Always Embraced by Krsna

• VOLUME 1 •

Kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha

Always

Embraced

by Krsna ...

The Life and Times of

Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja Part 1 1929-1974

A Foreign Element in this Material World Compiled by

Nimāi Paṇḍita dāsa

Kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha

Always

Embraced

by Krsna ...

The Authorised Biography of Śrī Śrīmad

Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja Volume 1 - Part 1

Revised and Enlarged Edition

Kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha

Always

Embraced

by Krsna ...

The Life & Times of

Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja

Volume 1 – Part 1 1929 – 1975

A Foreign Element in this Material World Compiled by Nimāi Paṇḍita dāsa

Always Embraced by Kåñëa is compiled from informal talks, interviews and lectures delivered by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja, and interviews with his friends, family members, godbrothers, godsisters, disciples, followers and wellwishers.

This series of volumes on the life story of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja has been authorised by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami himself, personally. This particular volume has been compiled from interviews conducted with him. He himself gave the framework for the entire story of his life to the author.

When Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja was in the gåhastha-äçrama, he was known as Brajabandhu Manik. After he left family life on Räma-navami April 1, 1974, he gave himself the name Gour Gopälänanda däsa. On receiving harinäma initiation from Çréla Prabhupäda he was named Gour Govinda däsa. When he received sannyäsa from Çréla Prabhupäda, during the Deity inauguration festival held at the Çré Çré Kåñëa-Balaräma Temple, Våndävana in 1975, he was given the name Gour Govinda Swami. Çréla Prabhupäda would also affectionately call him ‘Gour Govind’, and he is known as Çréla Äcärya Öhäkura, Çréla Gurudeva and Gurudeva by his disciples.

Guëärëava däsa was one of the original builders and managers of the Çré Çré Kåñëa Balaräma Temple in Våndävana. Part of his interview is featured in this volume.

Kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha - Always Embraced by Kṛṣṇa Quotes from the books and lectures of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda are copyrighted © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.

First Edition (soft-bound) 1,000 copies - 1999 Second Edition (soft-bound) 2020

ISBN: 978-0-648-16316-9

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To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ Permissions beyond the scope of this license write to info@tvpbooks.com Painting of Kåñëa with calf on page 139 © Vånda Gleeson, Australia. Used with permission.

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No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the publishers.

Permission given to quote short excerpts, such as, a few sentences, a few paragraphs - provided attribution is given - as follows: © 2020 - Tattva-vicära Publications (reproduced with permission).

For longer excerpts, the publisher’s permission must be sought.

Every effort has been made to trace or contact all copyright holders. The publishers will be pleased to make good any omissions or rectify any mistakes brought to their attention at the earliest opportunity.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this book is derived from interviews.

Please note that terms used by the interviewees such as äcärya, mahä-bhägavata, sad-guru, uttama-adhikäré have been applied as addressed by interviewees and in no manner intended to perturb our readers. We humbly request you to acknowledge their sentiments of affection and reverence for Çréla Gour Govinda Swami.

Kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha

Always Embraced by Kṛṣṇa

“W

ithout being empowered by the direct potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa to fulfil His desire and without being specifically favoured by the Lord, no human being can become the spiritual master of the whole world. He certainly cannot succeed by mental concoction, which is not meant for devotees or religious people.

Only an empowered personality can distribute the holy name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen souls to worship Kṛṣṇa. By distributing the holy name of the Lord, he cleanses the hearts of the most fallen people; therefore, he extinguishes the blazing fire of the material world. Not only that, he broadcasts the shining brightness of Kṛṣṇa’s effulgence throughout the world. Such an ācārya, or spiritual master, should be considered non-different from Kṛṣṇa - that is, he should be considered the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potency. Such a personality is kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha. That is, he is always embraced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Such a person is above the considerations of the varṇāśrama institution. He is the guru, or spiritual master, for the entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the mahā-bhāgavata stage, and a paramahaṁsaṭhākura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as paramahaṁsa or ṭhākura.”1 — Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda

Table of Contents Preface Introduction

I i i ii iii iv iv v

A Pure Devotee Has All Good Qualities A Pure Devotee is a Perfect Brāhmaṇa A Pure Devotee is Completely Surrendered The Pure Devotee Is Always Provided For by the Lord A Pure Devotee Develops Love for One and All The Pure Devotee Is Controlling the Lord by His Pure Devotion Kṛṣṇa Searches for the Dust

from the Lotus Feet of His Pure Devotee vi A Pure Devotee Can Give Bhakti by His Association vi One’s Bhakti Becomes Pure in His Association vii His Association Is Needed to Achieve Kṛṣṇa viii He Sees Kṛṣṇa Everywhere viii

Chapter One Gadāi Giri - A Village of Devotees

Jagannātha Purī-dhāma Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Prema-Nāma-Saṅkīrtana The Oriyās and Gauḍīyas The Village of the Holy Name The Sound of a Flute Coming from the Jungle It Is in Their Blood The Giri Family Gopal Giri in Jagannātha Purī Gopāla and the Vaiṣṇava Bābājī The Bābājī’s Dream The Journey from Vṛndāvana to Jagannātha Purī The Bābājī Meets Gopal Giri

3 4 7 8 9 11 13 14 14 15 16 17 18 19

Gopal Giri Resigns from Government Service Gopal Giri Returns to Gadāi-Giri with Śrī Gopāla Jīu The Madāla-Pañji Where My Pure Devotees Chant The Son Who Could Not Sing The Deity of Śrī Gopāla Jīu Is Stolen A Place of Austerities A Very Special Place

Chapter Two The Custodians of the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu Temple Śrī Gadai Giri Śrī Gopal Giri Śrī Dinabandhu Giri Śrī Abhiram Giri Śrī Bhagat Charan Giri Śrī Bhikari Giri Śrī Govinda Giri Śrī Bauribandhu Giri Śrī Gopinath Giri Agni-Utsava Day Śrī Ghanasyam Giri

Chapter Three His Divine Appearance

The Appearance of a Vaiṣṇava The Divine Appearance Brajabandhu’s Mother Vaiṣṇava Tradition Man-Manā Bhava Vedic Dharma Vaiṣṇava Association from Birth

20 21 22 22 23 24 25 26

29 29 29 30 30 30 30 30 31 31 32 32

37 37 38 39 39 40 40 41

Chapter Four Early Life

Brajabandhu and the Astrologer Brajabandhu’s Spotless Character Not an Ordinary Child Bhajana-Kīrtana from a Very Young Age The Saṁskāras Karṇa-Vedha-Saṁskāra The Oriya Bhāgavata The Thieves Mother’s Chastity All Respectable Ladies He Had a Natural Attraction Early School Years Developing Kṛṣṇa Consciousness as a Youth The Saint A Picture of His Beloved Gopāla Deity

Chapter Five The Move to Gadāi-Giri

The Village of Kīrtana Aṣṭa-Prahara-Kīrtana Young Brajabandhu as Supervisor Bhāgavata-ṭuṅgi — The Shrine of the Bhāgavatam A Great Saint The Kīrtanīyas Saṅkīrtana and Pūjā Attachment to the Śāstra

Chapter Six Bauribandhu Giri The Great Kīrtanīya

Gopāla Jīu Joins the Kīrtana Bananas for Gopāla

45 45 46 46 47 48 48 49 49 50 50 52 53 54 55 56

59 59 62 64 65 66 67 68 69

73 73 74

The Disappearance of Bauribandhu Giri Families that Foster Transcendentalists During the Month of Māgha Pure Chanters Leave of Their own Accord

Chapter Seven Early Teaching Years Chapter Eight Part 1 Marriage and Family Life

The Vedic Process of Marriage Pure in All Actions Brajabandhu’s Wife to Be Early Gṛhasta Life According to the Astrological Calculation A Great Responsibility University Degree The Secret of Success Preaching at Home Atithi-sevā Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and Family Life

By Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy The Doctor Athgarh Śyāma – Govinda – Gopāla Hear Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and Your Mind will be Pacified The Blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa Bhikhari Giri — The Mahānta from Vṛndāvana Gopinath Giri Leaves this World A Divine Call for Sannyāsa I Will Take Sannyāsa Detachment from Material Life “Please Give Me Prema”

75 76 78 79

83

89 89 92 93 94 95 97 99 100 101 102 102 103 105 105 106 108 109 112 113 113 115 116 117

Prema Sambandha – Abhidheya – Prayojana Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

— Tinged with the Salve of Love

117 119 120

Chapter Eight

Part 2 Marriage and Family Life 125 My Wife Never Once Complained I Prayed to Kṛṣṇa He Would Deprive Himself Transfer to Kujang Poison in the Beginning - Nectar in the End Giving up Sense Gratification Brajabandhu Knew the Bhagavad-Gītā Our Good & Honourable Gour Govinda Swami “It is a Masterpiece” Talks to the Students — The Cultivation of Good Habits Brajabandhu Meets Kṛṣṇa Brajabandhu and the Yogī Brajabandhu’s Future Foretold by a Sādhu Unflinching Faith in the Holy Name

Chapter Nine 1973 – Preaching Is Superior to Material Life

Achieve the Association of the Pure-hearted Devotees The Gītā Yajña Brajabandhu Decides to Leave Home Bhāgavata-uttamaḥ

— A Person Advanced in Devotional Service Hear and then See A Kṛṣṇa Conscious Person

126 126 127 128 130 131 133 133 134

135 138 139 141 142

147 149 152 157 158 159 160

Chapter Ten The Dream & Leaving Home

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Sannyāsa & Brajabandhu Something Extraordinary Bābā Ānanda Svarūpa of Khandagiri

Chapter Eleven Rāma-navamī 1974

The Order to Leave The Kick of Lord Nityānanda Brajabandhu’s Resignation A Bolt from the Blue

Chapter Twelve The Vānaprastha-āśrama

Māyādevī Appears He May Very Well be at Gadāi-Giri It Was Very Serious His Spiritual Search Had Begun!

The Voice in the Sky Gopāla Makes All Arrangements His Lifelong Cherished Aspiration Was Unfolding

Chapter Thirteen Haridvāra, Hṛṣikeśa & the Yogīs

‘From the Himalayas to Kanyā Kumārī’ I Was Not As Yet Satisfied The Search for the Bona Fide Guru A Meeting Place Between the Earth and the Heavens Preaching Hari-nāma He Was a New Man The Bābājī in the Jungle Food Offered by Materialistic Persons Gour Gopālānanda Sets Out for Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma

163 163 164 164

169 170 173 174 177

181 184 184 184 185 186 187 189

195 195 196 197 198 201 202 203 204

Chapter Fourteen Gour Gopālānanda Dāsa Meets Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda 209 Sambandha – Abhidheya – Prayojana The Three Truths Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa The World Wide Chanting of the Holy Name Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu The Darśana of a Mahātmā is Good Fortune A Real Guru – A Sad-Guru

Chapter Fifteen Sunday 15 September 1974 at Midday

This is Kṛṣṇa’s Arrangement The Transcendental System Nowhere to Stay Oh! So Sweet Feast Today!

A Special Relationship Special Things were Happening in Vṛndāvan Somehow He Is Different The Hindi Translations Begin Gour Gopālānanda’s ‘Computer’ Begins

Chapter Sixteen Gour Gopālānanda Dāsa & The International Society for Kṛṣṇa Conciousness The Donated Land The Change of Name Gour Govind, You Will Take Me to Orissa

Chapter Seventeen The First Visit Back to Bhubaneswar An Out of the Way Place Hyderabad and Śrīla Prabhupāda

212 213 215 216 216 217 218

223 223 223 225 227 228 230 231 231 233

239 239 240 242

251 252 254

“…Please Give Me Sannyāsa…”

Total Abstinence from Sex Life

Appendix The 27 vows of Brajabandhu Verse Index Glossary Notes & References

255 256

261 263 267 275

Preface väïchä-kalpa-tarubhyaç ca kåpä-sindhubhya eva ca patitänäà pävanebhyo vaiñëavebhyo namo namaù “I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiñëava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.”1 vande çré-kåñëa-caitanyapremämara-taroù priyän çäkhä-rüpän bhakta-gaëän kåñëa-prema-phala-pradän

“I offer my obeisances to all the dear devotees of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the eternal tree of love of Godhead. I offer my respects to all the branches of the tree, the devotees of the Lord who distribute the fruit of love of Kåñëa.”2 When I first met Çréla Äcärya Öhäkura Gour Govinda Mahäräja face to face, in March 1989 [we had previously corresponded for over a year], Bhubaneswar, India, I felt inspired to record his biography* * Svayambhü Mahäräja [06.12.1935 - 11.08.2010]: His name prior to meeting and taking initiation from Çréla Gurudeva was Subash Biswal. He had written an account of Çréla Gurudeva’s life, but it was in Oriya and at the time I did not know of that book. Svayambhü Mahäräja wrote two books: the first Püta jévana-carita – The Sacred Life History, which is the Biography of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami in Oriya. His second book was: Kåpä-patraväli – Merciful Letters; a compilation of the letters that Çréla Gour Govinda Swami wrote to him. When Svayambhü prabhu

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as reading this would be greatly beneficial to the family of Vaiñëava devotees and countless aspirants. My experiences in Bhubaneswar on that first visit, were enough for me to understand that this was no ordinary devotee of the Lord, nor an ordinary svämé, nor just another guru. His whole body glowed which is a symptom of one who has not committed any sinful activity and we observed this during our first visit to his hut.

After reading this first Volume of his divine life, one will appreciate that it is not possible to over glorify a personality and sädhu such as Çréla Gurudeva. As conditioned souls, we are not even able to comprehend the exalted position of such a transcendental personality. We cannot grasp it. As described in the topmost of all scriptures Çrémad-Bhägavatam: rahügaëaitat tapasä na yäti na cejyayä nirvapaëäd gåhäd vä na cchandasä naiva jalägni-süryair vinä mahat-päda-rajo-‘bhiñekam “My dear King Rahügaëa, unless one has the opportunity to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees, one cannot realise the Absolute Truth. One cannot realise the Absolute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brahmacarya], strictly following the rules and regulations of householder life, leaving home as a vänaprastha, accepting sannyäsa, or undergoing severe penances in winter by keeping oneself submerged in water or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other processes to understand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee.”3 took sannyäsa on 01.03.2004, he stipulated that his name would stay the same as the name his beloved Gurudeva gave him. Thus, his sannyäsa name became His Holiness Svayambhü Mahäräja.

II

P r e fa c e When so many amazing facts about Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja are compiled, it will lead the reader to his extraordinary personality. This publication is our humble presentation of this extraordinary and remarkable personality, born in a family of great Vaiñëavas.

In his Çré Hari-bhakti-viläsa, Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé quotes the following verses: prathamaà tu guruà püjya tataç caiva mamärcanam kurvan siddhim aväpnoti hy anyathä niñphalaà bhavet “If anyone worships his guru first and then worships Me [Çré Kåñëa], he certainly achieves perfection. If he does not do so, his worship bears no fruit.”4 bhaktir yathä harau me’sti tadvan niñöhä gurau yadi mamästi tena satyena svaà darçayatu me hariù “If my devotion to my guru is even stronger than my devotion for Çré Kåñëa, then may this fact cause Çré Kåñëa to reveal Himself to me.”5 After all, it is the duty of the disciple to glorify the spiritual master hä hä prabhu koro doyä, deho more pada-chäyä, ebe jaça ghuñuk tribhuvana “O spiritual master, ... Be merciful unto me and give me the shade of your lotus feet. May your glories now be proclaimed throughout the three worlds.”6

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Also it is written in Bhaktivinoda-väëé-vaibhava: “…it is the duty of the disciple to glorify the spiritual master for one hour everyday…”7 If we did this, “...glorify the spiritual master for one hour everyday...” how much information would we need to collect about him? So the glorification I am presenting here is miniscule, actually, only touching the tip of the top of the iceberg of his glories.

When Çréla Gurudeva came to Australia in October 1990, I asked him if he would consider conducting interviews about his life and he consented. The idea was that at some point in time, someone would write a book about him. At that time, it was not determined who that person would be. I never thought that I would actually write a book about his divine life. But, after conducting certain interviews, I spoke with Gurudeva and asked who should author the book, since I did not think it would be me. He said to me, “You will author it.”

My experience in writing was limited to letters, and I felt I lacked scholarly ability, but by prayers and feeling deeply inspired, I undertook this task. After that first encounter with my spiritual preceptor and subsequently collecting information on his divine life by the way of the interviews I had conducted on his first tour of Australia, I became truly amazed that such a personality existed.

Such interviews validated my first impressions of him during that first visit to Bhubaneswar in 1989.

So I started conducting interviews and researching the life of our beloved Çréla Gurudeva from 1989, to obtain the information in this volume. The original volume of Gurudeva’s life story was published many years ago and was titled Kåñëäliìgita-vigraha “One who is Always Embraced by Kåñëa”, however, this is a revised and expanded edition, presented in two parts.

IV

P r e fa c e This volume describes the amazing personality Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja, from his birth, childhood, teenage years, through to his adulthood and meeting His Divine Grace Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, and his subsequent years in the International Society for Kåñëa Consciousness (ISKCON). Çréla Prabhupäda’s statements about Çréla Gour Govinda Swami - “He is a devotee from his birth” and “Kåñëa has sent him” - were not made lightly. As the reader turns the pages of this book, all his wonderful and unique qualities will become apparent.

I wish to thank everyone who helped with this publication, in particular the unknown devotee (whoever he or she may be) who took the time to upload the whole book (the earlier version) to the Internet, and my long time friend Jagat-pati däsa, who checked the old text to the new text just to make sure we did not make any omissions. This was of great assistance to us. A special thank you to my old friend BV Çuddhädvaité Mahäräja who took time off from his busy schedule to help with this publication, to Vaijanté-mälä däsi who did the final read on this publication, Maïjumedhä devé däsé for editing, layout, cover design and everything else that she does for Tattva Vicära Publications. I would also like to thank Jagat-pati däsa, Tarun Kåñëa däsa, Navadvépa Chandra däsa and Priya Tirupati for helping with proofreading. May Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja shower his blessings upon one and all.

I especially would like to offer my eternal gratitude and prayers to my divine master Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja who gave me the opportunity to carry out this service.

Your lowly servant,

a dāsa Nimāi Paṇḍit

p

Insignificant disciple of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja.

V

Introduction Excerpts from a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.15.39-40 Bhubaneswar, 26 December, 1994.

“...All the great virtues manifest in a Vaiñëava’s body, for it is said that all of Kåñëa’s virtues are transferred to His devotee. These transcendental qualities are the characteristics of pure Vaiñëavas, and though they cannot be described fully, I shall try to give some indication of them. Devotees are compassionate; they never deliberately create enmity; they are truthful in words and deeds and without prejudice; they are blameless, magnanimous, mild, clean, and uninterested in material possessions or ambition. Engaged in welfare work for everyone, they are peaceful; they have taken complete shelter of Kåñëa and are not influenced by lust. They are harmless, steady, and have overcome the six cardinal sins – lust, anger, greed, envy, illusion and jealousy. They eat only as much as required, and are not inebriated. Devotees are respectful and without false prestige; they are grave, compassionate, friendly, poetic, expert and silent...”

A Pure Devotee Has All Good Qualities yasyästi bhaktir bhagavaty akiïcanä sarvair guëais tatra samäsate suräù

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“…All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Väsudeva…”1 “…The Caitanya-caritämåta also speaks about the qualities of a sädhu. One who is a sädhu, a pure devotee, is purified externally and internally, antar-çuddhi and bahir-çuddhi…” sarva mahä-guëa-gaëa vaiñëava-çarire kåñëa-bhakte kåñëera guëa sakali saïcäre “All the great virtues manifest in a Vaiñëava’s body, for it is said that all of Kåñëa’s virtues are transferred to His devotee.”2 “…The same sixty qualities that are in Kåñëa manifest in the aikäntika-kåñëa-bhakta, pure kåñëa-bhakta, except the four mädhuryas.* If you develop pure bhakti, automatically all the other qualities will manifest…”

A Pure Devotee is a Perfect Brāhmaṇa “…The Båhad-äraëyaka Upaniñad, verse 4.4.21 states, ‘Tam eva dhéro vijïäya prajïäà kurvéta brähmaëaù – a wise person who knows the Supreme Lord, Parabrahma, through the process of devotion, is a brähmaëa.’ One who knows bhagavata svarüpa [the original form of the Lord] perfectly well, who * The four mädhuryas: rüpa-mädhurya, the sweetness of His supremely beautiful form; veëu-mädhurya, the sweetness of His flute playing; rati-mädhurya, the sweetness of His loving dealings; and lélä-mädhurya, the sweetness of His wonderful pastimes. These four kinds of mädhurya are only available in Kiçora-kåñëa.

ii

Introduction has prema-bhakti [service on the platform of pure love], is a brähmaëa. When a brähmaëa becomes a Vaiñëava then he is a perfect brähmaëa…” “…The brähmaëa’s gotra is cyuta-gotra, they belong to the fallible line, but Vaiñëavas become a part of the acyuta-gotra, infallible line, because they are a part of Kåñëa’s family... If the brähmaëa accepts Vaiñëava dékñä, then he becomes a Vaiñëava, a perfect brähmaëa. It is said that one who knows brahmavastu is brähmaëa... Brahma means éçvara, svayam-bhagavän [the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Himself]. Who is svayam-bhagavän? All çästra states that svayam-bhagavän is Kåñëa…” brahma-çabde kahe pürëa svayaà bhagavän svayaà bhagavän kåñëa,—çästrera pramäëa “The word ‘Brahman’ indicates the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is Çré Kåñëa. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature.”3 “…Brahma means Kåñëa, Parambrahma...One who knows Kåñëa knows Brahma, and therefore he is a brähmaëa. One who does not know Kåñëa is not a brähmaëa… As long as one has not acquired the knowledge of Brahma he is not a real brähmaëa. He only develops the abhimäna that he is a brähmaëa…”

A Pure Devotee is Completely Surrendered “…The chief symptom of a sädhu, a pure devotee, is kåñëaikaçaraëatva, complete surrender unto Kåñëa, unconditional surrender, not partial, artificial or conditional. The life of a bhakta is useless in the absence of the chief symptom…”

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The Pure Devotee Is Always Provided For By the Lord ye tähäna däsya-pada bhäve nirantara tähäna avaçya däsya karena éçvara “The Lord desires to be the servant of anyone who always desires to be a servant of the Lord.”4 “…The Supreme Lord is known as bhakta-vatsala, very dear to His servitor, and sevaka-vatsala, His servitor is very dear to Him. Ye tähäna däsya-pada bhäve nirantara tähäna avaçya däsya karena éçvara, for one who thinks of the lotus feet of the Lord constantly the Lord becomes his servant. Kåñëa seeks that opportunity to serve His däsa, His bhakta, dear devotee…”

A Pure Devotee Develops Love for One and All “…The humble sages benefit everyone because they see kåñëa-sambandha, the relationship with Kåñëa. They see every jéva as Kåñëa’s jéva. So he develops love towards one and all.

Kåñëa is the object of love. If you can love Kåñëa then you can love one and all. Otherwise there is no question of love at all. They are free from dvandväd, duality, liking, disliking or hatred. You may like someone and dislike someone else. Only one who sees Kåñëa as the object of love can love one and all, so there is no question of hatred or disliking…”

iv

Introduction The Pure Devotee Is Controlling the Lord

by His Pure Devotion “…Kåñëa is supreme. However, in the Ninth Canto of the ÇrémadBhägavatam He said to Durväsä Muni,

ahaà bhakta-parädhéno hy asvatantra iva dvija sädhubhir grasta-hådayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaù5 He, who is supremely independent, said, “I have no independence. I am subordinate to My bhakta, to My dear devotee, bhakta-parädhéno…” “…The dear devotees are completely surrendered to the lotus feet of Kåñëa, they are always engaged in His loving service. His premé-bhaktas have bound Him up in their hearts with the rope of love. Kåñëa is their only object of love… He who is eternally free, unbound, and independent, is now in loving bondage … In Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (14.29) He has said, “Sadä mukto ’pi baddho ’smi bhaktena sneha-rajjubhiù, though I am eternally free and independent, still I become bound up with the rope of love of My devotees…” “…In the Caitanya-caritämåta it is written, bhakta ämä preme bändhiyäche hådaya-bhitare yähäë netra paòe tähäì dekhaye ämäre6 “That premé-bhakta has bound Me up in his heart with the rope of love. Wherever he looks he sees Me.”

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“…Kåñëa has said, ‘I am defeated. I cannot slip away from the heart of a pure devotee. My devotee has bound Me up with the rope of love in his heart.’ This bondage is so strong, so tight that even all-powerful Kåñëa cannot break it…”

Kṛṣṇa Searches for the Dust from the Lotus Feet of His Pure Devotee “…It is also said that Kåñëa stealthily, unnoticeably follows behind His dear devotee just to take some dust from the lotus feet of His premé-bhakta. Why? In his commentary Çrédhara Svämé has said: in order to purify His creation. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé states in his Sandarbha that it is to purify Himself and repay his debt, as Kåñëa cannot repay the debt to His premé-bhakta.

Kåñëa has also said this to the gopés in the Tenth Canto of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. ‘O gopés, you have developed so much pure love for Me. You have given up your family ties, family affection, husband, children, dear ones, everything, to come to Me in the dead of night to this jungle. You love Me so much but I have nothing with which to repay you.

Therefore I am indebted to you, na päraye….’ He is indebted because the wealth required to pay back this debt is not in His possession…”

A Pure Devotee Can Give Bhakti

by His Association “…Bhaktis tu bhagavad-bhakta-saìgena parijäyate – bhakti or pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord is obtainable only in the association of pure devotees. In a previous birth you may have attained some bhakti-sukåti, then in this birth

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Introduction you will develop bhakti and automatically you will be attracted towards sädhu-saìga…” “…There are so many people, but how many are coming for sädhu-saìga? It is a question of bhakti-sukåti. When someone has acquired bhakti-sukåti he comes for sädhu-saìga and develops bhakti. … Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura has said that prior to taking shelter at the lotus feet of sädhu, before engaging in bhajana – gireche nänä anarthare bhai, ‘O brother, you are surrounded by so many anarthas.’ Then when someone takes shelter at the lotus feet of sädhu-guru and engages in bhajana, bhajana-kriyä, acceptance of the regulative principles, then anartha-nivåtti, all your anarthas are destroyed. That is the result of bhakti developed by the merciful association of sädhu.

This is the result of sädhu-saìga…”

One’s Bhakti Becomes Pure in His Association “…If someone engages in çuddha-bhajana, pure bhajana, and chants the pure name by the association of pure devotees, automatically all good qualities develop. They simultaneously develop. At this stage there are no anarthas and that sädhaka will not develop taste in anything material. He develops nämeruci, taste for chanting the holy name and he relishes the nämapremämåta, the nectar emanating from the holy name…” “...Narottama Däsa Öhäkura has also sung about that in Prema-bhakti-caëdrika: märjjana haya bhajana sädhu-saìga anükñaëa – one should always stay in the association of a sädhu. Sädhu means a premé-bhakta, a pure devotee who has developed kåñëa-prema. Then your bhajana will be nice. Your bhajana will be purifying, and märjjana – cleansing. Cetodarpaëa märjanaà, the more the mirror is cleaned, the clearer vii

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the reflection. Whose bhajana is more and more purified? One who is always in sädhu-saìga. This is very important. One who is always in sädhu-saìga, in the association of a pure devotee or devotees and does bhajana, his heart becomes cleansed, in the same way as a mirror that is cleansed of all dirt gives a perfect reflection. Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura has said, “O my dear friends do not waste your valuable time in acquiring all these good qualities. The only one requirement is to have pure sädhu-saìga. Take shelter at the lotus feet of a pure devotee and engage yourself in bhajana under his guidance, then you can develop pure devotion and automatically all good qualities will develop…”

His Association Is Needed to Achieve Kṛṣṇa “…We have a destination, a goal. Our goal is to get allbeautiful Kåñëa, Çyämasundara. So how can you get the allbeautiful Kåñëa? Therefore you need a premé-bhakta who has bound up Çyämasundara in his heart…”

He Sees Kṛṣṇa Everywhere Devotee: …You were saying that a real brähmaëa is someone who knows Acyuta, the infallible Lord. So does that mean that he has seen the Lord or he just knows about the Lord? Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: He sees and knows everything.

Kåñëa is always manifest to him. yo mäà paçyati sarvatra sarvaà ca mayi paçyati tasyähaà na praëaçyämi sa ca me na praëaçyati*7 * Translation for Bhagavad-gétä 6.30: “For one who sees Me everywhere and sees viii

Introduction “…This is complete Kåñëa-consciousness: ‘One who sees Me everywhere, wherever he looks. ‘Oh! Kåñëa is there.’ One who sees everything in Him, is completely Kåñëa conscious. ‘He is not out of My sight, I am not out of His sight. He sees Me, I see him’…”

everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.”

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A street in the Gadäi-Giri village.

CHAPTER ONE

GadÄ i Giri A Village of Devotees

Chapter One

Gadāi Giri

A Village of Devotees

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his book begins in Orissa (now Odisha), one of the twenty-eight states of India, some three hundred years ago, in a village called Gadäi-Giri. Within India there are many holy places where the Lord has appeared personally and where His dear devotees also appear. GadäiGiri is a transcendental place where many great devotees of the Lord have taken birth; it is no ordinary place, and its residents are not ordinary personalities. Gadäi-Giri is a renowned village in the district of Cuttack, which is to be found on the eastern side of Orissa. It is approximately sixty-two kilometres from the town of Cuttack and ninety kilometres from Bhubaneswar, the state capital. The state of Orissa has a population of approximately forty-two million people. It is materially impoverished compared to some of the larger states of India, however spiritually, it is most wealthy and is the celebrated home of Lord Jagannätha Lord of the universe, who resides in a glorious temple at the heart of the holy city of Jagannätha Puré.

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Jagannātha Purī-dhāma Quoting from Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé’s Çré Båhad Bhägavatämåtam: däru-brahma jagannätho, bhagavän puruñottame kñetre néläcale kñärärnava-tére viräjate “In Puruñottama-kñetra also called Néläcala Çré Purédhäma, by the shore of the salt-water ocean, the Lord of the universe Lord Jagannätha-Kåñëa, is splendidly manifest in a spiritual form of wood.”1

samudrasyottare tére, äste çré-puruñottame pürëänanda-mayaà brahma, däru-vyäja-çaréra-bhåt “On the northern shore of the ocean, in Puruñottamakñetra, the supremely blissful Personality of Godhead Lord Kåñëa pretends to be made of wood.”2

nélädrau cotkale deçe, kñetre çré-puruñottame däruëy äste cid-änando, jagannäthäkhya-mürtinä “In the country of Orissa, Néläcala in Puruñottama-kñetra, the spiritual and blissful Personality of Godhead appears as the wooden Deity named Lord Jagannätha.”3

mahä-vibhütimän räjyaà, autkalaà pälayan svayam vyaïjayan nija-mähätmyaà, sadä sevaka-vatsalaù “Opulent and powerful, He personally protects and maintains the kingdom of Orissa. He is glorious and He loves His servants.”4

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aho tat-kñetra-mähätmyaà gardabho ’pi catur-bhujaù yatra praveça-mätreëa na kasyäpi punar-bhavaù “Oh, how can we possibly describe the glories of Puruñottama-kñetra? Even a donkey entering that abode attains a four-armed form, and anyone who enters that region never has to take birth again.”5

Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami has commented that the following is mentioned in the Vaiñëava-tantra: mathurä dvärakä-lélä yäù karoti ca gokule néläcala sthitaù kåñëas tä eva racati prabhuù “Whatever léläs of Çré Kåñëa are manifest in Gokula, Mathurä and Dvärakä are all found in Néläcala, Çré Kñetra.”6

“…If you have the vision, you can see all the léläs there.

When Mahäprabhu stayed there, He saw Våndävana. When He saw Caöaka-parvata He said, ‘Oh! Govardhan!’ When He saw the sea He said, ‘Oh! It is the Yamunä.’ When He saw the garden called Jagannätha-vallabha He said, ‘Oh! It is Våndävana.’ Mahäprabhu saw all of Kåñëa’s léläs in Çré Kñetra.

In the Utkala Khaëòa of the Skanda-Puräëa, which is the largest Puräëa [81,100 verses], Çréla Vyäsadeva has described the special characteristics of Çré Kñetra, Jagannätha Puré-dhäma. This kñetra [holy place] is very beautiful and wonderful. It is ten yojanas in diameter (daça-yojana-viståta), which is eighty miles.* It is situated on the shore of the ocean and is known as Tértharäja, the king of all places of pilgrimage. * One yojana is equal to eight miles.

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In the middle portion, there is néla-parvata, a blue mountain.

Acala also means mountain: therefore it is also called Néläcala. Çré Bhagavän has said, ‘That kñetra which is situated on the northern side of the ocean and the southern side of the river Mahänadé, in Orissa, is especially famous throughout the world.’ Çréla Vyäsadeva has mentioned that if one visits Jagannätha Puré-dhäma, he will have the result of visiting all térthas. For one who has been to Jagannätha Puré-dhäma there is no need to go to any more places of pilgrimage. Çré Puré-dhäma begins from Bhubaneswar, also known as Ekämra-känana. Bhubaneswar is the gateway through which one can enter into this kñetra. From Bhubaneswar it goes up to Candrabhägä (Koëärka), where the Sun-god is worshipped in the Sürya Mandira...”7

The Jagannätha Temple in Jagannätha Puré circa 1870

Lord Jagannätha The Lord of the Universe

Jagannätha Puré, which is situated on the east coast of the sub-continent of India, is a place of pilgrimage for millions of pious Hindus and Vaiñëavas. The huge temple of Jagannätha,

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which rises majestically to a height of 192 feet and which is said to be over two thousand years old, is there in all its splendour. The worship of Lord Kåñëa in His form of Lord Jagannätha has been performed there for many thousands of years pre-dating the construction of the present temple. Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami commented: “...The residents of Orissa are most fortunate in this regard, for they live in the land of Jagannätha, and the citizens of Puré are even more fortunate as they are in the direct proximity of the Jagannätha Temple...”

Orissan culture is based on service to Lord Jagannätha.

Jagannätha Puré is the place where Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu chose to perform His final pastimes (antya-lélä).

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, also known as the Golden Avatära, is an incarnation of Kåñëa.* He spent the last eighteen years of His manifest pastimes on Earth in Jagannätha Puré, being absorbed in viraha-bhäva, the mood of separation from the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa. * såñöi-hetu yei mürti prapaïce avatare sei éçvara-mürti ‘avatära’ näma dhare “The form of the Lord that descends into the material world to create is called an avatära, or incarnation.” (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-léla, 20.263) mäyätéta paravyome sabära avasthäna viçve avatari’ dhare ‘avatära’ näma “All the expansions of Lord Kåñëa are actually residents of the spiritual world.

But when they descend into the material world, they are called incarnations [avatäras].” (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-léla, 20.264)

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Lord Kåñëa, after returning to His abode, thought about how He had only spoken theoretically in the Bhagavad-gétä and had not taught the practicalities of surrender. Therefore He thought, “I have to come down again”, and thus He appeared as Mahäprabhu. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu appeared in West Bengal, India, in 1486 some 533 years ago to enact wonderful, dramatic pastimes including inculcating unto one and all the ecstatic chanting of the pure holy name of the Lord, prema-nämasaìkértana: hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare

Prema-Nāma-Saṅkīrtana In his Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé writes, dui hetu avatari’ laïä bhakta-gaëa äpane äsväde prema-näma-saìkértana “Thus with two intentions the Lord appeared with His devotees, and tasted the nectar of prema with the congregational chanting of the holy name.”8

prema-rasa-niryäsa karite äsvädana räga-märga bhakti loke karite pracäraëa rasika-çekhara kåñëa parama-karuëa ei dui hetu haite icchära udgama

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“The Lord’s desire to appear was born from two reasons: the Lord wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows of love of God, and He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on the platform of spontaneous attraction. Thus He is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all.”9

punaù ati-utkaëöhä, dainya ha-ila udgama kåñëa-öhäïi mäge prema-näma-saìkértana “Natural humility and eagerness then awoke in Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. He prayed to Kåñëa to be able to chant the mahä-mantra in ecstatic love.”10

He was large in stature, had a golden bodily hue and He began the saìkértana movement, which has been predicted in the Vedas over 5,000 years ago. It was also predicted that this saìkértana movement would spread widely throughout the world, especially to the Western countries.

Orissa and Bengal are the two main states of India where the followers of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu appeared. They became known as Oriyäs and Gauòéyas.

The Oriyās and Gauḍīyas Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu stayed in Orissa for 18 years. The devotees from Orissa and Bengal were very important in the pastimes of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, as will be seen by the following quotes: néläcale ei saba bhakta prabhu-saìge dui sthäne prabhu-sevä kaila nänä-raìge

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“I have especially mentioned all these devotees because they accompanied Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu in Bengal and Orissa and served Him in many ways.”11 “Most of the devotees of Lord Caitanya lived in Bengal and Orissa. Thus they are celebrated as Gauòéyas and Oriyäs.”12 “There is a special reference for the maintenance of Bengali Vaiñëavas. A Gauòéya Vaiñëava is a Bengali Vaiñëava. Most of the devotees of Lord Caitanya at that time were Gauòéyas and Oriyäs, inhabitants of Bengal and Orissa. There are still many hundreds of thousands of His followers in Bengal and Orissa.”13 “…In those days, five hundred years ago, there were no railway facilities. So people used to go to Puré on foot especially from Bengal. And because He was staying in Orissa, there were many Oriyäs and Gauòéyas. Practically Lord Caitanya’s followers are generally Bengalis and Oriyäs. Because Lord Caitanya appeared in Bengal and made His residence in Orissa, naturally the people of these two provinces became His devotees in large numbers. And still, in Orissa there are many devotees, as there are in Bengal. So Caitanya Mahäprabhu was patronised by Mahäräja Pratäparudra, who was a very powerful king. He did not allow the Mohammedans to enter into Orissa. He was so powerful. At that time the whole of India was occupied by the Pathans, but they could not enter in Orissa and South India. So Mahäräja Pratäparudra was a very powerful king, and at the same time he was a devotee of Lord Caitanya…”14 “…So one of the confidential devotees of Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu was an Oriya, this was Rämänanda Räya, and also Çikhi Mähiti. So it is a great opportunity for the Oriyäs to understand the Kåñëa consciousness science through the mercy of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu…”15

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Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu had four confidential associates, Rämänanda Räya, Çikhi Mähiti and Mädhavé devé, who were from Orissa; and Svarüpa Dämodara Gosvämé, who was from Bengal. “…Çréla [Gopäla Guru] Gosvämé was extremely pleased to have quite unexpectedly found two such worthy disciples.

He said, ‘May the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who mercifully appeared in Navadvépa to acknowledge the Gauòéyas of Bengal and the Oriyäs of Orissa as His own, Çré Nimäi Paëòita, the son of Çacémätä, bless us with spiritual bliss…’”16

The Village of the Holy Name “...Birth in a family of yogés or transcendentalists—those with great wisdom—is praised herein because the child born in such a family receives a spiritual impetus from the very beginning of his life. It is especially the case in the äcärya or gosvämé families. Such families are very learned and devoted by tradition and training, and thus they become spiritual masters. In India there are many such äcärya families, but they have now degenerated due to insufficient education and training. By the grace of the Lord, there are still families that foster transcendentalists, generation after generation.

It is certainly very fortunate to take birth in such families.

Fortunately, both our spiritual master, Oà Viñëupäda Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja, and our humble self, had the opportunity to take birth in such families, by the grace of the Lord, and both of us were trained in the devotional service of the Lord from the very beginning of our lives. Later on we met by the order of the transcendental system...”17

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The village of Gadäi-Giri, situated amidst the tranquil solitude of rural Orissa, surrounded by lotus-filled ponds and green paddy fields, has a most interesting history. Around three hundred years ago, a great devotee of Mahäprabhu named Dadhi Baman Lord Jagannätha at Gadäi Giri

Gadai Giri, originating from Midnapur*, now part of West Bengal, came to Orissa. He dealt in brass cooking utensils. *Author’s note: “...At the time of Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda, Orissa, Bihar and Bengal were one entity under the control of the Calcutta Presidency. In 1912 Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal, but in the process Midnapur district, which was traditionally part of Orissa, became a part of Bengal, and Phuljhar and Vindyagiri districts were also separated from Orissa to become part of Madhya Pradesh. In addition, the whole of Srikakulam and Vishakhapatnam districts, including Tekali, Manjusha, Badaring, Tarala and Parbalipur, became part of the former Madras Province (and now are part of Andhra Pradesh). Then, in 1936, Orissa was separated from Bihar. At the time of Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda and Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura, Cuttack was the capital of Orissa. After Indian independence, Bhubaneswar became the capital, in 1948...” (Quoted from: Choti - The Native Place of Çréla Öhäkura Bhaktivinoda by Dr. Fakir Mohan Das. (PhD. & D. Litt.)

(From: APPENDIX Öhäkura Bhaktivinode and Öhäkura Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté in Orissa).

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The Sound of a Flute Coming from the Jungle As Çré Gadai Giri was crossing this area, he suddenly heard the auspicious sound of a flute coming from the jungle, along with the tinkle of ankle bells and the blowing of a conch, intermingling with the calls of various birds. He revealed this incident to a local sädhu he had befriended, and that sädhu advised him to make his home in that very spot. He also told him that Lord Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must be present there. He added that wherever there is Kåñëa, the goddess Lakñmé also resides. And he told him that all his needs would be met if he were to simply remain there in adoration of the Supreme Lord.

The local Zamindar,* who had become very favourably disposed towards Çré Gadai Giri by virtue of his sweet nature and good behaviour, gave him permission to stay in the locality. Thus Çré Gadai Giri made a clearing in the jungle and built a thatched hut. He gave up his business, constructed a

The old Gadäi-Giri Temple (outside and inside)

small temple for Dadhi Baman [Lord Jagannätha] and engaged himself full time in the glorification of the Supreme Lord, through kértana and study of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. *The Squire or principle local landowner.

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From then on Gadai Giri remained there with his family.

Gradually more people moved into the area and a small village was slowly formed.

