s noncooperation movement and when I joined Dr. Bose’s laboratory, of course, I was dressed in khadi.  Dr. Bose liked that dress, khadi dress. He told me one day that “Out of  your whole Gandhi’s movement, I like this khadi  only.” Dr. Bose said,  “And  why? Because this will give impetus to industry. This hand spinning will gradually give impetus to India.” Actually that happened. He was himself an industrialist.
	So in 1922 I met my Guru  Maharaja through the insistence of my intimate friend, Mr. Narendranath Mullick. I did not like to go but my friend, he forced me. He told me some information, “There is a nice sadhu. Let us  go and see.” I did not like very much these sadhus  in  those days due to my national spirit. So I said, “I have seen many sadhus. They come at my father’s house. I was not very much pleased with their behavior.” But my friend he dragged me forcibly: “No, I have heard this person is very exalted.” So I went.
	My Guru Maharaja’s first opening version was that “You  are educated young men. Why don’t you preach Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s gospel in the Western countries?” I did not know but this was his blessing in the first meeting. I did not know but because we belonged to a Vaisnava family we  were  very much worshiper of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, our family Deity.
	So I was very much pleased that “Here is a personality  who is going to preach Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s gospel.” I was very much pleased. Anyway, from 1922 to 1933 practically I was not initiated but I got the impression of preaching Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s cult. That I was thinking. And that was the initiation by my Guru Maharaja. Then officially I was initiated in 1933 because in 1923 I left Calcutta. I started my business at Allahabad. So I was always thinking of my Guru Maharaja, that “I met a very nice sadhu.” Although I was doing business, I never forgot  him. Then, in 1928, these Gaudiya Math people came to Allahabad during  Kumbhamela. As the Kumbhamela is going to be held this year, a similar big Kumbhamela was held in 1928. In those days they came to open their branch in Allahabad, and somebody recommended  that  “You go to see this Bengali gentleman.” At that time I was running on my big pharmacy and I was very well known man in Allahabad as the proprietor of the pharmacy. So somebody recommended them that, “You go to Abhaya Babu. He is a very religious man. He’ll help you.” So when they entered my shop I was very much pleased that “These men I met in 1922, and now they have come.” In this way I became reconnected. And in 1933  I  was officially initiated and my only qualification was when I was introduced to my Guru Maharaja for initiation, so Guru Maharaja immediately said, “Yes, I shall initiate this boy. He is very nice. He hears me very patiently. He does not go away.” So that was my qualification. The high standard of philosophy which he was speaking at that time, practically I could not follow what was, he was speaking, but still, I liked to hear him. That was my hobby. Whenever there was chance – I was asking that “When Guru Maharaja will speak?” So he took it very seriously. And then, in 1936—it’s  a long history—during this Vyasa-puja day, this Vyasa-puja day, whatever I studied about our relationship with my Guru Maharaja, I expressed in this poetry and since that day my Godbrothers used to call me “poet.”
	And Guru Maharaja also very much appreciated this poetry. Now somehow or other you have found it. I thought the poetry is lost but I do not know how it was found out by some of our disciples. I think it was found out in London museum or somewhere else by Gurudasa. They had a stock of Harmonist, and from the Harmonist, my Guru Maharaja’s paper, this poetry was found. Otherwise I thought it was lost. So anyway, this  poetry is “Adore adore ye all the happy day, blessed than heaven, sweeter than May.” So I heard that the month of May is very pleasing in the Western countries, so I compared the happiness of this Vyasa-puja day with the May Day. 

Adore Ye All The Happy Day

 Adore ye all the happy day, 
Blessed than heaven, sweeter than May, 
When he appeared at Puri, the holy place, 
My Lord and Master, His Divine Grace.

Oh! my Master, the evangelic angel, 
Give us Thy light, light up The candle. 
Struggle for existence a human race 
The only hope, His Divine Grace. 

Misled we are all going astray, 
Save us Lord, our fervent pray, 
Wonder Thy ways to turn our face. 
Adore Thy feet, Your Divine Grace. 

Forgotten Krishna, we fallen souls, 
Paying most heavy, the illusion’s toll. 
Darkness around all untrace, 
The only hope, His Divine Grace. 

Message of service thou hast brought 
A healthful life as Chaitanya wrought, 
Unknown to all, it’s full of brace, 
That’s your gift, Your Divine Grace. 

Absolute is sentient thou hast proved, 
Impersonal calamity thou hast moved, 
This gives us a life — anew and fresh, 
Worship Thy feet, Your Divine Grace. 
 
Had you not come, who had told 
The message of Krishna, forceful and bold, 
That’s your right, you have the mace. 
Save me a fallen, Your Divine Grace. 

The line of service as drawn by you, 
Is pleasing and healthy like morning dew, 
The oldest of all but in new dress 
Miracle done, Your Divine Grace

