20200131 Initiation Ceremony Day ISKCON

Mukham karoti vacalam pangum langayate girim

Yat kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam

Paramananda Madhavam Sri Caitanya Isvaram

Audio started abruptly.

Since I live in Mayapur, naturally I learnt Bengali first. And from Bengali I learnt some Hindi! So I may mix up Bengali words with Hindi! Anyway, yesterday was the appearance day of Pundarik Vidyanidhi, he is also known as Pundarik Premanidhi. He was in the Krsna lila, he was known as Vrsabhanu maharaj, the father of Radharani. So when he arrived in Navadvip, Lord Gauranga suddenly chanted, baap! Baap! Pundarik! Pundarik! Since Pundarik Vidyanidhi was the father in law as Vrsabhanu maharaj, he was like a father to Lord Caitanya. So, all the devotees thought, he is just chanting the Lord’s names in ecstasy. But actually, He was chanting the name of Pundarik Vidyanidhi. So Mukunda Dutta, who was from Chittagong, a place nearby Pundarik Vidyanidhi’s place, he invited Gadadhara Prabhu to come. He said, would you like to see a pure devotee? Who wouldn’t like to see a pure devotee?! So He went with Mukunda Dutta, who was a famous singer of Lord Caitanya’s kirtan party. But when he went into the house of Pundarik Vidyanidhi, He saw something He didn’t expect. Pundarik Vidyanidhi was living in a very opulent style. He was living on special cushions covered with fine cloth. Two servants were fanning him with camara. Two of his servants were putting oil on his hair. And on the wall there were expensive tapestries. This was because Pundarik Vidyanidhi was a very rich zamindar. He had very rich surroundings. Gadadhara Prabhu, He started to doubt, what kind of a vaisnava is this? His idea of a vaisnava was that he would be very simple, with torn cloth, like that. But here was a person with expensive tapestries and facilities. Mukunda could sense His uncomfortableness. He could understand that He didn’t know the real nature of Pundarik Vidyanidhi, and he started to sing a song glorifying Krsna’s mercy! And when he would sing that Krsna was so merciful that He delivered Putana, and although she was a serial killer, because she wanted Krsna and Krsna sucked her breast, He elevated her to the position of His mother in the spiritual world! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Pundarik’s name was Premanidhi. When he heard the glories of Krsna, he became so violently ecstatic, he started removing his clothes. He knocked down a brass light. He was completely wild! Krsna! Krsna! Accha anuvad kiya (Meaning the repeater did good repetition!) So Pundarik Vidyanidhi, then Gadadhara could understand, he is a real devotee! He is a real devotee! His ecstasy was not fake, it was a real thing! I have committed a great offence and how will I get forgiven for this offence? I estimated him by his external surroundings, but I didn’t understand his actual nature. I think the only way I could be forgiven if I accept him as my spiritual master. Because the guru always forgives the disciple. So He went and He asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is it alright if I accept Pundarik Premanidhi as My guru? And Lord Caitanya gave His permission, and personally organized the yagna. Who is Gadadhara Prabhu in Krsna lila? Radharani! And so, Radharani came as a disciple of Pundarik, and in Krsna lila She was the daughter of Vrsabhanu maharaj. 

So there are various pastimes of Pundarik. He went to Jagannath Puri and that time it was Odana Shasti. They dressed Lord Jagannath with new starched cloth. And, so he cursed the pujari, why are you putting starched cloth for Lord Jagannath, you should wash it. But that was the culture in Jagannath Puri! That night, Lord Jagannath and Baladeva came to Pundarik Vidyanidhi in his dream. Who are you to criticize My servants? They worship Me according to My instructions. And He slapped him on the face. Then he woke up and his cheeks were all swollen! Ha! Ha! So for several days he didn’t come out because he didn’t want to show that he had a swollen face. Like this, he was a very special devotee. Somehow we have the seva close to his birthplace in Bangladesh. Krsna kripa se, Pundarik Vidyanidhi ka janma sthaan ke paas ki seva hame mila hai. (This was in Hindi) I spoke Hindi, you are supposed to speak in English, guru maharaj told the repeater! No, there are devotees on Facebook, they want English! We are the sevite of that whole place.

