Jagat

Since I am not getting much feedback here, I thought I would post some of the contents of my research so far, for your pleasure. These articles still need to be edited, so please excuse any sloppy writing. Any comments or criticisms will be most welcome. This book will hopefully be published in the fall. <hr> Sri Purushottam Dham has special significance for the followers of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Long ago, Srila Vyasa Deva predicted that this would be the center from which devotion to Krishna would spread out to the four corners of the world – hy utkale puruSottamAt. For the disciples of the Gaudiya Math, this is true not only because Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent half His life here relishing the Holy Name in divine ecstasy, but also because Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur took birth here. Srila Prabhupada himself founded the Purushottam Math in Gaurbat Sahi, next door to Tota Gopinath. All the unique features of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes were fully revealed in Puri Dhama. This is why the incarnation of Gauranga’s mercy, Srila Prabhupada, decided to begin his worldly pastimes in that holy place. Puri remained very dear to Srila Prabhupada’s heart throughout his life. His last visit to Puri took place not long before his disappearance. In fact, he only left the Sri Purushottam Math on the ocean beach in Puri on the morning of December 7, 1936, twenty-four days before concluding his pastimes. In the years since his disappearance, many of his disciples and grand-disciples from all over the world have established maths and temples that beautify the town and increase its glories and the glories of the saints whose line they honor. In this chapter, we will name a few of them and, as far as possible, tell some of their history. <hr> <h3>The birthplace of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur </h3> To the south of the Narayan Chata math is the Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, which marks the birthplace of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and his family resided there from 1870-1874, while he was Deputy Collector and Magistrate. The house that was here belonged to the rich Calcutta businessman, Ramachandra Arhya, who built it on land leased from the Dakshin Parshwa Math. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, who grew up to become the founder of the Chaitanya Math and the worldwide Gaudiya Maths, appeared here at 3:30 on Friday, February 6, 1874, on the Krishna Panchami of Magh. The effulgent and beautiful child was born to Bhagavati Devi while Bhaktivinoda Thakur and the other members of the household sang the names of the Lord. Everyone was amazed to see the child’s umbilical cord wrapped around his body like a sacred thread. His parents gave him the name Bimala Prasad in honor of Lord Jagannath’s divine energy, Bimala Devi. Bimala Prasad was six months old when the Rathayatra festival was held. That year, by Lord Jagannath’s desire, the cart stopped directly in front of Bhaktivinoda’s house and remained motionless there for three whole days. Under Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s direction, a kirtan festival was held in front of the Deity for this entire three-day period. During one of these days, when the six-month old baby was brought before Jagannath in the arms of his mother, he grabbed Jagannath’s feet and took the garland from around His neck. The child’s first solid food was Lord Jagannath’s prasad. Bimala Prasad only remained in Purushottam Kshetra for ten months, but he returned many times in his devotional career, both to engage in bhajan as well as to establish the Sri Purushottam Math in 1922. <h3>Madhava Maharaj recuperates the house </h3> This house where Saraswati Thakur was born was reclaimed in 1974 by His Grace Bhakti Dayita Madhava Goswami Maharaj (1904-1979) after arduous efforts and now houses a Chaitanya Gaudiya Math with a beautiful temple building. One of Siddhanta Saraswati’s leading disciples, H.H. Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj (1904-1978), often discussed recovering the site of his spiritual master’s holy appearance with his godbrothers, but most of them were unable to see how the dream could be realized, as there seemed to be insuperable difficulties in acquiring the property. Since Madhava Maharaj had served in the Chaitanya Math until 1954, he at first tried to encourage Bhakti Vilasa Tirtha Maharaj to spearhead the attempt to recover the holy site. In 1965, they together wrote to the then Chief Minister of Orissa, Sadasiba Tripathi, and met with him and the Endowment Commissioner, Biren Mitra. The Dakshin Parshwa Math was the owner of the land, but the Mahanta had leased it to the Arhya family for 99 years. Around this time, this lease expired and the Dakshin Parshwa Math began legal proceedings to recover its rights over the property. The case went from the lower courts all the way up to the Supreme Court with the final judgment declared in favor of the Math, allowing them to reclaim everything. Unfortunately the fourteen or fifteen tenants who had occupied the premises for a long time refused entry to the sadhus of the Math. These complications discouraged most of the Gaudiya Math devotees, except for Madhava Maharaj who continued to persevere. Eventually the Mahanta of the Dakshin Parshwa Math gave up hope that he would be able to evict the tenants. He decided to sell the property with the tenants still in it. These complications discouraged most of the Gaudiya Math institutions from getting involved, with the exception of Madhava Maharaj, who continued to take an interest. When the Dakshin Parshwa Math offered to sell, Ranganath Mishra advised Madhava Maharaj to buy the building, despite the problem presented by the presence of tenants. In Orissa, no property held in the name of a Deity (devottara) can change hands without the express permission of Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Commission. With the cooperation of the Dakshin Parshwa Math, this permission was granted on 28 June 1973. Many people were involved in this