Sri Madhavendra Puri [Newsletter from iskcondc.org]

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Sri Madhavendra Puri is the sprout of the great tree of devotional love

represented in the world by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Madhavendra Puri

comes from the line of Sri Madhvacarya, the acarya of the pure Dvaita

(dualistic) philosophy. Sripad Madhavendra Puri was an acarya of the

Madhva school and is the connecting link between the Madhva and Gaudiya

sampradayas. This is accepted both by the Madhva sampradaya as well as by

the Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya. Kavi Karnapura, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana,

and others have left authentic records to that effect.

 

Worship of Radha-Krishna

************************

Sri Madhavendra Puri is widely recognized as the pioneer of the faith of

transcendental love of Sri Krishna, which the Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

descended on earth to proclaim. The first effective start of madhurya-rasa

upasana, or consort-service to the youthful Krishna, was really given by

Sri Madhavendra Puri. Although the services to Krishna as the gopis

rendered them in Vrndavana were not unknown in Madhva Mathas, the object

of their service was Bala (baby) Gopala, and thus their mood of service

could naturally only be in vatsalya-rasa, or parental affection. The

famous poems of Sripad Madhavendra Goswami beginning with

'ayidina-dayadrea-natha,' 'kamprati kathaitumese,' and 'syamam eva param

ruam,' not only indicate the highest achievement of the author but prove

that even men of high religious culture of the time were quite strangers

to the sublime thought of deep consort-love to ever-youthful Krishna.

There is also a hint in his poem of the advent of a great apostle who

would inaugurate extensive and organized propagation of this blossoming

doctrine of sweet consort-service to the youthful and beautiful supreme

person Sri Krishna. It is not difficult to see that this has happened with

the appearance of the great Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his overflowing

distribution of the nectarine treasure of loving service to the Supreme

Krishna.

 

Disciples of Madhavendra Puri

*****************************

The two most prominent disciples of Madhavendra Puri were Isvara Puri and

Advaita Acarya. He is also considered to be the guru (by instructions or

by initiation) of Nityananda Prabhu. Isvara Puri would later become the

spiritual master of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and give Him several instructions

that would form the basis of the great sankirtan movement.

 

Isvara Puri was a highly renounced pure devotee of the Lord. However it is

understood that his primary qualification to become the spiritual master

of the Lord Himself is that he received the mercy of Madhavendra Puri. In

his old age Madhavendra Puri had become completely invalid and was served

with great love and affection by Isvara Puri. Not only did Isvara Puri

render menial service to his guru, he constantly recited the holy names

and recited several pastimes of Krishna. Thus Madhavendra Puri, being very

pleased with him, blessed him, saying, 'My dear boy, I can only pray to

Krishna that He will be pleased with you.' Thus Isvara Puri, by the grace

of his spiritual master, Sri Madhavendra Puri, became a great devotee in

the ocean of love of Godhead.

 

Paramananda Puri, a sannyasi disciple of Madhavendra Puri, would later

become a very close associate of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is described in

the Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda, Chapter Three, that when Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu first saw Paramananda Puri, He made the following

statement: 'My eyes, My mind, My religious activities and My acceptance of

the sannyasa order have now all become perfect because today Madhavendra

Puri is manifest before Me in the form of Paramananda Puri.'

 

Gopala Deity of Madhavendra Puri

********************************

The pastime of the Gopala Deity was related by Caitanya Mahaprabhu to

Nityananda Prabhu in Remuna as a glorification of Madhavendra Puri

(Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya lila chapter 4).

 

Madhavendra Puri was living in Vrndavana, right by Govardhana. Here he was

first visited by a charming young cowherd boy who gave him a pot of milk

to drink and then disappeared. Later the same boy appeared in a dream and

told Madhavendra Puri that He was buried in a Deity form in a particular

forest within Vrndavana. He told Madhavendra Puri, 'Please find Me there

and install a nice temple for Me.' Immediately Madhavendra Puri arose,

gathered some associates, and went to find the Deity. Sure enough, there

was the Gopala Deity in the very same form that he saw in his dream.

Madhavendra Puri then established a very nice temple on top of Govardhana

Hill. Everyone of course appreciated this discovery of this buried and

lost Deity. Madhavendra Puri became a very celebrated person.

 

Later on, Madhavendra Puri had another dream where the Deity instructed

him further, 'I have been under ground for so long that My body is very

hot. So could you please go to Puri and gather a certain quantity of

sandalwood and camphor, which you can then apply to My body to relieve Me

of this burning heat.' Again, Madhavendra Puri immediately awoke from his

dream and, without sparing a moment, he left that evening, heading for

Orissa. While on his way to Puri he stopped also in Remuna, where he

observed the beautiful Deity of Gopinatha in a temple that is very famous

for the ksira (sweet rice made of condensed milk) that they offer.

