English
02 March 2024
Installation ceremony of Lord Narasimha at Mayapur
Speaker: HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj
Hare Krsna. I offer my obeisances to all the devotees who got this TOVP ready. I was reminded of PL Shetty who lived in Bombay. He was assisting Srila Prabhupada in building Radha Rasbihari temple. He was assisting us brahmacharis. So Srila Prabhupada was visiting that construction site and he was pleased with PL Shetty. He said, you are building this accommodation for Radha Rasbihari temple and in return, you will get the residence in Vaikuntha. So the accommodation for all of you supporters for TOVP temple is guaranteed in Vaikuntha.
vande śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nityānandau sahoditau
gauḍodaye puṣpavantau
citrau śan-dau tamo-nudau (CC Adi 1.2)
Translation: I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.
Gauranga and Nityananda are the founding fathers of Sankirtana movement. And they appeared for,
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge (BG 4.8)
Translation: To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.
So they appear gaudodaye pushpavanto (CC Adi 1.2). They appeared as the Sun and the moon. For śan-dau tamo-nudau (CC Adi 1.2). Shan refers to peace and tamo-nudau, they will destroy the ignorance like the sun and moon destroy the darkness. In the age of Kali, they are the two of them.
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma (CB Antya Khanda 4.126)
Translation: In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.
The Lord is present in the form of his name in every village and by appearing in the form of holy name, that holy name which is the form of the Lord, this will get you back to home, back to godhead.
nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
’bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133)
Translation: The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.
And once they come here, they will be worshiping the Lord.
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32)
Translation: In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.
The Intelligent people worship the Lord by the performance of Yajna and they will worship the Lord’s deities.
sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nanashringara-
tan-mandira-marjanadau
yuktasya bhaktams cha niyunjato pi
vande guroh sri-charanaravindam (Sri Gurv Astaka 3)
Translation: The spiritual master is always engaged in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. He also engages his disciples in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful clothes and ornaments, clean Their temple, and perform other similar worship of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.
The temples are required and the deities are worshipped.
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā (CC Madhya 6.242)
Translation: In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.
Without chanting and deity worship, this is not complete. The chanting of Hare Krsna Mahamantra and vigraha aradhana (deity worship) is required. Srila Prabhupada said, Mayapur is place of my worship. It’s not only Srila Prabhupada’s place of worship, the whole world is going to come here to worship the Lord. And this Mayapur is the place of worship for all the chanters for devotees around the world.
Other places are there, like Vrindavan is non different from Mayapur. But in the age of Kali, the place of worship is Mayapur. And this is imbibed along Gauranga. So Srila Prabhupada made Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction come true. He went around the world and he shared the holy name of the Lord. Sharing holy name means sharing the Lord.
krishna se tomara, krishna dite paro,
tomara sakati ache
ami to’ kangala, ‘krishna’ ‘krishna’ boli’,
dhai tava pache pache (Ohe Vaishnava Thakura 04)
Translation: Krishna is yours; you have the power to give Him to me. I am simply running behind you shouting, "Krishna! Krishna!"
So Prabhupada had Krsna with him and he gave Krsna to the whole world. So the prediction of Gauranga came true. In 1972, Srila Prabhupada brought his followers to Mayapur. He managed to get the land for the temple in Mayapur. By bringing those 60 followers in Mayapur, at that time 60 was a big number. He said, someone is from Australia or America. So Mahaprabhu’s prediction has come true. Srila Prabhupada proved it by bringing all those followers.
The prediction of Nityananda prabhu is building temple at Mayapur like Jiva Goswami says, “Ek Adhbut Mandir hoibe prakash, Gauranga Nitya seva hoibe vikas”. That prediction is happening true now. In 1972, there was first ever Mayapur festival. Srila Prabhupada installed Ananta shesh here and this temple was in his mind. Prabhupada travelled from Mayapur to Vrindavan and did bhumi pujan of temple at Vrindavan. One week later, he travelled to Bombay and did bhumi pujan of Radha Rasbihari temple.
Of those three temples that he did bhumi pujan in very less time, Vrindavan temple was opened and Radha Rasbihari temple was opened in 1978. And this is the third temple which is built, and Srila Prabhupada came here few years ago. The building is made for Brahmacharis and now Narsimha dev is coming. At Ayodhya, Sri Rama is coming and here Narsimha dev is coming. We are being made more eager for final opening. If there are any obstacles, may he remove all those obstacles so finally Pancha tattva, Asta sakhi, Radha Madhav and Guru parampara will come. We are waiting.
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ (BG 4.11)
Translation: As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.
As we surrender more and more, the Lord also reveals himself more and more. So let us not be hesitant and reluctant. Let us keep ourselves fully to complete this project very soon. On behalf of the Lord, Prabhupada is giving us the opportunity. There are thousands of devotees from the world involved. And everybody’s contribution whether big or small is appreciated.
The Lord appreciated Hanuman’s contribution for building the Rama Setu. There was a little squirrel who picked up few parts of sand and was putting that in between those rocks. So Hanuman told that squirrel, get out of here. Lord Rama said, the strength, resources and intelligence are given to you and you are dedicating them to me. But don’t think that the dedication the squirrel has are less than yours. That little strength and intelligence she is using are for my service.
For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada, we all need to give our contribution. Srila Prabhupada, Parampara, Gauranga, Nityananda, Asta sakhi and Radha Madhav are pleased. And if they are pleased, we are also pleased. So this is a big yajna building TOVP and let us keep making our offerings. Shrimad Bhagavatam says,
etāvaj janma-sāphalyaṁ
dehinām iha dehiṣu
prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā
śreya-ācaraṇaṁ sadā (SB 10.22.35)
Translation: It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words.
These are 4 ways to serve. One is giving prana - your life. Give your money, your economic development, your ideas - use your intelligence and promote. Speak in favor of completion of this project. This temple is the mother of all temples. All other temples are children. And once this temple is opened, this world will not be going to be the same anymore. We are looking forward to complete this TOVP project and I certainly thank HG Vraja vilasa prabhu, HG Ambrarish prabhu, HG Swaha mataji and other devotees.
HG Swaha mataji is pouring her heart into building the Narsimha temple. Whatever was on your mind, it’s going to happen now. Let us follow the leaders of this project and learn from them. This is the dear and dream project of Srila Prabhupada and we should contribute in this.
TOVP ki Jai! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!
