By Atma Tattva Das

In Budapest, a grassroots initiative led by Ishvara Krishna Das and Bhakta Szabolcs Tárkányi is exploring one of the most unexpected tools for Krishna-conscious outreach: artificial intelligence. Their project, which blends AI-generated music with a vision for community engagement, aims to spark inspiration among devotees and seekers while highlighting both the promise and the pitfalls of technology in spiritual life.

The Seed of Inspiration

“Although we have reservations about it, we both use artificial intelligence from time to time in our work and services. But we feel that since it exists, and for as long as it exists, we should try to use artificial intelligence in the service of the Supreme Intelligence.”

What began as curiosity quickly turned into a provocative experiment. Together with Szabolcs, a seasoned media and marketing expert who has served ISKCON Hungary for decades, they tested AI music tools to create lyrics and melodies. The results were startling. Within seconds, the software generated orchestrated songs that, though mechanical, carried unexpected emotional resonance.

“It was a very special feeling that this song created by AI created emotions in me. Maybe, I hope, devotional emotions,” recalled Ishvara Krishna. Yet the paradox was clear: how could a machine without a soul produce something for devotional use? “It’s crazy to have a devotional community song written by AI, composed by AI, and presented by AI,” he admitted. “So how can we use it?”

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/bhakti-song-contest-using-ai-and-music-for-krishna-conscious-outreach/

On the occasion of the Vyasa Puja Mahotsava of H.D.G. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda, the newly formed Śrīla Prabhupāda Connection–Mayapur Team (website to be launched soon), in collaboration with the Bhaktivedanta National School (BVNS), Mayapur, organized a special competition for children on August 14, 2025.

Here is a relevant reference for this initiative:
sunanda-nandāv ūcatuḥ
bho bho rājan subhadraṁ te
vācaṁ no ’vahitaḥ śṛṇu
yaḥ pañca-varṣas tapasā
bhavān devam atītṛpat

Translation
Nanda and Sunanda, the two confidential associates of Lord Viṣṇu, said: Dear King, let there be all good fortune unto you. Please attentively hear what we shall say. When you were only five years old, you underwent severe austerities, and you thereby greatly satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport
What was possible for Dhruva Mahārāja is possible for anyone. Any five-year-old child can be trained, and within a very short time his life will become successful by realization of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unfortunately, this training is lacking all over the world. It is necessary for the leaders of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to start educational institutions in different parts of the world to train children, starting at the age of five years. Thus, such children will not become hippies or spoiled children of society; rather, they can all become devotees of the Lord. The face of the world will then change automatically. ŚB 4.12.23

As a tribute to our beloved Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, H.D.G. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda, this event was organised for our young devotees to deepen their love and appreciation for His Divine Grace.

Children from four Mayapur schools participated in this competition:
1. Bhaktivedanta National School, Mayapur
2. Sri Mayapur International School
3. Bhaktivedanta National School, Swarupganj
4. Bhaktivedanta Academy Gurukul
Our team mounted banners announcing the competition throughout the ISKCON Mayapur campus and nearby areas to generate enthusiasm within the Mayapur community, particularly among the children. The children became very enlivened, resulting in 779 participating in competitions.
The event had two categories:
• Outline Colouring Competition – for children aged 5 to 9 years
• Written Quiz Competition – for children aged 10 to 15 years, based on Chapter 3: “Only He Could Lead Them” from Prabhupāda: Messenger of the Supreme Lord, the abridged version of the Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta.

Chapter 3 was enlivening for the children, as it dealt with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s interactions with American youth, especially the hippies, and how his affection for everyone influenced them to become Krishna conscious, to the extent that many became dedicated disciples and helped organize the first Ratha-yātrā outside India.
Here are the main points of the chapter that inspired the children:
• This chapter recounts Śrīla Prabhupāda’s first trip from New York to San Francisco—a city then at the heart of the hippie movement. With fearless resolve, Śrīla Prabhupāda entered this countercultural hub and began transforming lives.
• In a historic moment, he took part in the famous Avalon Ballroom Rock Concert—a venue no traditional sannyāsī would typically enter. There, before thousands of young seekers, he inspired incredibly enthusiastic chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.
• Through his compassionate and creative approach—serving hot prasādam breakfasts to hungry hippies, offering personal guidance, and sharing spiritual wisdom—Śrīla Prabhupāda became a healing presence for a restless generation. His efforts and demeanour earned him respect from local authorities, who recognized the positive influence he was making in the city.
• Śrīla Prabhupāda, with the enthusiastic help of these youth, established the ISKCON San Francisco temple, marked by the miraculous arrival of Lord Jagannātha. This divine event signalled the start of a new spiritual movement on the West Coast—one that only Śrīla Prabhupāda could have led. Soon after, San Francisco hosted the world’s first Jagannātha Ratha-yātrā outside India, celebrated with immense joy, setting the stage for an annual tradition that would spread worldwide.

The response to the event was encouraging:
• 484 children participated in the outline colouring competition
• 295 children took part in the written quiz.
This heartfelt participation reflects the deep devotion and enthusiasm of the young devotees of Mayapur in glorifying Srila Prabhupada. May the enthusiasm of these young Vaisnavas and Vaisnavis bring immense joy to Śrīla Prabhupāda!

We wholeheartedly congratulate all the children who prepared for and participated in the competitions. We believe that every participant is a true winner. At the same time, it is essential to recognize and celebrate those who excelled.

We would be delighted to assist any ISKCON temple or school wishing to organize a children’s competition dedicated to Srila Prabhupada. For guidance and support, please get in touch with the Srila Prabhupada Connection Team - Mayapur at +91 99204 16465, srilaprabhupadaconnectionm@gmail.com

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/rla-prabhupdas-vyasa-puja-mahotsava-2025

I first see him just after crossing the Bowery at Houston Street. As he passes before the iron-mesh fence of a playground, I distinctly glimpse the aura of saintliness. I watch him through the rushing traffic and stumbling derelicts.

He strolls almost jauntily down the sidewalk. He is an old man whom age has never touched. Aloof from the people and bustle about him, he walks proudly, independently, his hand in a cloth beadbag. He wears the saffron robes of a sannyasi, and on his feet are quaint, pointed white shoes.

Only seven months ago, I had seen many saffron-robed monks and holymen walking the dirt roads of Hardwar and Rishikesh, and stopping beside the Ganges to bathe. For me, that had been a futile journey to the mystic East in search of the all-knowing guru.

But now—what’s this?

I look again at the pointed white shoes. Did this man follow me all the way from North India? Or did he just suddenly descend from the clouds onto Manhattan sidewalks? I decide I must speak to him.

As I start across the steet, trucks rumbling toward Holland Tunnel block him from my view. I look again to make sure that he’s still there. Yes, he even appears to be aware of me. He has all the bearing of a great actor in a famous movie. I can’t think of what to say, but I approach him anyway.

We both stop at once. His sudden smile is moonlight in the gray July smog.

“Are you from India?” I ask stupidly.

“Oh yes,” he says, his eyes bright and expressive. Crosstown buses roar past, billowing exhaust like clouds of incense. I sense that his tranquility is fixed in something far beyond the traffic roar. “And you?” he asks.

“I’m American,” I say, “but I just got back from Calcutta.”

“Accha! Calcutta!” Another smile. “I am coming from Calcutta. And you were liking India?”

“Yes, well, it’s… very different.”

“And Vrindaban? You have been to Vrindaban?”

“No,” I say. “Where’s that?”

“Near Mathura,” he says.

“I’m afraid not,” I say, not knowing either place. “I got sick and had to leave.”

A poor excuse, but I can think of nothing else. His large brown eyes sparkle. How old is he? His head is shaved, save for a few white hairs in back, and his complexion, golden Bengali, seems radiant against saffron robes. His presence evokes quiet ashrams nestled near the Himalayas, cows, bells, temples, and holy rivers.

“But I like India,” I add. “I’m interested in Hindu philosophy. Someday I’ll go back.”

“You are living near here?” he asks.

“Two blocks down.” I point across Bowery. “Over on Mott Street.”

“Then we are neighbors,” he says. “I want to give some classes on Bhagavad-gita. I have this one place. I wonder if it is suitable. Maybe you can come and see?”

“Of course,” I say, and we turn and walk the half block to Second Avenue.

We stop before a small storefront between First and Second Streets, next door to a Mobil filling station, and across the street from the Red Star Bar and Gonzalez Funeral Home. Occupying half the ground floor of a four-story apartment building, the storefront had evidently served as a curio shop, for the words “Matchless Gifts” were painted over the front door.

Matchless Gifts.

I notice an announcement in the window: “Lectures on Bhagavad-gita. Monday, Wednesday, Friday 7-9 p.m. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.”

So, he’s a swami!

“This is a good area?” he asks.

“Oh yes,” I say. “It surely is.” Suddenly I feel sorry for the grandfatherly gentleman so far from home, so helpless in such an alien metropolis. “I would like to hear your lectures,” I say.

“Then you must come,” he says. Another moonlight smile.

“I have friends, too,” I add, “who might be interested.”

“Yes. Very good. You must bring them.”

“I will,” I promise. “Monday evening.”

When I return to my dark, cockroach-ridden apartment on Mott Street, I tell everyone about the new swami. We are all in our twenties—Keith, Wally, George, Wayne, Patricia, Harvey, and I. Keith and Wally are the most interested. Keith Ham, a friend from undergraduate days, is working at Columbia University on his doctorate in American religious history. Wally Sheffey, a recording engineer from Chicago, is a student of Buddhism. In the course of a Mott Street evening, a conversation might revolve around ego-loss, death, Buddha, peyote, LSD, St. John, reincarnation, Bach, astral travel, Plato, and Lao Tzu. So the arrival of a new swami sparks immediate interest.

“Where’s he from?”

“Calcutta.”

“Maybe he followed us back,” Keith suggests.

“To a Second Avenue storefront?”

“Just two blocks away. He wonders if it’s a good neighborhood.”

“The Bowery?!”

“What’s he teaching?”

“Bhagavad-gita.”

“Now that should be interesting. Is he a guru, or avatar, or what?”

“Swami,
guru—who knows?”

“Well, let’s go Monday and find out.”

“Just what we need,” Wally says. “Another guru.”

“Maybe he was sending out all those strange vibes in India,” Keith says.

“Maybe,” I say. “Anyway, let’s try him.”

I have read that meeting a guru is not an ordinary occurrence and never accidental. Life’s paths lead to that junction only after many births. Thrown by our karma into a world war, my generation went off to kindergarten as the Bomb fell on Hiroshima and inaugurated the atomic age. After the war, nothing seemed impossible for Americans, and most of us began college in the fifties with great material expectations.

Complacent as they were, the fifties were not without rebellion. When I entered the University of North Carolina in 1958, there were beatniks on campus—only a handful to be sure, but they were noticed. Free from parents, we delighted in adolescent rebellion, encouraged by some professors who considered the God of Christianity dead. When one professor asked all atheists to raise their hands, mine went up with many others. My favorite courses dealt with philosophy in literature, and my childhood heroes, the American transcendentalists and the Catholic saints, were superseded by Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre.

As the sixties began, and my friends and I were entering our twenties, many of us gravitated to Manhattan, where, the media informed us, everything exciting was happening. But cynicism and rebellion could not satisfy for long. The Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy assassination underscored the turbulence of the day and the need for something more than nihilism and atheism to pull us through. By 1964, as I completed graduate work in English at New York University, my interest in American transcendentalism revived. The joyous affirmations of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Dickinson, and Crane filled a religious vacuum. Aldous Huxley drew cultural comparisons in The Perennial Philosophy and questioned reality with his mescaline experiences in The Doors of Perception. Students began talking of ego-death, expanded consciousness, eternity, infinity, heaven and hell, and even God. Camus and Sartre were discarded as dead-enders. After all, maybe the mystics, poets, saints and dreamers were on the right track. American involvement in Vietnam increased, and with it our restlessness and need for spiritual answers.

My friends, graduate students mostly, were undergoing some intense value changes. The world seemed to volatile for us to follow in the footsteps of our parents by dedicating ourselves to lifetime careers, or investing in families and expensive homes. Wanting to get at the meaning of things, we began searching, reading mystic poets and investigating scriptures. We studied the Buddhist Sutras, Plato, Zen, St. Augustine, the Hindus. We were on the trail of something, but what? Whenever we tried to explain it, we would have to resort to hackneyed definitions. Something earth-shattering was happening, surely. Was this the Aquarian Age emerging? Or did every generation experience the same thing in a different way?

“Nothing becomes God as much as stillness,” Keith wrote on the Mott Street wall, quoting Meister Eckhardt.

“That which you see before you is the one mind,” Wally reminded everyone, quoting Huang Po.