process, including Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj, who had to make frequent visits to Endowments Commission, the Dakshin Parshwa Math and the lawyers’ chambers. The process was not easy – before the Endowments Commission rendered its decision, another branch of the Gaudiya Math presented presented papers to the Dakshin Parshwa Math making a competing claim on the property. They had the support of the Governor, B. D. Jatti, and many other prominent citizens. Madhava Maharaj was in Amritsar at the time, but hurried back to Cuttack to put out the fire. An appointment was arranged for Madhava Maharaj to meet Governor Jatti on Saturday 26 May, 9:15 a.m., but upon reaching the Raj Bhavan, they saw the Governor about to leave in the midst of security police. Maharaj immediately jumped out of his taxi, prompting Governor Jatti to stop his car and come forward to pay pranams, to the great consternation of the security staff. The Governor learned then of the appointment for the first time. He put aside his other plans and spoke with Madhava Maharaj. Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj writes of the incident, “No one could resist the force of Srila Gurudeva’s demeanor and divine personality. After speaking to him, the Governor soon came to realize that the opposing parties’ claims against Srila Gurudeva had to be false.” This was not the last hurdle that had to be overcome, however. The competing claimants attempted to stay the permission to transfer the property to the Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, but were defeated in court. Once gaining the permanent lease to the property, however, Madhava Maharaj still had to face the problem of tenants who had no intention of moving. Court battles again followed and the members of the Chaitanya Gaudiya Math were obliged to camp in a room on the opposite side of the Grand Road. When a tenant finally vacated, devotees were finally able to move into one room in the building. This took place on 15 December 1974, when Madhava Maharaj and a few bhaktas entered, carrying an oil painting of Srila Prabhupada and joyfully chanting the Holy Names in sankirtan. The situation with the recalcitrant tenants did not improve and even degenerated to physically intimidation. Nevertheless, construction work was started on a two-storey residence for the devotees of the Math. H. H. Bhakti Kumud Santa Maharaj of the Chaitana Ashram in Gaurbat Sahi provided help and support to Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj, the secretary of the Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, who was charged with supervising the construction work. Finally, the resistance of the tenants broke down and from the end of 1977 to the beginning of 1978, they vacated the premises one by one. Except for a single tenant in the northern corner, they all left the house. The holy site of the birthplace of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was inaugurated in glory and splendor, with Bhakti Dayita Madhava Goswami Maharaj officiating, on Tuesday, 28 February 1978. Unfortunately, Madhava Maharaj disappeared not long afterward the same year. Of these successful efforts to reclaim the founder-acharya’s birthplace, B. B. Tirtha Maharaj writes: “If one is sincere, then by the grace of the Guru, the Vaishnavas and the Supreme Lord, one can acquire the right to perform any type of seva. Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti tells a parable to this effect in his commentary on the Gita: There once was a sparrow who lived by the seashore. On the beach, the tiny bird lay a clutch of eggs, so small that they were hardly perceptible to the eye. They meant everything to the sparrow and she would constantly fly around them. “One day, while the sparrow was away seeking food, the swollen and foaming sea washed over the eggs and swept them away. When the tiny bird returned and discovered what had happened, she was overwhelmed with grief. She learned of the cruel role the sea had played in this tragedy from the other birds. The tiny bird repeatedly begged the sea to return her eggs, but the sea did not heed her cry. “The sparrow then made a vow to dry up the entire ocean. She repeatedly dove into the sea and brought water back to the land in her beak. The birds and other animals tried to persuade the sparrow to desist, but she would listen to no one. “Narada Goswami, who knows all languages, came to know of the sparrow’s impossible ambition and he too tried to restrain her. She respectfully bowed to Narada, but wanted to know why the sea would not return her eggs, since she had done nothing wrong. If she got her eggs back, she would, of course, immediately stop taking the water away. “Seeing the tiny bird’s determination, Narada was filled with compassion and, by the power of his will alone, reached Garuda, the carrier of Vishnu, in heaven. He purposefully provoked the divine bird, Garuda, ‘While you are cavorting here in heaven, I am hearing on earth that birds have no brains. Why is that?’ “Garuda wanted to know what he would have to do to dispel this idea. Narada asked him to see to it that the distraught bird got its eggs back. Immediately, Garuda flew angrily down to Earth and began fanning the sea with his mighty wings. The fury of their tremendous impact made the sea very afraid. In fear, the ocean personified came and stood before Garuda with palms joined in entreaty. Garuda thundered that he would not tolerate any insult to the birds and that the eggs of the sparrow would have to be returned. The frightened sea searched around for the eggs and returned them to the sparrow. “The tiny bird was not strong but its perseverance and determination won the compassion of Narada and the grace of Garuda. Thus, the impossible was made possible.” The Chaitanya Gaudiya Math in Jagannath Puri particularly observes the Niyam Seva period, or month of Karttik. They also have annual festivals at the time of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s appearance day and during the Rathayatra. (adapted from B. B. Tirtha Maharaj's biography of Madhava Maharaj). <small><font color=#999990> [This message has been edited by Jagat (edited 06-26-2001).]

