Sri Advaita Bhavan
Outside the main temple at Srivasa Angana you can see two small temples about 30 meters away, both within the same compound. The one on your left is Sri Advaita Bhavan.
The small temple marks the place where Sri Advaita lived, and houses the deity of Advaita Aharya sitting at feet of Lord Caitanya. At this place he offered prayers imploring the lord to descend. He would sit on the bank of the Ganga, worship Salagrama Silas and beg Krishna to appear.
By his prayers Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came and inaugurates the Sankirtana mission. Advaita Acarya lived in Santipur, but kept this bhavan for his Mayapur visits. He is a member of the Panchatattva and had a leading role in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes. The pastimes between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Advaita Acharya are most blissful, being permeated with the joy of Advaita Acarya’s effervescent personality.
The pain in Harts of Vaisnavas
Prior to Lord Caitanya's appearance, all the devotees used to regularly gather here to listen to Advaita Acharya speak on Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam and to perform kirtana. His recitations, sweetened by his explanation of bhakti, kept the devotees enrapt in bliss, thus easing their sorrows.
Sometimes however, the devotees poured out their hearts to Advaita Acharya expressing the deep pain they felt. The entire population of Navadvipa was immersed in materialistic activities, taking them as the goal of life. They were spending huge amounts of money on demigod worship for material benedictions to increase their sensual enjoyments. And though vastly learned in the Vedas, the so-called highly learned Brahmanas remained ignorant of the actual purpose of the scriptures and did not even follow the religious principles they themselves taught. Bewildered by the illusion of material enjoyment, they continually criticized the devotees for their devotional practices and for chanting the names of the Lord. The devotees, pained at heart to see the hopeless condition of the people, wept and prayed to Krishna to please save these fallen souls.
In Advaita Acarya's heart, he also suffered the same acute pains upon seeing everyone devoid of devotional service. He thought, "If my Lord descends, then He can liberate everyone. I can boast of being an incarnation of Mahavishnu only if I can convince the Lord of Vaikuntha, Krishna, to appear in this world. At that time, I shall sing and dance in joy and liberate all the conditioned souls."! Advaita Acharya also remembered a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam that explains how the Lord is eternally indebted to anyone who offers Him Tulasi and Ganga water. Thus, with unswerving resolve, the Acarya worshiped his Salagrama sila with eight Tulasi Manjaris and Ganga water and implored the Lord to appear.
He supplicated the Lord with heart rending prayers and loud cries. He roared as loud as thunder begging the Lord to come by saying, "My Lord, the people need to understand that You are All good, All loving and All merciful, but they have no room for You in their hearts. Although the sufferings of my fellow man deeply afflict my heart, I too am a great sinner and so I cannot help them. 0 Lord, You must descend Yourself and teach them how to attain You. Only by this means will they learn to love You and thus end 'all their miseries." Being irresistibly attracted to these prayers of Advaita Acharya which were saturated with his love for those suffering the pangs of material life, the Lord immediately descended as Nimai, the son of Jagannatha Mishra and Sachimata.
Practical Guide to Advaita Bhavan
Darshana Time:8.30-11.00 a.m. and 3.30-8.30p.m.
Directions:You can see this temple from the courtyard of Srivasa Angan, thirty meter to the north.
Presiding Deities: Lord Caitanya (standing) and Advaita Acharya (sitting and offering).
