Here are the first 49 episodes in our Srimad Bhagavatam course series. We memorized many of these verses we cover. The episodes don’t usually have the memorization part in the audio. We spend between...
Param Gurudeva was very strong, like a thunderbolt, to preserve all rules and regulations of bhakti, but his heart was softer and sweeter than a rose.
He went to school from college. Śrīla Gurudeva told many times. When Param Gurudeva went to college he argued with the professors who lectured on Caitanya-caritāmṛta. The professor gave māyāvādī purports and Param Gurudeva would cut his argument. Param Gurudeva would give class and all the students would follow Param Gurudeva. They did not listen to the professor. They said, “Vinoda should give class, the professor has no intelligence.”
Param Gurudeva organized a committee where all the members vowed to remain celibate for life and use all their energy in the service of humanity. Param Gurudeva was only fourteen or fifteen at that time, but he was very strong. He wrote down the rules of his committee and the names of the members. They started charities and went house to house helping the poor and sick everywhere.
Śrīla Gurudeva told this story many times. One day, at nine p.m. Param Gurudeva had not yet returned and his mother took a stick and stood outside the gate of her house to punish her son who was staying out late. She was very strict. Like Yaśodā Mātā was very soft and full of love for Kṛṣṇa, but sometimes she could be very strong and hard as well. Bhuvana Mohinī was ready to beat her son when he arrived. By that time, Param Gurudeva was tall and healthy. He came and touched the feet of his mother. She shouted, “Stop! First answer me and then you can go inside.”
“What happened?” he asked with a humble mood.
“Where have you been all evening? The college finishes at five p.m. Where did you go after that?”
“Mother, I heard that there was a poor lady in a nearby village who is homeless and without any family. She had cholera.”
In those days in India, if anyone had cholera, it was like their last days. They did not have good medicine for it.
“I went there and arranged medicine for her. We bathed her and gave fresh cloth and treatment. Only when she was a little relieved could I return now.”
“Who gave you money to help her?”
“You give money everyday for me to use at college for snacks. I never use that money. I save it to help the poor.”
Then the stick fell from Bhuvana Mohinī’s hand and she began to weep, saying, “I now understand.” From that day she never reprimanded or spoke harshly to her son.
How will people be strong? From that day, Param Gurudeva started many programs. He joined the underground revolution movement of Subhasa Candra Bose against the British.
But one time, Vinoda Bihārī’s aunt, Sarojavāsinī, told him, “Don’t go in this direction. It is wrong. Come with me. I will show you an exalted sādhu in Māyāpura thousands of times superior to Subhasa Candra Bose.”
She used to go to Māyāpura and had taken harināma and dīkṣā from Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Paramānanda Prabhu and Narahari Sevā Vigraha Prabhu were the only two sevakas with Prabhupāda at the time. Sarojavāsinī was very qualified. She took notes onPrabhupāda’s lectures and would then write prose, poetry and songs and distribute them. She was a first class preacher who traveled to the big towns in Bangladesh. She did not follow their kula-guru. She took Vinoda Bihārī, “Come to Māyāpura with me.”
Seeing him, Prabhupāda said, “Oh! My Vinoda has come!” Meaning, ‘Vinoda, happiness, has finally come to me.
Just as Rāmacandra waited a long time for Hanumān, Prabhupāda was waiting for Vinoda.
Sarojavāsinī asked, “Why were you waiting for him?”
“He is mine. He has been far away from me for a long time. This is not good.”
Vinoda smiled and offered praṇāma, and he addressed Prabhupāda as Gurudeva.
He said, “Gurudeva, what is my service?”
“Your service is everything.”
Then Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said to Sarojavāsinī, “I desire to open nine temples in the nine islands of Navadvīpa. These nine islands are the nine limbs of Bhakti-devī, and the kuñjas of Rādhārānī and the eight sakhīs. Vraja-pathana will be here in Caitanya Maṭha, along with Girirāja Govardhana, Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa and so forth, and I will open branch offices of Rādhārānī on all these islands. From here, I will distribute this nectar of vraja-prema all over the world.”
