Gauranga - Larger than Life

krsna · February 22, 2004

Thank you so much for these wonderful pics of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His intimate associates.

Hare Krishna

I offer this prayer at His Lotus Feet:

Vijnapti,

spiritual request

kabe ha'be bolo se-dina amar

(amar) aparadha ghuci', suddha name ruci,

krpa-bale ha'be hrdoye sancar

trnadhika hina, kabe nije mani',

sahisnuta-guna hrdoyete ani'

sakale manada, apani amani,

ho'ye aswadibo nama-rasa-sar

dhana jana ara, kobita-sundari,

bolibo na cahi deho-sukha-kari

janme-janme dao, ohe gaurahari!

ahaituki bhakti carane tomar

(kabe) korite sri-krsna- nama uccarana,

pulakita deho gadgada bacana

baibarnya-bepathu ha'be sanghatana,

nirantara netre ba'be asru-dhar

kabe navadwipe, suradhuni-tate,

gaura-nityananda boli' niskapate

naciya gaiya, beraibo chute,

batulera praya chariya bicar

kabe nityananda, more kori'doya,

charaibe mora visayera maya

diya more nija- caranera chaya,

namera hatete dibe adhikar

kinibo, lutibo, hari-nama-rasa,

nama-rase mati' hoibo bibasa

rasera rasika- carana parasa,

koriya mojibo rase anibar

Kabe jibe doya, hoibe udoya,

nija-sukha bhuli' sudina-hrdoya

bhakativinoda, koriya binoya,

sri-ajna-tahala koribe pracar

Translation

When, oh when will that day be mine?

When my offenses ceasing,

taste for the name increasing,

when in my heart will your mercy shine,

when, oh when will that day be mine

Lower than a blade of grass,

more tolerant than a tree.

When will my mind attain this quality?

Respectful to all,

not expecting their honor,

then shall I taste the name's nectar sublime.

When, oh when will that day be mine?

Great wealth or followers, feminine beauty,

I won't care for them or the comforts of my body.

Birth after birth give me,

Oh Lord Caitanya,

causeless devotion to Your feet divine,

when, oh when will that day be mine?

When will I utter Krsna,Krsna, Krsna,

with words choked up and shivering body?

When will I be trembling all over,

lose bodily color,

tears pouring from my eyes,

When, oh when will that day be mine?

When in Navadvipa along the Ganges bank,

shouting 'Gaura-Nityananda'

as a surrendered soul, dancing, chanting, running everywhere,

when will I become half mad of mind?

When, oh when will that day be mine?

When will Lord Nityananda show mercy upon me,

when will I reject the world of Maya:

Bestow unto me the shade of Your lotus feet,

let the right to preach the name be mine.

When, oh when will that day be mine?

I will beg, borrow, or steal the nectar of the name.

By the name's effect I will feel paralyzed.

Oh! Enjoyer of the nectar of the name,

When will I touch your lotus feet

till the end of time?

When, oh when will that day be mine?

When kindness to all beings will be appearing,

with free heart forget myself comforting,

Bhaktivinoda in all humility prays,

"Now I will set out to preach Your order sublime."

When, oh when will that day be mine?

gHari · February 22, 2004

S T O R Y

armisael108 · February 23, 2004

I don't know how to make the image appear in the post...

armisael108 · February 25, 2004

Posted Image

armisael108 · February 25, 2004

A friend of mine asked me to post more images of the wonderful deities. All images are from the ISKCON websites... but gathered in one post /images/graemlins/smile.gif Thanks gHari for the initial post.

Posted Image

gHari · February 27, 2004

Courtesy http://dipika.org</center>

Gauracandra · March 3, 2004

What beautiful deities. Thanks for the pics.

gHari · March 4, 2004

I cannot remember anything being so enlivening, so powerful as these Deities. I gaze at each picture in awe and know that Lord Caitanya's mission is stronger than ever.

I find it difficult to accept that anyone could look at these pictures and still quibble about politics.

Larger than life - in more ways than one. Let us keep His beautiful face in our mind's eye forever.