“If the sun and moon should doubt, they’d immediately go out,” I said, quoting Blake.

Clearly, what we needed was a guru.

With some reservations, I began teaching English in the fall of 1964 at Ohio State University. Coincidentally, I shared an office with Mohan Lal Sharma from the Punjab. He lent me translations of Bhagavad-gita and Shankara’s Vivekachudamani, telling me, “You must visit India. It is the cradle of all religion and transcendentalism. There you will find your answers.” Inspired by the books, I decided to go.

I completed the year’s contract just to earn money for passage. Keith, on leave from Columbia University, also had a little money saved. In October, 1965, we left Newport News on the S.S. Jaladhuta, an Indian freighter bound for Bombay, a month’s voyage. When we landed and took our first look at Bombay, Eastern philosophy began to make sense: all life is suffering and must be transcended. But how?

We journeyed north by train and bus to the Himalayas, to Hardwar and Rishikesh, searching for holymen who knew enough English to give us the Word.

Unforgettable images! The clear-running Ganges, flowing aqua-green from the mountains; the monks chanting at the dharmshala where we stayed for two weeks; the sannyasi dying along the roadside, his saffron cloth pulled over his face, his limbs but leprous stubs, a swarm of flies buzzing about him as he chanted in a thin, frail voice; the quiet hills and ancient temples of Rishikesh; the old rickshaw man, straining to cycle us up a hill and cheerfully accepting his rupee tip.

But Keith and I couldn’t find any holymen who were both impressive and versed in English. Those who knew English seemed more immersed in temple administration than philosophy or meditation, and the itinerant sadhus with flowing beards seemed remote and uncommunicative.

We returned to Delhi, then went to Calcutta, spent a month in Bengal, and, disappointed, finally took another freighter back to New York.

And a psychedelic New York welcomed us back. LSD had hit the street and excited the media; everybody, it seemed, was dropping acid, taking trips, astral travelling, and reading The Tibetan Book of the Dead. LSD cults were springing up in the Village and Lower East Side. Dropout students and professors were travelling to ancient sun cultures and living with natives, Shivaites and Huichols, taking hallucinogens, consulting roadmen, shamans, yogis and gurus.

And now, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami suddenly appears in our backyard, as if the whole chaotic stage had been deliberately, specifically set for him.

In the display window of the Matchless Gifts storefront is a painting of five men with long hair, all dancing with their arms raised, as if about to levitate. They are dancing in a temple—in India, the architecture tells us—and the haloes about their heads suggest that they are saints or avatars. Their round, lotus-eyed, cherubic faces seem frozen in celestial bliss.

“This is it,” I tell Keith and Wally, and we enter.

The storefront itself is only a fifteen by forty foot unfurnished room. Someone had placed straw mats on the floor for sitting. At the far end are two windows, a closed bathroom door, and a badly chipped sink. A bare lightbulb hangs from a cord in the middle of the room, another at the entrance. They are the only lights.

We sit on the floor and look around. A half dozen other people are also sitting and waiting. Someone with a beard and long hair introduces himself as Roy.

“The Swami’s out back and will be down soon,” he informs us.

“Out back” refers to the rear apartment building where the Swami has a second floor apartment.

As we wait, others come in. Then, through the back windows, I can see the Swami crossing the courtyard to the storefront. He enters through the hall door and quickly slides off his white pointed shoes. Then he sits on one of the straw mats and faces his new congregation.

His attire is humble, ascetic: a saffron dhoti worn in the style of a sannyasi monk, and a saffron chadar over his shoulders. As he sits erect and cross-legged, his body seems to dwindle. His magnetism and personality are concentrated in his face, large and noble like a Buddha’s. It is a serene, meditative, grave face, a tranquil face, encompassing joy, compassion, sorrow, and much more. it is a face unlike any other I have ever seen.

He turns to me and smiles. “You have brought your friends?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Very good.”

Picking up a pair of kartals, the kind of bell-metal hand cymbals used in temples in India, he taps them together rhythmically—ching ching ching, ching ching ching—then begins to chant:

vande
‘ham
sri-yuta-pada-kamalam
sri-gurun
vaishnavams cha

He sings in a pure, rich baritone, a voice filled with devotion. Since no one knows what he is chanting, no one can join in. Only after chanting for some minutes does he begin to explain the Sanskrit words.

“Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Hare, Krishna, and Rama. These names of God are the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra,” he tells us, as Roy hands out pieces of paper with the words typed on them. “Krishna is the name meaning ‘all attractive.’ God is not a void. God is a person, eternally youthful and fresh. He appears just like a young cowherd boy, and His color is dark blue like a thundercloud. And Rama means the Lord as supreme enjoyer. He is the enjoyer, Purusha, and we are the enjoyed, Prakriti. And Hare means the energy of the Lord. Through the transcendental energy of the Lord, we can reach the Lord Himself. So when we chant Hare Krishna, we ae saying, ‘O Lord! O energy of the Lord! Just lift me up and place me as an atom of dust at Your lotus feet!'”

He then urges us to chant Hare Krishna in response. Slowly, awkwardly at first, we try to follow the words on the sheets of paper. Roy and another young man join with cymbals. There are no other instruments. There is only the hypnotic ching ching ching of the cymbals and the words of the mantra. Eventually, we start clapping. I become aware of Puerto Ricans and derelicts clustered around the front door and staring through the window. Strange sights on Second Avenue.

The Swami ends the chanting with three resounding chings. No one seems to know what to do next. We all sit anticipating.

“Oh, look at all the prophets,” someone outside says.

“Look! A Buddha!”

Roy walks over to close the door.

“No, leave it open,” the Swami says. He looks at the people outside as if to invite them all in.

“Tonight,” he begins, “we will speak of the Absolute Truth.”

“The Absolute Truth,” he says, “is known in various ways by different types of yogis. The impersonalist knows it as Brahman, the all-pervasive effulgence. The mystic followers of the astanga-yoga system know it as Paramatma, the localized aspect of the Supreme Lord situated in the heart. But the devotees know the Absolute Truth as Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And in Bhagavad-gita, Krishna declares Himself to be the Absolute Truth, Bhagavan, the possessor of all opulences.”

Somehow, when I had previously read Bhagavad-gita, Krishna seemed to me a literary personification of the divine, a kind of folk hero incarnation, a symbol to help us understand the Self spoken of by Shankara.

“Atma, the Self, is subordinate to Paramatma, the Supersoul,” the Swami says. “And this Paramatma is Krishna, manifested in the hearts of all. Everything is subordinate to the personality Krishna. The demigods, Brahman, time, space, the spiritual and material universes, and all incarnations and avataras—all are subordinate to Krishna. Krishna is the sum total of everything; and yet He is beyond everything. He can renounce everything and still be complete in Himself. To realize the supreme ultimate truth is to realize Krishna, and realizing Krishna means becoming His devotee. So, every living entity is an eternal servant of Krishna. This is our svarupa, our eternal identity.”

Our eternal identity?! Servants of a blue cowherd boy?

As the Swami talks of Krishna, I recall seeing in India popular religious paintings depicting the blue-complexioned Lord in various pastimes: Krishna as a naughty child, turning over pots of butter; Krishna as a playful cowherd boy sporting with His friends; Krishna as a romantic youth, playing His flute and dancing; Krishna as a gallant warrior, driving the chariot of Arjuna in battle; Krishna as the God of gods, revealing His universal form, which arises like a thousand suns.

“First you must hear about Krishna from the lips of a pure devotee,” the Swami says. “Shravanam. In my childhood, in school, I first heard about America in my geography and history classes. By hearing, I understood, ‘Oh, that is a very wonderful country, and it is very far away. If I go there, I will see big buildings and many motorcars.’ So I had some mental conception by hearing. Or, you may not have gone to India, but you have some idea of what it’s like by reading or hearing. You don’t go there without knowing something first. Similarly, if we want to see God, or go to the Kingdom of God, we first must hear. That is the process of sravanam. And kirtanam. Kirtan. You must repeat what you hear: Hare Krishna. This kirtan, or chanting of Hare Krishna, cleanses the dust from the mirror of the mind, dust accumulated by crores and crores of births.”

A crore, I learn, is ten million.

As the Swami lectures, my hearing slowly adapts to his accent.

“People are driven made by the illusory material energy,” he says. “For sense gratification, we undergo crores and crores of births and deaths trying to enjoy ourselves independent of Krishna. But when our enjoyment is directed to Krishna, we are rightly situated. This is what is meant by turning from illusion to reality. The guru, the bona fide spiritual master, awakens this dormant, eternal relationship, and when it is revived, we can see, hear, and speak to Krishna.

“Therefore Lord Krishna tells us, ‘Engage your mind in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Thus absorbed completely in Me, you will come to Me.'”

Interrupting the lecture, an old white-bearded Bowery bum enters and walks down the middle of the room. We sit in confused silence. He approaches the Swami.

What to do? The old beggar is wearing a raincoat and batterd hat. In his hands are paper handtowels and two rolls of toilet paper. Without speaking, he walks past hte Swami and carefully places the handtowels by the sink and the toilet paper on the floor beneath. Then, clearing his throat and muttering something, he turns and walks out.

“Just see,” the Swami says with satisfaction. “He may not be in order, but he has just begun his devotional service. Just see how naturally it comes. That is the process. Whatever we have—it doesn’t matter what—we must offer it to Krishna.”

The lecture continues past the forty-minute mark. Some people leave, evidently baffled by the strange philosophy, or the Swami’s Bengali accent. Undaunted, the Swami carefully and repeatedly explains that we are not these bodies but eternal spirit souls.

“Under the influence of maya, illusion,” he says, “we are thinking, ‘I am this body, I am American, I am a father, son, husband, wife.’ No. What am I? Spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna. And my duty? The part renders service to the whole: Krishna. This is bhakti-yoga. Bhakti is defined by Narada as freedom from false bodily designations. The body, through its senses, perceives dualities such as pleasure and pain, but these arise from the body alone. It’s just like a skin itch. The cure? Sense control through Krishna consciousness.

“And who is Krishna? The word Krishna means the all-attractive reservoir of pleasure. We are all hankering after some pleasure in this material world, but this material pleasure is a perverted reflection. It is temporary. Real pleasure is there in the spiritual sky, in relation to Krishna, and it is eternal.”

Like a master weaver at the loom, the Swami weaves his discourse around Krishna. Krishna, “the Supreme Absolute Truth,” “the Supreme Personality of Godhead,” is his main theme.

“Krishna has His name, His associates, His pastimes, His transcendental body, and His abode. He’s not something void or impersonal. No. He’s a person.”

For us, this is the biggest news of all.

chintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vriksha
lakshavriteshu surabhir abhipalayantam
lakshmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, Krishna, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, fulfilling all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gem, surrounded by millions and millions of desire trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of Lakshmis, goddesses of fortune.”

The Swami chants this verse with such devotion that his voice evokes the image of an ever-youthful cowherd boy whose transcendental body is sat-chit-ananda, full of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. A far cry from the vengeful, white-beared Jehovah.

“God’s not an old man,” the Swami says. “Why should He be old? He is eternal, changeless, ever fresh, ever youthful, ever blissful, all knowing, all powerful. Although He was a grandfather on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, He still appeared just eighteen or twenty.”

After an hour and a half, the lecture terminates, and the Swami asks for questions. One tall, lanky boy asks whether or not he can see Krishna with his own eyes.

“Yes, why not?” the Swami says. “But first you must qualify yourself to see. We can cleanse our senses by first hearing and chanting. Why put so much stress on seeing God? Hearing is just as important. you can haer by listening to Bhagavad-gita and chanting Hare Krishna. Krishna and His names are nondifferent, so by chanting Hare Krishna, you are actually associating with Krishna. Just try to understand….”

The Swami continues citing examples and similes to clarify his point. We are all impressed by his erudition, his inexhaustible supply of Sanskrit verses, and his insistence on scriptural authority. He spends a half hour answering the boy’s question, then asks if there are any more questions. There aren’t, and he picks up the cymbals and resumes chanting Hare Krishna. We respond as before, and the chanting continues for another half hour. I check my watch. The program began at seven, an it is now nine forty-five. The Swami slices up an apple and passes it to us on a metal plate. After it is distributed, he slides into his white, pointed shoes, leaves by the side door, and walks through the courtyard to his apartment.

I notice some people dropping coins into a wicker basket left on the straw mat. I contribute fifty cents and leave with Keith and Wally. Everybody’s excited about the new swami.

On the way out, Roy tells us that we can visit during the day in the Swami’s apartment. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday night.