http://mandala.org/html/aesthetic.html

<h3>Assam missionaries face ‘conversion’ flak</h3> Samudra Gupta Kashyap Guwahati, June 5: VAISHNAVITE satras (monasteries) have accused Christian missionaries in Assam with converting Assamese tribals and tea plantation labourers forcibly. Missionaries are luring people with material benefits and threatening use of force, Narayan Chandra Deva Goswami, newly elected president of the Asom Satra Mahasabha, apex body of over 200 satras, said. ‘‘Most recent converts in Assam are poor; mostly illiterate tribals and labourers. In some instances, Christian missionaries are encouraging secession...,’’ Goswami, also satradhikar or chief of the Natun Kamlabari satra at Majuli, said. He drew attention to Majuli, an island on the Brahmaputra and a seat of Vaishnavite culture and religion, where missing tribals are either lured to or forced to convert. ‘‘There is nothing wrong in wilful conversion, but forcible conversions cannot be tolerated,’’ he said. Majuli, incidentally, is the place from where the Vaishnavite satradhikars had, way back in 1826, started the resistance movement against Christianity, after the Baptist mission launched Orunodoi, the first newspaper in Assamese that primarily propagated Christianity. The Church reacted sharply to the accusations and described them as baseless. Father George Plathottam, director, Don Bosco Communications, Guwahati, said: ‘‘Those making these charges are either ignorant of the Church’s contribution to Assamese society or have fallen into the hands of a bigger design against Christianity. ‘‘Religion is a matter of choice and we have never compelled anyone to become Christians.’’ He said the charges by a learned satradhikar is unexpected and uncalled for. Plathottam even lauded the satras and said the Church was willing to work with them to uplift the poor.

Judicial probe ordered into priest's death June 20: The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday ordered a judicial inquiry into the killing of Christian priest brother George in the St Francis school campus at Nawada in Mathura on 6 June. Probe has also been ordered into the death of the priest's cook Vijay Ekka in police custody on Saturday. According to an official spokesperson, the inquiry would be conducted by a sitting judge of High Court. The government had already ordered a CBI-CID probe into the two deaths and the incident of attack on missionaries school in Mathura.

<h2>Birendra's death casts gloom on Jagannath temple </h2> Puri (Orissa), June 3. (PTI): A pall of gloom has descended on this pilgrim city following the assassination of the King of Nepal, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, the Queen and several of his family members on Friday night. The King of Nepal, the only Hindu kingdom in the world, enjoyed special rights of worship in the Lord Jagannath temple here as per the shrine's Record of Rights. The Nepal monarch enjoyed a special privilege which was not bestowed on any VIP, not even the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, who is regarded as the living incarnation of Lord Jagannath. "We can't believe what we have heard," an old sevayat of the Jagannath temple said. "He was a very very important devotee for the shrine." King Birendra, accompanied by queen Aishwarya, had last visited the 12th century temple on May 12, 1993 along with a large contingent of officials. The shrine has a sevayat specifically designated to attend to the royal family of Nepal during their visit to the shrine. He also helps other citizens of the Himalayan kingdom when they visit the holy town on pilgrimage. The Sevayat, Bhuban Mohapatra, has also been given the title of Lalmoharia by the Nepal King. His uncle, late Lokanath Mohapatra, was the sevayat when King Birendra last visited the shrine. http://www.the-hindu.com/holnus/02031805.htm

Jagannath Das. He lives near Buffalo, N.Y. He calls his home S.R.I. (Self Realization Institute). He has been fairly quiet of late in the Hare Krishna world. He last made a bit of a wave in his turnaround on the poison Prabhupada issue. You can look up his name on VNN. I can't find the link for his website.