	“When he appeared at Puri, the holy  place, my lord and master, His Divine Grace.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura  appeared as the son of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, his fourth son. Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he was family man. He has several children, sons and daughters. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was known in his previous life as Bimala Prasada Datta, son of  Kedaranath Datta. His father, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, his  name was Kedaranath Datta. He was magistrate and he was manager of the managing board  of Jagannatha Puri. The system is, the local magistrate becomes the official manager of the managing board of Jagannatha Puri. At that time Bhaktivinode Thakura was situated in Jagannatha Puri and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura appeared at  Puri.
	So when the Rathayatra ceremony takes place and sometimes the big ratha stops at intervals. So the house in which Bhaktisiddhanta  Sarasvati Thakura appeared, in front of that house the ratha stopped.
	At that time Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura’s  mother took the advantage because Bhaktivinoda  Thakura was magistrate, so the son, the little baby, was brought before the ratha, and the pujaris allowed him to bring the child before the Deity and  a  garland was offered by Jagannatha. That was the first sign of his becoming the acarya. In this way there are many incidences. Therefore his birth place is mentioned, “the holy place, my lord  and  master, His Divine Grace.” “O my master, the evangelic angel, give us thy light, light up thy candle. Struggle for existence, a human race, the only hope, His Divine Grace.”
	Actually we are in a  very precarious condition, in the modern civilization. That is I mean to say, we are being manipulated by the Western people. It is a soul-killing civilization. By nature the chance is given after many, many evolutionary processes. Jalaja  nava  laksani sthavara  laksa vimsati.
	The evolutionary theory is there in  the Padma Purana. It is not Darwin’s theory. Darwin stolen it from Padma Purana, and he presented it in a distorted way with his own imagination. Otherwise the Darwin’s theory is not the original. Actually it is not theory but fact.  Jiva  jatisu.  The soul, it is wandering within the cycle of jiva jati, different species of life. Tatha dehantara praptih. This is Vedic knowledge, this evolutionary process. It is not Darwin’s theory. So by  that process, lower animals and then the chronological order is there. First of all aquatics, jalaja. Jalaja  means aquatic. Then sthavara,  trees, plants. Then flies, then birds, then beasts, then human being. In this way, bahu  sambhavante,  after many, many millions of years we get this opportunity of human life to realize God. And this civilization is denying, refusing the opportunity to the human society to understand God, such a soul-killing civilization.
	It is a fact. They are denying  “What is  God? There is no God. Everything is science,” Although they cannot explain science. They cannot do anything, simply talking like nonsense. Last night some girls came, so they are students of botany. So I asked them, can you manufacture a seed which can give birth to a big banyan tree? “No, sir, it is not  possible.” Then what kind of botany you are studying? Actually what is their science? They talk simply something which is going on in the middle portion. Where is the beginning and where is the end of knowledge, that they do not know. They are theorizing only in the middle. They do not know janmady asya  yatah, where is the beginning of this science. That is the beginning is Krsna. Krsna says, aham  sarvasya prabhavo. He is the  beginning. Bijo  ‘ham sarva bhutanam. That seed, you scientist, you cannot manufacture. What chemicals are there that if you put in the earth  and pour some water and it will grow a big tree?
	These scientists, they cannot explain what is the chemical composition is there. But there is. So that is in the hand of Krsna. So  this knowledge means to understand the original source. That is philosophy, find out the original source. That is knowledge, vedais  ca sarvair  aham eva vedyo. Actually the knowledge terminates when you understand Krsna. He is the source of everything. There is a “struggle for existence, a human race, the only hope, His Divine Grace.” Now we got this information from His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and that knowledge is still going on. You are receiving through his servant. And in future the same knowledge will go to your students. This is called parampara system. Evam parampara prap. It is not that you have become a student and you’ll remain student. No. One day you shall become also guru and make more students, more students, more and more. That is Caitanya Mahaprahu’s mission, not that perpetually one will remain as student.
	Yes, one should remain perpetually a student, but he has to act as guru. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It  is  not that  because I am acting as guru, I am no longer student. No, I am still student. Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us this instruction that  we shall always remain a foolish student before our Guru Maharaja.  That is the Vedic culture. I may be very big man, but still, I should remain a foolish student to my guru. That is  the qualification. Guru more murkha dekhi karila sasana. We should be always  prepared to be controlled by the guru. That is very good qualification. Yasya prasadad bhagavat prasadah. Ara  na  kariha mane  asa. So we should become always a very obedient student to our guru. That is the qualification. That is the spiritual qualification.  My Guru Maharaja wanted me to preach in the Western countries, although I was at that time a ordinary manager in a chemical firm. I never thought, but I took it seriously. So from that time in 1922 –  then in 1965 it was fruitful – forty three years later.
	It is better late than never. Yes. He desired me. I thought, “Now I am a family man. Let me adjust things.” I would have accepted immediately but I was not so intelligent at that time. I thought my responsibility to family is there. Let me wait.” But still, Guru Maharaja was so kind to me that when I was grhastha, I was seeing him in dreaming and I was. He asked me, “You come with me.” Then I was going, and after that, I was thinking, “Oh, I will have to take sannyasa and go with him?” So it appeared to me very horrible. I was not very much inclined to take sannyasa, but Guru Maharaja is so kind that he ultimately forced me to take sannyasa and do this work. It is all his kindness. This is the memory of his  kindness.  Forty three  years ago I remember the same thing as it is in 1922, and still the same thing is going on. There is nothing new. We  have nothing to do, new. Simply let us present, “As It Is”, it will be successful.
	You see. The spirit of my writing is the same. “Misled we are, all going astray.” This  soul-killing civilization is misleading us. We must know this, this is a very misleading civilization. Our real aim of life is to understand our spiritual identification and search out our relationship with God, Krsna. That is our real business. But this modern civilization is misleading us in different ways. Therefore, I wrote this, that “Misled we are, all going astray. Save us, Lord, our fervent pray. Wonder thy ways to turn our face, adore the feet, Your Divine Grace.” So this portion he very much appreciated. We have to find out ways how to turn the current. The  current is sense enjoyment. Material life means the current is sense enjoyment, and this current has to be turned toward sense enjoyment of Krsna. Sense enjoyment is there, but the material civilization, the misled civilization, is that the sense gratification is taken personal.
	When this sense gratification will be turned towards Krsna, then our life is successful. Just like gopis. Apparently it appears that gopis, they were attracted by young boy, Krsna, and  for their sense gratification they made friendship with Krsna. No. That is not the fact. The fact is that gopis used to dress themselves nicely because by seeing them, Krsna will be satisfied, not that for their sense gratification. Generally a girl dresses also to attract the attention of the boy. So the same thing is there but it is Krsna’s sense gratification, not the gopis’. The gopis did not want anything. But Krsna will be satisfied. That is the difference between lust and love. Love is there, only possible, when it is diverted towards Krsna. That  is love. And beyond that, not beyond that but below that, everything is lust. We should always remember this. The senses are not stopped but when the gratification of the senses is directed towards Krsna, that is bhakti, or love.
	And when the sense gratification is directed towards personal self, that is lust. This is difference between lust and love. So Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura knew this art, how to turn our activities for the satisfaction of Krsna. This is Krsna consciousness movement. Therefore I wrote, “Wonder thy ways to turn our face, adore the feet, Your Divine Grace. Forgotten Krsna, we fallen souls.” Why we are fallen? Because we have forgotten. Our relationship with Krsna is eternal. Unless it was eternal, how you Western peoples could be devotee of Krsna? Artificially you cannot be a devotee of Krsna. The relationship is there eternally. Nitya siddha krsna bhakti. By the process it is now awakened. Sravanadi suddha citte karaye  udaya. It is awakened. Love between young man  and  young woman, it is not artificial. It is there. But by certain circumstantially, environment, the love becomes manifest. Similarly, our love for Krsna, relationship with Krsna, is eternal.
	Jivera  svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa. But we have to create such situation—that eternal relation should be awakened. That is the art. That is wanted. Therefore, “Forgotten Krsna, we  fallen souls, pay most heavy the illusion’s toll.” Because we have forgotten Krsna we are paying heavy, heavy toll, tax, taxation. What  is that taxation? The taxation is nivartante mrtyu  samsara vartmani.  This human life is meant for understanding Krsna, but instead of understanding Krsna, we are understanding the so-called material science for sense gratification. This is our position. The energy which was given by nature to understand Krsna, that is being utilized how to manufacture something for sense gratification. This is going on. This is maya, illusion. Therefore it is, “Pay most heavy the illusion’s toll.” Toll  tax. That we are paying because we have forgotten Krsna, therefore now we have manufactured the nuclear weapon, Russia, America, and you will  have to pay heavily.
	They are already paying heavily. The armament preparation is going on. More than fifty per cent of the income of the state are now being spent for this arm, heavily. Instead of other purposes, it is being spent for military strength, every state. That heavy toll we are paying. And when there is war there is no limit how much we are spending for  this devastation. Why? Because we have forgotten Krsna. This is a fact. These people they have made the United Nation, unnecessarily fighting like dogs. This will not solve the problems. The problem will be solved if they pass a resolution that the whole world belongs to Krsna Not only this world.  Krsna  says, sarvaloka mahesvaram. Krsna is the proprietor, so why not accept? Actually He is the proprietor. Who has created this planet? We have created or father created? No. Krsna has created, but we are claiming, “This portion is American, this portion is Indian, this portion is Pakistani.”
	Unnecessary. What is the value of this claim? We may claim it for fifty or sixty or a hundred years, and after that, one kick, “Get out.” Where is your claim? But they do not understand this philosophy. They are fighting. That’s all, that “This is mine. This is my land. This is my land.” They do not know. Krsna said tatha dehantara praptih. “You are American today. But tomorrow, even within America, if you become an American cow or American animal, nobody will care for you. Nobody will care for your politics.” But this art they do not know. This science they do not know. They are under illusion. They are thinking that “I shall continue to remain American, so let me waste my time for American interest,” So-called interest. There  cannot be any interest. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih  karmani  sarvasah. Everything is being done by nature, and we are simply falsely thinking, ahankara vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate. This illusion is going on.
	“Forgotten Krsna, we fallen souls, pay most heavy the illusion’s toll.” We are paying, paying.  “Darkness around, all untrace. The only hope, Your Divine Grace.” This message. Simply we are in darkness. 
	So the same thing, it is chalked out by Krsna, and by parampara system we have understood this philosophy. Evam parampara praptam imam rajarsayo viduh.  So keep this parampara  system. This Vyasa-puja   is parampara  system.  Vyasa-puja means to accept this parampara system. Vyasa. Guru is the representative of Vyasadeva because he does not change anything. What Vyasadeva said, your guru will also say the same thing. Not that “So  many hundreds of thousands of years have passed away. Therefore, I will give you a new formula.” No. There is no new formula. The same Vyasa-puja, the same philosophy. Simply we have to accept it. Then our life will be successful.