And now the close-up of Sri Gadadhara Pandit is ready for viewing: <center>

gHari · March 6, 2004

</center>

krsna · March 6, 2004

VISVAMBHARA"

ONE WHO MAINTAINS THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE

Nilambara Chakravarti said: "This baby has all the symptoms of Lord Narayana on His palms and soles. He will be able to deliver all the three worlds. This child will preach the Vaisnava cult and deliver both His maternal and paternal families. In the future this child will protect and maintain all the world. For this reason He is to be called Visvambhara."

The Caitanya-bhagavata also confirms that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by His birth, has made the whole world peaceful, as in the past Narayana protected this earth in His incarnation as Varaha. Because of His protecting and maintaining this world in the present Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Visvambhara, which refers to one who feeds the entire world. The movement inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He was present five hundred years ago is again being propagated all over the world, and factually we are seeing its practical results. People are being saved, protected and maintained by this Hare Krsna movement. Thousands of followers, especially Western youths, are taking part in this Hare Krsna movement, and how safe and happy they feel can be understood from the expressions of gratitude in their hundreds and thousands of letters.

This is the benefit of Lord Caitanya's movement. If one somehow or other comes in contact with the Hare Krsna movement, without consideration of his being a sudra, vaisya, Jagai, Madhai or even lower, he becomes advanced in spiritual consciousness and immediately develops love of Godhead. We now have actual experience that throughout the entire world this movement is making many such persons lovers of God simply by the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Actually, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has appeared as the spiritual master of the entire world. He does not discriminate between offenders and the innocent. Krsna-prema-pradaya te: He liberally gives love of Godhead to anyone and everyone. He is the complete reservoir of all mercies and good fortune. As confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad-gita, the Mahabharata, and the Upanisads, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna Himself, and is worshipable by everyone in this age of disagreement. Everyone can join in His sankirtana movement. No previous qualification is necessary. Just by following His teachings, anyone can become a perfect human being.

O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O protector of the surrendered souls, You are now playing the role of Your own devotee, and Your lotus feet are the only object of perpetual meditation for the pure living entities. (Archana-paddhati)

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

March 15, 2004

I just saw the VCD of the entire ceremony at my temple just now. I have only one word:

FANTASTIC!

I can say another word:

BREATHTAKING!

I wish I was there ....

March 15, 2004

"I find it difficult to accept that anyone could look at these pictures and still quibble about politics. "

this is quibbling too /images/graemlins/smile.gif

(joke!!)

krsna · March 15, 2004

Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir

February 20, 2004

Verse: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.29

Speaker: HH Radhanath Swami __

We are reading from Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto One, Chapter Three, entitled Krsna is the Source of All Incarnations, Text 29. We have read in this chapter a list of many of the primary incarnations of the Lord as He appeared in this world.

Janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna

Why does the Lord appear within this world? To perform His transcendental pastimes, to speak the Absolute Truth and reestablish the principles of religion, and to annihilate demoniac, materialistic misconceptions. And one who understands the transcendental nature of the Lord's appearance and activities never takes birth in this material world again. Krsna is all-pure:

om apavitrah pavitro va sarvavastham gato 'pi va yah smaret pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantarah sucih sri-visnu sri-visnu sri-visnu

In this world our consciousness has become materialistically infected by the ahankara, or false ego, and from that false ego we engage in so many materialistic activities, forgetful of our relationship with the Lord. And thus everything we do, everything we say, binds us to the laws of Karma. But the Lord is so kind that He appears in so many ways in this world and simply by remembering him we become purified.

krsna-surya-sama; maya haya andhakara

Krsna is compared to the sun, and maya is darkness. Wherever there is Krsna, the darkness of illusion cannot be present. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that we have the choice, we have the free will whether we want to go into a dense dark room or go into the sunlight. It is our choice. If you take a lantern in a dark room it immediately is illuminated, all darkness destroyed. However darkness can never affect light; you cannot put darkness on the sun. So Srila Prabhupada explains on many occasions, this is the sum and substance of the Krsna conscious philosophy: if we always remain engaged in Krsna's service, if we always remain in contact with Krsna, then we will be free from all the illusion and darkness of maya. Therefore Srila Prabhupada gave us a plan of how to always remember Krsna, how to always remain in Krsna's devotional service:

daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te

This maya is very difficult to overcome, the three modes of material nature are like very, very strong indestructible ropes that bind us and drag us into so many fruitive acitivities. But one who surrenders to Krsna can easily cross beyond this vast ocean of material existence.