Sanatan in his commentary to Haribhaktivilasa says that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not initiate anyone. Jagat

Sanatan in his commentary to Haribhaktivilasa says that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not initiate anyone. Jagat

I don't think that there is any express ban on non-GM groups in the WVA. It is more a de facto exclusion. If any non-GM person is willing to cooperate with GM, they may, but they should probably not expect cooperation in return. The point is a good one, Gauracandra. Iskcon has gone the furthest in successfully creating a large institution that manages to harness individual aspirations under a single banner. Siddhanta Saraswati was likely trying to achieve the same goal, but failed because of the conflict between the principle of "guru independence" and institutional demands on the individual. This was the root of the Sridhar/Iskcon split. Sridhar Maharaj felt that gurus would want "their own room" and that it would be very difficult to reconcile the conflicting demands. Iskcon was forced by circumstance and adherence to Prabhupada's desire to control guru independence to the point where with one or two exceptions, gurus have been reduced to a "priestly" rather than "prophetic" role. This is not necessarily a bad thing. To some extent, the same thing happens in any institution that survives to a second generation. [This message has been edited by Jagat (edited 06-04-2001).]

Jenna and Barbara need a stiff drink Mark Steyn (National Post) I raise a toast to Jenna and Barbara. The teenage Bush babes are all over the papers for attempting to buy margaritas with fake ID at a Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas, last Tuesday night. This comes two weeks after Jenna was ordered to undergo alcohol counselling and perform community service for having been found in possession of a bottle of beer. According to Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of America's leftie dronefest The Nation, Jenna Bush has "a problem.Our DWI President has set a very, very bad example for his impressionable girls," tuts Margery Eagan at The Boston Herald. "The apples have not fallen far from the tree." Just for the record, the apples weren't driving, weren't intoxicated, and they didn't fall near the tree or anywhere else, though they may have been walking a little unsteadily and mangling three-syllable words. But then so does their dad. And, if Jenna Bush has a "problem," then what does 16-year-old Euan Blair, son of Tony, have? He wasn't attempting to order a sophisticated beverage with a meal. Instead, he was passed out in his own vomit in the middle of Leicester Square. Most Britons, in an admirably nonpartisan spirit, agreed he had a serious drycleaning problem. No, the only "problem" Jenna has is getting a drink. She and her sister Barbara are 19 years old, and in all 50 states it's illegal to drink alcohol under the age of 21. Jenna can drive, vote, marry, own a house, join the army, buy firearms, and hop a flight to Vermont with a lesbian, get one of the state's new "civil union" licences and spend the night enjoying the pleasures of Sapphic lovemaking. She can do everything an adult can except go into a Tex-Mex restaurant and wash down her incendiary enchiladas with a margarita. You can buy a handgun, shoot up the liquor store and steal the beer. But you cannot walk in and purchase it. Al Gore drew attention to this anomalous situation a couple of years ago. "Incredibly, while those 18-to-20-year-olds cannot legally buy a beer or purchase a bottle of wine," he said, "they can walk into any gun shop, pawn shop or gun show in America and buy a handgun." Needless to say, the vice-president was calling for a ban on handgun sales to the under-21s. But what most Britons, Australians, Western Europeans and even Canadians would regard as the incredible part of that sentence is that 18-to-20-year-olds in America cannot legally buy a beer. So Jenna and Barbara are obliged to have "fake ID." To the average National Post reader, "fake ID" probably sounds fairly exotic -- the sort of thing you see in thrillers, where the guy needs to get out of town in a hurry, meets a furtive-looking fellow down by the waterfront, hands over $10,000 in small bills, and says he'll need it by Thursday. But, in America, fake ID is now as common as, well, real ID. In college towns, getting a false driver's licence is as easy as getting a haircut. If you're a manufacturer of small 2"-by-3" cards or you own a photo booth, you'll be able to retire on the swollen fake ID market. And the economic benefits don't stop there. Fake IDs have prompted the development of machines that can detect fake IDs. The shares of one such company, Intelli-Check Inc., went up 20% on the news of Jenna's latest run-in with the law. These developments are relatively recent. Until 1984, some states had a legal drinking age of 21, some of 18, and some had no restrictions at all. But then a lunatic control freak in the Federal Transportation Department decided she knew better than anyone the age at which people could drink. And, although she lacked the constitutional authority to legislate in this area, she had some financial muscle. She informed all 50 states that she would take away the federal government's highway funding from any jurisdiction that refused to raise the drinking age to 21. South Dakota went all the way to the Supreme Court, but the crazed regulatory megalomaniac won and took her legal team out to celebrate, presumably with Diet Coke. The maniac's name was Elizabeth Dole, and two years ago she resurfaced, as a Republican presidential candidate. On the stump, the helmet-haired Mrs. Dole conceded that she wasn't happy with the legal drinking age of 21 she'd forced on the nation. No, these days Nurse Ratched thinks it should be 24. 24! I'd like to see her telling that to her husband Bob back when he was getting shot up on that hillside in Italy. But she's serious: In Elizabeth Dole's America, you wouldn't be able to start drinking until you're 24. It'd make more sense the other way round: You'd have to stop drinking when you're 24. You can spend 10 years doing Euan Blair impressions and then it's time to sober up and go to work. I've no wish to go the Anglo-Celtic route, where villages that no longer support a store, post office or church have four packed pubs; I don't pine for the traditional 11 o'clock rituals of rural England: the baying, mooning, urinating and the, ahem, "pavement pizza." But immaturity comes in different guises. In the U.S., adulthood is so deferred that many Americans exist in a state of perpetual childhood, grown men and women reduced to 300-lb. toddlers waddling down the street sipping supersized sodas from plastic bottles with giant nipples. It's at least arguable that it's healthier for Jenna and Barbara to have a couple of glasses of wine than the sugary Pepsis and Mountain Dews the law all but forces them to drink. Excessive late-teen soda intake may well be the reason why so many chipmunk-cheeked perky-breasted high-school cheerleaders are bloated, pustulating lardbutts by the time they're 22. It doesn't have to be like that. In Quebec, they have the same relaxed attitude to alcohol that distinguishes the Catholic countries of Continental Europe. You can drink at 18, the bars are open till 3 a.m., and the danseuses nues weigh under 250 lbs. The jurisdictions that have the least alcoholism are those where drinking is most socially acceptable and integrated into family life. In Quebec and France, they enjoy drinking. In England and Ireland, they enjoy getting drunk. In the U.S., they enjoy getting drunk on insane stigmatizatory regulation of alcohol. It's obvious Jenna Bush is going to be hounded by the press every time she's within a hundred yards of a cocktail olive. So she may as well become a role model, not for victims of alcoholism but for victims of the Dole terror. According to polls, the majority of 18-21-year-olds break Dole's Law every single month. Mrs. Dole's discriminatory, targeted mini-Prohibition deserves to be overturned. The unjustly criminalized Jenna Bush doesn't need alcohol counselling or community service. After the last month, she needs a stiff drink. And, if she's ever up in northern Vermont or New Hampshire, I'll happily drive her over the border to Magog and buy her one.