Gopal Giri, the son of Gadai Giri, was also deeply devoted to Lord Jagannätha and had learned kértana from the devotees of Mahäprabhu’s home district of Nadia, Bengal. Many years later, he named the village after his father: Gadäi-Giri Village.

Since the sixteenth century, the Giri dynasty has been very famous throughout the whole of Orissa for their kértana and bhajans and for their sincere, deep devotion to the Lord.

It Is in Their Blood For centuries this small village of Gadäi-Giri, in the middle of nowhere in Orissa has been flooded with the sound of kértana. Great devotees have taken birth in the Giri dynasty in order to satisfy the Supreme Lord’s desire to hear sweet kértana.

This Gadäi-Giri kértana cannot be learned like a dramatic or musical performance; it is inherent of one born into the Giri family. The family is famous for their great devotion to the Lord and their wondrous kértana.

The Giri Family The Giri family to this day still generates, on one side of the family, talented singers who can sing very sweet kértana, and on the other side, mådaìga* players (drummers). Since the time of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, all the villages of Orissa have had a kértana party, but none are as famous as the kértana party from Gadäi-Giri. *Mådaìga: [måd – clay or mud, and daìga – drum] a two-headed clay drum used for kértana performances and congregational chanting.

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Some three hundred years ago, around the year 1690, Çré Gopal Giri and his family maintained the worship of the Deity* of Lord Jagannätha (without the Deities of Lord Baladeva and Subhadrä-devé) in the small temple that was constructed by his father.

Gopal Giri in Jagannātha Purī Gopal Giri was working as the poddar, cashier, in the Jagannätha Temple in Puré and was directly responsible to the king. He was most qualified to hold this post as he was both well educated and completely trustworthy. He was well known and respected in Puré. His position was secure and his day-today life was calm and pleasant enough, apart from a strong desire that he cherished in his heart to worship the Lord’s eternal form of Lord Gopäla.** Even while dutifully carrying out his obligations as a treasurer, he was always praying for the time he could give up his occupation and fully dedicate his life to the service and pleasure of his iñöa-deva (worshippable deity) - Lord Gopäla - Kåñëa as a cowherd boy. He so much *Deity: The symbolic representation of the transcendental form of the Lord in stone, wood, metal, paint, or within one’s mind; the deity form of the Lord is transcendental because on the spiritual level, a symbol is identical with that which it represents. (The self-realised soul confirms these symbolic forms of the Lord, because he has seen the Lord, face to face.) In the revealed scriptures, it is described that the Absolute Truth can be understood in three ways. The first is the impersonal Brahman. (This is also understood by some as the the divine light.) The second is the Supersoul or the Paramätmä, the localised aspect of the Lord in the heart of every living entity and in every atom. The third understanding, and the highest, is the direct vision of the Absolute Truth as Bhagavän, the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa. This is all evidenced by the scriptures, and the self-realised souls who are tattva-darçé. In his purport to Çrémad-Bhägavatam 5.15.5, Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda writes, “...tattva-darçé refers to one who has perfectly realised the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a person can become a guru and propound Vaiñëava philosophy all over the world...” ** Gopäla: a name of child Kåñëa meaning ‘He who protects and nourishes the cows.’

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longed for the Lord to appear before him in that form.

In the town of Puré, many sädhus (holy men/saints) would come to see the Deity of the Supreme Lord in the Jagannätha Temple. When Gopal Giri sometimes met with these sädhus, he would ask, “Please give me your blessings so that I may obtain a deity of Lord Gopäla; it is my heart’s desire to worship Him.” However most of them would reply, “If you want to worship Lord Gopäla, then you will have to go to Våndävana.* There you will find the Lord of your heart.” Now the dilemma for Gopal Giri was that he was serving in Puré and was unable to travel to Våndävana. The only means of transport in those days was by bullock cart or on foot, and he was unable to take leave from his work for the many months it would take for this journey.

Gopāla and the Vaiṣṇava Bābājī During this time, in Våndävana there lived a vaiñëavabäbäjé** who would perform mädhukaré*** every day, going from door-to-door begging alms. During the daytime, he would go out and collect a little rice and däl, which he would cook in the evening and then offer to his Deity Çré Gopäla Jéu, whom he would carry around the whole day in his shoulder bag. The *Våndävana: The transcendental place where Kåñëa enjoys His eternal pastimes as a young cowherd boy, and it is considered the topmost sphere in all existence.

When this Våndävana is exhibited in the material world it is known as Gokula, and in the spiritual world it is called Goloka, or Goloka Våndävana. **Bäbäjé: A bäbäji is a renounced monk, that devotes his life to hearing and chanting about Kåñëa, and spends the minimum amount of time on bodily needs such as eating and sleeping. ***Mädhukaré: When a sannyäsé advances further, he no longer accepts anything from home; instead, he collects his necessities, especially his food, from many places. This system is called mädhukaré, which literally means “the profession of the bumblebees.” As bumblebees collect honey from many flowers, a little from each, so a sannyäsé should beg from door to door but not accept very much food from any particular house; he should collect a little from every house.

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bäbäjé would first offer the cooked rice and däl to the Lord and then he would eat the remnants. After taking prasäda he would place the deity back in his bag. In this way he led his life, wandering throughout the forests of Våndävana.

The Bābājī’s Dream One night, his Deity of Gopäla Jéu appeared to the bäbäjé in a dream, and told him, “You should take Me to Gopal Giri, the son of Gadai Giri. He wants to worship Me. Take Me to Jagannätha Puré where Gopal Giri is working! I want to hear the kértana performed by the residents of Gadäi-Giri.” Upon awakening, the bäbäjé, did not pay much attention to this.

“After all”, he considered, “it was only a dream!” He carried on his daily routine as though nothing had happened. However, some nights later, the deity appeared again to the bäbäjé in a dream, this time with a cane in His hand and He beat the bäbäjé severely. When the bäbäjé awoke, he saw the wounds on his body and he at once realised his mistake. He begged Lord Gopäla’s forgiveness for not having followed His command even though He had been kind enough to personally appear before him in a dream and instruct him.

The bäbäjé then said, “O, my Lord! You have beaten me very severely. How can I possibly go to Puré now with so many wounds on my body? Unless they are healed, how can I go there?”

Gopäla Jéu replied to him, “No! First you take Me to Puré and hand Me over to Gopal Giri. Once this is done, ask Gopal Giri to place his hand on your body. When he does this, all of your wounds will disappear immediately. Otherwise your wounds will never heal. Therefore please do not delay. Let us leave at once! I will give you the directions on how to go to Puré and where to find Gopal Giri.”

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The Journey from Vṛndāvana to Jagannātha Purī Immediately the bäbäjé set out for Puré from Våndävana.

Since he mainly travelled by foot the journey from Våndävana to Jagannätha Puré took many months. The distance was, as the crow flies, one thousand six hundred and ten kilometres but the distance actually travelled was 2,200 kilometres.

There was also no facility for the bäbäjé to send a message in advance to inform the residents of Puré that Lord Gopäla Jéu was coming to satisfy the desire of Gopal Giri. He did not even know who Gopal Giri was or what he looked like. He just set out for Puré with faith in the order of the Supreme Lord. The bäbäjé was the servant of the deity, and the deity had said that He wanted to go to Puré. That was it!

It was a long journey full of obstacles and hardships, and the bäbäjé finally arrived in Jagannätha Puré. He enquired from the local people as to the whereabouts of Gopal Giri. He was well known and famous as the Jagannätha Temple cashier. The bäbäjé found out that he was staying in a rented house in the area known as Kundheibenta Sahi, three or four kilometres from the Jagannätha Temple, in the direction of the Guëòicämandira, on the north side of Puré.

As it was quite late in the evening, the bäbäjé decided to stay that night near the Jagannätha Temple, and to visit Gopal Giri early the next morning.

The Bābājī Meets Gopal Giri As it so happened, Gopal Giri had just finished bathing and was putting on his tilaka when he heard a knock at the door.

He went to see who it was and saw a bäbäjé standing at the

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entrance to his house. The bäbäjé inquired if he was indeed Gopal Giri, saying, “I have brought with me the Deity of Çré Gopäla Jéu, who has come all the way from Våndävana so that you may worship Him.” He lifted the Lord out of his bag. Gopal Giri was astonished, to say the least, as he gazed in wonder at

The Deity Çré Gopäla Jéu

the beautiful form of Çré Gopäla Jéu. He asked the bäbäjé who he was and where he had come from. The bäbäjé related the whole story to him and asked him to touch his body so that his wounds would heal. He gave him the Deity of Gopäla Jéu and Gopal Giri then touched the bäbäjé’s body, and as the Lord had promised him, all his wounds were immediately healed!

Gopal Giri was amazed that his desire had come true. The Lord had come all the way from Våndävana just so that he could worship Him! In great bliss, he went to the market to purchase the finest quality rice, däl and vegetables and upon 19

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returning home, gave them to the bäbäjé so he could cook for Lord Gopäla.

His next course of action was to approach the king and offer his resignation. The king however, was not present in his palace at that time and therefore he submitted his resignation in writing to the king’s officers. He then went home and saw that the offering was made by the bäbäjé to the Lord. After the Lord was satisfied, Gopal Giri and the bäbäjé took prasäda, the remnants of Lord Gopäla Jéu’s meal.

Sometime after, Gopal Giri opened his cash box and requested the Vaiñëava bäbäjé to take as much money as he wanted, whereupon the bäbäjé replied, “No! I will not take any money! I am the servant of Gopäla. Wherever Lord Gopäla will go, I will go also and serve Him! I am not a person to sell the deity, I am His servant!”

Gopal Giri Resigns from Government Service Sometime later, Gopal Giri was summoned to see the king. The king asked him, “Why have you resigned? Please explain your actions?” Gopal Giri explained to the king that he had cherished for many years the desire to worship the Lord in the form of Gopäla, and that a Deity of Gopäla Jéu had been brought to him by a Vaiñëava bäbäjé all the way from Våndävana. He also explained to the king that he had already constructed a temple in his native village and now desired to install Lord Gopäla there, to worship Him very nicely and to perform kértana for Him everyday, together with his famous family members. Upon hearing this, the king became very pleased and said, “Since your desire to worship Lord Gopäla has been fulfilled today, I have no objection. However, I do have one request: you must come sometimes to Puré with the kértana party from Gadäi-Giri and perform kértana in the 20

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temple for the pleasure of Lord Jagannätha.” Gopal Giri, was honoured and happily accepted the conditions of the king, who released him from all his duties at the Jagannätha Temple.

Gopal Giri Returns to Gadāi-Giri with Śrī Gopāla Jīu Thereafter, Gopal Giri returned to his village with the deity accompanied by the Vaiñëava bäbäjé who would assist with the worship. Çré Gopäla Jéu was installed in the temple along with a beautiful Deity of His eternal consort, Çrématé Rädhäräëé, whose golden form was fashioned from brass by a local çilpé (deity sculptor). The Deity of Gopäla Jéu and His eternal consort, Çrématé Rädhäräëé have been worshipped in the temple at Gadäi-Giri ever since.

Çré Çré Rädha Gopäla Jéu and Dadhi Baman, Lord Jagannätha inside the Gadäi-Giri Temple.

Çré Çré Rädha Gopäla Jéu

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The Madāla-pañji The Giri family was not poor by any means. In fact they were very wealthy owning many acres of land surrounding the temple. They were the most famous kértanéyas in Orissa, and now they had a special invitation from the King of Puré to sing in the Puré Temple for Lord Jagannätha whenever they could. (That invitation still holds to this day and is written in the Madäla-païji, the history book of the Temple of Lord Jagannätha). The Giri family’s main occupation was deity worship and hari-kértana, and now the Supreme Lord in His deity form had come all the way from Våndävana to hear the their kértana and accept their service.

Where My Pure Devotees Chant It is described in the Padma Puräëa, nähaà tiñöhämi vaikuëöhe yoginäà hådayeñu vä tatra tiñöhämi närada yatra gäyanti mad-bhaktäù “My dear Närada, actually I do not reside in My abode, Vaikuëöha, nor do I reside within the hearts of the yogés, but I reside in that place where My pure devotees chant My holy name and discuss My form, pastimes and qualities.”18 While relating the story of the arrival of his most beloved deity in the village of his ancestors, Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Mahäräja quoted the above verse and said, “The Supreme Lord is very happy to hear His own glorification.”

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Gopal Giri arranged all the land and other properties for the service of the Deities. Sometime later the bäbäjé, who was still fully engaged in the service of Gopäla Jéu, left his body in Gadäi-Giri. Gopal Giri remained on this planet for eighty-five years. He engaged many other Vaiñëavas in the daily worship and was completely absorbed in the service of Gopäla Jéu, his most beloved iñöa-deva.

The Son Who Could Not Sing Just one kilometre from the Gadäi-Giri village there is a temple dedicated to the goddess Öhäkuräëé, a form of the goddess Durgä. This temple is in the neighbouring village of Nägapur. As has already been described, the Giri family were, and still are, famous throughout Orissa for their kértana. They are kértana-gurus. At one point in time in the Giri dynasty, there was one member of the family called Abhiram Giri, who could neither play mådaìga nor sing sweet kértana, much to the discontent of his father, Dinabandhu Giri, who was himself most famous for his kértana. Once, after performing kértana, the local villagers were enquiring from his father, “Why doesn’t your son ever lead kértana for the Lord’s pleasure?”

The father, being rather embarrassed, replied, “This son of mine is ignorant in this regard, he cannot sing nor play the mådaìga.” The villagers were amazed and said, “What is this, how amazing! All in your line are famous kértanéyas. Why is your son ignorant in this regard?” Abhiram Giri, who was present at that time, became very much ashamed of himself upon hearing this discussion and left that place with a troubled mind. He headed directly for the temple of the goddess Öhäkuräëé, where he prostrated himself on the floor and did not move for three days. He took neither water nor food and simply laid down there. Within his heart, he was crying for the

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benediction to become an excellent kértana leader. He felt that if he could not, it would be better for him to just give up his body on that spot. After three days of lying prostrated on the temple-room floor, fasting, he received a merciful benediction of the goddess Öhäkuräëé. From that very day, he became famous as the leader of the most wondrous kértanas. Such are the glories of the ‘family of kértana’, the Gadäi-Giri kértanéyas.

The Deity of Śrī Gopāla Jīu Is Stolen Once, some 196 years ago, a thief in the guise of a bäbäjé came to Gadäi-Giri. He would often help the brähmaëa in charge with the worship, making garlands, dressing the deities and performing arätis.* One night, this charlatan ‘bäbäjé’ decided that he would have the deity for himself and stole Lord Gopäla Jéu. He headed in the direction of a nearby village called Bishi Muhana, which is approximately three kilometres from the Gadäi-Giri temple. In a dream, that very night, the deity spoke to Bhagat Charan Giri, who was at that time the village leader. “I have been stolen by this ‘bäbäjé’ and I am lying in a field near the village of Bishi Muhana. The ‘bäbäjé’ is now dead from a snake bite. Please come and get Me.” Bhagat Charan Giri immediately awoke and came to the temple, to find that the Deity was indeed missing.

By this time the brähmaëa had also awoken and was yelling at the top of his voice, “The Deity has gone, the Deity has been stolen!” Bhagat Charan Giri told him of his dream in which the Deity had appeared to him. In that dream, Bhagat Charan Giri had also seen a torch burning in the direction of * Ärati: a traditional Vedic ceremony during which offerings of incense, ghee lamps, flowers, water etc. are made to the deity of the Lord.

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the village of Bishi Muhana. He quickly organised a very large kértana party of many of the villagers from Gadäi-Giri. It was an enormous procession with mådaìgas, karatälas, and many villagers held flaming torches. They headed in the direction of a mystical burning torch, just as Bhagat Giri had seen in his dream, that they could see far off in the distance. When Bhagat Giri and his kértana party finally reached the spot where the now vanished torch should have been, they found the body of the bäbäjé thief and the Deity of Çré Gopäla Jéu.

A mighty kértana was performed, and taking Lord Çré Gopäla Jéu with them they returned to their village. Upon arriving back at Gadäi-Giri, they performed a fire sacrifice and placed the Deity of the Lord on His temple altar.

A Place of Austerities Çréla Gurudeva comments on Gadäi-Giri: “...Because this place, Gadäi-Giri, is tapa-bhümi, a place of austerities, it is very special. By the performance of only a little sädhana or bhajana here, one can receive great benefit in spiritual life. The kértana and austerities performed in Gadäi-Giri brought Gopäla from Våndävana. This place will kill the demoniac nature. Rävaëa was a very powerful demon, however he was always afraid of tapa-çakti, the power of austerity. Therefore he told his followers they could go to every place to the north, except Vedapuré (now modern-day Pondicherry, in South India) because that place would kill the demoniac nature. Therefore Gadäi-Giri, the place of Gopäla, is a place of saàskära and sädhana. Everyone should accept it as their own and make their life successful...”19

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A Very Special Place Caitanya Candra däsa comments on Gadäi-Giri: “...Guru Mahäräja [Çréla Gour Govinda Swami] had also mentioned that the Gadäi-Giri village is Gupta Våndävana hidden Våndävana. This Gadäi-Giri is a very special place...”

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CHAPTER TWO

The Custodians

of the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu Temple

C h a p t e r Tw o

The Custodians

of the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu Temple

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Śrī Gadai Giri

s described in Chapter One, Gadai Giri came from what is now part of West Bengal and settled in that area of Orissa, where he established the village of Gadäi-Giri in 1695.

Since the Deity Gopäla Jéu came from Våndävana to Gopal Giri, there have been a succession of custodians of the temple.

Their names are listed below.

Śrī Gopal Giri Gadai Giri had a son named Gopal Giri [1720–1805] who was famous for initiating the worship of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu and establishing the Temple of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu.

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Śrī Dinabandhu Giri Dinabandhu Giri [1745–1830] was the son of Gopal Giri, and he remained on this earth for eighty-five years. He spent most of his life in the service of Gopäla Jéu.

Śrī Abhiram Giri Dinabandhu Giri’s son was Abhiram Giri [1770–1860]. He gave up his body at the age of ninety, after spending most of his life in the service of Gopäla Jéu.

Śrī Bhagat Charan Giri Abhiram Giri’s son was Bhagat Charan Giri [1795–1877].

He lived for eighty-two years and for most of his life he regularly performed sevä to Gopäla Jéu. He was a renowned kértana-guru in that area and was honoured by the local Zamindar with a certificate in recognition of his kértana leadership.

Śrī Bhikari Giri Bhagat Charan Giri had two sons: Laksman Giri and Bhikari Giri. Bhikari Giri [1825–1908] became a sannyäsé when he was thirty years old, and spent the rest of his life in Våndävana.

Prior to taking sannyäsa, when he was in the gåhastha-äçrama, he produced a son, Govinda Giri.

Śrī Govinda Giri Govinda Giri [1845–1933] was six years old when his father took sannyäsa. He was highly proficient in kértana.

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Throughout his eighty-eight years he served Gopäla Jéu regularly with great devotion.

Śrī Bauribandhu Giri

(Grandfather of Çréla Gurudeva)

The next in line for custodianship of the Gopäla Jéu Mandir was Bauribandhu Giri [1870–1939]*, who was the son of Govinda Giri. He had three sons: Gopinath Giri, Jagannath Giri and Dinabandhu Giri. He also had two daughters named Hade Devi and Pata Devi. Pata Devi was the mother of Brajabandhu Manik who after taking sannyäsa became Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja.

Śrī Gopinath Giri Bauribandhu Giri bequeathed the custodianship of the temple to his son Gopinath Giri [1895–1967]. Gopinath Giri handed over the sevä of Gopäla Jéu to his son Ghanasyam Giri.

From the above glimpses into the lives of the custodians of the Gopäla Jéu Temple, we can see that the Giri family maintained deity worship and saìkértana since 1695. Later in this volume we will see how they were also engaged in study of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, bhägavat-vidhi (the nine processes of devotional service) and päïcarätrika-vidhi (temple worship). Çravaëam and kértanam, or hearing and chanting, are bhägavatvidhi, and arcanam, or deity worship, is päïcarätrika-vidhi.

* Author’s note: Please see Chapter Six of this publication for more information on Bauribandhu Giri.

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Agni-Utsava Day Ghanasyam Giri [the son of Gopinath Giri] recalls: “In 1967 at the age of 72 my father Gopinath Giri left this world on the agni-utsava day. [Corresponding to the appearance day of Çréla Narottama-däsa Thäkura, which was Friday 24, February 1967].

Eighteen years later, at the age of 85 my uncle Jagannätha Giri left this world on the same day of agni-utsava [Corresponding to the appearance day of Çréla Narottamadäsa Thäkura, which was Tuesday 5 February 1985] in the month of Mägha.

Also Govinda Giri [1845–1933], the great grandfather of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, had also passed from this world on the agni-utsava in the month of Mägha.

Our grandfather Bauribandhu Giri left this world amidst a giant kértana on Mägha-saptamé, which is also the appearance day of Advaita Äcärya.”*

Many of the family members of this famous Vaiñëava family left this world on auspicious days with a mighty kértana going on.

Śrī Ghanasyam Giri In November 1993, Ghanasyam Giri [1920–2007] passed down the sevä of Gopäla Jéu, including ownership of the land on which the Gopäla Jéu Temple is situated, to his cousin Çréla Gour Govinda Swami [1929–1996]. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami has since established a very wonderful temple on that land for his most beloved Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu.** * Author’s note: Please see Chapter Six of this publication for more information on Bauribandhu Giri. ** Author’s note: At 10.30 in the morning of October 29, 1999 a super cyclone with a wind speed of 260 kph struck Orissa, making it the greatest cyclonic disaster

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Since 2007 when Ghanasyam Giri left this world his younger brother Damodara Giri [1929–2019] became the custodian of the Gadäi-Giri village. The current custodian is Subrath Giri [1991]. His parents are Sarath Giri and Manjulata Giri. His duties are arranging festivals such as Dola-yäträ, Räsa-yäträ etc. The Temple President for the Gadäi-Giri ISKCON Temple is not involved with the day to day running of the Gadäi-Giri village.

This is the history of the custodians of the village of GadäiGiri. The kértana party from Gadäi-Giri is most famous and the deity coming from Våndävana - Gopäla Jéu - is also very well known. It was into this esteemed Vaiñëava dynasty that Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja was born. The following chapters will reveal his extraordinary life and pastimes. From his childhood and throughout his entire life, the Deities of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu were constantly the object of his meditation, devotion and love. Çréla Gurudeva kept a diary that he would write in every day without fail. Each entry began, “By the mercy of Prabhu Gopäla, this day was spent thus...” The diary entries would end with a prayer to Gopäla, “Please give me prema-bhakti, ecstatic love of God.”

ever recorded in the last century. The winds raged for over 36 hours and destroyed many houses. In Gadäi-Giri however the whole village including all the animals were able to take shelter in this temple built for Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu on the order of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami. Although all the thatched houses in the village were destroyed, all the villagers and their animals survived the cyclone.

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CHAPTER THREE

His Divine Appearance

Chapter Three

His Divine Appearance

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The Appearance of a Vaiṣṇava

he birth of a Vaiñëava is unlike that of a conditioned soul. He takes his birth under the auspices of the Supreme Lord; he is not forced by the illusory energy (mäyä) to appear in this material world.

In the Padma Puräëa it is written, na karma-bandhanaà janma vaiñëavänäà ca vidyate viñëur anucaratvaà hi mokñam ähur manéñiëaù “A Vaiñëava does not take birth under the jurisdiction of karmic law. His birth and disappearance are transcendental.

The wise have declared that the servants of Viñëu are eternally engaged in the liberated service of the Lord, and are thus free from the laws of material nature.”1

In his Çré Caitanya-bhägavata Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura has written, ataeva vaiñëavera janma-måtyu näi saìge äisena, saìge yäyena tathäi dharma-karma-janma vaiñëavera kabhu nahe padma-puräëete ihä vyakta kari’ kahe

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“The Padma Puräëa states: Vaiñëavas do not undergo birth and death like ordinary persons. They appear and disappear from this world of their own accord. In this way sometimes we have their association and sometimes their association is withdrawn. The devotees are not subject to any worldly considerations of duty and karma.”2

The Divine Appearance His Divine Grace Oà Viñëupäda Paramahaàsa Parivräjakäcärya 108 Gour Govinda Mahäräja made his appearance in the village of Jagannathpur in the district of Cuttack, in the state of Orissa, India. Jagannathpur is approximately eighty-five kilometres from Bhubaneswar, the state capital, fifty-five kilometres from the city of Cuttack and fifteen kilometres from Gadäi-Giri. He was born on 2 September 1929 at 7.30 am.* This day fell one week after Janmäñöamé** and one week prior to Rädhäñöamé.*** His family were strict Vaiñëavas. Having performed auspicious ceremonies (saàskäras) according to the Vedic tradition, his parents begot their first son, whom they named Brajabandhu.

At the time of his divine appearance, the karatälas rang and the mådaìgas beat a thunderous sound, as his mother’s family members in Gadäi-Giri combined in kértana to joyfully celebrate the birth in the family of kértanéyas. While GadäiGiri village echoed with the sound of the holy name, the infant Brajabandhu was lovingly held by his mother and sound asleep in Jagannathpur. * Author’s note: This day is also the same day and month that His Divine Grace Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura took his birth in this world some 90 years earlier. One astrologer was even noted as saying that Çréla Gurudeva was Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura come again. ** The holy appearance day of Lord Kåñëa. *** The holy appearance day of the Lord’s eternal consort Çrématé Rädhäräëé.

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His Divine Appearance

His father Isvara Manik and his mother Pata Devi Giri were both born in families that had long since followed the Vaiñëava tradition. His mother’s family were the descendants of the famous Gopal Giri.

Brajabandhu’s Mother Pata Devi, the daughter of Bauri Giri was very devoted to Çré Gopäla Jéu. From her early childhood she would come to see Gopäla every day. Every morning, she would sweep Gopäla’s temple, make garlands and cook for Him. Pata Devi married Isvara Manik from the nearby village of Jagannathpur. Like the Giri family, Isvara Manik earned his livelihood by selling bell metal. After her marriage, she lived fifteen kilometres from Gadäi-Giri, so Pata Devi only managed to serve Gopäla during festival times. Pata Devi was always quiet and absorbed in serving her husband and children, and every Saturday she would fast as an offering for their well-being. Each morning, she would worship Lord Jagannätha and recite verses from the Puräëas and Bhagavad-gétä. Every evening she chanted Hare Kåñëa and performed tulasé-parikramä with her husband and son Brajabandhu. After parikramä, she would recite verses from the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Any beggar or sädhu that came to her house never went away empty handed.

Vaiṣṇava Tradition The family members of Brajabandhu’s father were also Vaiñëavas. Those who accept Vaiñëava initiation vow to refrain from eating flesh, fish and eggs, from gambling, from all intoxication and illicit sex. Initiated Vaiñëavas also vow to

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chant the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra on beads a fixed number of times (japa)* each day.

Man-Manā Bhava During this period in time, India was still under British rule, but pressure was beginning to mount against the British, with the aim of giving India complete independence. These events, however, had little effect on the Giri and the Manik families.

Despite the political upheaval India was experiencing at this time, the peace and solitude of day-to-day life in GadäiGiri and Jagannathpura remained relatively untouched, as serving Kåñëa far outweighed any involvement in serving the mundane political system. The majority of the inhabitants of Gadäi-Giri were not interested in the fight for supremacy permeating Indian politics or whether the British or the Indian Nationalists were in charge. They were occupied with spiritual concerns, serving Kåñëa and kåñëa-bhajana.

In the Bhagavad-gétä, Lord Kåñëa has stated, man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru - always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer obeisances to Me.”3 Following Kåñëa’s instructions, engaging in kåñëa-sevä and bhajana were the main interests of the Giri and the Manik families.

Vedic Dharma It is still prevalent in India to have one’s children born at home. Our beloved Gurudeva has stated, * Japa: The chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra on a string of beads made from the wood of the sacred tulasé plant.

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C h a p t e r 3

His Divine Appearance

“...I was born at home (1929), not in the hospital, and six of my seven children were also born at home. This is the Vedic process...”

The Vedic system is that the mother delivers her children at home. Both the mother and her new baby go through a purificatory period of up to thirty days and undergo different beneficial Äyurvedic treatments. After that, there is a small ceremony when they leave the house and visit a temple for the first time. Prior to this the mother and the child do not leave the house. This is one of the many religious observances for the parents and the newborn child and are known as saàskäras.

Brajabandhu and his mother observed this ceremony when he, as a newborn, was taken outside the maternity home for the first time, to have darçana of the form of the Lord in the local temple.

Vaiṣṇava Association from Birth Brajabandhu’s father, Isvara Manik, was accustomed to rising early every morning, bathing, applying tilaka on his body and would then chant the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra on his japa-mälä. He was a very devotional and simple-hearted person. The local people accepted him as a nice Vaiñëava.

Born into a community of Vaiñëavas, Brajabandhu was accustomed to seeing devotees adorned with the external signs of a Vaiñëava, çikhä, tilaka, kaëöhi-mälä, and chanting the holy name of the Lord.* His father chanted Hare Kåñëa, as did his uncles, his grandfather and his mother. * Author’s note (i): A çikhä is a short tuft of hair that male devotees keep at the back of their head; tilaka is a type of clay used for marking the body, usually in twelve places. Adorning the body with tilaka purifies the mind and reminds one that the body is a temple of the Lord. The kaëöhi-mälä is a string of tulasé beads worn around the neck, usually in three strands, by devotees, signifying that the wearer is a follower of Çré Kåñëa or Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

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Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja: I can remember from when I was very young that my grandfather, my father and all my uncles had a çikhä, would put on Vaiñëava tilak after bathing and wore kaëöhi-mälä. They were all Vaiñëavas and they were always chanting Hare Kåñëa.

At home, his life revolved around serving the Supreme Lord.

Both of his parents and all of their relatives were constantly engaged in serving the family Deities.

As devotees, the Manik family and the Giri family had strong faith in Lord Kåñëa’s words in the Bhagavad-gétä, and the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the ancient Vedic* scriptures of India.

Every evening after kértana, at the Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu Temple, one of the Giri family members would read a chapter of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Reading from the sacred scriptures was very much a part of their püjä, or their daily worship.

Thus Brajabandhu Manik took his birth in an ideal Vaiñëava environment.

* Author’s note (ii): Çréla Gour Govinda Swami followed the principles of Vedic dharma at all times and he spoke about them at length. Please see his published talks on the series, Vedic Dharma, published by Tattva Vicära Publications – www. tvpbooks.com.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Early Life

Chapter Four

Early Life

d

Brajabandhu and the Astrologer

O

nce, the renowned blind astrologer and mystic Nityananda Khadiratna from Dhenkanal came to Gadäi-Giri and stayed for two days. While he was in Gadäi-Giri, he met the young child Brajabandhu and his mother, who were staying at the house of his uncle. Pata Devi asked the astrologer about her son’s future. The astrologer said to her: “This boy is full of devotion. He is very intelligent.

He will marry, obtain government service, and in his middle age, he will renounce family life and become a sädhu. He will obtain higher knowledge and because of that he will occupy an important place in the line of sädhus. He will build temples.

He will make Gopäla Jéu’s place bright.”* The astrologer then said, “Kåñëa (God) Himself has sent this child from His eternal abode, to preach His message and to deliver the fallen conditioned souls.”

* Author’s note: Everything the astrologer/mystic said did come true, as you will read in further chapters of this book. Also, once on a trip to the Himalayan region, a sädhu appeared out of nowhere and said to Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, then Brajabandhu, the very same thing. This information is included in a later chapter of this book.

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Brajabandhu’s Spotless Character Fakir Caran Kanungo: Brajabandhu once told me that whenever he would become restless and start crying, his mother would simply put the Çrémad-Bhägavatam in his hands and he would stop crying. From a very young age he would read this sacred book and become so absorbed in it that, he would forget to take his meals. The family was too poor to afford candles or a lamp for reading, so in the evening he would sit close to the cooking fire and read. At night he would go to sleep clutching the Holy Scripture to his chest.1

He did not speak unnecessarily, he was always very sober, and mischief was not in his character. When the other children were mischievous, he would keep his distance. He never provoked, annoyed or irritated anyone. He was always so honest and truthful that his older cousin, Dhobani Devi, likened him to Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira.* She remembers holding him in her arms when he was a one-year-old baby. This happened regularly as his mother would always take him with her when she visited her family in Gadäi-Giri. From this early age he developed a deep faith in Gopäla Jéu and attachment to Him, and Gopäla Jéu was always present to protect him and take care of His dear devotee.

Not an Ordinary Child Brajabandhu’s grandfather, Bauribandhu Giri, an acclaimed kértanéya and a great devotee of the Lord, taught Brajabandhu to count on his fingers by chanting Hare Kåñëa. * Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira was a pure devotee of Lord Kåñëa who lived on earth during the time of Lord Kåñëa’s pastimes here, 5,000 years ago. Being the personification of honesty and truthfulness, He never spoke a lie.

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C h a p t e r 4 E a r ly L i f e Recalling his childhood Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami said: “...The first thing I could remember as a child were the songs of Çréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura sung by my uncles from Gadäi-Giri. My uncles knew kértana; they were great kértanéyas...”

Young Brajabandhu never liked to wrestle or play rough games with his cousins. Once, his cousin-brother attempted to force him to wrestle, however Brajabandhu said, “I won’t play. My legs and hands may break.” On another occasion, his cousin-brothers tried to entice Brajabandhu to steal guavas from the next-door neighbour’s orchard, but he refused, saying, “You can tell our mother and she will go to our neighbour and ask for some guavas, but I will never steal them.” His cousins did not agree and forced him to climb the tree. Brajabandhu stayed on the lowest branch while his cousins climbed to higher branches to steal the guavas. When Brajabandhu’s mother came out of the house, worried about her son, he said to her, “Mother, don’t worry, I’m not climbing higher, I am here on the lowest branch.” He would not steal the guavas nor would he eat them. This was no ordinary child and no ordinary occurrence or birth.

Bhajana-Kīrtana from a Very Young Age Brajabandhu’s mother and father were very fond of studying and reading the scriptures. Çréla Gurudeva recalls: “I would regularly listen to kåñëa-kathä from my parents.

They would read from different Puräëas, the ÇrémadBhägavatam, the Mahäbhärata etc. At such an early age, I

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received this opportunity. When I was young, I was singing, dancing, doing kértana, and by the age of eleven I had heard all twelve cantos of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam six times.”

From about the age of five, Brajabandhu began to travel about in the company of the stalwarts of kértana, his uncles Gopinath Giri and Jagannath Giri. They would set out from Gadäi-Giri, walking from village to village, performing kértana, singing the songs of the Vaiñëava äcäryas like Narottama Däsa Öhäkura, and little Brajabandhu would also sing, play karatälas and sometimes dance ecstatically in the kértana.

The Saṁskāras Çréla Gour Govinda Swami speaks about the saàskäras: “...In my childhood days, I had seen some of the saàskäras being performed. I do not know if my father had also done the saàskäras for me when I was very little, but when I grew up, all the saàskäras were performed for me: cüòä-karaëam, upanayanam, karëa-vedha - ear-piercing. I particularly remember that karëa-vedha, the ear-piercing saàskära, was performed at the time of upanayana. Nowadays it is not followed so much because of the influence of Kali. Now, no one is following the Vedic rules and regulations...”2

Karṇa-Vedha-Saṁskāra According to Vedic culture, around the age of five, both boys and girls undergo the karëa-vedha-saàskära, the earpiercing ceremony. It is one of the many saàskäras meant for spiritual purification at different stages of life. The karëavedha-saàskära was performed for Brajabandhu by his parents.

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C h a p t e r 4 E a r ly L i f e Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: At the age of five or six, the young boys [and girls] have their ears pierced. Once the piercing is done, some wood, often neem wood, is placed in the hole to prevent an infection. This is one of the saàskäras – karëa-vedha-saàskära. If this is done at a very young age then no material sound vibration will ever enter the ears, only the spiritual sound vibration will enter. My parents did this for me. They pierced my ears with a needle and it hurt, but, at that time, my ears were very soft. As the ear is being pierced, the priest performing the ceremony chants a mantra in the ear of the child and that transcendental sound vibration stays with the child forever. Usually the piercing is done with a needle.

The Oriya Bhāgavata From the age of five, as a part of his education, Brajabandhu was reading the Çrémad-Bhägavatam translated into Oriya by Madhusudana Rama. Çréla Gurudeva described it thus: “Some of it is prose and some poetry. It all speaks of love of Godhead and Éçvara, explaining that everything comes from Éçvara, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme controller.”

The Thieves When Brajabandhu was only five, Gopäla Jéu appeared to him in a dream, saying: “There are two men stealing Me. Please come and help Me. I will keep them here until you come.” Little Brajabandhu immediately went to wake up his grandfather and together they rushed to the temple and found that Gopäla Jéu was not inside. After searching for Him for sometime they found Him in a nearby field. They also found the two men who had attempted to steal Gopäla Jéu, both of them suffering from a serious bout of diarrhoea.

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From age six, Brajabandhu was worshipping Gopäla Jéu by making garlands and sometimes, by candlelight, singing hymns for Him from palm-leaf manuscripts. Brajabandhu would never take any food (prasäda)* which had not first been offered to the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa.

Mother’s Chastity Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja also recalled the lifestyle of his mother: “...From when I was young I can remember that my mother was always carried in a covered palanquin. All chaste ladies travelled like this. Nowadays, it is not like that at all.

However, when I was young I can remember this. Even to go to the next door neighbour’s house she would go in a covered palanquin so that no one would see her...”

The reason for this was to protect the chastity of women.

According to Vedic culture, if the women are chaste then this will give rise to pious children and this will in turn make society pious, chaste, religious and calm. In other words, society will be peaceful.

All Respectable Ladies In a lecture Çréla Gour Govinda Swami stated in regard to all respectable ladies: Purport by Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda: The words vastra-gupta dolä are very significant in this verse. Even fifty or sixty years ago [in the early 1900’s] in Calcutta, all respectable ladies would go to a neighbouring place riding on a palanquin carried by four men. * Prasäda: mercy; remnants of an offering to the Lord.

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C h a p t e r 4 E a r ly L i f e Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Çréla Prabhupäda writes, ‘... even fifty or sixty years ago in Calcutta, all respectable ladies would go to a neighbouring place riding on a palanquin carried by four men...’ That is a fact.

This is still current, in remote places [in India]. The Sanskrit word asürya-paçyä indicates that a respectable lady could not be seen even by the sun. She would never leave the house; the sun will not see her. Yes, asürya-paçyä, always remained inside. What is the condition now? All naked, going on the street, on the Grand road, galloping like mares ‘thak thak thak’, [sound of] high heels. Where is the chastity?

Where is the purity? It is completely spoiled. But how they were maintaining, you see, “...Even a respectable lady could not be seen by the sun. In the oriental culture this system was very prevalent and was strictly observed by respectable ladies, both Hindu and Muslim. We have actual experience in our childhood that our mother would not go next door to observe an invitation, by walking...”

Prabhupäda states here, his mother, she would go in either a carriage or a palanquin carried by four men, Prabhupäda’s mother. Yes, that is a fact. Our mother, I have also observed.

Purport continued: This custom was also strictly followed five hundred years ago, and the wife of Advaita Äcärya, being a very respectable lady, observed the customary rules current in that social environment.3

Therefore it is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä: “With the destruction of the dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion.”4 “When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Kåñëa, the women of the family become corrupt, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Våñëi, comes unwanted progeny.”5 51

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“When there is increase of unwanted population, a hellish situation is created for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. In such corrupt families, there is no offering of oblations of food and water to the ancestors.”6 “Due to the evil deeds of the destroyers of family tradition, all kinds of community projects and family welfare activities are devastated.”7 “O Kåñëa, maintainer of the people, I have heard by disciplic succession that those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell.”8

Thus the parents of Brajabandhu were very religious and followed Vedic dharma, so as to maintain a religious atmosphere for themselves and their children.

He Had a Natural Attraction His older cousin, Ghanasyam Giri, recalls Brajabandhu in his early childhood: “Brajabandhu would visit this temple [Gadäi-Giri] regularly with his parents. He would worship the deities, chant Hare Kåñëa and do bhajana, from his early childhood.

He had a natural attraction for worship and for chanting the mahä-mantra. Everyone could see that he was not an ordinary child.”

The sister of Ghanasyam Giri, Dhobani Devi, also recollects Brajabandhu’s early days: “When he was a baby, I would sometimes look after him and bounce him on my knees. From his seventh year I saw

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C h a p t e r 4 E a r ly L i f e him more regularly in Gadäi-Giri where he would worship the deities with incense and a ghee lamp and he would bring flower garlands for the deities.”

By the time he was eight, Brajabandhu had read the entire Bhagavad-gétä and heard the entire Çrémad-Bhägavatam from his father. And much to everyone’s surprise, he could explain the meaning of the çlokas (verses). At night, he would sit next to the tulasé tree and recite in a sweet and melodious voice the Oriya Bhägavatam, the Rämäyaëa or the Mahäbhärata.

He had read many çästras, but, he was particularly attached to the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. His father and mother, his relatives and many villagers would come to hear and relish his recitations. Pata Devi was eager for her Brajabandhu to become a devotee of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and she became very happy seeing that by her influence her eldest son was developing such attachment.

Brajabandhu was noted for his detached nature. He always avoided the frivolous play of his peers. From the very beginning of his life, he was absorbed in chanting Hare Kåñëa, studying Vaiñëava literature and worshipping his beloved Gopäla, the famous Deity from Gadäi-Giri.

Early School Years In India, at the time of Brajabandhu’s schooling, primary school classes were held from grades one to five i.e. from age of five to nine. Secondary primary school classes began in grades six to seven i.e., ages ten and eleven. This was called middle school. High school classes were years eight to eleven i.e., from age twelve to fifteen. University began in year twelve, at the age of sixteen.