In this chapter various avataras have been described in brief and the culmination, ete camsa kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam, is that Krsna is the source of all avataras. And in this verse today, it is explained whoever carefully recites these mysterious pastimes and activities of the Lord is freed from all material miseries forever.

But they must be heard and chanted with devotion. That is clearly described in this verse: with devotion in the morning and evening. And Prabhupada emphasises this. Lord Caitanya's first teaching to Sanatana Goswami, before going on and describing the whole philosophy of Krsna consciousness-- krsna-tattva, radha-tattva, rasa-tattva, prema-tattva, lila-tattva, jiva-tattva--first He established that if you want to understand this properly, then we have to understand in the proper spirit. And what is that proper spirit?

jivera svarupa haya krsnera nitya dasa

That we are eternally the servants of Krsna, we can never become God. Srila Prabhupada explains there are many Mayavadi philosophers who can speak the Bhagavatam eloquently, who can speak from Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavatam in such a way that people are enthralled. However, it has no effect in awakening bhakti unless the speaker teaches the listeners that we are the eternal servants of Krsna. Because ultimately all our purification takes place to the degree we please Krsna. And Krsna is pleased only by love:

bhaktya tv ananyaya sakya aham evam-vidho 'rjuna

Krsna is pleased only by love, He reveals Himself only in reciprocation to devotion. Thus even though such great scholars speak from Bhagavatam, they believe that Krsna's body is an illusion, His pastimes are an illusion, they are temporarily manifested simply to attract our hearts to surrender to Him, but then ultimately after we surrender, we go beyond the name, the pastimes, and the form of the Lord, and enter into the impersonal existence of the Absolute.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught that this Mayavadi conception breaks His heart. The devotee understands acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, that the Lord's pastimes, His names, His forms, His abode and devotional service itself are eternal, it is the ultimate reality. And with this conception we hear the mysterious activities of the Lord, we become purified from within and without. That was Srila Prabhupada's great contribution to the world: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. He was the first to travel throughout the entire world speaking the highest principles of the spiritual world and how they have descended into this material world through the teachings and pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krsna is the source of all incarnations and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself.

We only have a few minutes. I'd like to speak something how Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so unique, in every possible way He's so unique. Each avatara that appeared manifested His own lila, but Lord Caitanya personally exhibited and manifested the lilas of many, many of the principal avataras.

parama karuna, pahu dui-jana, nitai-gauracandra saba avatara, sara siromani, kevala ananda-kanda

Therefore these two Lords, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are supremely merciful, they are the essence of all avataras.

When Lord Caitanya was just a small child, to that pilgrim brahmana He manifested a beautiful eight-armed form. Four of His arms were holding the conchshell, club, disc and lotus flower; two of His arms were playing the flute; and two of his arms. . . one of them was holding a butter pot and the other was eating butter. His form was dark like the Tamal tree, beautiful lotuslike eyes, standing on the bank of the Yamuna in a forest of kadamba trees with unlimited gopis and gopas offering beautiful prayers and playing instruments for His pleasure.

When the Lord was a young child his brother, Visvarupa, accepted sannyasa. >From that point, His father, Jagannath Misra, declared to His mother, Saci Devi, that 'Nimai is too much absorbed in studying the scriptures. If He understands the scriptures properly He will realize that all material efforts are useless, they are futile, and He will renounce this world just like His brother, Visvarupa. So we must keep Him at home; we cannot live if He leaves. Therefore He will not be allowed to study any scriptures any longer.'

So they gave this ultimatum to the Lord: 'Nimai, to this day no more studies. You can do anything else you like'. So He did. [laughter] He became very mischievous. Him and His friends would go out in the day to look to see what mischief they could do at night. Sometimes two or three of them would put a blanket over their joint bodies so they looked like a bull and they would go and knock over all the banana trees in an entire grove of banana trees. And the owner would go 'Hai, hai, hai!' and they would run away and laugh. Sometimes they would go to people that they wanted to inconvenience and would tie the doors and windows from the outside. So in those days, in Vedic culture, there wasn't bathrooms indoors, that was considered very low class thing. You go out into the fields, like that. . . .