“You have no sevakas and no money, no one even to ring the bell in ārati. Who will do all this?”
“Vinoda will do everything.”
“Vinoda will do everything? He is tied up with his family. His mother will not give him to you.”
“Who will take my property? This is not possible. Ask Vinoda.”
Vinoda Bihārī was surprised. No one had told him, “You are mine, how can you stay without me? Everything here is your responsibility.”
He was surprised. From that day, he could not forget Prabhupāda. He returned once to his parents, but told them, “Now, I cannot stay here longer.”
“I know,” his mother said. “I offered you to Nṛsiṁhadeva. I remember that day. You were flying in the sky. Do you remember? You were like Kṛṣṇa flying with Tṛṇāvarta in the sky. I knew you were gone. I offered you to God then, but you came back. Now, your aunt took you and offered you to Prabhupāda, no problem. But there is one condition. Please give me darśana before I leave this world.”
Like Śrīla Gurudeva’s parents also begged him to give them darśana before they left this world.
Bhuvana Mohinī had heartfelt attachment to her son. She knew he was very exalted and respected. She knew she had done great austerity to attain the fortune to have such a son. She also knew that a sādhu or mahā-bhāgavata would not stay long with his blood family, the whole world was his family.
Vinoda Bihārī’s younger brother was Pulina Bihārī. He was a great poet and writer. He wrote about the early life of Param Gurudeva, how he was born and of his activities up to when he was nineteen. Śrīla Gurudeva collected many stories from Param Gurudeva’s brother and showed them to us.
When Param Gurudeva came and took shelter of Prabhupāda in Māyāpura, Prabhupāda said, “Vinoda, now you know how to develop Māyāpura and do everything. You should take all responsibility. Care for those who come. Everything will be by your arrangement.”
Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura would be absorbed in his own harināma, hari-kathā and internal service. He was very busy and had no time. But Param Gurudeva served incessantly. He did not think, “When to eat, when to sleep, where to stay.” He would be busy from day’s start to end, going to court, printing books, overseeing the three hundred acres of land in Māyāpura and so forth.
Sridhara Maharaja: Some years after our Guru Maharaja had left, Ananta Vasudeva Prabhu (the acarya of the Gaudiya Mission) called for me and said, “Prabhupada has done many things which cannot be supported according to the scriptures. Where is your name ‘Sridhara’ found in the scripture? Only ten names of sannyasis we find – Puri, […]
Today is the appearance day of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. He gives svarūpa sattā to the living entities, bringing them to eternal Vraja-dhāma. He performed all different plays in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. This is not any ordinary or mundane drama. Guru-pāda-padma gives knowledge of one’s svarūpa; relation with one’s svarūpa; liberation from one’s mundane body, and entrance into one’s soul body.
We heard this morning how Nityānanda Prabhu appeared in this world. And we heard how He left Ekacakra and came to Vṛndāvana, after traveling on pilgrimage throughout India. There, He went to all the temples and searched everywhere for Kṛṣṇa. But He could not find Kṛṣṇa. He would ask the cowherd men He met, but they told Him, “Now Kṛṣṇa is not here.” He went to Govardhana and all around Vraja, and wept and rolled in the dust of Vraja, remembering Dvāpara-yuga and the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. But He could not find Nanda, Yaśodā, Kṛṣṇa, and the Vrajavāsīs. He came to Mathurā and, seeing the palace of Kaṁsa, He was infuriated. He saw one piece of stone there covered with bloodstains. The stone had drunk the blood from the infants of Devakī that Kaṁsa had dashed upon it.
Seeing this, Nityānanda Prabhu threw the stone in the Yamunā. But, as He went on His way, the stone floated along the river behind Him, all the way to Khar Daha.
After sannyāsa, Nityānanda Prabhu went with Mahāprabhu to Advaita bhavana and then to Jagannātha Purī. Nityānanda Prabhu broke the daṇḍa of Mahāprabhu.