Other important information not found in this biography is the year that Puri Maharaj left the Chaitanya Math to found his own organization and what the name of that organization is.

Other important information not found in this biography is the year that Puri Maharaj left the Chaitanya Math to found his own organization and what the name of that organization is.

Very interesting article on B. V. Puri Maharaj's life. Thanks very much for that. Note: Hayagriva is Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj. Jan. 1, 1937 was Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's disappearance day. Unfortunately no information about the founding of the Sri Kshetra math, which is very well positioned right near the Gundicha temple. Your servant, Jagadananda Das.

Very interesting article on B. V. Puri Maharaj's life. Thanks very much for that. Note: Hayagriva is Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj. Jan. 1, 1937 was Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's disappearance day. Unfortunately no information about the founding of the Sri Kshetra math, which is very well positioned right near the Gundicha temple. Your servant, Jagadananda Das.

Dear JD, You seem to have a great deal of knowledge of B. V. Puri Maharaj. Perhaps you could help with my questions on the Travelogue forum. http://www.indiadivine.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000009.html Thanks very much. Jagat

Dear JD, You seem to have a great deal of knowledge of B. V. Puri Maharaj. Perhaps you could help with my questions on the Travelogue forum. http://www.indiadivine.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000009.html Thanks very much. Jagat

Did you try http://www.rsdtm.com/ ?

I thought you might be interested in seeing the answers I get. Here is one from Tridandi Swami Bhaktivedanta Tirtha Maharaj. <h3>(1) Sri Nilacala Gaudiya Matha</h3> (2) Gaurbat Sahi in Swarga Dwar, near Haridas Thakura’s samadhi by the sea. Tel. Ph. 06752-23074 (3) Founded by Bhaktivedanta Vamana Goswami Maharaj and Bhaktivedanta Narayan Goswami Maharaja. Sri Bhaktivedanta Vamana Maharaja is president/acarya and Sri Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja is vice president and acarya. They have dedicated their whole life to the service of their Gurupadapadma Srila Bhakti Prijna Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, who left this world in 1968. Then they were given charge of all Maths and affairs of Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. Both are considered to be foremost of all Vaisnava scholars and philosophers in the world today. Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Maharaja is especially known for his vast knowledge and realisation of Vaisnava siddhanta. They have manifested many temples and preaching centres all over the world with many thousands of disciples engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord under their guidance. All are attracted to them because of their pure mood and perfect example of devotional love and service. Their desire is that all people should become great persons, leaving all bad conditions, and chant the holy name without duplicity and attain pure Bhakti to Lord Sri Krsna. Then in this life they will be happy. His happiness is our happiness. This is pure love. (4) In charge of the Math, officially managing, is Srila Bhaktivedanta Acarya Maharaja and assisted Sacidananda Brahmacari (present manager). The general manager for all Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti is Sri Bhaktivedanta Madhusudhana Maharaja. (5) Founded in 1978 on Rasa Purnima at the end of Kartika month. The Math was established. (6) Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Sri Sri Radha-Vinoda Biharji. (7) In Nilacala the famous festivals of Snana yatra, Ratha-yatra, Janmastami, Radhastami, Gaura Purnima, many thousands of people visit. Many devotees stay in our math for these festivals. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's lila in Ghambira and Puri were performed nearby. Tota Gopinatha temple is very nearby where Mahaprabhu went everyday and heard Srimad Bhagavatam Katha from Sri Gadadhara Pundit. Mahaprabhu gave samadhi to Srila Haridas Thakur Himself nearby, dancing and bathing in the ocean, performing kirtan. Everyone who visits is tasting Mahaprabhus Ghambira mood. Puri has so many places of Mahaprabhu's pastimes. All are made welcome here. Your servant, Tridandiswami Bhaktivedanta Tirtha Maharaja bvtirtha@hotmail.com