I remember in 1972 at New Vrndavan we made a nice house for Prabhupada. It was an old house, 120 years old, but we renovated it, and the night before he came they discovered the toilet didn't work. So in the middle of the night I was ordered to fix the toilet. 'If Prabhupada's toilet doesn't work, it is your offence.' [laughter] Now I only knew one thing about toilets, which is probably what everybody else knows. [laughter] I don't know how to fix them I know how to use them. [laughter] So I was just speculating all night. . .it wouldn't flush. I was speculating and speculating and ultimately I was thinking I'll be offensive to Prabhupada. I was praying, praying to Radha-Vrndavanacandra, 'Please save me, save me!' Fooosh! It flushed! [laughter]

So I was so happy, personal seva to Guru Maharaja. [laughter] And the next morning when he was about to perform his duties, and I was thinking 'Oh, he's going to use the toilet!', and he put on his gamcha and went out into the fields with a lota. [laughter] He never used the toilet. [laughter] He said this is natural, this is the Vedic way with nice fresh breezes. [laughter]

So the Lord tied the doors and windows locked, and when people in the middle of the night, had to use. . . had to respond to the calls of nature, they would (try to open the door). First nature was calling, then nature was yelling, then nature was screaming, [laughter] 'Aah let me out of here, let me out, who has. . . aah! [laughter] You all know what it's like [laughter] and Nimai and his friends would be laughing, laughing and running away, 'Very good!'

So one day--it's getting late--one day Nimai made a throne by sitting on a pile of rejected pots, clay pots that were used in the offerings. When the little boys told Sacimata 'Nimai is sitting on top of a pile of dirty pots!', Sacimata ran to that place and said, 'My son, do you have no knowledge, no discrimination? Everybody knows sitting on these dirty pots is contaminating, you have to take a bath, why are you doing this?' And Nimai said, 'Well, if you don't allow me to study, how will I understand what is right and what is wrong? [laughter] Besides that, my mother, your ideas are those of a tiny child. I am the supreme source of all that exists. Whatever I touch immediately becomes purified, wherever I go it is as clean as the Ganga'. It is explained by Vrndavana Das Thakur that when Lord Caitanya was preaching to his mother, He actually entered into the mood of Dattatreya and enlightened her. But nobody could understand what He was saying. After that, actually, He said, 'I will not come down unless you let Me study!'

And all the neighbouring ladies said 'What enemy has stopped you from giving your child the chance to study? Our children hate to study; we have to force them to study. Your child loves to study! We're on His side. . . You can stay up on those pots as long as your parents are doing this to you!' [laughter]

And Sacimata brought Him home and told Jagannath Misra. Then Jagannath Misra resumed his studies and at that time he gave Him the ceremony of sacred thread where Ananta Sesa personally appeared as that sacred thread to encircle the body of the Lord. And after He was given the gayatri mantra by His father, the Lord actually manifested the form of Lord Vamanadeva. This is described in our holy scriptures. He had a danda and a cloth bag around His shoulders and He went out to beg alms from the houses of His devotees. He was so beautiful everyone was simply gazing at this vamana-rupa. Even Parvati, Sarasvati, the wives of demigods and the wives of the greatest of the sages descended in the form of brahmana's wives just to look at the beautiful form of Gauranga who appeared as Vamana-avatara. And again and again and again they were giving Him alms.

After Lord Caitanya returned from Gaya the devotees didn't really know who He was. But He was little by little manifesting to each devotee. He was at the house of Srivasa Thakur where there was a sraddha ceremony taking place. And Lord Caitanya told Srivasa 'Sing the 1000 names of Visnu.' When He heard the name 'Varahadeva' the Lord went into ecstasy and started screaming out 'Varaha, varaha, sukara, sukara, boar, boar!' And He ran to the house of Murari Gupta. Murari Gupta was very much astonished to see Nimai Pandit in this mood. He offered his dandavat obeisances. Then the Lord ran to the temple room and Murari Gupta ran after Him. The Lord saw a beautiful waterpot used for worshipping the Deity on the altar. Immediately He manifested the form of Lord Varaha and lifted the waterpot with His tusks, representing the lifting of the earth.