A Few Glimpses of the Lotus Feet of Srila Prabhupada
By Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Goswami Maharaja

Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Goswami Maharaja served as Srila Saraswati Thakur’s personal secretary and editor of the Gaudiya Math publications fro more than ten years. Travelling with him extensively etc.

	Once, Çréla Prabhupäda was viewing the Deities of Çré-Çré Guru-Gauräìga-Gandhärvikä-Giridhäré at the Çré Caitanya Maöh, standing on the front porch of the temple.  The door of that temple is not very wide, and Çréla Prabhupäda did not have his glasses on.  Standing next to him was one of his dear disciples.  The disciple thought perhaps Prabhupäda could not view the Deities very well through the narrow doorway.  He suddenly said, “Prabhupäda, this doorway is not very wide.  So it is not possible to view the Deities very well from outside.”
	Hearing this,  Prabhupäda smiled, and he said for the benefit of all of us, “We should not think of the Supreme Lord as an object of our vision.  Instead we should meditate on the thought of how we can acquire some qualifications so we can become worthy objects of His vision.  We should think about whether He wants to see us, and whether He will want to reveal Himself to us.

ataù çré-kåñëa-nämädi
na bhaved grähyam-indriyaiù
sevonmukhe-hi jihvädau
svayam-eva sphuratyadaù

Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, Eastern Wave, 2.109

“The holy name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Çré Kåñëa are divine and transcendental.  They cannot be experienced by material senses.  The Lord manifests Himself spontaneously on the tongue of a devotee who is eager to serve Him.”  Just as a devotee waits to see the Lord with great patience and eagerness, sometimes the Lord also waits with great patience and eagerness to see His devotee.  It is described in the Caitanya-caritämåta, how the hidden Deity of Gopäla in Våndävana was waiting for His beloved devotee, Çré Mädhavendra Puré.

bahu-dina tomära patha kari nirékñaëa
kabe äsi’ mädhava ämä karibe sevana

Çré-Caitanya-caritämåta Madhya-lélä 4.39

“For many days I have been watching the road for you, and I have been wondering, ‘When will Mädhavendra Puré come here to serve Me?’”  In this way the Supreme Lord, who succumbs to His devotee’s love, waits to see His devotee with great eagerness.

bhaktera dravya prabhu ‘käòi’ ‘käòi’ khäya
abhaktera dravya prabhu ‘ulaöi’ nä cäya

“The Lord will grab food from His devotee, but He will not even glance at anything given by a non-devotee.”  This is why the eagerness to serve Him in loving devotion has to be there.

bhaktir evainaà nayati,
bhaktir evainaà darçayati,
bhakti-vaçaù puruñaù bhaktir eva bhuyasé