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Brajabandhu began his primary school years at Jagannathpur School and also his secondary primary schooling (also called middle English standard) at Jagannathpur school. Brajabandhu did not like school and he did not like the subjects he had to study; he did it only because he was instructed by his parents to do so. He respectfully obeyed the order of his parents, but he had higher ideals. In his later years, he mentioned his school years only occasionally. This is one account: Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I can remember that when I was a student in lower secondary school we had this headmaster a big, tall fellow with a big moustache. He always carried a cane and he was always beating us. Just seeing him we would run away. It was very severe punishment for us. I can still remember that cane; it had good results; we studied so much. Immediately from the beginning we had a very strong grounding.

Once, we were all living together in a hostel. He would wake us up at 4.00 a.m. There was no electricity and no kerosene available, but we had light, we would read by the light of a castor oil lamp.

That teacher would order us, “Get up! Wash your face! Sit down!

Read now!” He would order us, “Read! Read! Read!” So we would open our books … and read what? We had not slept enough, so now we were sleeping. He would hide in the dormitory and watch through the window. If he found anyone not studying, do you know what he would do? He would crush black peppercorn to powder and put it in a small piece of cloth and soak it. Then he would come and put that water in our eyes. Then we would cry.

Developing Kṛṣṇa Consciousness as a Youth Brajabandhu’s parents ensured that most of the Vedic saàskäras were performed for their son, although he did not receive the brähmaëa thread. All family members received names of Kåñëa: Gopäla, Govinda, Madhusüdana and Hari,

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C h a p t e r 4 E a r ly L i f e from their father. When Brajabandhu was ten, he was formally given the hari-näma mantra, Hare Kåñëa, from the family priest, but in actuality, he had been chanting Hare Kåñëa from a very early age.

This tradition is still in existence in Orissa today; every family has a family priest. Unless one has received the Hare Kåñëa mantra, he or she cannot be married. Though it is still current, it is not as widespread, but, previously, before marriage, it was compulsory. The purpose is one of purification; unless one accepts the Hare Kåñëa mantra he or she could not marry. Usually it was the aristocratic families or upper class and some middle-class families that observed this tradition, but the lower class families did not follow it.

At the time of receiving the Hare Kåñëa mantra, the candidate had to wear kaëöhé-mälä (neck beads), where after the Vedic marriage could be performed. This structure was still strong during Brajabandhu’s childhood.

The Saint Fakir Caran Kanungo: Brajabandhu was studying in class six, at the age of ten. At that time, a half yearly exam was coming up.

Brajabandhu once went to his friend’s house to borrow a book; on the way back he had the good fortune to meet a sädhu. Brajabandu paid his daëòavat-praëäm to him. That saint blessed him and cheerfully asked him, “What is your name?”

He answered, “My name is Brajabandhu.”

The saint said, “This is the name given by your parents, but I want to know what is your real name.” The child could not understand the meaning of that question, therefore he remained silent. That saint was trikäla darçé, he knew past, present and future. He gave the boy some information about his future and said, “When you grow up, you will obtain another name. Therefore, you must begin studying the Gétä and the Bhägavatam in a temple.” After meeting with

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that sädhu, Brajabandhu started taking bath early in the morning everyday and going to the Çiva Temple, which was very close to his house in Jagannathapur, and chanting kértana there.9

A Picture of His Beloved Gopāla Deity At the age of ten, Brajabandhu made a small Temple in Jagannathpur for himself. He acquired a picture of his beloved Gopäla Jéu Deity, and everyday after his morning bath he would pick flowers and gather some fruit, and then offer them to the picture of Gopäla Jéu. This became his regular practice before going to school in the morning. His village was quite isolated; it was ten miles from the bus station.

He passed ME (Middle English) standard in 1942, from Jagannathpur ME School. There was no high school near his village in the district of Jagannathpur; therefore he was sent to live with his uncles in Gadäi-Giri, and from there he attended the Balikuda High School.

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CHAPTER FIVE

The Move to

Gadāi-Giri

Chapter Five

The Move to Gadāi-Giri

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The Village of Kīrtana

“W

hen I was going to high school I was living in my maternal uncle’s house. The family of my maternal uncle and their ancestors were all great devotees of Lord Kåñëa. They were famous kértanéyas. Their family Deity is Çré Gopäl Jéu; some also refer to Him as Gopénätha Jéu. The Deity had come from the holy land of Våndävana. There is a

The house of Gopinatha Giri in Gadäi-Giri

very wonderful story how the Deity came from Våndävana to the village of Gadäi-Giri, my maternal uncle’s village. I do not want to narrate that story here, but I want to say that that very Deity is my object of meditation. I had my first spiritual

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inspiration there in the temple of Gopäl Jéu Deity, the family Deity of my maternal uncle. In those days they were holding saìkértana every day in the evening in that temple, as the Deity had specifically come there to hear their kértana. I was regularly attending that saìkértana and participated in it. That is still fresh in my memory. I can never forget it.” (Çréla Gour Govinda Swami)*

As there was no facility in Jagannathapur for higher education, when he had finished middle school, Brajabandhu moved to Gadäi-Giri, the village of his ancestors, for high school training. He was not too enthusiastic about the idea of beginning high school, yet at the same time was exhilarated at the thought of living in Gadäi-Giri, in close proximity to Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu, amidst the blissful kértanas of the Gadäi-Giri kértanéyas. This held a far greater appeal for him

The village Gadäi-Giri

than attending any mundane high school. Brajabandhu was warmly accommodated in the house of Gopinatha Giri (his * Author’s note: From a letter to Çréla Prabhupäda by Çréla Gurudeva, ISKCON Centre, Hyderabad, 12 September 1975.

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C h a p t e r 5 T h e M o v e

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Gadäi Giri

mother’s brother), and this afforded him every opportunity of regular worship and darçana of his beloved Gopäla Jéu. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: In 1942, when I was twelve years old, I moved to Gadäi-Giri, the village of my mother’s family. I stayed in the house of my maternal uncle Gopinatha Giri so that I could begin my high school studies. I stayed there for four years, from 1942 to 1946. In my maternal uncle’s family, they were all devotees. They would do kértana every day – hari-näma-saìkértana.

There is a temple there of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu. When I was studying, at my maternal uncle’s house, I was spending my days in that temple. That Deity is my favourite Deity.

Whenever I meditate, I always see that Deity. The Deity’s name is Gopäla Jéu. My family, they are all devotees. They do saìkértana nicely. I had the opportunity to live in that association and atmosphere from my very boyhood. So Kåñëa consciousness is very deep-rooted.

While living in Gadäi-Giri, Brajabandhu’s uncle would read Çré Caitanya-caritämåta to him in Bengali on a regular basis. Brajabandhu would listen with concentrated attention; for him this was the real schoolwork. Once, his uncle read the pastime of Kñéra-corä-gopénätha, the Deity of Remuëä, in the district of Balasore, who stole khéra (condensed milk) for His dear devotee, Mädhavendra Puré, Brajabandhu became delighted to hear this. He thought, “Oh! Gopénätha stole khéra for His devotee, Mädhavendra Puré!* Oh! What a great devotee Mädhavendra Puré is!” Young Brajabandhu reflected *Author’s note: Çréla Mädhavendra Puré was travelling through Bengal, when he came to the village of Remuëä [Remuëä at Balasore in Orissa]. There he received a pot of condensed milk (kñéra) that had been offered to the Deity of Gopénäthajé.

This pot of condensed milk was stolen by Gopénätha and delivered to Mädhavendra Puré. Since then, the Gopénätha Deity has been known as Kñéra-corä Gopénätha, the Deity who stole the pot of condensed milk. Kåñëa Himself stole condensed milk for His dear devotee Çréla Mädhavendra Puré.

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upon this pleasing pastime. He was keenly attracted, naturally attracted, by the sweet recitation of the Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, especially the lélä of Kñéra-corä Gopénätha. Hearing it attracted him to the Deity of Remuëä.1 Ghanasyam Giri: This village of Gadäi-Giri is the home of Brajabandhu’s maternal uncles. He stayed here, studying, reading Bhagavad-gétä and doing bhajana. In the evenings, he would come into the temple room, dance and chant before Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu, and sometimes at night he slept on the temple room floor. He would join his uncles in the bhajans, playing the karatälas. His older uncle, Gopinath Giri, my father, played the mådaìga, and our second uncle, Jagannath Giri, played harmonium and karatälas. All together they would make a very wonderful kértana.

Aṣṭa-Prahara-Kīrtana Every evening, at the house of Brajabandhu’s maternal uncle many devotees would come and they would have saìkértana and sometimes they would have añöa-prahara-saìkértana* – all night kértana. Añöa-prahara literally means ‘twenty-four hours’, so añöa-prahara-saìkértana is kértana for a twenty-four hour period. There are eight praharas or three-hour periods in twenty-four hours.

Balikuda, Katikata and Alabol are villages close to GadäiGiri. Whenever there was añöa-prahara-saìkértana in a nearby village, Brajabandhu was permitted to join them, provided that village was within one to three kilometres from GadäiGiri, otherwise he was not allowed to go because he had * Prahara: According to the Vedic time-scale one prahara is equal to 3 hours. There are 8 praharas in one day. The Vedic day is made up of 12 hours [4 praharas] and the night is made up of 12 hours [also 4 praharas] totalling 24 hours. Young Brajabandhu [Çréla Gour Govinda Swami] would accompany his uncles in doing kértana from village to village for añöa-prahara-näma-saìkértana, or 24-hour kértana.

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to go to school the next morning. If the kértana party went further away however, Brajabandhu would always find a way of sneaking out, without his uncle’s knowledge. As soon as his uncles and the kértana party left Gadäi-Giri for the evening, Brajabandhu would wait some time then secretly slip away, fearlessly making his way through jungle areas to the village where the kértana was going on, and unnoticed by his uncle, he would join in. Then in amongst the kértana, his uncle, surprised to see Brajabandhu, would chastise him, “How did you get here?” he asked. Brajabandhu would answer that he wanted to be a part of the kértana, adding, “Gopäla Jéu is protecting me.”

Ghanasyam Giri: He [Brajabandhu] would always say that he was not afraid of going through the jungle by himself to meet up with his uncles in the añöa-prahara-saìkértana, because he was always meditating on Gopäla and that he always felt Gopäla’s protection.

When his uncle asked him, “How will you do your studies if you are here?” Brajabandhu would answer, “I will finish everything very quickly, and I will do it nicely.” Then, by 3.30 or 4.00 am, when the all-night kértana was over, he would notice that Brajabandhu had already gone.

On such evenings, when Brajabandhu walked the long journey home, instead of going to sleep, he would take out his books and study. Then, without any sleep, he would go to school. For the time that he lived in Gadäi-Giri, his practice was to rise before 4.00 a.m. He would usually sleep very little, because his uncle, a businessman, came home from work late in the evening, and then they would take prasäda.

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Young Brajabandhu as Supervisor Brajabandhu’s uncles were landowners with many acres of land under cultivation. They also sold textiles, brass and metal utensils, which were kept in different warehouses. Young Brajabandhu was called upon to help manage the business and supervise the casual labourers hired to harvest the crops of däl (beans), rice or corn. He would also keep watch in the warehouses, making sure that there were no thefts. In this way his time was taken up, thus he was spending less and less time studying. When exam time came close, he went to Gopäla Jéu and prayed: “I have no time for my school work. Please, You must help me pass the exams. I do not know what to write. Please help me.” Hearing his request, Gopäla Jéu helped him pass the exams easily, without the need of much study or much sleep.

Balikuda, the high school that Brajabandhu attended, was a town approximately two and a half kilometres from the village of Gadäi-Giri. It was easily accessible for Brajabandhu, but his heart was not in school; his heart was in the kértana.

Brajabandhu’s high school course was four years. At that time Sanskrit was a compulsory language and Brajabandhu excelled in Sanskrit. Although he was always reading the scriptures and had heard his family members read and explain them, he began his own personal studies of Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam in earnest at high school age. Also, in the evening he would also find time to read the ÇrémadBhägavatam.

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Bhāgavata-ṭuṅgi

The Shrine of the Bhāgavatam In every village in Orissa, traditionally there is a bhägavataöuìgi, a small room where the Bhägavatam is kept and read aloud from every evening by the village brähmaëas. In the past, most of the members of a village would come and listen, but nowadays the recitation of the Bhägavatam has been replaced by radio and television. Çréla Gurudeva would often reflect on his own life saying, “As soon as I had learned the alphabet, I began to read the Bhägavatam. In those days there was no electricity, so I used a castor oil lamp and read

The bhägavata-öuìgi in Gadäi-Giri

Bhägavatam at the bhägavata-öuìgi.” Every evening, he recited the Bhägavatam, which was the custom. The book was made from palm leaf and worshipped by the local brähmaëa. Every evening one chapter must be read.

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Bhägavata-öuìgis are also called bhägavata-kuöéras, special cottages where one would go to recite scripture and pay honour to the scripture.

When he was young, he would read every day. In the words of our beloved Gurudeva, “The most important point was when I moved to Gadäi-Giri; it was very concentrated, the Kåñëa Consciousness. That is most important!”* When Brajabandhu was in year nine at school, he was thirteen years old. One day, his auntie suggested that he go to an opera performance with his brother. He was so upset that he closed the door and cried for a long time. He was against anything that did not have a religious theme. When he finally came out of the room, he said, “My father is a poor man, and I am not a lazy person. I am worshipping Lord Gopäla and reading the scriptures. It is life.” According to his cousinsister Dhobani Devi, he never went to see a movie or drama performance unless it had a religious theme.

A Great Saint Fakir Caran Kanungo: Once in a year, the day after Gaurapürëimä, there would be a large local festival called Bali-yatra.

The Rädhä-Kåñëa Deities from every village would go to that function on a decorated palanquin, in a procession, and many Deities would thus be present. Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu would also go, along with the famous kértana party of Gadäi-Giri. That * Author’s note: Çréla Gour Govinda Swami felt that his Kåñëa Consciousness took a major leap forward while living at Gadäi-Giri. His real goal in life was realised in those years. His going to school, his marriage, which we will read about later, and his life as a school teacher, were interim activities that very soon were to be eclipsed by the greater goal of taking sannyäsa and preaching the message of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, under the guidance of a bona fide guru, to all who would listen. That was his life’s aim!

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year, young Brajabandhu accompanied them to that festival.

There he took darçana of each and every Rädhä-Kåñëa Deity and paid Them his rod-like obeisances. After some time, he came across a place where a large crowd was gathering.

He came to the front and saw one sädhu performing nämasaìkértana loudly by himself. He heard the people saying to each other that he was a great yogé. He thought that this sädhu must have great power since all the people were talking about him. When the crowd started to disperse after some time, Brajabandhu paid his obeisances to him, touched his feet and humbly asked him if he could become a yogé in his future life. When he heard such a young boy asking this question so innocently and sweetly, the sädhu was pleasantly surprised, because boys of that age never ask questions like this. The sädhu, with eyes filled with compassion, put both hands on the head of the boy and joyfully said, “You have all my blessings to become a great saint.” Brajabandhu happily paid his obeisances again and left.2

The Kīrtanīyas Brajabandhu had three uncles in Gadäi-Giri, who were all sons of Bauribandhu Giri. Gopinath and Jagannath Giri were great kértanéyas. Dinabandhu Giri was the third and youngest uncle. He was a businessman (vaiçya) and not as interested in kértana as the other members of the family. He cultivated the land and sold bell metal. The other male members of the Giri family were also in the business of selling bell metal, but their focus was kértana and püjä. Jagannath Giri attracted the hearts and minds of everyone with his rädhä-kåñëa-lélä kértana, and he accepted many kértana disciples from the local area. Brajabandhu would record in writing the bhajanas sung by his uncles. From these bhajanas, he would write scripts of plays in which the devotees would act the different parts. In

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this way, many of the village people would be entertained by the performances.

A resident of Gadäi-Giri who taught the harmonium recalls that Gopinath Giri, the mådaìga player, who was also a wonderful dancer, could make the mådaìga sound like thunder. He said, “Such mådaìga players are not to be found these days.”

Gopinath Giri had two sons, Ghanasyam Giri and Damodara Giri, and one daughter, Dhobani Dei. Jagannath Giri had no children therefore he adopted Damodara Giri. Ghanasyam played the mådaëga and Damodara played the harmonium and sang very sweet kértana. They were Brajabandhu’s main association whilst he lived in Gadäi-Giri.

Grandfather Bauribandhu Giri would say, “In our house there should always be two people: one person that can sing and play the harmonium, and one person that can play the mådaìga, so that if kértanéyas are not available elsewhere, then from our house we will always be ready to do kértana and render service to Gopäla [Gopäla Jéu]. Then we will receive His mercy and never suffer!”

Saṅkīrtana and Pūjā Brajabandhu would rise at 4.00 a.m., brush his teeth, bathe under the water pump outside in the field, and then go immediately to see Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu in the little thatched temple. At this time, his bhajana consisted of chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra and doing whatever service he could for Their Lordships. Then he would take prasäda. He 68

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would only eat what was offered to the Deities. After taking prasäda, he went to school. Because he had little or no taste for learning mundane subjects, this was the part of the day he relished least. As soon as school was over, without lingering to play with the other children, he would quickly return home, wash his face, hands and feet, and return to the temple to see the Deities. Brajabandhu would then join his uncles in the regular evening kértana in the temple. When the kértana was over, he dutifully attempted to complete his homework and then went to bed. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: My boyhood days were spent there [at Gadäi-Giri] chanting, doing saìkértana, and also studying at the high school for the secondary school course.

But I was too negligent in my studies. I spent more time in näma-saìkértana. Out of every month, I would spend three weeks or less at school. I was not so attentive to study. I was hopeless because I had not studied, but miraculously I came out successful in the final examinations.

Dhobani Devi: From the beginning, when he first came to Gadäi-Giri to attend high school, I saw how he would anoint the Deities’ bodies with sandalwood paste and offer aräti to Them. He would assist in any way whatsoever with the deity worship. He was completely absorbed in the Deities and anything to do with the Deities and the temple.

Attachment to the Śāstra Whenever there was a kértana or bhajana program organised in a neighbour’s house or nearby village, Brajabandhu would attend with his uncles as they led the kértana through GadäiGiri and neighbouring villages. Much to people’s amazement, at the end of the kértana, young Brajabandhu would mingle

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with the people as he was very fond of discussing kåñëa-kathä.

The villagers, including the members of his family, remember how young Brajabandhu was very polite, always calm and peaceful, and that he had a very quiet nature. His cousinbrother Ghanasyam Giri said, “Brajabandhu could not do anything wrong.”

Brajabandhu’s mother Pata Devi was a very pious woman who relished listening to çästra such as the Mahäbhärata and the Bhagavad-gétä. When her brother Gopinath Giri would come to her house, she would always ask him to recite the Mahäbhärata.

Once, in the rainy season, the Mahäbhärata was being recited before the Gopäla Deity. At that time Brajabandhu’s mother stayed for two months in Gadäi-Giri to hear the Mahäbhärata continuously. This happened when Brajabandhu was studying in Gadäi-Giri, and he suggested to his mother that she should go back to their home because his father and the other family members might need her. His mother avoided his arguments and said that she would return to her home only after the recitation of the Mahäbhärata was completed.

She was very devoted to the scriptures, and every time she had a chance, she would sit and listen to their recitation.

Brajabandhu was very pleased with his mother because she could remember everything that she heard from the recitation of different çästras (Vedic scriptures). And she could explain their meanings. According to all at Gadäi-Giri, Brajabandhu was very much like his mother.

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Bauribandhu Giri The Great Kīrtanīya

Chapter Six

Bauribandhu Giri The Great Kīrtanīya

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rajabandhu’s grandfather, Bauribandhu Giri, the father of Gopinath Giri and Jagannath Giri, his mother’s father, was a great devotee of Çré Kåñëa. He arranged for Gopäla Jéu’s sevä wonderfully and played ecstatic kértanas. Also, if anyone from the village was ill, they could come to Bauribandhu Giri for help. Bauribandhu would simply say the name of Gopäla and touch the body of the person, and he would be immediately cured.

Bauribandhu Giri was a natural kértanéya. He had no formal training in musical metre and timing, but still, in both mood and skill, his wonderful kértanas could defeat the kértana of the professional kértanéyas of the time, and they bowed down to his brilliance. This was the mercy of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu.

Gopāla Jīu Joins the Kīrtana One day, Bauribandhu and Gopäla’s püjäré, Alekh Panda, were doing kértana in the temple. Alekh Panda was unaware of the ecstasy Bauribandhu was feeling, and he left the kértana to cook for Gopäla. Bauribandhu was alone in the temple room, absorbed in the kértana but he thought that the püjäré was still with him.

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When he realised he was alone, Bauri Giri called the pujäré who came from the kitchen and asked him why he had left the kértana. Alekh Panda said, “I left some time ago to cook for Gopäla.” Bauribandhu said, “No, no, you were here in the kértana with me. I saw you.” Alekh Panda said, “No, no, no, I have not been here for a long time.” Bauribandhu then realised that in his ecstasy he did not see that Gopäla Jéu had joined in the kértana with him.

Bananas for Gopāla Once, when Bauribandhu Giri went on a short journey, he engaged a local brähmana to do the püjä while he was away.

He gave the brähmaëa a large quantity of ripe bananas to offer to Gopäla Jéu. Upon returning he came before the Deity of Gopäla Jéu and noticed that Gopäla had a cold. He turned to the brähmaëa and said, “Did you offer the bananas?”

The brähmaëa replied, “Yes.” Bauribandhu then realised that instead of offering a few bananas at a time the brähmaëa had offered all the bananas at once; and because of that Gopäla Jéu had a cold. Bauribandhu Giri then went to the Ayurvedic doctor for medicine to heal Gopäla’s cold.

Many years later, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami said that his grandfather was a paramahaàsa nitya-siddha, whose only business was to chant Hare Kåñëa and cry before the Deity of Çré Gopäla Jéu.* * Author’s note: Many years later Çréla Gurudeva said that he had opened a crying school, ‘Crying for Kåñëa’. He would always say if you want Kåñëa you will have to cry for Him. Cry from the heart. Çréla Prabhupäda himself said on this matter: “No, no, we shall do exactly like the karmés, but not for us, for Kåñëa. That is the difference. We are doing the same thing. Therefore these Mäyävädés cannot understand: “Again form!?” The example is just like a man like me is diseased, he’s suffering. And when he hears, “Mother Yaçodä is crying,” he wonders, “So again crying?” He does not know what is this crying. He thinks that this crying and that crying are the same. Therefore the

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The Disappearance of Bauribandhu Giri Brajabandhu was in Gadäi-Giri when Bauribandhu passed away. It was an extraordinary event. The day before he passed away, he announced his intention to leave the world: “Tomorrow is Mägha-saptamé, so I must leave my body.”

Mägha-saptamé is a very auspicious day; it is the appearance day of Çré Advaita Äcärya and occurs two days after Vasantapaïcamé. On Vasanta-païcamé Kåñëa’s vasanta-rasa begins and it is the appearance day of Çré Viñëupriyä-devé, and also the appearance day of Çréla Raghunätha Däsa Gosvämé.

On Bauribandhu Giri’s last day on this earth, all the family members assembled as requested. He was taken outside so that he could see the sun in the open sky. He asked his eldest son, Gopinath Giri: “What day is it today?”

Gopinath Giri replied, “Today is the auspicious day of Mäghasaptamé, the seventh day of the bright fortnight. On this day, pilgrims take bath in the sea near Koëärk and then proceed to the temple to have darçana of Lord Jagannätha in Puré. The pilgrims are on their way to Puré now.”

Then Bauribandhu Giri asked, “Is the road to Puré clear?”

Gopinath Giri looked to the sky and replied, “Yes, the pilgrims have left Koëärka and are now in Puré.”

Then Bauribandhu Giri said, “I will leave my body and go to Jagannätha now.”

He requested everyone to do kértana, and left his body on the spot. His son, Gopinath Giri, was holding him on his lap.

Mäyävädé want to make it zero - no crying. But we take it as a great blessing, crying for Kåñëa. But they cannot understand. They say, “Again crying? Then what is the benefit?” And this is mäyä. Do you understand? This is the simple understanding of Mäyäväda. As soon as there is crying, they say, “Oh, it is mäyä. No crying.”

Nirviçeña-vädé. Crying is a great transcendental pleasure. That they cannot understand, due to a poor fund of knowledge. Caitanya Mahäprabhu was simply crying. That is love. But they do not understand how crying can be pleasure.

That is Mäyäväda...” [July 19, 1977. Room conversation Våndävana India.]

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Brajabandhu saw his grandfather, aged 69, leave this world amidst a tumultuous kértana.

Caitanya Candra däsa: Mägha-saptamé is an auspicious day for taking bath in the sea at Koëärka in a place called Chandrabhägä on the seashore. Bauri-Giri was brought out under the open sky where he could see the sun. At the auspicious time for taking bath in Chandrabhägä, he left his body.1 Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I was there as a young boy when my maternal grandfather left his body. He was a very great devotee, a paramahaàsa. No one was upset because they all understood: Puruñottama-dhäma – the road to Jagannätha is clear. And he said, “Yes, I must go now.”

Families that Foster Transcendentalists According to çästra, to be raised in an environment where one has the opportunity to hear the chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mantra and the reading of Çrémad-Bhägavatam from childhood, or from the very beginning of life is considered a very elevated birth.

In his Bhaktivedanta purports, Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda states: “Birth in a family of yogés or transcendentalists – those with great wisdom – is praised herein because the child born in such a family receives a spiritual impetus from the very beginning of his life. It is especially the case in the äcärya or gosvämé families. Such families are very learned and devoted by tradition and training, and thus they become spiritual masters. In India there are many such äcärya families, but

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they have now degenerated due to insufficient education and training. By the grace of the Lord, there are still families that foster transcendentalists generation after generation.* It is certainly very fortunate to take birth in such families.

Fortunately, both our spiritual master, Oà Viñëupäda Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja, and our humble self, had the opportunity to take birth in such families, by the grace of the Lord, and both of us were trained in the devotional service of the Lord from the very beginning of our lives. Later on we met by the order of the transcendental system.”2

The appearance day of Advaita Äcärya Prabhu is most important and Çré Bauribandhu Giri decided to leave this world on that day. In a lecture on Advaita Äcärya Prabhu, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami had this to say about Him: “… Today is Mägha-saptamé, the seventh day of the bright fortnight in the month of Mägha. This day is a very important day because it is the appearance day of Advaita Äcärya Prabhu, who made Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu appear. Unless we glorify Advaita Äcärya Prabhu, and unless we receive His mercy, we cannot receive the mercy of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu; that is definitely true …”

After the disappearance of Bauribandhu Giri, the custodianship of the Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu Temple and * Author’s note: The Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä of Çréla Prabhupäda was completed in 1971, it is now 2020. Çréla Prabhupäda here, makes the point that, “...there are still families that foster transcendentalists generation after generation...” Thus it would not seem too far-fetched that if a transcendentalist had taken birth in one of these “...äcärya or gosvämé families...” then, at the time of writing this book, (2020) he would be approximately 49 years of age. What to speak of a transcendentalist taking birth in one of these “...äcärya or gosvämé families...” prior to that time. **Author’s note: As we will see, when Çréla Gour Govinda Swami meets Çréla Prabhupäda in Våndävana in 1974 (Chapter Fifteen of this book) a very transcendental meeting takes place.

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the management of the püjä and sevä went to his eldest son, Gopinath Giri. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami said: “My uncles Jagannath Giri and Gopinath Giri were pure devotees. They had deep attachment to kértana, and they were also deeply attached to the service of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu.”

During the years he stayed in Gadäi-Giri as a young boy, Brajabandhu had the constant association and mercy of his two uncles.

During the Month of Māgha He reasons ill who tells that Vaiñëavas die, when thou art living still in sound!* The Vaiñëavas die to live, and living, try to spread the holy name around.3 The great grandfather of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, Govinda Giri [1845 – 1933] also left his body in the same auspicious manner on the Agni-utsava in the month of Mägha, which is the appearance day of Çréla Narottama däsa Thäkura, as did many of their family members.

Ghanasyama Giri: In 1967, at the age of 72, my father Gopinath Giri gathered his family and friends together and announced: “I will leave this world on the upcoming Agni-utsava day.” [Friday, 24 February 1967, which is the appearance day of Çréla Narottama däsa Thäkura] * Author’s note: Please bear in mind that the great Vaiñëava Äcärya Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura wrote this poem in 1871, the first piece of equipment to record sound was not developed until 1876 by Thomas Alva Edison. So, what is that sound that the great Çréla Haridäsa Öhäkura is still living in?

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We stayed with him that day, immersed in harinämasaìkértana as he left this world. Eighteen years later, on Tuesday, 5 February 1985, at the age of 85, Jagannatha Giri, our uncle, also left his body on that same tithi of agni-utsava in the month of Mägha. Most of our ancestors left this world during the month of Mägha.

Pure Chanters Leave of Their own Accord “…A devotee is not afraid of death, because death will never come to a devotee. One who is completely Kåñëa conscious is attached at every moment to the lotus feet of Kåñëa. Why would he be afraid? He is not afraid at all. He has icchä-måtyu, when he desires to leave his body, he will leave.

“Yes, I will leave this body, I will leave this planet.” Then Kåñëa sanctions his desire, and he leaves and goes back home, back to Godhead. He never goes to the abode of Yamaräja. Haridäsa Öhäkura expressed his desire to Mahäprabhu to leave his body, and the next day it happened; he uttered the name of Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and left his body. All the Vaiñëavas were chanting the mahä-mantra. Mahäprabhu became ecstatic. He picked up the transcendental body of Haridäsa Öhäkura and chanted and danced - hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare, hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare …”4

Taking birth in a family of Vaiñëavas is extremely rare and does not happen by chance. Çréla Gurudeva was born into a family of pure Vaiñëavas, who chanted the pure holy name and were able to choose the auspicious day and time to leave this world. As it will be seen in a later volume of this book, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami also left in a similar manner. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami’s great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his uncles all chose their time to leave this

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world, and they always requested that there be kértana as they left. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami also called for kértana at the time of his leaving this world.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Early Teaching Years

Chapter Seven

Early Teaching Years

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n 1946, Brajabandhu passed his matriculation examination from Balikuda High School. After this, he returned to Jagannathpur, his father’s village, and began teaching Oriya, mathematics and geography in middle school for the secondary primary school, years six and seven. He did this for four years.

He maintained his routine sädhana of rising early, chanting Hare Kåñëa and studying the Bhagavad-gétä, ÇrémadBhägavatam and other çästras. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I was a teacher in Middle School for four years, from the age of sixteen up to nineteen.

Then I decided to do the teacher’s training course. If I had not become a certified teacher I would not have been able to continue this profession.

In 1948, while teaching at Middle School at the age of nineteen, Brajabandhu had as one of his students Subhash Biswal*, who many years later was to become his disciple. At that time Brajabandhu was teaching literature, mathematics, * Subhash Biswal: His initiated name was Svayambhü däsa. When he took sannyäsa he became His Holiness Svayambhü Mahäräja.

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civics*, history and physical education and conducting drill for the boys, Subhash was twelve.

Although mixing increasingly with the outside world, Brajabandhu maintained a vow of celibacy and never deviated from the original tenets of vaiñëava-dharma. He followed throughout his life the principles he had been taught as a child. tapasä brahmacaryeëa çamena ca damena ca tyägena satya-çaucäbhyäà yamena niyamena vä “To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord.”1

Subhash Biswal remembers how Brajabandhu would never sit while teaching. He preferred to teach standing up even though there was a teacher’s chair. He maintained a high standard of cleanliness, and he would always wear katthäo**.

He wore such shoes because he was continually in a religious state of mind and did not like to wear shoes made from leather. * Civics: The topics covered under civics included urban living, municipality corporations and the organisation of road maintenance, government of urban life, citizens and what they should know according to the rules and regulations of the Municipal Corporation, etc. ** Katthäo: In Oriya and in Sanskrit katthäo is known as pädukä wooden shoes, or the shoes worn by a sädhu. In Vedic culture or Vaiñëava culture sädhu means one who has given up affinity to material acquisition and material life. Therefore he has given up association of family, society, friendship and so-called love [lust] and lives as a true renunciant.

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He always wore simple Indian dress: a long-sleeved, buttonedup white shirt with a long collar, and a white dhoté. He never wore trousers or a tie.

Every day after finishing teaching, Brajabandhu would walk to a nearby Çiva Temple to read the Bhagavad-gétä in quiet solitude.

Brajabandhu was very strict with himself, and although he was also strict with the students, he chastised them in a positive way, to encourage them to be good students.

Subhash Biswal felt that Brajabandhu was a good teacher. “He explained the subjects, quotations, verses, prose, poems and literature so nicely that even to this day [1991] I remember those quotations from the poems he taught us from the Oriya books. Brajabandhu taught us very well. He was very strict and very religious.”

Subhash was a student in Brajabandhu’s class for four years, from Class Four to Class Seven, primary school and middle school. Then he left the school to enter High School.

Brajabandhu continued teaching at the same school.

Subhash met him again under different circumstances, and then, many years later, he became his disciple.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

Part 1

Marriage &

Family Life

Chapter Eight

PART 1

Marriage and Family Life

d

“I

have a younger brother named Kripasindhu Manik, who is a veterinary surgeon now, and is an officer in the government of Orissa. When he was a twelve-year-old boy, my father expired. Consequently the responsibility of bringing him up, giving him education and marriage etc. - everything fell upon me. Out of duty I placed myself in the position of a father, as my father left this material world putting this responsibility on me. Many years later, when I had fulfilled this responsibility, I handed over the responsibility of the maintenance of my family to my younger brother Çré Kripasindhu.” (Çréla Gour Govinda Swami)*

The Vedic Process of Marriage During his time as a schoolteacher, Brajabandhu lived away from home. One day, a relative came to see him at the school where he was employed, with a message that his marriage had been organised by his mother and that it would take place in two weeks. This is how Brajabandhu learned that he was * Author’s note: From a letter to Çréla Prabhupäda by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, ISKCON Centre, Hyderabad, 12 September, 1975.

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about to be married. He had no prior notice. He asked the relative, “Do you know who I am to marry?”

Brajabandhu was not interested in marrying, but his parents and the parents of the girl had arranged the marriage.

This was and is still the custom in India, and this system dates back many thousands of years. This is the ancient Vedic process. Unrestricted association between the genders, men and women, even just prior to marriage, was not considered proper according to Vedic standards, and once married, it was for life. Divorce was something unknown.

Brajabandhu had other plans, but none included marriage.

He had lived as a strict celibate (brahmacäré) his whole life, but he accepted the decision of his parents and senior family members in this regard. On many occasions his mother had asked her brother Gopinath Giri to persuade Brajabandhu to marry. Gopinath Giri had come to the house of his sister Pata Devi and spoken to Brajabandhu. Brajabandhu respected his uncle greatly and had agreed to the idea, but now, without him knowing about it, his marriage had been arranged.

Dobani Devi: Brajabandhu was not interested in marriage, but his uncle and his mother insisted. They questioned him many times: “Why will you not marry?” At that time he was a teacher in Dhenkanal district. So we summoned him to a place called Patakura, in the district of Kendnapara, where his parents-in-law-to-be lived. His uncle and mother arranged the marriage. His mother used to cry, “Why is he not married?

Why is he not married?”

At that time, Brajabandhu attended teachers’ training college, having enrolled himself into a two-year course from

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1950 to 1952. After that he would receive a diploma and be able to work as a certified teacher. It was during this period that he married. He was twenty-one and his wife, Vasanti Devi was sixteen years old. She was not from a Vaiñëava family or a brähmaëa family and she was not particularly interested in Kåñëa consciousness. They met for the first time during their marriage ceremony. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja: In our country the parents do all these things. I had never seen her and I did not know anything about her. This is our custom. My wife was sixteen years old when we married.

In Vedic culture in ancient India and up to the present day although not as frequently, the astrological charts of the boy and the girl were done by the local astrologer, and if they were compatible then the marriage would take place, otherwise not. Vedic marriages were not based on sense attraction but on astrological calculations, and they lasted. They knew in ancient India that if the couple was not compatible the marriage would not work, so they would check the charts of both parties to determine if they were compatible or not.* * “...So these families, dynasties, are very, very old. Every... According to Vedic system, any family - brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya, those who are higher caste - they must give at least seven generations account. Otherwise he is not a respectable family.

Seven generations. His father, his father, his father, his father, his father, like that.

When there is marriage, then there is check corroboration. The bride’s party and the bridegrooms party, they should narrate their seventh generation. If within their seventh generation it, what is called, collide, becomes the one man, then there will be no marriage, because it becomes the same family. One cannot marry in the same family...” (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.3.27, lecture by Çréla Prabhupäda - Los Angeles, October 2, 1972) Author’s note: In other words the families would check seven generations, on both sides, to make sure that there was no interconnection between the families. This was all done by the assistance of an expert astrologer.

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At the time of Brajabandhu’s marriage, there was no television* in India. There were, however, radio, cinema and drama performances. Nevertheless, Brajabandhu did not succumb to any of these activities (even though India is one of the largest movie-going nations in the world). He also never took to eating betel nut (a popular intoxicant in India). Brajabandhu never approved of illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, meat eating or any frivolous activities! He was also not interested in reading mundane literature such as newspapers, magazines and the like. All his spare time was dedicated for reading the scriptures. If some family members wanted to go to the cinema, he would admonish them and discourage them, saying, “It is the work of ignorance. You should not go there or you will not sleep well tonight.”

Pure in All Actions There was no doubt that Brajabandhu was perfectly in control of his senses at all times and to testify to this his cousin Dhobani Dei, who had a great deal of contact with him said, “He did not take betel nut and did not smoke, drink or anything – no, nothing, he was always silent and meditating *Çréla Gurudeva Gour Govinda Swami did have this to say later on in his divine life: “...What kind of world is this anyway? It seems to be just like a magic lantern show that I saw at a carnival, wherein so many shadows and optical illusions dance magically before the eyes. One feels great attachment and identification with such a world, and thus day after day passes by fruitlessly, without any purpose whatsoever.

What sort of saàsära [literally means the material world] it is? This is only a TV show, only a cinema show, only shadows, and you have developed a relationship with shadows, developed attachment to shadows, to the unreal and to the temporary. The consequence of this is unlimited misery and wasting your valuable time in this human birth...” (From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, Çrémad-Bhägavatam 8.24.4-5, Bhubaneswar 24 March 1993)

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on Gopäla, Gopäla Jéu. He is a foreign element in this material world. He did not take such items; he was pure.”* In this regard, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swami Çréla Prabhupäda said in his purport to Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.3.44: ‘Simple hearing is not all; one must realise the text with proper attention. The word niviñöa means that Süta Gosvämé drank the juice of Bhägavatam through his ears. That is the real process of receiving Bhägavatam. One should hear with rapt attention from the real person, and then he can at once realise the presence of Lord Kåñëa in every page. The secret of knowing Bhägavatam is mentioned here. No one can give rapt attention who is not pure in mind. No one can be pure in mind who is not pure in action. No one can be pure in action who is not pure in eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. But somehow or other, if someone hears with rapt attention from the right person, at the very beginning one can assuredly see Lord Çré Kåñëa in person in the pages of Bhägavatam.’

Brajabandhu’s Wife to Be The name of Vasanti Devi’s (the wife of Brajabandhu) father was Sri Balaram Nandi and her mother’s name was Srimati Devaki Nandi. They were not devotees as such; they did not perform any specific spiritual duties or activities. Their business was dealing in bell metal, silver and gold. They were from the village of Patakura, in the district of Kendnapara, which was approximately thirty-five kilometres from Jagannathpur. She * Author’s note: Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami was pure in his activities throughout his life and his behaviour was exemplary. He was hearing ÇrémadBhägavatam from his father, his grandfather and uncles from his first days on earth. They were all great devotees of the Lord attached to kértana and the ÇrémadBhägavatam.

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took the Manik surname after marriage and she said many years later that, “I just accepted this life [religious life]. I just accepted it!”

Vasanti Devi: Our marriage ceremony was conducted by my husband’s father. It was a very simple wedding. I came to this place, Jagannathpur, the hometown of my future husband’s immediate family members, mother, father etc. It was arranged between our parents. We had a fire sacrifice, but it was very simple, not with all pomp and ceremony.

Dhobani Dei: When he and Vasanti Devi were married, they received many gifts, clothes, särés, dhotis, brass cooking pots etc., and one gold ring. Brajabandhu took that gold ring, said it was illusion and threw it into the forest. It was never seen again. He was never really interested to marry, however, his family members arranged the marriage.

Early Gṛhasta Life In a class on the Çrémad-Bhägavatam many years later Çréla Gurudeva had this to say about his married life: “…There are three types of birth, tri-vidha janma mentioned in the çruti çästra and in the Manu Saàhitä, which are çaukra, by semen; sävitra, by initiation; and daikñya, by becoming a perfect brähmaëa. The father and mother who give this first birth are your superiors, gurujanas, therefore you have to accept whatever arrangement they make. When the gurujanas have made a marriage arrangement for you, you have to accept it. According to the Vedic system, the parents arranged the marriage and everyone accepted it. Prabhupäda says ‘even fifty years ago this system was current in the society’. This is a fact. Our marriage was arranged like that.

We accepted it...”1

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“...I never saw my wife before marriage. I was studying in college when one of my cousins came to the college and told me that I had to come because my marriage had been arranged. I was surprised and asked him, “Who arranged this?” He said, “Your father and mother, your superiors arranged it.” They had arranged my marriage by considering our horoscopes. The astrological calculations were compatible in every respect - yoöaka, and as a result my marriage took place...”2

According to the Astrological Calculation “...Here it is said, ‘Regardless of the affluence of the boy or personal beauty of the girl, without this astrological compatibility the marriage would not take place.’ Even if the boy is a very wealthy, educated and handsome looking boy, and the girl is a very beautiful girl, born in a respectable family, with material opulence, but when they are not compatible according to the astrological calculations then their marriage will not take place.

I had never seen my wife before marriage. I did not know if she was beautiful, or ugly or whatever. I asked one of my cousins; ‘Did you go and see her?’

‘No, no I did not go. My father and your father went and they organised everything.’