With this incredible manifestation of Lord Varaha He was giving His darshan to Murari Gupta. He said, 'Murari, chant prayers in My glorification!' Murari Gupta said, 'My Lord, what can I say? Only You know You. I am ignorant. How can I speak anything about your glories? Ananta Sesa with his thousands of hoods carrying many many universes, he can find no end to your glories. Even the great Vedic literatures which give shelter and knowledge to all living beings cannot find the end of Your glories. Simply by Your exhalation unlimited universes come out of Your body, and by your inhalation they are all annihilated and enter back into Your body. My Lord, noone can understand You, only You know Yourself. If You are pleased with Your devotee and bestow Your mercy upon him only then can they know something about You'.

The Lord was very pleased with his prayers. In the form of Varahadeva, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said to Murari Gupta that 'My transcendental form is eternal and full of knowledge and full of bliss. But there is a sannyasi in Varanasi named Prakasananda who tries to beat My limbs. He says that My form which is all-pure and worshipable by all living entities is an illusion. Because he has offended My limbs in that way, in reciprocation I have put leprosy in his limbs, but he doesn't know it. Now I will tell you a great secret: I am the Supreme Truth. In this form you see of mine as Varahadeva I descended to the earth to rescue the earth, and now I have come again to rescue the earth by establishing the harinama-sankirtana movement of the chanting of the holy name:

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare [uproarious]

To lift up all living beings from the deep dark ocean of material existence and give them ecstatic love of God.'

On another occasion Lord Caitanya was walking down the street. Srivasa Thakur, at his house they were dancing in Visnu-sahasranama. And the Lord heard the name of Narasimha. He immediately entered into the mood of Narasimha, His eyes became red as coals, His hair stood on end, His limbs trembled, He pickd up a club from Srivasa's house and went outside roaring, roaring 'RAAH!' And the people of Navadvipa seeing His form were terrified, they were running in all directions, running, running, running, screaming. Then the Lord came to external consciousness and said to Srivasa 'I have committed a great offence, I have caused fear to the inhabitants of Navadvipa. What should I do?' Srivasa said, 'This is not an offence. Whoever saw this beautiful form of Yours in the mood of Lord Narasimhadeva will be relieved from all miseries of material existence forever.'

Another time a Saivite, a great devotee of Lord Siva, came to Lord Caitanya's house begging alms. He was singing the glories of Lord Siva and playing a musical instrument. Lord Caitanya jumped up and manifested the actual form of Siva. He cried out 'I AM SIVA, I AM SIVA!' and jumped on the Saivite's shoulders. [laughter] The worshipable Lord of his life was on his shoulders, dancing on his shoulders. The Saivite was in ecstasy, he was dancing and the Lord was dancing and His long long matted hair was flying in all directions and He was going 'I AM SIVA!' for a long time. Then He came off his shoulders and put alms in his bag.

The Lord, when he went to Varanasi. how wonderful. . . . He wanted to give mercy to the Mayavadi philosophers who were attracted to the Lord's impersonal effulgence, Brahmajyoti. Generally the Lord would never associate with Mayavadis but he went to the assembly and they were all sitting on raised platforms. The Lord in great humility sat down in the place where everybody would wash their feet and then He began to manifest his Brahman effulgence. This completely attracted the hearts of the Mayavadis, that's their worshipable. . . . Such beauty! Prakasananda Sarasvati's heart was transformed. He said, 'O Swamiji, are You in a morose state of consciousness? Why are you sitting in that dirty place? Sit on this raised platform with us. You are a sannyasi!' The Lord in very great humility said, 'I am from a lower category of sannyasa, I have no right to sit on the platform with all of you.' Prakasananda performed ajnata-sukrti by picking Him up and bringing him to that platform.

And he asked Lord Caitanya 'You are a sannyasi like us. You are a very great person, why do you never associate with us, why are you with sentimental religious fanatics chanting and dancing? What is this, you should be studying Vedanta!' Lord Caitanya said, 'My spiritual master told Me I am a great fool, that there's no use of Me trying to understand all the Vedic scriptures. I should simply chant the holy names. He taught Me this verse:

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

And by chanting these holy names, everything will be revealed.'