Dear Prabhus, Dandavats. As some of you may already know, I have been putting together a book about Jagannath Puri for some time now. It is nearing completion and Mandala Media hopes to be able to have it ready for Christmas. It will contain many different elements: translations of articles by Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj, a translation of Sundarananda Vidyavinoda's Sri Kshetra and a great deal of new and interesting information from a variety of other sources, including the old Gaudiya magazines, recent historical works, and so on. I am currently working on a chapter about the Gaudiya Maths in Jagannath Puri. There are, according to my information, twelve Gaudiya Maths in Sri Kshetra. However, I only have any information about four or five of them. I was hoping that someone might be able to help me get information about some of the other Gaudiya Math branches, such as Sri Chaitanya Ashram (Bhakti Kumud Santa); Sri Chaitanya Saraswata Math, Chaitanya Chandra Gaudiya Math (Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaja); Gaudiya Saraswata Ashram, Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti, etc. I have fairly good information about Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, Purushottam Gaudiya Math, Iskcon Bhakti Kutir, and Gopinath Gaudiya Math. But if anyone can provide information, even if it is just to add color -- personal anecdotes, etc., it may help to make this book even more nectarean for everyone. At a minimum, I am looking for the following info: (1) Official Name of the Math. (2) Address (3) Founder's name (a little information on the founder). (4) Current acharya and/or local mahanta. (5) Date the Math was established in Puri. (6) Deities worshiped. (7) Number of permanent residents (8) Any other interesting or relevant information. Relation to Mahaprabhu's lila, special festivals, miraculous occurrences, descriptions of special architectural or other physical features (gardens, views, proximity to other sites) etc. If you cannot personally help out, perhaps you may be able to help by putting me in touch with someone else who can provide more information. With great appreciation for any service you can render to this project, Your servant, Jagadananda Das (janbrz@microtec.net) (jankbrz@)

I had the same complaint about VNN. And still do. If I send an article, they publish it. But if I ask them a question, they never reply. And the devotee who runs it remains anonymous, which I think is improper.

Sorry. You are right. I fell into gossip. I am repeating hearsay, though from a fairly reliable source. Please forgive me. It isn't logical. But I think it is something about isolation. Tusta Krishna's death meant that VINA kind of died. But the other sites were up for some time after that. Surely Tusta was not responsible for the Haribols' New Zealand site, or the Polish sites. Anyway, I don't know. I am sorry. Jagat

<a href=http://www.iskcon.org/main/twohk/philo/roots/apasam.htm>Apasampradayas</a>

Word is that a big Siddha Svarupa disciple in the Philippines went and joined Narayan Maharaj. SS responded by ordering all contact cut off, including websites.