Then I said, ‘Alright they have arranged it, so there is nothing to say.’ I saw her face on the first night after our marriage. This was how my marriage was arranged. This was the system. We had to accept whatever our elders (superiors) arranged for us. They were our well-wishers, and they considered everything, in all respects. They organised it and without quarrelling or fighting, everyone just accepted it. The boy accepted it, and the girl accepted it. They were all willing, because they both thought it was their fate – bhägya likhana, and our parents have arranged it. There were no complaints, nothing. You cannot even imagine how it was…”3

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Çréla Äcärya Öhäkura Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja would often explain that the eternal associates of the Lord who descend to act as gurus, such as Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, accept married life to instruct us how to act in regard to our worldly saàsära and the associated trials and tribulations of accepting wife and children. Our beloved Gurudeva Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja was a perfect example of a gåhasta while he remained in that äçrama.

Vasanti Devi: “From the very beginning of our marriage, my husband would rise early in the morning about 4:00 to 4:30 a.m. and take his bath. Then he would begin chanting Hare Kåñëa, doing prayer. This he did without fail. In the summertime he would have another bath in the afternoon.

After chanting he would go off to do his tutorial class; he was a tutor, receiving a fee. Then he was coming back from that class and he would eat [take prasäda].

“My husband had a picture of Lord Kåñëa and he would offer prayer in front of this picture. He also did his bhajana in front of this picture. Then he would offer some foodstuff and incense, but gradually he could not find the time and I took over the small worship that he had begun. I was also offering the foodstuffs in front of the picture of Lord Kåñëa and he was taking that foodstuff [prasäda]. That picture was like our family deity, a holy picture. If the prepared meal had not first been offered, then he would not take it!”

Brajabandhu was searching for the association of spiritually minded persons and while he had journeyed to the Himalayas during the summer vacations, he came across the members of the Divine Life Society who practiced haöha-yoga and meditation. Around that time he increased his daily worship at home by offering a full ärati – incense, flowers and a ghee lamp – to the family picture of Lord Kåñëa.

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Brajabandhu would take prasäda four times a day. In the morning at 9:00 – 9:30, he would have a small snack consisting of rice, däl and sabjé, and then he would go to his tutorial class. On returning from the tutorial, he would have a full lunch consisting of rice, dälmä, sabjé, capätés. After that he would go to school to teach, and on returning from school he would take a little prasäda at 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. This would consist of chipped rice, sugar and bananas with milk or curd.

He would then take a little prasäda again at 9:00 – 9:30 p.m. consisting of roti, dälmä and sabjé. He was very fond of dälmä made with moong däl. Following this, he would then study his religious books late into the night and go to bed between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m, at the earliest.

Generally Brajabandhu would spend the early morning in prayer (chanting Hare Kåñëa) after waking up and bathing, and again in the early evening. Throughout his family life, in the night after coming home from school, he continued his deep study of Bhagavad-gétä, Çrémad-Bhägavatam and different Puräëas.

A Great Responsibility Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: By 1952, after two years of teacher training, I left middle school and began teaching in high school. After I had become a certified teacher, my government service began. At the secondary school I was teaching Oriya, mathematics and geography. In 1952 my father expired. That left my mother, my younger brother Kripasindhu Manik and my sister, Subhadra Manik. My father had arranged my sister’s marriage. We were all living together. By this time, my wife and I had a son, Vijay. In our immediate family were two brothers and one sister. I was the eldest son, so after the death of my father the burden of the responsibility for the family came on my head. I had to take

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care of them all. I served in different schools in Orissa. Since it was government service, it meant I was transferred from one place to another, moving with the whole family, my wife and children, my mother and my brother.

Dhobani Devi: When his father died, Brajabandhu cried very much; he was greatly aggrieved. He had hardly any land or property, which worried him, because he had very little understanding of household affairs. Now he would have to take responsibility for the whole family. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I have had experience as a brahmacäré, a gåhastha, vänaprastha and as a sannyäsé. I have experienced it all.

At that time I was a gåhastha and had begun government service as a school teacher. I was earning a small salary of 25 rupees a month,* and I was head teacher. By the time I left, I was earning 450 rupees a month.** The salary was always inadequate and I always had to take loans. I had a big family of seven children. I was ten years older than my brother Kripasindhu. My brother and sister eventually married, so they were not dependent on me. Earlier on, when my father expired, my brother was just a young boy of twelve and I was twenty-two. I gave him an education and he became a veterinary surgeon. I took care of him, organised his marriage and then he found government service. I did the work of the father because I was the eldest son. I had been married just one year when I had to accept responsibility for the whole family, as they were all dependent. The government only paid a basic salary, nothing for the rented house even though I was the relieving teacher. When anyone suffered illness, I had no money for treatment. That was very difficult. Though the * Today this is equivalent to fifty cents Australian, or thirty six cents in USA dollars. ** Today this is equivalent to nine dollars Australian, or six dollars fifty cents in USA dollars.

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money was inadequate, still we tolerated. What could I do but completely depend on Kåñëa?

University Degree Brajabandhu was a perfect gentleman who was endowed with great intellect and intuitive understanding.

In 1958, three years after qualifying as a certified teacher, he was eligible to obtain a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. Though he entered the university examination as a private student, he scored second highest marks in the Utkal University and second place in the state of Orissa. Fulltime students were eligible to apply for the examination two years after obtaining the teacher-training certificate, whereas private students had to wait for three years. With his ongoing teaching job, the only time he had available to study was during the summer holiday period, May to June, when the school was closed. He would study through the night until 4:00 in the morning and then sleep till 7:00 am. Then he would wake and again continue studying. For two months he slept three hours a night and studied twenty-one hours a day. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I served as a teacher for ten years at Angul High School in the Dhenkanal district of Orissa.

I thought that if I enhanced my educational qualifications I could receive a promotion and increase my salary. I had never studied in university. My education was completely at the secondary stage. So, I was studying privately during the summer vacation months of May and June in 1958. While the family stayed in the village, I stayed alone at the school to prepare myself for the examination.

In the summer of 1958, he studied privately for a Bachelor of Arts degree. At the time his family were living in Jagannathpur, 99

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his native village, and he was teaching at Angul High School.

He taught at Talcher High School, Angul High School, Athgarh High School, and lastly Kujang High School. All these places were far from Jagannathpur.

The Secret of Success Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I would always make notes when I studied. When you make notes, that knowledge will always be yours, otherwise it will be lost. I would always refer to notes; therefore it became easy to remember the information. Reading, by itself will not help. The secret of success is to write it down.*

After two months of long and intensive study, he sat for the examination as a private student, gaining a score of over sixty percent, resulting in a distinction. With a BA degree, Brajabandhu became a graduate teacher.

In 1962–1963 he embarked on a one-year study program to gain a Bachelor of Education (B.E.). He sat for the examination as a private student as he had done for his BA degree, undergoing the same gruelling study routine. Shortly thereafter, he gained his second degree. He was now armed with a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts, and as a fully trained graduate teacher, he was promoted to Senior High School Teacher two years later. During that time he was teaching English, Math, Oriya and Geography. * Author’s note: Çréla Gurudeva would always bring a pile of notebooks when he would give class. They were his hand-written notes from when he studied the çästra. He did the same as in his school days and university days. Sometimes in reference to the sannyäsé devotees bringing laptop computers to class or to meetings, he would tap his bundle of notebooks that were carefully wrapped in cloth, saying, “These are my computer.” [For more information on this matter see Chapter 15: Sunday 15 September, 1974 at Midday.

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Preaching at Home While he was working as a teacher and maintaining a large family, Brajabandhu’s reading and study of the çästra was not as regulated as it had been when he was a young boy staying

Brajabandhu’s family home in Jagannathpur

in Gadäi-Giri, prior to his marriage. Nevertheless, he would immerse himself in reading the Bhagavad-gétä, the Puräëas and the Çrémad-Bhägavatam whenever he had the chance. During holidays, he would invite friends to his house for kértana and he would speak on the Bhagavad-gétä. Vasanti Devé would cook for the guests and he distributed the prasäda. In His own words: “She was not so interested in preaching but she would prepare prasäda and the children would sit and chant while the kértana was going on.” All the bhoga was offered to the same worshippable picture of Lord Kåñëa he had kept all along. As a teacher in government service he was transferred regularly, so he did not acquire deities.

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Atithi-sevā Although materially poor, Brajabandhu was fond of welcoming and serving the sädhus that came to his door.

Knowing that atithi-sevä is the main duty of a householder, whoever came to his door would always be offered whatever the family had at their disposal. Once, during the winter, a wandering sädhu came to his house and Brajabandhu gave him shelter for the night. The next morning, as the sädhu was leaving, Brajabandhu noticed that he had no warm clothing.

Against the wishes of the family he gave the sädhu the only blanket they had! Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: The fifth yajïa is atithi-sevä, nå-yajïa. When a guest arrives unexpectedly, you should pay obeisances, wash his feet, offer him a comfortable place to sit, then prepare palatable food and serve it to him. This is atithi-sevä.

Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and Family Life He had seven children; four boys and three girls. The eldest boy, Vijay, was born in 1955 in Jaganathpur; Abhay was born in 1957 in Angul, and then Akshay and Ajay. The girls were Anasuya, Mina and Jyotsna. The children showed some interest in Kåñëa consciousness in their early life. When Brajabandhu would chant at home, they would sit and chant with him. They would also chant early in the morning. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I would wake the children at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. and we would sit down together, chant, perform kértana and do tulasé-ärati.

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Vasanti Devi: During this time my husband was reading the Puräëas etc., and he would invite others to join him.

He would read and speak to them about the teachings of Bhagavad-gétä.

Brajabandhu always encouraged his whole family towards the religious side of life, Vedic-dharma, Vaiñëava-dharma.

He would also take them on pilgrimages to different holy places. He had personally visited the Shivananda Ashram in Håñékeça three times. He had also taken the whole family once to Northern India. They had visited Våndävana, Mathurä, Nandagräma, Gokula, Haridvära, and also Håñékeça.

As part of his daily practices, he would regularly visit the Çiva Mandir and read Bhagavad-gétä there. It was very close to his residence. He would go to the Çiva Mandir in the morning before leaving home and also in the evening. He liked the peacefulness and solitude of the temple, where he could study the Bhagavad-gétä undisturbed.

Brajabandhu would read to his wife and preach to her. He preached to the whole family, to his brother, sister, everyone.

He preached the whole time to whomever he could and to whoever would listen. He would also read the Bhagavad-gétä to the children, and he would explain to anyone who would listen whatever he had read from the scriptures. He would also preach to his fellow teachers; some were interested and some were not, but they would always listen out of courtesy, as they all liked and respected Brajabandhu.

By Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy No matter how much money Brajabandhu earned, it would never cover the needs of a large and extended family. Every

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month he was forced to borrow money and pay it back the next month. In his own words, “By Kåñëa’s mercy we made it through, month by month.”

Although he was already taking care of his seven children, wife, mother and younger brother, Krpasindhu, even more weight came. He said, “After I married, my uncle placed one of my nephews with me for five years, while he was obtaining his education. That meant there were eight children, my wife, and my brother. I had such a gåhastha life. Can you imagine the life I was leading? I was tolerating everything, accepting it as the will of Kåñëa. I was always crying, ‘When will Nitäicandra shower His mercy and give me a kick so that I can get out from here?’ Yes, get His kick and get out from the deep dark well of mäyä, suffering, suffering, and suffering so much! And that suffering was increasing day by day, not decreasing, bäbä!”

Brajabandhu educated his younger brother and arranged his marriage, spending a great deal of money on him so that he could secure a good government job. He later earned thousands of rupees a month but he never helped Brajabandhu in return. Many years later Çréla Äcärya Öhäkura said, “He didn’t offer a single paisä to help, nothing. Then he married a very materialistic lady. She would say to my brother, ‘Why do you want to give money to your brother? We will keep the money and live comfortably together.’ I tolerated it, thinking, ‘Alright, this is Kåñëa’s will.’ This is my practical experience.

I am not speaking theoretically. I have personal experience, bäbä, I have had every experience.”

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The Doctor Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I will give you another instance: I took my youngest son to the hospital when he had an ear infection when he was six or seven years old. The doctor wanted money, but I had no money so he didn’t examine the boy. What could I do? I came back home and chanted Hare Kåñëa. Every day there was some discharge coming from his ear. I had a book, it is still with me, of natural treatments with herbs and leaves, so I treated him, using that book and chanting Hare Kåñëa. Within a week, it was completely healed. Some said I was a bad husband. I didn’t care for it. I never listened to it. I did my best. I also quarrelled with the doctor, because I came with that boy for treatment but he wouldn’t look at him. He wrote a letter against me to the DPI, the highest authority in the Education Department. I didn’t care. I didn’t reply. I scolded him because I went there for treatment for my young son but he didn’t care to look even.

Nothing happened to me, I was protected by Kåñëa. I had such a gåhastha life. I was really dependent on Kåñëa.

Athgarh When Brajabandhu was living in Athgarh he was teaching Mathematics and English at the Bishwanatha Vidyapitha, Athgarh High School in the Athgarh sub-division, in the Cuttack District. The students would call him “Manik Sir”.

Brajabandhu slept on a woven rope bed on the verandah of his house and would rise early. After bathing and completing the daily schedule of duties, he would sing bhajans, and then for a fixed period of time he would chant privately (mantra meditation). He encouraged all of his family members to rise early, bathe and join in the kértana.

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Śyāma – Govinda – Gopāla Mahäprabhu däsa (formerly Mahesvara Nayak): Guru Mahäräja [Çréla Gour Govinda Swami] was a nice teacher. We called him Manik Sir. I was a student at Athgarh High School in class 9 and 10, matriculation level. In the mathematics class, in the chapter on Time and Work, there were some examples like this: Räma can do the work in 12 days, Çyäma can do the work in 10 days, and Govinda can do the work in 13 days. While Guru Mahäräja was explaining this arithmetic solution to twenty students, he would become ecstatic while repeating the names Çyäma, Govinda, Gopäla and instead of teaching us arithmetic, he would explain the pastimes of Govinda and Kåñëa. Myself and the other students would sometimes wonder what was this all about.

Sometimes the headmaster made unannounced visits to the classrooms, checking to see if the students were being taught correctly. On one such occasion, as Brajabandhu was working out a mathematical problem on the blackboard, the headmaster stood silently outside listening. When he entered the room, surprising everyone, he spoke to Brajabandhu, saying, “Instead of explaining the mathematical solution to how long it takes Räma, Çyäma and Govinda to do the work, you are giving some religious teaching about the pastimes of Lord Govinda or Kåñëa!”

On a separate occasion the headmaster asked Brajabandhu, “Manik sir, what are you teaching? Are you teaching about the pastimes of Kåñëa instead of teaching arithmetic?” And Brajabandhu replied, “Oh yes, yes; that is correct.” Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I was teaching, but when this topic came up, instead of teaching mathematics, I was

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teaching them about the pastimes of Kåñëa,* Govinda,** Gopäla,*** and the gopés in vraja-lélä.**** The headmaster was not very happy with that.

Mahäprabhu däsa: This is what actually happened.

Sometimes, when he was in an ecstatic mood, he didn’t want to gossip with any teacher or any visitor. Sometimes also he was in samädhi. These were very surprising moods. The headmaster and the teachers were struck with wonder.

Brajabandhu would explain the pastimes of Kåñëa and vraja-léla in an ecstatic mood. He would also teach the students about Prahläda Mahäräja and Dhruva Mahäräja. He would tell them how they were great devotees who had attained Kåñëa, how they were great examples that the students should take as role models so that they could see the Lord in this very life.

Mahäprabhu däsa: Guru Mahäräja would explain so nicely in the classroom, and in such a nice mood. I later reflected how really fortunate we were to have a teacher like him, because it is essential that we learn from childhood about Kåñëa, about His pure devotees like Dhruva and Prahläda Mahäräja. He was teaching about them, and sometimes he was speaking on verses from the Çrémad-Bhägavatam and Bhagavad-gétä during the class. * Kåñëa: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme entity who is all-attractive. This implies that He is the object of all loving affection. ** Govinda: a name the Supreme Lord Kåñëa. “One who gives pleasure to the land, the cows and the senses.” *** Gopäla: a name of Kåñëa as a young boy; the Supreme Lord Kåñëa, who protects the cows. **** Gopés in vraja-lélä: the cowherd girls of Vraja [Våndävana], who are counterparts of Çré Kåñëa’s hlädini-säkti, Çrématé Rädhäräëé. They assist Her as maidservants in Her conjugal pastimes with the Supreme Personality of Godhead; Gopäla Kåñëa’s cowherd girlfriends, who are His most surrendered and confidential devotees.

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Brajabandhu especially liked to quote this verse: apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat “Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.”4

He often described the material world as a ‘nasty place’, a place of great struggle and difficulty.

Hear Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and Your Mind will be Pacified Once there was a rebellion among the students; they were agitating to organise a strike. Brajabandhu was in the room next to the room where the students were airing their views and discussing their plan of action against the teachers. He knew that it was not proper student conduct, nor beneficial to their education. Reflecting on the situation, he concluded that the missing element was spiritual knowledge: If students had more opportunity to listen to Lord Kåñëa’s own words in the Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä, their minds would be automatically pacified and they would not need to rebel and agitate in this way.

When a teacher transferred to another school, a farewell meeting would be organised and the headmaster, the senior teachers and a few students would speak kind words about the

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departing teacher. Brajabandhu would also speak something in their favour but, however inappropriate it appeared from an external point of view, he never missed an opportunity to glorify Bhagavän Çré Kåñëa, so he would speak kåñëa-kathä.

Mahäprabhu däsa: We were very fortunate to have the association of Guru Mahäräja from the very beginning of our lives. He lived in Athgarh‚ in a private house with his wife and children and his mother. He tutored students privately, morning and evening. Ten to fifteen students at a time would go to his house for private tuition. I lived seven kilometres from Athgarh town so it was too difficult for me to go there for private tuition class.

The Blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa Every Sunday Brajabandhu would spend the whole day in spiritual practices. He opened his doors and invited friends and school staff members for a midday feast, kåñëa-kathä, reading from Bhagavad-gétä, Çrémad-Bhägavatam and other scriptures.

Although Brajabandhu had a large family responsibility* and was the only person earning money for his family of seven children, his widowed mother and younger brother, he would distribute prasäda to everyone, usually simple anna (rice) and dalmä.** He was very fond of dalmä which he would call Vaiñëava food. Sometimes he would tell his guests, “I am very poor and cannot provide many items, but this prasäda is very tasty. It * Author’s note: Brajabandhu Manik, (Çréla Gour Govinda Swami) the schoolteacher, his family and guests did not know of ISKCON. ISKCON was not represented in Orissa [Odisha] until 1975, when Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami was sent there by Çréla Prabhupäda. Çréla Prabhupäda did not visit there until early 1977. Please see Chapters 8, 9 & 10 of this Volume Part Two. ** Dalmä: a thick soup made from dried legumes, and containing many vegetables. This is a traditional dish of Orissa.

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is not merely anna and dälmä, it is kåñëa-prasäda, jagannäthaprasäda.” In spite of burgeoning family responsibilities, many of his senior students and colleagues believed he was receiving the blessings of Lord Kåñëa. Whatever his material difficulties, he was always in an ecstatic mood. It appeared that the Lord was testing His dear devotee, preparing him for a bright future dedicated to preaching His glories.

By late afternoon he would go to his room in an ecstatic mood, remain there and sit for 2–4 hours fully absorbed in meditation on the Lord.

Vasanti Devi: My husband would go up to his room and meditate on Kåñëa. On one occasion I went to his room, opened the door, and I saw that he was floating above the floor, in deep meditation. His eyes were shut and he was chanting Hare Kåñëa to himself. There was also a giant Oà symbol on the wall.*

Vasanti Devi also mentioned that she saw whatever her husband needed would just manifest. He would be just sitting and whatever he wanted would appear in front of him.** Brajabandhu stayed in Athgarh for nearly three years. Every morning, before school, he stopped for darçana at the RädhäGovinda Mandira, which was within easy walking distance of * Author’s note: However in the Gurudeva Çikñämåta, Volume 4 Issue 2, May 2002 by Janeshwar prabhu he wrote, after interviewing Guru Ma (Vasanti Devi): “...She also mentioned that on several occasions she saw her husband (our beloved Gurudeva) floating off the ground, levitating, deeply absorbed in his meditation, dhyäna, in front of their picture of Rädhä-Kåñëa...” ** Interview with Guru Ma, Gurudeva Çikñämåta, Volume 4 Issue 2, May 2002.

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his house. He was very fond of Rädhä-Govinda. He would then walk two to three kilometres further to his school, dressed in a light blue shirt, white dhoti, a cane-handled black umbrella in hand and a pair of katthäo, wooden sandals, on his feet.

Brajabandhu had an entirely different mood than everyone else. He dressed differently, he acted differently and he thought differently. Some of the students did not appreciate him being so different. They did not like his mood of indifference towards material life because they wanted to enjoy materially.

He would speak out against the perils of material enjoyment, basing his arguments on the instructions of the ancient Vedic scriptures, but they did not care for the spiritual life that he wanted to share with them. However, most of them, as well as the teachers, did like him and were quite happy to hear him speak about spiritual topics in the classroom.

If the students misbehaved, he would chastise them. He kept a small cane and was not afraid to use it. He would tell them to behave properly and be good students.

Mahäprabhu däsa: Guru Mahäräja was my class teacher for one year, and for another year he was my mathematics and English teacher. He also collected the monthly fees from the students because at that time there was no clerical office staff to collect them.

In those days school started at 10.30 a.m. and finished at 4.30 p.m. Brajabandhu would go home for a prepared lunch.

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He fasted on Ekädaçé,* Janmäñöamé,** and on all major Vaiñëava religious days.

Bhikhari Giri The Mahänta from Våndävana His mother could not appreciate this mood of renunciation, so he would tell her, “Do not worry. I am Bhikhari Giri, [a member of the Giri dynasty who had gone to Våndävana 170 years earlier and taken sannyäsa]. I have taken birth from you, the daughter of Bauribandhu Giri, and I am actually that mahänta Bhikari Giri. Gopäla [Gopäla Jéu the Giri family deity who had come from Våndävana] is mine. He is my Lord.”

Brajabandhu would often say that he was that person.

He would also tell his uncle, “In the Giri ancestry, your * Ekädaçé: A special day of fasting from grains and beans, observed twice a month, on the eleventh day after the full moon, and the eleventh day after the new moon.

Directly presided over by Lord Hari, Ekädaçé is a holy day for Vaiñëavas. One should utilise this day for fasting and increasing one’s devotion to Lord Çré Kåñëa by intensifying one’s chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mantra and other devotional activities. Observance of Ekädaçé increases devotion to Lord Çré Kåñëa.

However in the Hari-bhakti-viläsa it is stated: ekädaçyäà na cäçniyat pakñayor übhayor api jägaraà niçi kurvéta viçeñäc cärcayed vibhum “One should completely fast on the Ekädaçé of the waxing and the waning moons. One should stay awake on the night of the Ekädaçé and worship the Supreme Lord.” ** Janmäñöamé: The celebration of Lord Kåñëa’s appearance. It occurs on the eighth lunar day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadra (August-September). The Supreme Lord Himself appears in this material world from time to time to perform His divine lélä for all to see, and to re-establish the principles of religion.

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great grandfather, Bhikhari Giri was a mahänta (abbot) in Våndävana. I am that same Bhikhari Giri, servant of Gopäla, who of his own accord came from Våndävana. I will not stay in family life.” Hearing this from Brajabandhu, Gopinath Giri said, “Your mother will die very soon if she hears this.” So Gopinath Giri told his sister to keep careful watch over her son. “Never let him out of your sight.”

Gopinath Giri Leaves this World On Friday 24 February 1967, the appearance day of Çréla Narottama-däsa Thäkura, the uncle of Brajabandhu, Gopinath Giri who was a great kértanéyä, drummer and devotee, left this world amidst a tumultous kértana.

As has been described in Chapter Five of this book; Gopinath Giri, the mådaìga player, was a wonderful dancer.

When he played the mådaìga he made it sound like thunder. It was stated, “...such mådaìga players are not to be found these days...”

Ghanaçyäma Giri [the son of Gopénätha Giri] recalls, “...

In 1967 at the age of 72 my father Gopénätha Giri left this world on the agni-utsava day...” Gopénätha Giri left this world with the chanting of the holy name on a very auspicious day.

A Divine Call for Sannyāsa In 1969 Brajabandhu revealed the following dream to a close friend. This prompted him to consider giving up family life, but it did not eventuate.

Fakir Caran Kanungo: He revealed his dream to me that he had a few nights ago. He said that he was flying in the

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sky without any vehicle and collecting scented flowers in the garden. This type of dream gives future information about the beginning of a new life and end of the present life. He said that he was surprised that he had this type of dream.

Then he said he saw the incident of prince Siddhärtha (before becoming the Buddha). While prince Siddhärtha was on his chariot he found a poor weak old man who was previously a handsome young man. But now that he had become a useless neglected old man, this situation would come one day to each of us. Another time the prince saw a diseased person. By this he could understand that this body is a house of disease and all of us will have to deal with that one day. Then he saw one dead man. By this he could understand that every one is under the clutches of death. At last he saw one sannyäsé, and concluded that this saàsär [which means that people are perpetually wandering within this darkness of material life in different forms of life] is temporary and full of distress; this man has rejected the unreal life and accepted the life of renunciation (sannyäsa) for the search of the ultimate goal of life.5 Fakir Caran Kanungo: He said to me, “While I saw all these amazing events in my dream someone was whispering in my ear, ‘You must accept the sannyäsa order of life.’ Renounced life gives the power to human beings to meet the Supreme Lord Mädhava.

I am feeling some invisible power guiding me towards the path of renunciation and therefore I should not delay. I must leave this so-called family life and accept the renounced order of life. This dream is the divine call for sannyäsa. I feel that someone is telling me to leave my house and come quickly and not to fear. Jewels may be found only by hard labour.

Without strings the véëä cannot be played, and without the wheel the vehicle cannot move and without faith and devotion or niñöha, life’s chariot cannot move.6

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Brajabandhu began to feel the need to renounce family life and take sannyäsa to preach the mission of Mahäprabhu, and he heard the call for him to do this. Of course, for this he needed to seek out and find a bona fide spiritual master. He did not want to teach mundane subjects anymore; he wanted to teach the Gétä, the Bhägavatam and the message of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

Then, one day, before his beloved Deity, Gopäl Jiu, he entrusted his seven children – four sons and three daughters – to his brother, Krpasindhu Manik saying, “These are all your children. This is your family. Please take charge of it.” He then expressed his desire to give up this gåhasta-äçrama life and take up sannyäsa to teach the path of bhakti, but, his brother was reluctant to accept the responsibility, so Brajabandhu was still encumbered by householder life.

I Will Take Sannyāsa When Brajabandhu was teaching, he would speak about taking sannyäsa. The following took place in 1971: When he was teaching English he would also present kåñëa-kathä, wherein he mentioned, from time to time, that he wanted to take sannyäsa. One topic in English was a story called ‘River Stairs’, which was from the book Tales from Tagore, written by the Nobel Prize winner Ravindranath Tagore. Brajabandhu liked this particular story because he was very fond of sannyäsa life and the story was about a member of the Goswami Hariparivar family who had taken sannyäsa.

He had formerly been the husband of Kusuma, who was now without a husband. She had no other alternative than to return to the house of her father. By talking about Kusuma 115

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and her husband and the activities of a sannyäsé, Brajabandhu was preparing himself for the sannyäsa-äçrama and he told his students, “One day I will leave this job and take sannyäsa.”*

Detachment from Material Life Throughout, Brajabandhu developed the mood of detachment, and was meditating on the time when he could give up family life and proceed along the path of renunciation.

Although he had been a model gåhastha, he had greater ideals.

His cherished dream was to take the renounced order of life and preach the mission of Mahäprabhu as taught to him by his uncles from Gadäi-Giri. He was however facing two obstacles: the weight of family responsibilities and the fact that he had not met a bona fide spiritual master from whom he could take shelter, who would award him the sannyäsa order, which was his long cherished dream.

Brajabandhu’s detachment from material life started in Athgarh (1971) when he was teaching at the local High School. He would wear saffron-coloured clothing, [sädhu’s * Author’s note: After the husband leaves home to take sannyäsa it is written: “...the wife returns home to live under the care of her grown-up children and to remain aloof from family affairs. The husband then takes sannyäsa to render some service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead...” (4.28.3 Çrémad-Bhägavatam purport by Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda) “...And when the husband is completely free from all family attachment, he takes sannyäsa. This is the process. Brahmacäré, gåhastha, vänaprastha, and sannyäsa...”

(Lecture by Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda Çrémad-Bhägavatam 5.5.1 London September 12 1969) “...then wife is also sent back to the family, to the care of elderly children, and the man takes sannyäsa, compulsory...” (Lecture by Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.8.41, Mäyäpura, 21 October 1974)

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clothes] and eat very simply. His wife was worried, and she would cry. She had many household duties, the daughter was not yet married and the other children were too small to carry out any responsibilities. She did not know what to do, as he had become very detached from them. He said, “I am going to serve Kåñëa, Mahäprabhu.” He was a very softhearted person; he could not tolerate anyone suffering or going without food, but he had made the resolve to lead a life in the service of the Lord.

“Please Give Me Prema” Throughout his life Brajabandhu wrote daily entries in his diary. For the most part these were in the form of letters to Gopal. Each entry would begin, “prabhu gopäla kåparu, kaunasi mate dinoti koti gale – By the mercy of Prabhu Gopäla, this day was spent thus...” The diary entries would end with a prayer to Gopäla, “Please give me prema-bhakti,* ecstatic love of God.”

Prema kåñëa yadi chuöe bhakte bhukti mukti diyä kabhu prema-bhakti nä dena räkhena lukäiyä “If a devotee wants liberation or material sense gratification from the Lord, Kåñëa immediately delivers it, but pure devotional service He keeps hidden.”7 * Author’s note: Prema-bhakti is translated as follows:- prema-bhakti—loving devotional service (Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 3.14); prema-bhakti—devotional service in love of Godhead (Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 4.99-100); prema—love; bhakti—devotional service (Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 7-1). Prema-bhakti means deep and intense love of God not to be confused with the mundane love (lust) of this material world.

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jïäna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe kåñëa vaça kåñëa-vaça-hetu eka—prema-bhakti-rasa “By following the paths of speculative philosophical knowledge, fruitive activity or mystic yoga to control the senses, one cannot satisfy Kåñëa, the Supreme Lord.

Unalloyed devotional love for Kåñëa is the only cause for the Lord’s satisfaction.”8

paripürëa-kåñëa-präpti ei ‘premä’ haite ei premära vaça kåñëa—kahe bhägavate “Complete attainment of the lotus feet of Lord Kåñëa is made possible by love of Godhead, specifically mädhuryarasa, or conjugal love. Lord Kåñëa is indeed captivated by this standard of love. This is stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam.”9

mayi bhaktir hi bhütänäm amåtatväya kalpate diñöyä yad äsén mat-sneho bhavaténäà mad-äpanaù “Lord Kåñëa told the gopés, ‘The means of attaining My favour is loving service unto Me, and fortunately you are all thus engaged. Those living beings who render service unto Me are eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world and attain eternal life with knowledge and bliss.”10

karma-nindä, karma-tyäga, sarva-çästre kahe karma haite prema-bhakti kåñëe kabhu nahe “In every revealed scripture there is condemnation of fruitive activities. It is advised everywhere to give up

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engagement in fruitive activities, for no one can attain the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, by executing them.”11

Sambandha – Abhidheya - Prayojana veda-çästra kahe—‘sambandha’, ‘abhidheya’, ‘prayojana’ ‘kåñëa’—präpya sambandha, ‘bhakti’—präptyera sädhana abhidheya-näma ‘bhakti’, ‘prema’—prayojana puruñärtha-çiromaëi prema mahä-dhana “The Vedic knowledge is subdivided into three parts known as sambandha (“relations”), abhidheya (“procedure”) and prayojana (“the aim or end”). The knowledge of Kåñëa as the goal of spiritual life is called sambandha. The knowledge that devotion is the means of attaining Him and acting accordingly is called abhidheya. The ultimate goal of life, or prayojana, is love of Kåñëa or prema. This prema is the greatest treasure of spiritual life and is foremost amongst all the objectives of human life.”12

veda-çästre kahe sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana kåñëa, kåñëa-bhakti, prema,—tina mahä-dhana “The Vedic knowledge is subdivided into three parts known as sambandha (relations), abhidheya (procedure) and prayojana (the aim or end). These three great treasures are Kåñëa, devotion to Kåñëa, and love for Kåñëa.”13 “...The word prayojana means necessities, and the ultimate necessity is explained by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Premä pum-artho mahän: the greatest necessity for a human being is the achievement of love [prema] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead...”14

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Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena Tinged with the Salve of Love Çré Kåñëa is also known as akhila-rasämåta-mürti, or the embodiment of all transcendental mellows, rasas. na sädhayati mäà yogo na säìkhyaà dharma uddhava na svädhyäyas tapas tyägo yathä bhaktir mamorjitä “My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control.

I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Säìkhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.”15

anyäbhiläñitä-çünyaà jïäna-karmädy-anävåtam änukülyena kåñëänuçélanaà bhaktir uttamä “One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kåñëa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”16

premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaù sadaiva hådayeñu vilokayanti yaà çyämasundaram acintya-guëa-svarüpaà govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

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“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Çyämasundara, Kåñëa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love [premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti].”17

Çré Brajabandhu Manik the school teacher, was always meditating on that one crucial point, the ultimate goal of bhakti: “...Please give me prema...” Love of God. As stated by Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé in his Çré Caitanya-caritämåta: kåñëa-viñayaka premä—parama puruñärtha yära äge tåëa-tulya cäri puruñärtha “Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead [prema], the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.”18

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Part 2

Marriage &

Family Life

Chapter Eight

PART 2

Marriage and Family Life

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hilst living in Athgarh, Brajabandhu went on pilgrimage to northern India during school vacation visiting Håñékeça, Gayä, Våndävana, Väräëasé and Ayodhyä. Along the way he met many holy men and asked them questions about his life. In Håñékeça a sädhu told him: “You are a learned man. First finish all your worldly duties; arrange your daughter’s marriage. After the family responsibilities are taken care of, you will return here and will spend the last part of your life in this äçrama.” Brajabandhu was very pleased to hear the sädhu’s advice, which encouraged his desire to renounce the world.

In 1971, at the age of forty-one, an incident took place. It was the eve of Brajabandhu’s retirement from teaching, and he was about to leave Athgarh to take up his last teaching post in Kujang High School. Years later as a sannyäsé and guru, he would speak about this incident so as to instruct his Western disciples.

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My Wife Never Once Complained His wife Vasanti Devi, then aged thirty-six, went outside the house late that night, to soak a neem-wood toothbrush in water overnight for her husband to use the next morning. She had forgotten to do it earlier. It was something she did every day. So, thinking how annoyed he might be if he did not find a fresh toothbrush in place, she went outside to attend to it, fell over, hit her head on the ground and became unconscious.

Brajabandhu heard some noise, got up, went outside and found her inanimate on the ground. He revived her by sprinkling water on her face, but her wrist had been fractured in the fall.

He thought that they would have to go immediately to the hospital in Cuttack, where treatment would be expensive, possibly amounting to thousands of rupees, but they had no money. Brajabandhu therefore prayed to Kåñëa: “O Kåñëa, my wife has had this bad accident. What can I do?” He chanted Hare Kåñëa, and together they tolerated everything. He said, “My wife never once complained saying, ‘I accepted such a bad husband to take care of me. He has no money to pay the doctor’s fee.’ That was never said, and that was not her mentality. We grew up in such a culture and we have been given this training, but you people [he later told his Western disciples] lack this; therefore we are training you.”

I Prayed to Kṛṣṇa Fortunately, Mahesvara Nayak, one of Brajabandhu’s students, told him about a man living in a nearby village who could cure fractures using herbs, so Brajabandhu sent Vasanti Devi to him. The man treated the injury, her condition

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improved, and within six weeks the fracture was healed. This all took place without their needing to spend thousands of rupees at the Cuttack Hospital. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami said, “I had no money for expensive treatment at the Cuttack hospital. I had nothing, not even a thousand paisä. I was a bad husband, yes. I could not take care of my wife, so I prayed to Kåñëa and Kåñëa gave me the intelligence what to do.

Kåñëa helped us. I probably spent fifty rupees for a month’s treatment, not more than that, and she was cured.”

He Would Deprive Himself Dhobani Devi: Renounced or not, he could not tolerate seeing another person in sorrow. If anyone begged him for a dhoöi, he would give him his own dhoöi, replacing it with any small piece of cloth, even if the dhoöi he had given away had been newly purchased. This was his nature. His mother and wife accepted it. He would say, “This person is wearing torn clothing; should I not give him mine?” He would deprive himself so that others could be clothed or fed.

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Transfer to Kujang Several people in Athgarh, misunderstanding Brajabandhu’s mood of renunciation, complained to the school authorities and requested that he be transferred to another school. Not long after this he was transferred to Kujang High School, but his good reputation preceded him and he was welcomed and

Kujang High School

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Kujang High School

made a schoolmaster. No one in Athgarh could find fault with his character, but they feared his mood of renunciation and austere habits.* * Author’s comment: It is often the case that people mistrust those who are different, and will shun their association. If they want to enjoy their senses they will not be able to associate with someone who is a true renunciate; it will pose a threat to their desire to enjoy.

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Poison in the Beginning - Nectar in the End yat tad agre viñam iva pariëäme ‘måtopamam tat sukhaà sättvikaà proktam ätma-buddhi-prasäda-jam “That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to selfrealisation is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.”1

viñayendriya-saàyogäd yat tad agre ‘måtopamam pariëäme viñam iva tat sukhaà räjasaà småtam “That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.”2

yad agre cänubandhe ca sukhaà mohanam ätmanaù nidrälasya-pramädotthaà tat tämasam udähåtam “And that happiness which is blind to self-realisation, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.”3

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Giving up Sense Gratification In the Bhagavad-gétä it is stated: “Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence.”4 “What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.”5 “A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.”6 “A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace.”7 “That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. Being so situated, even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.”8 “One who is, however, taking pleasure in the self, who is illuminated in the self, who rejoices in and is satisfied with the self only, fully satiated—for him there is no duty.”9 “A self-realised man has no purpose to fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason not to perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living being.”10

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“Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”11 “One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work for fruitive results.”12

The residence of Çré Brajabandhu Manik

Apartments behind Kujang High School

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Brajabandhu’s old residence behind Kujang High School. Now dilapidated.

Brajabandhu Knew the Bhagavad-Gītā Brajabandhu knew the Bhagavad-gétä all too well. He had studied it from his earliest childhood and now, reaping the fruits of his Vaiñëava birth, association and traditions, he was beginning to take to the path that he had taken birth to follow: the path of complete renunciation and full-time service to the Supreme Lord. He had never been interested in sense gratification. He was unencumbered by the bondage of slavery to the senses, and as we will see, this set him free from dependence on others.

Our Good & Honourable Gour Govinda Swami Mr. Choudhary: I have worked at the Kujang High School as senior most teacher since 1967. Our good and honourable Gour Govinda Swami taught here from 1971 to 1974. I had the chance and the honour to work with him. He was not only a successful teacher; he was also very friendly with all his colleagues. He had a spiritual frame of mind.

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In those days he organised worship in his house once a week and he called some of us to join him. He performed the püjä, and together we recited hari-näma. At the end [of the program] we all enjoyed prasäda.

When he joined the school, he rented a house with his family on the way to Kujang, on the Paradip line. Then he shifted to the school hostel at the back of the school. Now [1992] that hostel is in a dilapidated condition.

Although Brajabandhu prayed in his heart to be released from family life and to meet a sädhu who would bestow upon him the order of sannyäsa, he dutifully continued to fulfil his family obligations. After moving with his family to Kujang, his mood of detachment increased. He was reading the Bhagavadgétä and preaching, and he began to eat sun-dried rice. Vasanti Devi did not like to eat that kind of rice and he told her, “You may take parboiled rice, but I will take sun-dried rice.” Thus, his mood of austerity increased day by day.

As a very religious and moral person, he tried to teach moral principles to the students he was teaching. He delivered a lecture to the students at the new school, Bana Behari High School, and it was published as an article in the Kujang Pradipa, the school’s annual magazine.

“It is a Masterpiece” Mr. Choudhary: He had also written articles in English for our school magazine. He vividly described fundamental things about God and how to know about God, and why you should know about Him. And really it is a masterpiece; most of the students and teachers liked this article.

The following is the article as it appeared in the 1971 issue of the Kujang Pradipa.

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TALKS TO THE STUDENTS The Cultivation of Good Habits

By Brajabandhu Manik, BA. (Dist) B.ed.

My Dear Students, This is my second talk to you. My first talk was Realisation of God and Meditation, which was published in the “Basanti”, the school magazine of Bishwanath, Athgarh, in the month of March, 1970. In that talk I have told you about the goal of human life. To achieve that goal, one essential thing is required; the cultivation of good habits. Today I am going to tell you something about that.

You know, this is the age of science. Nowadays astronauts travel in the Apollo moon ship and travel in space. How is it possible? Can you travel in space? No, you cannot. They can do so only because they have cultivated the constant habit of space travel, which is a very hard and difficult task. The formation of habit makes every difficult task easier.

Look here, students, in this connection, what Lord Krsna has told Arjuna, when the latter, finding it impossible to still the fleeting mind, said; “The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and unyielding, O Krsna. I deem it as difficult to control it as to control the wind.” (Gita, Chapter 6.34).

In answer, the blessed Lord said: “Undoubtedly, O mightyarmed Arjuna, the mind is difficult to control and restless, but by practice (abhyasa) and by dispassion it may be restrained.”

(Gita, Chapter 6.35).

Again, in Chapter 12.9, Lord Krsna also told Arjuna to take to the yoga of constant practice (i.e. abhyasa-yoga), to

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fix the mind steadily on Him. Repeatedly Lord Krsna has told about this abhyasa-yoga, as it has wonderful power.

Then, O children, cultivate good habits and thereby develop good personality and moral character. Swami Sivananda says, “You sow an action and reap a habit. You sow a habit and reap a character. You sow a character and you reap your destiny.