By six-thirty Wednesday evening, we are drawn again, as if by magnets, to the Matchless Gifts storefront. After the Hare Krishna chanting, the Swami reads Sanskrit verses from Bhagavad-gita and criticizes the translation by Sarvepali Radhakrishnan, the current President of India.

“It is impersonalist,” he says, “but what can we do? We have no other version.”

The mystery of Bhagavad-gita, he tells us, is that Arjuna can remain a warrior in the world and still be the greatest yogi by following Krishna’s directions. Since we all have to follow some authority—even if it be our own mind or senses—we should accept the supreme authority, Krishna.

“Veda means knowledge given by God,” he says. “Bhagavad-gita is Veda, and is infallible. We must have faith in Bhagavad-gita to make progress. Some authority must be accepted, otherwise we are wasting our time simply talking. In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna gives us confidential information about Himself, and there is no question of doubting it. We must understnad and accept. Otherwise, how can we ever know anything of God? He is beyond our material perception. ‘Everything is resting on Me,’ He says, ‘but I am not there.’ You may think, ‘Oh, this table is resting in Krishna; therefore Krishna must be here.’ But Krishna says, ‘I am not there.’ Although Krishna and His energy are nondifferent, the energy is not Krishna. There is no difference between sunshine and the sun, but if sunshine is present in your room, you cannot say that the sun itself is there. Similarly, everything is Krishna’s energy, but still Krishna is beyond everything as the Supreme Person. Just because we cannot see Him, we should not foolishly conclude that He doesn’t exist. We can see His energies working. Just as planets are floating in the sunshine, so the sun, the universe, everything, is resting on Krishna-shine, floating in Krishna’s energy. ‘Everything is resting on Me, but don’t think that I am finished because you cannot see Me. I am here.’

“So, this confidential knowledge of Bhagavad-gita is especially meant for Krishna’s devotees. It cannot be understood unless we accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We cannot see God by our own endeavor, but if we qualify ourselves, God will reveal Himself. By sincerely hearing Bhagavad-gita and chanting Hare Krishna, we can come to understand God and our relationship with Him.”

He then explains that just as Arjuna heard Bhagavad-gita from the lips of Krishna Himself, we should hear it from the lips of Arjuna’s representative, the bona fide spiritual master.

“This Bhagavad-gita was first heard on the Indian plain, at Kurukshetra, but this does not mean that it was spoken only for India, or that it is Indian. No. It is for everyone. The sun first rises in the east, then goes to the west. This is not to say that the east has a monopoly of the sun. Bhagavad-gita may have arisen in the land of India, but it is not India’s monopoly. It is for the whole world.”

After the lecture, the Swami asks if there are any questions. Someone asks if it is true that he is forming an “international society,” as indicated by the sign in the window.

“Yes, ” the Swami says. “Of course, at present, this is our only branch, but this Society we are forming, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, is meant to teach everyone love of God by this bhakti-yoga process. The other day, someone wanted me to call it the International Society for God Consciousness.” He smiles and shakes his head. “But I decided no,” he says. “Krishna must be there.”

After the questions, the Swami again slices up an apple and hands it to Roy for distribution. Then, seeing that some people are questioning the Swami further, I also approach him.

“Have you ever heard of LSD?” I ask boldly.

“No,” he says.

“It’s a chemical,” I say, vaguely feeling stupid. “Some people claim that it can give religious insights or ecstasies. Do you think that it could be helpful in spiritual life?”

He looks at me for a moment with childlike curiosity.

“You don’t need to take anything for your spiritual life,” he says. “Your spiritual life is already here.”

Yes, it certainly is here, I think, standing before the most exalted personality I have ever seen.

 Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=19143

On the occasion of the Vyasa Puja Mahotsava of H.D.G. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda, the newly formed Śrīla Prabhupāda Connection–Mayapur Team (website to be launched soon), in collaboration with the Bhaktivedanta National School (BVNS), Mayapur, organized a special competition for children on August 14, 2025.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116079

 

A recent Pew Research Center post, drawing on a global Nature Communications study, maps out how religious engagement has diminished across generations in 111 countries between 2008 and 2023. The research identifies a consistent three-stage pattern—coined the Participation-Importance-Belonging (P-I-B) sequence—whereby religious decline tends to unfold first in reduced participation (such as worship services), then in lessening personal importance of religion, and finally in a decline in formal religious affiliation.

From 2010 to 2020, at least 35 countries saw a drop of 5 percentage points or more in the share of populations identifying with any religion; in Australia and Chile, the decline was 17 points, in Uruguay 16, and in the U.S. 13 . These patterns demonstrate how, across diverse cultural contexts, shifts in religious engagement tend to initiate with more visible practices before affecting identity and affiliation.

For readers who’d like to explore the full report and its data, here’s the original article from the Pew Research Center.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/generational-patterns-reveal-how-religion-is-declining-worldwide/

By Satyamedhā Gaurāṅga Dāsa

Tapana Miśra Dāsa, Minister of ISKCON’s Ministry of Education, warmly invites devotees worldwide to unite in celebrating the foundational role of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in our spiritual lives and the global mission of Krishna consciousness through the “Books Are The Basis Week 2025.”

This annual observance, held from September 7th to 13th, is a time to reflect on the transformative power of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s writings, which continue to illuminate hearts, inspire minds, and guide souls toward the eternal truths of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Books Are The Basis 2025 Theme – The Small Books

Since 2020, the ISKCON Ministry of Education has hosted Books Are the Basis Week to promote a global culture of reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Each year, we focus on a specific aspect of studying these essential texts.

This year, we are highlighting Śrīla Prabhupāda’s small books, such as The Perfection of Yoga, The Science of Self Realization, Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, Beyond Birth and Death, Elevation to Krishna Consciousness, and The Teaching of Queen Kunti. The lives of many thousands of people were transformed by reading one of these small books.

The Ministry of Education is organising a series of short inspirational talks led by senior devotees, with each session focused on a different small book. These short videos will be shared throughout the week to inspire everyone.

Please visit iskconeducation.org for resources, event ideas, and promotional materials. Share your local celebrations with us so we can highlight them globally.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-ministry-of-education-launches-books-are-the-basis-2025/

The ISKCON Kirtan Ministry has officially invited devotees and well-wishers worldwide to join the upcoming World Holy Name Festival (WHNF), taking place September 17–23, 2025. The annual festival, an initiative of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC), commemorates Srila Prabhupada’s historic arrival in America on September 17, 1965, when he began spreading the chanting of the holy names across the globe.

“This year’s theme remains simple yet profound: ‘Chant, Dance, and Be Happy,’” said Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami, ISKCON’s Kirtan Minister. “Srila Prabhupada is truly the global ambassador of the Holy Name, and we warmly invite everyone to participate in this worldwide celebration.”

To assist temples, communities, and individuals in promoting the festival, ISKCON’s Kirtan Ministry has released a comprehensive set of resources available through a Google Drive folder. The toolkit includes print-ready posters, hoardings, banners, flyers, social media graphics, Facebook cover photos, and editable Photoshop files that can be translated and customized in local languages. Leaders and devotees are especially encouraged to update their social media with these graphics and actively share festival promotions online.

The ministry is calling on participants to maximize Harinam Sankirtan hours in temples, communities, and public spaces throughout the week-long festival. Supporters are also encouraged to promote the event online using hashtags such as #WHNF2025, #WorldHolyNameFestival, #ISKCONKirtanMinistry, and #HarinaamSankirtan. In addition, ISKCON leaders are asked to host local and national Istagosthis to encourage participation, with ISKCON India holding a special Istagosti on September 5, Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Appearance Day.

All participants are requested to submit reports of their activities—including the number of programs, locations, participants, total chanting hours, prasadam distribution, photos, videos, and press mentions—via the official website. These reports will be compiled by the ISKCON Kirtan Ministry and shared globally, creating what the organizers describe as “a worldwide mosaic of WHNF celebrations” to inspire and encourage devotees everywhere.

“Together, let us flood the world with the Holy Name in Srila Prabhupada’s honor!” Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami urged, encouraging devotees to take full advantage of this opportunity for sankirtan seva.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/chant-dance-and-be-happy-iskcons-2025-holy-name-festival/

Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We are happy to share that, for the ease and convenience of all devotees and pilgrims, Eastern Railway has announced a new AC EMU train service between Sealdah Krishnanagar.

Please find the official announcement letter attached. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zBMi_6uPrBRI8FV7dVrj8NTbHuNv1Ogr/view?usp=sharing

We humbly request all devotees to kindly spread this news so everyone can take advantage of this wonderful facility.

Thank you for your kind cooperation.

Your servants,
ISKCON Mayapur Management

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/great-news-for-devotees

Today is the divine disappearance day of Namacharya Haridasa Thakura. So we shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eleven: “The Passing of Haridasa Thakura.”

INTRODUCTION

The summary of this chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya as follows. In this chapter it is described how Brahma Haridasa Thakura gave up his body with the consent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and how the Lord Himself personally performed the funeral ceremony and carried the body to the sea. He personally entombed the body, covered it with sand, and erected a platform on the site. After taking a bath in the sea, He personally begged prasada of Jagannatha from shopkeepers and distributed prasada to the assembled devotees.

TEXT 1

namami haridasam tam
  caitanyam tam ca tat-prabhum
samsthitam api yan-murtim
  svanke krtva nanarta yah

TRANSLATION

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Haridasa Thakura and his master, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who danced with the body of Haridasa Thakura on His lap.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya dayamaya
jayadvaita-priya nityananda-priya jaya

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is very merciful and who is very dear to Advaita Acarya and Lord Nityananda!

TEXT 3

jaya srinivasesvara haridasa-natha
jaya gadadhara-priya svarupa-prana-natha

TRANSLATION

All glories to the master of Srinivasa Thakura! All glories to the master of Haridasa Thakura! All glories to the dear master of Gadadhara Pandita! All glories to the master of the life of Svarupa Damodara!

TEXT 4

jaya kasi-priya jagadananda-pranesvara
jaya rupa-sanatana-raghunathesvara

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya, who is very dear to Kasi Misra! He is the Lord of the life of Jagadananda and the Lord of Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.

TEXT 16

eka-dina govinda maha-prasada lana
haridase dite gela anandita hana

TRANSLATION

One day Govinda, the personal servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, went in great jubilation to deliver the remnants of Lord Jagannatha’s food to Haridasa Thakura.

TEXTS 17–20

When Govinda came to Haridasa, he saw that Haridasa Thakura was lying on his back and chanting his rounds very slowly.

“Please rise and take your maha-prasada” Govinda said. Haridasa Thakura replied, “Today I shall observe fasting.

“I have not finished chanting my regular number of rounds. How, then, can I eat? But you have brought maha-prasada, and how can I neglect it?”

Saying this, Haridasa offered prayers to the maha-prasada, took a little portion, and ate it.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Maha-prasada is nondifferent from Krsna. Therefore, instead of eating maha-prasada, one should honor it. It is said here, karila vandana, “he offered prayers.” When taking maha-prasada, one should not consider the food ordinary preparations. Prasada means favor. One should consider maha-prasada a favor of Krsna. As stated by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, krsna bada dayamaya karibare jihva jaya svaprasada-anna dila bhai. Krsna is very kind. In this material world we are all very much attached to tasting various types of food.

Therefore, Krsna eats many nice varieties of food and offers the food back to the devotees, so that not only are one’s demands for various tastes satisfied, but by eating prasada one makes advancement in spiritual life. Therefore, we should never consider ordinary food on an equal level with maha-prasada.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The honoring of maha-prasada is one of the important items of devotional service. Maha-prasada is food that has been offered with love and devotion to the Lord and accepted by the Lord. In the Antya-lila of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu feels great ecstasy honoring maha-prasada and He raises the question amongst His confidential devotees about its nature, that although it appears to be made of the same ingredients as ordinary food such as rice, dal, vegetables, spices, it creates a completely different experience. He explains that the food that has been offered to Lord Jagannatha has been mixed with the nectar of the Lord’s lips. The same nectar that fills the transcendental flute of Krishna and for which the gopis are always hankering—that same nectar from the lips of Krishna permeates maha-prasada. And when we honor maha-prasada with purified senses, we can relish the nectar from Krishna’s lotus mouth.

Although maha-prasada is transcendental, one should honor it as spiritual. As far as possible, one should not lust after maha-prasada. And although it is transcendental, Srila Prabhupada has warned us to maintain a respectful attitude toward it and not accept it on the basis of taste. Sometimes even with Prabhupada’s remnants, maha maha-prasada, the servant would bring the plate out and the senior devotees who were waiting for it would examine it and say, “I want this. I want that. I don’t want that.” It wasn’t a good mentality, and when Prabhupada’s servant mentioned it to him, Prabhupada said, “After I finish honoring prasada, you should take the remnants and mush it all together and then distribute the maha-prasada so the devotees will not be selecting on the basis of their personal taste, but they will just be receiving maha-prasada.”

