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Speaker:HG Rishi Kumar Prabhuji Date: 02 February 2024 Main Theme: Disappearance Day of Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura! Hare Krishna !! om ajnana-timirandhasyajnananjana-salakaya caksurunmilitamyenatasmaisri-guravenamah All glories to śri brahma madhvagaudīyaparamparā! All glories to ŚriGurumaharaj! All glories to SrīlaPrabhupāda! Today is the disappearance day of Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura. He would enter into the divine pastimes of the supreme Lord while performing his activities in the material world. So, we should take advantage of this special occasion as aćaryās become more merciful on their appearance and disappearance days. Śrīla Locana DāsaThākuraappeared in this world in 1520 A.D. 500 years got completed of his appearance last year. We could not celebrate it magnificently though. This is the 501st year going. Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura appeared when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was performing His pastimes in the material world. He was 14 years old when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to His abode. We have to understand that the Lord sends His associates before His advent. 37 associates appeared according to the Gaurābdh lunar calendar. Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura appeared on the banks of Ajay river in the Katwa town of Bardhaman district. He appeared on the first day of paushashukla paksha and was from Vaidya community like many other gaudiyavaiśnavacāryās. Vaidya also means a practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine. They become vaidya of the soul as well. His father’s name was ŚrīKamalākaraDāsa and his mother’s name was Sadānandi. His upbringing and spiritual education was from this place only. He showed his affection towards Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu since his childhood. He got married at a very early age. At that time, the ritual was that the groom and bride had to stay in their parental home till they became adults. I remember My Grandmother used to tell me that she got married at the age of 8 when my grandfather was 14 years old. So, she stayed back in her parents’ house for 7-8 years and after then she came to her in-laws house. So, this was the ritual. Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura’s mother’s parental home was at Amitpura place. His parents were Grihastha, not Grahmedhi. They used to spend their time in Krśna and GaurāngaKathā. This was their principle. When the time came for Locana DāsaThākura to get into Grihastha āshrama, their parents noticed that he was quite depressed. They went to Naraharī, dearest associate of Mahāprabhu, with their trouble. narahari-adikori’ camara dhulaya sanjaya-mukunda-basu-ghosh-adigaya Translation Narahari Sarakara and other associates of Lord Caitanya fan Him with ćamaras, and devotees headed by Sanjaya Pandita, Mukunda Datta, and Vasu Ghosha sing sweet kirtana.[Gaura-Aarti(from Gitavali)] Naraharī instructed Locana DāsaThākura to go to his in-laws house. Locana DāsaThākura had no idea how that place would be. He asked the directions from a young girl by addressing her ‘Maa’ (mother). And finally, when he reached his in-laws house, he got to know that the girl whom he addressed as ‘Maa’ was his wife. From that day onwards, he started treating his wife as his mother and started worshiping Guru and Gaurāga with full detachment. This way our acāryās teach us how we should live our life performing devotional activities. So, on the days of disappearance of our acāryās, we should contemplate on their teachings. On the days of appearance of such acāryās, we can contemplate on their pastimes or the pastimes of the Lord in which such acāryās were also a part. As ŚrīlaPrabhupāda said, “I will live forever in my books”; similarlyŚrīla Locana DāsaThākura also resides in his teachings. mātṛvat para-dāreṣu para-dravyeṣuloṣṭravat ātmavatsarva-bhūteṣu yaḥpaśyatisapaṇḍitaḥ Translation “One who considers another’s wife as his mother, another’s possessions as a lump of dirt and treats all other living beings as he would himself, is considered to be learned.” ThusRāvaṇa was condemned not only by Lord Rāmacandra but even by his own wife, Mandodarī. Because she was a chaste woman, she knew the power of another chaste woman, especially such a wife as mother Sītādevī.