 

It was Madhavendra Puri's practice that he did not eat anything unless

somebody offered him something. He never went and begged, either. Only if

somebody offered him something would he eat. In other words, Madhavendra

Puri was a completely sense controlled individual, on the paramahamsa

platform. Yet Madhavendra Puri was thinking, 'I would like to learn how

they make this preparation for Gopinatha, so that then I can make it for

my Deity, Gopala.' Just as this thought came into his mind, Madhavendra

Puri felt completely ashamed that he was thinking of enjoying the sweet

rice before it had been offered to the Deity. He was so ashamed that he

immediately left the presence of the Deity and spent the night in the

market place.

 

That evening the pujari had a dream, wherein the Deity of Gopinatha

appeared to him and said, 'I have stolen some ksira (sweet rice) and put

it behind the altar. Although it is at night, I want you to come into the

altar area, go behind My form and find this ksira. Then I want you to take

into the market place and find Madhavendra Puri. Call out in the market

place, 'Madhavendra Puri, are you here? I have something for you from

Gopinatha!'' For this pastime the Deity of Gopinatha is now famously known

as Ksira-cora or One who stole sweet rice for His devotee.

 

Immediately the pujari woke and, after bathing, he went into the altar

area. Sure enough, just as the Deity had instructed him, there was the

ksira. Immediately, he could understand that this Madhavendra Puri, was no

ordinary soul but one who was very much loved by his worshipable Deity,

Gopinatha. So he went into the market place as the Deity instructed him

and called out, 'Madhavendra Puri, are you here? Madhavendra Puri!' As

soon as he found Madhavendra Puri, he offered his full obeisances to him,

explained what had been in his dream, and gave the ksira to Madhavendra

Puri. As he gave the ksira to Madhavendra Puri, he saw the symptoms of

transcendental love of Godhead that were manifesting in his person upon

receiving this gift from the Deity. It was not just some humble

expression, but bodily symptoms of transcendental love of God.

 

The pujari then returned, and Madhavendra Puri accepted the sweet rice. He

then kept the clay pots, washing them, and breaking them into small

pieces like powder, which he kept in a cloth. Everyday he would eat a

little piece of the pot as his foodstuff. Madhavendra Puri then went to

Puri and finally made the arrangements by speaking to the pujaris,

explaining all that happened. They immediately gathered all the camphor

and sandalwood, and Madhavendra Puri began the long journey all the way

back to Vrndavana, carrying the very large and heavy quantity of these

items. On the way, he again stopped in Remuna, where he had another dream

in which his Deity, Gopala, appeared and said, 'Give this camphor and

sandalwood to Gopinatha. In this way the requirement for having my heated

condition of body diminished will also be taken care of.'

 

Very obediently, Madhavendra Puri did this. He went directly to the pujari

and explained what had happened. The pujari certainly accepted the words

of Madhavendra Puri and graciously accepted the sandalwood and camphor.

Madhavendra Puri stayed there for some time. The hut (kutir) where he

stayed, 550 or 600 years ago, is still there, along with some of his

paraphernalia. That is what Lord Caitanya saw when he visited Remuna.

 

Exemplary devotee

*****************

Madhavendra Puri was very much averse to receiving glorification or

respect of any kind from anyone. He deliberately made so many arrangements

to avoid the public. He was a very famous spiritual personality, so

wherever he went, even before he arrived in that village, word spread,

'Madhavendra Puri is approaching. He is endowed with great love of God.'

He knew that wherever he went crowds and crowds of people would come just

to pay their respect to him and, if possible, get some association. But he

was very much averse to this respect from others, so he made so many

complicated arrangements just to avoid it.

 

Although Madhavendra Puri was in the topmost stages of devotion, he

regularly kept chanting on beads, as did Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He was in

the stage of prema-bhakti. In fact, in Remuna there is a set of beads that

Madhavendra Puri chanted on, and one can see how worn they are. He did not

occasionally chant; he regularly performed chanting with numerical

counting on japa-mala. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also performed this chanting on

beads regularly, although Krishna Himself. So everyone can take that nice

example of the perfection of life and take to regular chanting of the holy

name, with counting on beads, as well as in sankirtana.

 

Glororification of Madhavendra Puri in Caitanya Caritamrita

************************************************************

 

Cc Madhya 4.1

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Madhavendra Puri, who was given a

pot of sweet rice stolen by Sri Gopinatha, celebrated thereafter as

Ksira-cora. Being pleased by Madhavendra Puri's love, Sri Gopala, the

Deity at Govardhana, appeared to the public vision.

 

Cc Adi 9.10

All glories to Sri Madhavendra Puri, the storehouse of all devotional

service unto Krishna! He is a desire tree of devotional service, and it is

in him that the seed of devotional service first fructified.

 

 

This article is based on :

An article first published in THE HARMONIST in 1936 by Sridhara Maharaja

A talk given by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja in New York, March

19th 1989

 

[amanpeter]

Very sweet indeed! Here in Toronto, Canada the local ISKCON temple is called New Remuna and the dieties are Sri Sri Radha Ksira-cora Gopinath. http://www.iskcon.net/toronto/index.html

 

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Radhe Radhe ALWAYS Radhe!