Once, in Bombay, there a clash between two of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples. One was a cook—actually a very good cook—and would cook for the Deities, and the other was a good manager and good businessman. So, they had some clash, and immediately afterwards each one ran to Srila Prabhupada to give him a version of what happened and to complain about the other. In the end, Prabhupada commented that the problem was that they both were eating too much maha-prasada and that by eating too much rich food, they had become passionate and were fighting.

Sometimes honoring prasada is part of preaching. That’s also a subtle point, because sometimes when we go to people’s homes to accept prasada, we are not completely sure about the consciousness that went into the cooking, or the principles of cleanliness and hygiene and the spiritual rules and regulations that are required to cook for Krishna and offer the food to Krishna. We are not sure. But in India in the early days, Srila Prabhupada said that if the family were Vaishnavas and they offered the food to their family Deity, we should take it as prasada.

When we first came to Bombay, we received so many invitations that Srila Prabhupada made a rule that we would not eat at anyone’s house unless they became a life member. So, during the first Bombay pandal, a big pandal program at Cross Maiden, a very distinguished, aristocratic, pious, cultured Hindu gentleman and philanthropist, K.J. Somaiya, came. Prabhupada would speak at about seven in the morning in Hindi and then in the evening in English. Sri K. J. Somaya would come to the morning lectures, and he invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees to his home to take prasada. So, the devotees informed him of the rule, “You have to become a life member.” And he became a little annoyed. He didn’t think it was proper that we should place such a condition. But Srila Prabhupada was strict in his principle. In certain cases he was responsive to an extent, but he didn’t really care about a big person in the material world—he had his rules and principles, and he stuck to them.

Eventually Sri Somayaji relented and became a life member, and the devotees said that Srila Prabhupada would come to his home for prasada. Srila Prabhupada remarked, “We are making life members simply by eating.”

Another friend from Bombay, Sri Hari Krishna Das Agarwal, invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees to the Vedanta Sammelan in Amritsar. The sammelan was held at a Mayavadi ashram, and there were Mayavadi slogans everywhere: aham brahmasmi, tattvamasi. After the morning program one day, with his disciples in his room, Srila Prabhupada said that the event organizers knew that he didn’t agree with them, but invited him because they knew that if he came with his disciples, more people would attend their program. And that is what happened. The general public who came to the programs weren’t really that interested in hearing dry Mayavadis’ speak nonsense. They really came to see Srila Prabhupada and the devotees and to join in the kirtan. “These Mayavadis will go on speculating for many lifetimes and never come to any conclusion,” Prabhupada said. Just then, Malati dasi brought a plate of maha-prasada from Prabhupada’s small Radha-Krishna Deities. “They will go on speculating for many lifetimes,”—he popped a maha sweet in his mouth—“but we will realize God simply by eating.”

So, the devotees would do kirtan first, and thousands of people would stream into the grounds. And then, when the devotees’ kirtan and their talk was over, the people would leave and there would hardly be anyone left to hear the Mayavadis. The organizers thought to juggle the program and have the devotees perform kirtan later, but when the public figured out what was happening, they started to come late, after the Mayavadis had finished their dry, speculative, and imagined interpretations.

Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=19316#more-19316

Oh born of Moslem parents Haridas!
And trained in youth in Moslem creed
Thy noble heart to Vaishnava truth did pass
Thy holy acts thy candor plead!

Is there a soul that cannot learn from thee
That man must give up sect for God
That thoughts of race and sect can ne’er agree
With what they call Religion broad

Thy love of God and brother soul alone
Bereft thyself of early friends
Thy softer feelings oft to kindness prone
Led on thyself for higher ends!

I weep to read that Kazis and their men
Oft persecuted thee, alas!
But thou didst nobly pray for th’ wicked then!
For thou wert Vaishnava Haridas!

And God is boundless grace to thee, Oh man!
United thee to one who came
To save the fallen souls from Evil’s plan
Of taking human souls to shame

And He it was who led you all that came
For life eternal, holy, pure!
And gave you rest in Heaven’s endearing Name
And sacred blessings ever sure!

Thy body rests upon the sacred sands
Of Svargardvar near the sea,
Oh, hundreds come to thee from distant lands
T’ enjoy a holy, thrilling glee!

The waters roar and storming winds assail
Thy ears in vain, ah, Vaishnava soul!
The charms of Vrindavan thy heart regale,
Unknown the wheel of time doth roll!

He reasons ill who tells that Vaishnavas die
When thou art living still in sound
The Vaishnavas die to live and living try
To spread the holy name around!

Now let the candid man that seeks to live
Follow thy way on shores of time,
Then posterity sure to him will give
Like one song in simple rhyme!

If you visit the town of Puri on the Bay of Bengal, you will find, amid palm trees and small houses, a stone shrine marking the place where the great saint Haridasa Thakura sat alone or with a devotee companion and worshiped Krsna. There he passed almost the whole day and night simply chanting the Hare Krsnamaha-mantra. He softly repeated the sacred syllables hour after hour, keeping count on his prayer beads until, long after sunset, the holy names had crossed his lips no less than three hundred thousand times.

Not far from Haridasa Thakura’s secluded hermitage lived Lord Caitanya and His followers, who loudly chanted the maha-mantra, proclaiming the glories of Krsna. People honored Lord Caitanya as an extraordinary devotee, and a select few knew that He was an incarnation of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that He had come to this world to spread the chanting of the mahamantra. Since Haridasa was fully dedicated to chanting themaha-mantra, Lord Caitanya felt especially affectionate towards him and numbered him among His inner circle. Lord Caitanya and His followers visited Haridasa often.

One day Lord Caitanya’s personal servant Govinda brought Haridasa a present of prasada, vegeterian food first offered to Krsna and then distributed to others. In India devotees of the Lord traditionally share prasada among themselves to express spiritual friendship. Govinda wanted to give Haridasa theprasada, but he saw that Haridasa was lying on his back and chanting Hare Krsna very slowly.

“Please get up and take your prasada”, Govinda said.

“I am fasting today,” said Haridasa .”I have not yet fulfilled my daily vow of chanting three hundred thousand names. How , then, can I eat in good conscience?” After a moment, Haridasa reconsidered. “You have broughtmaha-prasada” he said, “so how can I neglect it?” He then offered prayers and took a little portion.

The next day, Lord Caitanya Himself came to see Haridasa. With great concern He inquired, “Haridasa, are you well?”

Haridasa bowed down to the Lord and replied, “My body is all right, but my mind and intelligence are not well. My disease is that I cannot finish my prescribed amount of chanting.”

Lord Caitanya tried to console Haridasa. “Now that you are old,” He said, “you may reduce your chanting. You have already done more than enough to spread the glories of Krsna’s names in this dark material world.”

But Haridasa remained in a somber mood. He had something else on his mind. “My Lord,” he said, “kindly hear my real plea. I feel in my heart that You will soon end Your pastimes in this world and return to Your spiritual home. Before that time comes, kindly let my poor body fall dead at Your lotus feet. I do not wish to witness Your last days.”

Lord Caitanya answered gravely, “My dear Haridasa, Krsna is so merciful that He must do whatever you want but whatever happiness is Mine is all due to your being present with Me here in Puri, and it is not at all fitting that you go away and leave Me aside.”

Still, Haridasa would not be dissuaded. Catching Lord Caitanya’s feet, he cried, “My Lord, do not create an illusion! You have millions of devotees more useful than me. If an insignificant insect like me dies, what is the loss? Besides, You are always affectionate to Your devotees, and although I am only an imitation devotee, I still hope that You will fulfill my desire.”

Lord Caitanya then embraced Haridasa Thakura, and after agreeing that He would return the next day, He left to perform His noontime duties.

The next day, the Lord returned with all His associates, and upon seeing them Haridasa Thakura bowed down with deep humility. Lord Caitanya inquired, “My dear Haridasa, what is the good news?” Haridasa replied, “My Lord, the good news is whatever mercy You can bestow upon me.”

Upon hearing this. Lord Caitanya began great congregational chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, and all His devotees surrounded Haridasa Thakura and joined the chanting. Then Lord Caitanya began praising Haridasa Thakura for his saintly qualities. The more the Lord praised Haridasa, the more the pleasure the Lord felt. All the devotees were struck with wonder, and they bowed down at Haridasa’s lotus feet.

Then Haridasa asked Lord Caitanya to sit down before him, and he fixed his eyes on the Lord’s moonlike face and placed the Lord’s lotus feet upon his chest. As he chanted the Lord’s name, tears fell from his eyes. Soon he gave up his life his soul passed from his body.

At that very moment, everyone was roaring Krsna’s holy names, and Lord Caitanya became Overwhelmed with spiritual ecstasy and love for His departed devotee. He raised Haridasa’s body and placed it on His lap and then danced in the courtyard in great ecstatic love. All the devotees joined Him in dancing and chanting.

Later, the devotees raised Haridasa’s body onto a carrier and took the carrier on their shoulders toward the sea. All the way there they chanted, and Lord Caitanya danced in front. Upon reaching the shore, Lord Caitanya bathed Haridasa’s body in the waves and declared, “From this day on, this sea is a great pilgrimage site.”

The devotees dug a hole on the beach and placed Haridasa’s body in it. Then Lord Caitanya started covering the body with handfuls of sand and chanting “hari bol! hari bol!” “Chant the holy name of the Lord!” The devotees took up the chanting and threw more sand, and then they constructed a platform to mark the spot. Lord Caitanya danced and chanted all around the platform, and the whole universe became filled with the vibration of Krsna’s names. Afterward, Lord Caitanya and His devotees swam and sported in the sea.

At last Lord Caitanya went to the temple of Jagannatha (“the Lord of the universe” Krsna) to get prasada from all the shopkeepers near the main gate.

“I am begging prasada for a festival to celebrate the passing of Haridasa Thakura,” the Lord said. “Please give Me alms.”

Greatly pleased with the Lord’s request, all the shopkeepers came forward with big baskets of prasada. But just then Svarupa Damodara, one of the Lord’s chief devotees, stopped the shopkeepers, and after they returned to their shops, he and other devotees went around to the shops, gathered all theprasada, and found servants to carry it to Lord Caitanya’s residence.

There, after asking all the devotees to sit in rows, Lord Caitanya personally started distributing the prasada. Since Lord Caitanya was not accustomed to eating small amounts of prasada, He put enough on each plate for at least five men. After some time, the devotees begged the Lord, “Please sit down and watch we shall distribute the prasada.”

When the prasada was served, all the devotees waited for Lord Caitanya to start eating, and then they themselves started. Before long, everyone was filled to the neck, because the Lord kept telling the servers, “Give them more! Give them more!”

After all the devotees finished their prasada, Lord Caitanya garlanded them with flowers. Then the Lord gladly informed the devotees, “Anyone who has seen the festival of Haridasa Thakura’s passing, anyone who has chanted and danced here, anyone who has thrown sand over Haridasa’s body, and anyone who has partaken of the prasada will very soon achieve Krsna’s favor.”

The Lord praised Haridasa Thakura. “Being merciful upon Me, Krsna gave Me the company of Haridasa Thakura. but now He has separated us. When Haridasa wanted to leave this world, I could not stop him he simply gave up his life and went away. And now, without him, this world has lost its most valuable jewel.”

Lord Caitanya then ordered everyone: “Say ‘All glories to Haridasa Thakura!’ and chant the holy name of Krsna.” After saying this He began to dance, and everyone chanted and danced with Him. Finally, Lord Caitanya bade all the devotees farewell, and then with mixed feelings of happiness and distress He rested.

Surely Lord Caitanya and His associates lamented the passing of Haridasa but they also knew that he had gone back to Krsna in the spiritual world and for that reason they rejoiced.

Near Puri, in a grove by the seashore there still stands a small, grayish temple of Krsna, the Tota Gopinatha temple. II you were to walk from this temple to the sea, along the way you would find the samadhi (tomb) of Haridasa Thakura There the devotees hold a yearly festival to honor his passing.

On a wall of the samadhi, a marble plaque bears a verse by the great devotee Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838-1914). It explains how Lord Caitanya and His devotees were able to rejoice at the passing of a great Vaisnava, a great devotee of the Lord:

He reasons ill who tells that Vaisnavas die,
when thou art living still in sound.
The Vaisnavas die to live, and living try
to spread the holy name around.

The history of Haridasa Thakura’s passing is more fully described in Sri Caitanya caritamrta, translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20084

Sri Haridas Thakur is an eternally liberated associate of the Lord. The associates of the Lord are worship-able wherever they make their appearance.