[Cāṇakya-śloka 10] So, the first teaching from Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura’s life is that he used to treat his wife as his mother because he once addressed her as mother. So, at least we should start accepting women as our mothers. We should not only casually address them as Mataji but we should also treat them as Mataji or Mothers. Similarly, all the Matajis should also treat the men as Prabhujis. They should not be free with each other. This is very important. This is the first teaching that, what feelings one should have towards pardayeshu. Lord says in the Bhagavata Gītā that He is that lusty desire which is not contrary to the religious principles. balaṁbalavatāṁcāhaṁ kāma-rāga-vivarjitam dharmāviruddhobhūteṣu kāmo ’smibharatarṣabha Translation I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O lord of the Bhāratas [Arjuna]. [BG. 7.11] For any such intimacy, the men and women should be married and Krsna should be the third partner. Husband, wife and Krsna in the center. Now let’s discuss the Caitanya Mangal book by Śrīla Locana DāsaThākura. Narahari SarkāraThākura was the close and dear associate of Mahāprabhu. He gave initiation to Locana DāsaThākura. After initiation, Locana DāsaThākura started staying with his Guru (spiritual master). Narahari SarkāraThākura taught him how to do kīrtana and later gave him instruction to compile a book on the biography of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Locana DāsaThākura accepted his Guru’s instruction and started writing about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very dedicatedly. This book is known by the name of Caitanya Mangal. This book is read in Bengal in the same way Ramcaritmānas is read about Śrī Rāma Candra in North India. This book is very popular as it was written in very simple language. There is no description of any complex principle or philosophy in Caitanya Mangal as in Caitanya Caritāmrta. It is because it was important to mention Mahāprabhu’s philosophy in Caitanya Caritāmrta. So, Caitanya Mangal was Mahāprabhu’s biography which is based on Caitanya Caritā by Murārī Gupta. hari he doyāl mor jayarādhā-nāth bhuvana-mańgalatumibhuvanerpati tumiupekhilenātha, ki hoibegati Translation You bring about auspiciousness for the world, and You are the master of all the worlds as well. O Lord, what will become of me if You forsake me? [Verse 4 from song ‘Hari He Doyal Mor’] It is a description about the supreme Lord. Mangal means auspicious. The Lord who spread auspiciousness to the three worlds. Mangal bhavatamangalhari We attend Manglāāratī in the morning. so mangal means auspicious. The symptom of Bhakti is auspiciousness. The Lord is auspicious is the reason His devotional services also give auspiciousness. The most auspicious activity is when we contemplate the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu to all mankind. This is the second teaching why we should read Caitanya Mangal. Because it is auspicious and for the welfare of mankind. At first, one book which was written by VrindāvanaDāsaThākura also known as Caitanya Mangal which later changed to  CaitanyaBhāgavat. This was mentioned by Locana DāsaThākura in his book where he is giving obeisances to VrindāvanaDāsaThākura for his prayers in Caitanya Bhāgavata which was the attraction to mankind. Locana DāsaThākura and KrśnaDāsaKavīrājaGoswāmī had given the name of Caitanya Bhāgavata to the book of VrindāvanaDāsaThākura. And in Caitanya Mangal Manglacharan, Locana DāsaThākura is expecting his Guru’s blessings. Now the third teaching, Locana DāsaThākura considered himself lowest of the low. He was very polite. This is a very important teaching. So, Narahari SarkāraThākura is Gaurangeragunanidhi, the ocean of the qualities of GaurāngaMahāprabhu. goradayaraabadhiguna-nidhi suradhuni-tire nadiyanagare biharayenirabadhi  Translation Lord Gaura possesses the highest summit of compassion. He is a great treasure-house of all virtues. In the towns of Nadiya and on the Ganga's banks He enjoys pastimes without stop. [Verse 1 from song ‘Sri Gauracandrasya’ by Srila Visvanatha CakravartiThakura] Here, Locana DāsaThākura is surrendering himself to Narahari SarkāraThākura and accepting that there is no one else for him except Locana DāsaThākura in the three worlds. This is the teaching for both brahmaćārī and Grhastha that Guru is the closest friend of us. Guru Sudrithasauhitam. We should never take our Guru lightly. There should not be friend