20221025 Addressing Vraja-maṇḍala Parikramā devotees

The following is an address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 25th, 2022 at Varsānā in Vṛndāvana, India. The address was given to the Vraja Maṇḍala Parikramā party.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā is very nice.

This is the pastime place of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, which we take darśana of.

And in this pastime place of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the devas also reside. 

Today you are going to Rādhārāṇī’s place.

There are very beautiful places for darśana.

There is one place there where Rādhārāṇī and her śakhīs were watching a peacock dance. 

Lord Kṛṣṇa came and told them, “You see My dance.

Why are you seeing the dance of the peacock?” 

They said, “The peacock is dancing, You are not.” 

Lord Kṛṣṇa then danced along with the peacock.

Then He asked Rādhārāṇī, “How was My dance?” 

Rādhārāṇī said, “It was good, but the peacock danced better than You.” 

Then Lord Kṛṣṇa danced more and asked Rādhārāṇī, “How was My dance?”

Rādhārāṇī said, “It is good, but still the peacock dance is better.” 

Then Lord Kṛṣṇa danced with even more enthusiasm and then Rādhārāṇī got up and started dancing with Him.

There is a picture painted of this pastime and that is called Mayūr-Kuṭīr.

The person who painted this picture was blind.

How could a blind man paint such a beautiful picture, it is impossible. 

This way, Varṣāṇā has many pastime places of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

Yesterday in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa, we installed the lotus footprints of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Our parama-gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he started and installed eight lotus footprints in various places.

Then other disciples established some more lotus footprints.

Now, with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s name, installed 3 or 4 lotus footprints.

The district magistrate of Mathurā had come to one of our programs and met me and promised that he would assist in the installation of the lotus footprints of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

I had desired that there should be an installation of the lotus footprints of Lord Caitanya in Varṣāṇā as well.

Śyāma Rasika das said he did not find it written anywhere that Lord Caitanya had come to Varṣāṇā.

If any of you have any proof, then please let us know so that then we can install the lotus footprint.

That He had come to Nandagrāma is written. 

All the places of pastimes in Vṛndāvana and around, Lord Caitanya and His associates, the six Gosvāmīs and others, had discovered the hidden places.

So wherever Lord Caitanya visited we wish to install His lotus footprints.

So that everyone can realize that it was because of Lord Caitanya that we have all these holy places.

We all have become devotees because of the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

I trust that you are all in bliss!

Ulu-dhvani! Prema-dhvani!

Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu had gone to the 12 forests.

When He heard about Vraja, His ecstasy increased a 100-times.

When He came to Mathurā then His ecstasy increased a 1000-times.

When He came to Vṛndāvana His ecstasy increased a 100,000-times.

His secretary, was scared that Lord Caitanya got so ecstatic that he did not know what He would do.

Maybe He could just jump into the Yamunā, and if I were not there who will take Him out of the Yamunā.

Then he told Lord Caitanya that He should go out of Vraja-maṇḍala.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in Akrūra-ghāṭa.

He used to stay there the night.

And went to different places from there.

Now some people see that Kṛṣṇa came and He danced in the Yamunā on the Kāliya serpent.

There was a fisherman had kept a lantern and was catching fish in his net.

And the people were seeing from far that Kṛṣṇa was dancing on the Kāliya serpent.

They understood that someone had come to fish.

One gentleman was explaining to Caitanya Mahāprabhu what was happening.

After that the gentleman said that Caitanya Mahāprabhu would see them.

Be they old, young, women, child, this guru can deliver the whole universe.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu had all these qualities. 

Now, from Vṛndāvana Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Banaras and converted all the Māyāvādīs to Vaiṣṇavas.

Haribol! Caitanya Mahāprabhu is very happy that all of you devotees are doing this Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā.

Śrīla Prabhupāda, it was his desire that Vṛndāvana was his place of residence and Māyāpur be the worship place of Lord Caitanya and Bombay his office. 

This year, we had the 50th Golden Jubilee celebration of the Māyāpur Vṛndāvana Trust.

Yesterday I went to the ISKCON Bhāgavata Mahā-vidyālaya.

There they said that there are 12,000 students studying, online.

Some are very few, like 20 but online there are 12,000.

I gave a class on how Lord Kṛṣṇa did the Govardhana-līlā.

This way Indra was unhappy with the vraja-vāsīs and he caused a lot of rain to come them.

I said that the caitanya-līlā, where the Chand Kazi and his people had broken the mṛdaṅga and tried to stop the saṅkīrtana of Lord Caitanya and the Govardhana-līlā of Lord Kṛṣṇa are somewhat similar.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu made four saṅkīrtana parties and there were lakhs and lakhs of devotees.

Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Advaita Gosāñi, were in charge of three parties.

And the fourth one Lord Caitanya along with Lord Nityānanda and Gadādhara Paṇḍita on His either side.

The kīrtana was so loud that it went up to the heavenly planets.

Lord Indra and other devas came down to the earth.

When they saw that the Supreme Lord Himself is dancing in such bliss, they fainted.

Then when they regained consciousness, they took the human form and joined the kīrtana parties.

Some atheists saw the kīrtana and talking among themselves.

But when they saw Lord Caitanya dancing so blissfully and raising His hands, and crying, they could not resist and joined the kīrtana.

Anyway, we see that as Lord Kṛṣṇa came and performed His pastimes, Lord Caitanya also did similar pastimes, but in a different way.

We heard that how all of you are doing kīrtana and doing Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā, I came to give you blessings.

Kṛṣṇe matir astu!

Today is Dīpāvalī!

Ulu-dhvani! Hari-dhvani!