 We are also the sevite of Advaita Gosain! And His birthday is tomorrow! Advaita break in audio So I went there for the deity installation this day, I mean tomorrow. It is in Bangladesh alongside a river. It is not far from Sylhet. And there I went by helicopter. There were lakhs of people that bathed that day because Advaita Gosain said that all the holy rivers appeared in that river that day. So when I was going there, the helicopter got lost! The helicopter landed in a field where people were playing cricket! We asked where is the festival? Ha! They said that way! I don’t know how the helicopter got lost like that! So, eventually we reached the place. I went to the river also and took my bath. And they installed the deity of Advaita Gosain. And there were so many devotees there. Then before dark we had to go back by helicopter to Comilla. There was kal Baisak, heavy gale storms. So I wanted to avoid the storm. And that way we reached Dhaka and landed. We were surrounded by people, you can imagine a village, nobody had ever seen a helicopter, and we landed there! Thousands of people came. The driver tried to keep the people away. One lady came, she said, he is my guru!! So, we went to her house. Then we drove to Comilla. Any way that was my personal trip. Advaita is actually Mahavisnu and Sadasiva. Sadasiva is Siva before He enters the mundane world. He is very spiritual. He lives in Shantipur and Navadvip. Sometimes He stays in Shantipur and sometimes in Navadvip. He was a senior brahmana in Navadvip, Nadia. And He was a pure vaisnava. In Shantipur, He prayed to Lord Krsna to come down. You see, as Mahavisnu, He could give people liberation, but He couldn’t give them Krsna Prema. Only Krsna can give Krsna Prema. So He cried, He offered Ganges water and Tulasi manjaris to the Shaligram shila and He fasted, upavas kiya! And then He loudly called Krsna! Krsna! Gauuuuuranga! GAUUUUUURANGA! GAUUUUURANGA! The loud chanting penetrated the material world and went to Goloka Vrndavan. And He brought down Krsna as Gauranga! Many places, Lord Caitanya said, I was brought at the call of Advaita Gosain. Before the performance of the nama yagnas, sacrificial chanting of the holy names, there is an adivas ceremony. At that time, they glorify how Advaita Gosain brought down Lord Caitanya. At that time, at the end of the adivas kirtan they sing, I think you understand. Anander sima nai! Ananda means bliss, right? Happiness! Sima is limit. Nai. Anander sima nai. Anander sima nai! ANANDER SIMA NAI! ANANDER SIMA NAI! By chanting Hare Krsna, there is no limit to the spiritual bliss! And another line it says, Nirananda dure jai! Who wants happiness to be very close? Who wants it to go away? Who want unhappiness, raise your hands! Who wants unhappiness to go away? NIrananda dure jai! NIRANANDA DURE JAI! NIRANANDA DURE JAI! Aanander sima nai! ANANDER SIMA NAI! ANANDER SIMA NAI! Advaita Gosain when He came to Navadvip, He was giving class every day. And the elder brother of Lord Gauranga, Viswarupa, He would go and listen to His classes. And Lord Caitanya would go He was a little toddler, like three years old, He would go with His blanket! He would pull His brother, Mother Saci is calling You! Mother is calling, Time for Your lunch! Everybody was looking at Gauranga, He was so beautiful! Because Lord Caitanya is Krsna, so He is all attractive! Later when Lord Caitanya was big, He told the brother of Srivas to tell Advaita Gosain that the Lord He was fasting for, praying for, worshipping for, that Lord is here now, in Navadvip! And when Srinidhi the brother of Srivas went and told that to Advaita Gosain, Advaita began to dance, I BROUGHT HIM! I BROUGHT HIM! HARIBOL! HARIBOL! Then He became very serious. Many people knew that I prayed for the Lord to come. How do I know that He is My Lord? How would I know He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I won’t go! I will hide in a village. If He calls Me, then I will pay My obeisances. If He puts His feet on My head, then I will know. If I look up and I see He is My Divine Lord, and He shows Me His divine form, then I will know. But His wife Sita Thakurani had an arati tray. Shanka, all the things for the arati, deep, dhup, pushpa. He asked, what is that for? In case you need it, in case you see the Lord, you need to worship Him! Ha! Ha! You see, we have so much we say about the men in Krsna lila. But the ladies in Caitanya lila are very great vaisnavis and very expert! So, maybe a few notes about them, but this shows how great Sita Thakurani was. She knew that Advaita Gosain would need to worship the Lord. Sita Thakurani ki jai! So, He went to the village and Lord Caitanya called Him, Nara! Nara!,the nickname of Advaita. Then He came out and offered His dandavats. And then Lord Caitanya put His lotus foot on His head. And Advaita Gosain looked up, and the whole world became invisible. All He could see was Lord Caitanya with His profuse effulgence! Gauuuranga! GAUUUURANGA! GAUUUURANGA! Then He offered arati for 21 hours! Ha! Ha! Ikkis ghanta! 21 hours! That is known as the Mahaprakash arati. We sing about that in our Sandhya arati. 