“It is devotion which takes us to Him; it is devotion which will reveal Him to us.  He can only be conquered by devotion.  Therefore in all scriptures, devotion is praised.”  When this devotion is mixed with spontaneous love, one quickly acquires the qualifications to be worthy of the Lord’s vision.  It is said in the Brahma-saàhita,

premä jana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaù sadaiva hådayeñu vilokayanti
yaà çyämasundaram acintya-guëa-svarüpaà
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

Brahma-saàhita 5.38

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, Who is Çyämasundara, Kåñëa Himself with inconceivable innumerable Attributes, Whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.”
	Another day, we were going from Çré Caitanya Maöh to Çré Yogapéöha, following Çréla Prabhupäda.  At one point along the way, that same beloved disciple smelled something bad on the road and covered his nose with the end of his dhoti.  Seeing this, Çréla Prabhupäda smiled and said, “The transcendental fragrance of the holy dhäma is not reaching your nose.  Instead, you are smelling the bad odor of the material world.  The holy abode of the Lord is always transcendental, and one should not see it with material consciousness.  The Lord’s holy abode is non-different from the Lord Himself.”
	He has taught us, by his personal example, the high ideal of serving Çrédhäma Mäyäpur, the birthplace of Lord Gauräìga.  At different places in Çrédhäma Mäyäpur at Çré Yogapéöha, Çréväsa Aìgana, etc. Çréla Prabhupäda had many transcendental realizations and experiences.  With his supramundane vision, he always saw the three holy rivers Gaìgä, Yamunä, and Saraswaté flowing together through Çrédhäma Mäyäpur.  He viewed the river Jalaìgi as non-different from the holy river Saraswaté.  Çréla  Thäkura Bhaktivinoda had the same kind of vision.  In his famous poem, the fourteenth song of Bhajana Lälasä (“kabe gaura-vane suradhuné-taöe”), he begins by saying, “When will I give up material happiness and wander around the places of Lord Gauräìga’s pastimes?”  In the second verse, he says, “I will drink the water of the river Saraswaté.”  This Çrédhäma Mäyäpur, the great place of pilgrimage, which is situated by the meeting place of the three holy rivers, was more dear to Çréla Prabhupäda than we can imagine.  Çréla Bhaktivinoda  Thäkura had predicted that a wonderful temple would be manifest at Çré Yogapéöha.  Çréla Prabhupäda fulfilled this prediction by building a wonderful temple there, assisted by one of his wealthy disciples, Çrépäda Çakhi-caraëa Bhakti Vijaya Prabhu.  A four-handed Deity of Viñëu manifested Himself from the earth as the foundation of this temple was being dug (June 13th, 1934, 10 AM).  Following the conclusions of the revealed scriptures, Çréla Prabhupäda called this Deity “Adhokñaja” containing the potencies of Çré, Bhü, and Nélä.  Some famous archaeologists, headed by Çré Ramä-prasäd Canda, determined the Deity to be very ancient.  Çréla Prabhupäda used to say that He was the household Deity worshiped by Çré Jagannätha Miçra.  This very beautiful Deity is still being worshiped at Çré Yogapéöha.
	To perform his service to Çrédhäma Mäyäpur with great care and pomp, Çréla Prabhupäda brought many famous persons to Çrédhäma Mäyäpur.  One of them was the king of the independent state of Tripura, and another was the governor of Bengal, Sir John Anderson.  Every year, Çréla Prabhupäda took great care to celebrate the birth anniversary of Çré Gauräìga at Çrédhäma Mäyäpur, and personally guided the 32-mile circumambulation of Çré Navadwépa Dhäma.  Çréla Prabhupäda considered Çré Candraçekhara Bhavana, which was north of Yogapéöha, and Hulora Ghäö, or the meeting place of the three rivers, which was south of Yogapéöha, to be greater Mäyäpur.  From his lotus mouth came the prediction that one day there would be many Vaiñëava villages and neighborhoods on this strip of land.  Many maöhs and temples would be established there, and tumultuous congregational chanting would be heard, accompanied by the sounds of conchshells, bells, cymbals, and mådaìgas.  Çréla Prabhupäda used to say that Çré Gaurasundara, the golden moon of Çré Mäyäpur, is eternally performing His pastime of congregational chanting with His eternal associates in His eternal abode, Çré Mäyäpur Dhäma.
	Even today, the Supreme Lord, Gaurahari, is dancing and singing, wandering around Çré Mäyäpur with His beloved associates.  Occasionally, some fortunate souls have heard a sudden sound of tumultuous saìkértana at Çréväsa Aìgana or Yogapéöha, when apparently no one was there.  Çréla Prabhupäda himself experienced this.  We have seen with our own eyes some  individuals who were not very spiritually inclined, whose hearts were hardened by their own faulty arguments and who were proud of their material education, become enchanted upon arrival at Çré Mäyäpur by the overwhelming spiritual ambience of the holy Dhäma.  It seemed that their hearts could not resist the sweet attraction of the holy Dhäma, which stopped their argument and caused them to lower their haughty heads in humility.
	Next to the tall temple of Çré Yogapéöha is a big jackfruit tree.  The ripe jackfruit of this tree was very sweet and juicy.  We had the good fortune of tasting those ripe jackfruit.  Our grand-Gurudeva, Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji, used to come and chant the holy name, sitting under that jackfruit tree.  In those days Çréla Prabhupäda used to live at the Sevaka-khaëòa of Çré Yogapéöha (which does not exist any more).  One day Çréla Prabhupäda was surprised to see Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji sitting under that jackfruit tree very late at night.  At that time, Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji used to live on the Navadwépa bank of the Gaìgä, at Räëéra Caòa, under a cha-i (a portable bamboo and straw covering on a boat), and practiced his bhajana there.  Çréla Prabhupäda asked him how it was possible for him to cross the Gaìgä so late at night.  In those days the ferry service used to be closed at ten o’clock at night.  This was also the time when Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji was performing his lélä of having poor sight.  The road to Mäyäpur was very arduous.  So who had brought him here so late at night?  When Çréla Prabhupäda asked this question, Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji answered, “‘Someone’ helped me cross the river.  ‘Someone’ brought me here, holding my hand, etc.”  Çréla Prabhupäda had no difficulty understanding that this “Someone” was not an ordinary “someone”.  Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji often used to come to Çré Mäyäpur and roll on the ground of Çré Yogapéöha and the courtyard of Çréväsa Öhäkura in loving ecstasy, and used to cry very earnestly, taking the names of Çré Gaura, Çré Nityänanda, Çré Advaita, Çré Gadädhara, and the devotees headed by Çré Çréväsa.  When Çréla Prabhupäda used to send him some fruit or vegetable grown in Çré Mäyäpur, Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji would take that with great adoration, touch it to his head and chest, and in due time would offer it to Çré Nityänanda and partake of the remnant.
	Çréla Prabhupäda’s loving devotion for the lotus feet of his Gurudeva is beyond our comprehension.  At one time he told us, “When I used to think that I was a big scholar of mathematics and philosophy, by my good fortune I got the darçana of the lotus feet of Çré Gurudeva.  He ignored everything that was previously appreciated in me—my truthfulness, my moral and pious life, and my scholarship—knowing them to be of little value.  When he ignored whatever was good in me, I realized how good he himself was, he who could ignore so many ‘good qualities’ in me; what inconceivable wealth there was in him.  Being ignored by him, I realized that there was no one more fallen than me, more contemptible than me, and that this was my real identity.  This great soul did not consider the things which I considered to be highly desirable, such as scholarship and pure moral character, to have any value.  Then I realized that this great personality possessed priceless wealth within him.  So I prayed humbly and sincerely to the Supreme Lord for His mercy.  Later, by the mercy of the Supreme Lord, I realized that without receiving the mercy of this great saint and serving him, nothing good could happen to me.  When I realized that and acted accordingly, by getting the shelter of the lotus feet of Çré Gurudeva and by receiving his unlimited causeless mercy I considered my life fulfilled.  I have understood that if the people of the world do not receive the same jolt that I received from my Gurudeva then their consciousness will not awaken.  Therefore I am telling everyone, ‘I am more stupid than anyone else in the world; please, all of you, do not be stupid like me.  Do not live your life within the limitation of a calculating consciousness.  Please enter the realm of the unlimited, the realm of Vaikuëöha and you will become very wealthy.  I am only asking you to accept that which I have understood, by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord, to be supremely beneficial.’”
	In another place, he wrote, “Even after seeing Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji, many people—the immature and the clever, the scholarly and the foolish, those lacking devotion and those proud of their devotion—did not have the proper transcendental vision to see him.  This is the incomprehensible power of a pure devotee.  Hundreds of people came to him for his instruction, to fulfill their material desires.  But that instruction was actually deceiving them.  Many people take the garb of sädhus, and many people outwardly act like sädhus, but in reality, not only are they not sädhus but they are very far from any sädhu.  But there was no such impurity in my lord.  By his own example he demonstrated that purity was truth.  His genuine affection was incomparable to anything in this world.  One who received that affection would consider the eight kinds of yogic perfection to be of no value.  He had no dislike for his competitors or his enemies.  Even to those who received his mercy, he did not demonstrate any external favor.  He used to say, ‘In this world there is no one who is the object of my liking or disliking.  I consider everyone to be respectable.’  Another inconceivable thing was that some deceitful, materialistic people, whose mood was unfavorable to pure devotion, always used to surround my Gurudeva without understanding his real position, and, considering themselves objects of his affection, kept their attachment to petty things.  But he did not outwardly make any effort to get rid of them, nor did he accept them in any way.”
	In 1898, Çréla Prabhupäda had his first darçana of Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji at Svänanda-sukhada-kuïja in Godrumadwépa (one of the nine islands of Navadwépa).  Immediately Çréla Prabhupäda became captivated and overwhelmed with loving ecstasy when he heard Çréla Gaura-kiçora Däsa Bäbäji singing a song he himself had composed with intense feelings of love.  Çréla Prabhupäda later wrote that song down and thus made it available to all the other devotees.  This song was addressed to Çrémati Rädhäräëé and dedicated to Çréla Raghunätha Däsa Goswämi.
	Later we have seen Çréla Prabhupäda displaying the same symptoms of deep loving ecstasy and intense separation in the mood of Çrémati Rädhäräëé.  As described in Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, during the chariot festival of Çré Jagannätha, Çréman Mahäprabhu was overwhelmed with intense feelings of separation.  This mood of Çrémati Rädhäräëé, as displayed by Mahäprabhu, and His inner thoughts and feelings, were described very beautifully and eloquently by Çréla Kaviräja Goswämi, beginning with the famous verse anyera hådaya mana, mora mana våndävana.
	