Then there was a very nice philosophical debate and Lord Caitanya crushed to pieces all of their misconceptions and established the eternal form of the Lord, the eternal pastimes of the Lord, and the yuga-dharma of the congregational chanting of the holy names:

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare [uproarious]

During the mahaprakasa-lila at Srivasangan Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu manifested the forms that each devotee loved with their hearts. He called for Murari Gupta, 'He Murari, see My form!' The Lord transformed; Murari Gupta saw He became his worshipable Sri Ramacandra with the complexion of durva grass. He was in the virasana, holding His bow. On one side was Laksmana and Sita. Murari Gupta was stunned. He looked down and saw that he had a tail. [laughter] Then he saw that he had the form of a monkey! And he fell unconscious. . . Lord Caitanya said, 'O monkey, O monkey RISE! Do you not remember that demon Ravana who stole Sita and set your tail on fire, and you burned the whole city of Lanka with that blazing tail? Now look, look, here is Laksmana whom you love as your very life and soul, you lifted the Gandhamadana mountain to save him. And here is Sita, your worshipable goddess. You wept a shoreless ocean of tears seeing her torment. I am your beloved Lord Ramacandra and you are Hanuman, My eternal servant. You have forgotten these things but today I am reminding you. Now, ask me, ask me for any benediction!'

Murari Gupta said, 'My Lord, I have nothing to ask of you, all my desires are fulfilled. But if You insist on giving me a benediction, I ask for this: in every birth I take allow me to always be in the association of Your devotees--only those devotees who accept You as their eternal master and accept the position of Your eternal servant--in the association of such special, rare souls let me always hear Your glories and chant Your holy name.'

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare [uproarious]

He called for Kolaveca Sridhar, that very simple poverty-stricken banana seller. 'Sridhar! See My form!' Sridhar looked up and he saw that the Lord was dark like the tamal tree with beautiful lotus eyes. He was standing in a three-fold bending form holding His flute and by his side was Balaram whose complexion was like the spring cloud. This darsana of Krsna Balarama captured the heart of Sridhar. He saw Brahma, Siva, he saw the four Kumaras, Narada Muni, Sukadeva Goswami--they were all gathered around offering prayers to Sri Sri Krsna Balaram. He offered Sridhar any benediction: 'Ask for anything! I'll give you the eight mystic siddhis, I'll give you the wealth of the king of heaven, I'll give you liberation, I'll give you elevation to the kingdom of God!'

Sridhar said, 'I don't want any of those things' 'Well ask for something!' 'No!' 'It will please Me if you ask for something. Ask for something!' Sridhar said 'The only desire I have, if it will please You, is in that beautiful form of Nimai Pandit let me always remember You coming to steal my heart as You steal my bananas. I want to eternally be the servant of the servant of Your servant.'

To Ramananda Raya Lord Caitanya revealed His supreme identity. On the banks of the Godavari River, at Kovvur, near Rajahmundry, Vidyanagara, they spoke for ten days. Ramananda Raya was empowered by the Lord to speak the highest subjects of spiritual realization. One evening Ramananda Raya said to the Lord that 'First I was seeing You as a sannyasi but now I am seeing You as Syamasundara, a cowherd boy with a beautiful form like the dark monsoon cloud, playing upon Your flute. And now I'm seeing You as a golden ??? Please tell me, what is the mystery of who You are.'

Lord Caitanya said with great humility that 'It is natural that you are speaking like this because you are a mahabhagavata, you are a great devotee who is deeply attached to Krsna. Therefore you are seeing Krsna everywhere, in everything.' Ramananda Raya said, '. . . You are playing tricks on me, My Lord. I know who You are. You are Krsna who has accepted the ecstatic love and the complexion of Srimati Radharani. For Your own purposes You have come to taste the sweetness of Your love. And You have descended to this world to transform the hearts of all Your devotees by giving them the highest realm of ecstatic love through the chanting of the holy names'.

Krsna, who is the reservoir of all pleasure, and Srimati Radharani, who is the personification of all ecstatic love. . . Lord Caitanya revealed the truth of His eternal identity. He actually saw Krsna entering into the heart of Srimati Radharani to taste her love and what it was about Him that she loved so much. And He came to this world to give that love unconditionally without discrimination to anyone who accepts it. Ramananda Raya fainted. The Lord touched him and said, 'Ramananda Raya, noone has ever seen this form before. Do not tell anyone what you have seen.'