So there are many pastimes of Advaita. When they gave class, and made some nice point, they would say Haribol! Haribol! So they said it is late, should I stop here? I will just say one more pastime. So then, when they said Haribol! Haribol! Lord Caitanya was a small boy, He ran in! So then, they asked, boy, what do You want? You called Me! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! No, no, who are You? They didn’t know who Lord Caitanya was! When they said Hari! Hari! HARI! HARI! Then He came in! You called Me? No, no, we didn’t call you! Whatever, tomorrow is Advaita appearance and it is a very sacred day. So, we observe the feast of Advaita Gosain held in Shantipur on Govinda Dvadasi, that is the Ekadasi before Gaura Purnima. That is the disappearance day of Madhavendra Puri. Madhavendra Puri was the diksa guru of Advaita Gosain. So we do a big festival, huge arrangement for prasad distribution. About 100 quintals or 100 kilos of rice, they calculate by houses, by cottages, So many houses, so many houses of leaf plates, so many houses of yogurt, so many things. People were doing kirtan, some were offering chandan on the forehead. Offered garlands. Main cooking was overseen by Mother Saci and Sita Thakurani. Lord Caitanya was amazed. He said, this kind of an arrangement is not possible by any human being! I think that He must be a Siva avatar, only Siva can arrange such a thing. And then Lord Caitanya, He was a sannyasi then, He sat down and He said, anyone who takes prasadam, here on this thithi, gets Govinda bhakti! So, at that time the sevite was Shanti Sakha Goswami, and He showed me many letters that Srila Prabhupada had written to him. Srila Prabhupada had said that if he didn’t get a place in Mayapur, then he would make his world headquarters in Shantipur. So, Shanti Sakha Goswami asked me is there any other place Lord Caitanya said that simply by eating, you can get Krsna Prema? You should please do this special – only Iskcon can do justice! So we feed about 50,000 people there, every year we go there. And we get donations from all over the world. But we are not able to match with what Advaita Gosain did. But if we can do anything, it is by His mercy! Haribol! Gauuuuranga! Gauuuuranga! Gauuuuranga! Advaita Candra! Nityananda! Advaita Gosain! Haribol! You are all very fortunate to be in this temple. Beautiful deities - Nitai Gaura, Srila Prabhupada, Mahaprabhu, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Thakur, Radha Parthasarathi, Lalita Visaka, Sita Rama Laksmana and Bhakta Hanuman. So it is a very special temple. I am very happy that I was invited here by His Holiness Gopal Krsna Goswami. I am very thankful to the local president and zonal authorities. I am happy to see all of you. Hare Krsna!