Just as Garuda appeared as a bird, and Hanuman as a monkey, Haridas Thakur appeared in a family of Yavanas. From his very birth he was very deeply devoted to the Holy Names of Sri Krsna and later became known as “Nama Acarya.”

When Lord Caitanya went to Jagannatha Puri, Haridas also went and took up residence there. Everyday, after attending Lord Jagannatha’s mangal aroti, Lord Caitanya would come to see Haridas Thakura and would bring him some of Lord Jagannatha’s prasadam.

He left this world in the midst of ecstatic kirtan while clasping the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and looking upon the Lord’s beautiful smiling face.

Source: https://www.ramaiswami.com/haridas-thakura-disappearance-2/

By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu met Haridasa Thakura as usual, and in the course of discussion He inquired as follows.’My dear Thakura Haridasa, in this age of Kali most people are bereft of Vedic culture, and therefore they are called yavanas. They are concerned only with killing cows and brahminical culture. In this way they all engage in sinful acts. How will these yavanas be delivered? To My great unhappiness, I do not see any way. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (03-22-06)

From this statement by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu we can clearly understand that the word yavana does not refer only to a particular class of men. Anyone who is against the behavior of the Vedic principles is called a yavana. Such a yavana may be in India or outside of India. As described here, the symptom of yavanas is that they are violent killers of cows and brahminical culture. We offer our prayers to the Lord by saying, namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca. The Lord is the maintainer of brahminical culture. His first concern is to see to the benefit of cows and brahmanas. As soon as human civilization turns against brahminical culture and allows unrestricted killing of cows, we should understand that men are no longer under the control of the Vedic culture but are all yavanas and mlecchas. It is said that the Krsna consciousness movement will be prominent within the next ten thousand years, but after that people will all become mlecchas and yavanas. Thus at the end of the yuga, Krsna will appear as the Kalki avatara and kill them without consideration.

This verse reveals the significance of Lord Sri Caitanya’s appearance as patita-pavana, the deliverer of all the fallen souls. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura sings, patita-pavana-hetu tava avatara: “O my Lord, You have appeared just to deliver all the fallen souls.” mo-sama patita prabhu na paibe ara: “And among all the fallen souls, I am the lowest.” How Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was always thinking about the deliverance of the fallen souls is shown by the statement e duhkha apara (”It is My great unhappiness”). This statement indicates that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the Supreme personality of Godhead Krsna Himself, is always very unhappy to see the fallen souls in the material world. Therefore He Himself comes as He is, or He comes as a devotee in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, to deliver love of Krsna directly to the fallen souls. Namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so merciful that He not only gives knowledge of Krsna but by His practical activities teaches everyone how to love Krsna (krsna-prema-pradaya te).

Those who are following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu should take the Lord’s mission most seriously. In this age of Kali, people are gradually becoming less than animals. Nevertheless, although they are eating the flesh of cows and are envious of brahminical culture, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is considering how to deliver them from this horrible condition of life. Thus He asks all Indians to take up His mission.

bharata-bhumite haila manusya-janma yara
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara

“One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bharata-varsa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.” (Cc. Adi-lila 9.41) it is therefore the duty of every advanced and cultured Indian to take this cause very seriously. All Indians should help the Krsna consciousness movement in its progress, to the best of their ability. Then they will be considered real followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Unfortunately, even some so-called Vaisnavas enviously refuse to cooperate with this movement but instead condemn it in so many ways. We are very sorry to say that these people try to find fault with us, being unnecessarily envious of our activities, although we are trying to the best of our ability to introduce the Krsna consciousness movement directly into the countries of the yavanas and mlecchas. Such yavanas and mlecchas are coming to us and becoming purified Vaisnavas who follow in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One who identifies himself as a follower of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu should feel like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who said, iha-sabara kon mate ha-ibe nistara: “How will all these yavanas be delivered?” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was always anxious to deliver the fallen souls because their fallen condition gave Him great unhappiness. That is the platform on which one can propagate the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Haridasa Thakura replied, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety. Do not be unhappy to see the condition of the yavanas in material existence.

These words of Haridasa Thakura are just befitting a devotee who has dedicated his life and soul to the service of the Lord. When the Lord is unhappy because of the condition of the fallen souls, the devotee consoles Him, saying, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety.” This is service. Everyone should adopt the cause of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to try to relieve Him from the anxiety He feels. This is actually service to the Lord. One who tries to relieve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s anxiety for the fallen souls is certainly a most dear and confidential devotee of the Lord. To blaspheme such a devotee who is trying his best to spread the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the greatest offense. One who does so is simply awaiting punishment for his envy.

“Because the yavanas are accustomed to saying, ‘ha rama, ha rama’ [O Lord Ramacandra], they will very easily be delivered by this namabhasa.

“A devotee in advanced ecstatic love exclaims, ‘O my Lord Ramacandra! O my Lord Ramacandra!’ But the yavanas also chant, ‘ha rama, ha rama!’ Just see their good fortune!”

If a child touches fire, the fire will burn him, and if an elderly man touches fire, it will burn him also. Haridasa Thakura says that a great devotee of the Lord exclaims, “ha rama, ha rama,” but although yavanas do not know the transcendental meaning of “ha rama, ha rama,” they say those words in the course of their ordinary life. For the yavanas the words “ha rama” mean “abominable,” whereas the devotee exclaims the words “ha rama” in ecstatic love. Nevertheless, because the words “ha rama” are the spiritual summum bonum, the fact is the same, whether they are uttered by yavanas or by great devotees, just as fire is the same both for a child and for an elderly man. In other words, the holy name of the Lord, “ha rama,” always acts, even when the holy names are chanted without reference to the Supreme Lord. Yavanas utter the holy name in a different attitude than devotees, but the holy name “ha rama” is so powerful spiritually that it acts anywhere, whether one knows it or not. This is explained as follows.

Namacarya Haridasa Thakura, the authority on the chanting of the holy name, said, “The chanting of the Lord’s holy name to indicate something other than the Lord is an instance of namabhasa. Even when the holy name is chanted in this way, its transcendental power is not destroyed.

“Even a mleccha who is being killed by the tusk of a boar and who cries in distress again and again, “ha rama, ha rama” attains liberation. What then to speak of those who chant the holy name with veneration and faith?”

This refers to an instance in which a meat-eater being killed by a boar uttered the words “ha rama, ha rama”again and again at the time of his death. Since this is a quotation from the Nrsimha Purana, this indicates that in the puranic age there must also have been mlecchas and yavanas (meateaters), and the words “ha rama,, meaning “condemned,” were also uttered in those days. Thus Haridasa Thakura gives evidence that even a meat-eater who condemns something by uttering the words “ha rama” gets the benefit of chanting the holy name that the devotee chants to mean “O my Lord Rama.”

“Ajamila was a great sinner during his life, but at the time of death he accidentally called for his youngest son, whose name was Narayana, and the attendants of Lord Visnu came to relieve him from the bonds of Yamaraja, the superintendent of death.

“The word ‘rama’ consists of the two syllables, ‘ra’ and ‘ma.’ These are unseparated and are decorated with the loving word ‘ha,’ meaning ‘O.’

“The letters of the holy name have so much spiritual potency that they act even when uttered improperly.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura states that the word vyavahita (”improperly uttered”) is not used here to refer to the mundane vibration of the letters of the alphabet. Such negligent utterance for the sense gratification of materialistic persons is not a vibration of transcendental sound. Utterance of the holy name while one engages in sense gratification is an impediment on the path toward achieving ecstatic love for Krsna. On the other hand, if one who is eager for devotional service utters the holy name even partially or improperly, the holy name, who is identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, exhibits its spiritual potency because of that person’s offenseless utterance. Thus one is relieved from all unwanted practices, and one gradually awakens his dormant love for Krsna.

“If a devotee once utters the holy name of the Lord, or if it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural reception, that holy name will certainly deliver him from material bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or incorrect grammar, and properly joined or vibrated in separate parts. O brahmana, the potency of the holy name is therefore certainly great. However, if one uses the vibration of the holy name for the benefit of the material body, for material wealth and followers, or under the influence of greed or atheism–in other words, if one utters the name with offenses–such chanting will not produce the desired result very soon. Therefore one should diligently avoid offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord.’ ”

This verse from the Padma Purana is included in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (11.527) by Sanatana Gosvami. Therein Srila Sanatana Gosvami gives the following explanation:

vaci gatam prasangad van-madhye pravrttam api, smarana-patha-gatam kathancin manah-sprstam api, srotra-mulam gatam kincit srutam api; suddha-varnam va asuddha-varnam api va; ‘vyavahitam’ sabdantarena yad-vyavadhanam vaksyamana-narayana-sabdasya kincid uccarananantaram prasangad apatitam sabdantaram tena rahitam sat.

This means that if one somehow or other hears, utters or remembers the holy name, or if it catches his mind while coming near his ears, that holy name, even if vibrated in separate words, will act. An example of such separation is given as follows:

yadva, yadyapi ‘halam riktam’ ity ady-uktau hakara-rikarayor vrttya hariti-namasty eva, tatha ‘raja-mahisi’ ity atra rama-namapi, evam anyad apy uhyam, tathapi tat-tan-nama-madhye vyavadhayakam aksarantaram astity etadrsa-vyavadhana-rahitam ity arthah; yadva, vyavahitam ca tad-rahitam capi va; tatra ‘vyavahitam’—-namnah kincid uccarananantaram kathancid apatitam sabdantaram samadhaya pascan namavasistaksara-grahanam ity evam rupam, madhye sabdantarenantaritam ity arthah, ‘rahitam’ pascad avasistaksara-grahana-varjitam, kenacid amsena hinam ity arthah, tathapi tarayaty eva.

Suppose one is using the two words “halam riktam.” Now the syllable ha in the word “halam” and the syllable ri in “riktam” are separately pronounced, but nevertheless it will act because one somehow or other utters the word “hari.” Similarly, in the word “raja-mahisi,” the syllables ra and ma appear in two separate words, but because they somehow or other appear together, the holy name rama will act, provided there are no offenses.

sarvebhyah papebhyo ‘paradhebhyas ca samsarad apy uddharayaty eveti satyam eva; kintu nama-sevanasya mukhyam yat phalam, tan na sadyah sampadyate. tatha deha-bharanady-artham api nama-sevanena mukhyam phalam asu na sidhyatity aha—-tac ced iti.

The holy name has so much spiritual potency that it can deliver one from all sinful reactions and material entanglements, but utterance of the holy name will not be very soon fruitful if done to facilitate sinning.

tan nama ced yadi dehadi-madhye niksiptam—-deha-bharanady-artham eva vinyastam, tadapi phala-janakam na bhavati kim? api tu bhavaty eva, kintu atra iha loke sighram na bhavati, kintu vilambenaiva bhavatity arthah.

The holy name is so powerful that it must act, but when one utters the holy name with offenses, its action will be delayed, not immediate, although in favorable circumstances the holy names of the Lord act very quickly.

Namacarya Haridasa Thakura continued, “If one offenselessly utters the holy name even imperfectly, one can be freed from all the results of sinful life.

“O reservoir of all good qualities, just worship Sri Krsna, the purifier of all purifiers, the most exalted of the personalities worshiped by choice poetry. Worship Him with a faithful, unflinching mind, without duplicity and in a highly elevated manner. Thus worship the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for just as a slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Krsna can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives.”

This verse is found in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (2.1.103).

“Even a faint light from the holy name of the Lord can eradicate all the reactions of sinful life.”

“While dying, Ajamila chanted the holy name of the Lord, intending to call his son Narayana. Nevertheless, he attained the spiritual world. What then to speak of those who chant the holy name with faith and reverence?’

This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.2.49);

“Because of even the faintest rays of the effulgence of the Lord’s holy name, one ca attain liberation. We can see this in all the revealed scriptures. The evidence appears in the story of Ajamila in Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

As Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard this from Haridasa Thakura, the happiness within His heart increased, but as a matter of course, He still inquired further.

“On this earth there are many living entities,” the Lord said, “some moving and some not moving. What will happen to the trees, plants, insects and other living entities? How will they be delivered from material bondage?”

Haridasa Thakura replied, “My dear Lord, the deliverance of all moving and nonmoving living entities takes place only by Your mercy. You have already grated this mercy and delivered them.

“You have loudly chanted the Hare Krsna mantra, and everyone, moving or not moving, has benefited by hearing it.

“My Lord, the moving entities who have heard Your loud sankirtana have already been delivered from bondage to the material world, and after the nonmoving living entities like trees hear it, there is an echo.

“Actually, however, it is not an echo; it is the kirtana of the nonmoving living entities. All this, although inconceivable, is possible by Your mercy.

