21 June 2020
Disappearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Hari Hari
Mauritius’ numbers are going down, Kauntiya. Your country has become corona free. So look on to this. Chanting is taking place from 818 locations. Today is Sunday. But not everywhere. In America its Saturday. America is 12 hours behind than us. Today is Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s and Sri Gadadhar Pandit’s Disappearance Day. Today is Sunday. Sunday means Sun’s day. Today there is Solar Eclipse also. This eclipse is considered to be inauspicious. Rahu and Ketu are fighting with the sun. The big battle is on. Dwarakadhish Krsna also went to Kurukshetra from Dwaraka, to take bath. There is Suryakunda in Kurukshetra which is very famous. Krsna, Balaram, Subhadra, all queens, Vasudeva, Devaki, Rohini, whole Dwarka reached Kurukshetra to take bath.
dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya
Translation:
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: O Sañjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukṣetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?[ BG 1.1]
Kurushetra is dharma-kṣetre. It’s not that it became dharma-kṣetre after the Mahabharat war. Raja kuru also did farming over there. Lord Brahma also performed yajna over there. In that Kurukshetra, Krsna went for three times. He went during the war, and after the war again he came back to Kurukshetra when His Grandfather Bhisma was departing. He gave his association and darshan to Bhisma. The third time he went to Kurukshetra during Solar eclipse. So make a note of it. At the time of the solar eclipse, Krsna becomes Jagannath. And Balaram becomes Balabhadra and Subhadra Ji becomes the Subhadra of Jagannath Puri.
“Nilachala Nivasaya ,Nityayaa Paramatmane;
Balabhadra Subhadrabhyam,Jagannathayate Namah “
Translation:
I offer my humble prostrated obeisance’s to the internal supreme Power – Shri Jagannath – The Super Soul of all living entities. Who resides with his divine Elder Brother Sri Balabhadra and little Sister Shree Devi Subhadra in the most holy abode of Nilachal – Puri – Nitya Baikuntha.[ Jagannath Pranam Mantra]
The day after tomorrow is Rathyatra Day. Jagannath Rath yatra ki jay. Krsna became a resident of Jagannath Puri or a resident of Nilachal. One who is residing at Nilacala, along with Baladev and Subhadra to that Jagannath we offer obeisances. In this way, Kurukshetra has a connection with Jagannath Puri and with Jagannath Rath Yatra. If Lord wouldn’t have heard from Mother Rohini and wouldn’t have gone to Kurushetra then He wouldn’t have become Jagannath.
It has also been described that it has a connection with Dwarka. Both are correct due to the differences in Kalpantar.
So today you do more chanting.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Today we have one more reason to chant. Today’s inauspicious day can become auspicious by chanting, hearing, and doing deity worship. Today there won’t be maha prasade Govinde as today there will be fasting for Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Disappearance Day and due to solar eclipse. So no eating, only chanting. Just read, hear, and remember the Lord.
Today we are remembering Jagannath puri and one time Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was the district Magistrate of Jagannath puri. There was a British rule on those days. Today is the disappearance day of him. He disappeared in the year 1914 at Swanand Sukhad Kunja at Godrum dwip in Navadwip. He wanted to go to Vrindavan at Radhakund. But Lord stopped him and told your work is in Navadwip. Before coming to Navadwip he was in Jagannath Puri as a District Magistrate. And there he gave birth to Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He was named as Vimala Prasada. Vimala Devi has the right to get the Prasada of Jagannath. The very first mahaprasad is offered to Vimala Devi. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura understood that the son which he got is Prasada of Vimala Devi. So he kept the name Vimala Prasada. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is a great acarya of our parampara. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura ki jay. He was Grihastha. Sometimes people say we don’t have time like sannyasis. He was Grihastha and did so much bhakti, chanting 64 rounds daily. Early to bed, early to rise makes men healthy, wealthy, and wise. He used to sleep at 8.30 pm and then he used to get up within 2 hours then he used to chant and do hearing and writing. He wrote more than 100 books. He wrote Harinama Chintamani for all chanters like us. The house of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur which is there at Godruma Dwip, in that there is a closet, so within that small cave or bhajan kutir, he used to perform his bhajan.
He also used to recommend to cover the eyes with stripe and get away from the world and then chant.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Japa takes place in the cave. Our heart is called a cave in scriptures. Japa is done by soul. Place of the soul is in heart and Lord is also there in the heart.
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
Translation:
I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge, and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.[ BG 15.15]
We can go to that cave and we can meditate. Lord has made natural cave as there is natural karatal in the form of hands. So wherever we go, their cave also goes. So Japa should happen in the cave. So we have to be introvert and not extrovert. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has set ideals so that we can chant in a better way. Might be he used to chant loudly.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
One of his neighbors shared his experience that when he used to hear Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura during chanting and kirtana, he used to witness the bhava on which he used to chant. He used to chant with intense feelings for the Lord.
Most of the songs that we sing in ISKCON are written by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. Srila Prabhupad said that the songs composed by acaryas are vedavani. kiba jaya jaya … Jaya radha madhava… Yashomati Nandana… Jiva jago… udilo aruna… are songs written by him just like we have Tukaram Maharaj composed so many songs in Maharashtra.
These all are realizations of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. There is a songbook known as Saranagati written by him. He had predicted that one day will be there when people from all over the world like Germany and England will come Navadwip and chant jaya sacinandan … with local Bengalis and odiyas. Has not his prediction come true? He said this before 100 or 150 years and his prediction becomes true. He looked ahead. In 1896 Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur published small book Life and Precepts of Lord Caitanya. He sent it to foreign countries.
He was in book writing, distributing, and publishing. This book also reached to McGill University, Montreal in Canada. HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj used to study there. Many people used to read it over there. When Srila Prabhupada born, in the same year Bhaktivinoda Thakura started to distribute his books worldwide. He increased the Glories of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He established Glories of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He convinced all about Gaudiya Vaishnavism to all the intellectuals who used to think everything as a sentimental. There was anti preaching going on in name of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He investigated it and he explained what is right. Then he became famous as Seventh Goswami in Navadwip.
Then he started Nawadwip Mandala Parikrama via Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He also found Birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and stopped all the controversies.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura tirobhav tithi Maha utsav ki jay.
Hari Bol