My Mind is Vrindavan

	Speaking in the mood of Çrémati Rädhäräëé, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu said, “For most people, the mind and heart are one, but because My mind is never separated from Våndävana, I consider My mind and Våndävana to be one.  My mind is already Våndävana, and since Våndävana is most dear to You, will You please place Your lotus feet there?  I would deem that Your full mercy.  My dear Lord, kindly hear My true submission.  My home is Våndävana, and I hanker for Your association there.  But if I do not get it, it will be very difficult for Me to keep on living.  My dear Kåñëa, formerly, when You were staying in Mathurä, You sent Uddhava to teach Me knowledge and mystic yoga.  Now You Yourself are speaking the same thing, but My mind doesn’t accept it.  There is no place in My mind for this.  Since You are very knowledgeable and merciful and You know My heart, You should not speak to Me this way.  I would like to withdraw My consciousness from You and engage it in material activities, but even though I try, I cannot do so.  I am naturally inclined to You only.  Your instructions for Me to meditate on You are therefore simply ludicrous.  It is not very nice of You to think of Me as a candidate for Your instructions.  The gopés are not like the mystic yogis.  They will never be satisfied simply meditating on Your lotus feet.  Outwardly Your words sound quite nice but within them are deceit and duplicity.  This makes the gopés more angry with You.  Since the gopés are not even aware of their bodies, they are not materially conditioned.  Therefore they are not aspiring for liberation.  The gopés are fallen in the great ocean of separation, and they are being devoured by the timiìgila fish, which represent their intense desire to be united with You.  So My Lord, please rescue the gopés from this great ocean of separation.”  (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä, 13.137–142)
	Being immersed in this mood of separation, Çréla Prabhupäda established the Gauòiya Maöh in Jagannätha Dhäma, participated in the chariot festival, and inaugurated the Bhägavata exhibit.  Whenever the topic of Çrémati Rädhäräëé’s seeing Kåñëa at Kurukñetra, which is non-different from Jagannätha Dhäma, came up, he became overpowered with deep feelings of separation and love.  Tears would flow from his eyes and his voice would choke up with emotion.  By seeing Çré Jagannätha in Néläcala, Çréla Prabhupäda would be immersed in this mood and he would chant the following verse by Çréla Rüpa Goswämi, in the mood of Çrémati Rädhäräëé:

priyaù so ‘yaà kåñëaù
sahacari kurukñetra-militas
tathähaà sä rädhä tad idam ubhayoù saìgama-sukham
tathäpy antaù-khelan
madhura-muralé-pa cama-juñe
mano me kälindé-pulina-vipinya spåhayati

Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 1.76

“O My friend, today I was united with My beloved Kåñëa in Kurukñetra.  He is the same Kåñëa and I am the same Rädhä, and the joyful ecstasy of Our union is the same.  Yet My heart is hankering for that forest on the bank of the Yamunä which used to be flooded with joy by the reverberations of Kåñëa’s playful flute.”
	Çrémati Rädhäräëé and Her own Çré Rädhä Kuëòa were Çréla Prabhupäda’s life and soul.  He used to become overwhelmed with loving sentiments whenever he described the glories of Çrémati Rädhäräëé and Her merciful nature.  The collection of verses called Rädhä-rasa-sudhänidhi, by Çréla Prabodhänanda Saraswaté, was very dear to Çréla Prabhupäda.  I still remember how Çréla Prabhupäda’s voice would choke in loving ecstasy and his eyes would become tearful as he was reciting verses from that holy book.  (“I offer my obeisances in the direction of the breeze coming from the stirring of the garment of the daughter of King Våñabhänu.  That breeze makes Madhusudana feel very satisfied.”)  Equally dear to him was Viläpa-kusumäïjali, by Çréla Raghunätha Däsa Goswämi.  He interpreted for us with deep feelings of love many such scriptures and verses glorifying Çrémati Rädhäräëé.  His extreme attachment for the lotus feet of Çrémati Rädhäräëé is expressed in his own name Värñabhänavé-Dayita Däsa (“servant of the Beloved of Çrémati Rädhäräëé, Kåñëa”).  (“O Rädhäräëé, why should I keep this life if You are not merciful to me?  What need is there for me to reside in Vraja?  O lotus-eyed One, without Your mercy, I do not want Kåñëa, the killer of demons.”—Viläpa-kusumäïjali)
	Every year, many devotees, following in Çréla Prabhupäda’s footsteps, would go to Mathurä Dhäma to observe Kärttika-vrata.  Çréla Prabhupäda used to celebrate Kärttika-vrata with great earnestness and austerity, and he used to spend his time in the holy Dhäma absorbed in deep meditation in a mood of separation.  The memories of those times we spent with him observing Kärttika-vrata are still inspiring us to go on with our spiritual lives.  I remember in 1932 Çréla Prabhupäda circumambulated the entire perimeter of the holy Dhäma of Vraja-maëòala on foot in the association of many, many devotees, starting his journey on the 9th of October, the appearance day of Çré Madhväcärya.  At every place of Kåñëa’s pastimes, he himself described those pastimes.  At the same time, for the benefit of devotees who came from many different regions, he saw to it that lectures were given in various languages. At the meeting-place of Çré Rädhä Kuëòa and Çré Çyäma Kuëòa, in a big assembly of devotees, including many Vraja-väsés (residents of Vraja Dhäma) and many scholars, Çréla Prabhupäda gave his interpretation of Çréla Rüpa Goswämi’s Nectar of Instruction in Hindi.  I also remember a photograph of Prabhupäda giving a lecture at the bank of Çré Rädhä-Lalitä Kuëòa which was published in the contemporary weekly devotional magazine Gauòiya.  So many tents were set up there that it looked like a little town.  What a beautiful sight it was!
	On the 29th of October, 1934, Çréla Prabhupäda discovered the place of pilgrimage where Çréla Rüpa Goswämi saw Çré Gopäla in the village of Sati-garä in Mathurä.  We were fortunate to be with him  in 1935, when Çréla Prabhupäda observed Çré Dämodara-vrata on the bank of his beloved Çré Rädhä Kuëòa, starting from the 8th of October.  Every day he gave lectures on Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Upaniçads, and other holy scriptures.  Every day he would circumambulate Çré Rädhä Kuëòa and would hear or talk about the eight daily pastimes (añöa-käliya lélä).  At this time, to properly serve Çré Vraja-maëòala, he started a regular meeting for the sake of preaching the glories of Çré Vraja-Dhäma (Çré Vraja-Dhäma Pracäriëé Sabhä).
	How much he loved talking about Kåñëa is inconceivable.  He would talk about Him for hours on end, and if anyone asked or even gestured for Çréla Prabhupäda’s prasäda to be brought in, he would be displeased.  There were times when, being so instructed by experienced doctors, his disciples requested him not to talk very much.  If anyone would ask him how he was, Çréla Prabhupäda would answer, “I am fine.  My only disease is that I am not allowed to talk about Kåñëa.”  He used to say, “To wake up a single sleeping soul, to make a single conditioned soul aware of his real identity, one should be willing to dedicate one’s whole life.”
	Çréla Prabhupäda used to love to listen to kértana.  But he could not stand to hear kértana which was sung by an unqualified person, which was against bona fide Vaiñëava conclusions, or which reflected a mixture of clashing sentiments.  That is why he has said, in a song he composed,

präëa äche tära, se hetu pracära,
pratiñöhäçä-héna kåñëa gäthä saba
çré-dayita-däsa, kérttanete äça,
kara uccaiùsvare harinäma raba