So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself, the source of all avataras. Srila Prabhupada, quoting from the acaryas and the scriptures, describes that Vrndavan is madhurya-dham, the place of the highest and sweetest pastimes, but Navadvipa is audarya-dham, taking that same sweetness of Vrndavana, the highest lilas of love, and magnanimously inviting every living being in the world to enter into that dham of Vrndavana. That is the gift that Srila Prabhupada sacrificed his life to give us. An understanding of the glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

And in a few days, on Srila Prabhupada's order--or let us say in reciprocation to Prabhupada's love and supreme compassion for all living beings--Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa, will appear. . . and all devotees have appeared also.

Yes, the Panca-tattva, who have descended to plunder the storehouse of love of Godhead and distribute the contents profusely--they will appear in reciprocation to their love for Srila Prabhupada. With his prayers of compassion for all living beings, They are going to appear and manifest Themselves to bring the world to Sri Mayapur Dham where the fulfillment of all the great acaryas and the Lord Himself will take place, and it's actually taking place right now. People from all categories of human society, from all nationalities, races, and religions have gathered together under the banner of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy to share the exchanges of love and service for the pleasure of the Lord, and chant His holy names:

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare [uproarious]

These are the deepest, most profound spiritual mysteries that are being discussed today. Srila Prabhupada made it so easy to understand even for little children and atheists, so accommodating. That is His causeless mercy. So let us pray on this auspicious installation of Panca-tattva that we may always live in harmony with their will by being instruments of their mercy to spread the glories of love of God through harinama-kirtana and Vaisnava-sanga. And how to do that? By pleasing them. And what will please them? By showing our gratitude to Srila Prabhupada. If we are not grateful to Srila Prabhupada, everything else we do is superficial in the eyes of the Lord. Because he gave his life to give us the inner mysteries of the spiritual sciences; he sacrified everything out of his compassion. So let us remain always united together as specks of dust under the lotus feet of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Because one speck connected to those divine lotus feet of our beloved Gurudeva, Srila Prabhupada, that speck can be empowered to transform universes.

So let us pray in this way:

trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

If we develop loving dealings amongst each other in this spirit with the mission of Srila Prabhupada as our life and soul, we will taste the nectar of Krsna, and distribute that nectar through the loud chanting of the holy names. . . .

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare [ear-splittingly uproarious!]

Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki jai! Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Ananta-koti vaisnava vrnda ki jai! Sri harinama-sankirtana ki jai! Sri Radha Madhava ki jai! Sri Narasimhadeva Bhagavan ki jai! SRI PANCATATTVA KI JAI!

Thank you very much.

(Lord Nrsimhadeva's conchshell sounds for darsana-arati)

END.

Bhakta Don Muntean · August 4, 2005

These are transcendental pics!

The deep mellow in H.H. Jayapataka's face is almost as mesmerizing - as that of the Lord!

I was wondering if anyone could mention what the red substance is that is all over the deities in this bathing? Just so deluded people don't think it is blood!

BDM

Bhakta Don Muntean · August 5, 2005

So what is that red substance they are pouring on pancha tatava??

gHari · August 5, 2005

Haven't found the answer yet on the net, but some info (milk and yogurt) is here. As I often sit stunned in front of Lord Gauranga and Lord Nityananda with thick water pouring over Them, I've often thought it was honey in the water that gave it that thick look. If I had to guess about the red, it would be vermillion or berries - Srivasa looks so nice in red. Actually the last link here perhaps suggests that there might be a yogurt, a fruit juice, and then a water pass:<center>

HONEY: http://www.iskcon.com/new/040305_mayapur.htm

http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/17/11/

http://vedabase.net/cc/madhya/4/59/

http://www.hindu-religion.net/printthread.php?Board=hinduism&main=28037&type=post

http://vegetarian-restaurants.net/Vrindavana/Vrindavan/Radha-Raman-Temple.htm

http://www.iskcon.com.au/RG_33_Anniv.html#

Bhakta Don Muntean · August 5, 2005

Hari Bol gHari!

I've never seen vermillion used before - nor have I seen it in Prabhupada's books etc., it looks odd.

In any case I am sure there was a good reason - and as odd as it is that it looks like 'blood' - it could make an ironic Kali Yuga statement....

Yer Servant,

BDM

August 5, 2005

fruit juice

Bhakta Don Muntean · August 5, 2005

It doesn't look like that - it looks quite thick - what kind of fruit juice?

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