By Subhang Balaram Das
25th December 2015, marked the first day of the 14th ‘Bhagavat-Katha Saptah’ in Pune with HH Lokanath Swami Maharaja. Every year devotees from all over the world set aside the last seven days of the year and join Maharaja for ‘nityam bhagavata-sevaya’. Surely there is no better way than this to not only end a year, but also begin a new one. This katha proved to be a very special one as there was glorification of one dhama each day.
It was a feast for devotees accompanying Lokanath Swami Maharaja who was wearing the spectacles of scriptures. The journey commenced in Badrikasarama and proceeded through Rameshwaram, Dwarka, Mayapur, Jagannath Puri and finally to Vrindavan.
Day One was set aside for the glorification of the person Bhagavat – His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Flowing through the teachings and pastimes of Srila Prabhupada Maharaja stated – “I think the next time whenever Srila Vyasdeva adds new chapters to Srimad Bhagvatam, there will be mention of Srila Prabhupada”. Remembering the one who has given us Srimad Bhagavatam as well as taught us the practice of Bhagavat Dharma, was really a perfect start to the ‘Bhagavatam Saptah’ .
There are four significant Dhamas for the four ages (Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dwapar-yuga and Kali-yuga). Our journey to Badrikashram, the Dhama of Satya-yuga started on the second day. Lokanath Swami Maharaja revealed that “whatever action a great man performs, common men follow”. Hence, the Lord incarnated as ‘Nara-Narayan’ to establish the principle of austerity. Thus one gets the lessons of both sense and mind control from the holy place.
On day three we were in Rameshwaram, the Dhama of Treta-yuga. This is where Lord Sri Rama within just five days, built the 800 mile long bridge with the help of ‘Hanuman &Construction Company’. Lokanath Swami Maharaja quoted, “Scripture is the science. One who knows the scriptures is the scientist. Thus, Bhaktivedanta Swami was a scientist. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was a scientist.”
Dwarka was our third Dhama. The fourth day brought immense joy in passing through the pastimes of Supreme Personality of Godhead – Sri Krishna. Dwarka Dhama was where the Lord spent the maximum duration of his lifespan. The katha was a real visual experience of those amazing pastimes – how He killed the demons, married 16108 wives. Maharaja said: “It was not a big deal for the Lord to be in 16108 forms. There were 3 crore Gopis in the ‘Rasa lila’. Even then it is no big deal for Him as He lives within every heart. Thus, there is one Krishna for everyone. There is a need to understand that being His fractional potency one should serve Him. It is only in this manner that one can make ones life successful.
The fifth Day was dedicated to Mayapur Dhama, the birth place of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya, who is Krishna Himself,appeared in the mood of Radharani. It was truly inspirational to go through the latest incarnation of the Lord, His pastimes, how He raised the glories of Jagannatha Puri and how He took sannayasa just for the well-being of all people.
The katha proceeded to the Dhama of Kali-yuga – ‘Jagannath Puri’ on the sixth day. Maharaja explained in detail the science behind the transcendental Deity form of Jagannatha, Baladeva & Subhadra. One can easily forget oneself listening to the glories of darsana and prasada of Lord Jagannatha. Lokanath Swami Maharaja quoted: “Jagannatha means Lord of Universe, hence Srila Prabhupada has taken Him to the whole world through chariot festivals”. It was a extremely impressive experience to hear about the first Chariot festival. This was at the Golden gate in San Francisco with 10 thousand devotees in attendance. It was therefore no surprise that this place which was then named ‘New Jagannatha Puri’ by His Divine Grace.
On the last day of the Katha, we finally reached Vrindavan Dhama – the source of all Dhamas. Diving through the glories of Vrindavan Dhama, Lokanath Swami Maharaja mindfully focused on the 500th anniversary of Lord Caitanya’s arrival in Vrndavana. There were vivid descriptions of how the wild animals were dancing with Lord Caitanya when He was passing through the forests of Jharkhand. “When the wild animals were dancing, hugging and kissing each other forgetting all their lust, greed, anger, arrogance, attachment and jealousy, Lord Caitanya exclaimed – This is only the Vrndavana. Thus by establishing ‘Brotherhood’ one can convert his temple, ashram and home into Vrndavana, that is the goal of International society of Krishna consciousness.”
This Bhagavad Katha took us on a journey through the wonderful holy Dhamas, Lokanath Swami Maharaja continuously reminded us of a few important essentials. The Dhama is eternal. One should not consider any Dhama to be a part of any state or country. One should be careful to avoid all of the Dhama offences. Finally, Maharaja said that it is a misunderstanding to think that the pastimes occurr only in particular age, because often the pastimes keep going on in the Dhama. It is one’s birth right to be there as a constant associate of the Lord so that is what one should always strive for.
A very big thank you to Lokanath Swami Maharaja for such an inspiring and delightful journey.
Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=18074
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