“When loud chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is performed all over the world by those who follow in Your footsteps, all living entities, moving and nonmoving, dance in ecstatic devotional love.

“My dear Lord, all the incidents that took place while You were going to Vrndavana through the forest known as Jharikhanda have been related to me by Your servant Balabhadra Bhattacarya.

“When Your devotee Vasudeva Datta submitted his plea at Your lotus feet for the deliverance of all living entities, You accepted that request.

“My dear Lord, You have accepted the form of a devotee just to deliver all the fallen souls of this world.

“You have preached the loud chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and in this way freed all moving and nonmoving living entities from material bondage.”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, “If all living entities were liberated, the entire universe would be devoid of living beings.”

Haridasa said, “My Lord, as long as You are situated within the material world, You will send to the spiritual sky all the developed moving and nonmoving living entities in different species. Then again You will awaken the living entities who are not yet developed and engage them in activities.

“In this way all moving and nonmoving living entities will come into existence, and the entire universe will be filled as it was previously.

While we are preaching, opposing elements sometimes argue, “If all living entities were delivered by the Krsna consciousness movement, what would happen then? The universe would be devoid of living entities.” In answer to this, we may say that in a prison there are many prisoners, but if one thinks that the prison would be empty if all the prisoners adopted good behavior, he is incorrect. Even if all the prisoners within a jail are freed, other criminals will fill it again. A prison will never be vacant, for there are many prospective criminals who will fill the prison cells, even if the present criminals are freed by the government. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, karanam guna-sango ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu: “Because of the living entity’s association with material nature, he meets with good and evil among various species.” (Bg. 13.22) There are many unmanifested living entities covered by the mode of ignorance who will gradually come to the mode of passion. Most of them will become criminals because of their fruitive activities and again fill the prisons.

“Previously, when Lord Ramacandra left this world, He took with Him all the living entities of Ayodhya. Then He filled Ayodhya again with other living entities.

“My dear Lord, You have set a plan in motion by descending on the material world, but no one can understand how You are acting.

“Formerly, when Lord Krsna descended in Vrndavana, He freed all living entities in the universe from material existence in the same way.

“Krsna, the unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead, master of all of the masters of mystic power, delivers all living entities, moving and nonmoving. Nothing is astonishing in the activities of the Lord.’

This is a quotation from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.29.16).

“Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead may be seen, glorified or remembered with an attitude of envy, He nevertheless awards the most confidential liberation, which is rarely achieved by the demigods and demons. What, then, can be said of those who are already fully engaged in devotional service to the Lord?’

This is a quotation from the Visnu Purana (4.15.17).

“By descending as an incarnation at Navadvipa, You, just like Krsna, have already delivered all the living entities of the universe.

“One may say that he understands the glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He may know whatever he may know, but as far as I am concerned, this is my conclusion.

“My dear Lord, Your pastimes are just like an ocean of nectar. It is not possible for me to conceive how great that ocean is or even to understand a drop of it.”

Hearing all this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was astonished. “These are actually My confidential pastimes,” He thought. “How could Haridasa have understood them?”

Greatly satisfied by the statements of Haridasa Thakura, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced him. Outwardly, however, He avoided further discussions of these matters.

This is a characteristic of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although He wants to cover His opulence, He cannot do so before His devotees. This is well-known everywhere.

“O my Lord, everything within material nature is limited by time, space and thought. Your characteristics, however, being unequaled and unsurpassed, are always transcendental to such limitations. You sometimes cover such characteristics by Your own energy, but nevertheless Your unalloyed devotees are always able to see You under all circumstances.”

This is a verse from the Stotra-ratna of Yamunacarya;

Then Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to His personal devotees and began speaking about Haridasa Thakura’s transcendental qualities as if He had hundreds of mouths.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu derives great pleasure from glorifying His devotees, and among the devotees, Haridasa Thakura is the foremost.

The transcendental qualities of Haridasa Thakura are innumerable and unfathomable. One may describe a portion of them, but to count them all is impossible.

In Caitanya-mangala, Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has described the attributes of Haridasa Thakura to some extent.

No one can describe all the qualities of Haridasa Thakura. One may say something about them just to purify himself. O devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, please hear something about the qualities of Haridasa Thakura.

Haridasa Thakura went to Santipura, the home of Advaita Acarya. Upon meeting Advaita Acarya, Haridasa Thakura offered Him respect and obeisances. Advaita Acarya embraced him and showed respect to him in return.

On the bank of the Ganges, in a solitary place, Advaita Acarya made a cavelike home for Haridasa Thakura and spoke to him about the real meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita in terms of devotional service.

Haridasa Thakura accepted food daily at the house of Advaita Acarya. Meeting together, the two of them would taste the nectar of discourses on the subject matter of Krsna.

Haridasa Thakura said, “My dear Advaita Acarya, let me submit something before Your Honor. Every day You give me alms of food to eat. What is the necessity of this?

“Sir, You are living within a society of great, great brahmanas and aristocrats, but without fear or shame You adore a lower-class man like me.

“My dear sir, Your behavior is uncommon. Indeed, sometimes I am afraid to speak to You. But please favor me by protecting me from the behavior of society.”

While Haridasa Thakura was staying under the care of Advaita Acarya, he was afraid of the behavior of society in Santipura, Navadvipa, which was full of exceedingly aristocratic brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas. Haridasa Thakura was born in a Mohammedan family and was later recognized as a great Vaisnava, but nevertheless the brahmanas were very critical of him. Thus Haridasa Thakura was afraid that Advaita Acarya would be put into some difficulty because of His familiarity with Haridasa Thakura. Sri Advaita Acarya treated Haridasa Thakura as a most elevated Vaisnava, but others, like Ramacandra Khan, were envious of Haridasa Thakura. Of course, we have to follow in the footsteps of Advaita Acarya, not caring for people like Ramacandra Khan. At present, many Vaisnavas are coming to our Krsna consciousness movement from among the Europeans and Americans, and although a man like Ramacandra Khan is always envious of such Vaisnavas, one should follow in the footsteps of Sri Advaita Acarya by treating all of them as Vaisnavas. Although they are not as exalted as Haridasa Thakura, such Americans and Europeans, having accepted the principles of Vaisnava philosophy and behavior, should never be excluded from Vaisnava society.

Advaita Acarya replied, “My dear Haridasa, do not be afraid. I shall behave strictly according to the principles of the revealed scriptures.

Srila Advaita Acarya was not afraid of the strict brahminical culture and customs of society. As stated in the sastric injunctions, which are the true medium of evidence or proof, anyone can go back to Godhead, even if born of a low family. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita:

mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye ‘pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te ‘pi yanti param gatim

“O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth–women, vaisyas [merchants], as well as sudras [workers]–can approach the supreme destination.” (Bg. 9.32) Though having taken a low birth in human society, one who accepts Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is quite competent to go back home, back to Godhead; and one who is a bona fide candidate for going back to Godhead should not be considered lowborn, or candala. That is also a sastric injunction. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.4.18):

kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa
abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah
ye ‘nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah
sudhyanti tasmai prabhavisnave namah

Not only the yavanas and khasadayah but even those born in still lower families can be purified (sudhyanti) by the grace of a devotee of Lord Krsna, for Krsna empowers such devotees to perform this purification. Advaita Acarya had confidence in the sastric evidence and did not care about social customs. The Krsna consciousness movement, therefore, is a cultural movement that does not care about local social conventions. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Advaita Acarya, we can accept a devotee from any part of the world and recognize him as a brahmana as soon as he is qualified due to following the principles of Vaisnava behavior.

“Feeding you is equal to feeding ten million brahmanas,” Advaita Acarya said. “Therefore, accept this sraddha-patra.” Thus Advaita Acarya made him eat.

Sraddha is prasada offered to the forefathers at a certain date of the year or month. The sraddha-patra, or plate offered to the forefathers, is then offered to the best of the brahmanas in society. instead of offering the sraddha-patra to any other brahmana, Advaita Acarya offered it to Haridasa Thakura, considering him greater than any of the foremost brahmanas. This act by Sri Advaita Acarya proves that Haridasa Thakura was always situated in a transcendental position and was therefore always greater than even the most exalted brahmana, for he was situated above the mode of goodness of the material world. Referring to the Bhakti-sandarbha, verse 177, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura quotes the following statements from the Garuda Purana in this connection:

brahmananam sahasrebhyah
satra-yaji visisyate
satra-yaji-sahasrebhyah
sarva-vedanta-paragah

sarva-vedanta-vit-kotya
visnu-bhakto visisyate
vaisnavanam sahasrebhya
ekanty eko visisyate

“A brahmana qualified to offer sacrifices is better than an ordinary brahmana and better than such a brahmana is one who has studied all the Vedic scriptures. Among many such brahmanas, one who is a devotee of Lord Visnu is the best; and among many such Vaisnavas, one who fully engages in the service of the Lord is the best.”

bhaktir asta-vidha hy esa
yasmin mlecche ‘pi vartate
sa viprendro muni-sresthah
sa jnani sa ca panditah
tasmai deyam tato grahyam
sa ca pujyo yatha harih

“There are many different kinds of devotees, but even a Vaisnava coming from a family of mlecchas or yavanas is understood to be a learned scholar, complete in knowledge, if he knows the Vaisnava philosophy. He should therefore be given charity, for such a Vaisnava is as worshipable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

na me ‘bhaktas catur-vedi
mad-bhaktah sva-pacah priyah
tasmai deyam tato grahyam
sa ca pujyo yatha hy aham

Lord Krsna says, “Even if a nondevotee comes from a brahmana family and is expert in studying the Vedas, he is not very dear to Me, whereas even if a sincere devotee comes from a low family of meat-eaters, he is very dear to Me. Such a sincere pure devotee should be given charity, for he is as worshipable as I.”

Advaita Acarya was always absorbed in thoughts of how to deliver the fallen souls of the entire world. “The entire world is full of nondevotees,” He thought. “How will they be delivered?”

Srila Advaita Acarya sets the standard for acaryas in the Vaisnava sampradaya. An acarya must always be eager to deliver the fallen souls. A person who establishes a temple or matha to take advantage of people’s sentiments by using for his livelihood what people contribute for the worship of the Deity cannot be called a gosvami or acarya. One who knows the conclusion of the sastras, follows in the footsteps of his predecessors and endeavors to preach the bhakti cult all over the world is to be considered an acarya. The role of an acarya is not to earn his livelihood through the income of the temple. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say that if one earns his livelihood by displaying the Deity in the temple, he is not an acarya or gosvami. it would be better for him to accept service even as a sweeper in the street, for that is a more honorable means of earning one’s living.

Determined to deliver all the fallen souls, Advaita Acarya decided to cause Krsna to descend. With this vow, he began to offer Ganges water and tulasi leaves to worship the Lord.

Similarly, Haridasa Thakura chanted in his cave on the bank of the Ganges with the intention to cause Krsna’s descent.

Because of the devotional service of these two persons, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended as an incarnation. Thus He preached the holy name of the Lord and ecstatic love of Krsna to deliver the entire world.

There is another incident concerning Haridasa Thakura’s uncommon behavior. One will be astonished to hear about it.

Hear about such incidents without putting forth dry arguments, for these incidents are beyond our material reasoning. One must believe in them with faith.

One day Haridasa Thakura was sitting in his cave, reciting very loudly the holy name of the Lord.

The night was full of moonlight, which made the waves of the Ganges look dazzling. All directions were clear and bright.

Thus everyone who saw the beauty of the cave, with the tulasi plant on a clean altar, was astonished and satisfied at heart.

At that time, in that beautiful scene, a woman appeared in the courtyard. The beauty of her body was so bright that it tinged the entire place with a hue of yellow.

The scent of her body perfumed all directions, and the tinkling of her ornaments startled the ear.

After coming there, the woman offered obeisances to the tulasi plant, and after circumambulating the tulasi plant she came to the door of the cave where Haridasa Thakura was sitting.

With folded hands she offered obeisances at the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura. Sitting at the door, she then spoke in a very sweet voice.

“My dear friend,” she said, “you are the friend of the entire world. You are so beautiful and qualified. I have come here only for union with you.

“My dear sir, kindly accept me and be merciful toward me, for it is a characteristic of all saintly persons to be kind toward the poor and fallen.”

After saying this, she began to manifest various postures, which even the greatest philosopher would lose his patience upon seeing.

Haridasa Thakura was immovable, for he was deeply determined. He began to speak to her, being very merciful toward her.

“I have been initiated into a vow to perform a great sacrifice by chanting the holy name a certain number of times every day.

“As long as the vow to chant is unfulfilled, I do not desire anything else. When I finish my chanting, then I have an opportunity to do anything.