“Kértana lives only when it is sung by a devotee who is free of the desire for name and fame.  Such kértana, full of life, is capable of preaching the holy name, since it consists of the glories of Kåñëa without being contaminated by personal ambition.  ‘Çré Dayita Däsa’ (Çréla Prabhupäda) is always hoping to hear such kértana.  All of you please loudly take the name of Lord Hari in that pure mood.”  The path of exclusive surrender, without a desire for one’s own name and fame, is the life and soul of a devotee.  The kértana which comes out of the mouth of anyone who is not following this path of exclusive surrender is completely lifeless and not fit to be heard.  Çréla Prabhupäda could not tolerate any kind of imitation.  Nor could he tolerate anyone overstepping the boundary of their rightful position, which had been earned by their devotional practice.  He made it clear to us that one should try to be simple, humble, offenseless, and honest in the path of devotion, and there should not be a tinge of duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, or desire for name and fame.  In one song he said,

yadi bhajibe gorä sarala kara nija mana
kuöinäöi chäòi’ bhaja gorära caraëa
gorära ämi, gorära ämi,
mukhe balile nähe cale
gorära äcära, gorära vicära,
la-ile phala phale

“If you want to worship Lord Gauräìga, make your heart simple and straightforward.  Worship the lotus feet of Lord Gauräìga, giving up deceit and duplicity.  Merely saying ‘I belong to Gauräìga, I belong to Gauräìga’ is giving Him lip service and has no effect.  Following the example of His action and sentiment will bear fruit.”
	Çréla Prabhupäda was extremely affectionate to his disciples, and if he found out any one of them was bewildered by mäyä he would shed tears.  In confronting those who had a demoniac mentality, he was deadly like a thunderbolt, but in his loving relationships his heart was softer than a flower.  If in any of his maöhs, any of his servants had to face any difficulty due to lack of money, Çréla Prabhupäda used to take great care to send that money as soon as he heard about it.  He could not bear the thought that a devotee had to undergo hardships due to lack of money.  He used to become very concerned if he heard of any devotee being ill.  His affection could not be compared with that of millions of fathers and mothers.  If we were ever sad and miserable, as soon as we sat near him, all sadness went away due to the shower of his unlimited affection.  Even his chastisement seemed very sweet.  “Çréla Prabhupäda has chastised me.”—we used to say that with great pride, and considered ourselves to be really fortunate.  All difficulties in our service were made worthwhile a million times over when we could see the signs of pleasure on his affectionate lotus face.  What we felt can be expressed by this verse of Çréla Bhaktivinoda  Thäkura in his book Çaraëägati:

tomära seväya duùkha haya yata,
seo ta’ parama sukha
sevä-sukha-duùkha parama sampada,
näsaye avidyä-duùkha

Çaraëägati 16.4

“The suffering that comes from Your service is also our supreme happiness.  Both the suffering and the happiness that come from Your service are our greatest treasure, and they destroy the miseries that come from ignorance.”  If we could not properly perform some service which had been ordered by Çréla Gurudeva, that would cause us great sadness.  Our service to Çréla Gurudeva seemed to consist of everything:  devotion, worship, meditation, realization, austerity, and sacrifice.  He was most dear to Kåñëa.  Therefore if we could somehow bring him some satisfaction, we considered that as the highest fulfillment of our devotional practice.
	If Çréla Prabhupäda went away from us for a few days, our hearts used to ache in separation, and we used to think day and night, “When will he come back again?”  Alas, how many years have passed since he left this planet!  How am I spending my days in this long separation from him?  Why is my soul still living here?  For the sake of what kind of happiness?  Perhaps due to my offenses to the holy name and at the lotus feet of Çréla Prabhupäda my heart has become hard like a thunderbolt and it does not feel any pain any more.  If I really loved him, how could I live this worthless life here?  O my merciful lord, please protect this fallen servant of yours.  Even though I’m so fallen, so sinful, and so deviated from the path of devotional service, please pick me up and put me at the shelter of your lotus feet.  Once you did give me shelter at your lotus feet, considering me the servant of the servant of your servants.  We also got the assurance that if necessary you would come here again and again to rescue fallen souls like myself.  O merciful Gurudeva, your heart is so full of affection!  Please forgive all the offenses I have committed at your lotus feet, knowingly or unknowingly.  The day before you left us, I clasped your lotus feet on my chest, and you looked at me with eyes full of affection.  Please remember that.  I am stupid, ignorant, bereft of scriptural knowledge;  I do not know what is good or bad for me.  Please correct me and make me worthy of your service.  Please make me understand what my faults are and what my offenses are, so I will have the privilege of serving you.  Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu said to Muräri Gupta,

sei bhakta dhanya,
ye nä chäòe prabhura caraëa
sei prabhu dhanya, ye nä chäòe nija-jana
durdaive sevaka yadi yäya anya sthäne
sei öhäkura dhanya täre cule dhari’ äne

Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Antya-lélä 4.46-47

“Glorious is that devotee who does not give up the shelter of the Lord, and glorious is that Lord Who does not abandon His servant.  If by chance a servant falls down and goes somewhere else, glorious is that Master Who captures him and brings him back by the hair.”
	You gave me the Tulasé beads so I could offenselessly take the holy name.  But alas, I am still indifferent to that.  My worshippable Godbrothers, who are all my well-wishers, have set such examples for me by their own actions, but I was not inspired by that.  I do not have the desire to take the holy name, what to speak of having love for the holy name.  Have I been deprived of the mercy of the holy name due to my offenses at your lotus feet and the lotus feet of the Vaiñëavas?  O merciful Prabhupäda, please give me love for the holy name.  Please inspire me.  Let those lotus feet of yours, which I had the good fortune of holding on my chest and which are more cooling than millions of moons, be installed and be worshiped in my heart for all eternity.  This is my only prayer to you.