<h2>Political Seer mum on reconverts’ entry to Puri temple </h2> Monday, June 05, 2000, Bhubaneswar. Sankaracharya of Gobardhan peeth, Puri, Swami Nishcalananda Saraswati who on Friday launched his successful reconversion drive by bringing back 72 converted Christians to Hindu fold at Manharpur in Keonjhar district is still not sure whether the reconverts will be allowed to enter the Jagannath temple.The Sankaracharya was noncommittal when newsmen sought to know his reaction about the possible entry, of the Christian tribals who were reconverted to Hinduism.After a long pause, Sankaracharya said they should enjoy all the rights available to Hindus. The issue will be debated by Mukti Mandap , the highest Hindu religious seat, he said. Sankaracharya is the president of the Mukti Mandap.Asked if he will accept ;reconversion of Muslims, the Sankaracharya said doors are open for those Muslims who believe that their ancestors were Hindus but converted to Muslim by force . A large number of Hindus of India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Sri Lanka, China and Japan have been converted to Muslims , he maintained.He alleged that the main objective of conversion of Hindus to Christianity was to divide the nation by waging a war against the Hindus through the converts.The Sankaracharya who is back in Puri said there is no specific programme for reconversion. It is a process which will continue till all the Chirstian converts are brought back to Hindu fold. He said 361 Christian tribals were reconverted to Hinduism at Chakradharpur and Ranchi in Bihar last year. A team of priests from Mukti Mandap is still camping at Manoharpur . However there was not report of reconversion on the second day today. <hr> Priests at Orissa temple oppose entry of converts Bhuvaneshwar (Agencies) - Priests at the famous Jagannath temple have opposed the entry of converts and reconverts to Hinduism into the place. Lingaraj Mishra, secretary of the Srimandira Mukti Mandap Pandit Sabha, which groups preachers at Puri, signalled the opposition at a seminar. He declared, "The lower caste people, mainly from the Pana community, who had been converted into Christianity are known as Mlechha (untouchables) and they eat the flesh of cows. We cannot allow Mlechha people to enter the lord Jagannath temple at Puri, whether they are Hindus or Christians." "The temple is not open to people who eat beef because cows are worshipped in Hindu religion," he said and added, "People who are coming back to the Hindu religion may go back to any other religion again." Mishra has aired his views at a time when the entry of Hindu converts to Hindu temples is already under debate. The issue came to the fore after a Hindu seer, the Puri Sankaracharya, proposed to build a special "swastik temple" for them. The Shankaracharya has suggested that the converts worship in "swastik temples" dedicated to Lord Ganesha and built according to ancient Hindu scriptures. Organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, however, are advocating that the converts be treated like all Hindus. There are special rules governing the eligibility of entry to the Srimandir, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Lord Jagannath can be worshipped by anybody from any religion. Those whose entry in the temple is prohibited can have the 'darsan' (glimpse of the lord) when he is taken out in a procession during the Rath Yatra, the annual temple festival, Mishra said. Temple administrator Himansu Samont Roy said that a decision on entry of converts and reconverts would have to be taken in consultation with the managing committee of the temple known as the Mukti Mandap Pandita Sabha. "No such proposal is pending with the administration," he said. "If any proposal comes up in this regard, steps would be taken on the basis of the guidelines framed for the management of the temple," he said. <hr> Letter to editor, Monday, June 19, 2000 In the presence and service of: AUM SRI 108 SRI SRIMAN VENKATA-VAIKHANASA TURIYATAKA PRADHANA PRAMAN JYESTHA ACHARYA, SRIVARI SAMPRADAYIN SRI SRIMAN TIRUVENKATADASA DIKSHITULU TURIYATAKACHARYA JIYER; it is offered being supreme mercy absolute: The position taken by the Puri Temple is correct. There is absolutely no question in permitting cow-eaters into a temple which is being serviced classically by The Sri Vaikhanasa Sampradaya. At Tirumala-Tirupati the Government has trangressed that point by allowing anyone who simply signs a register stating: "I believe in Hinduism" to enter the Temple. That is not acceptable. Only those who are born practicing sacramental Hindus, or those formally converted to hinduism with Diksha, Gotra, and devotional service designation may be admitted to a Sri Vishnu Pratistha. <hr> VHP OF AMERICA CONDEMNS PURI SHANKARACHARYA'S STATEMENTS ON "RECONVERTED HINDUS" The recent statements of Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Puri, regarding the construction of special Swastika temples thereby denying equal status to our homecoming brothers and sisters (the new "reconverts" to Hinduism) are most reprehensible. Such statements have no place in a civilized society and go against the tenets and the spirit of Hindu Dharma. They can only contribute to creating a feeling of discrimination and further divisions among an already fragmented Hindu society. Vishwa Hindu Parishad was founded to create a dynamic, vibrant and united Hindu society deeply rooted in our Vedic declarations of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (The entire creation is an interconnected family) and "Krunvanto Vishwamaryam" (Let us work to create a noble universe). As such, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America expresses its strong disagreement with such regrettable statements from the spiritual head of a most influential Hindu tradition. The history of Hindu culture and civilization is replete with examples of highly evolved souls who have arisen from all classes and castes of the society (caste system was based on division of labor and nature of work, not on birth) to become great spiritual masters, social reformers and leaders of their times. During a long period of history, wrongful practices such as discrimination among different castes, untouchability, neglect of certain sections of the society etc. had crept due to cultural decadence and perhaps external influences. However, the Hindu society has always been able to find strength and courage to reform itself by making appropriate adjustments as required by the time and place without compromising any of the basic human values and principles. Let us also not forget that Hindus have afforded equal respect to people who follow other faiths/practices, and have managed to live in harmonious and peaceful coexistence with them. Thus Puri Shankaracharya's statements that the reconverted Hindus should enjoy a lesser status are particularly disturbing and not in conformity with the Hindu concept of the Universal Consciousness pervading through all beings, indeed the entire creation. We must open our arms completely and unconditionally to welcome these brothers and sisters of ours who were once misled or economically exploited into accepting another faith and who are now eager to return home. If the statements of Swami Nishcalanandaji are incorrectly reported or missed the perspective he has on this issue, we invite him to offer suitable explanations or clarify his position. If, on the other hand, he stands by his reported views, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America is compelled to register its serious disagreement with his views regardless of his spiritual stature in the Hindu world. We would sincerely hope that in the interest of the Hindu society, he would retract his statements. Please remember that one of the unique strengths of Hinduism is that one can challenge/disagree with even the greatest religious leader. Nand K. Sharma Vice President Public Relations Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America