“Sit down at the door and hear the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. As soon as the chanting is finished, I shall satisfy you as you desire.”

After saying this, Haridasa Thakura continued to chant the holy name of the Lord. Thus the woman sitting before him began to hear the chanting of the holy name.

In this way, as he chanted and chanted, the morning approached, and when the woman saw that it was morning, she got up and left.

For three days she approached Haridasa Thakura in this way, exhibiting various feminine postures that would bewilder the mind of even Lord Brahma.

Haridasa Thakura was always absorbed in thoughts of Krsna and the holy name of Krsna. Therefore the feminine poses the woman exhibited were just like crying in the forest.

At the end of the night of the third day, the woman spoke to Haridasa Thakura as follows.

“My dear sir, for three days you have cheated me by giving me false assurances, for I see that throughout the entire day and night your chanting of the holy name is never finished.”

Haridasa Thakura said, “My dear friend, what ca I do? I have made a vow. How, then, can I give it up?”

After offering obeisances to Haridasa Thakura, the woman said: “I am the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I came here to test you.

In Bhagavad-gita (7.14) Lord Krsna says:

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

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” This was actually proved by the behavior of Haridasa Thakura. Maya enchants the entire world. Indeed, people have forgotten the ultimate goal of life because of the dazzling attractions of the material world. But this dazzling attraction, especially the attractive beauty of a woman, is meant for persons who are not surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te: “One who is surrendered unto Me cannot be conquered by the illusory energy.” The illusory energy personally came to test Haridasa Thakura, but herein she admits her defeat, for she was unable to captivate him. How is this possible? it was because Haridasa Thakura, fully surrendered to the lotus feet of Krsna, was always absorbed in thoughts of Krsna by chanting the holy names of the Lord 300,000 times daily as a vow.

“I have previously captivated the mind of even Brahma, not to speak of others. Your mind alone have I failed to attract.

Beginning from Lord Brahma down to the insignificant ant, everyone, without exception, is attracted by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The demigods, human beings, animals, birds, beasts, trees and plants are all attracted by sexual desire. That is the illusion of maya. Everyone, whether man or woman, thinks that he is the enjoyer of the illusory energy. In this way, everyone is captivated and engaged in material activities. However, because Haridasa Thakura was always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and was always busy satisfying the senses of the Lord, this process alone saved him from the captivation of maya. This is practical proof of the strength of devotional service. Because of his full engagement in the service of the Lord, he could not be induced to enjoy maya. The verdict of the sastras is that a pure Vaisnava, or devotee of the Lord, never thinks of enjoying the material world, which culminates in sex life. He never thinks himself an enjoyer; instead, he always wants to be enjoyed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the conclusion is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternal, transcendental, beyond the perception of sense gratification and beyond the material qualities. Only if a living entity gives up the false conception that the body is the self and always thinks himself an eternal servant of Krsna and the Vaisnavas can he surpass the influence of maya (mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te). A pure living entity who thus attains the stage of anartha-nivrtti, cessation of everything unwanted, has nothing to enjoy in the material world. One attains this stage only by properly performing the functions of devotional service. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written:

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-
sango ‘tha bhajana-kriya
tato ‘nartha-nivrttih syat
tato nistha rucis tatah

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage, one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes freed from all material attachments, attains steadiness in self-realization and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.4.15) If one is actually executing devotional service, then anarthas, the unwanted things associated with material enjoyment, will automatically disappear.

“My dear sir, you are the foremost devotee. Simply seeing you and hearing you chant the holy name of Krsna has purified my consciousness. Now I want to chant the holy name of the Lord. Please be kind to me by instructing me about the ecstasy of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

“There is now a flood of the eternal nectar of love of Godhead due to the incarnation of Lord Caitanya, All living entities are floating in that flood. The entire world is now thankful to the Lord.

“Anyone who does not float in this inundation is most condemned. Such a person cannot be delivered for millions of kalpas.

The kalpa is explained in Bhagavad-gita. Sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmano viduh. One day of Brahma is called a kalpa. A yuga, or maha-yuga, consists of 4,320,000 years, and one thousand such maha-yugas constitute one kalpa. The author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta says that if one does not take advantage of the Krsna consciousness movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he cannot be delivered for millions of such kalpas.

“Formerly I received the holy name of Lord Rama from Lord Siva, but now, due to your association, I am greatly eager to chant the holy name of Lord Krsna.

“The holy name of Lord Rama certainly gives liberation, but the holy name of Krsna transports one to the other side of the ocean of nescience and at last gives one ecstatic love of Krsna.

In an indirect way, this verse explains the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. The Hare Krsna maha-mantra–Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare–includes both the holy name of Lord Krsna and the name of Lord Rama. Lord Rama gives one the opportunity to be liberated, but simply by liberation one does not get actual spiritual benefit. Sometimes if one is liberated from the material world but has no shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna, one falls down to the material world again. Liberation is like a state of convalescence, in which one is free from a fever but is still not healthy. Even in the stage of convalescence, if one is not very careful, one may have a relapse. Similarly, liberation does not offer as much security as the shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna. It is stated in the sastra:

ye ‘nye ‘ravindaksa vimukta-maninas
tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah
aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
patanty adho ‘nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah

“O Lord, the intelligence of those who think themselves liberated but who have no devotion is impure. Even though they rise to the highest point of liberation by dint of severe penances and austerities, they are sure to fall down again into material existence, for they do not take shelter at Your lotus feet.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.32) Yusmad-anghrayah refers to the lotus feet of Krsna. If one does not take shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet, he falls down (patanty adhah), even from liberation. The Hare Krsna maha-mantra, however, gives liberation and at the same time offers shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna. If one takes shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna after liberation, he develops his dormant ecstatic love for Krsna. That is the highest perfection of life.

“Please give me the holy name of Krsna and thus make me fortunate, so that I also may float in the flood of love of Godhead inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

After speaking in this way, Maya worshiped the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura, who initiated her by saying,”Just perform chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.”

Now even Maya wanted to be favored by Haridasa Thakura. Therefore Haridasa Thakura formally initiated her by asking her to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

After thus being instructed by Haridasa Thakura, Maya left with great pleasure. Unfortunately, some people have no faith in these narrations.

Therefore I shall explain the reasons why people should have faith. Everyone who hears this will be faithful.

During the incarnation of Lord Caitanya to inaugurate the Krsna consciousness movement, even such personalities as Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the four Kumaras took birth upon this earth, being allured by ecstatic love of Lord Krsna.

All of them, including the great sage Narada and devotees like Prahlada, came here as if human beings, chanting the holy names of Lord Krsna together and dancing and floating in the inundation of love of Godhead.

The goddess of fortune and others, allured by love of Krsna, also came down in the form of human beings and tasted the holy name of the Lord in love.

What to speak of others, even Krsna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, personally descends to taste the nectar of love of Godhead in the form of the chanting of Hare Krsna.

What is the wonder if the maidservant of Krsna, His external energy, begs for love of Godhead? Without the mercy of a devotee and without the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, love of Godhead cannot be possible.

In the activities of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the three worlds dance and chant, having come in touch with love of Godhead. This is the characteristic of His pastimes.

The holy name of Krsna is so attractive that anyone who chants it–including all living entities, moving and nonmoving, and even Lord Krsna Himself–becomes imbued with love of Krsna. This is the effect of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

I have heard from the mouth of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami all that Svarupa Damodara Gosvami recorded in his notes about the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

I have briefly described those pastimes. Whatever I have written is by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, since I am an insignificant living being.

I have described but a fragment of the glories of Haridasa Thakura, Hearing this satisfies the aural reception of every devotee.

Praying at the lotus feet of Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunatha, always desiring their mercy, I, Krsnadasa, narrate Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, following in their footsteps.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Third Chapter, describing the glories of Srila Haridasa Thakura.

Today marks the anniversary of the birth—the appearance—of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “the pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness.” To honor the occasion, I would like to share a short piece I wrote about Srila Bhaktivinoda and Srila Prabhupada. We pray for their continued guidance and mercy.

“Dedicated to the sacred service of Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who initiated the teachings of Lord Chaitanya in the Western world (McGill University, Canada) in 1896, the year of my birth.” These words are Srila Prabhupada’s dedication to Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, the first book he published after coming to America. They also apply to Prabhupada’s life, which was dedicated to the sacred service of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and his own spiritual master—Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s son—Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

Srila Prabhupada furthered many of Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s projects: engaging householders in local preaching initiatives (nama-hatta); establishing the principle that Vaishnavas, even those not born brahmans, are greater than brahmans (and are brahmans too); translating, explaining, and publishing important Vaishnava scriptures for the understanding of the contemporary audience; implementing the vision of a wonderful temple and spiritual city in Mayapur; and, perhaps most significant, fulfilling the desire and prediction that the holy names and teachings of Sri Krishna Chaitanya—Krishna consciousness—be propagated all over the world.

In 1885, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote, “Lord Chaitanya did not advent Himself to liberate only a few men in India. Rather, His main objective was to emancipate all living entities of all countries throughout the entire universe and preach the eternal dharma. Lord Chaitanya states in Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, ‘In every town, country, and village My name will be sung.’ There is no doubt that this unquestionable order will come to pass. . . . Although there is still no pure society of Vaishnavas, Lord Chaitanya’s prophetic words will in a few days come true . . .

“Very soon the unparalleled path of hari-nama-sankirtana will be propagated all over the world. . . . Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German, and American people will take up banners, mridangas, and karatlas and raise kirtan through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the Western fair-skinned men, from one side, while chanting ‘Jaya Sacinandana ki jaya!’ will extend their arms and, embracing the devotees of our country coming from another side, treat us with brotherly feelings. When will that day be?”

In the caption to Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s photo in Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Srila Prabhupada described him as “the pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness,” and he saw himself as the Thakura’s humble servant in that effort, fully dependent on his mercy.

In a conversation in Mayapur in March 1974, Srila Prabhupada, hearing a kirtan party in the background, commented that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had desired that “Europeans and Americans will come, and they will dance here with the chanting, ‘Jaya Sacinandana, Jaya Sacinandana!’ So, that is being done. . . . When they chant and dance, I simply remember Bhaktivinoda Thakura. That’s all. I pray to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, ‘Now they have come to your shelter. Give them protection.’ That’s all. What can I do more? I cannot do anything more.”

So, it is by the mercy of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, coming through parampara, through Srila Prabhupada, that we have been engaged in devotional service to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, His devotees, His holy names, His teachings, and His divine dhama—Mayapur.

In 1971, as a young devotee in Calcutta, I approached Srila Prabhupada and offered, “I have been trying to understand what your desire is. And two things seem to please you most: distributing your books and building the big temple in Mayapur.”

Prabhupada’s face lit up, his eyes opened wide, and he smiled. “Yes, you have understood.”

I did not know it then, but that desire for a big temple in Mayapur (and even for profuse book distribution) came from Thakura Bhaktivinoda. He had a vision of an effulgent city with a wonderful temple at its center, in Mayapur. And he wrote,

eka adbhuta mandira ei haibe prakasa
gaurangera nitya-seva haibe vikasa

“An astounding temple will appear and will engage the entire world in the eternal service of Lord Chaitanya.” (Sri Navadvipa-Mahatmya, Parikrama Khanda, Chapter 4)

After my exchange with Srila Prabhupada, he spent several months in Europe and America and then returned to Calcutta with a design for the big temple. And in the meantime, Tamal Krishna Goswami had fulfilled Prabhupada’s longstanding, ardent desire to acquire some land in Mayapur. But there had been flooding in Mayapur, and the flooding there can be very severe. Therefore—although Prabhupada was so enthusiastic about the project and had struggled so hard to get the land in Mayapur and had personally brought the plans for the first building there—still, right when we were at the peak of our enthusiasm, he raised the question “What will happen if the Ganges floods? What will happen to the temple, to the project?”

He suggested that we not build the temple in Mayapur but at Birnagar, Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s birthplace—another indication of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s importance to Prabhupada and for the world. And eventually he brought us back to the conclusion that we should proceed with the project in Mayapur. “If you all build this temple,” he declared, “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”

Through his empowered service, Srila Prabhupada has made Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s shelter available to all of us, and now we too are “dedicated to the sacred service of Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura.” We beg and pray for pure devotional service under their lotus feet and depend fully on their mercy.

