Jagat

Gadadhar Pran absorbed in lila-smaran.  I am back in Birnagar after a week at Gadai Gauranga Kunj. Today is Radhashtami and I am slated to give a talk on Radharani at a fairly big gathering in Badkulla village, about 15 kilometers from here. So mostly I want to prepare for that and meditate, etc., for the rest of the day. But I wanted to get this post up, so here I am making a few brief comments about the past week. Most of you have by now seen the continuation of "Another side of Bhaktivinoda Thakur" series that Gadadhar has been writing. He doesn't use the internet or have a computer, so his handwritten manuscript is typed and then edited by me before it goes on line. We finished typing on Wednesday, so for the remaining days of the week we followed his normal schedule together. Gadadhar's program is based on the lunar calendar. From pratipad to pūrṇimā he does a vrata of chanting four lakhs a day. He completes a lakh in about two hours, so that means ...

Originally posted on Vrindavan Today . Widows come to Vrindavan especially from Bengal. To help them live in the Dham is a service that will help your Braja-vasa sadhana. Previous 1.72 , "If you can't give up the world, then meditate on Vrindavan" introduces the subject that is continued in today's verse. vastuḥ koṭi-guṇaṁ śrutaṁ hi sukṛtaṁ vāso’nna-vāsādibhiḥ tīrthe vāsayituḥ svayaṁ hi tarati dvau tau sa yat tārayet | premānanda-rasātma-dhāmani pare vṛndāvana-vāsakas  tv  āścaryāṁ vṛṣabhānujā-priya-ratiṁ prāpnoty anāyāsataḥ || We have heard that one who serves those who live in a holy place by giving them housing, clothing and food has millions more pious activities to his credit than one who simply lives there. And one who helps others dwell in sacred Vrindavan, the abode that has the nectar bliss of pure love as its essence, easily attains the amazing feeling of love for the beloved of Vrishabhanu Raja’s daughter, for he not only crosses over himse...

One of the things that Gadadhar and I talked about the other day was the Janma Sthan. He was reading to me from his latest chapter in "Another side of Bhaktivinoda Thakur," and in the context of Bipin Bihari Goswami brought up the controversy about the birthplace. He downplayed it in part by saying that Mahaprabhu responds to devotion, and the rāgānugā bhakta in particular is not confined by material time or place, but in his mind goes to the eternal Goloka Navadvipa. Ananta Das Babaji's dsiciple Vaishanva Pada Dasji also said to me last year when I saw him at Radha Kund: "What is the harm in having two birthplaces? Why argue over it? We have two places to remember Mahaprabhu's appearance. Mahaprabhu accepts everyone's sincere devotion and prayers. The external place is not the important thing." "But," Gadadhar said, "I don't agree with these Gaudiya Maths who just claim that their math is on the site of Nandanacharya's house...

I spent a week in September with my godbrother Gadadhar Pran Das at Gadai Gauranga Kunj, doing a small vrata with him and observing his bhajan pranali, I am sharing this article written by him. It has two parts. At the present time, Gadadhar Pran spends the entire day in the service of Gadadhar and Gauranga, and is working on restoring a painting of his Nadia Yugal. For three days up to Purnima, however, we spent almost the entire day in japa and meditation, chanting three lakhs together in the beautiful environment of the Kunj, overlooking the Ganges, bathing three times in the holy river, doing kirtan and honoring Gadai Gauranga’s delicious prasadam prepared by Rai Kishori Devi. The centerpiece of Gadadhar’s nitya bhajan paddhati these days is the recital of Śrī Śrī Gaurāṅga-pratyaṅga-varṇanākhya-stava-rāja , attributed to Advaita Acharya Prabhu and found in a book from the Srikhanda tradition called Bhakti-candrikā . Gadadhar Pran has gone to a lot of trouble researching ...