One day Nityānanda Prabhu asked Mahāprabhu, “Prabhu, You have taken sannyāsa. The rule of sannyāsīs is to go house to house begging for one’s maintenance. But You never went to beg alms.”
Mahāprabhu said, “Save My daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu, I am going.”
Mahāprabhu went and begged alms with His uttarīya. Seeing Mahāprabhu, people gave so much that Mahāprabhu could not carry it all. When Mahāprabhu came back, Nityānanda Prabhu was present there. Mahāprabhu asked, “Where is My daṇḍa?”
“We carry Mahāprabhu in our own heart,” the devotees thought, “and Mahāprabhu carries you?”
daṇḍa-bhaṅga-līlā ei—parama gambhīra
sei bujhe, duṅhāra pade yāṅra bhakti dhīra
Madhya, 5.158
[The pastime of the breaking of the staff is very deep. Only one whose devotion is fixed upon the lotus feet of the two Lords can understand it.]
“Now You have been carried in the hand of Mahāprabhu for a long time,” Nityānanda Prabhu said to the daṇḍa. “After leaving everyone else, Mahāprabhu is now your servant, carrying you everywhere. I can’t tolerate this.”
Nityānanda Prabhu broke Mahāprabhu’s daṇḍa in three pieces and threw it in the Bhargavi River.
When Mahāprabhu returned, He saw His daṇḍa was not present. He asked, “Where is My daṇḍa?”
For sannyāsīs, a daṇḍa is the svarūpa of Nārāyaṇa.
“Where did My daṇḍa go?” Mahāprabhu asked.
“I don’t know,” Nityānanda Prabhu said. “You always dance in ecstatic moods. Who knows where You threw it.”
“No,” Mahāprabhu said, “I gave it to You.”
“Oh,” Nityānanda Prabhu said. “No. You must have accidentally broken it while dancing. Anyhow, it was only a cheap piece of bamboo. Seeing it broken, I threw it in the Bhargavi.”
Mahāprabhu said, “Alas! A daṇḍa is a sannyāsī’s only guardian. You broke My daṇḍa! Alas! Śrīpāda! What have You done? Now I have no more relation with anyone. Go first to Jagannātha Purī; otherwise I will go first. What is Your choice?”
“You should go first.”
Mahāprabhu went forward doing kīrtana and dancing in His own mood. He ran to Jagannātha Purī, to the temple of Jagannātha. Mahāprabhu ran to embrace Jagannātha, fainted, and was brought to the home of Sārvabhauma Paṇḍita. Nityānanda Prabhu later came to the temple of Jagannātha and ran to embrace Him.
The priests said, “Before one madman came and fell senseless, now another one has come!”
They caught Him in the temple, saying, “You cannot go inside the inner sanctum.”
Nityānanda Prabhu desired to go inside the temple sanctum to embrace Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā.
Mahāprabhu was at the house of Sārvabhauma Paṇḍita. The priests informed Sārvabhauma Paṇḍita of the devotees who had come, and they were also brought to his house.
Seeing Mahāprabhu senseless, the devotees started loud saṅkīrtana. Then Mahāprabhu awoke from His trance and began dancing ecstatically.
Mahāprabhu later gave an order to Nityānanda Prabhu, “Go! Don’t stay here any longer with Me.”
Was He angry with Nityānanda Prabhu? No. “Go help all the living entities,” Mahāprabhu said. “Bestow prema-bhakti upon the living entities. You have come here. I will be happy if You stay with Me. But if You go and help all living entities, this gives Me even more happiness.”
Nityānanda Prabhu came back to Navadvīpa-dhāma with a huge saṅkīrtana party. Any place He passed through, the villagers would come with Nityānanda Prabhu and follow Him. They would not want to stay any longer in their homes. They realized their residential permit in their bodies and homes was temporary. They thought, “I will go with Nityānanda Prabhu. I will relish eternal bliss.” They forgot mundane happiness, jaḍa ānanda, and became absorbed in nitya ānanda, eternal bliss. They entered Nityānanda Prabhu’s saṅkīrtana party and danced hour to hour, day to day, sometimes playing and doing kīrtana in the water and sometimes jumping on the top of trees and doing kīrtana in their branches. Sometimes they did not eat for a month, only doing kīrtana, dancing back and forth through the countryside, not know which way they were going.