feelings for Guru, but always be a servant to him. But it is impoGuru Sudrithasauhitamrtant that we should perform only those activities which are favourable for Guru. chittetekoriyaaikya. guru-mukha-padma-vakya, chittetekoriyaaikya, arnakoriho mane asha sri-guru-charanerati, ei se uttama-gati, je prasade pure sarvaasha Translation Make the teachings emanating from the lotus mouth of our spiritual master one with your heart, and do not desire anything else. Attachment to his lotus feet is the best way to make spiritual advancement. His mercy fulfills all desires for spiritual perfection. [Guru Vandana, text 2] That’s how Locana DāsaThākura started writing his book Caitanya Mangal by glorifying his Guru. There is a pancālīshailiof East Bengal, present Bangladesh in which he wrote his book. He completed his book at the age of 14 in 1537 AD while sitting on a stone under a tree. One famous Bengali person, Ashutosh Dev, told the contribution of Locana DāsaThākura. Locana DāsaThākura is the first man to compile a Bengali poem in moric meter. The original copy of Caitanya Mangal is still available. ŚrīlaBhaktīSiddhāntaSaraswatīThākura said that it is there in the house of PrakashanandChakrawarti in Guskara, West Bengal. Locana DāsaThākura has written many other books like Prarthana, Durlabh Saar, Dhamali. He translated Jagannatha Vallabh Play of RāmānandaRāy and Ras Panchayat in Bengali. Hence, He was an exhausted devotee and a great writer as he was a Hindu scholar. He has written everything in a very simple language being a great scholar. This is his mercy to mankind. Simplicity is vaiśnavism. According to Bhakti Ratnakar, when the disappearance day of Narahari SarkāraThākurawas celebrated, Locana DāsaThākura welcomed all the devotees, offered them sandalwood (candan) and garland. Locana DāsaThākura glorified Mahāprabhu in Caitanya Mangal magnificently because Narahari SarkāraThākura had many qualities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then he got afraid that he might have committed an offense on the lotus feet of Nityānanda Prabhu because he had not glorified him to that extent as Mahāprabhu. Then he wrote many vaiśnava songs on the glorification of Nityānanda Prabhu. nitaiguna-mani amarnitaiguna-mani aniyapremervanyabhasailoavani Translation My Lord Nityananda, the jewel of all virtues, my Lord Nityananda, the jewel of all virtues, has brought the flood of ecstatic love of God that has drowned the entire world. (Text 1, Nitai Guna Mani by Locana DāsaThākura) locan bole mor nitaijebanabhajilo janiyasuniya sei atma-ghatihoilo Translation Locana dasa says, “Whoever has not worshiped my Nitai or taken advantage of this excellent opportunity offered by Him knowingly commits suicide.” (Text 5, Nitai Guna Mani by Locana DāsaThākura) Those who don’t glorify Nityānanda Prabhu knowingly commit suicide and commit offense on His lotus feet. akrodhaparamānandanityānandarāya abhimānaśūnyanitāinagarebeḍāya Translation The noble Lord Nityananda is never angry, for He is the personification of supreme transcendental bliss. Devoid of any concept of false ego, Nitai wanders above the town. [Text 1, Akordha Paramananda by Locana DāsaThākura] jaredekhe tare kohedantetrnadhori’ amarekiniyaloho bolo gaura-hari Translation He exclaims to whomever he sees while holding straw between his teeth, “Please purchase me by worshipping Gaurahari!” (Text 3, Akordha Paramananda by Locana DāsaThākura) henoavatare jar ratinajanmilo locan bole sei papieloargelo Translation Locana Dasa Thakura says, “Whoever has not experienced the awakening of affection for such an avatara as this, that sinful person simply comes and goes uselessly in the cycle of repeated birth and death.” (Text 5, Akordha Paramananda by Locana DāsaThākura) Whoever has not experienced the awakening of affection for such an avatara as this, that sinful person simply comes and goes uselessly in the cycle of repeated birth and death.” Then there is one more famous song. parama koruna, pahu dui jana nitaigauracandra sabaavatara-sara siromani kevalaananda-kanda Translation The two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra, are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful. (Text 1, Sri Sri Gaura-Nityanander Daya by Locana DāsaThākura) samsaremajiya, rohiliporiya, se padenahiloasa apanakarama, bhunjayesamana, kahoyelocana-dasa Translation But Locana dasa regrets that I am entrapped by sense gratification. Since I have no