Hence destiny is your own to build up. You are the architect of your own fortune.”

If you change your habits, you can also change your character. Character is nothing but a bundle of good habits.

It is the sum total of one’s virtues. It is character which gives real force and power to man. You should bear it in mind that character is power. Without character, the attainment of knowledge is impossible. Character is life’s pillar. One’s daily conduct reveals one’s character. Hence, if you want to possess a spotless moral character, you should pay attention from your childhood to the cultivation of good habits.

This habit formation has a strange attractive power. You will be attracted by that magnetic power, consciously or unconsciously, if you form habits either good or evil. If you form some evil habits from your very childhood, you cannot develop good personality and possess good moral character.

Evil habits are dire enemies, while good habits are your benevolent friends.

Habits originate in the conscious mind. But when the habits become established, by constant repetition, they sink down into the depths of the conscious mind. If some evil habits are established in the conscious mind it will be very difficult to eradicate them at a later stage. So, you should be very careful in the formation of habits. You should choose some good habits to cultivate, and shun bad habits ruthlessly.

The evil habits of sleeping in the daytime, late rising, loud talking, etc., should not be cultivated at all.

In this age of scientific invention, the age of fashion and false notions, people are acting according to their own sweet will. Evil habits of all sorts have cropped up in all. Nowadays

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a friend greets another friend not with the names of God, but with a packet of cigarettes or a peg of whisky. My dear children, bear it in mind, alcohol is a deadly poison that destroys the brain cells and nerves. Another evil habit is smoking, which is very common all over the world. Smoking brings nicotine poisoning of the whole system. The other evil habits are chewing betel, drinking strong tea and coffee etc.

Therefore, I advise you to shun the bad company of smokers, drinkers and vulgar people, always.

Be careful, boys. Cultivate the healthy habit of rising early in the morning, say, at 4.00 am. i.e. during the Brahmamuhurta, and pray to God. Do not be a slave to sleeping in the daytime; it is very bad for health. Hence cultivate the habit of going early to bed and rising early. There is a saying, “Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.�

Remember this saying and change your habits accordingly.

You should also cultivate the habit of remembering God in all your activities; then you will find that it is easier to face hardship and to meet the battle of life with a smile, patiently and heroically.

Again, don’t be a slave to one idea. Whenever you get new healthy ideas, the old unhealthy ideas must be given up. The vast majority of people are slaves to old, outgrown ideas. They do not have the strength to change their habits, because the old habits have been strongly established in their conscious mind, like glue. Therefore, from your very childhood try to cultivate some good and healthy habits. This habit formation is like a double-edged razor. If you utilise it in good and noble ways, you will be greatly benefitted, but it will ruin you if you utilise it in evil ways.

Very well, now let us disperse. May God give you strength and willpower to cultivate good habits and shun all the bad habits completely.

Om Santi! Jai Hind.

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Mr. Choudhary, his long-time school colleague, said: “Brajabandhu was greatly appreciated by his teachers; they all liked him, particularly the students. He would tell them how to live life by looking to God to solve even their day-to-day problems. He was an intelligent teacher. He could teach any subject, geography, history, but literature was his favourite.

Those of us who were a little spiritually inclined would go to his house once a week for hari-näma and püjä. He was a good gentleman. His financial position however was not always so favourable. He would give all of his salary to his wife, and many times he had to ask for a loan. He was very particular about refunding the loan on the day he received his salary. After some time, he again needed to ask for a loan, and again he would return it on the first of the month, when he received his salary. He was always neat and clean, always wore a dhoöi and a full shirt. Then in the last year of teaching he changed, and he would wear saffron cloth to school and in the classroom, but he didn’t shave his head. His character was very high. He made quite an impact on all of us at the school, teachers and students alike.”

Brajabandhu Meets Kṛṣṇa Vasanti Devi: Once, my husband was returning from visiting Håñékeça. He told me that when he was near the railway station, close to the Kujang bus stand, that he met Kåñëa as a cowherd boy. There was a crowd of people, and he was standing a little back from the crowd when a calf brushed against him and Kåñëa was also there. He told me, ‘I met Kåñëa. Kåñëa was playing with a small calf and the calf suddenly ran and brushed against me.’ I couldn’t believe him.

‘Is this a joke you are telling me?’ Then he showed me his clothing stained with cow dung. He said, ‘I saw Kåñëa today.’

I said, ‘No, no, no, how could it be?’ He kept assuring me that he had seen Kåñëa that day.

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Brajabandhu and the Yogī During school vacations Brajabandhu took the opportunity to visit holy places like Haridvära and Håñékeça in northern India, sometimes taking the family, and sometimes alone.

On one occasion, in 1971, when he had gone on pilgrimage without his family to Haridvära, a very curious incident took place. This happened only a few days before he had to take the return train to Calcutta from Haridvära. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I had gone to Haridvära from Orissa via Calcutta by train. My vacation was nearly over, so I went to the railway station in Haridvära to book my return ticket to Calcutta. I knew the return fare was 30 rupees and I had the correct money but the ticket clerk was shaking his head: “No, no, it is 40 rupees.” I told him that I had come

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one month earlier and knew the fare was definitely 30 rupees.

He said, “No! No! It is ten rupees extra.” I didn’t have that extra money. A friend was with me, so I asked him if he had 10 rupees to spare. He said, “No, but I know someone who has some money. I will bring it.” I said, “Yes, go and bring it, otherwise how will I buy the ticket?”

So, my friend went to get the money. He came back after some hours and meanwhile that ticket booking clerk went out and was replaced by another one. When I asked the new clerk for a ticket to Calcutta, I gave him forty rupees for the fare. He asked, ‘Why are you paying ten rupees extra?’ I told him that the other clerk had said that the fare had increased from thirty rupees to forty rupees. He answered, ‘Oh, he has told you a wrong thing - wrong fare.’

I was puzzled. Then I looked up and a yogé was there sitting behind the window instead of the ticket clerk! I had seen that yogé previously in the Himalayas. Now I saw him sitting there as the ticket clerk! It dawned on me that the first clerk I had seen was that same yogé: He had made this magic trick just to put me in trouble. I was trying to get the extra ten rupees for the fare but there was not even a ticket booking clerk. It was this yogé from the beginning who had taken that appearance. He had just manifested himself at that place to give me trouble.

Brajabandhu did not give much credibility to the tricks and magic of the yogés, as they did not have anything to do with kåñëa-bhakti. This one particular yogé, however, definitely wanted to cause problems for him. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I would go to the Himälaya regions on my school vacation because I was practicing how to leave home, how to develop detachment from family life and live a life of renunciation.

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Brajabandhu’s Future Foretold by a Sādhu In his book The World Famous Gour Govinda Swami and the Village Gadäi-Giri, Fakir Caran Kanungo writes; “...In 1971 we, Brajabandhu and myself, both went in February to the Himalayas. We visited different places like Sapta-sarovara tértha, Laxman-jhula, this is the famous hanging bridge across the Ganga, which is about three kilometres from the main township of Håñékeça. We also went to Tadakabag Ashram, Gétä Bhavän, Pavan-dhäma etc. At Pavan-dhäma* we had a meeting with a sädhu who foretold the future of Brajabandhu. That sädhu said, ‘In 1974 you must leave your home and your most cherished desire will be fulfilled. There will be a most important change in your consciousness. You will utilise all your power and ability for the use of God’s (Supreme Lord’s) service. Devotees will feel very fortunate to read your life story** and they will come to your feet for help and advice. At the time of distress and danger your love and purification will be the only solace for hundreds of souls and you will be famous among great saintly persons. You will be the best among the devotees, you will be an äcärya, you will be a great åñi, and you will show the path of perfection to many. Finally, you will return to Goloka Våndävana, your eternal home...” * Pavan-dhäma: located at a distance of around two kilometres from the main town of Haridvära (Hardwar), is one of the ancient temples of this area. ** Çréla Gour Govinda Swami expected that his life story (or part thereof) would be published while he was still on this planet, which would concur with what the sädhu at Pavan-dhäma had said. However, it was stopped by some of his godbrothers in March of 1991, while he was in Mäyäpura for the meetings. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami said to the author of this book, “…this book you are going to write will give faith (çraddhä) to the sädhakas (A sädhaka is one who is a practitioner of sädhana-bhakti. This the beginning stage of bhakti, it includes kaniñöha and madhyama, second stage of bhakti is bhäva and third stage of bhakti is prema. And prema is the goal.) …”

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Fakir Caran Kanungo, the friend of Brajabandhu, heard this with his own ears. He was struck with wonder when he over the years, saw what that sädhu had said, word for word, come true. He wrote it in the book called Viçva-vidita Gour Govinda o Gadie-giri, meaning The World Famous Gour Govinda Swami and the Village Gadäi-Giri”. [vidita—known very well, celebrated; viçva—the universe]13

Unflinching Faith in the Holy Name Brajabandhu had unflinching faith in the holy name. Once in 1972, whilst he was travelling to Haridvära and Håñékeça, with his whole family, the following incident took place, “...I have personal experience, yes. I was a gåhastha … I was a teacher… I would earn money. I had a family, a big family! I had seven children – four sons, three daughters. I was carrying a big basket! Yes. Very heavy! After marriage, the children come, then you have to maintain a job and earn enough money to support a family.” * Çréla Gour Govinda Swami would refer to married life as a big basket, that only becomes bigger as the responsibilities increase. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: During two months of the summer vacation I decided to go to Haridvära and Håñékeça in the foothills of the Himalayas, where the Ganges flows.

There are very cool places on the bank of the Ganges, where you can sit down and the sun is not so scorching hot. Many sädhus stay there. So, I was going for this purpose. I took my * Author’s note: It should be understood that Brajabandhu Manik had seven children. However, he only engaged in the act of procreation seven times which resulted in his seven children. In Vedic culture if the wife wants a child then the husband must act accordingly. However, if she does not want any more children then the act of procreation does not occur. He was a perfect Vaiñëava householder; he did not engage himself in the ongoing endeavour to satisfy his senses.

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wife and children with me. I had booked a seasonal ticket, but I couldn’t get a reservation on the train. The ticket inspector was taking bribes. Whoever had money would bribe the inspector and secure a seat from him. I didn’t have money to offer a bribe so he didn’t give me any seats. I asked him, “I have purchased this seasonal ticket, why are you not giving us any seats?” “No, no! No seat is available. You will have to go in the general compartment!”

I said, “Why should I go in the general compartment? I have purchased a seasonal ticket!” But he didn’t listen to me.

Anyhow, I stayed in that compartment. When we arrived in Bareilly station in Uttar Pradesh, a different ticket inspector got on. He was very rude and threw us out, “Why are you in this compartment? Get out of here.” And he pushed me down, “You are not allowed.” I thought, “Alright, if Kåñëa wants...”

We got down from the train and sat on the platform at Bareilly station, and I started chanting Hare Kåñëa. I told my wife and children, ‘All of you, chant Hare Kåñëa, the whole mantra. If Kåñëa desires, we will stay here and chant Hare Kåñëa. That is very good!’”

After chanting for only one or two minutes, a gentleman came and chastised that ticket inspector. “What are you doing? He has so many small children! They will suffer sitting here in the scorching heat of the sun! You are taking bribes and giving seats to other people. Why are you not giving these people seats?” He chastised him, then that ticket inspector called me, “Yes, come on, come on.” And we were given seats.*

* Author’s note: This story was told by our beloved Gurudeva in an evening class in Villa Våndävana, Italy, in 1995. On his way back to the room he told his servant/ secretary that he had not planned to say this and did not normally speak these things in general classes, but the Lord prompted him to do so.

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ĹšrÄŞmati Vasanti Devi

The house of Brajabandhu Manik in Jagannathpur.

The house of Brajabandhu Manik in Jagannathpur (above and below).

The old GadÄ i Giri Temple outside (above) and the altar inside (below and next page).

ŚrĪ ŚrĪ Rādhā Gopāla JĪu and Dadhi Baman - Lord Jagannātha.

ŚrĪ ŚrĪ Rādhā Gopāla JĪu and Dadhi Baman - Lord Jagannātha.

ŚrĪ Gopāla JĪu

Altar inside Gopāla Jiu Temple ŚrĪ ŚrĪ Rādhā Gopāla JĪu

ŚrĪ ŚrĪ Rādhā Gopāla JĪu and Dadhi Baman - Lord Jagannātha.

ŚrĪ Gopāla JĪu The beloved Deity of ŚrĪla Gour Govinda Swami.

ŚrĪ Gopāla JĪu The beloved Deity of ŚrĪla Gour Govinda Swami.

ŚrĪ ŚrĪ Rādhā Gopāla JĪu

The Gadāi Giri kīrtanīyas (above and below).

Street in Gadäi Giri (bhägavata-öuìgi centre left).

The Bhägavata-öuìgi

The Shrine of the Bhägavatam at the Gadäi Giri village.

The Bhägavata-öuìgi

The Shrine of the Bhägavatam at the Gadäi Giri village.

Ganashyam Giri, Dina Bandhu Giri and Damodara Giri from left to right at the house of Gopinath Giri in GadÄ i Giri (above and below)

Kujang High School (above and below).

ŚrĪla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda with ŚrĪla Gour Govinda Swami behind him (above and below).

ŚrĪla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (left) with ŚrĪla Gour Govinda Swami (far right, above and below).

ŚrĪla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda with ŚrĪla Gour Govinda Swami behind him. (Top and bottom)

CHAPTER NINE

1973

Preaching is Superior to Material Life

Chapter Nine

1973 Preaching Is Superior to Material Life

G

d

radually, Brajabandhu’s inner need to find a sädhu who could give him sannyäsa and allow him to preach the message of Mahäprabhu grew deeper and deeper. Mahäprabhu’s préti-dharma process is described below: Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: We have ätma-dharma and mano-dharma. Mano-dharma is apréti-dharma – dharma not based on love, apréti, which is concocted, imaginative. Thus mano-dharma is speculation. Ätma-dharma is based on prétidharma, love, and descends by the hearing process, çrautaparamparä. Préti-dharma is dharma based on love where Kåñëa is préti-viñaya, the object of love, and all bhaktas, devotees are préti-äçraya, the abode of love. This is viñaya and äçraya. There is harmony between them; there is no question of disharmony. If you establish yourself in this préti-dharma, then there will be no disharmony at all, only harmony. Some say that there is some apréti in préti-dharma, but one should understand that there is some apréti in those who say this.

That is why they say that, but there is no question of apréti, it is only pure préti, love.1

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The mood of Mahäprabhu is love and affection for one and all, which is encapsulated in the verses below: namo mahä-vadänyäya kåñëa-prema-pradäya te kåñëäya kåñëa-caitanyanämne gaura-tviñe namaù “O most munificent incarnation! You are Kåñëa Himself appearing as Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu. You have assumed the golden colour of Çrématé Rädhäräëé, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kåñëa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”2

yo ‘jïäna-mattaà bhuvanaà dayälur ulläghayann apy akarot pramattam sva-prema-sampat-sudhayädbhutehaà çré-kåñëa-caitanyam amuà prapadye “We offer our respectful obeisances unto that merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead who has converted all three worlds, which were maddened by ignorance, and saved them from their diseased condition by making them mad with the nectar from the treasure-house of love of God. Let us take full shelter of that Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, whose activities are wonderful.”3

Brajabandhu wanted to preach this and become a wandering sädhu. He had never had any taste for family life; he had never wanted to marry at all. During this year, he visited the Haridvära-Håñékeça region again, this time by himself. All he could think of was how to renounce family life and his material occupation, where to go and which sädhu to associate with.

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Achieve the Association of the Pure-hearted Devotees It is said that to associate with highly elevated souls (sädhus), pure-hearted devotees of the Lord is of paramount importance. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam is completely understood by those personalities who are fully pure in heart. Thus their hearts are free from the six bad qualities: käma – lust; krodha – anger; lobha – greed; moha – illusion; mada – pride; and mätsarya – envy. “...The Çrémad-Bhägavatam is called the paramahaàsasaàhitä, the treatise for the highest class of human beings. The paramahaàsa is free from envy. In other stages, even in the householder stage of life, there is competition and envy, but since the activities of the human being in the paramahaàsa stage are completely engaged in Kåñëa consciousness, or devotional service, there is no scope for envy...”4

dharmaù projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaräëäà satäà “...Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhägavata Puräëa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart....”5

tértha-phala sädhu-saìga, sädhu-saìge antaraìga çré-kåñëa-bhajana manohara yathä sädhu, tathä tértha, sthira kari’ nija citta, sädhu-saìga kara nirantara “The real benefit of visiting any holy place is to achieve the association of the pure-hearted devotees of the Lord living there. Establishing intimate and friendly relations with

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such great souls let your heart be captivated by performing the charming worship of Lord Kåñëa in their association.

Wherever the Lord’s devotees are living, that place becomes a place of pilgrimage. Therefore you should become fixed by constantly remaining in the company of such devotees.”6

ye térthe vaiñëava näi, se térthete nähi yäi, ki läbha häìöiyä düra-deça yathäya vaiñëava-gaëa, sei stäna våndävana, sei sthäne änanda açeña “I never visit any so-called place of pilgrimage that is devoid of the presence of unalloyed devotees, for what benefit is gained by walking to such distant places? Wherever there are devotees, that place is actually Våndävana. Only there can one find unlimited spiritual pleasure.”7

kåñëa-bhakti yei sthäne, mukti däsé seikhäne, salila tathäya mandäkiné giri tathä govardhana, bhümi tathä våndävana, ävirbhüta äpani hlädiné “Liberation personified is herself the humble maidservant of places that are surcharged with devotion to Kåñëa. All the water at this place is the celestial Ganges, every hill there is Govardhana, and the very earth is indeed Våndävana. Only such a place can manifest the eternal spiritual joy, which is revealed by the Lord’s pleasure-potency.”8

Even the great sädhus like to associate with other great sädhus. For example: “...In 1898, after Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura had constructed his residence in Navadvépa Dhäma at Godruma

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Dvépa and called it Çvänanda-sukhada-kuïja, and sometime after the discovery of Lord Caitanya’s birth site by the Öhäkura and Çréla Jagannätha däsa Bäbäjé, Çréla Gaura Kiçora däsa Bäbäjé Mahäräja arrived in Navadvépa Dhäma to see the site of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s birth and to hear the discourses of Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura. When he arrived, he was singing in ecstasy. His only possessions were the tulasé-mälä, which he wore around his neck and another set that he kept in his hand for counting. He kept a few books, such as Narottama däsa Öhäkura’s works: Prärthanä and Prema-bhakti-candrikä...”9

Here we read that Çréla Gaura Kiçora däsa Bäbäjé Mahäräja came to hear the discourses of Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura: one paramahaàsa came to associate with another paramahaàsa by the medium of hearing. And Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda went and took initiation from Çréla Gaura Kiçora däsa Bäbäjé Mahäräja: one paramahaàsa taking initiation from another paramahaàsa. Brajabandhu was searching for that person who could give him initiation. Thus the paramahaàsas set the example for one and all to follow.

It is also stated in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam: “…A sage is not, therefore, recognised by sight, but by hearing. One should approach a sädhu or great sage not to see but to hear him. If one is not prepared to hear the words of a sädhu, there is no profit. Çukadeva Gosvämé was a sädhu who could speak on the transcendental activities of the Lord…”10

We read in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam that when Çukadeva Gosvämé spoke it to Mahäräja Parékñit, many great sages from far and wide came to hear him speak. His exalted father, Çréla Kåñëa Dvaipäyana Vyäsadeva, and even his father’s spiritual master, the great transcendentalist Çréla Närada Muni also

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came to listen. It is not that this philosophy is for the mäyäbaddha jévas (the conditioned souls). The great sädhus and sages relish the topics of the Supreme Lord and His dear devotees. Therefore they came to hear.

In the Third Canto of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, çrutekñitapatho - the path of seeing through hearing, is also stressed: “…This is clearly indicated herein by the word çrutekñita. The çrutekñita path is to hear from bona fide devotees who are conversant with Vedic wisdom…”11 Thus Brajabandhu was preparing to extricate himself from family matters for the higher ideal of associating with sädhus for the prime function of hearing from them.

Mr. Choudhary: After some days, he felt some inner call, ‘to go to the Himalayas and have a darçana of Swami Çivänandajé in Håñékeça.’ He collected subscription donations from the staff and outside, and he went there. On his return we found some changes in him. He did not like to wear his usual clothes; rather he took the robes of a bhakta-sannyäsé while he gave classes in the school. This was at the end of 1973, if I recollect correctly. He had a regular practice of oberving Räma janma [the appearance of Lord Räma] and Kåñëa janma [the appearance of Lord Kåñëa]. Although he was a quiet, reserved, and thoughtful individual, he never stopped these functions. He would invite people to observe these functions at his house, feeding them with his wife and family.

The Gītā Yajña During Brajabandhu’s high school period, he was invited by a man named Sukadeva Malik [who later became his disciple

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and was given the name Çré Garbha däsa] to give a series of lectures on the Bhagavad-gétä in the Poio Math, which is a Rädhä-Kåñëa Temple situated at approximately one kilometre and a half from Jagannathpur.

Svayambhü däsa: In 1973 I met him again in the Poio Math. He was still teaching at that time. When I saw him, I noticed that he was chanting “Jaya Govinda, Jaya Gopäla” and also the Hare Kåñëa mantra, but one very significant thing was that he was chanting that mantra starting with Hare Räma first and then Hare Kåñëa second. I paid my obeisances to him and he paid his to me; he recognised me and said, ‘It is good that you are here; whatever I chant, just repeat it, and then we will start the speech on Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä.’ At this stage in his life he was wearing saffron clothing, a saffron coloured luìgi and a saffron coloured wrap. He looked just like a renunciant, a sädhu.

Sukadeva Mallik had retired from the police force prior to 1973. He regularly visited the maöha in Poio, where there was a bäbäjé whose name was Jagannätha däsa Bäbäjé. This bäbäjé asked him to help by collecting donations to perform a Gétäyajïa. So for one year Sukadeva Mallik collected donations for that purpose. The bäbäjé then asked him to find four people from the surrounding areas and pay them fifteen to sixteen rupees a night to lecture on the Gétä. He had found four people to speak, but upon listening to them on the first night of the yajïa, the bäbäjé realised that they were not able to speak very nicely and could not explain anything, so he was very disappointed. He said to him, “We need someone better than this; can you please find someone?” Therefore, while searching for a suitable person to speak at the yajïa, Sukadeva Mallik ended up at the Jagannathpur High School. He had heard that the headmaster was able to speak very nicely on the subject matter of the Gétä.

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He asked for the headmaster and requested him, “Sir, will you come and speak for us at the Gétä-yajïa?” The headmaster, who was sitting on a very high chair said, “Not me, but this person here, this bäbu [Brajabandhu] he can speak at your yajïa.” Sukadeva Mallik looked at ‘this bäbu’ - Brajabandhu, who was sitting on the cement floor, and saw that he was very deeply absorbed in thought. He was wearing a gämchä and had one gämchä on his shoulder. The headmaster said then, “This bäbu knows Gétä very nicely and he will come and speak for you. You can ask him.” So Sukadeva Mallik asked Brajabandhu to speak at the Gétä-yajïa, and Brajabandhu replied, If bhagavaté-ädeça (Sarasvaté, the Goddess of Speech) desires so and orders me to attend, then I will come, otherwise not.”

When he heard this, Sukadeva Mallik turned to the person who had accompanied him and said, “This man is not giving any clear answer, let us leave. It does not seem that he is going to speak for us!” That was on April 1 1973, at seven o’clock in the evening. Sukadeva Mallik was disappointed that ‘this bäbu’ would only speak if Mother Sarasvaté ordered him to.

He found it too hard to believe that Brajabandhu was going to speak to Mother Sarasvaté.

Sukadeva Mallik and his friend returned to the bäbäjé empty-handed. They had not found anyone more qualified than their four candidates to speak. They said, “It is not going to work. This person says he speaks to Mother Sarasvaté, it seems too fantastic to believe.”

However, the next day, 2 April 1973, at 7.00 p.m.

Brajabandhu arrived. He was wearing katthao, wooden peg shoes, and he had hired a coolie to carry a big trunk with all

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his books and clothes for him. He had not gone to the Poio maöha directly but to Jagannathpur, and asked a Mr. Utsava Gocchaiti whom he knew was interested in hearing the Gétä, “Can you please call Suka bäbu, the man who is organising the Gétä-yajïa, so I can speak to him?”

At that time Brajabandhu was teaching in Kujang, but he had come to Jagannathpur because his house was there, adjacent to the High School. That is where Sukadeva Mallik had first met him the evening before, at the end of the first day of the Gétä-yajïa.

On this second evening, a lady called Charulata Nayaka was reading the Gétä because there was a shortage of speakers and the glorification of the Gétä had to go on. Sukadeva Mallik brought Brajabandhu in. He was wearing a dhoté and kürta, and they requested him to give the talk on the Gétä. He spoke for four hours and Sukadeva Mallik and everyone who was present was impressed. They all liked it, including the bäbäjé.

Sukadeva Mallik said later that after hearing the discourse on the Gétä from Brajabandhu Babu he felt very nice in his heart.

Because there was no place in the maöha for Brajabandhu to stay that night, he was accommodated at the house of Acyuta Nayaka, the father-in-law of Charu Nayaka, the lady who had been selected to read from the Gétä that evening.

The next morning Brajabandhu woke up early and Sukadeva Mallik saw that he was sitting in the lotus position and had hung a sign on the wall with the Om symbol on which he was meditating. After that, he spoke on the Gétä from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. While he was lecturing, Jagannätha däsa Bäbäjé, who was much older than Brajabandhu, was sitting in front of him in the audience, and he began smoking gaïjä (marijuana) in

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his pipe. When Brajabandhu saw this, he was outraged that someone would smoke in the temple of the Lord. He became extremely angry and he shouted at the bäbäjé, “Get out of here!” The bäbäjé was so embarrassed that he just dropped his pipe and ran into a large adjoining field, where he threw himself on the ground and started rolling around. He was very frightened. That bäbäjé never took gaïjä again.

After hearing Brajabandhu speak only once on the Gétä, Sukadeva Mallik was so inspired* that he decided to do this Gétä-yajïa every year. He was ready to do bhikñä (collecting donations) all over Orissa and organise the Gétä-yajïa in many places so that Brajabandhu could go and speak and many, many people could benefit from it.

After the lecture on the Gétä was finished, prasäda was served. While prasäda was being distributed, Brajabandhu walked up and down the rows of people to make sure that everyone was satisfied. He was saying, “Give him chutney, give him this, give him that.” Only after everyone had finished did he take prasäda himself.

Brajabandhu spoke for three days in the morning and in the evening. He would start at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon * Author’s note: It should be understood that there are many people posing as sädhus wandering around; but, as our Äcäryas state, one must hear a sädhu; you cannot see a sädhu; you must hear him and then see. Thus here was Brajabandhu Manik, schoolmaster, (hidden in the Kujang High School), speaking on the Bhagavad-gétä and everyone was inspired; they heard him and then they could see him. And the bäbäjé was also inspired.

To see a sädhu is not so easy; one must hear and obtain the mercy of the sädhu and then by his mercy one will actually see him. Hence, çrutekñitapatho [SB. 3.9.11] – the path of seeing through hearing – is recommended in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

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and finish at 9:00 p.m. Sukadeva Mallik had arranged a nicelooking chair, which was decorated tastefully, for Brajabandhu to sit on, and he would give him dobs* once in a while because his throat would be so dry from speaking. In this way he spoke for six hours. On the third and last night, Sukadeva Mallik approached Brajabandhu and gave him fifteen rupees as dakñiëä (donation), but Brajabandhu gave the money back. Çré Garbha däsa (Sukadeva Mallik): He did not accept the money but said I should build an äçrama for him here. At that time, he already had this inspiration to have an äçrama in that place, Poio.

He had faith in me that I could build him one there, so I kept the money with Charulata Nayaka. I could see that he was very inspired after this Gétä-yajïa, and with that in his mind, he made the decision at that time to leave family life. During these lectures he completely lost his taste for material life. He was completely turned off. He was in the mood of renunciation; and it came up so much in him that he decided to leave.

Brajabandhu Decides to Leave Home Svayambhü däsa: So after this Gétä-yajïa Gurudeva [Brajabandhu Manik] asked me to visit him frequently so that we could have discourses on rädhä-kåñëa-tattva. I was doing this and I would also go to Kujang High School where we would have discussions on the different tattvas. He was working very hard, studying, reading and writing until one o’clock in the morning. He would do a hard day’s work and then he would study religious books, reading and writing into the late hours of the night. He would make notes on what he was studying. * Dobs: The water of the coconut before the inside skin becomes hard. It is a very popular and refreshing drink in tropical climates.

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Subhash (Svayambhü däsa) developed a friendship with Brajabandhu and would visit him regularly. As well as discussing the different tattvas and having bhajana-kértana with Subhash, Brajabandhu began teaching him yoga-äsanas; he became like Subhash’s spiritual guide. At this stage in his life Brajabandhu would not sit in the common room with the other teachers. He did not mix with others, and Subhash could see that he was developing the symptoms of renunciation. Brajabandhu also intimated to Subhash that he was not finding any pleasure in his family life or in this material world.

Mr. Choudhary: On his return from Håñékeça we had philosophical discussions. He had brought some rudräkña beads for us and japa-mälä to count on. I can remember that one day, before his final departure from this school, he said, ‘You see, I can’t teach anything anymore. I find myself charged with spiritual thoughts; wherever I look, I see Lord Kåñëa, on the walls, among the students and among my colleagues.’ Mostly, when Brajabandhu was sitting in the teacher’s common room, we had discussions, but all relating to spirituality. He did not discuss material topics. About one month later he handed in a plain application to leave.

Bhāgavata-uttamaḥ

A Person Advanced in Devotional Service bhakta ämä preme bändhiyäche hådaya-bhitare yähäì netra paòe tähäì dekhaye ämäre “A highly elevated devotee can bind Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in his heart by love. Wherever he looks, he sees Me and nothing else.”12

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visåjati hådayaà na yasya säkñäd dharir avaçäbhihito ‘py aghaugha-näçaù praëaya-rasanayä dhåtäìghri-padmaù sa bhavati bhägavata-pradhäna uktaù “‘Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who destroys everything inauspicious for His devotees, does not leave the hearts of His devotees even if they remember Him and chant about Him inattentively. This is because the rope of love always binds the Lord within the devotees’ hearts. Such devotees should be accepted as most elevated.”13

sarva-bhüteñu yaù paçyed bhagavad-bhävam ätmanaù bhütäni bhagavaty ätmany eña bhägavatottamaù “A person advanced in devotional service sees within everything the soul of souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa. Consequently, he always sees the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of all causes, and understands that all things are situated in Him.”14

Hear and then See Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda has also said on this subject matter: “…A sage is not, therefore, recognised by sight, but by hearing. One should approach a sädhu or great sage not to see but to hear him. If one is not prepared to hear the words of a sädhu, there is no profit...”15

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“...And by hearing you will see....”16 “...One cannot see properly unless one has heard from a superior source...”17 “...Don’t try to see a sädhu by your eyes. You try to see a sädhu by ears [again here it is stated that hearing is the prime necessity]...”18

A Kṛṣṇa Conscious Person Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami’s definition of a Kåñëa conscious person, from the Bhagavad-gétä was this verse, which he quoted regularly: yo mäà paçyati sarvatra sarvaà ca mayi paçyati tasyähaà na praëaçyämi sa ca me na praëaçyati “For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.”19

A Kåñëa conscious person sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa everywhere. Brajabandhu Manik was seeing the Supersoul everywhere as he told his colleague and friend Mr. Choudhary in confidence.

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Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Sannyāsa & Brajabandhu

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ne night in a dream, Kåñëa, decorated with a peacock feather in His hair and effulgence all around Him, appeared before Brajabandhu’s wife Vasanti Devi.

Next to Kåñëa was Brajabandhu in the dress of a sannyäsé with tilaka, çikhä and saffron clothing. When she woke up, she realised that her husband would soon leave home and take sannyäsa.

When Brajabandhu was preparing to leave home, he gave his wife the indication that he intended to go to the Çivänanda Ashram and remain there. She asked, “How am I to maintain these seven children?” and he answered, “If I join the äçrama, then it will also be beneficial to you.”

He told her this much and nothing else. He was outwardly showing that he was a good gåhastha, but inwardly, he was not attached to being a householder.

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Something Extraordinary Previously a palmist had told Vasanti Devi, “Your husband will separate himself from you.” She also dreamed twice that her husband was going away. She therefore suspected that one day he would leave her. She felt she should not leave him alone.

At that time, Brajabandhu’s mother was very old and very ill. She was living in the family house in Jagannathpur while Vasanti Devi was with her husband in Kujang.

Vasanti Devi told him, “Bring your mother here so that we can look after her properly.” But he said, “No, no, you go and take care of her there.” He wanted to send his wife to Jagannathpur while he stayed in Kujang. She realised that he was going to leave her, so she said, “No, no, you just go and bring your mother here so that we can look after her together.”

He was persistent, so Vasanti Devi went to Jagannathpur and he stayed in Kujang. Vasanti Devi looked after his old mother.

Everyone knew that his mother would not stay much longer in this world.

In later years, when Vasanti Devi was asked if she thought that her husband was different, she replied, “One year prior to my husband’s leaving home, I could understand that he was someone extraordinary, but not before.”

Bābā Ānanda Svarūpa of Khandagiri Prior to leaving home in 1974, Brajabandhu Manik went to the Tapobana äçrama of Bäbä Änanda Svarüpa at Khandagiri near Bhubaneswar. At that time a Professor named Bipra Charan Mohanty was also present there to obtain the blessings of that

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C h a p t e r 1 0 T h e D r e a m & L e av i n g H o m e saint. He wanted the blessings of Baba Änanda Svarüpa so he would be favoured to be chosen as the principal of the then famous Khalikot Art College, which was later renamed as the Bibhuti Bhusan Kanungo Art College. However, Baba Änanda Svarüpa directed him to take the blessings of Brajabandhu Manik, saying, “Though he appears as an ordinary person, a school teacher, he is actually a sädhu, a great saintly person, and you should take advantage of his rare presence and accept his blessings. The purpose for which you are now here will then be fulfilled.” Professor Bipra Charan Mohanty did this and became the principal of the Khalikot Art College.

Brajabandhu Manik had gone there to receive the blessings of this saint so that he could be relieved of his family duties and take to the renounced order of life.

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réla Gour Govinda Swami once wrote: “...Once my younger brother told me with tearful eyes that people were hating him because he had no children. So before my beloved Deity Gopäla, I gave all my children, seven children – four sons and three daughters – to him, saying, “These are all your children. This is your family. Please take charge of them.” Then I expressed my desire to leave the gåhasta-äçrama and take sannyäsa, in order to teach Krishna consciousness. But, he was reluctant to accept it then. This incident took place in the year 1969. To give him some strength of mind I remained for another five years, which made it 1974. During this period, I felt myself very much disturbed in both my service-life and my family-life, so I decided that I must give up everything and leave it to perform spiritual sädhana by becoming a sannyäsé. Hence, one fine morning I gave up everything – my government service and family life, everything and proceeded to the Himalayas to take sannyäsa.

Before leaving my family life I told everyone, my wife, my children, my younger brother Kripasindhu Manik and all my friends and relatives etc. that I was going to the guru äçrama to take up sannyäsa. They were not happy to see me go; still I gave up everything, left household life and proceeded towards the Himalayas. When I left my household life I had also been to my favourite Gopäla Pitra in Gadäi-Giri, the village of my

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maternal uncle and expressed my desire there that I was going to take sannyäsa and after taking sannyäsa I would go to teach Krishna Consciousness (i.e. Gopäla Kåñëa’s message) to the devotees of Orissa. It was a commitment [I made] before my Deity...”*

On the occasion of the Räma-navamé festival of April 1, 1974, (the appearance of Lord Ramacandra)** Brajabandhu had invited Subhash to come to Gadäi-Giri to listen to him speak on the Rämäyaëa in the Gopäla Jéu Temple. Brajabandhu walked from Kujang to Gadäi-Giri, a distance of forty-two kilometres, but because he knew a shorter way, via the Katcha Village Road, it was only twenty-eight kilometres. This meant that he had to walk through the middle of land that was under cultivation.***

The Order to Leave Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I gave myself a new name, Gour Gopälänanda däsa, Gour and Gopäla – my Deity. I had that name. I was a wandering sädhu, so I was not telling, those who I met, my karmé name. I had thrown it away. I gave it up at the age of forty-four because I was no longer interested in material things. I was telling you that I was teaching at school the story of a blind boy... I was teaching, and it was all blind boy teaching. “No sun; I cannot see it!” They could not see God; they were all blind. I was thinking, “I am teaching * Author’s note: A letter to Çréla Prabhupäda from Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, sent from ISKCON Centre, Hyderabad, 12 September, 1975. ** Räma-navamé is the celebration of the appearance of Lord Räma, an incarnation of Kåñëa who appeared many millennia ago. ***Author’s Note: As a point of interest, Brajabandhu had never used a bike, bicycle, scooter, car or any form of transport. He walked everywhere, and Subhash noted that he was such a brisk walker that sometimes people could not keep up with him.

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this, but I should give it up and become an actual teacher: a teacher of God.” That desire was there in my heart. At last I gave it up, and I left home in 1974.

Previously I had paid for my younger brother’s education and I had also arranged his marriage. I had taken care of him.

He is still now working as a veterinary doctor. I gave him the full responsibility of my family and I left home.

Brajabandhu and Subhash both arrived in Gadäi-Giri before the Räma-navamé day. While Brajabandhu was bathing in the nearby Alaka River a Hindi saying came to mind, “calte hue sädhu bahatä hua päné – that sädhu who is continuously moving and is not attached to any place, and the water that constantly flows, are both pure.” In other words, as long as the water keeps flowing it will remain pure, and as long as the sädhu keeps moving from place to place, going out and preaching, he will also remain pure, he will not become attached to any one place.

The next day was Räma-navamé and Brajabandhu read the Rämäyaëa. After sometime Subhash was asked to read the Rämäyaëa. He was reading that section where Räma is banished to the forest by His father on the request of His stepmother.

Lord Räma said to His father Daçaratha, “Going to the forest will enrich our lives, because we will meet many sädhus there [sädhu- saìga].”

Directly after this reading, Brajabandhu started asking for bhikñä (donations) from the audience. While he held out his saffron-coloured dhoté and asked for bhikñä from everyone present, he was chanting the following verse from the Rämäyaëa: vane gale muhiì muni-gaëe bheöi kåtärtha karibi präëa

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teëu pitä - äjïä sadä hita mora tava ädeça pramäëa “Çré Rämacandra said to His stepmother Kaikeyé, ‘By going to the forest I will meet many sädhus, and I will benefit from that. Therefore, what you have persuaded My father to do will be beneficial for Me.’’’1 Then Brajabandhu began to clap his hands and chant this verse: bhaja räma räma räma kaha çyäma çyäma çyäma räma lakñmana jänaké jaya véra hanumän-ké2 As he continued to ask for bhikñä, he began clapping his hands in an ecstatic mood while saying, “I will go to the forest.

I will go to the forest. I will go to the forest. Please give me bhikñä. Please give me bhikñä.”

After the Rämäyaëa speech there was nice prasäda: dälmä and anna (rice). Brajabandhu encouraged Subhash to take more prasäda because it had been a long day. That night Subhash slept in a room adjacent to Brajabandhu’s room. There was a wall in between the two rooms with a small window, through which Subhash could see that Brajabandhu was burning a pile of straw in his room to protect them from the mosquitoes. The smoke from the burning straw filled both rooms. Brajabandhu went to bed at about midnight that day.

At two o’clock in the morning he called Subhash to the stairs of the temple. While they sat there Brajabandhu revealed

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to Subhash that he wanted to renounce family life, go to the forest and live like a renunciant.

Subhash then asked him, “Why do you want to retire to the forest when your family members are here: your sons, your daughters and your wife? You have so many responsibilities and liabilities. Why must you take to a life of renunciation?”

Brajabandhu replied, “This order has come from a higher platform, from above. I received this order while the Rämäyaëa discourse was going on and I was begging for bhikñä. I was given this direction at that time. Therefore I will not stay in family life with all its material affairs. I will have to renounce.

You are the man, you will give me bhikñä and I will go to a life of renunciation.” Subhash could not believe what he was hearing. Give up family life!

The Kick of Lord Nityānanda Brajabandhu was always praying to Lord Nityänanda that He would give him a good kick so that this family life would end. He would say, “Lord Nityänanda is so merciful! How will this husband business be finished? How will this family life be finished unless one gets His kick?”

At that time Subhash was a teacher. That morning he had to leave Brajabandhu and go to open the school that he was working at. Brajabandhu said to him that he must come to Kujang again. He also asked him to accompany him and enter a life of renunciation. He asked Subhash, “How many members are in your family? How many sons and daughters do you have? What are your responsibilities and liabilities?”

Subhash was a family man; with many responsibilities. He later said, “I left Brajabandhu that morning, returned to my place

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of residence, and then went on to work. I could not think of a life of renunciation; I had my family, my occupation and my responsibilities.”

Brajabandhu did not go back to his native village after that Räma-navamé festival. He went to the place where he was living at that time with his eldest daughter and his niece, near the Kujang High School where he was teaching. They had set aside a room for him. The rest of the family was staying in the village of Jagannathpur. This Räma-navamé day signified the day that Brajabandhu cut himself off from family life altogether, because during that festival he had been given direction from above to withdraw from material affairs and begin his life as a renunciant and preacher. His mind was fixed.

Brajabandhu’s Resignation At the age of forty-four, on 10 April 1974, at the end of the school year after completing his routine teaching duties he gave a letter of resignation to Prahlad Mahanty, the headmaster of the Bunbihari High School in Kujang.

In it he said, “Just accept my resignation. I do not want to remain a teacher anymore.” He also sent a copy to the Instructor of Schools. And then he left.

In the interim, Subhash returned to Kujang eight days later to see Brajabandhu; he visited him, they had prasäda and kértana, and then again Subhash returned to his home.

Before he left, Brajabandhu asked when he would come again.