Hare Krishna.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=86569

By Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

The last instructions of Srila Bhaktivinoda thakura is found in his Sva niyama dasakam:

Sri Sri Sva-niyama-dasakam
“12 Verses of My Own Self-imposed Regulative Principles”
by Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura

The 1st Verse
(The Objects of Devotion Birth After Birth)

gurau sri-gaurange tad-udita-subhakti-prakara ne
saci-sunor-lila-vikasita-s utirthe nija manau
harer namni presthe hari-tithisu rupanuga-jane
suka-prokte sastre prati-jani mamastam khalu ratih

No matter whenever and wherever I happen to take birth, let my loving affection and attachment remain unshaken throughout each and every lifetime for the following things: for my divine spiritual master, for Sri Gauranga, for the detailed topics of pure devotional service (and the methods of its execution) as personally instructed by Him, for the holy places of pilgrimage such as Sri Navadvipa, Sri Kshetra, Sri Vrndavana, etc. , which are all blooming with divine sanctity due to His performance of wonderful pastimes therein, for the diksa mantra bestowed upon me by the divine grace of my spiritual master, for the holy name of Sri Hari, for the most beloved eternal associates of the Lord, for the sacred days of celebration throughout the year such as Sri Ekadasi, Sri Janmastami, Sri Radhastami, and the appearance/disappearance days of the great Vaisnava acaryas, for the Lord’s dearmost devotees who strictly follow in the sacred footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami, and for the holy scriptures narrated by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami such as the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The 2nd Verse
(The Internal Identity of Lord Caitanya, the Eternal Guide)

sada vrndaranye madhura-rasa-dhanye rasa-mayah
param saktim radham parama-rasa-murtim ramayati
sa caivayam krsno nija-bhajana-mudram upadisan
saci-sunur gaude prati-jani mamastam prabhu-varah

The Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is the personified abode of all divinely ecstatic mellow-tastes. And Sri Radhika is the topmost abode of all His divinely potent energies. Indeed, She is the personified form of the highest mellow of love in separation. Within the forest of Vrnda, which is gloriously rich in the all-pervading treasure of the sweetest madhura-rasa, this Lord Sri Krsna is continuously enjoying as He makes Sri Radhika happy by His loving service rendered to Her 24 hours a day. This very same Lord Krsna is exactly identical to the Son of mother Saci Who eternally lives simultaneously yet separately in Gauda-desa as the Instructor of the process for rendering His own service. May this Saci-nanadana become my Supreme Master and Guide, and may He always appear to me just to lead me on the proper devotional path birth after birth after birdh.

The 3rd Verse
(Rejection of Things Unfavorable for Sri Radha-Krishna’s Eternal Service)

na vairagyam grayham bhavati na hi yad bhakti-janitam
tatha jnanam bhanam citi yadi visesam na manute
sprha me nastange hari-bhajana-saukhyam na hi yatas
tato radha-krsna-pracura-parica rya bhavatu me

Let no form of so-called renunciation or asceticism become fit for my acceptance if it does not give rise to the continual expansion of my eternal serving mood of loving devotion. And let no form of so-called knwoledge or intellectual cultivation appeal to me at all if it does not admit the reality of eternal individuality shared by the Lord and His devotees during their everlasting daily pastimes. I have no desire at all for practicing any branch of the eight-fold yoga process, for none of them contain any scope for enjoying the daily plasure of serving Lord Hari such as His confidential worship does. Rather, may I render profuse, uninterrupted confidential service 24 hours a day to Sri Sri Radha-Krsna for all of time to come (such service being the means as well as the end) .

The 4th Verse
(Where to Live, and Where Not to Live)

kutire pi ksudre vraja-bhajana-yogye taru-tale
saci-sunos tirthe bhavatu nitaram me nivasatih
na canyatra ksetre vibudha-gana-sevye pulakito
vasami prasade vipula-dhana-rajyanvita iha

May I continuously reside in a small, lonely cottage at the base of a desire-tree in the most holy abode of Sri Navadvipa-dhama, which is sanctified by the lotus feet of Sri Saci-Nanadana. Such a bhajan-kutir is perfectly suitble for constant remembrance of, and service to the divine daily sports that are always present in Sri Vraja-dhama. Indeed, in contrast to this, I will never live in any other place, even if it is bankered for with great enthusiasm by the most wise sages and demigods of all sorts. As far as all other places in this world are concerned, whether opulent palaces or temples, whether possessing vast riches of enormous wealth or princely kingdoms and property ­­ all such places cannot attract me as much as my modest bhajan-kutir in Sri Navadvipa-dhama does.

The 5th Verse
(The Real Principle of Dharma Which Is Devoid of Designations)

na varne saktir me na khalu mamata hyasrama-vidhau
na dharme nadharme mama ratir ihaste kvacid api
param tat-tad-dharme mama jada-sariram dhrtam idam
ato dharman sarvan subhajana-sahayann abhilase

I have no attachment at all to any of those caste divisions of society such as brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya or sudra. And I certainly do not identify with any order of life such as brahmacharya, grhasta, vanaprasta, or sannyasa. I have no fondness or respect at all for the so-called piety of religiosity or even for the so-called impiety of sinful life in this world­­not even the slightest regard. Instead , I truly desire whathever is practically required just to maintain this material body in order to facilitate my performance of pure devotional service. This is the actual righteousness that I will hope for as long as this material body continues to exist.

The 6th Verse
(Favorable, Authorized Practices and Devotional Qualities)

sudainyam saralyam sakala-sahanam manada-danam
dayam svikrtya sri-hari-carana-seva mama tapah
sadacaro sau me prabhu-pada-parair yah samuditah
prabhos caitanyasyaksaya-carita-pi yusa-krtisu

My austere vow is costant devotion to the lotus feet of Sri Hari. In order to execute that vow, I have accepted the following qualities by my own endeavor:
I practice great humility in my dealings with everyone;
I try to keep simplicity and purity prominent in all of my practical arrangements:
I maintain extreme tolerance in all types of favoreble or unfavorable circumstances:
I offer all respect unto others, regardless of who they are:
I feel genuine compassion for all living entities and act accordingly
There are many transcendental activities which are recommended by the great devotees who are fixed-up in unalloyed devotional service to the lotus feet of Sriman-Mahaprabhu, and these can be found described in the books that are full of the imperishable character and pastimes of Mahaprabhu Sri Krsna Caitanya. Only such transcendentally nectarean activities, being recommended by great devotees and practiced by Lord Caitanya Himself, are indeed my own.

The 7th Verse
(Repulsion from Those Things Which Are Disconnected from Sri Radhika)

na vaikunthe rajye na ca visaya-karye mam ratir
na nirvane mokse mama matir ihaste ksanam api
vrajanandad anyadd hari-vilasitam pavanam api
kathancin mam radhanvaya-virahitam no sukhayati

I have no attraction for living in Vaikuntha, that part of the spiritual sky presided over by Sri Sri Laksmi- Narayana; nor do I desire useless activities of gross sense gratification in this material world. I will never cherish the desire for attaining the divine bliss of impersonalistic liberation, even for a second. Furthermore, there are many transcendental pastimes of Sri Hari that may be very purifying for all conditioned souls ­ yet such pastimes will never ever give me any real happiness at all. This is because such pastimes are quite different from blissful ecstasies of Vraja-consciousness, being complitely devoid of any relationship with Sri-Radhika, Who is the one and and only fountainhead of pure joy.

The 8th Verse
(Renunciation of All Kinds of Bad Association)

na me patni-kanya-tanaya-janani- bandhu-nicaya
harau bhakte bhaktau na khalu yadi tesam sumamata
abhaktanam-anna-grahanam api doso visayinam
katham tesam sangadd hari-bhajana-siddhir bhavati me

I now disown my wife, my daughters, my sons, my mother, and all my friends, If they have no genuine attachment for Lord Hari, for His devotees, or for His devotional service. It is definitely a great sin even to accept foodgrains prepared by such non-devotional, materialistic sense-gratifiers. If I were to remain in the company of such persons, then how will the eternal perfection of my Hari-bhajan ever come about?

The 9th Verse
(Avoidance of So-Called ‘Devotees’ Who Proudly Neglect Sri Radhika)

asat-tarkair-andhan jada-sukha-paran krsna-vimukhan
ku-nirvanasaktam satatam ati-dure pariharan
aradham govindam bhajati nitaram dambhikataya
tad-abhyase kintu ksanam api na yami vratam idam

There are certain persons who appear to very advanced in devotion. Indeed, to increase their service to the Lord, they have long since rejected the evil company of: those who are completely blinded by faulty arguments arising from so-called intellectual logic, those who are madly addicted to the fleeting pleasures of the dull material body, those who are averse to and envious of Lord Sri Krsna, and those who are very fond of the inferior, distasteful concept of liberation as it is cherished by the impersonalists.
They have thus favorably avoided all kinds of bad association; yet it is seen that such persons worship Lord Govinda without Srimati Radarani being present. This just shows that they are actually puffed-up with excessive pride and conceited arrogance directed against Sri Radika, who is Herself the best worshipper of Govinda. Therefore I will never ever go anywhere near such so-called devotees ­­ even for a second. This is my strict vow.

The 10th Verse
(How to Live Simply and Perform Vraja-Bhajana Until Death)

prasadanna-ksirasana-vasan a -patradibhir aham
padarthair nirvahya vyavahrtim asangah ku visaye
vasam isa-ksetre yugala-bhajananandita-mana s
tanum moksye kale yuga-pada-paranam pada-tale

Passing my life in a simple, practical way eating only prasada foodgrains and milk products, the remnants of the Supreme, Lord, His mercy, wearing only prasad cloth that was offered to the Deity, using only the pots and utensils sanctified by the Lord’s exclusive service, I will thus remain completely aloof from material sense-gratification.
Living by the side of Sri Radha-kunda (Her very own abode), worshiping the Divine Couple with a blissful mind, the time will come for my body to die. At the soles of the devotees’s lotus feet, who are themselves serving the lotus feet of the Divine Couple, I will thus give up my body.

The 11th Verse
(How to Worship the Lotus Feet of Sri Radhika’s Pure Devotee)

saci-sunor-ajna-grahana-ca turo yo vraja-vane
pararadhyam radham bhajati nitaram krsna-rasikam
aham tvetat-padamrtam anudinam naisthika-mana
vaheyam vai pitva sirasi ca muda sannati-yutah

There is a class of pure devotee who is completely expert and experienced in following all the instruction of Sri Saci-nandana. Such a devotee incessantly worships Srimati Radharani exlusively, Who is indeed the most worshipable Personality, and who is deeply absorbed every day in relishing the Divine mellows of Sri Krsna’s association. The pure devotee of this calibre definitely performs his confidential worship whole-heartedly and with exclusive surrender unto Sri Radhika. Thus he always lives in Sri Vraja-mandala. I shall take the nectarean water that has washed the lotus feet of such a devotee and carry it on my head. Drinking it with great joy, and with a devout heart, I will then happily offer my full prostration upon the ground in the nicest, most perfect way that I possibly can. This will indeed be my routine each and every day.

The 12th Verse
(Firm Determination to Transcend Maya by Daily Following This Stava)

harer dasyam dharmo mama tu cira-kalam prakrtito
maha-maya-yogad-abhinipati tah duhkha-jaladhu
ito yasyamy urddhvam sva-niyama-suratya prati-dinam
sahayo me matram vitatha-dalani vaisnava-krpa

As a spirit soul, my natural tendency is to be eternally situated in the loving devotional service of Lord Hari; however, due to the strong power and influence of the Lord’s maha-maya, I have somehow plunged deeply into the fathomless ocean of material sorrow and grief. I shall transcend this world of maya and go to the spiritual world only by faithfully following these self imposed vows every day. And the only way I will get the strength to follow these vows is by attaining the mercy of all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. May their causeless mercy and softhearted compassion, which wards off all illusion, become my exclusive friend and guide for all of time everlasting.

The 13 Verse
(Phal-Sruti – the Benediction of Eternal Service Gained by Reading This Stava)

krtam kenapyetat sva-bhajana-vidhau svam niyamakam
parthed yo visraddhah priya-yugala-rupe ‘rpita manah
vraje radha-krsnau bhajati kila samprapya nilayam
sva-manjaryah pascad vividha-varivasyam sa kurute

This stava named Sva-niyam Dvadasakam was written by someone to adjust and regulate his own personal mode of performing bhajan. If any other devotee happens to chant this stava with a very special quality of resolute faith, fully offering his mind unto: the supreme beautiful forms of the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, his most dear possession, or to the Divine beauty of Their Deity form, or to the beauty or Sri Gaura-Sundara, the combined form of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, or to Srila Rupa Gosvami, the dearmost beloved devotee of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda and Sri Gaura-Sundara, then that fortunate reader definitely attains his own place of eternal residence in Sri Vraja-dhama. Always following behind his own manjari-guru, in his own spiritual body of a manjari, he finally renders all kinds of variegated eternal services for the exclusive worship of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna.

Thus ends” SVA-NIYAMA DVADASTAKAM”
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, his last writing.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=86570