Sri Rupa Manjari  Pada

	Just prior to the withdrawal of his manifest lila, my causelessly merciful Divine Master, Srila Saraswati Thakur, handed me over to the holy feet of that Divine Personality by having me sing the glorious prayer unto his lotus feet, Sri Rupa-manjari-pada. Despite my lowliness, when will – disregarding all my various qualifications and disqualifications – Srimad Rupa Prabhu grace me with the dust of his holy lotus feet?
	Sri-rupa-manjari-pada, sei mora sampada, sei mor bhajana-pujana — my everything is Sri Rupa Goswami’s holy feet. We are to discuss so many classifications and positions of rasa: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhura . And in madhura-rasa  Radharani’s camp is special. Then again there are so many gradations of sakhis. Then there is a class of the manjaris, the younger girls, and they have more freedom to approach: when Radha and Govinda are in union in a private environment, the manjaris  can still approach. They have such freedom to visit Them. If any materials of service are necessary, the sakhis  send the manjaris  to that place. The sakhis  do not approach there. In that way the manjaris  enjoy the best confidence. The most secret service of both can be supplied through the manjaris  In the highest position they have free entrance, and their leader is Rupa Manjari. She is understood to be the leader of the whole group of younger girls, the manjaris , therefore in madhura-bhajan  she is all-in-all. This has been taught to us by Narottama Thakur. For us – and the younger batch – she is our highest resort.
	Sei mora sampada  – my wealth is there in her feet. Sei mor bhajana-pujana  – my worship and service is also in her. Sei mora prana-dhana, sei mora abharana  – the very wealth and gist of my life is there; and the ornaments of my life, if any there may be, that is within her grace. Sei mor jivanera jivana  – indeed, the very life of my life, if there is anything, that is also her. I am for her pleasure.
	Sei mora rasa-nidhi  – if there is anything, the source of any and all desirable ecstasy is only to be found there. The mine, source, and fountainhead of all rasa  is there in her feet. Sei mora vancha-siddhi  – and if I am to expect any other fulfillment in life, that is also there in her feet. Sei mor vedera dharama  – if any duty is recommended by the Vedas for me, I would like that such duty be at her feet. 
	Sei brata, sei tapa  – if at all there is any desired accumulation from any penance or observance of vows, that is also to be found there – sei mora mantra-japa  – and the continuous repetition of a mantra  in japa  all ends there: all things have only one end in my case, and that is that they all meet in different phases in the feet of Rupa Manjari. If she is satisfied then the variegated nature of all sorts of my devotional practices are satisfied. Sei mor dharama-karama  – and any of my conceptions of duty or activity of any phases of form all have one end and meet in one point: the holy feet of Rupa Manjari.
	Anukula habe viddhi, se-pade hoibe siddhi  – I only pray to the controller who is at the root of all these arrangements of affairs in this world, “Please connect me there. Oh Absolute Manager, may you grant my prayer that all my tendencies may go to attain her favor. Nirakhibo e dui nayane  – and it will be so very intense and concrete as if I can see it with these eyes. It will not be vague, abstract, or imagination, but I want the most concrete realization by the grace of the Absolute Manager.”
	Se rupa-madhuri-rasi, prana-kuvalaya-sasi—what sort of high class beauty is there in her holy feet! I want to jump. Let my heart be a lotus.
	There are two classes of lotus: the white lotus came from the sun and the red from the moon. The kuvalaya  is a mixture of the two. The luster of her body will feed me day and night as the life of my life which is compared to a kuvalaya . The kuvalaya  is fed and nourished by the luster of the moon, and her holy feet are the moon, and my very vitality is likened to the lotus. May the luster of her beauty maintain and nourish my heart of hearts. Praphullita habe nisi-dine  – and the lotus of my heart will grow by that ray, and dance.
	Tuya adarsana-ahi  – this is my prayer, but what is my present condition? My present condition is in the negative side, my Mistress. My present position is such that without having a sight of you, Your Grace, my heart will burn into ashes. That is my present position. Garale jaralo dehi  – this is just like the poison of a cobra which produces pain within my heart. I have been bitten by a snake, and what is that snake? It is that I am not getting any direct contact with you, Your Grace. The serpent’s poison has captured my heart and I am going to die. Ciro-dina tapita jivana  – and this is not a sudden thing, but from the beginning I have been suffering this sort of pain of separation from such a beautiful and hopeful life of fulfillment.
	Ha ha rupa koro doya, deho more pada-chaya, narottama loilo sarana  – but I have now reached the extreme position and for the last time I am begging for your favor; otherwise I am going to be finished.
	This was composed by Narottama Thakur in praise of Srila Rupa Goswami. In this way he has given us light of the higher quarter of bhajan  life. This sampradaya  is named as the Rupanuga-sampradaya, and our Guru-parampara and all these things are adjusted according to that. And the Lotus Feet of Sri Rupa Manjari are the sum and substance of the life and precepts of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.

—Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhar Dev Goswami

Shri Rupa’s Line of Thought

	Preach all over the world the teachings of Shri Rupa and Shri Raghunath with all your might. Our highest ambition in life is to turn
ourselves into the dust of their feet. Ever remain united in order to satisfy the transcendental senses of the one Absolute consciousness (Krishna) under the guidance of His eternally corelated aspect, His absolute subservient self, Shri Gurudeva.
	Somehow manage to eke out your existence in this transitory world for the sole purpose of serving Godhead. Never give it up even if
hundreds of dangers, insults and abuses come, nor be discouraged if the majority of the people in this world do not accept your words to serve Krishna sincerely. Renounce everything in life to serve Krishna, to sing about Him and to listen to talks about Him. Sing ever His Name, being humble as grass and patient like a tree.
	I pray to offer this useless body of mine in the sacrifice of united singing of Shri Krishna’s Name. That is my only wish. We do not desire heroic success in great deeds, nor wish to acquire immense piety in life.
	Our very self consists in the dust of the feet of Shri Rupa Goswami Prabhu, my master. He is the be-all and end-all of our life. The spiritual line of Shri Bhakti Vinode Thakur will never close. You shall with greater energy devote yourselves to preach the desires of the soul. There are many men among you who are competent to do that with ability. We have no other object in life. Our only words are:
	Holding a blade of grass with my teeth, I repeatedly pray,  may God make me the dust of the feet of Shri Rupa in my every birth here below.

	Let Shri Rupa’s line of thought ever flow on earth. Let us never turn away from the united singing of the seven-tongued Name of Shri Krishna. If we can wholeheartedly be attached to it, with increasing aptitude, every desire of our soul must be fulfilled. With unflinching complete submission deserving the whole-hearted followers of Shri Rupa, let you all preach the word of Shri Rupa and Raghunath with the greatest energy and without fear.
	—Sri Siddhanta Saraswati