Subhash told him he would visit him again in one week. When he returned a week later, Brajabandhu had already resigned from his teaching position.

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Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I kicked it after twenty-five years of government service. Not theoretically but practically.

I gave it all up. I am not only saying it theoretically. I did it. I was earning twenty-five rupees a month when I began government service, and when I left I was earning four hundred and fifty rupees a month, but, I kicked it.

Mr. Choudhary: After Brajabandhu left the school, there was a grand gathering where he was staying. Everyone went to that maöha. The gathering continued for two to three days, then he left that maöha for good. Although he had little relations with his village, all his family were there to see him, to have his darçana, and some were there to persuade him to come back to material life, but he had made up his mind. He was fixed. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Everyone knew that I was leaving; my wife, my children, my friends, everyone. I told them that I was going. They were trying to stop me, that is natural. But who could stop me?

When Brajabandhu resigned from his service, the news spread quickly and after hearing it, his immediate family members started crying. They were in distress and went to Kujang, but Brajabandhu was no longer in the house he had previously stayed in. He had left that house and gone to the Kakudia Math in the nearby area.

The whole village had come, all his family members, many of the residents from Gadäi-Giri; all the students and all the teachers from the Kujang High School came to see Brajabandhu and asked him to withdraw his resignation. When he said he would not, they replied that they would wait one month before making another arrangement for his replacement. However,

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Brajabandhu was very fixed and determined. He said that he would not withdraw his resignation, “I will not stick on any revenue stamp, make any signature to withdraw money, or anything else from today onwards.”

Subhash, who also had heard the news, went to the Kakudia Math and asked Brajabandhu, “Why have you left Kujang and come here? Why have you left your job? Everyone is crying!”

Brajabandhu explained to him, “Because on that day I received this direction.” Subhash said, “Which day?”

Brajabandhu replied, “On the Räma-navamé day. I received the instruction, to leave home and go to the vänaprasthaäçrama.”

Brajabandhu offered Subhash some prasäda, bananas, milk and flat rice. Subhash noticed that Brajabandhu was worshipping a picture of Gopäla Jéu. He took prasäda and stayed on for a while. Meanwhile, Brajabandhu’s wife arrived at the Kakudia Math. She had a photo of Gopäla Jéu with her.

Looking at the photo, she said to Gopäla, “Why are You doing this to me? Why are You creating these painful events?”

When Brajabandhu heard that she had arrived at the Kakudia Math, he said to Subhash, “Mäyä is coming! Mäyä is coming! Do not allow her to come here.” When Vasanti Devi heard this, she collapsed. Brajabandhu who had named himself Gour Gopälänanda däsa*, had now totally cut off any relations with his immediate family. * Author’s note: In a letter to Çréla Prabhupäda dated 12.09.1975, Çréla Gurudeva wrote that he changed his name to Gopälänanada däsa when he left family life, then in the Himalayan region he was known as Swami Gopälänanda by other sädhus. In meditation on the holy name of the Lord, while in that Himalayan region, he realised that he should add the name of Gaura to his name, in Oriya Gour. So his name became Gour Gopälänanda däsa. But in the interviews that were conducted by the author of this book Çréla Gurudeva said that when he left family life, he named himself Gour Gopälänanda däsa and when he introduced himself to Çréla Prabhupäda for the first time, he used that name. So for the sake of brevity, we have kept the title for Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, from the time he left family life to the time he was initiated by Çréla Prabhupäda, as Gour Gopälänanda däsa.

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The son of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami who used to be called Abhoy Kumar Manik, took initiation from his father on 30 March 1986. He relates: Aniruddha däsa: When my father left in 1974, I was only twelve years old. I did not realise that he was leaving. I just thought that he had gone somewhere for seven days and was staying in a maöha, Kakudia Maöha, near Kujang where he had a government residence. At that time my mother was crying.

But I did not understand why she was crying. My father is there doing his usual bhajana, kértana, äsanas, and präëäyäma.

I felt as though he was doing his normal routine, but why was mother crying? I did not feel anything different. It was only after my father left his job as a teacher, when there was a big gathering with all the students, all the staff members and many other people who came to meet him, that I realised that something was going on; something big was happening. At that time I also felt that my father had lost his common sense.

My mother was crying, and we also cried.

A Bolt from the Blue Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: When I left home, I had one Gétä with me, and I always shaved my head completely. I was wearing wooden peg shoes and I had one begging bag (bhikñäjhuli). I was wearing one bahir-väsa, a top cloth, and one luìgé, all saffron coloured. My family members thought that I was abnormal and had become mad, but I explained to them that I was not mad, that I was very well. They all gathered with many of the people from my village. The villagers tried to persuade me to return home.

Mr. Choudhary: His family reacted when he left his job at the school. It was like a bolt from the blue. Because there was no one to support them, his younger brother, who was

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a veterinary surgeon, had to maintain them to some extent.

After his leaving, several people went to Brajabandhu to sign some official papers so that he could get all his money from the government superannuation, but he did not sign them. Consequently, all the money could not be paid out.

He told his family, “If I sign, it would not be as Brajabandhu Manik but as Gour Gopälänanda däsa!” His signature would not be the same, so how would they give them the money?

Brajabandhu Manik had totally renounced everything. He was lost in the spirituals. He had suffered. His material life had been a difficult one.

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The Vānaprastha-āśrama

C h a p t e r T w e lv e

The Vānaprastha-āśrama

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ne day, not long after he left his teaching job, Gour Gopälänanda däsa became like a madman. He had not eaten that day and was doing his bhajana when Subhash came to see him. He asked Subhash to sing a song from a religious poem. Subhash sang it and, after listening to it Gour Gopälänanda däsa became ecstatic and fell down on the floor, senseless. His teeth were tightly closed. His legs, arms and hands were stiff like sticks. He was in this state for approximately half an hour. Subhash and others present became worried; they tried opening his mouth by placing a stick between his teeth and then his mouth opened.

This is the song that Subhash had sung: bhelä buòiba helä kale kahuachi bhaìga nä bare kebä sindhu tariachi re bhävaku nikaöa se abhäve düra bhakata däsa kahe jévana chäòa re mithyä mäyä saàsära nuheì kahäri malä bolina dine paòiba huri re

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mahé bhitare kehi amara nähi malä boli känduachu maribu tuhi re janama hele präëé avaçya mari yaça rakñibu yebe bhaja çré hari re yama bändhi nebati hebu meläni jagannätha mahimä ediki jäni re raìga pasarä sénä bhäva sägara raìga bhitare achi ki nä rakñara re rüpa pratimüku tu viçväsa na yäa rahibe nähi kehi räja parajä re “If you neglect your boat, then it will sink. No one has crossed the ocean in a broken boat. The Lord is very near to those who have bhäva and very far away from those who have no bhäva. In this material world, all will have to face death. In this world no one is immortal.

Whoever has taken birth in this world has to face this death. If you want to keep your name and fame, then you should not chant the name of Çré Hari. This world is full of illusion. No one can know what is going on inside this material world. That is why you should not believe the outward features, because in this material world, no one will exist forever. Someone may be a king, he may be rich or he may be very poor. No one can stay alive in this world; all have to die. One day, one must give up this body!”1 Just hearing the recitation of this poem, Gour Gopälänanda däsa fell down unconscious! After regaining consciousness, he said to Subhash, “Let us go to your house and then we will

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C h a p t e r 1 2 T h e V ä n a p r a s t h a - ä ç r a m a go to the house of my brother. I will give the responsibility of my children to him, and then I will leave.”

Subhash Biswal did not want to go with Gour Gopälänanda däsa because the students from Kujang High School were angry with him (Subhash Biswal). They thought it was because of him that Gour Gopälänanda däsa had resigned and taken to the vänaprastha äçrama. Therefore, out of fear, he did not want to go with him in the daytime, and he said to Gour Gopälänanda däsa, “Let us go tonight”. But Gour Gopälänanda däsa said, “You go to your house, wait there, and we will meet up later at my house.”

The custom in India is that when one meets a sädhu, one gives a small donation or small offering of some kind.

Consequently, because he was in the dress of a sannyäsé, a sädhu, many members of his family gave him bhikñä. But his mother refused to do so. She also tried to persuade his brother, Kåpäsindhu, not to give him anything. She said, “It is not right, because he has left his family and become a renunciant.” His mother had known that Brajabandhu would leave home and take up the renounced order of life, but she opposed it; that is why she asked her younger son not to give him bhikñä, but, Kåpäsindhu did not listen to his mother’s bidding and gave bhikñä to his brother.

As Kåpäsindhu was preparing to leave for his home, Gour Gopälänanda däsa gave him certain instructions and asked him, “Will you please take care of my family? If you do this, Kåñëa will take care of you and Kåñëa will extend His mercy to you.” When his family members left for their home, he assured them that there was no need to worry about him and that they would see him at some time in Orissa. “I will be returning to Orissa,” he said. “Do not worry.”

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Māyādevī Appears The very next morning a very old lady appeared to Gour Gopälänanda däsa. She was wearing a white säré and said to him, “O my son, only you are capable of leaving me. You have broken free.”

Years later Çréla Gour Govinda Swami explained to his disciples, “...That lady who came to see me was Mäyädevé herself...”

Those who are capable of surrendering to the lotus feet of the Lord can completely overcome mäyä. He replied to her with folded hands, “O mother, please bless me.” The old woman then left. Gour Gopälänanda däsa inquired throughout the village as to the identity of the old woman, but the villagers informed him that there was no such woman in their village.

He May Very Well be at Gadāi-Giri After that, Gour Gopälänanda däsa proceeded to Håñékeça and Haridvära. The search for a bona fide guru, a sad-guru, had begun! Subhash went to Gour Gopälänanda däsa’s home on the day they were intended to meet up, but he did not find him. Subhash had heard from his old mother, who was very sick at that time, “Out of fear, due to his inability to maintain the family, he has taken to this life of renunciation. He may very well be at Gadäi-Giri.”

It Was Very Serious Çré Garbha däsa: When he left home, it was very serious, his mother was bedridden. She was seriously ill and was about to expire, but he left for Håñékeça. On a previous trip to Håñékeça, prior to leaving home, he had spoken to a 184

C h a p t e r 1 2 T h e V ä n a p r a s t h a - ä ç r a m a sädhu, named Saraswati. His wife and family telephoned this Saraswati from the Jagannathpur Post Office and told him, “A person is coming to you. He has left his wife and young children, and also his mother, who is very sick. Do not accept him, please reject him.”

His Spiritual Search Had Begun!

Mr. Choudhary: He stayed in a maöha here for some days.

All his family members all went there and tried to persuade him not to leave, that he could still aspire for God realisation even in family life, but he refused. And on one fine morning, we found that he had disappeared, he had gone. His spiritual search had begun!

Dhobani Dei: He left Kujang secretly in the night and came to Gadäi-Giri on foot to see Gopäla Jéu. He stayed in our village temple. His wife did not know where he was or where he was going. She wrote a letter to the head of the Çivänanda Ashram inquiring about her husband. She was very disappointed. The head of the Çivänanda Ashram received the letter.

We were all consulting him about what he should do and what he should not do, but his mind was set. Then we heard the news about his mother from her younger brother, Jagannath Giri, who had gone to see her with a gift of various fruit. Because she was not able to recognise her own brother, he did not stay there very long. She left this world the day after.

Gour Gopälänanda däsa’s mother passed away fourteen days after he left home. She had been bedridden for quite some time, and she had not even taken any water towards the end. He had always taken proper care of his mother, he had looked after her as he would look after himself, however,

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because he had a mission to fulfil, he had to go. His mother left this world meditating on her son Brajabandhu [Çré Gour Gopälänanda däsa].

The Voice in the Sky Very early that morning Gour Gopälänanda däsa set out by foot for Gadäi-Giri village. He had one daëòa (stick), one bag, two gämchäs and one loöä (water pot) and was continuously chanting Hare Kåñëa. He completely depended on the Lord.

He walked towards the village of Panchapalli, which is between Kujang and Gadäi-Giri. Gour Gopälänanda däsa had already ascertained that he should reach that village in the early evening. He would spend the night there and continue his journey to Balikuda, Gadäi-Giri, the next morning.

As he walked, (he was walking barefoot), his feet became blistered. He had to keep walking because it was getting dark.

Then he came to a river. In the distance he could see the lights of a village on the other side, but he was not sure whether it was the village of Panchapalli or not because by then it had become completely dark.

He then came to a place where the road was cut by the river.

He could not go further and was wondering how to get across.

He placed his stick in the water to test the depth; it was very deep. Therefore he thought, “If Gopäla wants, I will sit down here in the dark, chant Hare Kåñëa and spend the night here!

Then when the day comes, I will see how the local people cross this river.” As he was thinking this, he heard an aerial voice from the sky; “This village is Panchapalli. This is the village you are looking for.” He then thought, “But how to cross this deep water?” All of a sudden, a man came out of nowhere, walked to the bank of the river, tested the water, found the shallow part and crossed to the other side. Gour Gopälänanda 186

C h a p t e r 1 2 T h e V ä n a p r a s t h a - ä ç r a m a däsa thought, “Kåñëa is so merciful!” He crossed at the same place following the man, who then suddenly disappeared. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: It is my experience. I am not concocting this story. When I left home, I had nothing with me, no money, nothing, only two gämchäs. From the first day I left home, Gopäla has looked after me. I have never gone without anything, due to Gopäla’s mercy.

Gopāla Makes All Arrangements Gour Gopälänanda däsa was wet, tired, and hungry. He made his way to the local high school. There happened to be one teacher on duty, whom he asked if he could spend the night there. The teacher agreed and showed him a room that he could sleep in. He left for a short while and then, to Gour Gopälänanda däsa’s great surprise, he came back with some flat rice, sugar and ripe bananas. He had not asked for anything and began to realise the wonderful arrangements the Lord was making for him. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: This person brought food for me. It was nice food and I thought, Oh, Gopäla is providing some nice food! I was very hungry. Then I bathed. This teacher saw my blisters and said to me, “Why don’t you wear shoes?” He left and came back with some mustard seed oil.

As he began massaging my sore feet, I said to him, “Who are you, and why are you doing this?” He replied, “Oh, your feet are aching and this will give you some relief.” So I thought, Gopäla is making these arrangements. If you completely surrender, then what is the difficulty?

The next morning Gour Gopälänanda däsa took bath very early and continued his journey to Gadäi-Giri. In the

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meantime, in Gadäi-Giri, the brähmaëa in charge of the püjä was about to cook an offering for the Deity in a thatched-roof cottage. He had an earthen pot for cooking, and a little bhoga (vegetables, rice and däl). As he began to cook, the earthen pot mysteriously broke. The brähmaëa thought, “Why has this pot broken? Now there is practically nothing to cook or any pot to cook with today. What is Gopäla’s intention?” Just at that time Gour Gopälänanda däsa arrived and to the brähmaëa’s great surprise, a new pot appeared, out of nowhere, filled with rice, däl, vegetables and ghee. He exclaimed, “This is why Gopäla broke this old pot! I had almost nothing. A little rice and däl, and a few vegetables. I was thinking what to cook. But suddenly all these nice ingredients are here!”

Gopäla Jéu is so merciful! A new pot came. Rice, däl, sabjé, ghee, so much came and nice prasäda was prepared for Gopäla Jéu and His pure, surrendered devotee, Çré Gour Gopälänanda däsa.* Ghanasyam Giri: After submitting his resignation Brajabandhu went to Haridvära and Håñékeça, via this place, [Gadäi-Giri]. He walked the twenty-eight kilometres from Kujang to Gadäi-Giri. When he arrived, his feet were swollen and he was in pain. At that time, he fell down senseless here, as if he was in samädhi. When he came back to consciousness, he told us all that he had resigned from his service and that he was going to Haridvära and Håñékeça. He said that he would come to see us again on his return. The next day we all noticed that the swelling in his feet had gone. Then he left.

* Author’s note: There is a mystery about this pot and the bhoga, and how they miraculously appeared in this way at Gadäi-Giri. This story is one of the many mysteries that surround the Gadäi-Giri village, the Giri family, Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu and Çré Gour Gopälänanda däsa.

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His Lifelong Cherished Aspiration Was Unfolding In the meantime, Subhash made his way to Gadäi-Giri to see Gour Gopälänanda däsa, but he had already left for Cuttack.

So Subhash went to Cuttack. Upon arrival there, he heard that Gour Gopälänanda däsa was staying at the house of a doctor named Haladhara Sahu, who had previously been a student of Brajabandhu. Subhash arrived at the house of the doctor, anxious to see Gour Gopälänanda däsa who was pleased to see him and introduced him to the doctor.

He then took Subhash to the room he was staying in, which was in the medical compound. Just outside the door, a tulasé plant was growing. They cooked, offered the meal and took prasäda there. After prasäda they had kértana, and Gour Gopälänanda däsa told Subhash that he would see him the next morning. Çré Gour Gopälänanda däsa’s program was still the same: rising early, chanting Hare Kåñëa, cooking and offering the food to Kåñëa and then taking the prasäda. Wherever he was, he followed his standard routine; the only difference now was that he was a renunciate, he had renounced family life for a higher purpose. He was not a family man.

The day after Subhash Biswal had found him, after lunch Gour Gopälänanda däsa bade farewell to him. Subhash gave him five rupees donation and begged his pardon for not giving more. Gour Gopälänanda däsa said that it was enough and then told him that they should both go. He asked him to keep contact with him and assured him that he would write to him.

Leaving everything aside – family, house, children and his occupation that he had worked so hard for, which was his only source of income – Brajabandhu Manik, the teacher, the

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schoolmaster, he who, as an outside student, had graduated with distinction from University and had a BA. and a BE., that Gour Gopälänanda däsa, as he now called himself, journeyed in search of that sädhu who could award him sannyäsa, so that his real mission in life could begin. His lifelong cherished aspiration was now unfolding. He was now free from the trials and tribulations of this worldly life.

In the Bhagavad-gétä, Çré Kåñëa explains to Arjuna what knowledge is, culminating in constant and unalloyed devotion to Him: asaktir anabhiñvaìgaù putra-dära-gåhädiñu nityaà ca sama-cittatvam iñöäniñöopapattiñu2 mayi cänanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicäriëé vivikta-deça-sevitvam aratir jana-saàsadi3 “...nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; resorting to solitary places; detachment from the general mass of people...”4

Çré Gour Gopälänanda däsa did all of the above, and followed these instructions of Çré Kåñëa his whole life. Also, in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is stated: yatränuraktäù sahasaiva dhérä vyapohya dehädiñu saìgam üòham

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C h a p t e r 1 2 T h e V ä n a p r a s t h a - ä ç r a m a vrajanti tat pärama-haàsyam antyaà yasminn ahiàsopaçamaù sva-dharmaù “Self-controlled persons who are attached to the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa can all of a sudden give up the world of material attachment, including the gross body and subtle mind, and go away to attain the highest perfection of the renounced order of life, by which nonviolence and renunciation are consequential.”5

This verse is spoken by Lord Näräyaëa to Durväsä Muni: ye därägära-puträptapräëän vittam imaà param hitvä mäà çaraëaà yätäù kathaà täàs tyaktum utsahe “Since pure devotees give up their homes, wives, children, relatives, riches and even their lives simply to serve Me, without any desire for material improvement in this life or in the next, how can I give up such devotees at any time?”6

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Haridvāra, Hṛṣikeśa & The Yogīs ‘From the Himalayas to Kanyä Kumäré’

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I Was Not as Yet Satisfied

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ow, Çré Gour Gopälänanda’s life was solely dedicated to finding a bona fide guru. Asking everyone he met, “Is there a sädhu here, or a sannyäsé?” He was constantly enquiring, looking for a pure devotee, but pure devotees are very rare, hari-bhaktisudurlabhä* – durlabha’ eka kåñëa-bhakta**, durlabhaù sad-guru devi.*** He travelled throughout India, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin (Kanyä Kumäré). It was not an easy task. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I was born in Orissa in a Vaiñëava family. There are many Vaiñëavas here, and so many maöhas of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé. From my * Pure devotion is very rare. (Çré Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, by Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, 1.1.35) ** One pure devotee of Lord Kåñëa is very rare. (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä, 19.148) *** Sad-guru: topmost or most perfect spiritual master. Such a guru is very rare.

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childhood I was attracted to Mahäprabhu, and from an early age I was performing saìkértana and worshipping Rädhä and Kåñëa Deities. In my family we were reading the Bhägavatam, but I had to search out a bona fide guru. I wandered from the Himalayas to Kanyä Kumäré, throughout the whole of India.

Although I met many Vaiñëavas, I was not as yet satisfied.

The Search for The Bona Fide Guru Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Two gämchäs, one stick, or daìda [bamboo rod] and a begging bowl was all I had. I kept moving, walking, walking, even at night, anytime. Sometimes I slept on the railway platform, where the beggars were sleeping. Sometimes I spent the night underneath a tree, and sometimes on the side of the Grand Trunk Road.* I would wake up early in the morning, go to the river, pass stool, take bath, and then move on, and just enquire, ‘Are there any temples here? Are there any sädhus here?’

Çré Gour Gopälänanda walked from Gadäi-Giri to Cuttack (a distance of 62 kilometres), and from Cuttack he made his way to Haridvära (a distance of 1797.7 kilometres). When he saw a temple or an äçrama on his way, he would always enquire if there were any sädhus or sannyäsés there, and what their philosophy was. Çré Gour Gopälänanda däsa lived as a Goswami with no fixed residence. * Grand Trunk Road: India’s National Highway No. 1, alias the Grand Trunk Road, or simply the GT Road. It is one of South Asia’s oldest and longest major roads.

For several centuries, it has linked the eastern and western regions of the Indian subcontinent, running from Howrah, West Bengal in India, across north India into Peshawar (in present day Pakistan), up to Kabul, Afghanistan. It was initiated during the Maurya Empire in 3rd century BCE and later renovated and extended in 16th century by Sher Shah Suri.

Today, the Grand Trunk Road remains a continuum that covers a distance of over 2,500 kilometres (1,600 miles).

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“...The tortoise, as soon as he likes he discloses his senses, and when he likes he pulls them within. That is the position of a pure devotee. He can wind up the senses whenever he likes, and he can exhibit the senses whenever he likes. The senses are under his control. He is not under the control of the senses as are the ordinary persons. That is the meaning of Goswami...”1

A Meeting Place Between the Earth and the Heavens Haridvära and Håñikeça are in the foothills of the Himalayas, a beautiful idyllic scene as the Ganges river rushes by; everything is lush and green. Haridvära is approximately thirty kilometres from Håñikeça. In India that is at least a one-hour bus ride. Haridvära is more in the plains and Håñikeça is in the foothills of the Himalayas. Many sädhus live by the banks of the river Ganges [in äçramas, or in the nearby regions].

Behind these two towns full of sädhus is the backdrop of the Himalayas, a meeting place between the earth and the heavens.

Gour Gopälänanda definitely thought, “This is the place to meet a real sädhu!” Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I was looking for that person who could give me the sannyäsa order of life. There were many sädhus in that area [Haridvära and Håñikeça], so naturally I thought that I would find a suitable person there to give me sannyäsa.

Because of his association with the Çivänanda Ashram (the Divine Life Society) in his householder life, he went to their äçrama first. He had previously seen men being awarded the order of sannyäsa there, so he thought he could also take

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sannyäsa there. The members of the Divine Life Society were mainly yogés. They practised haöha-yoga: äsanas, präëäyäma, meditation. Çivänanda Swami, its founder had already left this world and his successor was Cidänanda Sarasvaté Swami; this is the person Gour Gopälänanda approached.

Preaching Hari-nāma Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: In the Divine Life Society they were giving sannyäsa, but they refused me because I was preaching hari-näma. Then this Cidänanda Swami, who was in charge, told me to get out of the äçrama. I was associating with them in my married life so I thought I would go there and take sannyäsa and then preach the message of Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Lord Caitanya had taken sannyäsa from Keçava Bhäraté who was from the impersonalist school, so I was not worried: just take sannyäsa and then go and preach. But that was not in Kåñëa’s plan, Kåñëa did not want me to do it, Gopäla did not want that!

There were many sädhus, jïänis and yogés in this region.

They were living either in the mountains or near the bank of the Ganges. Çré Gour Gopälänanda took up residence right alongside these sädhus, but, most of them were mäyävädés, impersonalists. They did not think that God was a person, Bhagavän Çré Kåñëa; they thought that God was some bright light or some high level of spiritual consciousness. They also thought that they were or could become God themselves.

Gour Gopälänanda had taken to a life of renunciation and wanted to stay in the association of other sädhus. He knew the meaning of sädhu, “one who is a completely surrendered soul”; therefore, he would approach the different sädhus and ask them what their philosophy was. He would go to different äçramas, seek out the head of the äçrama and ask him what 198

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their conception of the Absolute Truth and the goal of life was, but as mentioned, they were mainly from the impersonalist school, or their philosophy was tinged by the impersonalist misconception. Generally, their sädhana, or practice, was some form of añöäìga-yoga, the eightfold mystic yoga process.

He would then start to preach to them: “This is not the proper way anymore. The process you are following is not prescribed for this age but for a previous yuga,* long long ago. We have to approach Lord Kåñëa and we have to obtain Him. Çré Kåñëa has said, ‘Bhakti is very dear to Me.’” And then he would quote this verse: na sädhayati mäà yogo na säìkhyaà dharma uddhava na svädhyäyas tapas tyägo yathä bhaktir mamorjitä “My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control.

I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Saìkhyä philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.”2

These arguments arose because Çré Gour Gopälänanda, being a Vaiñëava from his birth, was from the personalist school and all these yogés and sädhus belonged to the impersonalist * kåte yad dhyäyato viñëuà tretäyäà yajato makhaiù dväpare paricaryäyäà kalau tad dhari-kértanät “Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viñëu, in Tretäyuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dväpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra.” (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 12.3.52)

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school; therefore friction arose. He would also explain to them that even if a person is born in the family of dog eaters, if he becomes His devotee, then he becomes very dear to Kåñëa; whereas even if one is born in a brähmaëa family, if he acts like a çüdra or a yogé, performing añöäìga-yoga, then this is not very dear to Kåñëa! “Kutarka-anumäne kåñëa kabhu nähé jäni, kåñëare jänite eka-mätra bhakti mäni – Kåñëa can never be understood by logic and speculation, but He can be known at once through the path of bhakti. You are not following the injunctions of the çästra for this present age of Kali. It is stated in the çästra how can Kåñëa be made available, but you are not at all accepting that, you are practicing according to your own mental speculation.”

Gour Gopälänanda was better versed in the scriptures than the sädhus he was speaking with, so he explained to them, “In this Kali-yuga no other process will work; therefore nothing else is required, only: harer näma harer näma harer nämaiva kevalam kalau nästy eva nästy eva nästy eva gatir anyathä “In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”3

“The Upaniñads say this. Why are you practicing this yama, niyama, äsana, präëäyäma, this yoga system, without performing hari-näma-saìkértana? Why are you doing like that?’’ He would put these questions to them and they would throw him out, yelling “Get out of here! Bhägo, bhägo!”* And he would say, “Alright, I am going, I am getting out of here.” * “Bhägo, bhägo!”: this is Hindi for, “Get out, get out!”

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These sädhus did not like to hear that the recommended process for this age was the chanting of the holy name rather than impersonal meditation. Gour Gopälänanda would leave one äçrama, and go to another and another, and wherever he went the same incident would take place. He was thrown out for his personalist ideas based on the Gauòéya Vaiñëava teachings established by Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

He Was a New Man Gour Gopälänanda’s understanding was that all the yogés, sädhus, and everyone else living in that Himalayan region who were acting as renunciates, should chant the holy name – hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare, hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare – as this was the prescribed process of God-realisation for this age. But, they were not interested, and they were certainly not interested in hearing it from him, whom they considered their junior. After all, he was a new man to their äçramas and region. Therefore he was asked to leave.

Unknowingly Gour Gopälänanda däsa was actually preaching the same as Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, although up until this point they had not met. In the Çré Caitanya-caritämåta Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda writes: “...Our Kåñëa consciousness movement stresses the chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mantra only, whereas those who do not know the secret of success for this Age of Kali* * Author’s note: kalau tad dhari-kértanät (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 12.3.52) – The benefit achieved in previous ages can be obtained in Kali-yuga [the age we are in now] simply by chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra. harer näma harer näma harer nämaiva kevalam

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unnecessarily indulge in the cultivation of knowledge, the practice of mystic yoga or the performance of fruitive activities or useless austerities. They are simply wasting their time and misleading their followers...”4 “...When we point this out very plainly to an audience, members of opposing groups become angry at us. But according to the injunctions of the çästras, we cannot make compromises with these so-called jïänés, yogés, karmés and tapasvés...”5

Here we see that Gour Gopälänanda däsa did not compromise with the jïänés, yogés, karmés and tapasvés of this Himalayan region, he preached the glories of the holy name no matter what happened to him.*

The Bābājī in the Jungle One day, he came upon a bäbäjé who had built for himself a very small cottage in the nearby jungle, in order to distance himself from the rest of the inhabitants in the area and carry on quietly with his bhajana. He was chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra. As Gour Gopälänanda also chanted Hare Kåñëa, the bäbäjé allowed him to stay in his small äçrama. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: So I stayed in a solitary place in that Himalayan jungle in a very humble cottage. There was kalau nästy eva nästy eva nästy eva gatir anyathä “In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy [Kali-yuga] the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way.

There is no other way.” (Båhan-näradéya Puräëa) *Author’s note: In fact Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja gave a very wonderful and lengthy class on this very purport in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India; on the 6 April 1995.

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one very old sädhu, a bäbäjé, who lived there. I stayed with him and just went out and begged for food. There were so many sädhus living in that area and every day, in the morning at nine o’clock, they would come out of their caves or little cottages to obtain food. Many rich men had made arrangements to feed them. They would supply each with a few pieces of bread and some sabjé or däl each day. As I was doing the same thing, there was no difficulty in obtaining food.

Food Offered by Materialistic Persons The yogés and sädhus in Haridvära and Håñikeça are fed daily by the rich people; this is called bhaëòärä.* They line up with their plates or begging bowls to receive food. The rich people feel that they will accrue many pious benefits by feeding them.

It is a pious act to feed anyone, but more sukåti is accrued when feeding sädhus, real sädhus! Gour Gopälänanda would also queue up for this bhaëòärä.

There were many places where they could receive this bhaëòärä. One so-called sädhu had four or five plates and received bhaëòärä in four or five different places. He did not control his senses and felt that one plate of food was not enough for him. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: These so-called yogés and sädhus were there only to fill their bellies. So one day in Håñikeça, after collecting bhaëòärä, which I would keep and honour at midday, I went back to my bhajana-kutéra but I was not able to do my bhajana properly. My mind was going hither and thither and my chanting was disturbed. Then I remembered this verse from the Çré Caitanya-caritämåta: * Bhaëòära: a meal fed to a holy man or renunciates.

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viñayéra anna khäile malina haya mana malina mana haile nahe kåñëera smaraëa “When one eats food offered by a materialistic man, one’s mind becomes contaminated, and when the mind is contaminated, one is unable to think of Kåñëa properly.”6

Understanding that this disturbance was due to his acceptance of the bhaëòärä from materialistic persons, he slapped himself in the face many times for having forgotten that important principle and made a vow that from that day he would not make this mistake again.

Gour Gopälänanda had gone to this region to find a bona fide guru; however, he had not found one to whom he could surrender his life and soul. Although he had made so many enquiries, it had been to no avail. As he was wondering what to do to meet a real sädhu-guru, he thought that he had always prayed to Kåñëa throughout his entire life and that the land of Kåñëa is Çré Våndävana-dhäma. He then thought, there, in that divine place, Kåñëa will extend His mercy to me! So he turned his sights towards Våndävana the land of Kåñëa.

Gour Gopālānanda Sets Out for Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja: At last, I thought to go to Våndävana: Lord Kåñëa would help me find a bona fide spiritual master there! In this mood I left the HaridväraHåñikeça region and headed for the holy land of Çré Våndävana dhäma. My last hope was Våndävana, which is the very dear place of Lord Kåñëa. I developed the strong faith that Kåñëa would shower His blessing on me in Våndävana, and that I would be able to find my spiritual master there.

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Thus, Gour Gopälänanda left for Våndävana after spending a few unsatisfying months in the Himalayan region. In his travels he had visited other places such as Ayodhyä, Delhi and Väräëasi. He travelled sometimes by train and sometimes on foot, walking while chanting Hare Kåñëa. At the train stations he would wait for the ticket collectors to walk by and ask, “I am a wandering sädhu. Could you please give me some money to purchase a ticket? I want to go to this place.” The ticket collectors would look at him and allow him to go on without a ticket.

Gour Gopälänanda had some spiritual discussions during his visit to Väräëasi, but they were not at all satisfying. In Ayodhyä, where they sing the glories of Lord Räma from the most famous Rämäyaëa of Tulasé däsa, very few people knew the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, but no one knew about the Çré Caitanyacaritämåta. He did not feel content there either. He had met so many sädhus and sannyäsés, visited so many temples and äçramas, but his heart’s desire remained unfulfilled. In his own words, “I was not really satisfied until I reached Våndävana.”

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gour Gopālānanda Dāsa Meets

Śrīla Prabhupāda

C h a p t e r F o u rt e e n

Gour Gopālānanda Dāsa Meets Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

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Ç

réla Gour Govinda Swami: In Våndävana, I was moving around. I spent one day in one maöha just observing what was going on, who was there, and if there were any sädhu-Vaiñëavas. In this way I was spending one day in one maöha and another day in another maöha.

There are so many maöhas, mandiras in Våndävana, so many.

Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura writes: Presenting the following çloka composed by Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura, I offer my obeisances at the feet of all the readers: ärädhyo bhagavän vrajeça-tanayas-tad-dhäma våndävanaà ramyä käcid-upäsanä vraja-vadhü-vargeëa yä kalpitä çrémad bhägavataà pramäëam-amalaà premä pumartho mahän çré caitanya mahäprabhor-matam-idam taträdaro naù paraù

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“The Supreme Lord Vrajendra-nandana Çré Kåñëa and His transcendental abode Çré Våndävana-dhäma are my worshippable objects. The most excellent method of worshipping Kåñëa is that adopted by the beautiful cowherd damsels (gopa-ramaëé), the young wives of Vraja (vrajavadhü). Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the flawless (nirmala) and most authoritative scripture (çabda-pramäëa), and kåñëa-prema is the fifth and highest achievement of human life beyond dharma, artha, käma and mokña. It is thus known as païcamapuruñärtha or parama-puruñärtha. This is the opinion of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. We have supreme regard for this conclusion. We have no inclination or respect for any other misleading opinions.”1*

Gour Gopälänanda dasa spent three to four days in one maöha, but, because his head was completely shaved, he was asked to leave because they thought that he was an impersonalist. There was a second incident, also, in which he was considered an impersonalist, again because of his completely shaved head. As we will see as we read on.

He completely shaved his head as a sign of total renunciation from everything: he had freed himself from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest. He did not even have a fixed place of residence, he was just wandering looking for the sädhu that would give him sannyäsa, as has been quoted many times in this publication, so that he could preach the mission of Prema Puruñottama Çré Gauräìga Mahäprabhu. * ...Why people come here? You have seen while you are walking, a devotee. He was taking the dust, Rämaë Reti, and putting on his head. This is Våndävana the dust. Våndävana dust is also Kåñëa. So ärädhyo bhagavän vrajeña-tanaya tad dhämaà våndävanam. This is the verdict of the äcäryas. Vrajendra-nandana, Hari, Kåñëa, He is worshippable, everyone knows. But His dhäma, Våndävana, is also as good as Kåñëa. It is also worshippable. Therefore so many devotees, they are keeping strictly in Våndävana...” (Lecture A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Çréla Prabhupäda Çrémad-Bhägavatam 7.9.48 - Våndävana, April 3, 1976)

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Chapter 14 Gour Gopälänanda Meets Prabhupäda Then one day as he was passing through the Rämaë Reti area in front of a large compound he saw a large sign, which read: International Society for Krishna Consciousness Founder Äcärya His Divine Grace

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda When he saw this he thought: What is this? An International society? Let me go and see what it is! It was the construction site of a temple that had not yet been built. It was just at the beginning stages. Only the foundation was laid, and there were a few thatched cottages where some devotees, including a few Westerners, were living. The only completed house there was the one where the Founder Äcärya was living.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a spiritual movement founded to spread the teachings of Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the avatära of the Lord in Kali-yuga, all over the world. Its founder and leader, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Çréla Prabhupäda (1896– 1977), is a disciple of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda (1874–1937), the founder of the Gauòéya Maöha and a powerful äcärya or spiritual preceptor, in the BrahmaMädhva-Gauòéya-sampradäya. It was on the order of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda that Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda went to the Western countries at the advanced age of sixty-nine (the age when most people have retired) and began preaching the glorious message of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

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After successfully preaching and establishing many temples in the Western countries, Çréla Prabhupäda took some of his Western disciples to India and began opening temples there.

Gour Gopälänanda noticed immediately that the devotees had shaved heads with çikhä, they wore kaëöhé-mälä around their necks and chanted on japa-mälä. All these symbols of Vaiñëavism (Gauòéya Vaiñëavas) were only too well known to Gour Gopälänanda, as he had grown up in these surroundings. Most of them wore saffron cloth, and when he entered the compound, one Western devotee gave him a Back to Godhead magazine. He looked over the pages and found what he had been searching for: Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Kåñëa and Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. As he read through the Back to Godhead magazine, Gour Gopälänanda felt that his prayers had been answered: Kåñëa had led him to the right place.*

Sambandha – Abhidheya – Prayojana The path of bhakti or Kåñëa consciousness is a non-sectarian, universal science of spiritual practice. It is the essence of the Vedic literature of ancient India which teach three fundamental principles: sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana.

Sambandha-jïäna means knowledge of the original relationship of the individual soul with the Supreme Lord; * Author’s note: Gour Gopälänanda däsa [Çréla Gour Govinda Swami] had been wandering throughout India and now Våndävana looking for a sädhu from whom he could accept sannyäsa and shelter. He had no prior knowledge that there was a temple in Våndävana under construction, at Rämaë Reti, with Westerners, with a sädhu named Çréla Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, who was initiating these Westerners. The whole concept was totally new to him (Western Vaiñëavas), but it caught his interest and he entered the compound. I reiterate, prior to seeing the Westerners with shaved heads and saffron dhoté’s he had no idea that they even existed. In his own words he said, “...I was wandering about; just looking, just looking...”

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Chapter 14 Gour Gopälänanda Meets Prabhupäda abhidheya refers to acting according to that constitutional relationship, and prayojana is the ultimate goal or need of life, which is to develop love of Godhead (prema-prayojana). As one takes shelter of Çré Kåñëa by surrendering to a bona fide guru (sad-guru) and deepens one’s knowledge of that eternal relationship, one’s understanding of the process by which to reach the ultimate perfection becomes clear.

The Three Truths Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: ...In the Vedas there are three truths - vede tré-tattva kaya. They are sambandhatattva, abhidheya-tattva, and prayojana-tattva. The sambandha is Kåñëa, the abhidheya is kåñëa-bhakti, and prayojana is prema. Sambandha means relationship. There is only one relationship, which is the relationship with Kåñëa. There is no other relationship.

Kåñëa is bent in three places, tri-bhaìga-lalita, indicating these three tattvas: sambandha-tattva, abhidheya-tattva, and prayojana-tattva. His first bend, bhaìga, is at the feet. The second bend is in His lips, His left-hand side is bent towards Rädhäräëé. And the third bend is in the heart. First are the feet, which represents sambandha-tattva, relationship. The presiding deity of sambandha-tattva is Madana-mohan, Rädhä-Madana-mohan. The second bend is in the lips, which is abhidheya-tattva, bhakti. The presiding deity of abhidheya-tattva is Rädhä-Govinda. And the third bend is in the heart, that is prayojana-tattva, prema. The presiding deity of prayojana-tattva is Rädhä-Gopénätha. The Vedas give these three invaluable assets, téna mahä-dhana. A fortunate jéva who obtains these invaluable assets becomes rich with kåñëa-prema and he will be really happy. Otherwise he cannot achieve happiness...”2

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Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura writes: siddhänta vihéna hoile kåñëe citta läge nä sambandha-hénera kabhu abhideya haya nä sambandha-vihéna jana prayojana päya nä “Without knowledge of transcendental truth (siddhänta), no one’s heart can ever be spiritually attuned with Lord Kåñëa. If one lacks knowledge of his relationship with Kåñëa (sambandha), then the proper execution of devotional service in relationship to Him (abhidheya) is impossible. One who lacks knowledge of sambandha can never attain prayojana, the supreme goal of life, (namely pure love of Godhead, Kåñëaprema).”3

Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura writes in his Hari-nämacintämaëi: “...The bonafide spiritual master gives the disciple sambandha-jïäna. The chanting of the holy name is the indication (abhidheya) of this eternal relationship (sambandha).

The spiritual master enthuses the disciple to take up abhidheya or chanting. The sun of the holy name then shines stronger and evaporates the mist and clouds... Chanting at this stage becomes an indispensable need (prayojana). Prayojana takes the devotee to pure love of Godhead (prayojana) at which point he experiences ecstasy in every moment of chanting.

The spiritual master must explain exactly what is sambandhajïäna to the disciple, who in turn must receive it with proper faith.* The quintessence of this knowledge is that Lord Kåñëa * In his Çré Caitanya-çikñämåta Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura has written: In considering the relationship there are seven topics: 1. Kåñëa 2. Kåñëa’s energies 3. rasa

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Chapter 14 Gour Gopälänanda Meets Prabhupäda is eternally the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the jéva is His eternal servitor and the jéva’s loving relationship with Kåñëa is likewise eternal as an inherent trait of his nature...”4

Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa The aim of ISKCON, the Kåñëa consciousness movement, is to acquaint all people of the world with these universal principles of God realisation so that they may derive the highest benefits of spiritual understanding, unity and peace.

As we can see, there is not too much peace and unity on the planet; there are many wars and great unrest because we do not understand the basic principle that we are not these bodies but we are spiritual souls. We do not understand the principles of sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana; therefore the whole world is in upheaval. The basic principle of the Bhagavad-gétä is to act on the platform of the soul, not of the body. Bodily consciousness causes great problems. The ISKCON movement aims at diminishing the upheaval by teaching how to develop God consciousness, love of God or kåñëa-prema.

