The disappearance of Srila Ramanujacarya. I will speak a little bit on his relationship with Mayapur dham. He visited Puri with his disciples. He was conquering the whole of India with his philosophy visistadvaita-vada. He was conquering and at that time he was in Puri and he was questioning the pundits that the system of worship recommended in Kali Yuga is pancaratrika worship but you all are using vaidiki worship because vaidiki worship, tantric worship. Pancaratriki worship is slightly in between. It is a mixture of both. Vaidiki worship consists of lots of long mantras, tantric, lots of rituals and things like that.
Pancaratriki worship is a little different or in between. So he said that, “It is recommended in kali Yuga that that Pancaratriki worship should go on. So you should change.” They got upset with him. The pundits became very, very scared. He was a very, very powerful personality at that time. He was influencing everyone. So the king also said, “You have to do something.” So the pundits prayed to Lord Jagannath “He is trying to change our seva.” So Jagannath was very old and he had the same seva going for long. Maybe He didn’t like changes also. (People don’t like changes when they get old.) Anyway he said, “Better you leave here.” He followed the Ramanujacarya seva.
He woke up in the morning and he wasn’t in Puri anymore. He was in … miles and miles away. Anyway Bhaktivinode Thakur mentions in the Navadvip Dham Mahatmya that actually Jagannath spoke to him. He said, “Anyway leave things as they are. But you should go and visit Mayapura – very special abode, Navadvip – My very favoured abode. You should go there. Then he woke up in Navadvip that next day. Then Jagannath spoke to him and said, “This is My eternal abode that has descended by the influence of My inconceivable potency. There is no place of maya here. This is the spiritual realm here. Here I appeared in the form of Lord Gauranga. I am teaching pure devotional service.”
Ramanujacarya said, “I have heard this name of Gauranga. It is there in scripture but it is kind of secret. Now You are speaking about it I can understand where it is all coming from. There are so many statements in the sastra about Gauranga’s appearance but it is all kept secret. Now I can understand what all this means.”
Then the Lord appeared to him as his worshipable Lords Laxmi narayan. So he was in ecstasy. Then Lord Narayan – they disappeared and They became Gauranga. He saw this beautiful form as Lord Gauranga. He said, “This is that form.” So he said, “Now I understand what the sastras are saying. It happens in Kali Yuga. So now I am going to go out and preach pure unalloyed devotional service to Krishna in these different mellows of Vrindavan. Just order me, just order me, I am ready to go conquer.”
Lord Jagannath said, “No, no, no. When I come I will do that. For the time being you cultivate and preach up to dasya rasa. Within your heart you can worship Me as your lover but you preach up to dasya rasa. When I come then I will present this.” He said, “I must be here when you perform Your pastimes.” So the Lord gave him the benediction that he would be here. So he appeared as Sri Ananta in Gauranga’s pastimes. He is also an incarnation of Anantasesa. It is also said it the Navadvip Dham Mahatmya that Anantasesa, Nagaraj went to see Visnu and he was offering so many prayers to the Lord. Then he said, “You are showed me so many of Your forms. You revealed to me so many things. Now I would like to see that form of Radha and Krishna, that original form.” He had gone to Svetadvip.
Lord Visnu said, “What are you asking Ananta? Even I can’t see Radha and Krishna’s pastimes. Brahma has to perform tapasya for hundred years and you are asking. After all you are a snake. You are not very intelligent. But if you are asking this question i can understand you must be the greatest devotee. Anyway you have to go to Navadvip then you will be able to understand.” If you understand the Lord’s form as Gauranga then you will be able to understand what is Radha and Krishna. Then he came here and had the darsan as Gauranga.
Lord Gauranga also instructed him that, “When I perform My pastimes you will also take birth there as the large bodied….. anybody knows?” Member from audience answers: Jai Nitai!] Jai Nitai. Nityananda Prabhu. Lord Nityananda Prabhu Ki! Jai! He is an incarnation of Nityananda Prabhu and Anantadev. So He appears here as Lord Nityananda Prabhu in the pastimes.
Our proposition is to the Ramanujacarya followers because they are very, very strong, especially in South India they are prominent, purifying all of the world actually. It is mentioned in the Bhagavatam that when pure devotees appear in South India they then maintain the pure principles of bhakti. So there are many followers of Ramanujacarya. So our proposition to them is that now your worship of the Lord as Ramanujacarya. All his followers need to follow His latest incarnation. That was many hundreds of years ago that he appeared as Ramanujacarya. Now He has appeared in Navadvip in the lasts incarnation as Nityananda Prabhu. So you should all actually follow Nityananda Prabhu. And He taught all to chant: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And worship Radha and Krishna. The proposition – evidence is there from sastra. Vedic evidence is there. So if you are living in South India then you can convert all the Ramanujas to become followers of Mahaprabhu. Even if they worship Laxmi Narayan they will go back to Godhead very quickly because of that by the mercy of Panca-Tattva. Ramanuja Mahasayi Ki Jai.