attraction for the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, then Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me by not allowing me to be attracted by this movement. (Text 4, Sri Sri Gaura-Nityanander Daya by Locana DāsaThākura) When ŚrīlaPrabhupāda sang this song on the day of installation of Gaura Nitai deities in Venezuela, South America, he started shedding tears contemplating on the meaning of this song. We need to understand that we are getting 3-4 important teachings from the life of Locana DāsaThākura. First is his politeness when he says that he is a fallen soul. That’s why he is dependent on his Guru. He followed every given instruction of his Guru; be it related to Grihastha āsharama or writing a book. He used to treat every other woman as his mother, even his own wife when he accidentally addressed her as Maa. This is a symptom of a vaiśnavabrāhmana that he always remains firm or fixed on what he says. We are tending to tell lies for small things. So, we must learn from his teachings. Locana DāsaThākura also used to remain vigilant of his offenses like he corrected his offense on the lotus feet of Nityānanda Prabhu by glorifying Him and compiling songs on Him which devotees still sing. The most important contribution of Locana DāsaThākura for the Iskcon devotees is that his predictions always come true. There are four main verses of Caitanya Mangal in Sutra Khand of 12th song from 562 to 565. sangeet vaishnaverashaktirtathanijapremer bhakti Translation
  1. "I will show them My holy names, My glories and transcendental qualities, My saṅkīrtana movement, and the power of My Vaiṣṇava devotees, I will show them the glory of the ecstatic spiritual love the devotees feel for Me.
  2. "In this way I will destroy the sins of Kalī-yuga. All of you please go there before Me. Go, and I will follow. Don’t hesitate.
  3. "Wielding the sharp sword of nāma-saṅkīrtana(chanting the holy names), I will cut to pieces the demonic desires in their hearts.
  4. "If the sinners flee far away, the great devotees who are generals in My armies will pursue them.
Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee and he is a commander leader in the army of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He initiated Krsna consciousness in the western countries and brought them to India. He revived Krsna consciousness within Indians also. We see that. Recently we saw HG Sanaka Sanatan prabhu and HH Sri Krsna Caitanya Swami actively preaching in the recent gathering at Ayodhya in Ram Mandir. This shows that even the devotees are engaged in spreading Krsna consciousness. Lochana DāsaThākura is the one who wrote the foretelling of  the appearance of Srila Prabhupada. Question and Answers Question: How can we develop pure qualities like acāryās? Ans: we must engage ourselves in hearing about acāryās so that we can develop attraction towards their qualities. Like Rukmini got attracted to Krsna just by hearing about His qualities. Then we should contemplate on their qualities and pastimes and then discuss them with the devotees. Also, when discussing, we should see that if we are also practicing such qualities. Also, we should be surrendered to an exalted devotee so that he can correct us and we can improve ourselves. We should have fearful respect for vaiśnavas so that we do not commit any offense. The less we commit offenses on the lotus feet of vaiśnavās, the more vaiśnavās will be merciful upon us and the more we bring their qualities in us. Whatever we hear about the Lord or the acāryās, we should also discuss that with everyone because it makes us pure. As Krsna is pure, the devotees associating with Him are also pure. Like an iron rod becomes fire when it comes in contact with fire. rāja-vidyārāja-guhyaṁ pavitramidamuttamam pratyakṣāvagamaṁdharmyaṁ su-sukhaṁkartumavyayam Translation This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed. [BG 9.2] We must be dedicated to our Acaryas by reading their history, by glorifying them, fasting on their important dates. Question 2: As you said, we should consider other women as mothers, but what should be the emotion when considering our own wife as mother? Ans: Krsna is possessive for His dearest devotees. He wanted to have more time with Locana DāsaThākura. But at the same time, his wife also cooperated with him in his devotional development. We are not LocānaDāsaThākure, therefore cannot consider our wife our mother. But we must