The Vedas recommend that in the present age, the most effective means of achieving this consciousness, which culminates in self-realisation, is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Following the Vedic recommendation, the members of ISKCON chant: 4. jéva 5. jéva in the material realm 6. jéva in the liberated state 7. acintya-bhedäbheda-tattva By thoroughly understanding these seven topics of scriptures, a person obtains sambandha-jïäna.

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hare krsna hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare, hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare The sublime chanting of this Hare Krsna mahä-mantra gradually awakens one’s dormant love of God.

The World Wide Chanting of the Holy Name When Gour Gopälänanda read how Çréla Prabhupäda had spread the chanting of Hare Kåñëa all over the world, he remembered a verse from the Çré Caitanya-bhägavata predicting the worldwide spread of this chanting: påthivéte äche yata nagarädi-gräma sarvatra pracära haibe mora näma5 “In every town and village of the world, the chanting of My name will be heard.”

Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja later reminisced, “I thought, Yes! This Swami has fulfilled the prediction of Caitanya Mahäprabhu. I must meet him.” At last Gour Gopälänanda däsa was to meet his spiritual master whose association he had been awaiting for such a long time.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I had been searching for this and here it was. I thought, let me enter and see what is going on. So I went inside and saw Western devotees with shaved head, chanting Hare Kåñëa. I thought they looked very nice with their saffron robes.

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Chapter 14 Gour Gopälänanda Meets Prabhupäda One of the devotees gave me a copy of a Back to Godhead magazine and I eagerly looked at it, because I was searching for these three: Bhägavata [Çrémad-Bhägavatam], Kåñëa and Mahäprabhu. I had met many karmés, jïänés, paëòitas, yogés, and even Vaiñëavas with whom I had discussions, but no one was ever speaking about Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Caitanya Mahäprabhu was important to me because in this age of Kali, His saìkértana yajïa, kalau tad dhari kértanat is the only dharma. I thought, Oh, yes here it is! I found it! Here it is!

I have found it in Våndävana! I already had the feeling that after completing all parts of India, in Våndävana, the dear land of Kåñëa, Kåñëa would grant me His blessings to find a sädhu. I thought Kåñëa may fulfill my desire there. I might meet my spiritual master there. Therefore at last I came to Våndävana and Kåñëa fulfilled my desire. “Oh here it is! Yes! All three - Bhägavata, Kåñëa and Mahäprabhu! What I am searching for is here! I have found it! I’ve found it!” By that time, I was wearing the dress of a sädhu although I was not a sädhu; I was just wandering. Then I enquired.

The Darśana of a Mahātmā Is Good Fortune Çré Gour Gopälänanda asked, “Where is the FounderÄcärya, is he here?” Fortunately, Çréla Prabhupäda was in.

He asked, “Can I meet him?” He was told, “First meet the secretary.” The secretary at that time was Brahmänanda Swami. He would sit in the front room and Çréla Prabhupäda was in the next room. So first he had to meet the secretary and then, with the secretary’s permission, he would be allowed to meet Çréla Prabhupäda; otherwise he could not meet him.

So he went there, he paid his obeisances and said, “Swaméjé, will you please make some arrangements so that I may meet the Founder-Äcärya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami?”

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The secretary then asked him, “What for?”

Gour Gopälänanda said, “I want to have darçana and a few words with such a great mahätmä. If I meet him, some good fortune may come to me. The darçana of a mahätmä is available because of good fortune; otherwise no one could meet such a mahätmä. If good fortune comes to you, you can meet such a mahätmä. So if a mahätmä is available, why should I depart without seeing him? Please help me I just want to meet and talk with him and to hear something from him. Yes, I have some questions I want to ask him. Will you please kindly make some arrangements so that I may meet him?”

He paid his daëòavats repeatedly and said, “Please help me, please help me.” He was wearing saffron-coloured clothing, looking like a wandering sädhu. The secretary thought that perhaps he might really be a sädhu.

It was midday and Çréla Prabhupäda had just taken his lunch. He was sitting alone in his room, reclining in his chair.

Brahmänanda Swami went in and said to Çréla Prabhupäda, “This sädhu has come and wants to meet you.” Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami many years later said, “…It was the Paramätmä’s prompting, Kåñëa’s arrangement.” Immediately Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Allow him to come in.” When Gour Gopälänanda entered the room he saw Çréla Prabhupäda sitting by himself in a chair. Brahmänanda Swami went back to the front room. Gour Gopälänanda, a dishevelled sädhu, introduced himself.

A Real Guru – A Sad-Guru Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: All that time I had been looking for a real guru, a sad-guru*, to take sannyäsa from and then preach. When I saw Çréla Prabhupäda for the first time, I *sad-guru: topmost spiritual master, most perfect spiritual master.

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Chapter 14 Gour Gopälänanda Meets Prabhupäda paid my obeisances flat on the ground like a stick,* and from that first sight, that first darçana I could understand that this mahätmä truly was a paramahaàsa, a mahä-bhägavata. He really was the representative of Mahäprabhu. I could feel it. It was my heart’s natural attraction.6 He just looked at me and asked, ‘Have you taken sannyäsa?’ and I answered, ‘No.’ then he said, ‘I will give you sannyäsa.’ That was the first thing he said! From his side he said so.7 I immediately surrendered because he knew what was in my heart. So I understood, ‘He is my guru! Yes, he knows my heart! Really, he is the caitya-guru** who is in the heart. I had left my home with that purpose.”’8 It is by his mercy only, causeless mercy. Yes, Prabhupäda is just giving mercy; you just have to catch it. It is like hanging ropes that you have to catch hold of.

Understanding that Çréla Prabhupäda knew his heart, Gour Gopälänanda däsa surrendered himself at Çréla Prabhupäda’s lotus feet. Thus the sad-guru and the sat-çiñya*** met by the order of the transcendental system in that most auspicious place, Çré Våndävana-dhäma. *

yatra yatra guruà paçyet tatra tatra kåtäïjaliù praëamed daëòavad bhümau chinna-müla iva drumaù

“Anywhere that one sees his spiritual master, he should, with folded hands and in a humble mood, pay his obeisances to him just as an uprooted tree falls on the ground.” (Çré Hari-bhakti-viläsa 1.90, from Devé-ägama, spoken by Çré Närada Muni.) ** “The supreme spiritual master is Kåñëa, who is therefore known as caitya-guru.

This refers to the Supersoul, who is sitting in everyone’s heart. He helps from within as stated in Bhagavad-gétä, and He sends the spiritual master, who helps from without. The spiritual master is the external manifestation of the caitya-guru, or the spiritual master sitting in everyone’s heart.” [Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 4.8.44 purport Çréla Prabhupäda] ***sat-çiñya: topmost disciple, most perfect disciple.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sunday 15 September, 1974 at Midday

Chapter Fifteen

Sunday 15 September 1974 at Midday

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This is Kṛṣṇa’s Arrangement

ré Gour Gopälänanda thought, “He knows my heart; I am searching for a sädhu, a Vaiñëava sannyäsé, from whom I will take shelter and sannyäsa. He has said, ‘I will give you sannyäsa.’” Gour Gopalananda immediately knew, “Oh, it is the Paramätmä’s prompting; that, for which I am looking is now here. Yes I have found it now. I have it now; this is Kåñëa’s arrangement.”

The Transcendental System Both Çréla Prabhupäda and our beloved Gurudeva were born in Vaiñëava families and by the Lord’s arrangement they met in Çré Våndävana-dhäma. Çréla Prabhupäda describes in the Bhagavad-gétä: Birth in a family of yogés or transcendentalists – those with great wisdom – is praised herein because the child born in such a family receives a spiritual impetus from the very 223

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beginning of his life. It is especially the case in the äcärya or gosvämé families. Such families are very learned and devoted by tradition and training, and thus they become spiritual masters. In India there are many such äcärya families, but they have now degenerated due to insufficient education and training. By the grace of the Lord, there are still families that foster transcendentalists generation after generation.

It is certainly very fortunate to take birth in such families.

Fortunately, both our spiritual master, Oà Viñëupäda Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja, and our humble self had the opportunity to take birth in such families, by the grace of the Lord, and both of us were trained in the devotional service of the Lord from the very beginning of our lives. Later on we met by the order of the transcendental system.1

Similarly, Çréla A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda and our beloved Gurudeva met by the order of the transcendental system. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: How can we find our guru? He will speak about your inner desires. At first sight I was greatly attracted to Çréla Prabhupäda and he knew my heart. Then and there I surrendered! The date was Sunday 15 September 1974 at midday.

Çré Gour Gopälänanda had left home with the intention to take sannyäsa from a bona fide person, a sad-guru, to whom he would surrender and who would give him sannyäsa. The object of his lifelong yearning had now been located and his heart’s desire was about to be fulfilled. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I said, “I surrender. I want shelter. Please give me shelter.” And Prabhupäda said, “All right, you may stay here.”

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Also in a discussion with his disciples, His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda, on 5 January 1977, in Bombay prior to going to the Kumbha-melä, stated: Çréla Prabhupäda: Kåñëa sent him. He….In Våndävana, he said that “Please give me shelter.” I thought that, “There are so many Indian who come and go.” So when he insisted, “Alright, you stay.”

Guëärëava däsa was one of the devotees residing in one of the huts at the ISKCON compound assisting Çréla Prabhupäda in the building of the Çré Çré Kåñëa Balaräma Temple.

Guëärëava däsa: When they [Çréla Prabhupäda and Gour Govinda Mahäräja] met, it was as though they already knew each other, but that was not possible, as they had never met prior to their first meeting in Våndävan on the ISKCON land. After they met, we basically lost Çréla Prabhupäda’s association, as it seemed that he wanted to just associate with Gour Govinda Swami and of course visa versa. He [Gour Govinda Swami] saw Çréla Prabhupäda as the real thing, immediately.

Nowhere to Stay At that time the temple president was Guru däsa; he did not allow Gour Gopälänanda däsa to sleep in the compound although Gour Gopälänanda tried to explain to him that Çréla Prabhupäda had said he could. Close by was a small äçrama. Gour Gopälänanda went there and spent the night.

Early the next morning at 3.00 a.m. he awoke, took his bath and went to the ISKCON compound for maìgala-ärati.

Then Gour Gopälänanda däsa explained his predicament to Çréla Prabhupäda, who told him “Thieves entered the

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compound previously and stole building materials and other items; that is why the management is doing this. Do not take it personally and be patient.” The management were wary of newcomers only because of the thefts that had taken place recently. After that, Çréla Prabhupäda spoke to the managers and said, “Allow him to sleep here.”

Guëärëava däsa: He was the first at maìgala-ärati, the first one there. It was like he did not go to sleep. Always first at maìgala-ärati, chanting with his bits of cloth. Chanting his rounds with his bits of cloth. He wore just two pieces of cloth, one top cloth and one gämchä type bottom cloth, all saffron. He looked like a sädhu and I thought that he was a sädhu. I thought that he was a bäbäjé, but they wore white and he wore saffron. However, I was very respectful because of how Prabhupäda was treating him. Prabhupäda treated him special.

The devotees were living in temporary dwellings, thatched roof huts and inside one hut, they would have maìgala-ärati.

They had constructed a temporary altar. Çréla Prabhupäda and all the devotees living on the Rämaë Reti land would attend.

Also when the Näma Haööa saìkértana party, from Japan, would visit they would have massive kértanas right there on the holy Rämaë Reti sand.

Daivéçakti-devé däsé: One Indian devotee had joined the temple. He was very quiet and reserved, and spoke English quite well. Though I never spoke with him, I admired his humility and determination to serve in the project. This devotee, I later found out, was Gour Govinda Mahäräja.

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Oh! So Sweet Feast Today!

At that time Gour Gopälänanda was performing a variety of services. He was cleaning the toilets, cleaning the pots [“and very large pots too!” he commented], cooking capätés and cooking for the devotees. He would also carry big buckets of water. When Gour Gopälänanda had cooked for the devotees, they would say, “Oh! So sweet feast today! Who has cooked?”

“This impersonalist sannyäsé has cooked,” was the answer.

“Oh, so sweet today! How sweet! We have never tasted anything like that.” Every day they would say this.

Gour Gopälänanda was dressed as a sädhu and he had a completely shaved head, no çikhä; therefore the devotees thought he was a Mäyävädé sannyäsé, an impersonalist. They did not have any idea of his great Vaiñëava background. All they knew was that when he cooked they would experience a wonderfully sweet flavour. [Many years later Çréla Gour Govinda Swami reminisced and said, “...They thought that I was an impersonalist sannyäsi…” he would smile and then laugh.]

After about a week, Gour Gopälänanda changed into a dhoté and kürta and began to grow a çikhä, but he did not tell anyone of his great Vaiñëava background (his family, the great GadäiGiri kértanéyas, his grandfather Bauribandhu Giri, who was a great devotee and kértanéya, his amazing uncles, Jagannatha Giri and Gopinatha Giri). He said nothing; he just wanted to serve. Many thought that Çréla Prabhupäda had converted this impersonalist into a Vaiñëava and Gour Gopälänanda did not try to change their opinion. He said nothing; he had found his spiritual master and was only interested in serving him. What others thought of him was of no interest to him.

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As we know, according to Mahäprabhu, personal criticism is to be tolerated. That was Mahäprabhu’s mood and that was Gour Gopälänanda’s mood as well.

He could have said, “Don’t you know what a great Vaiñëava family I was born in?” or, “I have been chanting Hare Kåñëa and reading the Çrémad-Bhägavatam my whole life.” He could have said, “I was doing all these things that you are doing now from my birth; I did not have to join a movement to learn these things, I was born in a Vaiñëava family.” He could have said so many things however he chose to remain silent and, following in the mood of Mahäprabhu, he tolerated personal criticism, thus establishing himself as a true Vaiñëava.

Patita-pävana däsa: As I would learn many years later, Gour Govinda Mahäräja sprang from a family of famous Orissan [Oriya] Gauòéya kértana leaders [kértanéyas], devotional mystics and Vaiñëava renunciates. There in Våndävana after a long, long search, he had immediately recognised Çréla Prabhupäda as the äcärya, the very embodiment of Lord Caitanya’s worldwide movement. Full surrender took only a moment. Devotees would see him ascend to the post of guru in his own right. He would rise from the ranks to become a victorious preacher and modern sampradäya link, proving his mettle over again in the fire of bhakti-yoga.2

A Special Relationship

From an interview with Guëärëava prabhu.3

Interviewer: So, I have to get back to this point: you said that you all had a great deal of association with Çréla Prabhupäda, and when Guru Mahäräja [Çréla Gour Govinda Swami] came, that started to diminish because Çréla Prabhupäda was just really associating with Guru Mahäräja. Çréla Prabhupäda had Guru Mahäräja under his wing and you were all left to build 228

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the temple and did not have much more association with Çréla Prabhupäda because he was spending most of his time with Guru Mahäräja?

Guëärëava däsa: Yes! Interviewer: So that’s a fact?

Guëärëava däsa: Yeah!

Interviewer: And you said that you could see the definite connection, even though they had never actually physically met.

Guëärëava däsa: O Yeah! Yeah!

Interviewer: Would you say that he was somewhat different from the new devotees, coming up to Rämaë Reti?

Guëärëava däsa: Oh sure, no question! It was meant to be.

It was like, you know when Kåñëa comes into the material world, He comes with His entourage and paraphernalia to do whatever, His pastimes. So it’s almost like Prabhupäda came into this world, sent by Kåñëa, to do a service to his guru and him coming, Kåñëa arranged the connections of which your Guru Mahäräja was a vital cog in the wheel. We were all Prabhupäda’s soldiers; we were like, we were all from mleccha* families; we were from the West and had previously been taking drugs.** You know, we were really out-of-it people, and I always see my relationship with Prabhupäda like that. I will always be a soldier and that’s what soldiers do: they work hard. But your Guru Mahäräja wasn’t a foot soldier. You see, he was special; he had a special connection with Prabhupäda. * Mleccha: uncivilised humans, outside the Vedic system of society, who are generally meat-eaters. ** Author’s note: Çréla Gour Govinda Swami never broke the Vaiñëava principles his entire life, prior to ISKCON and after joining.

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Special Things were Happening in Vṛndāvan Interviewer: So you all thought, you and the other devotees on the land, that Guru Mahäräja was a little different?

Guëärëava däsa: He was. He was special.

Interviewer: And you felt he was a real Vaiñëava not just...

Guëärëava däsa: Well look, see it through our eyes, try to see it right, empathically: Here’s us coming from the West. We were kids, really raw kids, trying to do some service in the name of being a soldier, and all of a sudden you meet sädhus; I mean your Guru Mahäräja was born in that unique place in a unique family, Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Jagannätha, deities, you know; so we have to respect that, you can’t touch that.

Interviewer: But you didn’t know about that [then].

Guëärëava däsa: We didn’t know it but at the same time we saw how Prabhupäda was behaving...

Interviewer: With him.

Guëärëava däsa: Yeah! So that was the measuring stick.

Interviewer: Right. The guru is acting like that, so we should also.

Guëärëava däsa: Prabhupäda was treating him differently to how he was treating us.

Interviewer: Even though Çréla Prabhupäda was very nice to you all.

Guëärëava däsa: O yeah! But that is for them to know; this was Vaiñëava etiquette. We didn’t enter into that. We respectfully observed from a distance, but definitely special things were happening in Våndävana and your Guru Mahäräja was one of them.

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Somehow He Is Different Patita-pävana däsa: It might have been the always-blissful English brahmacäré Guëärëava or maybe the philosophical Scottish devotee Smarahari who approached me with the news.

“Hey, Patit,” he called, “A sädhu just asked Çréla Prabhupäda for initiation.” “Wow, good luck to that, Mahäräja,” I chuckled pessimistically. After all, we had both been Prabhupäda’s disciples for a number of years and had been in India long enough to know that most sädhus preferred to keep their distance from us “phoren bhaktas” [foreign bhaktas].

As events would unfold, this sädhu who had approached Çréla Prabhupäda and who would soon become Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, was not at all like the others who had come and gone away. The wandering pilgrim who was signing on as one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s men was neither a Mäyävädé yogé nor a dry renunciate given over to abstract meditation.4

The Hindi Translations Begin Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: In Våndävana he first told me to translate his books in Hindi.5 At that time I was speaking Hindi because I had spent much time in the Himälayas where the people are speaking Hindi. When Prabhupäda said, “Well, you are speaking nice Hindi, can you write my books in Hindi?” I said, “Yes Prabhupäda.” My mother tongue is not Hindi, still I must write. He ordered Brahmänanda, “Give him one book, give him a pencil, paper. Let him translate in Hindi.6 I was first translating in Hindi and also teaching his disciples Hindi in Våndävana. I was giving Hindi lessons in Mäyäpura also. Prabhupäda told me to do that. Then when I came, he ordered me to translate books in Oriya, “Stay here, do this project, translate my books, publish them, and preach.”

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Gour Gopälänanda and Çréla Prabhupäda generally spoke to one another in Hindi, and one day Çréla Prabhupäda asked him to translate his books into Hindi. Gour Gopälänanda replied that his mother tongue was Oriya, but Çréla Prabhupäda said, “You speak nice Hindi.” He then requested his secretary to give him a Back to Godhead magazine and asked him to translate a part of one article into Hindi. Gour Gopälänanda did it immediately, it took approximately half an hour, and when he finished he showed it to Çréla Prabhupäda, who then asked him to read it out aloud. Çréla Prabhupäda was very pleased and impressed with it and told him, “You can translate my books into Hindi!”

At that stage, the Hindi translation of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books had not begun. Gour Gopälänanda was the first person to begin this task, which he began that very day! Çréla Prabhupäda said, “I will give you everything that you need: a room, pen and paper, desk and lamp, whatever you need. Now you translate my books into Hindi.” Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: So I was provided a special room and everything, whereas the other devotees were not provided with a room because there were no rooms, just huts. So some of them became envious, “Who is this person? He just came and was provided with a room?” Anyhow, it was Prabhupäda’s mercy.

I started my translation in Hindi. I translated the book Perfection of Yoga into Hindi. It has already been printed in Hindi.8

Then the local devotees protested: “What is this? A room is available for him and we cannot get a room!” Çréla Gurudeva said in regard to this, “It is always there; I tolerated everything.

So miraculous, so wonderful. It was all Prabhupäda’s mercy.”

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Gour Gopālānanda’s ‘Computer’ Begins At this time, Gour Gopälänanda also began writing notes in a copybook. He had done this when he was studying, but now it took on a different dimension, as he was making notes on the words of his spiritual master and of the previous äcäryas.

On 29 March 1994, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami spoke about his notes in private to his secretary. The secretary asked him when he had begun his ‘computer’. (He used this term for all the notes he had taken from his study of the books of the äcäryas and of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books). ‘His computer’ referred to his very old notebooks, exercise books, and local Indian-style notebooks. He jokingly referred to them as his ‘computer’ because when he was at the Governing Body Commission (GBC) meetings in 1994, most of the GBC members had computers [laptops] but he did not. All he had was his very old Indian notebooks wrapped in a piece of saffron cloth. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami said that from the first day he entered the Çré Çré Kåñëa Balaräma grounds in Våndävana he began to make notes, (i.e. his computer began).

Also where Çréla Prabhupäda, in his transcendental purports [annotated commentaries on the çiddhänta] would quote Välméki Muni, Çréla Vyäsadeva or one of the predecessor äcäryas such as Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, one of the six Goswamis of Våndävana, Çréla Çrédhara Swami [who, at the time of Mahäprabhu, was the main commentator on the Çrémad-Bhägavatam] etc. Çré Gour Gopälänada would access that literature and not only make notes on the writings of his spiritual master but also make notes from the works of these previous äcäryas, thus developing a larger window of information for himself to draw from. He would read ten pages before and ten pages after from the book of the äcärya that Çréla Prabhupäda would quote.

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Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja called himself a very ‘greedy fellow’ because he not only made notes from Çréla Prabhupäda’s books but also from the reference sources that Çréla Prabhupäda drew from to make his points in his purports. Starting in 1974: “From Çréla Prabhupäda’s source I would look up the source of his information. For one line in Çréla Prabhupäda’s purports there is an enormous purport [to it], so I would research the point from Çréla Prabhupäda’s purports to where the äcäryas have spoken about this particular point.”

Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda writes: “...Many devotees of Lord Caitanya like Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura, Çré Locana däsa Öhäkura, Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé, Çré Kavikarëapüra, Çré Prabodhänanda Sarasvaté, Çré Rüpa Gosvämé, Çré Sanätana Gosvämé, Çré Raghunätha Bhaööa Gosvämé, Çré Jéva Gosvämé, Çré Gopäla Bhaööa Gosvämé, Çré Raghunätha däsa Gosvämé and in this latter age within two hundred years, Çré Viçvanätha Cakravarté, Çré Baladeva Vidyäbhüñana, Çré Çyämänanda Gosvämé, Çré Narottama däsa Öhäkura, Çré Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura and at last Çré Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura (our spiritual master) and many other great and renowned scholars and devotees of the Lord have prepared voluminous books and literatures on the life and precepts of the Lord. Such literatures are all based on the çästras like the Vedas, Puräëas, Upaniñads, Rämäyaëa, Mahäbhärata and other histories and authentic literatures approved by the recognised äcäryas. They are unique in composition and unrivalled in presentation, and they are full of transcendental knowledge. Unfortunately the people of the world are still ignorant of them, but when these literatures, which are mostly in Sanskrit and Bengali, come to light the world, and when they are presented before thinking people, then India’s glory and the message of love will overflood

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this morbid world, which is vainly searching after peace and prosperity by various illusory methods not approved by the äcäryas in the chain of disciplic succession... “...The readers of this small description of the life and precepts of Lord Caitanya will profit much to go through the books of Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura (Çré Caitanyabhägavata) and Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta). The early life of the Lord is most fascinatingly expressed by the author of Caitanya-bhägavata, and as far as the teachings are concerned, they are more vividly explained in the Caitanya-caritämåta. Now they are available to the English-speaking public in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya...” (A short sketch of the life and teachings of Lord Caitanya, The Preacher of Çrémad-Bhägavatam. ÇrémadBhägavatam, Canto One Introduction.)

Thus he showed the way to take one line, or even one word from Çréla Prabhupäda’s purports and expand on it exponentially. In his own words, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami said: “...Srila Prabhupäda’s purports are like a seed, and inside that seed there is a giant tree. In just one word of Çréla Prabhupäda’s purport there is so much information...”

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Chapter Sixteen

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The Donated Land

ré Gour Gopälänanda had been in Våndävana for only a few weeks, when Çréla Prabhupäda left Våndävana for Delhi, then Calcutta and on to Mäyäpura. From there he wrote a letter to Gour Gopälänanda and sent it with an English devotee, a gåhastha named Dhanaïjaya däsa.

This letter mentioned that land had been made available in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, and Çréla Prabhupäda wrote, “I want a good centre developed there under your leadership. If you are willing, please come here to Mäyäpura and we will talk.” Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: When I left my family, while they were lamenting and crying, I told them, to pacify them, “Don’t lament, don’t cry. I will return to Orissa. ... I’ll never go out of sight...”1

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When he received that letter, Gour Gopälänanda thought how Kåñëa and Mahäprabhu are so merciful that they were going to fulfill his promise, to bless him, so that he could preach in Orissa, the ancestral land of his famous Giri Vaiñëava dynasty.

He left Våndävana immediately and went to Mäyäpura. Two weeks later, in October 1974, Çréla Prabhupäda gave him first initiation, or hari-näma and named him Gour Govinda däsa.

The Change of Name In the Çré Caitanya-caritämåta it is written: çuni’ mahäprabhu kahe,—çuna, dabira-khäsa tumi dui bhäi—mora purätana däsa “After hearing the prayer of Dabira Khäsa and Säkara Mallika, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu said, “My dear Dabira Khäsa, you two brothers are My old servants.” (Çré Caitanyacaritämåta, Madhya-lélä 1.207)

äji haite duìhära näma ‘rüpa’ ‘sanätana’ dainya chäòa, tomära dainye phäöe mora mana “My dear Säkara Mallika, from this day your names will be changed to Çréla Rüpa and Çréla Sanätana. Now please abandon your humility, for My heart is breaking to see you so humble.” (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 1.208)

In his purport to this verse Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda writes: Actually this is Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s initiation of Dabira Khäsa and Säkara Mallika. They approached the Lord with all humility, and the Lord accepted them as old servants,

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as eternal servants, and He changed their names. It is to be understood from this that it is essential for a disciple to change his name after initiation. çaìkha-cakrädy-ürdhva-puëòradhäraëädy-ätma-lakñaëam tan näma-karaëaà caiva vaiñëavatvam ihocyate “After initiation, the disciple’s name must be changed to indicate that he is a servant of Lord Viñëu. The disciple should also immediately begin marking his body with tilaka (ürdhva-puëòra), especially his forehead. These are spiritual marks, symptoms of a perfect Vaiñëava.” This is a verse from the Padma Puräëa, Uttara-khaëòa. A member of the sahajiyäsampradäya does not change his name; therefore he cannot be accepted as a Gauòéya Vaiñëava. If a person does not change his name after initiation, it is to be understood that he will continue in his bodily conception of life. (Çré Caitanyacaritämåta, Madhya-lélä 1.208 purport) Guëärëava däsa: That’s one thing about Gour Govinda Mahäräja: he did not eat a lot. I do not think that I ever saw him eat. That is what I am saying: he kept to himself, didn’t socialise; he was with his thoughts, he was with Kåñëa. He was thinking that he was very happy to have met Prabhupäda.

He saw Prabhupäda as the real thing. It did not take him long to make up his mind to take initiation.

When he received hari-näma initiation Srimati Chhabi Kanungo and her husband, Vijaya Kanungo, the people who wanted to donate the land in Bhubaneswar were present.

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Gour Govind, You Will Take Me to Orissa After the initiation, Çréla Prabhupäda called Gour Govinda däsa to his room and told him, “Gour Govind, you will take me to Orissa.” As Çréla Prabhupäda told him that, Gour Govinda däsa was thinking, “I will take him?” He could not believe what he had just heard. He felt that this was a most important instruction from his spiritual master. After only a few weeks in the mission, he was given such an important task, but he did not think that he was really worthy of that task. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Prabhupäda’s mercy is wonderful! In Mäyäpura when he gave me first initiation, he told me on that very day, “Gour Govind, you will take me to Orissa.” Prabhupäda was not coming here [to Orissa] because his Western disciples were not allowed to enter the Puré temple. He had developed sulkiness. One person should be there who will break the sulkiness, and he caught me, “Oh, you are the one for that!” I said, “Yes, Prabhupäda, you are so merciful! Now you want to go to Orissa?” I thought, “Oh! Now he wants to come. Yes, he will come. But what can I do? I am nothing; I have no strength, no qualifications, nothing! Oh, it is his mercy only that will act. We are just an instrument in his hands.”

Prior to this, when he had first met Çréla Prabhupäda in Våndävana in 1974, Gour Govinda däsa had asked Çréla Prabhupäda two or three times, “You have founded an International Society for Krishna Consciousness, but I have not heard this name in Orissa. This is a worldwide society, a very large, famous society, but the people of Orissa do not know of it. Why isn’t there a centre in Orissa?” Çréla Prabhupäda, however, had not given him an answer; he had only smiled and remained silent. Gour Govinda däsa could 242

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not understand what was the mystery behind this, why was Prabhupäda not answering his question.

On the day he received hari-näma initiation, Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Gour Govind, you will take me to Orissa.”

And he thought, “Now that Çréla Prabhupäda wants to go to Orissa, I must go.”

In a letter to Çyämasundara Brahmacäré, a member of the Çré Puruñottama Gauòéya Maöha in Puré, which was written before Çréla Gour Govinda Swami met him, Çréla Prabhupäda explains his reasons for not entering the Jagannätha Temple. “...I have not visited Jagannatha Puri because my men are not allowed to see the deity. When you arrange that we can visit the temple with my disciples then I can come immediately. ... I am going to Hyderabad on 18 of April and then going to Tirupati. So from there I can go to Jagannatha Puri if arrangements can be made. It is very regrettable that these European and American boys who are purely Vaisnava and who follow all principles are not allowed by the rascals to enter the temple. As stated in the Padma Purana: arcye visnau siladhir gurusu naramatir vaisnave jati buddhir.* I do not know what makes the management take this attitude. If you can remove this restriction, you will do a great * Note: arcye visnau siladhir gurusu vaisnave jati buddhir visnor va vaisnavanam kalimala-mathane pada-tirthe ‘mbu-buddhih sri-visnor namni mantre sakala-kalusahe sabda-samanya-buddhir visnau sarvesvarese tad-itara-samadhir-yasya va naraki sah “One who thinks the Deity in the temple to be made of wood or stone, who thinks of the spiritual master in the disciplic succession as an ordinary man, who thinks the Vaiñëava in the Acyuta-gotra to belong to a certain caste or creed or who thinks of caraëämåta or Ganges water as ordinary water is taken to be a resident of hell.” (Padma Puräëa)

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service to the Gaudiya Vaisnava community. According to the sastra, anyone who wears tilaka and sikha and kanti over and above the Vaisnava dress or Vaisnava sannyasa must be accepted, especially while chanting Hare Krsna mantra with bead bags. Kindly convince them and induce them to allow these Vaisnavas to enter Jagannatha temple.

One friend in Orissa has offered to give us land in Bhubaneswar and I have a desire to construct a big Jagannatha temple there for our men if we are not allowed to enter Jagannatha temple in Puri. In Jagannatha temple people come from all the Indian states. Now when Jagannatha has expanded His jurisdiction over the whole world why the socalled servants of Jagannatha should not allow them to see the Lord of the Universe? I don’t know their philosophy...

In conclusion, I shall come to Jagannatha Puri as you have kindly insisted, but only when they allow entry to all my disciples.

Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 2

At that time Çréla Prabhupäda also asked Srimati Chabbi Kanungo and her husband, “I am sending my disciple Gour Govind there to Bhubaneswar; will you please help him? Show him the land that you have donated and he will organise everything there. Please help him.” When he came out of Çréla Prabhupäda’s room, Gour Govinda däsa asked Srimati Chhabi Kanungo and her husband about the donated land in Bhubaneswar. They explained to him that they lived in Calcutta, but were originally from Orissa; that they were Life Members of ISKCON and wanted to see an ISKCON centre established in Orissa.

They also revealed to Gour Govinda däsa that they had once said to Çréla Prabhupäda, “You’re opening temples in 244

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all the dhämas* of India, such as Mäyäpura, Våndävana and others. Puré-dhäma is also a very famous place and it is very dear to Mahäprabhu. Therefore, you should open a centre in Puré, Orissa.” Çréla Prabhupäda had responded to them, “No, I will not go to Puré. Why? Because I preach the message of Mahäprabhu all over the world, yet the päëòäs, the servants of Lord Jagannätha will not allow my disciples entrance into the temple.”

The local Puré brähmaëas will not allow Westerners in the temple, because of their Western birth and the fact that they were meat eaters. However, Çréla Prabhupäda had reversed the situation; he had turned westerners into brähmaëas, they were now practising the life of brähmaëas under his guidance, and they were definitely vegetarians, not meat eaters anymore; therefore they should have been allowed entrance because they were following a higher principle. They were worshipping the deity and chanting the holy mantra, Hare Kåñëa. Still, even though these Western disciples of Çréla Prabhupäda were converted to what we would call at least brähmaëas, and even though the Puré päëòäs knew the greatness of the world leader of ISKCON, they would not allow them entry to the great Jagannätha Temple. Çréla Prabhupäda would not enter the Jagannätha temple himself for this very reason. Because of this Çréla Prabhupäda said. “I will not go to Orissa.” Thus there was no ISKCON centre in Orissa. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Prabhupäda had developed a mood not to come to Orissa. He was so attached to Çrémän Mahäprabhu, preaching His message, gaura-väëé [gaura-väëépracäriëe] throughout the world, fulfilling His desire, and in such a dear place of Mahäprabhu, Jagannätha Puré, yet his * Dhäma: The Supreme Lord’s transcendental abodes on this earth.

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disciples were not allowed! He had developed a mood of sulkiness for that. So he was in search of a person who could break this. When he found me, he gave that responsibility to me.3 Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: I was thinking at that time, “Yes the spiritual master’s order should be carried out, without grumbling. No argument.” I was thinking how Prabhupäda was showering his mercy and now he will go to Orissa.

I was just a newcomer at that time in ISKCON. Still he bestowed so much responsibility on me. I had full faith in my spiritual master and Kåñëa. In Bhagavad-gétä Kåñëa has said to Arjuna, nimitta-mätraà bhava savya-säcin. “Just become an instrument in My hand. Do not fear.” So that came to my mind. Oh what shall I do? I have no power. I am powerless.

It is Kåñëa and His representative, Gurudeva; they will act through the servant. I had this belief.

I was thinking, “What qualification do I have? I am not a worthy person to take Çréla Prabhupäda to Orissa! Now he has the desire to go - now it must be done, Kåñëa will fulfill it.”4* * Author’s note: When I was doing this interview with Çréla Gurudeva and he was telling me this story he showed, visibly, that he had been shocked when Çréla Prabhupäda said to him, “Gour Govind, you will take me to Orissa.” He said, “How was I going to do it?” It was quite interesting to note Çréla Prabhupäda was born in Bengal, the land of Mahäprabhu, and our beloved Gurudeva was born in Orissa, the land of Jagannätha. But Çréla Prabhupäda had barred himself from going into the Puré temple because his Western disciples were not allowed in. So the door to Puré and Orissa was now shut. Then, seemingly by chance, Gour Gopälänanda däsa came to Våndävana and met Çréla Prabhupäda, who initiated him and found in him a suitable person to break the bar to Puré and lead the way to Orissa and then Jagannätha. Gour Govinda däsa, who then becomes Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, who established a temple – under the guidance and inspiration of Çréla Prabhupäda – in Bhubaneswar, which happens to be the gateway to Puré-dhäma. Coincidence?

I think not! The sat-çiñya always finds the sad-guru, and when they meet, it is as if they already know each other, even though they have not met previously in this life. And that is from both sides.

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Thereafter, Çréla Prabhupäda went to Bombay to check the progress on the Bombay branch of his mission at Juhu beach. There he gave Gour Govinda däsa second initiation, gäyatré-mantra. He had now first and second initiation from Çréla Prabhupäda, but he had not received sannyäsa, which had been the reason he had left home and that which he had desired his whole life. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: When Prabhupäda was there, he was allowing his disciples to speak; Prabhupäda was sitting there guiding. So if they committed some mistake, then and there Prabhupäda corrected them; thereby he was giving them training. I have seen that. Once he asked me to speak in Bombay in Hindi; I was with him just a few days and he told me, “Gour Govind, speak in Hindi.” So I spoke what I had heard, and he appreciated. Anyhow, he just gave me the opportunity because it is the spiritual master’s mercy.

Therefore we do.5 Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Then one month later, in Bombay, Çréla Prabhupäda gave me brahmana initiation, gäyatré-mantra. Thereafter, Bhägavata däsa and myself left for Orissa to see the land in Bhubaneswar.

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Chapter Seventeen

The First Visit Back to Bhubaneswar

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fter his initiation, Gour Govinda däsa was, accompanied by an American brahmacäré named Bhägavata däsa, sent by Çréla Prabhupäda to the newly donated land in Bhubaneswar. In days of old, Bhubaneswar was called the City of Temples and is glorified in the Vedas and writings of the äcäryas.

At that time, the donated land was like a jungle. It was undeveloped, as was all the land around it for miles and miles, except for a small village called Nayapalli. No one wanted to go to the area, as there were many snakes and scorpions and even ghosts....

There was one main road, the National Highway No. 5, which stretched from Calcutta (Kolkata) to Madras (Chennai) and passed by that small village of Nayapalli. The donated land was across the road from the Nayapalli Village.

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An Out of the Way Place The donated land was far from the city centre. Dacoits (gangsters) would frequent the area to hijack trucks on the nearby highway. Even during the day people feared to go there. Understandably Bhägavata däsa was not too keen to stay in that place. He felt and said that no one could stay there.

But Gour Govinda däsa replied that Çréla Prabhupäda had told them to stay here. What was he [Bhägavata] saying? Did he want to go back and defy the order of the spiritual master?

Gour Govinda däsa said to him, “You may go back but I will not go. I will stay here.” Bhägavata replied, “No! No! No! You are a brahmacäré*; you have only recently joined the mission of Çréla Prabhupäda; you are a neophyte. You can’t stay here alone. I will not allow you.”** * Author’s note: As far as Gour Govinda däsa being a brahmacäré (new brahmacäré) is concerned, he had already, however unbeknown to most, passed through the brahmacäré stage of life from birth to twenty-one years of age when he married.

Then he had been a gåhastha for the next twenty-three years. Then from 1974 he had renounced family life and taken to the vänaprastha-äçrama (renounced life).

Hence, upon meeting Çréla Prabhupäda he was still in the vänaprastha äçrama.

He had practiced celibacy his whole life. There are two types of brahmacäré: naiñöika-brahmacäré and upakurväëa-brahmacäré. The naiñöika-brahmacäré never marries; he never associates with women. The upakurväëa-brahmacäré marries but only engages in sex life to have children. Thus Çréla Gour Govinda Swami was a brahmacäré for the first twenty one years of his life, then he was a upakurväëabrahmacäré for the next twenty-three years of his life, and then when he left married life, he totally renounced everything. ** Author’s note: Again here we see that Gour Govinda däsa was very humble. He could have said, “I am older than you by age, I have been a devotee from my birth, I have been chanting Hare Kåñëa since I could first talk, my whole family were and are devotees; therefore I am senior to you.” However he did none of this; he just humbly went along with Bhägavata däsa to Hyderabad. He practiced Mahäprabhu’s great instruction: tåëäd api sunécena taror iva sahiñëunä

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Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja: I came here. First, Çréla Prabhupäda sent Bhägavata [däsa] with me. He told me, “Oh, what is this place? It is jungle. In broad daylight the dacoits will kill us here. Nobody will help us. Let us go back. No one can stay here bäbä! No one can stay here; it is a completely out of the way place. Even in the daytime no rickshaw walla wants to come here! I cannot stay here!” Then he forced me, “No one can stay.” I told him, “But Prabhupäda said that we had to come and stay here, and do this service. You are an old devotee. How can you say that no one can stay here? If no one can stay here, then why did Prabhupäda send us here?

Alright, you may go but I will not leave. I want to stay. I’ll stay here.”

He said, “No, a brahmacäré is not allowed to stay alone. I won’t allow you to stay alone.” He forced me. What to do? He was a senior devotee; I had only joined a few months earlier.

What could I say?

Gour Govinda däsa was not afraid to stay there, whether there were dacoits, cobras, or wild animals. Çréla Prabhupäda had told him to stay and he wanted to follow his spiritual master’s order. Advanced devotees are not afraid to go to unknown places, or far out of the way places to preach. As described in the Vedic scriptures a sannyäsé is fearless.* amäninä mänadena kértanéyaù sadä hariù “One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honour yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”

Therefore, practicing humility, he simply followed the order of the senior devotee and left the Bhubaneswar land, when he was told to. * “...A sannyäsé should always live alone, without company, and he must be fearless...” (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 2.2.5 purport) “...That conviction is called abhayam, fearlessness. This state of mind is necessary for a person in the renounced order of life...” (Bhagavad-gétä 16.1 purport)

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näräyaëa-paräù sarve na kutaçcana bibhyati svargäpavarga-narakeñv api tulyärtha-darçinaù “Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Näräyaëa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.”1

The words näräyaëa-paräù refers to pure devotees who are interested only in the service of Näräyaëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His Divine Grace Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, went to the USA, a very foreign land and did not know what to expect. But, he carried out his mission no matter what. He preached to one and all, without consideration of caste, creed or gender. And Gour Govinda däsa was simply trying to follow in the footsteps of his great, grand, illustrious spiritual master.