It's true. There's a lot of crap on both sides of this debate. Jagat Sukla does mean white. If the sastras wanted to say clean, they would have said "suddha" or "pavitra." I never heard of a Vaishnava ever being called a yati in Bengal. Tilak is the external symbol of the sampradaya/parivara in which one has been initiated and it is given at the time of initiation. This is agreed on by all, including the GM. Of course Nitai is spreading rumors, but that is not his exclusive source of evidence. Prabhupada did not kick Nitai out for any deviance. Nitai left of his own accord and was tarred and feathered in absentia afterwards. I can assure you that Kisorikishorananda Das was too busily engaged in bhajan to be anything but ecstatic when he saw foreign Vaishnavas, whether they were wearing saffron or white. Siddhanta Saraswati took sannyas from a picture. If you accept that it is authoritative, who am I to stop you? I am ready to accept that Saraswati Thakur created his own Vaishnava sampradaya on the basis of his understanding of the Goswami literature. On at least 99% of matters, Gaudiya Vaishnavas agree with the Gaudiya Math. There is no reason for the Gaudiya Math to be afraid of the truth -- in certain matters they differ from traditional Vaishnavism. They can and do consider this a bhushana, not a dushana. There is no reason that we cannot engage in friendly debate to establish whose ideas are closest to those of the Goswamis. Saraswati Thakur may have had good reasons for wanting to establish a Daiva Varnashram society (I think it is a valid idea, myself), but it is quite erroneous to think that just because someone has taken Vaishnava initiation his social function is that of a Brahmin. It is total confusion to mix the category of Vaishnava with Brahmin. One should respect a Vaishnava more than a Brahmin no matter what his caste. That does not mean that the Brahminical functions of teacher, priest and minister should be performed by untrained Vaishnavas simply because they have received initiation. This does a disservice to the idea of Daiva Varnashram. While I am at it, the idea that people should be trained as kshatriyas to manage Iskcon is also kind of laughable. Iskcon should be a society of Brahmins, and Brahmins with managerial ability should run it. They should be trained as Brahmins first and in management if necessary, but to "train them as kshatriyas" is ridiculous. Christianity dealt with uneducated people desiring to lead renounced religous lives by making them "lay brothers." They could participate in all religious activities, and were certainly not hampered in reaching a high level of spirituality, but they were never considered socially the equals of the educated priests or monks. As a matter of fact, we have an example here in Montreal. Anyone who has been to Montreal has probably seen St. Joseph's Oratory, a huge church on the north flank of Mount Royal. This church was built by Frère André, a lay brother of the Sacred Cross Order. He had a grade four education, I believe, and his job was to be the gatekeeper at Collège Notre-Dame. Somehow, to the embarrassment of his priestly godbrothers, his reputation as a holy man started to spread and people kept coming to the Collège to get healed. Frère André had a dream to build a chapel on the mountain and this was realized through the aid of grateful people he had helped. Later the big Oratory was constructed. Many of the Babajis are uneducated, this is true. Not all, but many. But the Babajis never functioned as a priestly class, so it is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. So I think that Saraswati Thakur was somewhat justified in trying to establish clarity and order in the Varnashram system. For Westerners, establishing the Varnashram Dharma has a different meaning, however. Iskcon and any other Vaishnava organization established in the West has to create viable lay communities. This can only be done by placing spiritual value on occupational duties. Iskcon has become a hollow shell in most major North American cities because it totally devalued people working according to their guna and karma and contributing the results of their labor to the service of Krishna. Preaching has been exclusively geared to renunciation, even for those who are not prepared for it. Whether these things are important or not is another question.