consider other women as our mothers. Be the change you want to see. Question 3: According to Bhagavata Gītāand  ŚrīmadBhāgavatam, we should surrender to Krsna and abandon all our varieties of dharma, how can we actually apply it practically? Ans: In Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, RūpaGoswamī explains 64 forms of devotional services to progress in spiritual life. The first 6 or 7 are related to Guru. guru-padasrayastasmatkrsna-diksadi-siksanam visrambhenaguroh seva sadhu-vartmanu-vartanam  Translation (1) Submission to the feet of the guru (spiritual master); (2) Receiving training from him in spiritual initiation and practices regarding Sri Krsna; (3) serving the spiritual master with affectionate zeal; (4) Following in the path of saints. [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.74] The first is Guru Pādāshray. We should take shelter of a bonafide Guru first. The Lord is so merciful that He appears in the form of His representative or Guru so that we can learn to surrender by taking the shelter of Guru first. ānukūlyasyasaṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasyavarjanam rakṣiṣyatītiviśvāso goptṛtvevaraṇaṁtathā ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye ṣaḍ-vidhāśaraṇāgatiḥ Translation “ ‘The six divisions of surrender are the acceptance of those things favorable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavorable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as one’s guardian or master, full self-surrender, and humility. [CC Madhya 22.100] These are the six divisions which should be followed for the service of a bonafide spiritual master. Then it will become possible to follow these for Krsna. Like when we do deity worship, we sing verses. sri-guroparamanandapremanandaphala-prada
vrajananda-pradananda-sevayam mam niyojaya Translation My dear spiritual master, who gives the fruit of the highest bliss—the bliss of love of Godhead—please engage me in the blissful service of Sri Krsna, who bestows bliss upon the land of Vraja. We say to a spiritual master, “please engage me in your service. Let us worship Krsna through you.” The second form of devotional service is we should receive education and initiation from a spiritual master. Third is to engage ourselves in the service of a spiritual master. Then we should follow his and his associate’s instructions. ādaugurvāśrayaṁtato sad-dharma-pṛcchātsādhumārgāṇugamanam Translation In the beginning one should accept the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and inquire submissively about religious principles. He should then desire to follow in the footsteps of the great devotees of the Lord. [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.74] Then, Differentiating between favourable and unfavourable things to progress in devotional service. And then, we must be ready to follow the instructions of a spiritual master. This is the test of fully surrendering to a spiritual master. We are lucky that we are getting association of Guru Maharaj every single day through this platform. We must be eager to get his association everyday. This is also surrendering to a spiritual master. Question: as discussed, a man should treat his wife as his mother, how should a woman treat her husband? Ans: your and your’s husband’s husband is Krsna only. Krsna is everyone’s husband. So we should love Krsna and husband and wife should serve each other. When we take shelter of Krsna that is called Grihastha āsharam. In BG 13.8, the Lord tells us 20 forms of knowledge. One of them is detachment from children, wife and home. asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu nityaṁ ca sama-cittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu Translation detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people. [BG. 13.10] ŚrīlaPrabhupāda says, if husband and wife are engaged in performing kīrtana, deity worship, reading and hearing Bhagavata Gīta and ŚrīmadBhāgavatam and consume only praśāda, then no one is required to leave their family. So, the objective is that husband and wife should support each other for the advancement of their Krsna conscious life and Krsna should be placed in their center. Otherwise, Husband should take care of his wife and a wife should be dedicated and loyal to her husband and Krsna in their center then Grihastha āshram will be a  success. This is the philosophy. Hare Krishna!  

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