Hyderabad and Śrīla Prabhupāda Previously, when Bhägavata däsa was still in Calcutta, he had arranged for two train coaches to take the devotees after the Mäyäpura festival of 1975, from Calcutta to Hyderabad, where the next festival would be. Bhägavata däsa knew that the train was coming and they could get on for free, so they waited for that train to Hyderabad. Under the insistence and order of Bhägavata däsa, Gour Govinda däsa reluctantly left the Bhubaneswar land.

Gour Govinda däsa wanted to explain to Çréla Prabhupäda what the situation was in Bhubaneswar and the fact that he

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had not wanted to leave, but he was persuaded by Bhägavata däsa. He felt compelled to go back to the Bhubaneswar land. Çréla Prabhupäda had asked him to go there and develop the property and he wanted to carry out the order to the best of his ability despite the dacoits, the wild animals, the isolation and all the other difficulties.

“…Please Give Me Sannyāsa…”

When they arrived at Hyderabad, Gour Govinda däsa explained everything to Çréla Prabhupäda. At that time Çréla Prabhupäda had been thinking of giving him sannyäsa. If he had been a sannyäsé, he would not have had to listen to Bhägavata däsa; he could have stayed on the Bhubaneswar property alone and would have been able to begin the preaching work of Çréla Prabhupäda in Orissa. Therefore he immediately asked Çréla Prabhupäda, “Please give me sannyäsa.” Çréla Prabhupada said, “Alright, I will give you sannyäsa in Våndävana.” Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: So at the first meeting [Våndävana 1974], he [Çréla Prabhupäda] had told me he would give me sannyäsa.

I asked, “When will you give me sannyäsa?”

He said, “Oh, are you coming to Våndävana for the opening?”

“Yes.” “So there I will give you sannyäsa.”

I thought after I take sannyäsa, I can move alone. Then this Bhägavata cannot threaten me.

Räma Sraddha däsa: I remember in Hyderabad how he [Çréla Gour Govinda Swami] was very grave. I must have been about twenty-two years old and he was already fortyfive. There was no question of dilly-dallying or laughing,

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joking; he was always either chanting or writing, there was no frivolity.

He was different; from his childhood he had been serving the Lord, chanting hari-näma and reading Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

Truly, Gour Govinda Mahäräja is of a different calibre, his saàskäras were so strong; he was already on such a high level of bhakti. He and I were sleeping in the same room in the brahmacäré äçrama. He was so grave! Whereas us, we were city boys with a city education; we were a little restless in our minds. I remember that whenever he sang, he was in ecstasy.

He did not care for externals. He was not into externals; he was very much an internal person.

Total Abstinence from Sex Life Sannyäsa means total abstinence from sex life and from the association with women even mentally. A true sannyäsi meditates on the Supreme Lord and is not interested in the phantasmagoria of this material world. Gour Govinda däsa had led his whole life like this; he had married only because it was the wish of his family; he had seven children only because his wife wanted many children. From his earliest childhood, he meditated on the family Deities Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu.

As he grew older, he was looking for that person to whom he would surrender and who would give him sannyäsa so that he could then go out and preach the mission of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. This time was now finally approaching. As a sannyäsi he would not have to depend on others and he could go anywhere to preach; he could reside on the Bhubaneswar land by himself and effectively oversee the building of the temple Çréla Prabhupada had requested him to build. He could carry on the preaching activities that his spiritual master wanted, despite the cobras, scorpions, dacoits and being alone in a deserted place.

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He had molded his life around renunciation and devotion.

He already knew what a surrendered soul was, what devotion to Kåñëa was, and what the message of the Bhagavad-gétä, of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam and Çré Caitanya-caritämåta were. He had studied most of the Vedic scriptures, he was already a Sanskrit scholar and above all, he knew that he should surrender, inquire from and serve a bona fide spiritual master to make his life perfect. His whole life had been one in preparation for taking sannyäsa and preaching the mission of Mahäprabhu.

In his transcendental commentaries on Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam Çréla Prabhupäda has written about sannyäsa: “…the fourth stage of life, namely the renounced order (sannyäsa), is a painstaking situation. But one who is serious about making his life perfect surely adopts the sannyäsa order of life in spite of all difficulties. The difficulties usually arise from having to sever family relationships, to give up the connection of wife and children. But if anyone is able to tolerate such difficulties,* surely his path to spiritual realisation is complete…”2 “…the vänaprastha and sannyäsa orders of life are for those who are detached from material life…”3 “…in the sannyäsa stage no wife can stay with her former husband. A sannyäsé is considered to be a dead man civilly, and therefore the wife becomes a civil widow without connection with her former husband…”4

* Author’s note: We have seen that Brajabandhu Manik (Çréla Gour Govinda Swami) was not attached to family life. He was completely detached from material life even though married with children etc. Thus renouncing everything and taking, officially, to a life of renunciation was not difficult for him.

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“…After fulfilling his responsibility to produce a nice child, one should take sannyäsa and engage in the perfectional paramahaàsa stage. Paramahaàsa refers to the most highly elevated perfectional stage of life. There are four stages within sannyäsa life, and paramahaàsa is the highest order. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam is called the paramahaàsasaàhitä, the treatise for the highest class of human beings.

The paramahaàsa is free from envy…”5 “…The main purpose of sannyäsa life is to be in constant companionship with the Supreme Lord, either by thinking of Him within the heart or hearing of Him through aural reception…”6 “…Only a very exalted person advanced in spiritual understanding should attempt to take up sannyäsa…”7*

After discussing his sannyäsa initiation with Çréla Prabhupäda, Gour Govinda däsa headed for Våndävana with many other devotees to the opening of the Çré Çré Kåñëa Balaräma Temple, which was a milestone in the preaching mission of Çréla Prabhupäda. Çréla Prabhupäda had wanted to establish a temple in Våndävana in that very place where Çré Kåñëa and His transcendental associates had appeared, in that very place where the Goswamis had established temples and written the bhakti-çästras. It would be a major step forward for his preaching mission.

Bhéma däsa: After the Hyderabad pandal, we headed from Hyderabad to the opening of the Kåñëa Balaräma Mandir [1975] and a whole bogie [train carriage] was reserved for the devotees. * Author’s note: Brajabandhu Manik had from a very young age repeatedly said to his family members that he was their very ancient ancestor Bhikari Giri (1825– 1908) who became a sannyäsé at the age of thirty and had spent the rest of his life in Våndävana. As a young boy, he knew that he would have to take sannyäsa and preach the mission of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

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It was just all devotees on the train. There was one Indian sädhu sitting on his suitcase by the bathroom, who did not really mix with any of the other devotees. Mostly they were just Western devotees, a few Indian devotees like Haridäsa, and I was really wondering whether he was part of our group or not. He was very quiet and very patiently sat on his suitcase by the bathroom, the whole way to Våndävana.*

* Author’s note: The distance from Hyderabad to Mathura, by train, is approximately 1,526 kilometres. In those days, it took approximately 48 hours minimum to get there.

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APPENDIX

The 27 vows of Brajabandhu Çréla Gour Govinda Swami [Brajabandhu Manik] observed all these 27 vows in his daily gåhastha life prior to meeting Çréla Prabhupäda.

1. How many hours did you sleep?

2. At what time did you get out of bed?

3. How many mäläs of japa did you chant today?

4. How long did you spend in näma, (näma-smaraëa), kértana today?

5. How many präëäyämas, (meditations) did you do today?

6. For how long did you perform äsana today?

7. For how long did you perform one äsana?

8. Were you regular in your meditation today?

9. How many Bhagavad-gétä çlokas did you read today or learn by heart?

10. How long did you spend in the company of sädhus today, (sat-saìga)?

11. For how long did you observe mauna [silence] today?

12. How long did you spend in disinterested selfless service today?

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13. How much did you give in charity today?

14. How many mantras did you write today?

15. How long did you practice in physical exercise today?

16. How many lies did you tell today, and what did you do to atone for this?

17. How many times did you get angry today, and for how long and what was your atonement?

18. How many hours did you spend in useless company?

19. How many times did you fail in brahmacarya, celibacy, today?

20. How long did you spend today in the study of religious books?

21. How many times did you fall prey to evil habits, and with what self-punishment?

22. How long did you concentrate on your iñöa-deva nirguëa spiritual meditation, and saguëa meditation material?

23. What virtues are you developing?

24. What evil qualities are you trying to eradicate?

25. What indriya (sense) is troubling you the most?

26. How many days did you observe in fasting and vigilance?

27. At what time did you go to bed?

This was Brajabandhu’s daily checking system in his gåhastha life for himself.

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Verse Index A ahaà bhakta-parädhéno v aho tat-kñetra-mähätmyaà gardabho ’pi catur-bhujaù 5 äji haite duìhära näma ‘rüpa’ ‘sanätana’ 242 anyäbhiläñitä-çünyaà 122 apareyam itas tv anyam 110 ärädhyo bhagavän vrajeça-tanayas-tad-dhäma 211 asaktir anabhiñvaìgaù 192 ataeva vaiñëavera janma-måtyu näi 37 B bhaja räma räma räma bhakta ämä preme bändhiyäche hådaya-bhitare bhaktir yathä harau me’sti bhelä buòiba helä kale kahuachi brahma-çabde kahe pürëa svayaà bhagavän

174 v, 160 III 183 iii

D däru-brahma jagannätho, bhagavän puruñottame 4 dharmaù projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaräëäà 151 dui hetu avatari’ laïä bhakta-gaëa 8 H hä hä prabhu koro doyä, deho more pada-chäyä, hare kåñëa hare kåñëa harer näma harer näma

III 8, 217 202

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J jïäna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe kåñëa vaça

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K karma-nindä, karma-tyäga, sarva-çästre kahe kåñëa-bhakti yei sthäne, mukti däsé seikhäne, kåñëa-viñayaka premä—parama puruñärtha kåñëa yadi chuöe bhakte bhukti mukti diyä

120 152 123 119

M mahä-vibhütimän räjyaà, autkalaà pälayan svayam 4 mathurä dvärakä-lélä 5 mayi bhaktir hi bhütänäm 120 mayi cänanya-yogena 192 N nähaà tiñöhämi vaikuëöhe 22 na karma-bandhanaà janma vaiñëavänäà ca vidyate 37 namo mahä-vadänyäya 150 näräyaëa-paräù sarve 256 na sädhayati mäà yogo 122, 201 néläcale ei saba bhakta prabhu-saìge 9 nélädrau cotkale deçe, kñetre çré-puruñottame 4 P paripürëa-kåñëa-präpti ei ‘premä’ haite påthivéte äche yata nagarädi-gräma prathamaà tu guruà püjya premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena prema-rasa-niryäsa karite äsvädana punaù ati-utkaëöhä, dainya ha-ila udgama

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120 218 III 122 8 9

Verse Index rahügaëaitat tapasä na yäti

R

S samudrasyottare tére, äste çré-puruñottame çaìkha-cakrädy-ürdhva-puëòra- sarva-bhüteñu yaù paçyed sarva mahä-guëa-gaëa vaiñëava-çarire siddhänta vihéna hoile kåñëe citta läge nä çuni’ mahäprabhu kahe,—çuna, dabira-khäsa T

tapasä brahmacaryeëa tértha-phala sädhu-saìga, sädhu-saìge antaraìga

II 4 243 161 ii 215 242 86 151

V väïchä-kalpa-tarubhyaç ca I vande çré-kåñëa-caitanya- I vane gale muhiì muni-gaëe bheöi 173 veda-çästra kahe—‘sambandha’, ‘abhidheya’, ‘prayojana’ 121 veda-çästre kahe sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana 121 viñayendriya-saàyogäd 132 viñayéra anna khäile malina haya mana 206 visåjati hådayaà na yasya säkñäd 160 Y yad agre cänubandhe ca yasyästi bhaktir bhagavaty akiïcanä yatränuraktäù sahasaiva dhérä yat tad agre viñam iva ye därägära-puträpta- ye tähäna däsya-pada bhäve nirantara

132 i 192 131 193 iv

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ye térthe vaiñëava näi, se térthete nähi yäi, yo ‘jïäna-mattaà bhuvanaà dayälur yo mäà paçyati sarvatra

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152 150 viii, 162

Glossary A A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda (Çréla Prabhupäda): The founder Äcärya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He distributed the path of bhakti (Kåñëa consciousness) all over the Western world. He wrote and published over 80 literary works and opened 108 temples and initiated many thousands of disciples. He is the disciple of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda and the spiritual master of Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja. His last founded projected was the Çré Çré Kåñëa Balaräma Temple in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. Äcärya: one who teaches by example; he is a bonafide spiritual master, a pure devotee- sad-guru – who can guide his followers to spiritual perfection. Ädhibhautika: Suffering caused by other living entities. Ädhidaivika: Suffering caused environmental disturbances.

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Ädhyätmika: Suffering caused by one’s body or mind.

Aparädha: Offenses committed against Kåñëa, devotional service and the devotees of the Lord (Vaiñnavas).

Aparädhé: A person who commits offenses. Ärati: a traditional Vedic ceremony during which nice offerings of incense, ghee lamps, flowers and fans are made to the Deity of the Lord. Äñrama: (1) A hermitage or dwelling

for ascetics, (2) a stage or period of one’s religious life.

Añöänga-yoga: (añöa - eight, aëga part) a mystic yoga system consisting of eight parts - yama, niyama, äsana, präëäyäma, pratyähära, dhäraëä, dhyäna and samädhi. Not recommended for followers of the path of bhakti.

Añöa-prahara: (añöa - eight & praharaperiod of the day, a three-hour period).

There are eight parts to the day, i.e. midnight to 3.00 a.m., 3.00 a.m to 6.00 a.m., 6.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m., 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 mid-day etc. Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swämi was doing this twentyfour-hour kértana with his uncles from Gadäi Giri.

Atithi-sevä: travellers.

hospitality to guests or

Ayodhyä: The appearance place of Lord Räma and the capital of His kingdom.

B Bäbäjé: a renounced monk, whose only business is to chant Hare Kåñëa all day long.

Bäbä: (1) An affectionate term of addressing children or inferiors, (2) a respectable term of addressing superiors.

Bäbü: a respectable gentleman.

Balaräma: Lord Kåñëa’s brother.

Bäs: expression meaning enough, that’s all.

Benaras: city in India which has a great religious significance for most Hindus also known as Varanasi.

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Bhägavata-tuëgi or Bhägavata-kuöéra: a small cottage where the ÑrémadBhägavatam is worshipped and studied.

Bhägavad-darñana : direct vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bhagavad-gétä: the famous dialogue of spiritual knowledge between Lord Kåñëa and Arjuna spoken on the battlefield of Kurukñetra - from the great epic Mahäbhärata.

Bhagavaté: see Durgä.

Bhajana: devotional hymns.

Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura: (1838-1915): A great äcärya in the Brahmä-MädhvaGauòéya-sampradäya, the father of Çrila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Thäkura Prabhupäda.

He single handedly resurrected the Vaiñëava community that had fallen into disrepair due to so many incongruence’s. He wrote over 100 books and was called the Seventh Goswami, a very great title for a very great personality.

Bhaëòära: a meal provided for holy men.

Bhajana-kuöéra: a small hut in which a renounced devotee lives and practices his worship.

Bhäva: an advanced stage of transcendental love of God.

Bhakta: A Kåñëa devotee.

Bhoga-ärati: the ceremony of making a food-offering to the deity.

Bhakti: devotion to Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bhakti-pradätä: one who awards the gift of devotion.

Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura (Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Prabhupäda Mahäräja), (1874-1937): The founder of the Gauòéya Maöha.

A very, extraordinarily powerful preacher, he founded sixty-four missions in India. The transcendentally empowered son of Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda appeared in this world on February 6, 1874. He is the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda. He initiated tens of thousands of disciples, established 4 printing presses and produced a daily, spiritual newspaper filled with topics of the spiritual world.

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Bhikñä: collecting donations, alms.

Bindu: a drop.

Brahmacäré: a celibate monk; usually this life begins from the age of five to the time one takes to married life. The first of the four äñramas, or spiritual orders of life.

Brähmaëa: the intelligent class of men, according to the system of social and spiritual orders.

Bramha-astra: an ancient divine missile invoked by chanting hymns.

Brahma-Madhva-Gauòéya sampradäya: The succession of teachers of spiritual knowledge originating from Lord Brahmä and including Madhva and Gauräëga Mahäprabhu.

Brähma-muhürta: an auspicious period of the day just prior to sunrise.

C Caitanya-caritämåta: the biography of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu, written by Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Goswami.

G l o s s a ry

Caitanya-lélä: the transcendental pastimes of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

Caitanya Mahäprabhu: The avatära of Lord Kåñëa in this age whose mission was to spread the prema-nämasaëkértana, love of God-by chanting His holy names.

Campä: a fragrant yellowish-white flower.

Candana-yäträ: the festival of anointing a deity with sandalwood paste.

Canto: Latin word meaning a song (literally), also means a division of a long poem.

Capäté: whole-wheat flat bread.

Caranämåta: holy water that has been used to bathe the deity.

Caöäi: coarse matting made from strips of leaf or bamboo.

Coolie: labourer class.

Crore: ten million – often used in reference to currency. (one crore of rupees).

Cuttack: previously the capital of Orissa.

D Dacoits: thieves, robbers and/or highwaymen.

Dakñiëä: a fee or gift given to a priest or teacher.

Däl: a soup made from dried legumes, (peas and/or beans).

Dälmä: a thick soup made from dried legumes, (peas and/or beans) containing many vegetables. This is a traditional dish of Orissa.

Daëòa: the stick held by a sanyäsé; it represents renunciation.

Daëòavats: prostrated obeisances.

Dhäma: an eternal abode of the Supreme Lord.

Dharmañälä: an inexpensive, temporary residence set up especially for pilgrims.

Dhäma-sevä-adhikära: the right to perform worship in a holy place.

Deity: the form of the Lord in the temple.

Dhoté: the traditional male dress of India and in Vedic civilisation; a length of cloth, folded around the waist and wrapped around the lower part of the body.

Durgä: the personified material energy of the Lord and the wife of Lord Ñiva.

E Ekädañé: a special day for increased remembrance of Lord Kåñëa, which comes on the eleventh day after both the full and new moon. Directly presided over by Lord Hari, Ekädaçé is a holy test day for Vaiñëavas. One should utilise this day for fasting and increasing one’s devotion to Lord Çré Kåñëa by intensifying their chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mantra and other devotional activities. The very least one should do on this day is abstain from eating grains and beans.

G Gamchä: a short cloth wrapped around the lower part of the body.

Gäëjä: marijuana.

Ganges river: the largest river in India and its waters are considered holy.

Gauòéya: an inhabitant of Bengal, a Bengali.

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Gauòéya Maöha: the preaching mission initiated by Ñréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura.

Gauräëga Mahäprabhu: see Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

Gaura-Nitäi: Lord Gauräëga and Lord Nityänanda.

Gaura-pürëima: the appearance day festival of Lord Gauräëga.

Gour Gopälananda däsa: The name that Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja gave himself when he left family life to become a wandering sädhu (holy man).

Ghee: clarified butter. The oil produced by clarifying butter over a gentle heat until all the moisture is driven off and the milk solids are fully separated from the clear butterfat.

The separated butterfat is an excellent medium for frying/baking offerings.

Also used as an additive to add flavour to simple dishes of grains or vegetables.

Ghee lamp: a lamp used in worship; a cotton wool wick soaked in ghee and lit.

Gétä: see Bhagavad-gétä.

Gétä-jayanté: the ceremony commemorating the day Lord Kåñëa spoke the Bhagavad-gétä [The song of God] to Arjuna 5,000 years ago.

Gopäla: see Kåñëa.

Goswämi: one who can control his senses and mind.

Gåhastha: one who is practising spiritual life while living with wife and children; the second äñrama or spiritual order.

Guru-püjä: a ceremony to honour the bona fide spiritual master.

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H Halavä: semolina pudding.

Hari-bol!: expression indicating that one should chant the holy name of Hari (Kåñëa).

Hari-kathä: topics about Lord Kåñëa.

Hari-näma-saëkértana: congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

Harmonium: an organ-like keyboard instrument that produces notes with free metal reeds vibrated by air forced from a bellows.

Hatha-yoga: a yogic health and concentration practice of breath control and body stretching and relaxation poses.

Hindi: the national language of India.

Håñékeña: lit. éça – Lord; håñéka – of the senses; a name for Kåñëa meaning one who turns His devotees’ senses towards Himself and those of the non-devotees away. A holy place in the north of India, at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.

I Iñöa-deva: one’s worshipful deity; the particular form of Kåñëa toward whom one is attracted and who is the object of one’s love and service.

J Jaòa Bharata: a great saint described in the fifth canto of the ÑrémadBhägavatam.

Janärdana: a name of Lord Kåñëa.

Japa-mälä: beads used for chanting the holy name.

Janmäñöamé: the appearance day of Lord Kåñëa Japa: one’s personal meditation on the

G l o s s a ry

chanting of the Lord’s holy names.

Kåñëa-bhakti: devotion to Lord Kåñëa.

Jëäné: one who tries to reach the Supreme Absolute by cultivation of empirical, speculative knowledge.

Kåñëa-kathä: glorification of the Lord’s pastimes.

K Kaëöhi-mälä: sacred beads worn around the neck. Often referred to as tulasi neck beads, three strands of which are worn by Krsna’s Vaisnava devotees and adherents.

Karaëa-vedha-saàskära: karaëadoing; vedha-piercing; the ear piercing ceremony for young children.

Karatäla: brass hand cymbals used for kértana.

Kaniñöha-adhikäré: lowest stage of devotional service.

Kåñëa-lélä: the pastimes of Lord Kåñëa.

Kåñëaloka: Lord Kåñëa’s eternal abode manifest in the spiritual world.

Kåñëa-prema: love of God. Kñetra: a region or tract of land, a district or locality.

Kñetra-päla: one who guards a region of land.

Kula-guru: family priest or hereditary priest.

Kurtä: a collarless shirt.

L Lakh: 100,000.

Käñi: another name for the city of Varanasi.

Lakñmé: wealth, fortune, money.

Katthao: wooden peg shoes worn by ascetics and holy men in India.

Liëga: a form in which Lord Ñiva is worshipped.

Keñava Bhäraté: the sannyäsa-guru of Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

Khicaré: a cooked preparation made from rice and lentils (or, rice and lentil stew).

Kértana: Congregational glorification of the Lord by chanting His holy names.

Kértaniyä: a singer of bhajans, one who does kértana.

Kértana party or kértana group: a group of singers of bhajans, a group that does kértana.

Konark: a place situated on the seashore, 19 miles north of Jagannätha Püri on the east coast of India. The giant temple of the Sun God Sürya was built at Konark.

Kåñëa: the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lakñmé Devé: the goddess of fortune.

Liëgaräja: an epithet of Ñiva.

Luëgé: a long piece of cloth wrapped around the lower part of the body.

Loöä: a small round metal pot.

M Madana Mohana: see Kåñëa.

Mädhavendra Püri: a great devotee of Lord Kåñëa, his glories are described in the Ñré Caitanya caritämåta.

Mädhukaré: collecting alms from door to door.

Madhyama-adhikäré: a devotee on the second stage of Kåñëa consciousness.

Mahä-bhägavata: a very great devotee of the Lord. A stage that is rarely achieved.

Mahäbhärata: the great epic history of ancient India written by Ñréla

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Vyäsadeva; the Bhagavad-gétä is one part of this great epic.

Mahä-mantra: the great chant of deliverance in this age of Kali: Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare, Hare Räma Hare Räma Räma Räma Hare Hare.

Nandé: Lord Ñiva’s bull.

Näräyana: The Supreme Lord Kåñëa in his four-armed feature.

Nitäicandra: see Nityänanda Nityänanda or Lord Nityänanda: the chief associate of Lord Caitanya.

O

Mahä-prasäda: remnants of foodstuff offered to the deity.

Oriyä: an inhabitant of Orissa.

Mahäräja: a title given to a king or saintly person.

Oriya: the language of the state of Orissa.

Mahätmä: a great soul, one who actually understands that Kåñëa is everything and who therefore surrenders unto Him.

Orissa (Odisha): one of the twentyeight states of India, situated on the east coast of India.

Mandira: temple.

Mantra: sound vibration that liberates the mind.

Maöha (1): preaching centre; monastery; temple.

Maöha (2): a temple of the Lord with an attached äçrama for brahmacärés and sannyäsés; monastery.

Mathurä: the birth place of Lord Kåñëa.

P Padayätra: travelling from village to village by bullock cart and preaching Kåñëa consciousness.

Paisa: lowest denomination in the Indian currency; one hundred paisa equals one rupee.

Pän (paan): a popular intoxicant enjoyed in India.

Mätäjé: mother.

Paëòä or Püri Paëòä: priest or priests of the Jagannätha temple in Püri.

Mäyä: the illusory energy of the Lord.

Paëòäla: a large tent.

Mäyädevé: see Durgä.

Paëòita: a learned scholar.

Mayäpura: the holy place of Ñré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s appearance.

Paramahaàsa: a great, swan-like pure devotee who sees God (Kåñëa) face to face.

Mäyävädé: one who believes that God has no form and that he himself is God. Måduëga: clay drum played in kértana.

Mürti: manifestation or form of a deity.

N Näma-haööa devotee: a devotee who encourages others to assemble together in small groups for the purpose of developing Kåñëa consciousness within that group’s locality.

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Paramparä: disciplic succession - the line of pure spiritual preceptors bonafide gurus.

Paramätmä: the supersoul, the Lord in the heart.

Parikramä: circumambulating a holy place.

Parivräjakäcärya: a wandering mendicant of the sannyäsa order.

G l o s s a ry

Pärvaté Devé: see Durgä.

Päñupata-astra: a weapon of Lord Ñiva.

Ratha-yäträ: the annual cart festival of Lord Jagannätha.

Pätäla: hell.

Roöé: flat bread.

Prasäda: mercy (or mercy in the form of spiritual food).

Rudräkña: chanting beads.

Präëäyäma: control of the breathing process (one of the eight parts of the añöänga-yoga system).

Prema: pure, spontaneous love for Kåñëa (God).

Prema-bhakti: transcendental loving devotional service to Lord Kåñëa.

Prema-dätä: one who bestows love of God to others.

Prema-yuga: the age characterised by love of God. Püjä: worship of the Lord.

Püjäré: a temple priest.

Puräëa: ancient book, scripture.

R Rädhäräëi or Rädhä or Rädhikä: the eternal consort of the Supreme Lord, Ñré Kåñëa.

Radhäñöamé: the appearance day of Rädhäräëi.

Räma carita mänasa: the saga of Lord Räma written in simple language by Tulasé däsä Rämäyana: the epic story of Lord Räma written in Sanskrit by Välméki Åñi.

Rämänujäcärya: sampradäya-äcärya for the Ñré-sampradäya.

Rasa: the transcendental taste of a particular spiritual relationship with the Supreme Lord.

Rasagullä: a sweet prepared from milk curds and soaked in sugar syrup.

Ratha: a chariot, cart.

Rupees: the national currency of India.

Indian rupees or INR or Rs.

S Sabjé: cooked vegetables or vegetable curry.

Sädhana: one’s schedule of regulated devotional practices or daily routine.

Säk: green leaf subjé or curry.

Samädhi: trance, absorption consciousness of God.

in

Ñambhu: a name of Lord Ñiva.

Sampradäya: a bonafide line or denomination coming from the Supreme Lord Himself.

Saàsära: the cycle of repeated death and repeated rebirth in this material world.

Sandeña: a sweet prepared from milk.

Saëkértana: congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, the recommended process of yoga for this age. This recommendation is given in the Vedas, Upaniñads and Puräëas.

Sannyäsa: the renounced order of life for spiritual culture.

Sannyäsé: a person in the renounced order.

Sarovara: lake.

Sästra: revealed scripture.

Sevä: service. Ñiva: an incarnation of the Lord as a demigod who is His agent within the material world, particularly as related to the mode of ignorance.

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Skanda Puräëa (81,100 verses): one of the eighteen Puräëas, in this particular Puräëa Bhubaneswar, Orissa, Püri and Lord Jagannätha are explained. Ñré Caitanya-caritämåta: see Caitanyacaritämåta. Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda (Çréla Prabhupäda): The founder Äcärya of ISKCON. Please see A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda. Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Prabhupäda Mahäräja (18741937): The founder of the Gauòéya Maöha. Please see Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura. Ñrémad-Bhägavatam: the voluminous scripture (18,000 verses) composed by Ñréla Vyäsadeva to describe and explain the pastimes and glories of Lord Kåñëa Sudarñana Cakra: Lord Kåñëa’s disc weapon.

Supersoul: see Paramätmä.

Svarüpa: constitutional nature; the eternal constitutional nature and identity of the self which is realised in the stage of bhäva.

T Thänä: a police station.

Tilaka: sacred clay marking the body of a devotee as a temple of God. Tértha: a holy place.

Triñüla: Lord Ñiva’s trident.

Tulasé: a sacred plant from India.

U Uttama-adhikäri: a devotee on the topmost level of devotional service, he sees Kåñëa face to face.

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V Vaiñëava: a true Vaiñëava is a paramahaàsa (a swanlike personality), a very rare personality.

Vaiñëava-kñetra: a place or region inhabited by and dear to devotees of Lord Kåñëa, a holy place.

Vaiñëava-pravara: the most eminent or best of all devotees, the chief.

Varanasi: a holy city in India.

Vänaprastha-äñrama: when one has retired from family life; the third order of Vedic spiritual life.

Viñvambharé: a name of goddess Durgä.

Viñvambharé-rüpa: the form in which Goddess Durgä supports or carries the entire universe.

Vraja Maëòala: the area of Våndävana.

Vyäsadeva: the greatest philosopher of ancient times. He was an incarnation of Viñëu empowered for literary activities, and he complied the Vedas, Puräëas, Mahäbhärata, Vedänta-sütra etc.

Vyäsa-püjä: the celebration of the appearance day of the spiritual master, who is the bonafide representative of Çréla Vyäsadeva.

Vyäsäsana: the honoured seat of the bonafide spiritual master, named after Çréla Vyäsadeva.

Y Yajëa: sacrifice.

Yoga: union or connecting oneself with the Supreme.

Yogé: one who performs yoga.

Z Zamindär: a sub-king or landowner of vast areas of land.

Notes & References Introductory Quote

1. Anubhäñya commentary: His Divine Grace Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda. [Quoted Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä, 25.9 purport]

Foreword

1. Çré Vaiñëava Praëäma-mantra.

2. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 10.7 3. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 5.12.12 4. Quoted by Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé in his Çré Hari-bhakti-viläsa (4.344) 5. Padma-puräëa, quoted by Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé in his Çré Hari-bhaktiviläsa 4.358.

6. Çré-guru-vandanä, verse four, from the Prema-bhakti-candrikä of Çréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura.

7. Bhaktivinoda-väëé-vaibhava chapter 7/8.

Introduction

1. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 5.18.12 2. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 22.75 3. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 6.147 4. Çré Caitanya-bhägavata, Ädi-Kaëòha 17.4 5. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.4.63 6. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 25.127 7. Bhagavad-gétä 6.30

Chapter One

1. Çré Båhad Bhägavatämåtam of Çréla Sanätana Goswämé - Part 2, Chapter 1, Text 159 2. Çréla Sanätana Goswämé quote from the Padma Puräëa’s description of Lord Jagannätha.

3. Viñëu Puräëa.

4. Çré Båhad Bhägavatämåtam of Çréla Sanätana Goswämé - Part 2, Chapter 1, Text 160

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5. Çré Båhad Bhägavatämåtam of Çréla Sanätana Goswämé - Part 2, Chapter 1, Text 163 6. Evening lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja, given on the 23 June 1994, Towaco, USA. 7. Lecture given by Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja, Embankment of Separation, Chapter 7.

8. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 4.39 9. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 4.15-16 10. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Antya-lélä 20.35 11. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 10.122 12. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 10.122 purport excerpt.

13. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 25.206 purport.* 14. Lecture by Çréla Prabhupada San Francisco July 4, 1970.

15. Evening lecture by Çréla Prabhupäda, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India; January 23, 1977.

16. Jaiva Dharma by Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, Chapter Twenty-six Introduction to Rasa-tattva, The Principles of Spiritual Mellow.

17. Bhagavad-gétä 6.43, purport.* 18. Padma Puräëa.

19. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, lecture, 17 January 1994.

Chapter Three

1. Padma Puräëa, quoted in the Hari-bhakti-viläsa, 10.113 2. Çré Caitanya Bhägavata, Antya-khaëòa 8.173-174 3. Bhagavad-gétä verse 18.65

Chapter Four

1. From an Oriya (Odia) book titled “Visvabidita Gourgovinda o Gadiegiri”; “The World Famous Gour Govinda and the Village of Gadäi Giri”, by Fakir Caran Kanungo, an old friend of Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami.

2. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 28.10.1995, ÇrémadBhägavatam 9.20.37 The Ten Vedic Saàskäras.

3. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, Çré Caitanya-caritämåta Ädi-lélä 13.109-117, 31 March, 1994 Bhubaneswar, India.

4. Bhagavad-gétä, verse 1.39 5. Bhagavad-gétä, verse 1.40 6. Bhagavad-gétä, verse 1.41 * Purport is the commentary of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda on this verse.

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Notes & References

7. Bhagavad-gétä, verse 1.42 8. Bhagavad-gétä, verse 1.43 9. From an Oriya (Odia) book titled “Visvabidita Gourgovinda o Gadiegiri”; “The World Famous Gour Govinda and the Village of Gadäi Giri”, by Fakir Caran Kanungo, an old friend of Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami.

Chapter Five

1. The story of Kñéra-corä-gopénätha can be found in the Çré Caitanyacaritämåta, Madhya-lélä - Chapter 4: Çré Mädhavendra Puri’s Devotional Service.

2. From an Oriya (Odia) book titled “Visvabidita Gourgovinda o Gadiegiri”; “The World Famous Gour Govinda and the Village of Gadäi Giri”, by Fakir Caran Kanungo, an old friend of Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami.

Chapter Six

1. Interview Caitanya Candra däsa, 6 October 1998 Gadäi Giri.

2. Purport Bhagavad-gétä 6.42.

3. A poem on the passing of Çréla Haridäsa Öhäkura, written by Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura.

4. From a lecture by Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.11.27, 4 July, 1994.

Chapter Seven

1. Çrémad-Bhägavatam, verse 6.1.13

Chapter Eight – Part One

1. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.18.23, 28 March 1995, Bhubaneswar, India.

2. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.18.23, 28 March 1995, Bhubaneswar, India.

3. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.18.23, 28 March 1995, Bhubaneswar, India.

4. Bhagavad-gétä verse 7.5 5. From an Oriya (Odia) book titled “Visvabidita Gourgovinda o Gadiegiri”; “The World Famous Gour Govinda and the Village of Gadäi Giri”, by Fakir Caran Kanungo, an old friend of Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami.

6. From an Oriya (Odia) book titled “Visvabidita Gourgovinda o Gadiegiri”; “The World Famous Gour Govinda and the Village of Gadäi Giri”, by Fakir Caran Kanungo, an old friend of Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami.

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7. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä verse 8.18 8. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä verse 17.75 9. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä verse 8.89 10. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 10.82.44 11. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 9.263.

12. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä verse 20.124-125 13. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä verse 20.143 14. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 10.8.45 purport.* 15. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 11.14.20 16. Çré Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu verse 1.1.11 17. Çré Brahma-saàhitä verse 5.38 18. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä verse 7.84

Chapter Eight – Part Two

1. Bhagavad-gétä verse 18.37 2. Bhagavad-gétä verse 18.38 3. Bhagavad-gétä verse 18.39 4. Bhagavad-gétä verse 2.68 5. Bhagavad-gétä verse 2.69 6. Bhagavad-gétä verse 2.70 7. Bhagavad-gétä verse 2.71 8. Bhagavad-gétä verse 2.72 9. Bhagavad-gétä verse 3.17 10. Bhagavad-gétä verse 3.18 11. Bhagavad-gétä verse 3.21 12. Bhagavad-gétä verse 3.28 13. Fakir Caran Kanungo: the friend of Brajabandhu heard this with his own ears and wrote it in the book he authored “Vishvabidita Gour Govinda o Gadiegiri”, meaning “The World Famous Gour Govinda Swami and the Village Gadäi-giri”.

Chapter Nine

1. Excerpt from a lecture given by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami Mahäräja on 6 July 1992, Bhubaneswar, India.

2. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 19.54.

3. Govinda-lélämåta verse 1.2 quoted, Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 19.54. * Purport is the commentary of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda on this verse.

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Notes & References

4. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.22.19 purport.* 5. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 1.1.2.

6. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura Kalyäëa-kalpataru, Part One, song 14 text 3.

7. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura Kalyäëa-kalpataru, Part One, song 14 text 4.

8. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura Kalyäëa-kalpataru, Part One, song 14 text 5.

9. Ray of Vishnu.

10. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.4.6 purport.* 11. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.9.11 purport.* 12. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä verse 25.127.

13. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 11.2.55 quoted Çré Caitanya-caritämåta. Madhyalélä 25.128.

14. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 11.2.45 quoted Çré Caitanya-caritämåta. Madhyalélä 25.129.

15. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.4.6 purport.* 16. Excerpt from Çréla Prabhupäda lecture Bhagavad-gétä 13.24 Bombay, October 23, 1973.

17. Çré Éçopaniñad mantra six purport.* 18. Excerpt from conversation with Çréla Prabhupäda, Hrishikesh, May 13, 1977.

19. Bhagavad-gétä verse 6.30

Chapter Eleven

1. Räma-carita-mänasa by Tulasé däsa.

2. Räma-carita-mänasa by Tulasé däsa.

Chapter Twelve

1. Oriya Religious poem.

2. Bhagavad-gétä verse 13.10. [asaktiù—without attachment; anabhiñvaìgaù—without association; putra—son; dära—wife; gåha-ädiñu—home, etc.; nityam—external; ca—also; sama-cittatvam—equilibrium; iñöa—desirable; aniñöa— undesirable; upapattiñu—having obtained (verse 10, word for word)] 3. Bhagavad-gétä verse 13.11. [mayi—unto Me; ca—also; ananya-yogena—by devotional service; bhaktiù—devotion; avyabhicäriëé—constant, unalloyed; vivikta— solitary; deça—place; sevitvam—aspiring; aratiù—without attachment; jana— people in general saàsadi—mass (verse 11, word for word)] 4. Bhagavad-gétä verses 13.10-11; translation. *Purport is the commentary of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda on this verse.

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5. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 1.18.22.

6. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 9.4.65

Chapter Thirteen

1. Letter by Çréla Prabhupäda to Himavati - March 23, 1969.

2. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 11.14.20 3. Båhan-näradéya Puräëa.

4. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 17.24 purport.* 5. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 17.24 purport.* 6. Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Antya-lélä 6.278

Chapter Fourteen

1. Çré Çikñäñöaka, Sloka eight, Steadiness in Perfection - Vivåti, Summary of Çré Çikñäñöaka by Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura.

2. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami on Çrémad-Bhägavatam 10.3.31 given in Atlanta, Georgia, 20 June 1994.

3. A Hundred Warnings Against Mundane Mellows (Präkåta Rasa Çata Düñiëé) verses 26-27 Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Prabhupäda.

4. Çré Hari-näma-cintämaëi Chapter Three by Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura.

5. Çré Caitanya Bhägavata, Antya-khaëòa verse 4.126.

6. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

7. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

8. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

Chapter Fifteen

1. Bhagavad-gétä 6.43 excerpt of purport.* 2. Our remarkable Godbrother – An appreciation of Gour Govinda Mahäräja 24 July 2009 by Patit Pavana däsa.

3. From an interview with Guëärëava däsa.

4. Our remarkable Godbrother – An appreciation of Gour Govinda Mahäräja 24 July 2009 by Patit Pavana däsa.

5. Spiritual Master Must Have Prema. A Darçana with Çréla Gour Govinda Swami in Bhubaneswar, 24 November 1989.

6. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla *Purport is the commentary of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda on this verse.

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Notes & References

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

7. Spiritual Master Must Have Prema. A Darçana with Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami in Bhubaneswar, 24 November 1989.

8. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

Chapter Sixteen

1. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

2. Letter ACB/sdg © 1991 by Bhaktivedanta Book Trust 8 April 1974.

3. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

4. From a lecture by Çréla Gour Govinda Swami 2 November 1989 Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s disappearance.

5. Spiritual Master Must Have Prema. A darçana with Çréla Gour Govinda Swami in Bhubaneswar, 24 November 1989.

Chapter Seventeen

1. Çrémad-Bhägavatam verse 6.17.28 2. Bhagavad-gétä 2.15 purport.* 3. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.9.26 purport.* 4. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.13.30 purport.* 5. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.22.19 purport.* 6. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.24.35 purport.* 7. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 4.19.12 purport.*

* Purport is the commentary of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda on this verse.

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Recalling his childhood Çré Çrémad Gour Govinda Swami said: “...The first thing I could remember as a child were the songs of Çréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura sung by my uncles from Gadäi-Giri. My uncles knew kértana; they were great kértanéyas...” “…I can remember from when I was very young that my grandfather, my father and all my uncles had a çikhä, would put on Vaiñëava tilak after bathing and wore kaëöhi-mälä. They were all Vaiñëavas and they were always chanting Hare Kåñëa…”

Fakir Caran Kanungo: “...Brajabandhu once told me that whenever he would become restless and start crying, his mother would simply put the Çrémad-Bhägavatam in his hands and he would stop crying. From a very young age he would read this sacred book and become so absorbed in it that, he would forget to take his meals. The family was too poor to afford candles or a lamp for reading, so in the evening he would sit close to the cooking fire and read. At night he would go to sleep clutching the Holy Scripture to his chest...”

Ghanasyam Giri: This village of Gadäi-Giri is the home of Brajabandhu’s maternal uncles. He stayed here, studying, reading Bhagavad-gétä and doing bhajana. In the evenings, he would come into the temple room, dance and chant before Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopäla Jéu, and sometimes at night he slept on the temple room floor. He would join his uncles in the bhajans, playing the karatälas. His older uncle, Gopinath Giri, my father, played the mådaìga, and our second uncle, Jagannath Giri, played harmonium and karatälas. All together they would make a very wonderful kértana.

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