Retirement in Puri - Applicable to us?

Beggar · January 23, 2008

How does this apply to us?

Retirement in Puri

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura

Today we are sitting inside a bhajana-kutir at Sri Purushottam Kshetra. Why are we are living in this faraway place, leaving the great city of Calcutta, which is full of people and learned communities? A long time ago when we published this magazine, sajjana-tosani, I had a desire in my heart. I thought that the more the pure Vaisnava religion is spread through this magazine, the more the people of the world would benefit. We began to work with a free mind. Many educated gosvamis and babajis of Bengal came and pledged to help us. Some learned impersonalists joined us, and being overwhelmed by the beauty of devotional service, they began to help spread pure Vaishnavism. After hearing nice instructions about Vaishnavism, materialists also became attracted. Professional singers and players floated in the waves of hari-kirtan and considered themselves fully satisfied. Gradually many assemblies for the chanting of the holy names of Hari were established in villages and cities. In this way the glories of pure Vaishnavism filled the hearts of the inhabitants of Bengal and overwhelmed everyone with their beauty and sweetness. On seeing such an unexpected response from the people of Bengal, we began to preach pure Vaishnavism with more and more enthusiasm.
Then by the influence of time a sudden change took place. The Glow-worm like superstitions that were hidden in the scorching heat of the sun of Vaishnavism suddenly took various forms and came from four directions. The demoniac religious principle in the form of Mayavada, which was immersed within the deepwater of forgetfulness for some time, again surfaced in the form of discourses, taking shelter in the boat of smarta teachers. At the same time some Indian and foreign yogis appeared as supporters of the smartas and created a revolution in the world of religion. Moreover some useless people, who were fond of sense gratification, took shelter of unauthorized religious practices and became to create a disturbance in society, identifying themselves as Sahajiyas and Bauls. Displaying the limit of their sinful propensity, a few worm-like people, who began to take pleasure in the stool of fame, began to advertise themselves as “the incarnation of the Lord” in the society of fools. Some people even accepted names befitting a Vaishnava, acted as acaryas and began to spread ideas that were opposed to Vaishnavism as if they were the religious principles of vaisnavas.

. After seeing such unimaginable activities our hearts began to shatter. When we tried to search for the cause of such a change we suddenly remember the verse written by Srila Prabhodananda Saraswatipada:

The age of Kali is formidable and the senses of the human beings are very powerful. Now the path of devotional

service is full of many thorns. Where shall I go? What

shall I do? I am completely helpless without the mercy

of Gaurachandra.

While crying and speaking in this way, I went to the birthplace of the Lord at Sri Mayapura. Still my mind did not become peaceful. Thereafter I left my place in search of the Lord, and after arriving at Puri I began to role on the gold-like sand. At that time the Lord informed me in my heart, “O well wisher of the devotees may you attain peace. The nature that the living entities have developed, according to their respective karma from birth after birth, influences them to engage in fruitive activities. Until desires opposed to devotional service are destroyed in the heart no amount of good instruction can bring any auspiciousness. Such instructions will simply come out of the ear-holes and not enter the heart. No amount of preaching to them or discussing devotional service will produce a good result because of their bad karma. Your discourses and discussions will therefore not yield any result. My order to you is that you live at the place where I kept my dear Haridas and where I chanted the holy names of the Lord. You should constantly sing the glories of the holy names for the benefit of the fallen souls. As a result of the piety that people will achieve by hearing from you, and the faith they will develop, they will attain non-duplicitous faith in devotional service in future lifetime.”

Following these instructions of our beloved Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya, we built our bhajana-kutir in the tract of land surrounded by huge waves.

(sajjana-tosani, “The Harmonist” 15.1)

From Touchstone Media and Bindu 142

gHari · January 23, 2008

I'd heard that for five grand one could buy a mud hut on the banks of the Ganges with a cow and a garden and live forever.

Kulapavana · January 23, 2008

How does this apply to us?

Retirement in Puri

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura

I find this fragment the most moving piece Bhaktivinoda ever wrote. I often think about it.

I sometimes think of going out from this world by sailing into the mighty Southern Ocean, where fierce winds and 100 feet high waves remind people of the coming cosmic dissolution.

Retirement in Puri... sounds very tempting :cool:

Shakti-Fan · January 23, 2008

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur:

“O well wisher of the devotees may you attain peace. The nature that the living entities have developed, according to their respective karma from birth after birth, influences them to engage in fruitive activities. Until desires opposed to devotional service are destroyed in the heart no amount of good instruction can bring any auspiciousness. Such instructions will simply come out of the ear-holes and not enter the heart. No amount of preaching to them or discussing devotional service will produce a good result because of their bad karma. Your discourses and discussions will therefore not yield any result.

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It applies like this: Audarya Fellowship, Spritual Discussions should display this to everyone registering and then it should say, "Post at your own risk!"

Vedesu · January 23, 2008

Interesting article. I wonder what year it was written. Probably one of his later writings? It sounded like the Lord was telling him to stop preaching and just chant, and let people become purified by hearing the transcendental sound vibration from the lips of a pure devotee.

For the Western devotees, Puri would seem like a nice place to retire. Many Westerners cannot tolerate the brutal heat of Vrndavana, especially during the summer months. It might be a tad cooler living near the sea.

I've always hoped that one day I could retire on the banks of the Ganga, but after hearing about the major flooding that has taken place in Mayapur the past couple of years, I might have to rethink that, although I suspect there are some special places, perhaps further north in higher elevations that would be quite habitable.