“Prthu Maharaja then offered the total designation of the living entity unto the supreme controller of illusory energy. Being released from all the designations by which the living entity became entrapped, he became free by knowledge and renunciation and by the spiritual force of his devotional service. In this way, being situated in his original constitutional position of Krsna consciousness, he gave up this body as a prabhu, or controller of the senses.” [SB 4.23.18]
They asked Srila Prabhupada how can Sri Caitanya say that: trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih [ [Cc. Adi 17.31]
How can he say that, “I am lower than a blade of grass.” He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is not lower than a blade of grass. Prabhupada said He could say that because He understood that I am one ten thousand the size of the tip of the hair. (Which He is not.) The soul is considered one ten thousand the tip of the hair. We are all one ten thousand the tip of the hair. Everything is emanating or coming from Krishna. He is the Supreme source of everything. So He is not one tenth thousand the tip of a hair.
Prabhupada said, “He is playing as a bhakta but He is actually believing that, “I am one ten thousand the size of the tip of the hair.” Therefore ayi nanda tanuja kinkaram, he can pray with such feeling, such devotion. He is understanding… So this is Mahaprabhu setting the example. … impossible for the people of Kali yuga. So this is the example. We have to follow this example then we will also get the results of these examples, being situated in our constitutional position – Krishna consciousness and free from designation. This is the beginning of spiritual life, situated properly in the svarup – our original constitutional position, waking up our real identity.
Vrinda devi is svarupa-stho. [As mentioned in the verse above.] They tried to move her from Kamyavana. She just sat there. They wanted to take Vrnda devi to Jaipur. They stopped at Kamyavan and tried to move her but nobody could lift her. She remained there fixed. That is happening there in Vrindavan. The description of Vrindadevi is given by Rupa Goswami in Radha Krishna Ganadesa Dipika. She is always immersed in love for Radha and Krishna. She is always helping to arrange for Their meetings and she is always trying to assist Their transcendental pastimes. So this is her fixed consciousness. It is fixed on her service to Radha and Krishna. It is not her love for Radha and Krishna or my love for Krishna. We have to love. It is me and Krishna. It is not exactly my love for Krishna but it is Krishna. Krishna’s love for Radha and Radha’s love for Krishna. This is important. My love for Krishna is not so important. It is Raha’s love for Krishna that is important.
So there devotees are assisting to enhance Radha and Krishna’s love and not my relationship or my love for Krishna above Hers. She is shy. This is their attitude. They simply want Radha and Krishna’s love. They are assisting in that loving relationship… Rukmini Devi Dasi made a very wonderful statement. She said that actually the centre of creation is a love affair – It is Radha and Krishna. The centre of the creation is a love affair. That is a fact – aham sarvasya prabhavo [Bg 10.8] So it is a fact that is what is happening. This is the original feature of Godhead – Radha and Krishna whom all the other features of God come from. All the other relationships come from there. Everything comes from there.
So that is actually the centre of creation. It is a love affair and the maha mantra, Hare Krishna is the musical … for the film or the drama. You have a love story and then you have a musical theme in a movie. So Hare Krishna is the musical theme. So everyone there is chanting Hare Krishna. Actually the spiritual world is made of Hare Krishna. Prabhupada says in his explanation of Hare Krishna – Mother Hara or Radha please engage me in Your service. Radha Krishna – Hare Krishna.
So this is what the picture of Vrindvan is. Everything is assisting Radha and Krishna in Their loving exchange. Please engage me in the service of Radha. Please engage me in the service of Krishna. So everything is made of Hare Krishna in the spiritual world because that is the purpose there – simply to unite Radha and Krishna and separate Them. As soon as They are separated They can be united again and when They are united They can be separated again. So this is the picture of Vrindavan. Everybody is bringing together Radha and Krishna and then they separate Them only to bring them together.
Everything is made of Hare Krishna. Golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana, that is what is coming into this Navadvip. He has brought the treasure of golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana. What goes on in the centre of creation/ A love affair. So that is what Narada Muni actually brought – golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana. This is the great gift that we have in Kali Yuga.
Devotees of Ramanuja Acarya all go back to Vaikuntha after a long time but here in Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission in Navadvip Dham Panca-Tattva … can be done in one lifetime. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai! Nitai Gaura Premanande. Hari Haribol.
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Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai! Nitai Gaura Premanande. Hari Haribol.
Very informative lecture,Thanks prabhuji