Nityānanda Prabhu made the people mad in the bliss of chanting harināma, and they forgot everything by drinking kīrtana-rasa and bhakti-rasa. They had no need for any mundane food while with Nityānanda Prabhu. Was their strength and energy lost?
Nityānanda Prabhu gave them svarūpa-siddhi. Dvādaśa Gopāla, the Cauṣaṭṭi-mahānta, Aṣṭa Kaviraja, and millions of devotees came with Nityānanda Prabhu, performing maha saṅkīrtana. The devotees did kīrtana day and night with Nityānanda Prabhu.
saṅkīrtana-rase mete’ nāma bilāilo
nāmera hāṭe ese preme jagat bhāsāilo
[Deeply absorbed in saṅkīrtana-rasa, He distributed the holy name, and having come to the marketplace of the holy name, He caused the whole universe to swim in prema.]
Nityānanda Prabhu performed saṅkīrtana throughout the land. Before Mahāprabhu had not given Him order, but now that Mahāprabhu had instructed Him, He began showering everyone with prema-bhakti through the medium of harināma-saṅkīrtana.
He came to Adi Saptagrāma, where Raghava Paṇḍita, Śivānanda-sena, and other devotees were waiting for His arrival with the devotees.
Nityānanda Prabhu is patita-pāvana. Where He will go and when—there is no guarantee. He goes to deliver the most fallen, and changes the hearts of all.
He once went to the place of Rāmacandra Khān, the wealthy landlord. When Nityānanda Prabhu came with His saṅkīrtana party to that area, He sent some sevakas, telling them, “Go ask if we can stay and perform kīrtana at his house.”
“You are Kṛṣṇa’s followers,” Rāmacandra Khān said. “Living in the cowshed is good for you. My temple is for Durgā-devī. You can’t enter my palace and do kīrtana there. You follow Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa likes the cows, forest, and jungle. So why are you madmen coming here? There is no place for you here.”
If anyone disturbs the Saṅkīrtana Movement, or if anyone is not happy with saṅkīrtana, then Nityānanda Prabhu will be angry at that place. Otherwise, Nityānanda Prabhu never becomes angry or disturbed. Nityānanda Prabhu became angry and said, “Oh! There is no place here for the devotees and saṅkīrtana? Then this place is for mlecchas.”
Nityānanda Prabhu left that place. Before, Rāmacandra Khān had offended Haridāsa Ṭhākura, sending a prostitute to try and make him fall down. A little later, the Mughal ruler from Delhi sent many soldiers there. They went and took everything from Rāmacandra Khān, killed his family, and razed his house.
Nityānanda Prabhu went from that place to Panihati in another state. The son of Hiranya Govardhana, Raghunātha, came to meet with Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu was very happy.
His sevakas said, “Raghunātha has come and offered You obeisance from a far distance.”
Nityānanda Prabhu had His followers call forth Raghunātha, and then shouted, “Raghunātha, you are a big thief. You have hidden many things. Now I am giving you daṇḍa, punishment.”
On one side, Nityānanda Prabhu broke the daṇḍa of Mahāprabhu, and on the other side, He gave daṇḍa to Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.
“You must give prasādam to all the devotees,” Nityānanda Prabhu said. “You have come here in the early morning. I am remembering pulina-bhojana in Vraja on the bank of the Yamunā. Now arrange everything.”
Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was very pleased.
bhakta dravyera khadi khadi khai
abhaktera dravyera bhoga kabhi nahi chai
If anyone has love for God, the Lord will go there and steal from him by force. But the Lord will never accept anything from those who have no love for Him. Even if they make a show offering something, the Lord will never accept it.
Now, Raghunātha is an eternal Vrajavāsī. He has great love. How did he follow the order of Nityānanda Prabhu? He arranged prasādam for millions of devotees there in a short span of time. Thousands and thousands of people were standing anywhere and everywhere, in the river water, and on trees. (to see more click on Title)
Today is Varāhadeva’s appearance day. We are here in Vṛndāvana-dhāma, at the lotus feet of Vṛndā-devī. We are very fortunate to be here. But I am a useless and bogus person. Anything I say, I think this is not correct. I am speaking with hope that the guru-varga will correct me. May the Vaiṣṇavas take the essence, and throw out my rubbish and garbage. If I don’t speak anything, I cannot purify myself. If my faults and guilt don’t come out, then the Vaiṣṇavas will not purify my anarthas. If I hide anything, it is a problem. Therefore I am speaking. May the guru-varga and Vaiṣṇavas purify me.
Today is the appearance day of Varāhadeva. How did He appear? All know this. Śāstra has told many different things. Brahmā created the Earth by the mercy of God. She was present on top of the ocean. Brahmā thought, “This Earth has nothing. There is no grass, animals, trees, creepers, plants, men or women… only earth. What can I do?” He was thinking and praying to God, and he sneezed. Then a very small creature came out of his nose and took on a colossal form, and jumped in the ocean. He is Sveta Varāha. He shook His neck, and many hairs fell. When these hairs touched the earth, the hairs sprouted and grew into kuśa grass.
This grass is very strong and will never be extinguished. If it is in water for thousands of years, it will not be destroyed… nor in fire or in the desert. Why? This hair was from the neck of God. This is pure. When this touched Pṛthivī Devī, she got the power for creation. Then everything began to grow, like sugarcane, many grains for the living entities to eat, and many medicinal herbs. When Varāhadeva touched Pṛthivī Devī, that was enough for her. The Earth Goddess had some desire. When she was touched by Varāhadeva, a slight change came in her, and Narakāsura was born from her womb.
On one side, all grains, medicines, fruits and all nectar came; and on the other side, it was like a big anartha came out and was born as Narakāsura. He is like God’s son and was born from the womb of Earth. But how was his nature? Pṛthivī Devī had a little desire to enjoy, then this created a great problem.
We have come near Hari, Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, but if we have a little impure desire, will the result of that be very sweet? Our desires are very strong. We pray, “I want this. -Ggive this to me.” God gives us many things, but we are not happy with that; we want more. This son of the Earth was very strange. He went to modern Assām and made friendship with other demons there. He was also as if immortal. Now he began to do everything wrong. He also had desires to enjoy.
Anywhere he went, he would steal others’ wives. He stole apsarās from demigods and would steal the wives of gandharvas from Gandharva-loka. He would go to the places of the demons and steal their women as well. He was very strong and had a very strange nature. This went on through satya-yuga and tretā-yuga in the sveta-kalpa.
In dvāpara-yuga, Kṛṣṇa came. Narakāsura’s nature had not changed. He captured thousands of princesses by force and put them in his jail. He gave them time: “If you accept me by then, you can be my mistresses; otherwise, I will kill you all.”
Now, if we pray for good things from Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, they will fulfill our desires. If we pray for bad things, will they give us those as well? They won’t give. But if our desires won’t change, punishment is therefore also necessary.
Pṛthivī Devī suffered so much from the activities of her wicked son. Kṛṣṇa himself came and killed him, and brought all the princesses out of jail.
What do you want? Artha or paramārtha? Paramārtha or anartha? On one side there is anartha, and one side there is paramārtha. Varāhadeva steals the anarthas of all jīvas and gives paramārtha.
He gave kuśa that is very pure. Any place you use kuśa will be pure. By sitting on kuśa mats, the mind and body will be pure. No strange nature will come. Without kuśa, no yajña or tapa will be pure.
When Bali Mahārāja was going to give charity to the Lord, Vāmanadeva said, “First take kuśa and water, and make a promise on that.”
If you use kuśa when Rahu and Ketu cast their effects, contaminating and making everything poisonous by their shadow, you can have some protection. The anarthas and power of demons cannot affect one because of the purifying influence of kuśa. This is very pure. Anywhere kuśa grows in this world will be a yajña bhūmi, a pure place of sacrifice.
